Congrats to the winner, Nubia R-B!
As you all know, Brody and I are not going to be in the Surf Dog-A-Thon due to some scheduling conflicts. That is a sad thing.
However, how can I be unhappy, really?
We had so much fun getting ready for it. We practiced a healthy lifestyle. We bonded in the pool. And, well, we still got to surf and play at the beach. We had a fantastic week of mom-dog play and bonding, and at the end of the day that is what it is all about. I hope to make this a regular thing for us. How could anyone be sad about that?
In the spirit of having fun with your dog, this week’s Giveaway Tuesday is a great play assortment from Eukanuba:
The giveaway items include:
A nylon backpack;
A softbite floppy disc;
A plush Rhodamine-colored towel;
Eukanuba bandana;
A travel water bowl;
Surfboard shaped Eukanuba sticker;
A hexabumper floatation toy;
And a certificate for a 20 pound bag of Eukanuba.
If the power goes out in your neck of the woods like it did with us, you’ll be prepared with this.
To enter, simply comment below with your favorite bonding experience with your dog!
Giveaway open through midnight PST Sept 21st. US only for this one, please.
My favorite bonding experience was the day I found Gizmo at the shelter. Sitting in his cage he looked so terribly sad. He didn’t really respond to me, or to anything so I’m not sure why but he touched my heart. We brought him into the office to complete paper work & he climbed out of the shelter worker’s lap & up onto the desk. He walked over to me & began to lick my face. I knew I’d made the right choice.
Right now we’re still loving our agility, rally and canine freestyle (though if we lived closer to an ocean….)
I got my German Shorthaired pointer Lola at a shelter. Her name was Lonesome, but we changed it. I recently had my ACL repaired and my usual ruff and tumble Lola was gentle and loving. She laid by me while I was recovering and wouldn’t let my husband come near me if he came in the room. Lola and I have always loved each other, but this recent experience really showed me how much she loved me.
The Puglet lived on my bed for her 6-2/3 years, until she went into shock and dropped dead on Aug. 10th. She’d gone into shock six days prior and simply had a high white count (24K). She was fine the morning after and was doing great with her meds and subq fluids for six days, until, all of a sudden, she pooped alot, crashed and died, in the space of less than five minutes.
She had a congenital spinal malformation and couldn’t support herself on her hind limbs. Also, she was a midget, only 7 lbs. We were joined at the hip. We were totally in love. I always told people she was writing a book, “Eat, Play, Love”, and that I was the editor.
Someone had bought her from a puppy store when she was eight weeks old, where, luckily for her, no one noticed she couldn’t walk. After about two weeks, her owner realized she couldn’t walk and came to the hospital where I was working to get rid of her. He came into my exam room crying his eyes out, saying how much he loved her. He couldn’t dump her fast enough!
She was the cutest thing in the world! I never adopted a dog before because I always worked so many hours, I thought it wouldn’t be fair. But I didn’t have to walk The Puglet. And we fell in love. Immediately. So she came home to live with me and my kitties, who were not amused by this bouncing, yipping thing.
I’m submitting this as I have three close friends with dogs, who would be thrilled to get a present.
Someday I hope to have another specially-abled doggie. They make the best pets!
The Puglet’s picture is on the first page of my website and her story is on the third:
DrNancyAllenHousecallVet.com
Nancy Allen, DVM
I had breast cancer a few years ago, and my dog Lexie stayed by my side all through my chemo treatments. Days I was at my worst in bed so sick, she would not leave my side for 24 hours at a time, not even to go outside or go eat. She refused to leave me. She did for me what no human could, she knew what I needed, someone to just be there. She laid by me and had either 1 paw or her head on me at all times. I credit her 100% of getting me through that. Then when I had trouble getting up, she would back up to me to help me up, never having been trained to do that. Sadly a couple years after my cancer, she was diagnosed with cancer. I was devastated. My vet knew how bonded we were and what she had done for me, and told me now it was my turn to be there for her. I took off work to stay with her, I said I would quit if I couldn’t have the time off, as it was that important to me. I was lucky my work was understanding. I stayed there and spent days & nights laying there holding her, and did anything she wanted. When she wanted to go for a car ride at 3am in a snow storm, that’s what we did. Sadly she did survive her cancer, and I miss her everyday. My other dog I had through all this, I still have, and I feel I have not as a good a mom to her as I should be, mourning for my Lexie, felt guilty having fun with Jayda. But I decided a couple weeks ago I need to spend more time bonding with my Jayda girl, so I have a couple weekends planned the next 3 weekends to travel with her & have some adventures- just me & her. Jay & I also went camping this summer and had a great time. So I thing bonding can done during bad times & good…..
