Is your dog a Thunderdog?

Miss T has horrible travel anxiety, not in the airport or on the airplane, just in the car, can we say spoiled? She has flown round trip just about once a month since she was 10 weeks old and has traveled in the car to the beach, mountains, and even the long trip back home, but since she was about a year old decided she is going to shake and pant the entire car ride no matter if its 30 minutes or 8 hours. I've talked to the vet and since she is so small they are concerned about giving her a sedative, so we started with children's benadryl, that didn't do a thing. Next, we tried about a speck of a sedative pill from the vet that they crushed in to tiny pieces for me to give her about 30 minutes before we get in the car and will last 6-8 hours. The sedative does nothing more then make her eyes and head look droopy, but she still shakes and pants. Basically, we've just learned to live with her manic car behavior, yet I continuously worry that she is dehydrating herself on long car rides with all the panting, until now!

One weekend back in January, I was reading People Style Watch and came across a product called a Thundershirt; a therapeutic vest for dogs. I was immediately interested and went to the Thundershirt's website to learn more. After watching several of the videos and reading more, I knew I had to give the Thundershirt a try. Thundershirts are great for fear of thunder/fireworks, travel anxiety, crate training, problem barking, separation anxiety, hyperactivity, leash pulling, and more! It's the Thundershirt's gentle, constant pressure that has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if they are anxious, fearful or over-excited.




The Thundershirt has without a doubt helped Miss T's travel anxiety and now we all enjoy our car rides with her a lot more!

Happy Monday!

I just can't get enough of these two!

What makes you smile on this Monday?

Have a great day!

Home Sweet Home

In all honesty, there really is no place like home! Two weekends ago Miss T and I flew home for my cousin Kelly’s Bridal Shower and of course to spend time with family and friends.

Miss T gets so excited when we get off the plane in Baltimore, she starts frantically scratching the inside of her crate signaling she wants to be freed by my mom who is usually waiting for us at baggage claim. However, this time in order to try and save money, I didn’t check a bag. Not to mention it’s a huge time saver not having to wait for your luggage, at least at BWI.

Miss T and I met my parents outside and the lovely Molly, who we were meeting for the first time! Even though my mom and I talk daily and I ask about Molly all the time, she didn’t seem “real” until I finally got to meet her! She is one sweet girl!

Saturday morning was the Bridal Shower for Kelly; it was a brunch at my Aunt’s house! Everything was perfect and we all had a wonderful time celebrating with the bride-to-be!

Mother of the Bride & Bride to Be!

Friends, Me, & Mom

Just a few of the gifts!

The Bride

Mom & Linds

Aunts, Granny, & Me

After the shower it was off to take Miss T to get groomed. Up until 4 months ago she was just like her mom in the sense that we always got out hair cut at home. Well since I’ve found Shannon in Columbia , Miss T is the only one left getting her hair did at home…

Saturday evening we went to Mr. Bill’s, my favorite place to eat steam crabs. Honestly, this is the best place ever; no other place can even come close to Mr. Bills. Going to Mr. Bill’s is one of the things I look forward to most when coming home. I ate so many steam crabs; I thought I was going to pop!

Yummmm!

Sunday morning we went to church as a family. Afterwards, we stopped by the mall so I could return two things and look for jewelry to match my dress for Kelly’s wedding in October and of course shop! I love me some JCrew, Anthropologie, Ann Taylor and of course Nordstrom (my old stomping ground). We ate lunch at the Nordy Cafe before we hit the ground running. Dad gave us an hour in the mall-so we focused and not about to waste time. We were able to fund a necklace for my dress, make my returns, and purchase this blazer from JCrew; I’m in love and can’t wait for Fall!

