Oh My Dogs!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ProPlanPet #CollectiveBias

Meet my dogs, Ziggy, a Border Collie and Beckley, a rescue mutt.  Beck is probably part German Shepherd and part Lab, we refer to her as, “the best one”.  She is almost always a really sweet natured dog – except for those unpredicted times when she might decide she’d like to eat another dog for lunch.  We have a handle on her dubious nature and know how to prevent having any real issues – she’s “the best one”.  Isn’t that how rescue dogs are?

Ziggy is a dog we choose even before he was born.  We acquired him from a BC breeder in Crawford,, Texas and he comes from Scottish stock.  When he was a puppy we went for agility training and learned to work with a clicker for basic obedience training.  Unfortunately life got in the way of continuing his agility training but it was a great experience for understanding Borders.  The clicker training was a quick and efficient way to teach basic commands like “sit”, “lie down”, “roll over”, etc.  One trick I taught him was to open the back door to go out but for some reason he never could get a handle on “close the door”!  Ha Ha – we ended up changing out the door handle for a round knob he couldn’t operate, as constantly having to close the door became a real pain for the humans.

Both of my dogs are thrilled to go along on car rides or to visit PetSmart to pick up dog food, chews and of course new toys.  On a recent visit to PetSmart I discovered Purina® Pro Plan® dog food.  The kittens and puppies looking for adoption at PetSmart always pull on my heartstrings, but with these two dogs and 3 cats already in the family I can’t even go there!

You might notice that the Purina® Pro Plan® I purchased for Ziggy and Beckley is for “weight management”.  Ziggy has an issue with hypo-thyroid and is overweight.  Being a Border Collie and overweight isn’t a good combination.  I am hopeful that along with his meds this special formula, made with real chicken will help him to drop a few pounds and overall stay healthy.  One of the cool things about deciding which one of the Purina® Pro Plan® dog foods to purchase is the MYPLAN recommendation page.  It offers a short survey about your dog and gives suggestions as to which food will be best for each individual dog in your family, and a coupon for a FREE bag of dog food!   Visit the Purina® Pro Plan® MyPLAN website to get your dog’s MyPLAN recommendation and a rebate offer for a free bag of Purina® Pro Plan® Dry Dog Food (4-6lbs, up to $18.99.) Good only in U.S.A. A.P.O’s, F.P.O’s. Void where taxed, prohibited, restricted. Allow 6-8 weeks for shipment. LIMIT ONE REQUEST PER INDIVIDUAL, ADDRESS, or EMAIL ADDRESS. Offer expires 04/30/2015. See full terms.

Both of my dogs like to retrieve, but of course Ziggy is the most unrelenting when it comes to chasing after a ball or his favorite red fire hydrant toy.  He will go fetch and bring it back until the cows come home – if we had cows.  With his weight gain he tires out quicker than he did in the past, I’m hoping with the Purina® Pro Plan and daily walks he’ll drop a few pounds and gain back some of his energy.  You can see in the picture below how focused he is.  He follows my command to sit and look into my eyes as he waits for me to pitch the toy as far as I can.  I simply have to tell him “look” and he knows that means at me – in the eye!  This is the result of using clicker training.  If you aren’t familiar with clicker training google it  – if you have a new puppy you want to teach a few tricks I think this is the easiest way to do it.

My dogs most favorite activity is going for a walk – anywhere.  We can walk around the block, head to a beautiful park, hike into the woods, stroll around the lake, they love all of it.  A few weeks back I decided to take them for a quick walk around the neighborhood.  It was still February and very cold outside, so I bundled up, grabbed the leashes and off we went.  Little did I know what lay in store for me that afternoon.

Half a block from home we started to cross a fairly busy street, no cars were coming, Ziggy stopped right in front of me and I tripped, and tripped and tripped until I fell face first onto the pavement. This was not a pretty sight! Embarrassing, although I don’t think anyone saw my accident, and painful, I quickly got up and turned around to head right back home. I unleashed the dogs into the back yard and realized I was shaking like a leaf and trembling all over.

Feeling like something was wrong – I peeked inside my glove to see that my left hand was busted open. I removed the glove to discover that it was split open – BAD! Feeling light-headed and traumatized I grabbed a towel, stopped the bleeding and sat down! I of course, could not have anticipated THIS. Bottom line was I had to go get 8 stitches and miss our dinner reservations that night.

My hand has healed, although I do have a scar now – which with time will fade. The next day my right arm and shoulder hurt very badly and it continued to do so for over a week. Realizing how lucky I was that my face hadn’t hit the ground, a hip wasn’t broken, I still had all my teeth, and my head had not come into contact with the street, I figured I’d taken quite a spill and would be sore for a while. Fast forward – one month later my right arm was still causing me a good deal of pain and it just wouldn’t move everywhere it should…I went to an orthopedic for an x-ray. Guess what? – my arm is broken. The doc was pleased to inform me that it doesn’t need surgery, but advised not to lift even a milk carton with my right hand – once again I did not expect this! It will heal on it’s own as the bone is broken but not dislodged. Whew – I will recover fully in the next few months and I will walk my dogs still…one at a time for now!

Got a great dog story – share it with my readers in the comments section.  If you have pics of your dogs to share please do so on my Facebook page – I’d love to see them and hear your stories!