Bach Flower Essences for Pets- A True Tale of Success

I  met the obedience trainer, Sherri, that is hosting training classes at A Dog's Dream for the first time about two months ago. During our conversation we somehow got on the topic of Bach Flower Essences for pets. To be quite honest, I had never heard of this before or any real holistic treatments for pets. Sherri is a huge fan of holistic pet care, so she explained some of the methods that she used with her pets and dogs that she had in her house for boarding. I made a quick note of it in my notebook just in case some of my boarding customers' pets needed some treatment at some point. Little did I know how useful this information would be to me.

As mentioned in an earlier blog, Eddie is becoming more and more afriad of strange things around the house. One of the worst times of day for him is when we are in the kitchen cooking dinner. The second we open a cupboard to get out a pot, pan, or mixing bowl he is hightailing it upstairs. Since the problem was getting worse by the week, I decided that maybe I should try Sherri's suggested remedy- Bach Flower Essences.

I purchased the Calming drops for Eddie, and as an added bonus I got a small bottle of the Anxiety drops for free! We have been putting the Anxiety drops in Eddie's water for about a month now, and although he's not a completely different dog, he has certainly shown a vast improvement. He's now a lot more curious about what's going on the in kitchen and usually stays while we cook the whole meal. It may be a small step for most, but for us (and Eddie) it means the world!

How to Pet Sit a Crazy Dog!

For the past four days I have been pet sitting (or dog sitting as I prefer to call it) for one crazy dog- a one year old Golden Doodle named Riley. I have no shame in writing this blog because I know that if his "mom" ever read it, she would agree with me 110%. He is out of his mind.

Being a very young and very big dog, he is completely different from my own little, quiet Eddie. You would think this would make for a terrible combination, but they get along surprisingly well. It must be true what they say about opposites being attracted to each other. Riley is absolutely full to the brim with energy, and no matter how long he is out walking or frolicking around, he still comes back inside tugging at the leash with his mouth, ready to run and play more! And let me tell you, when he wants to play, he can be quite bossy about it- getting about six inches from my face and barking as loud as possible. He is a very well trained dog (he knows sit, down, and stay really well), but he has very bad manners.

My husband, Craig, and I have been trying our hardest this week to teach him how to properly get attention from a person, and the art of personal space. It's pretty difficult in a strange house with another dog and in such a short period of time to accomplish these goals, though. Unfortunately, Riley returns home tomorrow and he'll be going back home exactly the way he came- a very crazy dog! And we'll go back to our normal routine with our shy little dog.

My best advice for those of you that happen to dog sit a dog that is the polar opposite of what you're used to: take lots of deep breaths! And although I don't feel this way now, I am sure when tomorrow afternoon rolls around, Riley will be missed just like all of the others that have stayed with us.

Life with Eddie

It's been about a month and a half since we adopted Eddie from the shelter. It has been a bit of a bumpy ride, but it has all been worth it!

The first day my husband and I saw Eddie in his kennel, we took a glance (mostly because he was a small dog) but didn't pay too much attention to him. For one reason or another he just didn't really stand out to us. After glancing at the 40 or so dogs at the shelter, my husband found one that he was interested in taking out for a visit. Being a beagle mix, the dog (Max was his name, I believe) couldn't have cared less about seeing us- he was just happy to be out in a new environment so he could sniff everything! We decided that we wanted a dog that was a little more interested in people, so we asked the attendant what other small dogs she had that we may have missed. She brought out two other dogs, one of which was Eddie.

We found out that Eddie had lived in a house with two children and at least one other dog and a cat. This was a plus seeing as how he'd be spending most of his time around other dogs. We also found out, however, that he house soiled (the reason for being turned over to the shelter) and that the male of the house "couldn't stand him." Upon meeting Eddie, it was hard to come to the conclusion that he hadn't been abused- he cowered in the corner no matter where he was. Immediately our hearts were given to this little dog; he really needed and deserved a good home.

We picked Eddie up the next day, and we did all the things a new dog owner should do. He did great for the first few days- no accidents in the house, not even while we were gone. He was also really starting to come around, learning to trust us quite a bit. He wasn't big into treats or playing with toys, but that was something we could live with. Then we hit a wall. All of a sudden there were accidents in the house, even when we were there, and he was growling at people when they'd come into the house.

Thanks to reading a lot of books, talking to some trainers, and watching many episodes of the Dog Whisperer, we got him heading down the right path. We are in the process (still) of crate training him, although he really doesn't need it since he hasn't had an accident in the house in about two and half weeks, even while we've been gone. We took him to the dog park for the first time about a week ago, and although he's not big into playing with the other dogs, he really likes meeting the people, which is a HUGE step for him! We've even got him playing with toys several times a day, and eating treats like it's his job.

There are still some struggles, as there are with any dogs, but we are head-over-heels in love with our new little boy!

Why You Should Adopt a Rescue Animal

My husband and I have been searching for a new dog for about a week now. I have had dogs my whole life, mostly terriers. He, on the other hand, has never even had a goldfish, let alone a dog. We both agreed, however, that we would only consider adopting a dog from a shelter. 

I spent the good part a week looking up different shelters and pet foster programs in the area- looking at every picture of every available dog and reading every description to see if we could find a dog that would fit in perfectly at our home (needs to be good with kids, which we hope to have in a couple of years, and dogs). Together we sat down and made up a weekly schedule of when we would try to visit all of these places. Needless to say, there is no shortage of animals, especially dogs, that need good homes.

We began our search last Saturday, and I could've adopted every dog that I saw- my heart just bleeds for them. After seeing all of these desperate animals, I decided that I needed to start volunteering at the local shelter more frequently. I went three days this week. I also took a book out of the library called Saved by Karin Winegar- a book that literally made me smile and cry at the same time. The animals that she writes about have come from horrific backgrounds, but they learned to love again when given a second chance. It is just heart wrenching to hear the stories in her book about the cruelty done to animals, and the number of shelters all over the country that euthanize these animals (in sometimes very unethical ways) without a moment's thought. On the other hand, it is absolutely wonderful to read about some of the people that save these animals, either through adoption or fostering, and give them a second chance at life. 

So please, if you're looking to add a pet on to your family, even if you have your heart set on a certain breed, at least go take a look in a shelter. Try to think about the lives that some of these animals have endured, the pain and sufferering that they somehow made it through. Maybe you will find an animal that just melts your heart by the look in it's eyes or the way it trembles. And if you still want your purebred dog from a breeder, then I support you (I love all dogs!), but maybe you could consider volunteering or making a donation to help support those animals that are truly in need.