On our way home from the mall I asked my Dad if we could stop for a snowball. I don’t get you Southerners not having snowball stands. What is this all about? It is hotter for longer down South then it is in Baltimore ! During the summer back home everyone lives at the snowball stand. Since I obviously haven’t had any luck in finding a snowball stand in the South and no a snowball is not a snow cone, I was craving a raspberry snowball, so a stop at the stand was a must! It was a hot Sunday temperature in the mid 90’s so needless to say it was crowded. Dad ordered a Root Beer snowball and Mom passed, she’s no fun! Just kidding, Mom!

After our afternoon treat we went home to pick up Miss T and Molly to go spend some time visiting with my Mom’s parents. By the time we were finished visiting, it was time to pack for the airport and enjoy one last family dinner before it was time to leave.

Thomas was so sweet and came and picked me and Miss T up from the airport and drove us home safely. I am so lucky to have the most wonderful family and boyfriend, I love them so much!

What a great weekend it was!

Hotel Adventures with Miss T

So, finally here is the follow up to this post from when we were in Atlanta two weekends ago that I told you to stay tuned for....

This summer marks the first of staying in hotels with Miss T. Just to give you a background on Miss T, the world traveler, as some refer to her! She took her first flight with me when she was just 10 weeks old and just four short days after coming home to live with me. The days leading up to her first flight she was whining and crying all through the night and while I was at work during the day. Needless to say, Thomas was happy he hadn't planned to come with us while I mentally prepared myself for what I knew would be the flight from hell with all the passengers wanting to kill me for bringing this high pitched barking dog on board. And don't let her weight of 1 ½ lbs. (at the time, she now weighs a heavy 4 ¾ lbs.) fool you!

Thankfully, she proved me wrong! Miss T was an absolute angel in the airport and during the entire flight. No accidents, no barking, no whining, no nothing, not a peep! All of this was surprising to me because she had to be in a crate and stay underneath the seat in front of me for the duration of the flight. Not to mention, we were sitting in one of the last row of seats with loud roaring of the engines right outside our window. Since then she has flown over two dozen times in her two short years in this world! Oh and how could I forget all the road trips she has been on to NC, SC, GA, TN, MD, and the list goes on...

Although Miss T is petite, she is so full of energy and is very playful, she is still considered a puppy though, so what can you expect? Besides playing with all her toys, she loves her walks, chew sticks, her sister, Maggie (Thomas' black lab, who I am convinced she thinks is her mom), traveling preferably by plane as she has developed nervousness on long car rides and me, I hope!

My point for sharing such detailed history on Miss T's behavior and personality was so you could understand what her life experiences have been so far and that she travels a fair amount and seems to adapt to a new environment quite well or...... so I thought.

Since I know so many of you read my blog every single day (kidding), you probably remember this post and this post, when I told you about my birthday present from Thomas, tickets to see John Mayer in Charlotte. Most of my friends have moved away from Columbia I had no option but to find a hotel that accepted dogs in Charlotte. I don't trust kennels with a small dog like Miss T or the other dogs at the kennel. As I have heard many women say, no one loves your children like you do, well I guess the same goes for my furkid, Miss T because after one short visit at Thomas' parents she wore out her welcome.

So the researching began and I finally settled on the Charlotte Westin in Uptown because of the nightly rate for that particular weekend and they except pets at no additional charge. Sounds like a good deal to me, especially since I wasn't sure how Miss T was going to react staying in a hotel room.

Well as it turned out Miss T didn't think staying in a hotel with me and Thomas was as neat as I did. She started barking and whining just like when she first came to live with me the minute we shut the door to leave for the concert. Go figure.

You obviously can't leave a high pitched whining, barking dog in a hotel room to disrupt other guests. So now what do we do? I won't bore you with all the details, but thankfully she was able to stay at a friends house while we were at the concert, thank you, Lindsey! The next night, when we had plans to go out for my friend Lindsey's birthday, she let us leave without a problem and we thankfully never received a phone call from the hotel complaining she was making any noise. Who knows what made the difference other then she must have felt more comfortable in the hotel room.

