i heart golden retrievers
I love tying a bandana around the pups’ neck when throwing a parties or celebrating a holiday. They are an inexpensive and fun way to “accessorize” your Golden, and ours love to wear them! They look and feel so dapper 🙂 It’s also fun putting them on for sporting events. Roxy and Quincey always have red and blue bandanas on hand (to root for our Arizona Wildcats and Penn State Nittany Lions of course!) .
Is your dog afraid of fireworks? We found out Quincey was afraid last Fourth of July.. the hard way. Last year was our first Fourth of July with Quincey, he was never afraid of loud noises before so we didn’t even think that he would get spooked from fireworks. We took him to my parents house to celebrate the holiday, and went to the golf course behind their home with the rest of the family to watch the big firework show. Quincey wasn’t leashed because he never leaves Brad side. However, the first pop of the firework caused Quincey to bolt. He disappeared into my parent’s dark neighborhood, and wouldn’t come when we called his name – and we couldn’t find him for 2 HOURS! My parents live in a really dark neighborhood with no street lights, so it was impossible to find him. We were driving up and down the neighborhood, searching in people’s yards with flashlights (causing one neighbor to call the police – no joke!) – I was a wreck! Finally, Brad got a call on his cell phone from a neighbor who found him by their front door, and called the number on Quincey’s collar. The best phone call we have ever received!!
Bottom line, even if you think your dog is the bravest of them all – LEASH YOUR DOG if you are going to be outside this holiday. You never know how they will react. It is best to keep them indoors if you can, and leave the TV on for them to distract them from the loud noises. Here is a great article on other tips on protecting your dog this Independence Day.
Wishing you and your pup a happy and safe Fourth of July!!
Nobody loves a car ride more than Quincey and Roxy! Every time they hear my keys jingle their tails go a-waggin. It’s hard to resist not bringing them along with me when I need to make a quick errand – so they’ve become quite popular with some of my company’s customers, our local distributor, and the drive through pharmacist. Roxy likes to stick her head out the window, so it’s fun to look in my side mirrors when driving and see a puppy dog smiling from ear to ear. It makes all of the dog hair in my Honda worth it 🙂 Unfortunately it’s getting reeeeeaaaaally hot outside so their car rides have been more limited – but it’s always a pleasure to have two beautiful Goldens in my back seat!
Quincey had a check up this morning at the vet, and we were a little disappointed when he stepped on the scale.. in the last 6 months he has gained 10 pounds! The vet gave Quincey a goal to lose 5 pounds by his next check up in 2 months, so we are going to be starting a little “Biggest Loser – Doggie Edition” at our house. Keep your fingers crossed for an awesome weigh-in this August!
Quincey gets plenty of exercise, but I think we can easily cut back on the treats. The vet suggested replacing his treats with baby carrots and green beans. Not a bad idea, maybe I should start doing the same with my “treats” 🙂 It’s so hard to say no to this face though, whatever Q-man wants.. he gets!!
PS – She was amazed when she heard how well bananas have helped Quincey’s seizures. She told me that the medicine they put epileptic dogs on contains potassium bromide, and that bromide is usually what helps it – but maybe the potassium isn’t getting as much credit as it deserves!
About the third or fourth month after we adopted Quincey, he had his first seizure. We did not know at the time he was epileptic, so needless to say when he had his first episode it scared us to death! After doing quite a bit of research, we learned that is is somewhat common with Golden Retrievers. How do you know when your dog is having a seizure? You’ll definitely notice. When Quincey has an episode, his entire body goes stiff (arms and legs straight out), he does not blink his eyes, and his jaw is locked down tight causing him to drool profusely. It is so sad, but the best thing to do is just pet them and keep them calm. When they come out of it they will be confused, so the more calm and peaceful you can keep them the better.
We immediately took Quincey into our vet, and he suggested that before we put him on medication (since it is so hard on their liver), to document and track his seizures. If they happened more than once a month, medication would be needed. For the next several months, Quincey averaged about one seizure every 4 to 6 weeks. Sometimes they would only last a minute, but he had a couple of really bad ones that lasted about 5 minutes. One time he even got really sick after having one, it was so sad.
Brad had a pet photographer suggest bananas to us to help with seizures. She said her dog used to have seizures all of the time and ever since she started feeding it bananas they had stopped. I was a little skeptical, but we decided to give it a try. We have been feeding Quincey 1/2 a banana in his food every morning for the last 5 months, and he hasn’t had a seizure since! Bananas are the miracle fruit for our family. We buy big packs at Costco, peel and freeze them since fresh bananas never last that long. Quincey is a happy boy 🙂
Does your dog get seizures? We really want to see if this works as well for others as it does for us. Here are some great resources on learning more about canine epilepsy:
Every time I leave the house, I get “the look” from the dogs – that puppy dog look where they bat their big brown eyes at me begging me not leave. It breaks my heart! Lately I have had to travel quite a bit for work so I’ve gotten “that look” quite a bit. It’s gotten to a point where Roxy even gets depressed when she sees me get the red suitcase out, she knows I’m going to leave. Tonight I’m in Denver, and I miss my husband and pups so much! Brad always sends me cute photos to make me smile. Here’s a photo he sent tonight.
Happy Father’s Day to the special Doggy-Daddy in our lives – my husband Brad! The dogs picked him out a special card, and Roxy even delivered it herself!
We also want to send a special Happy Father’s Day wish to the pups’ Grandfathers Jeff & Steve.
The AZ summer heat makes the pavement really hot, but it won’t stop Quincey from taking an afternoon walk! Pawtectors are cute little booties that easily go on your pups feet and protect their precious paws from hot, cold and rough surfaces. How cute does Q-man look in them? They come in pink – I think might have to pick up a pair for Roxy.
As the two pups started to get used to one another, they really started to love one another. Cuddling together, cleaning each other’s ears, even kissing one another – I have never seen a pair of dogs more cute together! I think in addition to my general obsession with Goldens, what really inspired me to start this blog is the popularity of a facebook photo album I have been adding to over time with photos of the dogs. Here are some of my favorite photos of the two of them when Roxy was just a pup.
