"Studies show that when petting a dog, a hormone called oxytocin kicks into high gear. Oxytocin, which is sometimes dubbed "the cuddle hormone," helps reduce blood pressure and decreases levels of cortisol, a hormone related to stress and anxiety." And I truely believe this.
Recently I posted on my FB how I could sit and pet Gabriel for hours and I meant that. Just the thought of him makes me smile :o) I think that is because he doesn't expect anything from me ... except love and of course food and water and the occasional marrow bone :o) I wake up in the morning and when I walk out into the kitchen there he is with his tail wagging waiting for me .... even if he is not all the way "awake" when I go out there he will perk up as soon as he sees me or hears my voice :o) When I come home from work I am all he sees - no matter who else is there he keeps his eyes on me and I love that. He knows I am a pushover when it comes to him. I only hope he knows how happy he makes me :o)
When Brittany was alive I used to love to just sit and pet her - she loved it too - she would just lay there and take it all in. When she died I was heartbroken. I know it will sound crazy but I actually "ached" for her :o( I kept thinking if I could only pet her one more time :o( It took me a long time to be able to think of her and not cry ..... a few months after she died I would still breakdown but I would try to do it secretly because I figured by that time people would think I was crazy that I was still crying over a dog :o( I remember one time someone telling me to get over it :o( But I couldn't ... I am a dog lover through and through and my dog is not "just a dog" my dogs are a part of my family .... and you know what ... I like that about me ... I like that I have such compassion for animals (especially dogs) ... I alway remember a friend of mine telling me that when she dies she hopes to come back as my dog :o) That to me is a very nice compliment. I also love that I can see that same trait in both of my girls and recently my sister told me that she sees it in my nephew and he must get that from me :o)
I don't push my dog aside as busy as I am I always made time for Brittany and now Gabriel. I don't look at them as a "bother" and you know what maybe I can't go "away" on a whim now but I don't care because the amount of times I would do that as opposed to the amount of love I get from my dog cannot be compared. I don't care that there are tumbleweeds of fur rolling around the floor .... that is what vacuum cleaners are for :o) When Brittany got so old and frail I would bathe her at least 2-3 times a week (imagine me lifting a 170 lbs dog into the bathtub LOL) ... I didn't care that my entire bathroom was full of suds and water and just an outright mess when we were done I was just happy that I made her feel better ... because who doesn't feel better after a nice bath?
So really it's simple ... I love dogs :o) If I could ... I would fill my house with them :o)
Monday, March 18, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Gabriel the "concerned" mastiff :o)
Ok so these past few months haven't been the greatest. Someone very special to us became very ill and we lost him on January 10 :o( On January 5 my sister and I flew out to see him in AZ so my mother-in-law offered to come and help out with the girls while I was gone. She was a HUGE help and I really appreciate that she took time out of her life to come help when we needed her.
When I spoke to her on the phone we went over things (school, girls activities, etc) we also went over what she should NOT do and that was anything to do with Gabriel LOL! Honestly he is a very good boy but being 2 years old he still exhibits alot of his "puppy" tendencies and I was alittle nervous that he would exhibit them right directly on my mother-in-law and she would end up at Riverview with broken bones - though I am sure on Gabriel's end that would have been purely accidental as that poor boy does still has not idea how darn strong he is. So I told her not to worry at all about Gabriel that Scott and the girls would take care of him as we have all been "trained" in the area of Gabriel care.
