More spring - Puppy almost 5 months old.

Another week another update - lucky ducks aren't you? :) Lots of pictures in this one so get ready!

My Magnolia tree is blooming! I love Spring, I really do. The weather has been great and I have been getting to the park with the kids every night after supper.
Little M took this picture - I don't think A knew what she was doing.

I caught S all curled up in her spot between the living room chairs and went looking for an old shot to compare it to, here is what I came up with:M Cat and S playing - I always find this very fun to watch:Took some shots of S outside today - she has been getting into my garden bed - I know how to fix it, just havn't gotten to it yet. I also actually caught a full roll in pictures so here it is:Then she stood up and looked all dignified:
Size shot for this week:

That's it for me - I have laundry to do.

Cass :)

Springtime puppy! Oh and little M as well :)

I love this first shot because you can see S has a real lab smile goin' on. We're on our way to the park and she's just happy to be going for a walk. We actually got S weighed this week and she's now just over 30 lbs - she'll be 5 months old on the 30th. Any guesses on her adult size will be noted - whoever is closest gets "I was right!" privileges :)I am pretty sure S's markings have settled now - she has a mix of Sheppard and Husky markings and her coat seems to be Lab all the way. Although it's not always clear in the pictures her overcoat is black but her undercoat is actually a light tan/white mix. The usual ottoman shot:S and M(the cat) still play lots. Unfortunately that means that M spend s a lot of time walking around with spitty fur.They really are just playing, honest!Little M also hangs out with S sometimes.

Of course I should always try to include some shots of my non-furry kids, so here are awake and asleep shots of little M.

Cass :)

More puppy love ... all for you :)

Everything is going well. I have been busy with a little Spring tidy and that is why my update is late. Yes Spring is here, yay!

The kids took this picture of S and I added a caption that I found amusing:S & the cat still get along fine, as long as kitty can get to the high ground every now and then:I love this sweet puppy, can you tell?S knows how to take up a lot of floor(yeah I know the carpet looks awful - we need a new area rug):And last - but not least size and face shots:

From my home to yours - that's the puppy update.

Cass :)

Three months of puppy ownership :)

Another week gone by and we are at the almost 3 month mark of owning S - Not much to say, she's lots of fun and I enjoy walking her and playing with her.
She's getting big!

Some cat & dog shots:
from Feb23

and today

Goofing with the cat


Pretty doggy pictures:

Usual Size pose:

Token cute puppy shot:

My puppy is 4 months old!

Yup our little tiny puppy that we brought home in January is 4 whole months old!I'd say she's pretty darn proud! She's still totally not going down the basement stairs, although I have a friend that doesn't blame her since she was almost too scared to go down my very steep basement stairs when she visited me recently :)Token child picture:Spring is coming but my yard is still 1/4 winter:S loves the yard and asks to go out often, here's a nice shot of her rolling in the leaves from last fall - the white stuff around her is not snow - it's toy stuffing :)I love the way the light catches S's coat and makes it shine, here's a very nice coat shine shot(say that 10 times fast!):

That's it for me - I had a very very busy day today and it's past time to put the kids to bed and myself to bed!

Cass :)

Dog food and disillusionment.

Who knew that getting a puppy and trying to feed her as well as possible would lead to so many issues for me. I think only I could turn something as seemingly simple as feeding a pet into yet another thing I do or want to do that is not mainstream.

As you know from my post "Have I become a dog food snob?" that we have done a lot of looking into pet foods since we got S because we want her to live as long or longer than Old Dog did. Now I don't want you to get me wrong, I think we are doing well by feeding S Orijen, she looks great, is growing well and has lots of energy. I have been reading tons of good things about feeding raw meats and raw bones to dogs and cats which is leading me, once again, to do things differently than everyone else. J has agreed, reluctantly, to allow me to try feeding some raw as long as we also still feed the 'clinically balanced' dry food as well. With that I have to be happy.

So where's the disillusionment? Right here. I am upset because from my reading and paying attention to pet food commercials I am seeing something that makes me angry the same way make-up commercials make me angry, diaper commercials make me angry, and formula commercials make me angry. I can hardly turn on the TV without seeing stuff that is at least misleading and at worst a flat out lie. I know it's awful late in my life to grow up and smell the marketing but I can say one thing, I sure don't like what I'm smelling!! The problem is I am sick of feeling like the radical nut that no one wants to have anything to do with because she has strong views on stuff no one seems to give a second thought to. I don't try to make anyone do things the same way I do but I do feel sad and frustrated when what I am feeling passionate and revved over is dismissed out of hand by the few people I do talk to about it.

Cloth diapering was 'gross' and 'too much work', breastfeeding was mostly accepted as a good thing but when I nursed M past her 2nd birthday I was definitely odd and although everyone was always intrigued by my wrap and the ease of which I wore M when she was smaller rather than using my stroller I always got 'oh I could never do that - I have a bad back'. Don't even get me stared on re-usable menstrual products and how 'gross' most women I talked to thought they were! I compost and recycle, I use cloth wipes for everything I can(we don't buy paper towel) and do all sorts of other odd things. I'm tired of the media and the reactions of others telling me I'm wrong because I'm not, dammit!

I think what makes me the most irritated is that very few other people seem to see it the way I do - up to this last odd thing J has actually been very supportive and has seen the sense in what I am saying even if he didn't always want to go quite are far with it as I did(like cloth wipes in the bathroom rather than toilet paper). When he does have something to say he is normally right and I respect him a lot, he is a very smart man and I love him.

All this because of dog food - who knew?

Cass.

A friend comes to visit and a trip to the vet ...

S's pal P came to visit today and they once again had tons of fun(this time in the back yard) with more room to play they were much quieter :)

Remember last time? If not here are a couple shots to remind you!At that time P was much bigger than little S and it was funny watching them play. S held her own over her larger, heavier and older playmate.

Today was much the same with lots of running and pouncing :)And here is a great action shot:
After our visitors left we all had supper and then S went to the vet for her final puppy shots. I took the time to note down all the weights I have on her vet papers so here it is, just for fun :)

S @ 7 weeks weighed 2.4 kgs/5.3 lbs
S @ 10 weeks weighed 5 kgs /11 lbs
S @ 13 weeks weighed 8.2 kgs/18.1 lbs
S @ 4 months weighs 10.7 kgs/23.5 lbs

She's a tuckered out puppy now!

Cass :)