Filed under: Animal Photography | Tags: Animal Photography, animals, dogs, goldendoodle, labradoodle, pets, Photography, puppies
I have had my ups and downs these past months with raising two dogs and I am so mad at myself for not documenting anything on this blog since that was the reason for me to start it in the first place. As it turns out raising Abby was like raising and angel dog compared to the trials and tribulations we endured with raising (and still training) Kesler.
I have been so frustrated with him that I swear I came close to giving up a few times. I was finding myself losing my temper on a dog that just wasnt registering anything we were trying to teach him. It turns out he just happens to be a little bit of a slower learner with a few excitement issues but nothing that is a deal breaker in any way. Even though I have joked about selling him to a farm when he does something like eating my Halloween costume but he is one of the sweetest hearted dogs with such a friendly temperament you just cant help but smile when he looks at you. Those are the moments the make up for all those frustrated moments.
A few recent snap shots:
Kesler is now a chubby 33 pounds and still growing only being almost 5 months old. He does not however have a clean bill of health. Since getting rid of his giardia that was a pain in the bum… he now has two very infected ears that might have ear mites. Seriously!! This pup sure has been a heavy tug on the wallet strings and we`re kind of hoping these issues will stop soon. Whatever the outcome we agreed to take care of him so that’s exactly what we are doing.
Since visiting the Vet he was now able to actually go to the dog park with me and Abby and that’s exactly what we did. By the third trip to the dog park I felt comfortable enough to release the leash and let him run free! The little guy went straight for the water and was swimming in no time. He shocked me when he just went running in without hesitation making a splash with all the big dogs. Even while sitting down and observing the other dogs he sat patiently in the water with half of his body submerged in cool river. It was one of the sweetest moments I have seen in him so far and just goes to show they grow up way too fast!
You may have seen her on the cover of the New York Times!
But Georgia doesn’t exactly think of herself as a celebrity. She
thinks of herself more as a very lucky dog who narrowly
escaped living her whole life in pain.She was one of the dogs
rescued from the property of former NFL quarterback, Michael
Vick. Her ears were cropped, her tail had been broken several
times, she had scars all over her face, she’d clearly given birth
to many litters, and she had no teeth. That was her life!
When Georgia arrived at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, she
didn’t trust anybody. Until she made a special friend in John
Garcia. Their friendship transforms this abused dog from a
fearful victim into a cutie-pie who snores, plays, always
carries a bone in her mouth, and is even fighting to pass the
Canine Good Citizen test. Please consider sponsoring
Georgia through her journey here at Best Friends.
How did this boy get so happy? When 22 dogs arrived at Best
Friends Animal Sanctuary after they were rescued from the
property of former NFL quarterback, Michael Vick, most of
them were pretty scared and traumatized. But one of them -
Denzel – seemed like he had somehow come out of the dog
fighting ring fairly unscathed. He was so sociable and friendly!
But he hadn’t come out unscathed at all. Denzel turned out to
be deathly ill.
The Best Friends vets came to the rescue as this pup handled
blood transfusions, and extensive testing. For the first time, he
has a life worth living. Balls, toys, friends, and a leash that he
likes to take himself on a walk with! It wouldn’t be fair to lose
his health now, just when his days have turned friendly. Can
the vets make sure this boy gets to enjoy his new life at the
sanctuary? Absolutely, they can and Denzel is now doing
great. Won’t you help support his care by becoming his
sponsor?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Animal Photography, goldendoodle, labradoodle, pets, Photography, Sheena Janes Photography
Filed under: Kesler | Tags: Animal Photography, animals, goldendoodle, pets, Photography
Kesler is now 3 months old meaning he is the same age that Abby was when we brought her home. He is fully aware of his name and
fully aware of the word “NO” as he tends to hear it every other minute. I will admit that he has been a completely different addition to this family then I was expecting but we are working on his mannerisms and bad habits. So far his worst habit has to be that he is very vocal when he is playing, when he is bored or when he is hungry. Kesler will always let you know if he wants something! He is roughly the same size Abby was being 3 months and about 20 pounds but he also has the thickest fur coat on a goldendoodle I have ever seen. That could mean a shedding disaster for next year but I am taking everything a day at a time.