After a very hard few days I returned home to find everyone in one piece (thank goodness :o) my house was nice and clean and all the laundry was done (thank you MOM!!!!) She had dinner all ready which was very nice after sitting on a plane all day. While we were eating we were just talking about the last few days and then it "slipped" out ..... apparently being the helpful woman she is my MIL decided she would "try" to help with Gabriel :o) Now here is how it works in our house we have a pretty big kitchen/greatroom so we have a one of those baby play-yards that goes from wall to wall and that whole enclosed "area" is Gabriel territory. I always joke and tell people that when you go in that area you take your life into your own hands and I cannot be responsible for what may happen. See Gabriel is always very excited when someone enters his domain and he usually greets that poor soul by licking, jumping, etc. Now if you are like me and totally use to that you are expecting it so you are able to fend him off pretty succesfully (plus he knows better now and he doesn't jump on his mom though he will lick me like crazy and lean up against me every chance he gets) but anyway my poor MIL is not used to any of this and when she tried to go over (I think maybe she was going to let him out in the yard?) her foot got caught on the gate and she tripped over the top and basically fell into lion's den YIKES!!! Now Heather was asleep on the couch and only caught the tail end of the whole incident and of course whenever I ask her about she bursts out laughing (and mind you I only allow the laughing because MIL was NOT hurt) but here is the part that I am loving - my good boy was just that a GOOD boy - she said when she fell he almost acted like he was "concerned" he came over and just sniffed around her and then just stood there - he didn't go nuts and try to take her down he was just a concerned bystander LOL! Luckily after that little incident MIL did not try to go over to his area again - oh wait except for one other time apparently one of the girls let him out so MIL decided she would let him back in now normally when he goes out in the yard we need to lure him back in the house with some sort of treat but since MIL is all new to this and he knows that he was very interested when he saw her standing by the open door so he took off basically charging at the door which in turn made MIL slam the door shut LOL! So yea thank goodness everything turned out ok - no one was hurt LOL!!! Gabriel behaved himself for the most part so yea I think she will come back (I hope) to watch the girls and Gabriel again - by that time hopefully all the puppy-ness will be almost gone and he will be the true couch potato he was intended to be :o)
When I spoke to her on the phone we went over things (school, girls activities, etc) we also went over what she should NOT do and that was anything to do with Gabriel LOL! Honestly he is a very good boy but being 2 years old he still exhibits alot of his "puppy" tendencies and I was alittle nervous that he would exhibit them right directly on my mother-in-law and she would end up at Riverview with broken bones - though I am sure on Gabriel's end that would have been purely accidental as that poor boy does still has not idea how darn strong he is. So I told her not to worry at all about Gabriel that Scott and the girls would take care of him as we have all been "trained" in the area of Gabriel care.
After a very hard few days I returned home to find everyone in one piece (thank goodness :o) my house was nice and clean and all the laundry was done (thank you MOM!!!!) She had dinner all ready which was very nice after sitting on a plane all day. While we were eating we were just talking about the last few days and then it "slipped" out ..... apparently being the helpful woman she is my MIL decided she would "try" to help with Gabriel :o) Now here is how it works in our house we have a pretty big kitchen/greatroom so we have a one of those baby play-yards that goes from wall to wall and that whole enclosed "area" is Gabriel territory. I always joke and tell people that when you go in that area you take your life into your own hands and I cannot be responsible for what may happen. See Gabriel is always very excited when someone enters his domain and he usually greets that poor soul by licking, jumping, etc. Now if you are like me and totally use to that you are expecting it so you are able to fend him off pretty succesfully (plus he knows better now and he doesn't jump on his mom though he will lick me like crazy and lean up against me every chance he gets) but anyway my poor MIL is not used to any of this and when she tried to go over (I think maybe she was going to let him out in the yard?) her foot got caught on the gate and she tripped over the top and basically fell into lion's den YIKES!!! Now Heather was asleep on the couch and only caught the tail end of the whole incident and of course whenever I ask her about she bursts out laughing (and mind you I only allow the laughing because MIL was NOT hurt) but here is the part that I am loving - my good boy was just that a GOOD boy - she said when she fell he almost acted like he was "concerned" he came over and just sniffed around her and then just stood there - he didn't go nuts and try to take her down he was just a concerned bystander LOL! Luckily after that little incident MIL did not try to go over to his area again - oh wait except for one other time apparently one of the girls let him out so MIL decided she would let him back in now normally when he goes out in the yard we need to lure him back in the house with some sort of treat but since MIL is all new to this and he knows that he was very interested when he saw her standing by the open door so he took off basically charging at the door which in turn made MIL slam the door shut LOL! So yea thank goodness everything turned out ok - no one was hurt LOL!!! Gabriel behaved himself for the most part so yea I think she will come back (I hope) to watch the girls and Gabriel again - by that time hopefully all the puppy-ness will be almost gone and he will be the true couch potato he was intended to be :o)
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Guess I don't need my alarm clock anymore
Nope ... not since Gabriel moved in. I have my very own furry alarm clock sitting out in my kitchen. He wakes me every day between 6-6:15am without fail :o) and when I say every day I mean EVERY day ... he apparently doesn't know the difference between the weekdays when I HAVE to get up early and the weekends when it would be nice to sleep in alittle :o) but that is ok .... even when I am dragging myself out of bed I stagger out into the kitchen and there he is waiting for me ... sometimes he is sitting sometimes he is standing ... but it never fails when he sees me suddenly his tail starts to wag and he can't wait to smother me in kisses :o) But you know what I do find fascinating is how only I seem to be able to hear this alarm NO ONE else in the family can hear it? And if for some reason I am not there to "shut off" the alarm it doesn't seem to "howl" until other family member "chose" to wake up???? Interesting.
