Dog Song Saturday: Old Blue by The Byrds

Take a moment to enjoy a song about dogs because it's Dog Song Saturday at Talking Dogs.  Time to relax, unwind, and spend some quality time with your dog(s).  Kick off your weekend with Old Blue performed by the Byrds in 1969.  Old Blue is accompanied by a beautiful music video slide show of dog photographs and art that any dog lover is sure to enjoy.  If you want to sing along, the lyrics are right there, too.So, grab a dog.  Sit.  Stay.  Relax and enjoy today's dog song, Old Blue. Then be sure to scroll down below the dog music video to explore some barking good dog and cat blogs because today is a Pet Blogger H...

Long Term Shelter Dogs: Part 2 How Long is Too Long?

My brain is on overload with all the things I want to be able to say in this post, including my response to questions and issues raised in the comments yesterday about Hailey, a long term shelter dog.First of all, when I read the article about Hailey in my newsletter from Dogwood Animal Shelter, I immediately wanted to know more. I clicked to their website and read more about her.  Then I surfed to Petfinder only to discover no photos of Hailey and another reference to Black Dog Syndrome.What stunned me about Hailey was that she's spent all but 2 months of her eight years of life in a shelter.   She's not alone.  Over the years I've read about other dogs who have spent years in various animal shelters waiting for a forever home.  I'm aware of some shelters and rescues that...

Long Term Shelter Dogs: How Long is Too Long?

Yesterday I received my e-newsletter from Dogwood Animal Shelter.  Dogwood is the no kill animal shelter we adopted Jeffie from after finding him on Petfinder.  They are 100% privately financed through donations and their thrift shop, where we periodically take donations.  Each Dogwood newsletter highlights cool things donated to the thrift shop and special sales, fund raising events for the animal shelter, and pets available for adoptions.  Which leads me to this blog post.Like most animal shelters and rescue, Dogwood is coping with more animals than they have space for.  In February they ran an adoption special...

Wordless Wednesday: It's Spring at Talking Dogs

Jeffie can't help but smile;  it's spring!Listening to the neighbor who's spreading fertilizer on his fields and trying to catch a good whiff!Skeeter couldn't care less... there are crunchies to munch!Can you smell these cherry blossoms?Have a barking good d...

HUGE Pet Adoption Event in Kansas City March 30 - April 1

This is no early April Fool's Day joke!  If you live near the Kansas City area, don't miss the KC Megamatch Adoption Event.  Three animal shelters are working together for this amazing national pet adoption event March 30 through April 1, 2012. All adoptions will be $25 and include spay / neuter surgery, current vaccinations and microchipping!  Sponsored by the ASPCA, participating animal shelters are:  Heartland SPCA, KC Pet Project and Wayside Waifs.  For more information visit the KC Megamatch Adoption Event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kcmegama...

Adopt a Horse

Always wanted a horse or pony of your own?  Believe in rescue?  Take a look at Jester.  He's a gelded brown Pony and Tennessee Walking Horse cross that is looking for a forever home.Jester was born at Longmeadow Rescue Ranch on April 1, 2010.  His mother was rescued from a terrible situation and not long in her pregnancy at that time.  Luckily the good folks at Longmeadow had time to get her healthy before she gave birth.  She has already been adopted and now her colt, Jester, is available for adoption.Jester is currently 13.2 hands high and may only grow to be a large pony size.  At only two years old, he's young and very playful.  Jester loves people and always is on the lookout for a pat from people passing by.If you have room in your heart and in...

Dog Song Saturday: Cha Cha Chihuahua

It's Saturday, so time for a dog song at Talking Dogs.  Today's song about dogs is Cha Cha Cha Chihuahua and is accompanied by a slide show video of adorable Chihuahua dogs and the lyrics for this cute song.Grab a dog.  Sit. Stay. Get ready to smile.  Relax and enjoy Cha Cha Cha Chihuahua.  Fetch more dog songs at Talking Dogs to get your weekend started right.  Then be sure to scroll down below today's dog song music video to explore some barking good dog blogs because today is a Pet Blogger Hop! document.write('');...

Missouri Puppy Mill Legislation and Farmers Wake-up Call

What do puppy mills have to do with farmers?  Plenty, as evidenced by the recent campaigns to institute new puppy mill and commercial dog breeding laws in Missouri.  My own rural Ozarks neighborhood was filled with campaign signs warning that the government would soon be telling you how many horses, cattle, hogs, and other livestock you may own and how they must be cared for.  You may recall my own remarks about Missouri's Prop B and farmers during the campaign.Missouri puppy mill compromise legislation was passed and many Missouri commercial dog breeders have gone out of business.  At the same time, Missouri farmers...

Wordless Wednesday: Airing Out the Dog Paws in the Spring

I think we might all be able to agree that our Talking Dogs young yellow Lab, Rudy, is cute.  However, not everything Rudy actually does, is cute.Here's Rudy enjoying a beautiful spring day from the comfort of our home.  From this spot he can keep an eye on the yard and be ready at a moment's notice to defend his kingdom.Notice that Rudy has altered the screen on the patio door to allow his paws to air out and allow his nose first class access to all the sights and smells of the outdoors...  while still being able to lounge comfortably on a rug indoors.  Can't deny it - Rudy's a creative fellow. &nb...