I had my first weekend alone with the pups and it proved to be a little more difficult than I ever imagined. Waking up to a yappy barking dog is horrible and I have great respect for new mothers lol. Kesler is on schedule that makes him rise at 5 in the morning thanks to my Dad’s early morning get ups 5 days a week so I had to try and keep it up. I did horrible! I look at new mother in a whole new respect and I only had the mutts for four days. It turns out I’m not as patient as I should be bright and early but I did try.
In about a week Kesler will be able to go in for his last set of shots and then he is allowed to accompany Abby and I to our local dog park. Even though he will be ready it will be a bit until he can fully get access to being off leash but right now we are taking it slow. In two weeks my parents will be on their own with the mutts and I am hoping that will keep up with the exercise daily. Right now Abby is getting an hour walk daily and Kesler usually goes for about 15 minutes. He is still so small that when he gets running in the grass he actually strips over his own feet and does a nose plant into the ground. It is priceless to watch!
Ohhhhh The joys of Puppies!
We are going on week three with our newest member of the family our little Kesler. He has been a lot of work though, even more than Abby was as a puppy. I knew that would happen because you cant luck out and have two perfect dogs. As of now though Kesler is responding to his name which is something really neat to notice for the first time. Since getting him he has been on medication because of the bacterial disease he contracted at his last home but has since almost fully recovered. Kesler is also growing really quickly! He can finally get up and down the stairs on his own but has yet to conquer getting up on the couch. The couch can wait though because soon we will have two full-grown dogs sitting on the couch and no room for people.
I had something really exciting happen to me today, its something I have been working on with Abby for almost a year now…. she finally swims!! I have been throwing sticks in the water further and further for the longest time but as soon as Abby stopped touching the ground she wouldn’t go any further. The first time she did it was last night right before the attack. I took her out again today and this time with an actual ball knowing that she might actually swim for it. I never brought a ball because if I threw it too far then I was shit out of luck without a ball. But today… she swam like she has been swimming her whole life. I even threw the ball out near a stick and she went past the ball to get the stick and then grab the ball as well all at once! I am SOOOOOOO PROUD!!! I have been dying to have a dog that will actually swim for me!! Now I am looking forward to-day trips at the lake so that her and I can go swimming together this year.
I thought I has learned a lot with my last dog Princess but Abby is proving to be a god send to me. There is no other way to put it! That dog has kept me going these last few months and she has been the best therapy to keep me sane without a job. She is the best company a girl could ask for! Now with Kesler going to get his last shots soon he is next on my training program!
I had one of my worst fears come true tonight on my daily walks with Abby. While walking the back trails at the dog park and after an hour swimming session with Abby we were both confronted by two aggressive dogs. From the moment I saw the two dogs I could tell by their stance that they were defiantly not friendly and I yelled asking the owner who followed them if they were friendly… his response……. uh not really and within that second one of his dogs pounced on Abby and instantly Abby started to yelp as the rolled in the dirt. That was when I jumped in on top of both of them grabbing the guys dog while trying to separate them and his other dog jumped on my back knocking me over in the middle of the fight. That is when I gave one quick strong kick right square in the other dogs nose knocking him off of Abby and getting the other dog off of my back. The other owners response is what made me call the cops. He walked away with both of his dogs still off of the leash while muffling a pathetic “sorry” and walked away with me still on the ground with my camera in one hand and Abby in the other. As he shot a glance back at me I grabbed my camera and took a picture of him and his mangy ugly mutts. I ran back to my car and called the cops while another friend of mine drove out the back roads looking for the guy and his dogs. She found the guy and his truck got the licence plate number as the cop arrived to where I was so that I could relay the info to the cop. The end result is a warning and an eye to say that if it happens again he could risk the chance of losing both of his dogs.
Its situations like that infuriate me because all dogs are good, its how you raise and train them. So in reality I have absolutely no ill will towards the dogs because they only do what they know and what they know is to attack. The owner who was at least 50 something literally let a young girl who weighs 100 pounds fend for herself as his dog jumped me! He didn’t even think to ask if I was okay as he looked down at me on the ground when he walked by. Not only that but I had my good camera in my hand during the scuffle and let me tell you if it didn’t work…. the cops might have found a body the bushes along with his dogs right there beside him. Not only that but I was on my last pair of contacts and during the incident I lost one of my damn contacts! So Now I have to wear my damn glasses for a while! FML tonight was not supposed to go down that way!