Friday, June 29, 2012
A few things about Gabriel ....
I bet you didn't know ....
Gabriel's favorite food is a swiss cheese & chicken omelet (yuck)
Gabriel loves to just sit on top of Heather ... not next to her ... on top of her :o)
Gabriel loves to swim .... but he will only "swim" when the rest of us are swimming otherwise he will just go in the pool far enough to cover his paws
Gabriel LOVES his backyard ... he would stay out there exploring for hours ... and everytime he goes out there he acts like it is the very first time he has ever been there LOL
Gabriel loves to go for rides in the car .... as soon we open the car door he hops right in the backseat inbetween the girls :o)
Gabriel loves to go for a walk ... if I ask him if he wants to go for a walk he will run to the gate and just stand and wait :o)
Gabriel loves to roam the house ... though sometimes he needs a reminder that roam the house doesn't mean "run" through the house LOL
Gabriel still loves to swallow socks and other "material" things .... oh boy :o(
Gabriel will only sleep in his own "gated" area ... if he is allowed to roam the house and gets tired he will stand by his gated area and wait til I let him back in and then he will quietly go lie down and go to sleep :o)
Gabriel loves a cold beer (yea thanks Scott)
Gabriel loves to howl along when Kaitlyn plays the harmonica :o)
Gabriel loves his white "horse" blanket ... it is the only blanket he hasn't chewed/ripped :o)
Gabriel loves to "lean" on me :o)
Gabriel loves to have his ears cleaned (weird one right?)
Gabriel loves to have a bath but only the part where he is scrubbed up with soap ... the rinsing part is another story .... he hates that with a passion :o(
Gabriel loves his bones he will play with them for hours :o)
Gabriel is finally starting to act like a true "mastiff" it has taken nearly 2 years but he has, for the most part, calmed down and is much easier to handle .... though on occasion he will still knock me off my feet ... and falling on a 43 yr old ass hurts alot more than falling on a 20 yr old ass .... I'm just sayin LOL
Gabriel's favorite food is a swiss cheese & chicken omelet (yuck)
Gabriel loves to just sit on top of Heather ... not next to her ... on top of her :o)
Gabriel loves to swim .... but he will only "swim" when the rest of us are swimming otherwise he will just go in the pool far enough to cover his paws
Gabriel LOVES his backyard ... he would stay out there exploring for hours ... and everytime he goes out there he acts like it is the very first time he has ever been there LOL
Gabriel loves to go for rides in the car .... as soon we open the car door he hops right in the backseat inbetween the girls :o)
Gabriel loves to go for a walk ... if I ask him if he wants to go for a walk he will run to the gate and just stand and wait :o)
Gabriel loves to roam the house ... though sometimes he needs a reminder that roam the house doesn't mean "run" through the house LOL
Gabriel still loves to swallow socks and other "material" things .... oh boy :o(
Gabriel will only sleep in his own "gated" area ... if he is allowed to roam the house and gets tired he will stand by his gated area and wait til I let him back in and then he will quietly go lie down and go to sleep :o)
Gabriel loves a cold beer (yea thanks Scott)
Gabriel loves to howl along when Kaitlyn plays the harmonica :o)
Gabriel loves his white "horse" blanket ... it is the only blanket he hasn't chewed/ripped :o)
Gabriel loves to "lean" on me :o)
Gabriel loves to have his ears cleaned (weird one right?)
Gabriel loves to have a bath but only the part where he is scrubbed up with soap ... the rinsing part is another story .... he hates that with a passion :o(
Gabriel loves his bones he will play with them for hours :o)
Gabriel is finally starting to act like a true "mastiff" it has taken nearly 2 years but he has, for the most part, calmed down and is much easier to handle .... though on occasion he will still knock me off my feet ... and falling on a 43 yr old ass hurts alot more than falling on a 20 yr old ass .... I'm just sayin LOL
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Hey Rachel Ray ...
