Happy Thanksgiving from Ralphie!

Today is Thanksgiving Day, but not the typical Thanksgiving Day.  No big turkey dinner here.  Well at least for today.  My daughter had to work all day and evening...the life of a nurse!  So we postponed our Thanksgiving turkey feast until Saturday.  But that doesn't say we had a boring day.

Today's Thanksgiving dinner was grilled italian sausage with peppers and onions, spicy fries, salad and pumpkin pie for dessert with my son, Ralphie, and Ollie.  Then we went hiking on the nature trail at Starkey Wilderness Park.  It was quite wet from the rains we had a few days ago, but that didn't hold us back to a couple of hours in Mother Nature.  Ralphie LOVED it!  It was the first time I let his leash loose to run free.  I was so impressed.  He stayed right by us and when he would wander off too far, he came back to us when we called.  He had a BLAST!  He ran and explored like a Vizsla does.  By golly, I think I have the best hiking partner anyone can ask for ... now I just need to get some good hiking boots to be able to dredge through the elements!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sniff, sniff...what do I smell?

Enjoying his freedom!

Me and my BIG boy!

Ralphie...my BEST friend!

Oh, we had such a beautiful day!

Love this picture!

My handsome boy! 

We ALL Need Prayers

The other evening I was walking Ralphie.  It was a beautiful, slightly cool evening.  I was in a great mood, chatting on the phone with my daughter as Ralphie and I enjoy our walk.  As usual Ralphie was sniffing all the scents in the air and ground.  A street away from my house, Ralphie stopped near the curb by the street in my neighbor's yard.  He did his business and afterwards Ralphie kicked back the dirt a couple times as a natural instinct of a dog does.  As a responsible pet owner I took a poop bag from my pocket to pick up what Ralphie left behind.  Does this sound all normal?  I think so.

Well the owners of this home were outside in their yard.  Mom was raking and Dad was sitting with their daughter who was a little over a year old.  Mom yells over to me that my Ralphie was messing their grass (FYI...sadly the major part of their lawn is browned out and mostly dirt than grass).  I said to her, "Oh, I picked up his mess (holding up the poop bag) and Ralphie just kicked up a little dirt by the curb."
Oh my, that's when the fireworks started ... Dad stands up with his chest puffed out, pointing his finger at me with their little daughter by his side, yelling every nasty, foul, cuss word at me.  He went berserk!  I was appalled by such nastiness.  How can anyone get that angry over something so small? I kept walking, but shouted back he shouldn't be acting like that in front of his little daughter.  My daughter heard the whole ordeal over the phone as I was talking with her.  She couldn't believe her ears.  I couldn't believe such a small harmless act of Ralphie can make a young couple so distraught.

After returning home from our walk I couldn't stop thinking of what happened.  How can anyone be so upset over something so small?  This incident actually kept me up that night losing hours of sleep. Truly I was worried for their daughter being exposed to such madness.  If this is what happens outside their home with a stranger, my goodness what is happening behind closed doors?

I had to write a letter to this young couple to tell them how I feel.  That would be the only way I can let this whole situation go.  I wrote my letter that night using a little humor but getting my point across.  In the morning Ralphie and I took our walk and I tied the letter with a big pink bow to their mailbox.  After I left the letter, not knowing Mom was outside, here comes Mom and baby girl from the side of their house and she said, "oh, it's not you again."  I said, "oh, I just left you a letter on your mailbox."  Calmly she came up to me with her daughter on her side and we talked. Talked a lot.  I gave her some words of wisdom.  She seemed very sad.  In my head I knew there was more going on in that home behind those closed doors.  After talking for about 15 minutes I felt the conversation was going nowhere.  I wrapped up our conversation by saying,  "Have a nice Sunday and I'll keep you and your family in my prayers." She said, "we don't need prayers."  I said, "we ALL need prayers" and walked away.

My letter to my neighbor.

Vizsla Staycation

I took off this week from work ... a staycation.  Just hung out with Ralphie and my daughter with her pugs.  Ollie pretty much wants to be left alone...a quiet house is ideal for him.

Sadly, the week is winding down.  Ralphie had a fun-filled, active week.  We walked a lot in the neighborhood, walked the beach, we hung out in the back yard poolside relaxing, we visited a few pet stores, we hiked a 13 mile nature trail, we went to different dog parks, we went to my daughter's house for fun with Bubba plus we still have three more days of fun together!   Life has been exceptionally busy for Ralphie this week.

There's nothing like being able to spend so much time with your pup that means the world to you.  Next week it's back to my normal work routine.  However, now we will have to rush to the dog park right when I get home from work due to the time change.  I really hate this time change!  It's crazy that it gets dark so early!  I have no idea of the purpose to move our clocks ahead, but it really puts a damper on a lot of people's lives.  LOL

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy these last three days to the fullest with my Ralphie...more hiking, doggie fairs, and more doggie parks.  Fun!

Ralphie's new toy that he got when visiting the pet store.

Please, please can I have some!

Hiking the trail.

Cooler weather is here...all snuggled up!

My Beauty!

Vizsla Owner's Rule

The past few weeks I met a couple of Vizsla owners at the dog parks.  Their pups were beautiful.  All much younger than Ralphie, between 9 months and a year old.  All our Vs looked quite different which I found fascinating that I had to do some research on the Vizsla background.  I've discovered Vizslas from their country, Hungary are a little different from U.S. Vizslas.

