Category Archives: petal

I have the best readers

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Seriously.
You guys are all the best. I love reading all your comments, they always make me smile.
So I’m sorry I’ve been lousy at replying to them and I’m especially sorry I’ve been lousy about commenting at your blogs in return. I will be better about this.

I want to share something with you guys. Something that has just brightened my days.

One day I opened my email and found one of the sweetest messages I have ever received.
It was from one of my lovely blog readers. She told me she was a new reader and she loved all the shenanigans my pack gets into.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough to make my day, she tells me she found a vintage Lassie book that she would like to give to me as a gift, because she knew how hard it is to lose a pet.
I had been missing Ella a lot that day, as I do every day (has it really been two months already? It feels as though it’s only been a few days), so her email had me in tears.
These selfless little acts of kindness always get to me.
They may seem little, but they mean so much to me.
I’m about to put myself in tears again, so let’s skip ahead to this past weekend, when this lovely gift arrived and made my entire week.

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This book is in beautiful condition. It’s something I will always treasure.
The artwork is beautiful. The story is adorable. I can’t get over it.
I keep putting it back in the bubble wrap it was mailed in for safe keeping.
I know: dork.

I told Jade, the lovely gift-giver, that I would get a picture of Lassie with this book.
Well, the weekend ended up being a bit of a whirlwind for me, so I wasn’t able to get pictures of either of my collies with our Lassie book until Tuesday.
This post was actually meant to be posted on Tuesday, but one thing or another prevented that— like me wanting more pictures, but not feeling well enough for it—, so I took a few more photos on Wednesday.

Which basically means: prepare yourselves for a large amount of photos, because I’m not just going to post the best ones, I’m going to post the bloopers as well.
Why?
Because they make me giggle and I hope you’ll kick out of them, too.

I get lots and lots of compliments on well my collies pose and behave for the camera. And it’s true, they are excellent models.
But even they have their moments.
(And I always have those moments and they’re so patient about it, so they’re allowed to have moments of their own ;))

We’ll start with what is quite possibly my favorite blooper of the bunch.

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Yes. She was seriously watching a bird fly in the sky.
I have always loved this about her. She’s so observant and she’s always been so fascinated by flying birds. But c’mon, Petal! You’re not a bird dog! Focus!

Also, notice Lassie has reading glasses on?
I thought this was hilarious, but we quickly ran into a bit of a problem. Whenever I would toss them treats, Lassie would look down to get it, and the glasses would slide down his nose and then they’d get all slobbery and booger-y.
So I didn’t bother with the glasses much after that as I wasn’t in the mood to mess with them, for one, and two, I wanted him to look down. You’ll see why in this next picture.

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See? When he looks down he looks like he’s really reading the book!
This picture makes me smile.
But Petal, it looks like I caught her in mid-wink or something.
And the shadows. Heh, right, I should have them facing the other way.
Oops. My bad.

So let’s relocate them and try again.

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I love this one, even if Petal did get distracted again.

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I like this one, even if they are all squinty eyed. I wish I had got them paying attention to the book though. But it was kind of hard to get them to look at the book without getting close enough to drool on it (did I mention I keep putting the book back in it’s bubble wrap?).

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Even though Petal is watching something else, again, I kind of like this one.

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I think this is one of my very favorites from Tuesday.

On Wednesday we went out to get a few pictures for Wordless Wednesday, and a few more pictures of them with the book. There aren’t really any bloopers (on the dogs’ part, I made plenty of camera setting mistakes, haha) to share from Wednesday, so I’ll just share my top three favorites from then.

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These two I edited slightly, adjusting the lighting and colors and stuff, but this next one I left unedited.

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Then yesterday, when taking pictures of just the book itself (the first two pictures in this post), I snapped this quick picture too.

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I’m telling you, I’m having far too much fun with this book.
It has made my week.

I can’t thank you enough for this, Jade. It was so kind of you to think of me and to give me such a sweet gift. And don’t worry, I will find a safe place to display it without the bubble wrap. 😉

Jade easily could’ve sold this treasure in her Etsy shop, but instead she offered it to me as a gift. How sweet is that?
So to give her just a small token of my appreciation, I’m going to leave links to her Etsy shops, her new blog, and her Facebook and Twitter accounts below.
Feel free to go and check her out if you’d like!