When Brittany came to live with us I swore we would only feed her only dog food ... no table food. Of course that did not work out the way I planned and basically she ate what we ate (mixed with her dog food :o)
When we decided to get another mastiff again I swore (and Scott swore) this time we would stick to our guns and he would only eat food made specifically for dogs. Well that last all of about a week? Apparently neither of us are very good at sticking to our guns especially when it comes to the dog. Part of the fun of owning mastiff is their enormous size ... to me the bigger the better ... now don't get me wrong I do not want my dog to be overweight and unhealthy but I also do not want a skinny puny mastiff either .... so when Gabriel suddenly decided he didn't like his dog food anymore we figured what better way to persuade him to eat it than to put some "people" food in his bowl along with his dog food and see what happens.
Well wouldn't you know it worked! Somehow I knew it would since that was the exact same thing we did with Brittany (you know the thing we swore up and down we would not repeat). Anyway I started to notice as time went on that this boy is much more intelligent than I give him credit for and that he is pretty much "on" to my little game. He has decided that when I feed him the table food mixed in with the dog food that he is going to beat me at my own game and only eat the table food! And damn you know he will spend a good amount of time in that bowl picking out only the table food and he leaves behind all that dry food LOL! Well I actually shouldn't LOL because when he does that I end up throwing away the food and his food can be kind of expensive so when I look back at all the food I have thrown away over the past 16 months it kind of makes me NOT LOL!!!
So here is where Rachel Ray comes into play ... normally what I like to do for him is mix a can of "wet" food in with his dry food that seems to entice him to eat more than just the plain old dry food. But like I said he has pretty much decided that he isn't liking this and he is not going to eat it which in turn not only makes me waste the dry food but now the "wet" food as well and that stuff is not cheap! So a few weeks ago I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items when I happened to walk down the pet food aisle and there in front of me were these neat little plastic containers with Rachel Ray's picture on them (hmmm who knew she made dog food???) anyway I picked one up and immediately looked at the price and saw that they are $1.99 each holy moly! But for the heck of it I splurged LOL and I bought him one. I couldn't wait to get home and give it to him to see if he liked it. When I opened the container I thought it actually looks like people food .... now I wonder if this stinker will realize that this is actually dog food? (it actually looked so good I was worried Scott would think it was HIS dinner and end up making a sandwich out of Gabriel's food LOL) Well you know what he LOVED it! I mixed it in with his dry food and he gobbled it all up! So now this is mostly what I have been buying for him. Though it can be alittle more expensive I have been lucky to find a few sales so when I do I buy extra. I still feed him table food here and there but since he seems to like this I will stick with it until he decides to turn his nose up at it! The girls get a real kick out of it too because the names on the containers are so funny .... Gabriel's favorite seem to be the Chicken Muttballs and the Chicken Paw Pie LOL!!! So thanks Rachel Ray for thinking of our fine furry friends and making this food which seems to be keeping my boy satisfied :o)
When we decided to get another mastiff again I swore (and Scott swore) this time we would stick to our guns and he would only eat food made specifically for dogs. Well that last all of about a week? Apparently neither of us are very good at sticking to our guns especially when it comes to the dog. Part of the fun of owning mastiff is their enormous size ... to me the bigger the better ... now don't get me wrong I do not want my dog to be overweight and unhealthy but I also do not want a skinny puny mastiff either .... so when Gabriel suddenly decided he didn't like his dog food anymore we figured what better way to persuade him to eat it than to put some "people" food in his bowl along with his dog food and see what happens.
Well wouldn't you know it worked! Somehow I knew it would since that was the exact same thing we did with Brittany (you know the thing we swore up and down we would not repeat). Anyway I started to notice as time went on that this boy is much more intelligent than I give him credit for and that he is pretty much "on" to my little game. He has decided that when I feed him the table food mixed in with the dog food that he is going to beat me at my own game and only eat the table food! And damn you know he will spend a good amount of time in that bowl picking out only the table food and he leaves behind all that dry food LOL! Well I actually shouldn't LOL because when he does that I end up throwing away the food and his food can be kind of expensive so when I look back at all the food I have thrown away over the past 16 months it kind of makes me NOT LOL!!!
