"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)
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