Jade’s vintage Etsy shop: Junk In Da Trunk Girls
Jade’s handmade Etsy shop: Jadarie Handmade
Jade’s Blog: Junkn Jadarie
Jade’s Twitter
Jade’s Facebook

Thank you, Jade!

P.S. Has anyone else been driven crazy by my new font?
I totally adored it yesterday, but today I’m thinking, “It doesn’t even look like I wrote this.”
Like my old font was my actual handwriting or something, hah!
So if you notice my font changing and changing back and changing again, I’m sorry, but it’s bugging me.

Kitty? Or extremely soft pillow?

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Petal has a thing for strange sleeping places. You’ll know exactly what I’m talking about if you take a look at this post here.
She— apparently— also enjoys resting her head on unique… pillows…

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“This kitty is my pillow.”

You’re a sweet and patient kitty, Harriet. I bet you stayed toasty warm.
And you’re a goofy dog, Petal.
Though I can’t say I blame you, she is one super soft kitty. If she would allow it, I would probably rest my face on her, too.

Have a lovely and relaxing weekend everyone!

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My dogs are spoiled

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The original title of this post: My sogs are spoiled.
I proceeded to make many more typos while fixing that one.
Anyway, enough about my clumsy fingers.
My dogs truly are spoiled.
It has been that way since day one.
Last month I went to Arizona for a week and a half and I left the dogs home with my Dad and siblings.
What was I thinking?
I honestly don’t know. I missed them terribly and every time we went to a store I looked around for things to buy for them.

At Petco I bought an adorable collar charm for Petal.
It was shaped like a cupcake. I had to. It was too cute. And on sale.

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Then we went to Trader Joe’s and, what’s this? Over a pound of dog cookies for less than $4?
And they’re made with ingredients I approve of?
Yes please!

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They still have this box of cookies and they looove them.

Bringing home a little gift for your pet when you’ve gone out of town is completely normal, you might say (and I mean pet-lover/pet-obsessed normal).
But who comes home and continues to spoil their dogs?
This person, right here!

I get home and the next day I set out to Urban Dawgz (our local pet store that was previously believed to be closed; long story short: their buyer backed out and thus they were open for another week or so), which was closing at the end of that day, so they were offering 40% off your entire purchase.
Now, come on, who would resist that?

The dogs could then add 2 rib bones, 2 Zuke’s dental bones, 1 new leash (Ruffwear Roamer leash in red, for those who might be curious, and yes, I love it), and 1 new Kong Classic to their list of new goodies. Not to mention several bags of free samples of dog kibble (they were just going to get tossed, said the store owner!) to use as training treats.

I can’t be the only one who spoils her dogs, right?
… Right?
C’mon, admit it, your dogs are spoiled!

Veggie (and fruit!) smoothie!

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This morning I made a veggie (and apple) smoothie to mix into Lassie’s and Petal’s food.
I think they enjoyed it.

They had the following:

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  • Apples are a good source of vitamins A and C and dietary fiber, and more.
  • Carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene, antioxidants, and phytonutrients, and more.
  • Broccoli is a powerful antioxidant, supports bone health, prevents cancer, and more.
  • Cauliflower is a good source of vitamins C and A, fiber, calcium, potassium, and more.
  • Green Beans are a rich source of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. A small amount can make a great addition to an overweight dog’s diet as they’ll make your dog feel fuller. (No, neither Lassie nor Petal are overweight, but they still enjoy the benefits of green beans occasionally).
  • Squash provides potassium (which may be beneficial in supporting kidney health and may reduce the risk of heart failure), vitamin A, calcium and more.
  • Zucchini offers vitamins C and B complex, magnesium, and more.
I use to just toss a few or just one of these veggies into their bowl. Then I watched with a frown as they (okay, Lassie; Petal actually enjoys fruits and veggies) picked around it.
Then one day I was surfing the internet and read, many times, that it was recommended that you puree or steam the vegetables before serving them to your dog, because they absorb and digest them better that way.
I had noticed that certain vegetables (carrots especially) came out the same way they went in, so steaming or pureeing them might be worth a try, and since Lassie was picking around his veggies, I went with pureeing them.
Good luck picking around that mush, bud!
So now I run them through the Magic Bullet and pulverize them into mush.
Lassie likes them much better this way.
He’s always been a fan of baby food.