So here is where Rachel Ray comes into play ... normally what I like to do for him is mix a can of "wet" food in with his dry food that seems to entice him to eat more than just the plain old dry food. But like I said he has pretty much decided that he isn't liking this and he is not going to eat it which in turn not only makes me waste the dry food but now the "wet" food as well and that stuff is not cheap! So a few weeks ago I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items when I happened to walk down the pet food aisle and there in front of me were these neat little plastic containers with Rachel Ray's picture on them (hmmm who knew she made dog food???) anyway I picked one up and immediately looked at the price and saw that they are $1.99 each holy moly! But for the heck of it I splurged LOL and I bought him one. I couldn't wait to get home and give it to him to see if he liked it. When I opened the container I thought it actually looks like people food .... now I wonder if this stinker will realize that this is actually dog food? (it actually looked so good I was worried Scott would think it was HIS dinner and end up making a sandwich out of Gabriel's food LOL) Well you know what he LOVED it! I mixed it in with his dry food and he gobbled it all up! So now this is mostly what I have been buying for him. Though it can be alittle more expensive I have been lucky to find a few sales so when I do I buy extra. I still feed him table food here and there but since he seems to like this I will stick with it until he decides to turn his nose up at it! The girls get a real kick out of it too because the names on the containers are so funny .... Gabriel's favorite seem to be the Chicken Muttballs and the Chicken Paw Pie LOL!!! So thanks Rachel Ray for thinking of our fine furry friends and making this food which seems to be keeping my boy satisfied :o)
Friday, April 27, 2012
FINALLY ..... it's "showtime"
So let's see I think I left off at the "bath from hell" .... which even though it was a horrific experience for all involved LOL it turned out well and I had a nice clean, coconut smelling Gabriel to show for it! As I said the show was on Saturday, March 24 so that morning we woke up bright and early to get ourselves ready ... we had to be at the show ring around noon and he was scheduled to in I think around 1pm. So I made sure I got together everything we needed (treats, towel for wiping away the drool, water bottle, water bowl, Xanax LOL (j/k) and I think maybe a bone I honestly can't even remember). After packing up our bag I realized I didn't really like the leash we had been using it was much too long and I needed him to be as close to me as possible since we were going to an enclosed area loaded with strange people and dogs and I wasn't sure how he would react. I also figured I would be doing most of the hanging on to him since Scott had already threatened us for a month how he wasn't going and how could I even think of entering him blah blah blah (SHUT UP already Mr. Negativity) - so since mostly likely it was just going be me, and the girls and Gabe's I decided he needed a nice new "short" leash so we headed over to Petco quickly and bought him a new leash, a nice big knuckle bone for afterwards and ok I will admit I also bought him these organic "calming" drops which supposedly help calm a dog down in stressful situations. A few drops on the tongue is supposed to do the trick but with that boy I'd say maybe half the bottle would have to be used LOL! So anyway as we were driving back home now to pick Gabriel up my cell is ringing like crazy and hmmm guess who it was .... Scott ... you know the one who wasn't coming ... well suddenly he was coming LOL! I knew he would ... he likes to threaten us all the time and when he sees that quite frankly we really don't care he suddenly puts HIS tail between his legs and comes along LOL!
Gabriel was really good in the car and luckily it only took about 20 minutes to get there. As soon as we got out of the car I started to get really nervous because there were ALOT of other dogs milling around as well as people and of course Gabriel suddenly became very intrigued with everyone and everything and that in turn causes him to "pull" extra hard as we are trying to walk him on his leash. But we did keep him pretty well under control ... I had some baby carrots in my pocket that I would stick under his nose when he would pull too much ... it didn't help all that much but hey I had to try something!
