Sometimes life just happens and something that you put away for a little bit just gets lost in the shuffle. Thirty some odd years ago I put a fun talent away and it got lost in that shuffle. Thanks to an internet friend and artist I had a desire to test drive that old talent and rediscovered the fun I always had in drawing. Thought I would share a few things that are finished and the beginning of one I started today. Welcome back into my life drawing pad, pencils, pastels and erasers. Missed ya'll!

Booger

Pantera

Rough out Quihi

  My how time flies! It has really flown by since May of 2011 with the new addition to our little pack. This is the first glimpse I saw of the dog that would start mending my broken heart. He came from a dear weight pull friend. He is a two year old American Pit Bull Terrier named Booger. He had spent the first part of his life in his 10x10 kennel and running a 2 acre field.

Booger aka  Cooper's Digging For Gold, needed to learn everything. We started with leash manners then, sit and down. Booger started out as I would expect, a little unsure of his surroundings and not confident in himself. As I took him to classes that I was teaching you can see just how much he has changed. His confidence growing not only in the home and training area but also on the weight pull track.  Here are some pictures taken the past few months showing the change in this fantastic dog.








In this picture you can see that he really isn't too sure about having his picture taken. My little camera shy guy.

Last potty stop on the way home. Getting to know Ms Chula too.













First weight pull training session.

 Booger's first toy. He wasn't sure if I was going to take it away from him or not.

Booger beginning to get in shape as well as discovering the art of treeing a squirrel.

GET IT BOY!!!

Notice Ms. Chula getting in the picture. No we haven't forgotten about her at all.

His first APA show. Not sure of what it's about, but we have plenty of time to learn.













Booger last week at work. He has been so much fun. He has a personality of sheer goofiness. I don't think I have ever laughed at a dog as much as I laugh at this one. He is a loyal, hardworking companion. He will never be a Hondo, but he is Booger and he has made his own way into my heart. Not as a replacement, but making his own place right along side the dog who will forever live in my heart.

Thank you Cody Cooper for this fantastic goofball of a dog.

So Long Dear Friend

Two weeks ago today I said good-bye to my beloved Hondo. He was an amazing dog in all ways. He helped socialize many dogs large and small, but he loved community service. Going to nursing homes, hospitals, school and going to work were his favorite things to do. He touched many lives in his short life of 8 years and 9 months. He will be missed by many.


We have seen many changes in our pack dynamics as Hondo had a huge impact on the dogs that share our home. We all seem a little lost without him. He had such a huge presence. As we deal with the quietness of life without a Catahoula I will post how each of the pack members have changed.

So long dear friend, we will meet again across The Rainbow Bridge.


R.I.P Hondo CGC,ATT
Sept. 11, 2001 - June 22, 2010

Name Those Ingredients

It seems these days that everyone has something to say about what kind of dog food to feed a dog. There is a dog food for the active dog, the puppy, old dog, fat dog, itchy dog and you name it. I fed commercial brand dog foods for most of my career and I honestly thought my brand of dog food was the best. Then I started noticing things. The food would disappear from the shelves of the local pet food store. Many times the manufacturer will have voluntary recall and not always disclose why. You had to search for the reasons a company would pull a product off a shelf. A standard excuse was that the manufacturer wasn’t sending food for shipping and warehouse issues. Finally, the food would appear back on the shelf in a newly designed bag. Then things would happen to my dogs. Diarrhea, itchy skin, vomiting and ear infections were just some of the fun things my poor dogs endured. I have known for some time that one of my dogs has a problem with corn so I took care to feed foods minus the corn. Apparently after a while other grains started bothering him as well, including rice, wheat, barley and others. Then after seeing other brands change bags, I realized they were changing the ingredients in the food as well as the look of the bag. I struggled with different foods until I met a weight pull judge at a pull in North Texas.

Her dogs were absolutely beautiful. She owned old family red nosed American Pitbull Terriers. When asked if I would hold one of her beautiful dogs I couldn’t believe the softness of the coat and the overall health of this dog. Naturally the big question had to come, “What do you feed these guys?” Her answer changed my way of thinking when it comes to dog food. RAW!

I had tried raw in the past and it was a pain. My new friend sent me some information and when I saw what she did, it was not only easy, but made too much sense. I can now off the top of my head tell anyone what is in my dog food. Lettuce, apples, carrots, celery, green beans, peas pureed and added to ground beef, occasionally I’ll toss in other fruit or veggies. Added fresh each morning are; ground alfalfa powder, ground kelp, Missing Link Plus and a fish oil capsule. In the evening they get raw chicken backs. Each dog gets 2-3% of their body weight in food. I adjust a little depending on each dog. Here are the things I noticed since the big switch. No more itching, ear infections, diarrhea, vomiting bile mid afternoon and most of all the vet bill has decreased considerably. The heavy dogs have lost weight, the skinny dogs have gained, my picky eater is the first to the food bowls and the dogs behave much better. If it were just one or two dogs I would say it was a fluke, but we are talking eight dogs. Ranging from 7lbs to 80lbs aged 1 – 10 all with different, jobs, health conditions and allergies. They are all now focused on their work, very happy, frisky and active. So now when people start recommending xx brand of dog food I ask, “Can you name all the ingredients off the top of your head?” If they can’t then there if too much junk in the food and I want to stay away from it.

While I prefer raw, I know that it is not for all. However, there are some very good foods out there that are great choices for those who would love to feed raw and can’t. For me I love my once a week hour of making dog food. It is a labor of love that my hard working dogs deserve. I control the quality of the food I feed and know exactly what is going into the diet of my hard working friends. That makes for a very happy pack.