My Yellow Lab Ranger

My Boy Ranger

Ranger is everything I could ask for in a dog. After 9 years of having to cross the street to avoid dogs (My Bella was not always so cordial to other dogs) I get to cross the street to say hi to them as Ranger LURVES other dogs. He is also extremely mellow, sometime borderlining on being catatonic. On walks he sometimes even lags behind; there’s nothing wrong with him, he’s just taking his time. That is until he sees another dog, or gets a chance to go off leash, in which case he’ll either perk up or take off like the wind. We have to keep an eye on him at all times. It may be how he ended up in the pound in the first place.

Ranger can also be somewhat reserved. You can tell he loves people, and gets super excited to see new people but I don’t think he was coveted in his old home or showered with love like he is now. He just doesn’t know what to do with that kind of attention and there have been times in the last two months where I have said to myself, I don’t even think this dog likes me. I mean Bella was 80lbs of emotive love; I clearly got spoiled. Ranger’s aloofness has thrown me for loop.  How dog-co-dependent am I?

 But I think I’m bringing him over to the dark side. This weekend we spent a lot of time together. We took many long walks and cuddled quite a bit. When I ran home this morning because I forgot my glasses, he just looked at me with those big chocolate eyes as if to say “I love you Mommy, how can you leave me (with the housekeeper who gives me treats and takes me for walks.”)

Me & Woody circa 1979

While this little vignette is everything the dog whisperer would despise, and I don’t advise others to create such co-dependent dogs–as my mother says, do as i say, not as i do–I felt it to be a cherished moment; a milestone in a distinguished line of loved, spoiled Rosenfeld dogs that go back to the 1970′s.

Bookmark It

Check Out My Guest Blog Post on BargainBabe.com

Click here to visit Bargainbabe.com!

I recently connected with a great blogger. Her name is Julia, AKA The BargainBabe.

Her blog, BargainBabe.com offers excellent advice about how remain fabulous while keeping on your budget. I will be doing some guest posts for her in the upcoming month about how to save money when it comes to all things dog!

Click the photo to ready my first contribution!

Bookmark It

Should Bo Obama Be Considered A Rescue?

Yesterday I wrote about Bo Obama- the girls named him Bo– and referred to him as a rescue dog. I actually struggled with whether I should add the words “sort of” at the end of that statement. Ultimately I left it off and now I regret it.

While Bo was given back to the breeder, something that happens a lot with puppies (FYI a sign of a good breeder is whether or not they will take a dog back,  so I am at least grateful that they found a decent ethical breeder) I realize that I don’t think their bringing Bo into the White House is in sync with what was promised– that they would rescue a dog. Sorry, but no matter how much I have been behind Obama, I can’t quite buy that a dog from The Kennedy’s chosen breeder should be consider a rescued dog.

Reports indicate that The Obamas will donate to the Humane Society, but to me actions speak louder than words, and in this case money. The donation is  a consolation prize and while a nice sentiment, it will be but a blip on the Obama dog radar. Rather Bo will be around for a long time, and people will think in order to get a good, worthy dog they must get a breeder dog.

And lest anyone claim it was an issue of allergies, there are hundreds of dog dying in shelters around the country every day who are just as hypo-allergenic as Bo Obama.

I am sad and extremely disappointed in the example The Obamas are setting.

Bookmark It

My own Marley & Me

Sitting in bed last night watching TV, I had an ah-ha moment…I have adopted my own Marley.

Marley & Me

It’s amazing, and in fact borderline embarrassing that it never occurred to me before. Ranger is not only the spitting image of Marley but he is also quite a mischevious puppy!  He isn’t as the destructive as his fellow Yellow Lab brother Marley, but Ranger’s puppy personality is a’coming out, so the jury may still be out on that one!

When we first got Ranger a few weeks ago, he was playful but quite happy with our routine of a few long walks everyday. But no more!

Yesterday, Ranger went on his morning walk with me. Spent the day with my Mom who took him on two long walks and then he accompanied me to a meeting after work.

Ranger with my Parents' Dogs

When we stopped at my parent’s house after the meeting, you’d have thought he had been kept in a cage all day! He ran around the yard doing circles and scooting along the grass like a crazy man. It was what I call a puppy fit, but of course Ranger is supposed to be closer to middle age than puppyhood. 