When we finally checked in we headed over to a quieter area and hung there and just let him get comfortable. After a little while we headed over to the ring where the mastiffs were being shown and met up with the others from our "group". That is when we found out that the person that was supposed to actually "show" Gabriel for us was not coming ... uh oh once again panic sets in. Luckily Eva remained calm enough to find someone else to show him for us (but that was not until Scott decided HE would be taking Gabriel in the ring to which we all said a simultaneous NO!! LOL) I don't think he realizes that there is a certain way of "showing" the dog and you don't just go in and run around the ring like a lunatic LOL! Plus to top it off this was Gabriel's very first time so we had no idea how he would act so for him to go in with Scott who also had no idea how to act LOL it would not be a good thing. So anyway Eva talked to her friend John Horn who I also know from our Mastiff Club and he kindly offered to take him in the ring. We owe him a huge thanks too because he was soooo good with him - he practiced with him on and off until it was time to go in and you know what I loved the most was how he kept talking to Gabriel and kissing him and just being so good with :o) and of course Gabriel responded by doing what John wanted (most of the time :o) When it was his turn to go in he ended up going up against only one other dog in his class who turned out to be his brother Gibbs! Gibbs of course did a wonderful job and he stood and walked and just did everything he was supposed to do. Gabriel on the other did "most" of what he was supposed to do but there were a few stumbles along the way along with the fact that Gabriel is an expert at "sitting" LOL and unfortunately sat a few times when he should have been standing. But that is ok because for the most part he did wonderfully for his first time and we were so proud of him!!! He ended up with a 2nd place ribbon which is pretty funny when I tell people because they think oh wow really that is so good but then I tell they there were only 2 dogs in the competition so that kind of puts a new "light" on his 2nd place win LOL! Scott, however, decided to tell his parents that Gabriel took 2nd place out of 30 other dogs LOL and them being down in Florida and having no idea about shows anyway believe him LOL!
Anyway after Gabriel was done we thought we would be leaving but since he was being so good we decided to stay and watch the rest of the Mastiff competition. Once it was over everyone headed out ... by the time we got home poor Gabriel was beat ... but he stayed awake long enough for me to give him his knuckle bone - his prize for being so good! So that's it pretty much our first show experience was a really good one ... not sure when I will enter him again ... I would have like to put him in one of the big ones coming up in May but I don't think we are going to be around for it so I guess I will just have to wait for the next one! Hopefully this time he will get a "real" 2nd place or maybe 1st (wishful thinking) .... I was kind of bummed there was only him and the other mastiff because when there are only 2 they automatically take 1st and 2nd ... it would have been interesting to see if he would have placed if there was more competition. But oh well maybe next time :o)!!!
Gabriel was really good in the car and luckily it only took about 20 minutes to get there. As soon as we got out of the car I started to get really nervous because there were ALOT of other dogs milling around as well as people and of course Gabriel suddenly became very intrigued with everyone and everything and that in turn causes him to "pull" extra hard as we are trying to walk him on his leash. But we did keep him pretty well under control ... I had some baby carrots in my pocket that I would stick under his nose when he would pull too much ... it didn't help all that much but hey I had to try something!
When we finally checked in we headed over to a quieter area and hung there and just let him get comfortable. After a little while we headed over to the ring where the mastiffs were being shown and met up with the others from our "group". That is when we found out that the person that was supposed to actually "show" Gabriel for us was not coming ... uh oh once again panic sets in. Luckily Eva remained calm enough to find someone else to show him for us (but that was not until Scott decided HE would be taking Gabriel in the ring to which we all said a simultaneous NO!! LOL) I don't think he realizes that there is a certain way of "showing" the dog and you don't just go in and run around the ring like a lunatic LOL! Plus to top it off this was Gabriel's very first time so we had no idea how he would act so for him to go in with Scott who also had no idea how to act LOL it would not be a good thing. So anyway Eva talked to her friend John Horn who I also know from our Mastiff Club and he kindly offered to take him in the ring. We owe him a huge thanks too because he was soooo good with him - he practiced with him on and off until it was time to go in and you know what I loved the most was how he kept talking to Gabriel and kissing him and just being so good with :o) and of course Gabriel responded by doing what John wanted (most of the time :o) When it was his turn to go in he ended up going up against only one other dog in his class who turned out to be his brother Gibbs! Gibbs of course did a wonderful job and he stood and walked and just did everything he was supposed to do. Gabriel on the other did "most" of what he was supposed to do but there were a few stumbles along the way along with the fact that Gabriel is an expert at "sitting" LOL and unfortunately sat a few times when he should have been standing. But that is ok because for the most part he did wonderfully for his first time and we were so proud of him!!! He ended up with a 2nd place ribbon which is pretty funny when I tell people because they think oh wow really that is so good but then I tell they there were only 2 dogs in the competition so that kind of puts a new "light" on his 2nd place win LOL! Scott, however, decided to tell his parents that Gabriel took 2nd place out of 30 other dogs LOL and them being down in Florida and having no idea about shows anyway believe him LOL!