Eating Raw Chicken (Winry)

And here's Winry, taken a few minutes after Ferguson. I think she equally enjoyed her treat!...

The Chicken Feeding (Ferguson)

Edited for the sake of time. I think it took him about 9 minutes to consume the wing and chicken...shoulder/half back? I'll continue working on Winry's to post soon. I'll let you know now: their eating techniques are somewhat different! Winry's problem solving skills shine :). That's okay though. Ferguson's expressions are pretty funny while he eats ^_^....

The first raw purchase

In the past, my parents were nice enough to buy several turkey necks from a local turkey farm. They only did it once and bought $20 worth, but it lasted quite a while. I gave Ferguson a neck every week or so, but beyond those occasional necks, I never gave any more raw food. I've recently done a lot more thinking and research on raw food, or at least what goes into my dog's food and battling with finding reasonable costs. As you may know from my previous posts, Ferguson had really started to lose his luster for kibble. And can you blame him? How could you be excited for brown pebbles every day of your life? Unfortunately, paying for raw,...

March is Black Dog Month: Adopt a Coonhound!

March is Black Dog Month at the Humane Society of Missouri.  They're celebrating with an adoption special!  Save $50 when you adopt an adult black dog.  The dog must be 6 months or older and 35+ pounds.  In addition to the $50 savings on adoption fees, the adopter will receive an official Black Dog Club t-shirt.View black dogs available for adoption online or visit any of the HSMO shelter locations to find your new best friend:Macklind Avenue Headquarters Center in St Louis City (1201 Macklind Ave), Cheterfield Valley Center (17357 Edison Ave),  Westport Area Center in Maryland Heights (2400 Drilling Service Road).Fetch...

Dog Song Saturday: Border Collie Puppy Irish Dancing

Not only is it Saturday, so time for a dog song at Talking Dogs, but it's St Patrick's Day!  Are you ready for a little Irish dancing?  Well, today's dog song is Little Pack of Tailors performed by Irish musician Michael Black. Listen closely to the lyrics to find out what happens to the dog.  It's accompanied by a charming video of a nine week old Border Collie puppy doing his version of Riverdance.  Seriously!Grab a dog!  Sit.  Stay.  Relax and let your toes tap to Little Pack of Tailors. Happy St Patrick's Day!    Be sure to scroll down below today's dog song music video to explore some barking good dog blogs because today is a Pet Blogger Hop!...

New Lost Pets Resource in St Louis Missouri Area

Image: Animal Care ArlingtonThere's a new resource for folks who have lost their pets in the St Louis, Missouri area.  STL Lost Pets is a collaborative effort by the Animal Protective Association (APA), St Louis County Animal Care & Control, and the Humane Society of Missouri.If you've lost a pet, you can search their comprehensive list of Found Dogs and Found Cats which include photographs.  You can also contact local shelters (exhaustive list of contacts provided) and submit a Lost Pet Report.STL Lost Pets offers this advice for anyone looking for a lost pet:Start looking immediately.  Do not assume that your pet will "come...

Wordless Wednesday: Dog Treats Begging Technique

Jeffie and Rudy demonstrate their dog treat attraction skills.Rudy has developed an excellent hopeful demeanor......with no trace of over confidence, which usually results in an "aww..." from the human.1, 2, 3 ... all together now:  Awww...give that poor, sweet boy a dog cookie.A close up of the key ingredient in Rudy's (highly successful) techniq...

My Dogs In Points

Don't get me wrong, I love both of my dogs. But it is interesting to see their differences, strengths and weaknesses on a day to day basis. I thought I might put them into little categories to tallie and see what they are on paper...er...text format. So, off the top of my head from morning-evening:Sleeping In:They both get points for this and are awesome. Something I try very hard to not take for granted is how my dogs will allow me to sleep in as late as I like and are content sleeping until noon if need be. F: 1 W: 1Pottying:While they're both *pretty* good, Ferguson I can trust whole-heartedly to do his thing without me supervising his every move. He also is not affected by things like rain and does his duty without complaint. Winry...the rain is not her friend, and she requires...

Mr. Chewy Online Pet Food Retailer: Product Review

We love Mr. Chewy!  Mr. Chewy is an online pet food retailer offering over 70 brands and subscription based ordering for hassle free delivery.  They ship throughout the continental US and offer free shipping for any order over $49.A couple of weeks ago Mr. Chewy offered us a special $50 promotional code to use on their website in exchange for an honest review of their services.  We were happy to agree.Living in a very rural area, we have limited resources for pet food.  When we switched to natural, human grade ingredient dog kibble a few years ago our options were extremely limited.  In fact, there were only a couple...

Winry's Got More Than Looks!

She's got smarts! This video is literally the first time I ever tried any form of targeting with her. There are a few points that detail minor confusion (or boredom, if you can tell which), but I'm impressed with how fast she picked up on it! I've been practicing a while with Ferguson, and while he's mostly got it, he doesn't seem to understand that me asking him to "touch" does not require him to sit or lay down on his side (his go-to tricks for appeasing me). So, this makes it a little harder. In any case, Winry has proven herself quite capable! I look forward to continuing to work with her on fun stuff in the future ^_^....