Zero was about four to six years old when I met him in a shelter, huddled by the front of his kennel, looking up at me, totally quiet with none of the usual paperwork hanging on his cage door. I wandered around some more, but I couldn’t get those big brown eyes out of my head. By the time I came back to give him a second look, his paperwork was finally posted and with relief I saw he was good with other dogs and kids, but no mention of cats.
I went to the front desk to get more information, and was told he’d been adopted and returned a couple of times and this was his first day back out for adoption since the last time. After meeting him I decided I never wanted to let him go, and he’s been with us a little over a year now.
We moved cross country on a road trip with our other dog, from Florida to Washington, which in itself was a great bonding experience. Here our favorite thing to do is go out to Marymoor, to the acres of off leash dog park where he scouts ahead, but never far, and always with an eye to were I’m going. He never wants to let me go either. 🙂
There are so many…but one that makes me smile to remember it is this:
My “god-dog” Zula is a small shepherd mix who lives at a no-kill sanctuary in Guatemala.
She was a street dog in Antigua when I met her; I ran into her a few times as I was about to go off somewhere and couldn’t take her with me. One morning at 4:30, I was sitting on the curb waiting for a van to take me to Honduras, and she came over and lay down on my backpack. Just lay down there! Of course she couldn’t go on the van, but I promised I would help her if she would only come back and find me when I returned.
After I returned from Honduras, sure enough I saw my little shepherd running around the streets of Antigua. I saw her when I was running to catch a bus to a market town–and I couldn’t take her! I begged her to just give me one more chance.
Finally, one night I was coming back to my hotel late, when who started following me but my little shepherd friend! This time, I wasn’t going to let her go. I begged the hotel proprietor to let her stay with me, and spent the next four nights cuddling her in my bed. She slept like she had finally come home.
I was heading to graduate school when I returned to the States, and would be living at my parents’ house and knew I couldn’t take her with me. Fortunately I had been volunteering with a wonderful sanctuary in Guatemala, at http://www.animalaware.org, and my friends there agreed to take her and help me get her spayed and vaccinated. The timing was perfect, because she was in heat and would have given birth to thousands of homeless puppies if she had stayed on the streets.
I miss my Zula, but I send regular “child support” payments to the sanctuary, and I will always feel bonded to my little shepherd mix girl.
http://peacefuldog.blogspot.com/2011/08/ones-that-grab-your-heart.html
One of my favorite bonding times is late at night when my husband is asleep and I can read. Lizzie lays her head on my lap and we sit there for hours, each of us in our own fantasy land.
I would say its when I am sitting with my one leg crossed over the other on the couch and Joy decides to stick her head under the crossed leg to hint at pets…. pleassse mom…
We take Henry to the dog park to run and play!
Every morning Finn and I go for our walk. We walk our neighborhood, say hello to our human and canine friends, check the ‘mail’ and just spend time together. It starts my day off right.
Currently, I bond with my guy via puppy agility classes and I’m learning to groom him which he seems to like. He’s a hyper pup but calms down on the grooming table and just watches me work his coat. It’s great.
Favorite bonding time… with my 9 y.o. lab, probably playing with his Nina Ottoson toy. He amazes me with his cognitive skills! With my new little one (a dachsund mix) probably doing obedience training.. and her finally having the little AHA! moments where she finally understands what I am asking of her. Those are good moments.
My favorite bonding time is hiking with my 4 yo yellow lab Dory. She is a typical crazy lab, but fun to take so many places because she’s calm when meeting people and she’s beautiful (so she attracts people to her). It’s just fun to explore the woods with her, especially when we find a creek and she just flops and lays down in the middle of it!
Everyday is my favourite bonding experience! Hamish is the love of my life and each day he brings something wonderful to my life 🙂
My boyfriend and i took our new furbaby Riley,who is a pitbull, to obedience classes. We adopted Riley from a local shelter and did not know what he could fully understand plus he didnt know the name the shelter gave him. So when we gave him ANOTHER name- he needed to learn that! So we had alot of fun with Riley doing our “homework” and going into class to show everyone how much Riley had learned. He knows his name very well now! He graduated!