Anyway after Gabriel was done we thought we would be leaving but since he was being so good we decided to stay and watch the rest of the Mastiff competition. Once it was over everyone headed out ... by the time we got home poor Gabriel was beat ... but he stayed awake long enough for me to give him his knuckle bone - his prize for being so good! So that's it pretty much our first show experience was a really good one ... not sure when I will enter him again ... I would have like to put him in one of the big ones coming up in May but I don't think we are going to be around for it so I guess I will just have to wait for the next one! Hopefully this time he will get a "real" 2nd place or maybe 1st (wishful thinking) .... I was kind of bummed there was only him and the other mastiff because when there are only 2 they automatically take 1st and 2nd ... it would have been interesting to see if he would have placed if there was more competition. But oh well maybe next time :o)!!!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Finally found some time to talk about Gabriel's "show" experience (Part 1)
I have been meaning to come write about this for the past few weeks only I haven't had the time but now I do so I want to tell you all about Gabriel's very first show experience :o)
I am going to back up alittle and start from when I got the email from Eva encouraging me to enter Gabriel and how I immediately emailed back saying I would love to only I was alittle "concerned" with his possible behaviour at the show since Gabriel is what I would like to call "spirited" at times :o) I will never call him "bad" because he is a dog afterall and there are no bad dogs only bad owners and I don't want anyone to call me a bad owner either so we will leave it at "spirited" LOL! (of course Scott will tell you he gets "crazy" because I do not "discipline" him ... so if anyone can tell me exactly how to discipline a 160 lbs puppy feel free and obviously Scott hasn't figured out how to do it either because he ascts the same way for him) Anyway she emailed me back and told me that is ok to bring him anyway and that he would be fine (and for that I want to thank you Eva :o) so as nervous as I was I decided what the hell and I registered him and paid my fee and then stressed for the next 2 weeks LOL!
The actual show was on March 24 so the day before I decided that Gabriel definitely needed a bath afterall what judge wants to "judge" a stinky dirty mastiff :o) So I texted Scott a few times during the day asking him to give Gabriel a bath (afterall it is the least he could do since he was home right?) I also had to take Kaitlyn to soccer practice from 5-6 and I knew by that time it would start to become cooler outside and honestly I didn't think I would feel much like giving this moose a bath so Scott should do it. Apparently he did not seem to get my memo and when I got home from work Gabriel was still "unbathed" so again I asked him to please give him a bath while I was gone .... why I thought that would really happen I have no idea but I really thought I would come home to a clean smelling fluffy dog but once again NOPE got home to a stinky pup and a sleeping husband .... that did not sit too well BUT I figured I gotta do what I gotta do so with Kaitlyn's help (she held the shampoo bottle) we headed out to the backyard.
I had Gabriel on his leash and Kaitlyn brought me the hose ... as she approached us I could feel the leash tighten up and poor Gabriel looked as if he was staring down the barrel of a shotgun. I tried to calm him by petting him and talking softy to him as I turned on the hose but apparently someone else had been using the hose before me (eh hem I am looking at YOU Scott) and didn't bother to turn it down a notch (and of course I deserve a swift kick for not checking this BEFORE I gave Gabe's his first spray) well the darn water came out full force and he came up off the ground which nearly knocked me off my feet! I quickly dropped the hose (which continues to spray by the way WTF? I thought when I release the stupid sprayer it is supposed to STOP spraying guess we will be needing a new hose nozzle) anyway I dropped the hose and once again tried to calm my poor frightened boy who was now hellbent on getting as far away from me and that damn hose as possible.
Luckily after a few tense moments I was able to calm him down so we could try this again. Which we did and it actually worked out well I was able to get him nice and wet and Kaitlyn went ahead and did her job of squirting the shampoo on his back. We scrubbed him up really nice and clean and I actually thought things had taken a turn for the better, that is until I picked up that darn hose to rinse him off and then all hell broke loose. With all his might (160 lbs of it) he just took off, suds and all with me attached to the leash screaming my head off! Honestly I can't even tell you how the heck I didn't end up on the ground but somehow I remained upright and was able to get the leash unwrapped and off my arm so he could just run a-muck through the yard ... full of suds! He ran and he ran and then ran some more .... while I stood there soaked and full of suds crying LOL! Oh and Kaitlyn she was crying too .... not really sure why she was crying but I am thinking it was because she probably thought I was going to be dragged off into oblivion by this crazy beast LOL!
