WELCOMING MYSELF BACK!!

I have been away for so long! I feel silly for apologizing to an audience, but since I have neglected the few that have enjoyed this blog, I feel it is necessary before writing why I am back. I've been absent from blogging because it was my last semester in college, and TODAY is my first official day off. So I am done!! Graduation next Saturday, and I am looking forward to this.. For those of you who have been following my blog, you will see some drastic changes coming. This blog isn't going to be dedicated to just my pittie family, but just life in General. But don't let that fool you, its still going to have a lot to do with my pups, because I like to talk about them ALOT. Im that crazy parent who brags about her kid because she thinks they are better than your kids when it comes to my dogs!! Even though, God knows, my dogs are possessed sometimes.. Especially Tripp.. Belle however is an Angel.. So I guess she evens him out!! :) Ill be back soon with more... A lot has happened. My baby girl has turned four years old )on Monday April 23), I will graduate on May 5 (WHOOT) and who knows what is going to happen next, but if you guys come here often enough, it seems we shall find out together!! Hope everyone is having a happy Thursday, because mine is pretty swell so far!!

A TYPICAL LITTLE BOY

I was briefly about to brag about Tripp. I thought that he was starting to learn to share...

But then he stole the bone from her and walked away. He is a playful pup, and loves for Belle to be around. But he is not okay with her touching any of his toys. So we got her a bone of her very own, and he stole it from her and has hidden it... She is only allowed to share with him, or it is his and his alone..

Good thing she doesnt let him hurt her feelings. She just walks back over, and chews on it.. Sneaky Girl.

Serenity has surely given her approval on Belle. But going from having a tough little boy and adding a little pup girl into the mix has us making some adjustments. See, Serenity and Tripp play and she beats him up and he just lets her, and tries to get her to play tug of war. Belle is a little more sensitive, and we have to be a lot more gentle with her. But for the most part, she is adjusting well to Belle, and Belle is adjusting well to us.. Although, my loud mouth freaks her out sometimes, I cant help it. Im loud, and shes not used to it. Hopefully we will be able to toughen her up some!! 

Growing Family

We went to the park, because thanks to mother nature our weather has been absolutely fantastic the last few days!! Tripp hasnt visited this park yet. Mostly because I have been busy with school. But, I realize that I preach socializing, but other than our familiar houses, we have been terrible examples. So our goal for this year is to try a little harder with him being on his leash around people and DUCKS!! He was everywhere. And loved every minute of it. 



 He surprisingly never went in to the water, but he got a couple of sips from it. But sadly, I have a confession. Everytime you go to the park, you see that crazy lady with a big dog whose dragging her everywhere. :( That was us... Okay, okay.. Maybe not that bad, but I do have some training to do on that leash, because his excitement and my commands did not meet the same level of importance in his mind, and he tried to show me where to go a few times. :) But, he for him to be one, and that be my complaint, Ill take it.

We would like to introduce everyone to a new member of our growing family.. BELLE!! 

She is a pit bull mix, and she is a sweetheart. She is approximately four months old. The family we got her from rescued her. She was thrown from a car window as a puppy, had no teeth, and was left to fin for her own. But they have had to relocate and could not take her. So, to promise her a happy home and to make sure she didnt end up in the wrong hands or the pound, we have taken her as our own.

We let them meet before making any decisions, and right away playing began. Which was great, because sadly most dogs dont like Tripp, mostly because he is way bigger than them. But Belle on the other hand, has worn him out a few times. We are thoroughly pleased how happy they seem to be and how well they play together. Tripp is our man, and the main concern was to make sure that he was happy and that he would be able to adjust.

 We are excited about the growth and we look forward to them keeping each other company. Because Tripp has needed a companion and I have wanted a girl to spoil!! So, stay posted, and well be posting more soon!! Life with two dogs is something new for us, but something we are looking forward to experiencing.



Its been hard trying to get a picture of her face.

But, luckily, I managed to get these. Enjoy!! And we will keep you posted on our new life with a bigger family!! :)



TRIPPS VERY FIRST MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We have been looking forward to spending our first Christmas with our pittie. It was also his very first birthday. He didnt know what was going on when we started putting up decorations and when he got in trouble for chewing up stuff (presents) laying by the tree. But, we have overcome our troubles wiht his unruley chewing by giving him his very own bedroom. You wouldnt believe what a difference in this family member we have seen. He loves it. I clean, put his toys up, and one by one, he makes a trail back to the living room... :)

Tripp was more than anxious to dig into his stash that Santa Clause brought to him. I had to beg him for like fifteen minutes just to sit down long enough to take a picture. I was happy his was excited, but I was about to tackle him just so I could take his picture next to his stash. He also got a huge bed for Christmas, but since we had to give him his own room, we gave that to him early.


Another HUGE hit was Chicken Jerky. I have never seen him react to his treats like he has with these. They smell like Chicken, and he seems to LOVE them. So we give them TWO thumbs up.. After such a success, I looked up their website, CLICK HERE all of their products are REAL, from the jerky, to the sausage, to the meatballs, and I found comfort that they are pet lovers and parents as well. So, definitely a must have for all pet owners. It is a brand we have actually been 100% pleased with!!

And Tripp's FAVORITE treat from Santa was this Enormous Flavorful Bone!! YUMMY!! He is still chewing on it now. He has a dog door to let him self in and out of the door whenever he pleases, and when we let him take it out of the stocking he went running to take it outside (Thats usually where he takes his yummy ones), and before we could get him to stop, he was stuck. All that we could hear was the banging of his consistency to try and get out of his door. But this large bone is not small enough to fit out of his Extra Large dog door. But, thats good for us, because maybe he will actually enjoy this bone instead of just going to bury it. And of course after Christmas dinner we brought the Ham bone home for him, but he hid from me and would not let me take a picture.. :( But, thats okay, I know he thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it while it lasted.. And it did not last too long!!

