Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()'s Blog (62)

I can hardly believe how this happened....I kept thinking there is no way I would have allowed my dog to get fat. It must be DHs fault.

I took Murphy in for his yearly check up and vaccinations and he has ALWAYS been between 60-64 pds MAX!  He was a whopping 70.5 pds. I even had to take his harness off, like we take our shoes off when being weighed at the doctors!

 I have always prided myself on keeping my guys fit, lean, active, well fed with 5 star kibble, homemade meals and…

As most of you know, I have been grooming my doodles their whole lives. Murphy is 7 and Bella is 5 and neither have ever been to a groomer. I started mostly because Murphy is such a nervous Nellie and we just knew he would be so upset, so I didn't want to stress him with the whole experience.

I've always enjoyed my time with them and since I was a hairdresser, years and years ago, it was never that intimidating. Hair always grows back and besides, they are both pretty forgiving when I…

I have discoverd the best invention to battling the two dog walk and it was right under my nose the past 2 years! Geez.

A little history. Murphy was a habitual puller when he learned to leash walk and since I needed a running buddy, not a sleigh dog, it was important to me that he be right at my side during runs. That took a LOT of training, a Gentle Leader for about 6 months and then the Gentle Walker Harness to accomplish. So he does a nice side walk now without any pulling. Mission…

Poor Murphy has had a rough week. He started with a flaming red ear last Tuesday morning and then the head shaking, scratching and black gonky ears. Ofcourse we can't forget the smell. So I treated with Zymox with hydrocortisone for a few days to see what I could do at home, which helped about 50%, and as that was getting better, I noticed him licking his paw. This went on for a day or so when I decided its becoming a problem, so I assessed it and found a big tight mat. Ok, cut the mat, that…

Murphy is three years old tomorrow. He is our first dog and like a first child, we learned a lot from him and he made us into the dog lovers we are today. Here are some of the highlights of his life with us thus far:

Meeting Murphy at the airport, he is 8 weeks old and flew in with his littermate who he gets to see several times a month still.

He travels his first 6 months in our RV across country sitting in my lap

By 6 months…

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I'm sorry I don't know how else to download a video. This is precious. Our daughters doodle's meeting of his little human sister was calm and controlled. He followed every command and sat and waited for his daddy to tell him to come smell her and then sat when mommy said enough and to sit. That is just the best big doodle brother a little girl…

As many of you khow, I have been expecting my second grandbaby any day now. This is my only daughters first child after years of trying to concieve.  And some of you may know that I am also a Labor and Delivery RN as well as a Lactation Consultant. After helping 1000's of young women have their babies, I have for years waited for the day I would be the grandmother on the recieving end of my own daughter's baby, helping her, guiding her, comforting her and walking with her through this…

This is my daughter Michele at the shower, greeting friends and family. This is my daughter and DIL on left. She is the mommy of my wonderful grandson Ethan.

This is Michele helping her mom get things ready.…

We had our backyard prepped for winter seed yesterday and it is full of dirt, seed and haylike grass. Bella thought it was great fun rolling in it this morning and my white dog was black and white, an hour before our vet appointment so she got bath number 2 since sunday.

So we go potty on a leash now over to the graveled areas of the yard and Murphy can pee in a peanut butter jar, trying to hold still in a rocking-rolling RV, going 70 mph down the interstate, but Bella can't pee or…

We had a gorgeous day and about 12 great doodles join us this morning.

Emma arrives at the romp, ready to play ball

Off she goes!

 …

Bella came to us one year ago yesterday. Hard to believe it's been a year already and how many feelings we have gone through having her with us. She definitely taught us what a normal dog can be like. She has done just about everything you can think to watchout for in a dog and has tried my patience more than even my youngest son! And that's saying A LOT!.

Now that we have been through the worst of it and all survived, I just can;t imagine our home without her. And the thought of how…

I know many of us have had issues with dog parks, but there are some nice ones out there and I wanted to share that we live very close to one of the good ones. I hope it continues to be a positive experience for us as we are within walking distance of this park. It used to be the city landfill and the whole recreation center was built with all recycled materials, which I think was pretty creative and thrifty of the city to do.

It is elevated so that you have a 360 degree panaramic…

First, I promise to post pictures as soon as I get home to my computer. But for now, I am sitting outside a campground lodge, to pick up the wifi during a weekend of camping out in a National Forest in Az. Murphy has traveled the country with us, in our RV since he was a pup, so camping to him is a way of life.

Bella on the other hand is a city girl and with the exception of car trips around the city, she doesn't get out much and hasn't traveled at all with us.

We decided it…