Wordless Wednesday: Hailey and Lucie

The Biggest Loser - Pet Edition: Week Two

Welcome to the second installment of the Biggest Loser - Pet Edition!

I have cut way back to almost no treats. Addie is clearly missing them. She has never been real treat motivated, but I did notice a difference during training. When we went to obedience class last week Addie was drooling at the smell of a tiny little treat that she will occasionally get during training class. She typically does not do this. Poor baby!



It sure does feel longer than only one week! Keep up the good work contestants!

Tip of the Week

I found a web site that is pretty helpful. It is hosted by Science Diet. They provide:

• Online tools to track your pets weight loss
• Helpful tips and e-tools
• Exercise suggestions
• Pet fit challenge - we signed up and it shows all of the other pups out there that are trying to lose weight
  

Personally, I don't use Science Diet (this is not a paid plug for them), I use Royal Canin but the site is really cool! I would recommend that if you use this site, do not just go by what their prebuilt weight loss generator suggests. For Addie it seems like it suggested a lot of weight for her to lose. We will be watching her weight loss along with our vet to ensure that she is kept healthy.

http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/member/preRegistration.hjsp

Too Sweet

 

  

Hailey discovered that Addie's tail is the perfect place to take a nap!

Lucie's Stitches and Hailey's First Bath

 

Saturday afternoon we removed the bandages on Lucie's legs. The stitches look great and are healing nicely. Lucie had been leaving her legs alone, until the bandages came off. We only have her wear the e collar when we are not watching her every move. But I discovered something last night. I had put e collar on her. I then watched her reach back around and lick her leg. 

Hmmmm... I know that she has long legs but really... now what?!

The vet had said to remove the bandages after 48 hours and to leave them off if everything looked good so that they would heal better. I will continue to place the e collar on her when we go to bed. She is still not use to the collar yet and doesn't move around much when she has it on. When she does move she wakes me up each time so I will know if she is chewing on them. Has anyone had this happen before? I put it on just like it was on her when she first came home after surgery.

A few bloggers had some questions that I thought I would catch up on. Our vet recommended that we spay Lucie between 5 and 6 months old before she goes into her first heat cycle. We always have all of our dogs spayed. I wouldn't have it any other way. Addie was spayed at the same time when she was a pup. 

The Great Pyrenees breed has dewclaws. Most owners with litters remove the dewclaws a few days after they are born. It does not hurt them at all when they are this young which is when Addie's were removed. Lucie on the other hand did not have hers removed when she was a pup. To avoid a terrible accident of her getting the dewclaw nail stuck in something and then having it rip out the entire nail, we had the back ones removed. 

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Hailey is fitting in just fine! She LOVES Addie and Lucie. She chases them across the yard and it is just adorable! They are learning their boundaries with how small she is. I have an exercise pen set up outside in the yard and in her room so she can play with no worries. But she doesn't like to be very far from the big girls now. She slept great last night with only a little crying here and there. Hailey will be 13 weeks old in a few days and weights 4.5 lbs. Compared to Addie's 69 and Lucie's 40 you would think that Hailey would be intimidated by our big girls, but she isn't at all!  I would love to here from other families out there with large and mini dogs on how things run in your house with the size differences. This is new territory for us so we could use all of the advice that we get.

Camera Critters - Introducing Hailey

 our mini Dachshund!
Our family is complete once again...





Visit lots of furry creatures at Camera Critters and join in on the fun!

Doing Better...

 

Thank you for your suggestions!

I purchased the inflatable e collar.

  

Addie has been worried about Lucie since she came home yesterday. She actually liked this collar on Lucie.

  

  

 

Take a look and see how it worked...

Not as good as I was hoping. When I was inflating it I couldn't get the plastic thing to stay closed so I used duct tape to hold it down. She was easily able to reach back and touch her back legs.

 

Unfortunately for Lucie, it is back to the regular e collar for now...

 

Here is what Lucie thinks about this collar.

That lamp shade is like a megaphone! Addie is terrified of Lucie in this collar.

I'm going to ask our vet about the Rescue Remedy. It sounds really interesting. It is my hope that Lucie sleeps better with the cone on this evening. I need some sleep tonight.

I'm going to apologize up front for falling behind in my blog visiting. I really have my hands full right now and tomorrow we will have some very exciting news to share with all of our friends. I promise to visit as soon as I can. I hope everyone understands.

Lucie Got Spayed...

and had her back dewclaws removed yesterday. Our Vet and the staff at Family Pet Care made Lucie's experience the best it could be. They just love her and took care of her like she was their own pup.

Lucie had a long night coming out of the anesthesia, but she is going great!

She is the most pitiful thing in her E collar. She will have to wear it when we can't watch her or be with her for 10 days. If anyone has any advice on how to make sleeping pleasant in one of these collars, please let me know. We set up an exercise pen in our bedroom to give her more space than she would have in her kennel, but I ended up sleeping on the floor with her so she wouldn't cry.

Joanie Needs Our Help!

 

I saw this today and it is just heartbreaking. I can't look at these pictures without tearing up. Please send this sweet girl all your good vibes/prayers and if you can spare a few dollars she could really use them right now. Here is her story which took place only a half hour from where we live...

