Friday, November 5, 2010

#Dogs! Tia -- My Sweet Little Dog! #Cockapoo #Spaniels #Ilovedogs! #DogCostumes : )



 Is that a treat in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?? Both! lol! : )

Here she is! Tia is 12 years old and everyone loves her! There are many days when Tia gets waaaay more hugs and kisses than anyone else in the family! Lucky Wee Dog!

Tia used to spend a good part of her day with her head on my leg at the Computer! Isn't she cute?? She used to like to lay under my desk while I'm working, too! She's such a sweet wee girl! (She looks sleepy because she had been standing like this for hours, waiting for me to finish working! ha,ha!)

These wee dogs are just hilarious to look at! If you have a minute, pop in and have a wee look -- you're guaranteed a smile! I know, I know, some folks don't like dressing up their dogs, but it is a lot of fun , and they're soooo cute! One year for Hallowe'en, we dressed our wee dog, Tia, up as Cara's Agent, and that was very entertaining -- mostly for us!

   Here you go - 3 really good choices for Dog Costumes - hilarious!! Me yuv!!

Fulfill your Halloween Fantasy with officially licensed costumes from Official Costumes!

In case you're wondering what I'm wearing -- and I am wearing something(!!) -- it's my favorite Black Mini-skirt, which I practically live in! I've had it for years, and have to sew in a new zipper every so often, and since I've lost all that weight, I have to keep adding new buttons to cinch in the waist -- WooHoo!



Here's Tia supervising the work! The windows are the perfect height for her to look out very easily. Tia spends a lot of time watching the Prairie Dogs from the Sunroom!

Tia loves the Snow, but I'm not so sure she really, really loves her Sweater, but we do! She looks sooo cute in it! We only put it on her when the Temperature goes below -20 Degrees Celsius. And she only stays outside for a very tiny amount of time, since it's too bitterly cold. Otherwise, Tia loves the Winter and likes to run her nose through the Snow!

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I just got the best No Barking Collar at Canadian Tire over this past weekend. It's the Sonic Bark Control Collar, by Guardian Pet Training Systems, and it is miraculous! I tested it, first, adjusted the collar to fit Tia's neck, then put it on her when she was going outside to play (where she typically will bark at other dogs walking by, which is not good), and in the Sunroom, where she also barks at the dogs who are innocently walking by the window.

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I watched her to see what her response would be to the high-pitched sound (a little startled!), then each time she barked and the sound went off, I said to her firmly, "No Barking". By the end of a few hours, I took the collar off, and now I just get the collar out to show it to her, and say, "No Barking", and she immediately stops. I can't believe we didn't find this earlier, given that she's almost 7... but better late than never, right? I put the Colar beside her on the Couch in the Sunroom where she likes to sun herself (and bark!), so she was pretty quiet just with it sitting there! Funny! And quiet!

So if you are struggling with your dog barking like crazy, give this a try. They make it for Small Dogs and Big Dogs, and the Volume is controllable, so you don't have to worry about your dogs (or your!) ears being damaged.



Some Healthy Options for your Favourite Friend! : )





She's moved over one room! This is our Master Bedroom -- the Sunroom is off the Master with lovely Double French Doors. One thing that is really hilarious that Tia is doing these days is 'crying' (more like a humming!) in the morning -- not to go outside, but to get into the Sunroom! I leave the Sheer Curtains closed in the morning, so she slides her body under the curtains! Hysterical!



Who doesn't love a picture of a boy and his dog?? Tia goes between being Aidan's Best Friend and desperately trying to stay away from him! He is one her primary sources of food, though, so they are generally pretty close together! :)



Tia and Aidan spend a lot of time just running in the Garden! It's sooo beautiful, here -- just like living in a Park!



We had a 100 foot Rope out of every door so Tia could go out and play without us having to worry about her when we're working on the Decks or the Gardens. She comes in when Dwight is Mowing the Lawn, though, for safety!



Two of my favorite 'things'... Tia and my famous 'Marry Me' Cheesecake! ha,ha,ha! They both look good, don't they?


http://buildyourownhousebodylife.blogspot.ca/2010/10/cherry-cheesecake.html


Here's my Girl in the Laundry Room Sink! She loves to play outside all the time in the Spring -- right before the grass is really full and the snow is melting, daily... so those little paws get pretty mucky!

