Elk Antler Chews

 I've been buying all kinds of bones...rawhides, beef soup bones, rubber bones, etc.  And WOW they can get expensive because Ralphie just goes through them so quick. The regular beef bones are just too rich for Ralphie and he throws up from them.  The beef bone would always split from his strong bite.  I really needed to find something better that's long-lasting, healthy, and tasty.

Then finally I found the best bone for Ralphie!! The Elk antler chews are the BEST!!  Animals shed their antlers periodically and these are natural-shed antlers.  They don't smell, no bone chips everywhere.  They are loaded with vitamins and minerals plus unbelievably durable and last forever.  The best part...Ralphie LOVES them...they're tasty!  I would highly suggest this great find!!  If you want to try them and get $5 off, copy this link:  https://doggyloot.com/invite/3137eed7

Ralphie lovin' his Elk antler chew! 

Sometimes Life Just Isn't Fair...

Ralphie loves his bones!  Since Ralphie became a member of our family, Ollie loves bones too now!  Ollie hasn't had any interest in bones for a few years, as he's getting older.  Ollie is now 13 years old and chews bones like a puppy again!  I always get Ralphie a nice big bone to match his 50 pound size and get Ollie a small petite bone to match his tiny 9 pound size.  Well....sometimes life just isn't fair and here is proof!

Ralphie is stuck with the little bone...

...because Ollie insisted on the bigger bone!

 

 

 

 

Ollie is a thief!!  After enough whining and barking Ralphie got his bone back!!

Ralphie Updates

After looking through my past blog entries I thought I would post some Ralphie updates...

* Demodectic Mange - Ralphie doesn't have it anymore!  It took about 5 months for the bald spots to disappear.  I believe I'm the "mange guru" now ... I've read everything possible on this condition and I seem to notice any dog at the dog park with mange.  It is NOT contagious!

* Ralphie-Ollie Relationship - Ollie is still not fond of Ralphie, but he accepts him.  I don't believe Ollie ever realized how Ralphie outgrew him so quickly... Ollie: 9 pounds; Ralphie: 50 pounds!  Ollie seems to have more life in him now with Ralphie here. Many times I do see Ralphie trying to cuddle with Ollie and Ollie actually lets him for at least a little while.  Ollie steals Ralphie's bones.  Ralphie steals Ollie's bones. Ollie wants all of my attention.  Ralphie wants all of my attention.   Brothers...what can I say!

* Training - Ralphie is still learning to walk properly on a loose leash by my side.  Some days are better than others.  He pulls me often especially when he sees a squirrel or lizard.  But this can be my fault in slacking off on the training.  I need to really spend more time on this with him.  Ralphie sits on command.  He gives me his paw on command.  He stays on command.  He goes to his bed (crate) on command.   Overall I am pleased with his progress.  Did I ever mention...he's just so smart! LOL

* Dog Park - To sum it up ... Ralphie LOVES playing with all his friends at the dog park.  He was a huge wrestler when he was younger...not saying he still doesn't like his puppy wrestling, but he's doing more running now.  He loves to out-run all of the other dogs and have them chasing him.  He's getting FAST!  I'm a firm believer of dog parks...socialization is extremely important.

* Running Partner - Ralphie and I are doing interval run/walks about twice a week together.  We don't go far because he's still too young to run distances and furthermore I'm not in any shape to run long distances with my heel problem.  My goal is to run a few 5Ks with Ralphie when he is older.

* Neutering - Ralphie healed quickly after his little neutering procedure. It did not make him lazy or inactive. 'They' say you take his 'manlihood' away when neutered ... well, don't believe it ... Ralphie's big stuffed froggie is a very, very close friend for him...if you know what I mean. ;-)

Ralphie and Diva enjoying this morning's sunlight.

Vizsla Puppy Begging...Whining...

Each evening Ralphie gets a nice big bone and Ollie gets a nice small bone to fit their size.  Never fails, Ralphie thinks Ollie has the better treat.  He will lay next to Ollie waiting for the opportunity to snag his bone.