At the dog park last week I met a breeder with a male pup...a handsome good-looking guy.  After admiring her sweet boy, she stated boldly that Ralphie was FAT!  Yes, I know he's about 5 pounds overweight.  She said it's because he's neutered.  Hmmm, maybe, maybe not.  I don't know if there's any truth in that, but I do know he does get way too many treats.  It makes sense that treats are the fat culprit!  But I found her dog's appearance intriguing...I actually really liked the differences in her V compared to Ralphie.  She then told me she breeds her dogs with a Vizsla from Hungary, giving her pups that Hungarian look.  The color seemed a little lighter red, more brownish red.  I really liked the head formation, more boxy than U.S. Vizslas.  I may consider getting my next pup from her.  But what through me off is she was using one of those prongy collars on her little 9 month old pup.  I was surprised to see a breeder use one of those.  I always thought V breeders were not fond of those torture looking collars.  However, I kept my opinion and thought to myself.

Then yesterday I went to an event called Woofstock.  This is an event where a lot of dog owners gather together and mingle and where different rescues and other dog organizations promoting their cause or service.  It was a fun-filled day for the dogs!  I met a young couple who was a guest that had two Vizslas, one about 9 months old and the other a year old.  Very beautiful girls.  They saw Ralphie, and the guy gasped and said, "WOW, I've never seen a Vizsla that BIG! That's the BIGGEST Vizsla I've ever seen!"  Okay, yes I admit Ralphie is a big boy at about 70 pounds (should be 65).  He looked like a giant next to their petite females.  Then he started telling me he's going to start breeding Vs and will have their first litter available early next year.  He started pitching the champion bloodline his pups will have to show the dog, on and on.  Then I said I wouldn't be looking for a show dog, my dogs are pets only.  Then he went on how SMART his Vs are, after all they know 30 tricks!  Blah, blah, blah.  His sales pitch was an over-kill and unfortunately quite a turn-off,

There should be a rule for all Vizlsa owners...Keep your thoughts about another Vizsla to yourself. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all!  

No one wants to hear their dog is FAT or their dog is a GIANT.  In any pet owner's eyes their pup is flawless and the very best-looking dog around.
 
My Ralphie is PERFECT!  Love.

Fun times at Woofstock!

Having fun with a new buddy!

My HANDSOME boy!

All tired out after Woofstock...on our way home.

More On Vizsla Allergies

Well today is the last day for Ralphie's antibiotics.  It's also been over a month on different food.  And  it's also October 25th and the weather is cooling.  Ralphie's hair is growing back and no crusty skin lesions. Yay!!!  Was it the antibiotics, the food change, or weather change that healed his summertime skin problem.  This is what I believe...

It was not the antibiotics because last year exactly at this time, Ralphie's skin cleared up.  It was last year on 10/26/13 that I wrote about him overcoming his skin and loss of hair problem.  And last year I did not give him any antibiotics.

It's not the change in food either.  Last year I never changed his food and he cleared up.  This year I changed his food and I've been mixing in different kibble samples that I got at the local dog store open house.  So he's been eating all different kinds of food this past month.  What I did find out though...Ralphie gets bored with his food.  He needs a change, a variety, not the same food every day.  He's a finicky eat and when he gets bored with his food, he won't eat it.  He's loving the variety that I've been feeding him.

My diagnosis on Ralphie's skin problem ... SUMMERTIME!  It's definitely a seasonal allergy.  Could be the annoying summer bugs, humidity, heat, fertilizers, grass, environment.  Unfortunately, this may be an ongoing problem each summer.  I will be looking into vitamins that may help these allergies and start him on them and hopefully build his immunity that will make him more tolerant to summertime.

But what I know for sure ... both Ralphie and I are loving the cooler weather ... a nice little break from our Florida's hot summer.

Vizsla Skin Allergy Obsession

Poor Ralphie is still suffering with skin allergies.  I wrote in my October 5th blog of all the things I'm doing to help his allergies.  Nothing is working.  I caved in and started him on the antibiotics today.  I really didn't want to put him on them but now I feel I have no choice.

I looked back in my blog from last year, and at this time his allergies were cleared up.  When he saw the vet last year in September he was having hair loss problems.  My Oct. 23, 2013 blog stated his hair grew back and he was looking great.  So I didn't give him the antibiotics at that time.  Our summer this year seemed extended, we've been having hot days just up until a few days ago.  Possibly that's why Ralphie still has hair loss and bumps.  Last year it cooled down sooner.

I'm honestly becoming obsessed with this problem.  That's all I talk about, I'm googling away every day for "thee answer".  I've read numerous blogs and forums.  It seems like it's different for every V.  Some say its food, some say its bugs, some say its environment, some say its grass or weeds, some say its laundry detergent, it goes on and on.  Very mind-boggling and frustrating.  For Ralphie, I think its our Florida bugs and maybe grass.  He seems to flair up a little more after the dog park.  Last year I didn't change his food and his skin did clear up by the end of October.  Truly this is making me insane!  Luckily Ralphie doesn't seem like he's in any discomfort...he's not chewing, scratching or itching.  It just looks really bad and it's not normal!  I need to get my boy all shiny and red again!  Love him!

Vizsla Love

So do you think Ralphie loves his mama? Hahah  Love him!