But maybe, again like his kin Marley, the lab that never grew up; maybe this is who Ranger is? And if that is so, we will love him and exercise him accordingly, because if I’ve learned one thing in all my rescue work, dog book writing, and time with Bella…
A GOOD DOG IS A TIRED DOG!!!

Bookmark It

Make Your Bed on The Cheap!

Bella has gone through many doggie beds in her time, and whenever I’ve needed a new one, I’ve always tried to strike the right balance between durability, price and of course cuteness. I’ve tried the more affordable ones but they are almost always disappointing- oddly bunchy, ugly patterns, and of course quick to fall apart.  However for her size, a decent dog bed can be well over 100 dollars sometimes up to 250 dollars. Who has that kind of cash right now!

Why are Dog Bed's So Pricey?

So frustrating, particularly when dog beds should be so simple to make! It’s just circles and squares, right?

Being a little on the crafty side, I decided to see what kind of dog bed patterns I could find. I headed out to the fabric store and took a look at their offerings. The patterns looked simple enough on the package, So I bought them and brought them home, where upon a little more investigation- i.e. opening the package to find 7 zillion pieces and directions that made no sense, I decided to take a new approach— I got online and Googled “easy dog bed pattern”. Google really is a dog owner’s best friend.

Sadly my favorite pattern is no longer available online- if you need it I’ll send it to you, by email (betsy@lovethydog.com). But here are a two extremely simple, affordable and fun patterns for the crafty yet- skill challenged among us.

1. Take an old pillow case, stuff with a blanket or an old pillow. Sew in the stuffing, or put velcro on the ends to remove the pillow when needed. Just stuff and stitch.

2. Cut out two large circles of fabric (fleece is a very forgiving and cozy fabric but you can use most any fabrics- even try a towel).  To get a nice round circle, create a pattern using your newspaper. On the edge of the paper draw a semi-circle- the radius of the circle will depend on how big your dog is. Take the semi-circle pattern and lay it down on your fabric folded in half. Then cut around the pattern. When you open the fold you have a nice complete circle. Do it again and you have two. Simply sew the edges, leaving a little space so that you can stuff. Turn inside out so the seam is on the inside and then stuff. You can use  traditional stuffing which can get pricey, or you can get creative. Use old blankets, towels, even sock. I’ve have gone to discount stores (99cent store, Marshall’s, Anna’s Linens) and bought pillows. I took the stuffing out and used it to stuff my dog beds. Sew up the gap where you stuffed and while it might not be the most perfect thing you’ve ever seen, it’s cozy and dogs love these beds!

Bella on Her Homemade Bed!

Bookmark It

The Bella Report

One week after radiation Bella is doing so well!

She is still limping a little bit, but it is truly incredible to see how much the radiation therapy has helped to ease her pain. I have to admit I was somewhat suspect of the procedure. But really, there is a noticeable difference.  I am very grateful to  Dr. Lyons at The Veterinary Cancer Group.

Bella

Today Bella insisted on walking all the way around the block, tried to chase some pigeons and somehow convinced my boyfriend to feed her an extra meal.  Bella was already a master at giving that puppy dog look. But now she’s upped her manipulation game; adding to her repertoire with a new look that somehow screams, but Mom,  I have cancer… you can’t not give me that treat, that spot on the couch, that spot on the bed, that last piece of your bagel, a little bite of your chicken, and so on and so and so on. But of course, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

B&B

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive.  Now go on and spoil your dog  like I spoil Bella. That way I won’t feel as though I’m the biggest pushover dog mom I know. 

P.S. Isnt’ this the greatest picture of me and girl? My friend Kristin Chalmers took it. She lives in Boston now and she is an amazing photographer. So if you live there check her out at http://www.kristinchalmersphoto.com/.

Have a Great Weekend! 