Our second hotel experience with Miss T took place in Atlanta when we went down for the night for Hudson's 1st Birthday Party. We made reservations at the Westin since we had such a great experience at the Westin in Charlotte and knew Miss T could stay for free. Well things certainly didn't start on the right foot. During check-in I told the lady we had a pet and she immediately tells me there is a charge, I won't even go in to how much the charge was because it makes me sick just thinking about it for two reasons: 1. we are only staying for one night and 2. the events that occurred after I paid the outrageous fee. Beware: Not all hotel chains that are owned and/or managed by the same company have the same rules, regulations, and fees.

After check-in we headed to our room to freshen up before we headed to the birthday party. Of course we let Miss T sniff and run all around so she could get use to the room. I am sure you can already guess what happened next when we went to leave! Yes, she started her high pitched whining and barking just like our first night at the Charlotte Westin. Thomas and I stood quietly outside our hotel room door for several minutes and she never stopped. I went back in a gave her the pill we give her to relax her when we drive long distances in the car and that didn't work either.

To make a long story short, we had no choice but to take her with us and leave her in her crate in the blistering hot car and check on her periodically. I of course was irritated, but worried every minute we were in the party about her. Luckily we were able to find a heavily shaded parking spot underneath a huge tree to park the car.

After the party, we took her back to the hotel and tried leaving her again, so we could go across the street to the mall. She definitely wasn't going to let us do that either, so I let Thomas go to the mall while I stayed back at the hotel with Miss T and watched several episodes of Meet the Kardasians.

We had plans to meet up with Matt and Ashley to grab a drink and a bite to eat that night, but it goes without saying that wasn't going to happen either. Thankfully Matt & Ashley were content with the idea of having a hotel party in our room. Thomas and I went to the liquor store and Whole Foods to pick up beer, dinner for us, and snacks for everyone to enjoy. When the night was all said and done it was a lot of fun, but of course I was a upset that I had paid all this money and Miss T wouldn't even stay in the hotel room by herself.

Moral of the story, check with each individual hotel on their pet policy and be sure to try staying in a hotel with your pet for the first time when you are visiting somewhere or someone with other options, for example if it the pet doesn't do well in the hotel, you can take it to a friends house, etc. I guess I am going to have to see if we can work on Miss T's hotel anxiety or move closer to my parents so they can watch her when we go away!

For more information on pet friendly hotels visit this website. I have also know that Kimpton Hotels advertise heavily as a pet friendly hotel. Next time, if there is one in the city we are visiting, I think I am going to try staying there with Miss T, maybe they will be more accommodating and understanding of her antics, of course after checking ahead of time!

Molly's Arrival & How You Can Help

Say hello to Molly! My parents drove to Lexington, Virginia on Saturday morning to meet Molly's foster Mom, Anita and to bring Molly home. My parents are so excited and I couldn't be more happier for them. I was sad I couldn't be there with them, but I will be making a trip back home at the end of August and will meet Molly then! Although that seems like such a long time from now, I know there will be plenty of phone calls inquiring about Molly which will hopefully make the time go by faster!

This picture was sent to us from Molly's foster Mom, Anita and is one of our favorites!

Molly with her new parents and foster Mom, Anita!

New Mom, Karen and Foster Mom, Anita making the transition!

Last group photo before the trip to Molly's new home, she looks quite happy!

In our recent dealings with dog rescue organizations, it has really put in to perspective for me how many dogs in the United States have not been fortunate enough to find their forever homes. Why buy a puppy from a breeder who is having litter after litter of puppies to make money when there are thousands of dogs all ages, sizes, and breeds already without homes. I am a firm believer in rescuing animals after my parents wonderful experience in adopting Sparky from Welsh Terrier Cares and Molly from Fox Terrier Rescue. These rescue organizations are run by people just like you and me and they do it because of their love for animals. There are many needs for these type of nonprofit organizations from foster homes, and adoptions, to volunteers, and monetary donations. If you are interested in getting involved please click on the links above to learn more.