ONE MORE TRICK BEFORE THE YEAR ENDS

I originally attempted this trick with making him hold it on his nose before getting it. But that has been a real challenge!! He has let me do it once, and has allowed Jamie to do it once to him. But now he moves his head around so we can not put it on his nose. I GUESS THE SMELL IS TOO MUCH TO HANDLE!!! :) But, he has mastered letting us put his treats on his hands and not going after them unless he is told to. And we have been impressed. We have put two at a time on each paw and he sits there like a champ. He wont let his eyes leave my face because he knows that when I say 'GET IT,' it means that it is time for him to devour his snacks. Normally I just get "Ge.." out of my mouth and they are already in his mouth!! :) My little boy makes me so happy. He is so smart.. We love learning new tricks because he knows that means snacks everyday and each time we have visitors.. So, he is pretty easy to convience when it comes to the importance of him learning new tricks..

We hope that you all had a very merry Christmas as we had.. We enjoyed ourselves, and Tripp was spoiled by everyone that saw him.. So, with a shake of our tails, have a WONDERFUL REST OF THE YEAR!!! Our new years resolution is to quit using my phone for pictures of Tripp, and use my camera I made my boyfriend buy for me!! :) 

The Beginning of a New Kind of Training

So, as you have probably noticed. I think that my dog is brilliant. He learns tricks within the first ten minutes of being taught. Our only problem was that we have gotten so attached and so has he, that he has had severe seperation issues. He has tried destroying things in order to get back at us for leaving. (We take him EVERYWHERE that allow dogs, but now that he is bigger it is harder to get away with taking him). So after becoming exhausted with the battle of whether we could keep him or not, I decided it was time for research on the issue, and advice from the experts. Days like these are when I really began to love the fact that I have joined the Dog Blog World.
Many of you are unaware that my blog started because of a class assignment for my Media 2.0 class at my University.The things I have learned about this community have shined tremendously, and the fact that I have expert advice and reviews within this little blog world excites me!!
So, here is what we have decided to do...
We have cleared out one of the back bedrooms and have given him his own room. I read on the IAMS website that giving them their own space is something that helps them cope with their seperation issues. How this works, I dont know.. But with only two days of testing it out, we are BEYOND pleased with the results. He is more than capable of breaking out of his cage, that was our huge issue. But with this new room, and his early christmas present.. A BED.. He has not attempted to get out once. His room is still under construction, so I will post a picture later. But as of now, its pretty much empty with just his bed and cage in there. But we plan on giving him free roam of the room later and having it set up just for him, toys and all. .

Th Bitter spray is our next process in this training. When we catch him messing up, our form of punishment will be a speray of this bitter spray inside of his mouth. But, so far we havent had to. I thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart, and I look forward to sharing more of our adventures and training successes with you. We are always opened to more suggestions. Thanks again!

How do you train a dog to know to leave your stuff alone?

My dog has gone on a destructive path this week. I am not quite sure why. So, I did what I thought I had to do and I started making calls to find him a new home that would treat him like we would. And I had three different takers, one with over two acres of fenced in land. Sounds perfect!! But, as the tears came, I realized I couldnt get rid of Trip. He is still a fantastic dog in every sense of the word, except when it comes with him messing with stuff that is not his. There are presents out now that arent usually around. Have you had this problem with your dog?? And what did you do?
Someone said use Hot Sauce, but I dont want to dose my presents with hot sauce. I just need advice because my heart wont allow me to give him away. He is apart of our family, and we will figure something out. But any and all advice would be great. Thank you dearly.

Tripp's Big Trip

Another story about my wonderful dog and pictures to go with it. We have really enjoyed our weekend and it means to world to share it with the rest of the earth. Enjoy..

 

It rained most of this weekend in the Memphis area. We were once again rained on in the middle of hanging up our outdoor Christmas decor. We stopped at the gas station and Tripp has an infatuation with the Drivers seat in our truck. He loves to ride in vehicles, we always have the window rolled down, and like a typical dog, he will hang his head out. I love to see him in the car, because you can tell how happy he is to get out of the normal routine around the house.

We have been unable to take him to Petco the last few times that we went, because we were going for longer than just a stop at the pet store. Yesterday, when we took him, we realized just how much he has grown since we've last had to put him on his leash. Our dog weighs almost as much we do, and he is pretty darn muscular. We have been hunting online for harnesses, but have been so worried with which ones to buy. I didnt want anything cheap, because I wanted it to work. And my better half didnt want the expensive one that I had picked out. So, while at Petco, our usual lady came to help us, and I asked her for No Pull harnesses, thinking there would be no way they would have what I had wanted. And lo and behold... For only 19.99, a No Pull Large Dog Harness.. Thank you PETCO!!! We ofcourse had to test it out, and walked around PETCO with it on for the rest of our visit.

It was Perfect.

While looking through all of the harnesses, Tripp was ready to take a break. So he sprawled out in the middle of the isle, and the attention he was getting was funny to watch. Everyone stopped to tell us what a beautiful dog we had, and a lot of people stopped to pet him. But some people were too afraid to go too close due to his big size. But, no evil looks and no ugly words, we were greeted with open arms. And this is why I LOVE ANIMAL LOVERS!!!!

Our Trip wore Tripp out, and the cold rainy day had us all wanting to get in front of the heater. But, due to our 75 pound dog, there was only enough heat for him.. :) This is his permanent winter spot, and for some reason it doesnt get old, it remains to be cute. And he likes it so much, he doesnt mind to perk up and take a picture to share with the world. Now I have a new bribery tool!! :) Isnt it funny how our animals are like your adopted children??