Disability Awareness Series Part 1 | Thursdays Barks and Btyes | Such a precious game of fetch.

Lottie is such a playful little dog and loves nothing better than a game of fetch with her favourite ball.

I had the idea of a dog blog for a while before I started but never had the courage to take the plunge. I wrote an article for a dog's magazine with the angle of how much Lottie had changed my life due to my disability. I then realised I could start a dog blog with the aim off showing of Lottie and combining my disability. I will be doing a series of posts labelled. What it's really like to be a disabled dog owner.

Many of our followers will know I have just had a major orthopeadic operation to replace a tibia nail in my leg. (There will be an upcoming post with more details of this soon). Because of the seriousness of the surgery it means I have a long recovery ahead of me. After my two weeks in hospital I couldn't wait to come home to see Lottie. However this wasn't quite the experience I had envisaged. At the moment I am basically bed/sofa bound and can only spend around half an hour a day in the wheelchair with my leg rest. This means social time with Lottie is very limited.

There is also the huge problem with regards to physical contact with Lottie. Pre-op she is used to cuddles on my knee every night whilst we watch television (after all that's what those human knees are made for!) This is no longer possible at the moment due to the plaster on my leg as it is separated at the knee which leaves my knee scar uncovered! Something Lottie can definitely go no where near! We did however find a way for our important cuddles which you guys will be able to find on our Facebook page.

Yesterday I started to feel a little better and for the first time manged to spend half an hour in my chair. On the plus side for us its summer at the moment and we are having great weather which is ideal for a great game of fetch we even had time for Lottie to practice one of her new tricks of tidying away her toys. She did really well although one ball was more fun to play with than put away!

As you can see Lottie was over the moon that our usual routine had nearly resumed to normal.

Please mum throw it again! 

I really don't want to put this one away, its so fun. 

Look mum I put them all away! 

Head over to our Facebook page to see a video of our first game of fetch in over two weeks! You wont be dissapointed!

Please don't take for granted a game of fetch with your dog (even if he/she doesn't bring it back) as some of us would give anything for that special time!

Jessica and Lottie

This post is part of the Thursday Barks & Bytes Blog Hop, hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog. Go pay a visit to the hosts and check out other hop participants.

Tasty Tuesday | Treat Review | Purina Delibakes stars.

A few weeks ago I promised you guys I would do a review of a few new treats I had brought Lottie.

Things have been a bit hectic due to my upcoming surgery. But here is the review of one of those treats.

From our local Pets at Home store I purchased Purina Deli bakes stars although they are available in most pets stores/supermarkets.

They cost £1.29 which is more than I would normally spend, but with the tempting packaging I decided to give them a go.

Once I opened the packet the smell hit me straight away, and they certainly do smell baked. In fact they nearly smelt good enough for me to eat!. Cheese and beef were prominent as stated on the packaging. Inside there were 11 deli baked stars which are about the same size as a 50p piece. For the price I was a little disappointed with the quantity. Lottie would soon get through 11. We do purchase similar treats with double the quantity for half the price. So for me to repeat purchasing them they would need to be good.

Mum do we really need to take all these photo before I try them! 

Lottie was extra keen to try one and could hardly wait she even tried to get into the closed packet! She eat the star in under 1 minute. And seemed highly impressed and gave me a paw to indicate she would like more! They must of tasted extra good as once we had finished the taste test I had to put them away in the cupboard as she just wouldn't leave the them alone.

Yum!

Needless to say Lottie is trying to pursuade me to buy more! All things said and even though Lottie really liked them I think I will be waiting for the stars to be on offer before I purchase them again. The main factor is the price which I just don't feel is appropriate for the quantity of treats. But for a extra special treat or if you don't mind spending a little extra once in a while these will definitely be for you!

Unfortunately this will be my last doggy post for a while. My surgery is going ahead on Thursday and I will be in hospital around 2 weeks. Lottie is looking forward to her extra long sleepover at grandmas which is where she will be staying while I am in hospital. I will be sure to keep you guys updated on Facebook on how everything goes.

Jessica (And Lottie)

https://www.facebook.com/waggytales1

Watch out!

Having a puppy is a challenging time for anybody but being in a wheelchair and having a tiny ball of fluff running around can add a whole new dimension that you guys may not of even thought about.

Imagine waiting nearly 2 months to collect a white ball of fluff, and the day finally arrives. Obviously you would be overcome with excitement as I was certainly was. What I had not accounted for was that this tiny innocent little dog has now got to get used to a moving object ten times bigger than her!

My every move now needed to be thought of first "Where's Lottie'. This was definitely a challenging time for us and some times frustrating. Lottie was never scared of my wheelchair it was more me terrified of running over her tiny little paws.
After around 3 months things seemed to settle down and Lottie soon realised if she got to close to the big round wheels it hurt (a lot!)

Nowadays we are both much more used to one another and she doesn't bother how close she gets to my chair in fact she  regularly uses under my wheelchair as the ideal place to lie (even though she has a lovely cosy bed) , or as a sun shade on a hot summers day.

Jessica

https://www.facebook.com/waggytales1

https://twitter.com/WaggyTales1

The dreaded V word!

Lottie being a typical Westie, suffers from the common allergies they are prone too. Today was our regular 2 monthly check at the vets. Luckily, up to now she only suffers very mild, with it mainly affecting her pads on her feet, mouth and ears.

We go our local vets which is a short car journey away. I must say  they have always been great with us, I think it really important to have a good relationship with your vet and luckily for us we see the same one each time we visit.

From a very early age I made sure Lottie was comfortable with a trip to the vets, all the staff always make a fuss of her. She's quite content in the waiting room although she's not to sure when it's her time to be seen, but its getting better each time and a few treats normally do the trick!.

As you can see Lottie is always up for a pose for the camera even in the vets!

She also seizes the opportunity to make a few new play mates (Some good has got to come of some bad right?)

I'm still fairly new to blogging and I have recently created a Facebook, Twitter and BlogLovin account. I would really appreciate it if you could give me a like.

https://www.facebook.com/waggytales1

https://twitter.com/WaggyTales1

http://www.bloglovin.com/jessicahandley

What does your dog think of the dreaded V word?

Jessica