Anyway ... after all that craziness he finally calmed down enough for me to actually catch him and try once again to rinse him which I did and thank goodness for that because by the time all was said and done he and I were both exhausted and smelled like coconuts LOL!
As for Scott .... hmmm .... he has gotten very good at "sleeping" through any kind of turmoil lately ... but not to worry he got a good "shalackin" once I was able to get myself into dry clean clothes :o)
(to be continued)
I am going to back up alittle and start from when I got the email from Eva encouraging me to enter Gabriel and how I immediately emailed back saying I would love to only I was alittle "concerned" with his possible behaviour at the show since Gabriel is what I would like to call "spirited" at times :o) I will never call him "bad" because he is a dog afterall and there are no bad dogs only bad owners and I don't want anyone to call me a bad owner either so we will leave it at "spirited" LOL! (of course Scott will tell you he gets "crazy" because I do not "discipline" him ... so if anyone can tell me exactly how to discipline a 160 lbs puppy feel free and obviously Scott hasn't figured out how to do it either because he ascts the same way for him) Anyway she emailed me back and told me that is ok to bring him anyway and that he would be fine (and for that I want to thank you Eva :o) so as nervous as I was I decided what the hell and I registered him and paid my fee and then stressed for the next 2 weeks LOL!
The actual show was on March 24 so the day before I decided that Gabriel definitely needed a bath afterall what judge wants to "judge" a stinky dirty mastiff :o) So I texted Scott a few times during the day asking him to give Gabriel a bath (afterall it is the least he could do since he was home right?) I also had to take Kaitlyn to soccer practice from 5-6 and I knew by that time it would start to become cooler outside and honestly I didn't think I would feel much like giving this moose a bath so Scott should do it. Apparently he did not seem to get my memo and when I got home from work Gabriel was still "unbathed" so again I asked him to please give him a bath while I was gone .... why I thought that would really happen I have no idea but I really thought I would come home to a clean smelling fluffy dog but once again NOPE got home to a stinky pup and a sleeping husband .... that did not sit too well BUT I figured I gotta do what I gotta do so with Kaitlyn's help (she held the shampoo bottle) we headed out to the backyard.
I had Gabriel on his leash and Kaitlyn brought me the hose ... as she approached us I could feel the leash tighten up and poor Gabriel looked as if he was staring down the barrel of a shotgun. I tried to calm him by petting him and talking softy to him as I turned on the hose but apparently someone else had been using the hose before me (eh hem I am looking at YOU Scott) and didn't bother to turn it down a notch (and of course I deserve a swift kick for not checking this BEFORE I gave Gabe's his first spray) well the darn water came out full force and he came up off the ground which nearly knocked me off my feet! I quickly dropped the hose (which continues to spray by the way WTF? I thought when I release the stupid sprayer it is supposed to STOP spraying guess we will be needing a new hose nozzle) anyway I dropped the hose and once again tried to calm my poor frightened boy who was now hellbent on getting as far away from me and that damn hose as possible.
Luckily after a few tense moments I was able to calm him down so we could try this again. Which we did and it actually worked out well I was able to get him nice and wet and Kaitlyn went ahead and did her job of squirting the shampoo on his back. We scrubbed him up really nice and clean and I actually thought things had taken a turn for the better, that is until I picked up that darn hose to rinse him off and then all hell broke loose. With all his might (160 lbs of it) he just took off, suds and all with me attached to the leash screaming my head off! Honestly I can't even tell you how the heck I didn't end up on the ground but somehow I remained upright and was able to get the leash unwrapped and off my arm so he could just run a-muck through the yard ... full of suds! He ran and he ran and then ran some more .... while I stood there soaked and full of suds crying LOL! Oh and Kaitlyn she was crying too .... not really sure why she was crying but I am thinking it was because she probably thought I was going to be dragged off into oblivion by this crazy beast LOL!
Anyway ... after all that craziness he finally calmed down enough for me to actually catch him and try once again to rinse him which I did and thank goodness for that because by the time all was said and done he and I were both exhausted and smelled like coconuts LOL!
As for Scott .... hmmm .... he has gotten very good at "sleeping" through any kind of turmoil lately ... but not to worry he got a good "shalackin" once I was able to get myself into dry clean clothes :o)
(to be continued)
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