gila

I know! Badass tattooed pug! My brother bought it for me :D

2/52 This singlet.

1/52 Rambles with my dog. Also the word 'ramble'...

Thanks I'll check it out :)

Argh ok I've decided to do 52 weeks of happy. But they'll just be iPhone pics and I have to figure out how to get them up here straight from my phone...

I know she's a girl, but I think she looks like a 'Derek'. As in Zoolander. She has the same 'blue steel' face in all those pics :D

I took my dog in for a blood test yesterday and the vet didn't ask whether he'd eaten that day or not, so I assume it doesn't matter.

As a groomer I will put my hand up and say I'm 'lazy' about grooming! I don't care about hair around the house, but when I'm not at work I don't want to have to spend ages grooming my own dog. So for me, grooming requirements would still factor in to my choice of breed. I'd much rather have a poodle (I do genuinely have a soft spot for them) that I can just clip off regularly, than a dog with a big double coat that needs lots of brushing and combing.

Yeh, that's cats! :laugh:

It's always fun when you can hide known commands in a full sentence to make other people think your dog understands English. Last night I casually said to Spencer, "Hey Spence, can you do me a favour and go get my socks?". And he did :D

My boy's were done last Wednesday much to his disgust. In my two years grooming, I've seen lots of overgrown nails, but none that bad thank god! A few dew claws which were almost growing into the pad. It's amazing what people "don't notice" on their dogs. Overgrown nails, poo encrusted butt, terrible sores under matted hair, ears that are so badly infected they're oozing pus... Bloody disgusting

Whenever my dog complains about not being fed enough, I tell him I "starve" him because I love him lol. I see enough fat dogs at work (grooming an obese golden retriever is great for your back ), I don't want to see one when I get home too! The cat is the real pig though. Since the morning he was fed breakfast three times by three different people, I've taken on sole feeding responsibilities for him. Although I'm pretty sure my dad sneaks him extra tidbits still..

The most annoying thing would have to be Spence insisting I go through doorways first. He'll happily trot in front of me up the hallway and then STOP suddenly at the doorway and either stand in the way or back up to let me go first, tangling himself up in my legs in the process. Our doorway conversations usually go something like this: Spencer: After you my dear... Me: Go! GO! Just go through the f*#&$% door!

That's like the face Spence pulls when I tell him "gentle" (ie. don't swallow my hand along with the treat)!

Welcome to the thread gila. :) Yeah, it can be hard to find opportunities for LAT especially if you really need the dogs to be off leash for Spencer. If you get really stuck you could try what I did with Justice and stand outside a fenced dog park where he can still see the dogs running off leash but there's no risk of them getting to him. Just don't be as stupid as me and actually set foot inside the park! Good luck with conditioning the muzzle. I imagine it takes a bit for dogs to get used to them. Does he need the muzzle because you're scared he might hurt another dog or is it more to ease the stress on both of you so you can relax and not have to worry as much if dog does barrel up to you? Both are perfectly good reasons for using a muzzle, I was just curious since it didn't sound from your description like Spencer's actually going after dogs to hurt them. Thanks Snook. Unfortunately we don't have any dog parks around here, only general use parks where dogs are allowed off leash. And I've had no luck finding any off leash dogs this week. Murphy's law I guess :laugh: The muzzle is an effort to get people to keep their dogs away from Spence. It's a pretty obvious warning to all those "It's ok, she/he's friendly" people that Spence isn't 'friendly'. I could have used it the other week when a lady let her dog run up to Spencer. I stepped in front to block the dog; Lady: she's friendly!. Spence: GROWL. Lady: Oh.

Ok I think I better stop lurking around in this thread and join in! My boy Spence isn't particularly bad, he only reacts to off-lead dogs after being rushed at several times over the years. He knows leashed dogs can't get to him and ignores them with a snooty "you are unworthy of my attention" look on his face :laugh: His reaction to off-lead dogs has escalated a bit over the last year - staring, ears and tail up, hackles up, growling. I don't mind him telling a dog to bugger off if it gets in his face, but don't want him to anticipate an approach and get defensive. After reading this thread I took him out yesterday intending to practise LAT. Gorgeous day in Melb and I expected heaps of dogs to be around. Nope. A few being walked on lead. Two dogs off-lead but the owners put them back on lead when they saw us coming. Which is awesome, but only gave us a few seconds to play LAT :laugh: I'm also re-conditioning the muzzle. I didn't do it right the first time and Spence ended up not liking it very much.

Is it more common in entire males? I hate 'finding' it when I put my arm under a dog's hindquarters to stop it sitting when I'm grooming

I do a set of sit to stand exercises with my dog everyday. They're like squats for dogs. They use the muscles in their hind legs to push up into a stand. Try not to let him take too many steps forward as he does it and it'll be more effective.

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this I really enjoyed getting to know Riley during 52WFD last year

My boy gets Cartrophen injections for his arthritis. Initial course was one injection a week for 4 weeks, and now he only gets one injection every three months. I pay about $25 dollars for the injection and my vet doesn't charge a consult fee if we're just there for the Cartrophen. Although x-rays show Spence has quite bad arthritis in his hips, he doesn't really show any symptoms like stiffness etc. The only way to tell with him is his gait when walking. Before the Cartrophen he paced during walks, since starting the injections he trots :)

OMG I thought my dog was the only one! Spence will literally leap to the side to avoid stepping in dog poo when I'm walking him. It's not fear though, it's pure disgust :laugh: One thing Spence is absolutely terrified of is the beeping sound the smoke alarm makes when it's running low on battery. His pupils dilate so much his eyes look black, he scrunches up against the nearest person and shivers and shakes. I've never seen him react that way to anything else.

Snook your selfie is awesome! I agree with fattima, you always portray really genuine emotion in your photos. And I admire anyone who goes to the gym, I'd be way too intimidated lol 5/52 - I'm terrified of dying. Not because I'd be dead, but because someone might read my journal when I'm gone :laugh:

Love your week 5 Huga! 4/52 - in desperate need of a haircut!

3/52

I agree with Helen, wow! Those eight minutes made all the difference in the world. Gorgeous!