B&B

Bookmark It

luna and betsy take flight

my cousin called me last week and said, “hi b, want to go to new york and pick up a puppy?” um, well of course i do: A. she said PUPPY!!!! and B. and really most importantly my grandmother who lives in NYC turns 96 years old in a few weeks and i relish every opportunity to see her.
ok back to the PUPPY part. as a rescuer, i am not into breeder dogs. but when you’ve tried to get people to adopt dogs for an extended period of time and they consistently resist, it’s sometimes best to embrace one of my favorite mantras:  “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. meaning i’ve tried to get my friend/family/coworker (in this case my cousin) to adopt for the longest time, and it’s not happening. so at least lets make sure the dog is coming from a good breeder-which it is (one who supports rescue, works hard to keep the integrity of the breed, requires thorough background check, and who cares for their dogs etc.) and lets make sure that dog is raised with tons of love and training so it never has to be rescued or re-homed in the future- which i know it will be.

conveniently, and truly i had the opportunity to have some very important meetings in nyc. so with a work purpose, a puppy purpose and a family purpose i got on a plane on thursday and jetted to nyc.

i worked all day on friday, hung out with my boyfriend on saturday and at 5:00pm a little bundle of golden retriever love arrive at my grandmother’s apartment. her name is luna…the plan was to get her, chill for the night at my gran’s and then get up to go to jfk at 7:30ish for a 10:00 flight. well that was the plan anyway.

when it was time to go to bed, luna, wasn’t all that interested in sleeping-not in her bag, not in bed with me, not anywhere without snooping around an apartment that was NOT meant for puppies. art, oriental rugs, vintage furniture… and where there weren’t fragile items there were dangerous ones- power cords, heaters etc.

i got luna to sleep in her bag for about 90 minutes, all the while i only slept at about 40%. waiting to see if she slept, if she made noises, if she cried. all of which she did until that point when it was clear she wanted to be awake. we went back to the kitchen which i had determined to be a safe zone (confined and easy clean up) and she romped around; played with her toys and generally acted beyond the valley of adorable. soon,  i got to the point of crossed-eyed fatigue and i simply had to figure out a way to sleep without worry about her destroying anything or hurting herself.

staring at a paired down 1950′s kitchen with a cold, hard linoleum floor.  i thought have i totally lost my mind that i am contemplating dragging out the duvet and sleeping on the ground to accomodate not only the puppy but the other people sleeping in the apartment who would surely be awoken by her cries.  so i compromised. i hijacked the 1950′s mattress from the back bedroom and dropped it down onto the floor. i was asleep as was luna, on my head by the way, within minutes.

we stayed that way for about 2+ hours until it was uppy time! ugh. i got up and went back to the kitchen as luna romped and played with her toys. while she made a few substantial pees around, which i over course cleaned up handily, she walked around in cirles squatting intermittently without generating more than a quick squirt of what appeared to be cloudy pee.  this wasn’t marking behavior. it seemed that she really needed to go, but couldn’t. being a girl, it’s quite easy to identify this behavior as indicative of a bladder infection! ugh. they are so painful.

with the prospect of a 6 hour flight in approximately 7 hours, i felt that to be on the safe side luna needed to be seen by a doctor. how horrible for her to have to be cooped up on a plane with a urinary tract infection. i then hesistated for a bit; maybe i was being an overreactive jewish dog guardian. maybe i should just watch her for bit and see. she then squatted and didn’t potty about 4 more times. i knew i had to go.

i got online and googled 24 hour emergency vet and my gran’s nyc zip code. within minutes we were at the Animal Veterinary Medical Clinic. (by the way shout out to them- they were amazing).

i sat in the waiting room for about 2 hours with luna talking to other patients’ worried parents. i giggled with another golden’s mommy and cried with a sweet police office while i helped him make the decision about whether or not it was time to put his dog to sleep. sadly it was.

luna meanwhile was chilling. making friends and giving kisses to the support staff until the vet was available. the vet’s name was alicia and she took amazing care of luna. after a night of extremely depressed cases, a puppy with a UTI was a gift for her. a shot of pain meds and antibiotics we were on our way back home just in time for the alarm to go off to wake us up to go to the airport!

andre, my ever patient, ever wonderful boyfriend drove us to jfk for the flight. walking through the terminal we couldn’t walk 2 feet without an oohh or an ahhh! luna was a star. and i exploited up every bit of that attention to keep her awake; idea being if she’s awake now she’ll hopefully sleep on the plane!

and so she did for about 3 hours at which point it was uppy-up time. thankfully luna and i had the most amazing flight crew on american airlines- shout out to dana in particular! although it is way way way against policy luna spent the second 3 hours of the plane giving kisses and entertaining the passengers and crew.

it was indeed one of the best trips i’ve ever had across the country. especially because on the other end i was able to deliver my newest niece to her loving family!

Bookmark It