We bonded when we first fetch TOto from his farm and while my husband drove 8hrs back home. The whole time he is sleeping and snugging in my arm for the whol 8 hours!
well this is not my favorite bonding but we have bond that no one can break now. My 13 week old boxer broke his leg in a freak accident. He has been casted for 6 weeks now. He will get it off next week and his leg looks great. The boy and I have a bond now that no oe will ever break he has been the best patient and he knew I was helping him the whole time.
My dog and I bonded when we adopted him, he was so scared at first and then he began to trust us. Now, he is a well-adjusted dog who passed his K-9 good citizen test and loves to go out to all the dog events.
I’m currently teaching my dog to dock jump and it’s been great fun for both of us. I, especially, appreciate a worn-out Labrador at the end of the day!
My favorite bonding experience with Clyde is walking with him every morning when we first wake up. Seriously, we are out the door before my eyes are completely open on some days. It’s healthy for both of us, we get to enjoy the still of the morning, and it just starts our day off right. We walk again every evening, but those morning walks are just more special for some reason.
I take my dog Mannek to the dog beach as often as I can because he looove the water! It’s so cute to see him splashing through the water like a goofball
My favorite bonding moment with my beagle happens every morning at 6:30 when he wakes me up. He would scratch at the door, I would let him out. Then I would lay on the couch where he would jump up and lay next to me for a few minutes until I am ready to be awake.
Cuddling in bed! There’s a reason we find puppy piles to be so adorable – the puppies are calm, happy, and together. It works for humans and older dogs too!
My favorite bonding experiences with my dogs is when I take them hiking. The entire experience is so much fun, and coming home and having us all pile on the couch together completes the day 🙂
We enjoy going for nature hikes!
My favorite bonding experience with my dogs is training. Training can open new doors to both you and your dog, so when they finally get it, it is all around good feelings for everyone. They love to train as much as I love to train them!
My favorite bonding experience is anything outside with my dog! Swimming, hiking, dog park, anything that both of us can do outdoors.
Recently I took her with me when my husband and I went on a road trip across 3 states. It was awesome and my dog loved it too. After we got home she alerted us to our cat acting funny. He had a mini stroke and because of my dog, Amber, he is doing fine and on Thyroid medicine. 🙂
Tough question because we’re joined at the hip with our dog. If we’re not at work, we’re with her. So I have to say I’m always bonding with her. Lame answer, I must admit, but it’s the truth! 🙂
I was unemployed for several months and during that time, me and Gilbert were together all the time. We went to the dog park or hiking just about every day. Good times (except for the not having a job part!)
My rescued boy Toby and I bonded like crazy by attending obedience and rally obedience classes. He is so perky as soon as I say “Are you ready to work?” He loves to show off!
My favorite bonding experience with my Retriever: Play fetch. He loves it so much! We spend a couple of hours every day. It makes me so happy to see him enjoy playing and running. It’s our favorite moment!
My Dalmatian Callie and I bonded over working towards our Canine Good Citizen certificate and continue to do so with agility training. She anticipates my commands, and at the same time is a total goof who makes me laugh out loud.
My favourite bonding time with my dog has to be when we took Chewy to the beach in Tofino. It was cold and windy, but she had so much fun. She found a seal skeleton, and she dug in some sand and rolled in seaweed. But the best part of the day was the flock (murder?) of ravens that she found, and then chased. They were none too pleased, but Chewy was having the best time of her life.
She’s not even 3 years old yet, so I’m sure I’ll have even better memories as time goes on. For now, though, that’s my number one moment.
Love both my dogs snuggling next to me for peace, comfort, and love!
My favorite bonding experience with my dog is herding. We both love it and we have become a great team through herding.
When I first got Kailey I wanted to socialize her & get her used to noises & people but she wasn’t old enough to go to the dog park.. so I took her to a farm supply store that allowed pets – since she wasn’t finished with her puppy shots – I pushed her around in a shopping cart every few days.. she loved it & I think we bonded more as she rode around the store & people ohh’d & awhh’d over her. What is cuter than a baby golden retriever in a shopping cart??
My favorite bonding time with my puppy is when we lay down together and watch tv!!!!
my favourte bonding with my dogs is every moment but most of all when im having a bad day they are allways there to make me laugh and feel better