Molly is adjusting extremely well to her new home and my parents are absolutely in love with her! Please take the time to spread the word about pet adoption and together we can save innocent animals from cruelty.

Meet Molly

Molly is the newest addition to our family. She will be living with my parents back home as soon as they can make the arrangements to pick her up from her foster home. Sweet Molly is a 6 year old Wire Hair Fox Terrier. She is such a sweetheart, we can't wait for her to join our family!

We have been through a rough past year, we lost our beloved Welsh Terrier, Patches last November at the age of 16. My parents then rescued a 1 year old Welsh Terrier, Sparky with health issues, with what we thought were non life threatening. We unexpectedly lost Sparky in April when her health issues took her life. Patches and Sparky are now our littlest angels, who brought us so much love and joy.

We can't wait to get to know Molly and for her to spend many many years as a part of our family. Welcome Molly, we love you already!

More later...

Protect Your Pup from the Summer Heat

Summertime is in full swing, which means outdoor fun in the sun with your pup! Do you know the signs of heat stroke and the treatments?

We all know not to leave your pet in a hot car. However, did you know that a running air conditioned car can be no match for that summer heat when parked. The sun has extra time to beat down on the car and the temperature can soar. So take extra precaution on those hot and warm days and leave your furry friend cool and safe in the comforts of your home while you run your errands.

If you have your pup out and you notice excessive panting, glazed eyes, a rapid pulse, staggering,vomiting, or swollen tongue, it's time to lower your pup's body temperature.

• Take your pet to a shady area and pour cool (not cold) over the coat. You don't want to lower the temperature too quickly.
• Apply ice packs or cold towels to your pet's head, neck & chest only.
• Let your pet lick ice cubes, but limit access to cold water.

Heat stroke is life threatening for animals. Try to lower their temperature and then get them to a vet immediately.

Below are two neat products to help you help your pup fight the summer heat:

Pupcakes a local pet boutique has a great product to keep your pup cool when on walks or outdoors for lengthy times: The Cool Vest. This vest can keep them cool for up to 2 hours and it is easy to use. You simply soak the adjustable, easy to wear Cool Vest in water which provides a protective layer from direct and indirect sunlight and heat. And its laminated lining keeps your pup dry! The Cool Vest is made with a special fabric that absorbs and retains water and utilizes the simple scientific principle-cooling through evaporation! As water gradually evaporates, it takes the heat around it. This vest is perfect for a summer walk!

If nothing else and actually more importantly don't forget H20 for your furry friend. During my cousin Lauren's recent visit to SC, we shared several of our favorite dog products and tips. Lauren has an adorable Maltipoo, Baxter!

Laur introduced me to portable water bowl called the Water Rover which makes it easy to for pet owners to take water wherever they go. She was sweet enough to send us one in the mail, thanks Laur and Baxter! I can't wait to go for a walk at along the river this weekend and have Miss T use her Water Rover for the first time.

As pet owners we tend to underestimate how much water our pets need-don't let them dehydrate!

Pet Tags

For all you dog lovers out there, you need to check out Red Dingo. They are an Australian based company that designs and markets pet accessories. Everything from collars, harness, leashes, dog bite clips, and most famously their pet ID tags.

I first discovered, Red Dingo and their pet ID tags, at Pupcakes. It was when my dog was just a puppy and it seemed like every couple weeks I was buying her a new collar and dog tag, since neither were lasting very long. I finally found the perfect brand of collars for her small neck at Target and of course the best pet ID tags designed by Red Dingo. Unfortunately for right now you can't purchase Red Dingo merchandise off their website, so you will have to find their products at your local pet store. Do visit their website and check out their stainless steel with enamel pet id tags for both dogs and cats. They come in three different sizes, small, medium, and large and you can choose from 25 graphics and 10 colors to customize your ID tag. Not only will you be excited about the tags, you will be even more thrilled once you see how long they hold up. My dog has wore hers almost every day for the past two years and it still looks brand new!

Happy Shopping!