Black and White Sunday | Your turning into a right geek mum!

Sunday's they are made for lie in's, right? Well, this Sunday was no exception. A tradition in this household is Lottie comes through to my bedroom at around 8am, jumps onto my bed and has a sleep until I get up at around 9am.Well this Sunday followed the same routine as normal, expect Lottie was perhaps more comfy than usual as she conveniently used one of my teddies as a pillow. Honestly I'm sure she think she is human sometimes!

We had a lovely Sunday dinner at Nana's followed by a sit out in the garden. It's been lovely today here.

When we arrived home Lottie was determined to get me to play with her. I unfortunately was distracted with Uni work, she didn't let me get one for long though. First she sat in her toy box as if to say "Maybe if I sit in it she will think I'm so cute she will just have to play with me". When that didn't work she emptied the entire box and sat inside it performing tricks. Maybe she thought I wouldn't be able to resist her then. Her third and final attempt was to pick her favourite toy, known as 'Spacehopper' and carry it around it with her everywhere I went.

 

 

I had so much fun watching her trying to get me to play. She won! We had a quick game of fetch before I carried on with my studies.

She seemed quite content once she had played fetch and lay down beside my desk for the rest of the afternoon.

We hope you guys all had a great Sunday too?

Jessica and Lottie


We're participating in the Black And White Sunday Blog Hop hosted by Dachshund Nola and Sugar The Golden Retriever - thanks again, guys!

Monday's Mischief | Pool Time.

Well summer is officially here so that means only one thing. It's pool time! As I mentioned in my Summer Safety Series one great way of keeping your dog cool in the hot weather is a small paddling pool.

Lottie's having her summer groom tomorrow so we thought its best she gets some pool time today (We tend not to let her in after she has been groomed).

Come on mum fill it up!

How does this thing work?

Previous times when Lottie has been in the pool she hasn't been 100% sure. She goes in for a few seconds then jumps out. This time I decided to place a treat inside the pool and here's the results.

Don't worry guys the thing floating in the pool is just a treat!

 

She spend at 20 minutes trying to get the treat out which she eventually did do. I highly recommended this for dogs that are not sure of water. It sure has worked with Lottie and she even kept going back for more long after the treat had gone.

Jessica and Lottie

We've taken part in Monday Mischief blog hop hosted by Snoopy’s Dog Blog, Alfie’s Blog and My Brown Newfies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Thursday Barks And Bytes - Mum's Home and I have a new treat ball can life get any better?

Today is my first day at home after my hospital stay from the operation. To be  completely honest it doesn't feel as good as expected. Things are so much harder at home, with not being able to weight bear or bend my knee. Every small little task is like climbing mount Everest. Luckily though I only have this plaster cast on for four weeks so things can only get better.

The hospital has loaned me a wheelchair with a leg rest so I could mobilise around the house. Of course Lottie needed to give it the royal approval and as you can see I think it passed!

Before I went into hospital I decided to treat Lottie to a new toy. (As a sort of mum being away present). Lottie has tried and tested many treat dispensing toys some of which we have been more impressed with than others.

After much debating in our local pet store I decided to purchase the Animal Instincts Puzzla Treat Toy Atom for £6.99 which I thought was very reasonably priced. It also comes in a ball and pod shape. (The link is to Amazon who also stock the toy)

This is the hole to fill the toy

This is the exit hole with the two removable tabs 

The idea of the three designs is they progress in difficulty levels. The ball is the easiest and due to its shapes and also having the largest hole treats fall out easier. The pod is stated as medium difficultly and has a 4" exit hole. The atom is leveled as the hardest of the three, this was my main motive for purchasing as we have found many treat dispensing toys in the past are far to easy for Lottie and within five minutes she has finished.

Each toy has removable tabs on the exit holes which can be removed to increase the flow of treats or left to increase difficulty. I decided to leave it standard and see how Lottie got on. Inside the atom toy there is also rubber triangular pieces which stop the treats from being dispensed too quickly.

As you can see I didn't fill the toy with many treats and only used small ones to start with.  
Lottie couldn't wait to get started. As soon as I gave her the toy I saw the instincts she shows when she really likes a new toy. The toy lasted her around 20 minutes which I was really impressed with seen as the amount of treats I used. The treats were difficult for her to get out  but because I used some of her favorites this gave her the motivation to keep going.

Finally I have found all the important factors that I want from a treat toy. A durable, well designed well priced treat dispensing toy. The main reason I am highly impressed is Lottie actually found the toy challenging which is exactly what I wanted.

I am a big believer that mental exercise is equally as important as physical exercise. Especially as I am house bound at the moment I am having to rely on mum for dog walking duties and with my circumstances Lottie's walks are not as long as they were pre-operation.. So for us mental exercise is a top priority!  

Does your dog like treat dispensing toys? Which ones do you find work the best?

Jessica and Lottie

We are joining the Thursday Barks and Bytes Blog Hop Co-hosted by our friends at 2 Brown Dawgs blog and Heart Like a dog Grab the badge and join the fun!

Black and White Sunday - Play Time

I think in every dog they always have a favourite toy type. Some dogs enjoy balls, whist some prefer the soft cuddly toys.

When Lottie was around 6 months old we brought her a Good Boy Space Lobber toy. From the day they first met she has definitely picked it as her favourite.

After one of her many play dates with Jack, who doesn't play so gentle it tore.

My doggy spending has been minimal recently so today I decided to treat her to a new one. Needless to say she was highly impressed with my purchase.

Does your dog have a favourite toy that they chose above the rest?

Jessica

I am joining the Black and White Sunday blog hop hosted by Sugar the Golden Retriever and Dachshund Nola.