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Load ’em up in the bullet (with plenty of water).

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And mash them up!

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I split this amount up to make three days worth (for each of them), I could’ve split it up for four days had I realized sooner just how much it had made, but oh well.

They gobbled it all up and nothing was picked around or spat out onto the floor.

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This veggie and apple smoothie would also make a great Kong stuffer or frozen treats.
But remember 3 things,
1 there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
2 while many fruits and vegetables are safe to give to your dog, some may not be (onions and grapes, for example) and some should only be given in moderate amounts occasionally.
3 keep in mind that if your dog has never had any of these vegetables before, it may cause them an upset stomach if you try feeding them all these new things at once. My dogs have enjoyed all of the veggies (and apples) pictured above over the years, so they were fine eating them all at once. Normally I only give them 1-4 different vegetables and fruits at a time, but every now and then I like to mix it up and give them a little of (almost) everything we have on hand.

Enjoy! Or rather, let your dogs enjoy!
Though, I guess you could eat it too, if you wanted.
Not me, though, I prefer to chew on my veggies. Haha.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Calling all (rough) Collie owners and owners with long haired dogs!

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Hello.
So you’re probably wondering why I’ve gathered you all here today.
“Have you discovered a cure for shedding?!”
Heh. No.
I wanted to talk collars.

I have purchased two zillion collars over the years and I found many that I was very happy with.
Dublin Dog collars are fabulous with their easy to clean, water-and-stink-proof, and sturdy design.
Lupine combo collars are wonderfully easy to slip over a fluffy Collie mane and I love the second d-ring.
Rolled leather collars are great and so nice looking and cause minimal matting.
None of these collars are perfect though, not for my Collies and my picky self.
Dublin Dog collars are a pain to buckle around all that fur, same goes for the rolled leather collars.
But Lupine’s combo collar, while it’s the easiest to get on and off, seems to be causing Lassie a lot of matting.

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Petal wears an Easy Walk harness with a safety strap attached to her collar to prevent Miss Houdini from slipping her front legs over the chest strap of the harness.

Lassie and Petal do not wear their collars 24/7. They only wear them (and their I.D. tags) when they go  outside for a walk or to relieve themselves. They only wear them in the house when we’re expecting company/having extended company stay at the house. When we’re just lounging around the house though, they lounge in the nude.
Which is why I want something that is easy to slip on and off, but I don’t want any sort of choke collar. Limited slip is perfect though, as both Lassie and Petal have a knack for backing out of regular collars.

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“I do no such thing. I’m a perfect angel.”

Looking at all that fur, you can probably see why I really want something that won’t add to my brushing workload. So far, out of all the collars I have used, the rolled leather collar caused the least amount of matting to the coat. I really don’t want to fuss around with a buckle though and some leather collars have bled color into their fur after getting wet and it took many washes to get it out. This was, I’m sure, because they were cheap. Cheap is what I’m looking for though! 😉

I’m out of ideas and I’m hoping I’m not out of options.
Do I need to stop being picky? Or is there a great collar out there that I have yet to find?
Is there such a thing as rolled leather collar with a limited slip chain on it? I tried searching for one the other night and came up with nothing, though I could’ve sworn I had seen something like that once before. Hmm.

This is where you, my fellow Collie owners and fellow long haired dog owners, come in.
What brand and type of collar do you use? How do you like it? Does it mat up their fur? Is it easy to remove and put on? Does it wash well? How often do they wear their collar?

Any and all feedback is much appreciated!
And to our short haired friends: you lucky ducks get to wear whatever cute and fun collars you want and it’ll actually be seen on you! 😉

Thanks for reading guys!