 Ralphie in action...his little tactics...his begging...his whining...and then what happens...?

Two Sweet Stories

Ralphie makes me smile many, many times.  I'd like to share a couple of sweet stories...

Today I went to the dog park with Ralphie (yes, yes again, always!).  There was this cutest little girl by the dog water fountain.  She was about 3 years old.  She was filling the dog bowl with water as the dogs slobbered, slurping up the water.  Ralphie approached the water fountain and I walked behind him.  The little girl filled the bowl with water, making comments about Ralphie, 'is he a puppy', 'he's so soft', 'I love his big ears'...she's running her little hands up and down Ralphie's back, then she leans over and kisses Ralphie on the head and said, 'I love you'. (melt) Ralphie ran off, then came back again for the little girl's touches, and she kisses him again!  Ralphie ran off again to play with his friend Charlie.  These two puppies were rolling around, the typical puppy play.  Oh no!  The little girl ran up to the two puppies rolling around and began yelling, 'stop! stop!', trying to separate the two playful puppies.  Her mom yells, 'leave the puppies alone, they're playing'.  This little girl burst out crying, 'I don't want them to do that, my puppy!'  I walked over to explain how the two puppies were playing and they weren't hurting each other.  This little girl was so upset thinking Ralphie was getting hurt.  So sweet.  She wanted to protect Ralphie.  Love.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Erica has been recovering from knee surgery this past week...

Ralphie showing his love. I really believe he sensed that Erica wasn't feeling well.  He was by her side the whole time.

Ralphie being silly, making Erica laugh during her recovery.  Dogs work wonders in the healing process!

Obsession

I think about Ralphie a whole lot.  I talk about Ralphie a whole lot.  I post Ralphie on Facebook a whole lot.  I blog about Ralphie a whole lot.  I play with Ralphie a whole lot.  I care for Ralphie a whole lot.   I get Ralphie tons of toys and treats a whole lot.  Ralphie goes to the dog park a whole lot.  I walk and run Ralphie a whole lot.  I play with Ralphie a whole lot.  I brag about Ralphie a whole lot.   Am I obsessed with Ralphie a whole lot?
What can I say...Ralphie is the best puppy anyone can ask for...he's a good boy, he's smart, he's sociable and friendly, he's a cutey.  *melt*  Yep, I'm obsessed!  LOL

That's MY Baby!!

Our Run

I'm finally starting back to running on and off after my bout with plantar faciitis.  I was up to double-digit runs and then my heel just gave out on me and I've been in pain for more than 6 months...so running was out of the question for more than a half a year! After three cortisone shots in the heel, I think I'm ready to start up again.

Right now Ralphie is 7 months old and I feel he shouldn't be running any distances until maybe 12-18 months old.  However, I've read that short jaunts of running paired up with walking and shorter distances should be fine for a younger Vizsla.

Ralphie and I went on a short run/walk/sniffing this evening.  We ran 1.75 miles in 25 minutes.  Of course there were a couple of potty breaks, sniffing delays, etc.  But we also had some good running intervals.  I'm planning to run with Ralphie a couple of times a week (slowly but surely) and a couple of times alone to bring me back to where I left off 6 months ago...well maybe I won't run the long distances but I will keep running!  Gosh, I don't want to go through plantar faciitis again...that's for sure!

I'm so looking forward to having Ralphie as my running partner and maybe a race or two together!  I just LOVE my little guy!! 

Early Morning Wake-Up Call

It feels different in my home today...all the excitement from last week is gone.  It's too quiet.  My out of town guests left this morning.  I truly believe my sister and niece enjoyed meeting Ralphie and they loved seeing 'ol Ollie.   Ralphie gave them a lot of laughs.  They saw his good side and naughty side...a true-blue puppy.  I'm sure Ralphie will miss waking up my sister and niece each morning but I'm sure they won't miss it...LOL

Early morning wake-up call!!

When There's a Will, There's a Way

"My oh my, who is this on the other side of the fence!"

"Oh boy, oh boy, I see, I see...it's a friend peeking through!"

"There he is!!!!! I FINALLY meet my friend!!"