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Dwight put in a Spray Fixture in this Sink, so it makes a great area to clean up Tia's little dirty paws! Isn't she cute? No wonder we love her soooo very much! ha,ha,ha!


Here's little 'Construction Dog'! This is just before the Carpet went in on the Stairs (and the whole Lower Level...).

See the little rectangular box cut out of the stairs? That's for the Stair Lighting -- a very cool feature right off the Theatre Room! (I'll need to take another picture of the Bannister!)

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Here I am (Ailsa!) with our wee dog, Tia! Man, she is sooo cute and cuddly! This is one very loved dog!

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Did you notice a slight difference in my size from the first picture to the second one? Yes, that's about a year and 30 pounds! But Tia loves me the same no matter what I look like, and I love her -- there's nothing like the love you have for your wee Pet, is there?? If you want to see how I lost the weight, Click Here.

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Decorating with your Dog! lol!

Ahhh, another long day for Tia! A lot of our house colors seem to match 'The Dog', so maybe there IS something to that old design tip to match your house to your dog! (Maybe the other old 'Match your house to your make-up' works, too! Foundation first, then some color... maybe we all do this subconsciously! Now, wouldn't that be funny??)





Tia just went to the Groomers! Here she is all neat and trimmed!


And here's Tia with two of her favorite toys -- her 'new baby' (a little treat for being such a good girl at the Groomers!) and, of course, Aidan!


I really enjoy the Message Boards on Classmates.com -- I've made a lot of great new 'on-line' friends through it, as well as re-connecting with lots of 'old' friends!
Anyway, my new friend from the 'Dog Board', Kelly, has a little Spaniel who won't go to the bathroom outside when it rains! Oh, no! That ain't good! I was thinking about it when Tia also chose not to go outside when it was raining last weekend, and I came up with an idea that I think might work for Kelly and her wee dog, as well as lots of 'city dwellers' and people wanting to train their puppies.
In the City or in an Apartment, it would be much easier for your Pet to train to 'go' on the 'Insta-Lawn' than to trek all the way down the stairs, and clean up would involve a shovel and your own toilet...think you can take it from there!


Here's the idea: Create an 'Indoor Lawn' for you dog.

Insta-Lawn!
Get a large rectangular Plastic bin. Must remember to write to some Manufacturers to see if we can get this to Market, unless it already exists...

If you can find a flat enough Lid to use, that's a good height.

The Container should be about 3' X 5', and about 4" or 5" in Height.

Make the Lawn like a layered cake! One Layer of Vermiculite or Gravel.

One Layer of Good Potting Soil.

A healthy amount of Grass seed.

Put it in a sunny location and water well. The Grass should come up in about a week -- TaaDaa!

Insta-Lawn!

You could make your own 'Lawn Box' out of Lumber, just remember to add a Plastic Liner.
Hey, just thought of another shape that might work well in a smaller Apartment -- how about a Box that could fit behind your Sofa, if it's up against a wall? Say, 1' X 5' or 6'?? Might be worth a shot!

You know what? I was out shopping on the weekend in the Laundry Basket Section (my life is endlessly fascinating! ha,ha!), and I happened upon the perfect container for the Insta-Lawn Idea -- the Under-the-Bed Plastic Containers! They're perfect -- just the right size and depth to grow a little lawn. Some of them have wheels, so I'd make sure the wheels are removed or stabilized, or just choose one without the wheels so you don't freak your dog out completely if their new 'toilet' starts to roll away from them!

I've got a Target ad and a Walmart ad, since I know you can get them at each of the stores, and the prices are great. You can order the Vermiculite, Potting Soil and Grass Seed, too.


Drop me a line if and let me know if this works for you and your pet!

I have the worst time with Allergies, and now I can only use completely Unscented Items (with the exception of Citrus, which I'm still Okay with!). This site has all sorts of useful products for folks like me!
When we first got Tia (our wee dog), I had a really bad allergic reaction to her, but we all loved her sooo much, I went in search of a product that might help, and I found one -- Allerpet/d (Allerpet, Inc., Farnam Pet Products). You just rub it on your pet (cover all the fur...) and any 'pet smell' disappears. The bizarre thing is that we only had to do it a number of times over the first two years, then rarely after that...this stuff really works! There are other Allerpet Products, too. I know about the one for Cats, for sure.