Joan of Ark, "Joanie" was discovered near a roadside in Denton and picked up by Animal Services, who transferred her to Noah's Ark Animal Shelter in Gainesville.  She was nearly starved to death, dehydrated and was so weak she could not even stand up for more than a minute or two.  The vet said she was the worst case of emaciation he had ever seen in a living dog.  She has no visible muscle mass and is literally skin and bones.  We don't know how this happened, but Joanie is one tough little dachshund.  She's learning to trust people again, and has learned that everyone who encounters her now wants to shower her with love and compassion.  Because she is so thin and frail, she eats small meals throughout the day.  She will need some dental work at some point in the future, but that will have to wait until she's whole again.  Her blood work came back showing anemia, but amazingly there were no signs of illness or renal failure.  She is also heartworm NEGATIVE, much to everyone's surprise.  She is now taking short walks outside for brief potty breaks, then she settles down for a nap in her soft little bed, covered in blankets.

Please visit her web page http://www.atdr.org/info/display?PageID=6597 

at All Texas Dachshund Rescue Inc. for more information or to make a donation.

We have made our contribution and we hope that it helps to improve her life.

This sweet baby deserves it!

 

 

The Biggest Loser - Pet Edition: Week One

Welcome to the first installment of the Biggest Loser - Pet Edition!
The idea for this came from a comment that Stella left on our Camera Critters - Bones post. Stella shared with us that she was going on a diet too, so we thought that it sure would be more fun to do this with friends than all alone. Thank you Stella for getting my creative juices flowing!

Meet the Participants

Stella at 61 lbs

 

Kylie at 63.2 lbs

Suzuki at 36.82 lbs

Mason Dixie at 71.6 lbs

  

Tank at 25 lbs

  

Summer at 52 lbs 

  

Aki at 80.3 lbs

Addie at 69 lbs

Our goal is to shed some pounds in a healthy manor and support each other in the process.

We will post weight updates every other week for a total of nine weeks along with helpful tips and fun ways to exercise.

The pet that loses the highest percentage of weight to get them to a healthy weight will receive a special prize! All pets participating will also receive a special prize! Except Addie, her prize will be the weight that she loses.

Kylie's mom had a great idea to get the parents involved too! For the parents out there helping your pet, we will award a prize to the parent that catalogs the most steps during your pet's weight lose effort. Remember, your pet must be with you for your steps to count. 

Now, we know that a lot of our friends out there don't need to lose weight. But your support will be the key to helping us reach our goals. So, in addition to awarding prizes to the biggest losers, we will also award prizes to the most supportive pups and cats that encourage us to keep going each week! We even have a graphic that you can place on your blog to show your support. Just email us if you would like to receive it.


It's not too late to participate. Just email us your picture and current weight and we will set you up.  

Tip of the Week

When  starting an exercise program, if you have not been exercising already, start slow.

 Article Snapshot: Exercising With Your Dog

Exercising with your dog not only strengthens the bond you two share, it also helps control his weight and maintain a healthy heart, lungs and muscles.

As you exercise with your dog, consider his needs and present physical condition. Leisurely walks may be best for an older dog while a young dog has ample energy for a vigorous exercise program.

If your dog has more energy to expend than you do, teach him to fetch a ball or a flying disc. The activity may be just right for you and a challenging exercise for your dog.

For the entire article please visit http://www.purina.com/dogs/health/exercisingwithyourdog.aspx

Camera Critters - 5 month old Lucie and her Piggy

 

04/18/09

 

3/18/09

 

2/18/09

 

1/18/09

Visit lots of furry creatures at Camera Critters and join in on the fun!

Justice for Dasy

If you have not already seen Mona's post, please take a moment and stop over.  

Here is a little background:

This horrible story took place in Texas and Marcus Luttrell, an American hero, and fellow Texas neighbor needs our help to get justice for his dog DASY.

For those of you who might not know, Marcus Luttrell is a Navy Seal and is the "Lone Survivor" of the 2005 battle that that caused the largest loss of life in Navy Seal history. Dasy was given to him as puppy to help him recover from his horrendous wounds both physical and emotionally. She became a therapy dog so to speak. Dasy's name came to be when Marcus used the first letter if each of his fallen comrades to name her. She was killed by 4 young men driving around shooting dogs in the country recently.

Help give Dasy a voice. Review the petition and help give these criminals the maximum sentence! Anyone can help, you don't have to live in Texas.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/seals-dog-killed-give-criminals-maximum-sentence

Yappy Easter Everyone... here comes the sun!!!

The Easter Bunny spoiled Addie and Lucie!

 

 

Being that it is Easter, Addie was allowed to have a cookie from her basket and to open her Easter Eggs.

Lucie snacked on a cookie from her basket and enjoyed opening her eggs.

Addie and Lucie received a gift from their friends Morphy and Baylee. And look at the adorable card!

 

  

  

  

  

Thank You Very Much Morphy and Baylee!

  

  

 

Poor sheep... never stood a chance!

The weather has been rainy all day. Addie and Lucie sprinted around the yard in the mud, then Addie had to get her feet washed. Not sure how her feet get more dirty than Lucie's. But, the sun has finally come out so we are heading outside. We would like to wish everyone a very Yappy Easter!!!

Looking for Participants in the Biggest Loser Pet Edition

Has your beloved pet put on a few extra pounds this winter?

As you know from the post below, Addie has so I thought maybe we are not entirely alone. It sure would be more fun to work on this with other pups and cats out there.

presenting

THE BIGGEST LOSER PET EDITION

If you would like to join us in our quest to lose weight, please email us.

We will post weekly updates on all progress made by our participants.

Provide resources to help you reach your goal.

Provide prizes for the pets that lose the highest percentage of weight.

And most importantly, all of our furry friends will be in better health because they have lost weight!

Now, we know that a lot of our friends out there don't need to lose weight. But your support will be the key to helping us reach our goals. So, in addition to awarding prizes to the biggest losers, we will also award prizes to the most supportive pups and cats that encourage us to keep going each week!

So, let us know what you think!