Did you die? Sadly, yes. But I lived!

My "real" first post is still in the making (it's pretty long), but I didn't want anyone to think I had died, so I'm going to write a shorter post about basic dog care.

Train the dog, feed the dog, love the dog.  Not necessarily in that order.

And that just about sums it up.

Just kidding.

But, seriously, dogs are pretty easy.  Yes, you need to be responsible, but that goes for any pet.  Dogs thrive on food and love.  Training is a good addition not only for you, but also for your dog.  I would stop here, but my fellow bloggers might get mad and then I'd be in the dog house.


You should be laughing at my not very funny joke.

Okay, let's get started.  Training your dog should began when he is still a puppy.  Some dogs don't need as much training as others.  A Chihuahua isn't going to need as much learning in heel as a German Shepherd would.  The five necessary commands you need to teach your dog are the following:  sit, stay, come, lie down, and heel.  Now, I just want to say something on teaching these:  you don't need to use these exact same words when you are teaching your dog these commands.  I once met a guy who taught his dog to sit when he said "banana".  That's right, banana.  I always thought it would be funny if someone taught his dog to sit when he said "lie down" or stay when he said "come".  That would be awesome.

For feeding, well, it's feeding.  Find a dog food brand that you like and give it to your dog.  This is the brand I use for my dog:

It's Natural Choice.  We've never had any problems with it.  I believe Rachel uses Iams.

Rachel, you'll have to leave a comment and tell me if you do use Iams and what you think of it if you do.

A lot of people use Beneful, but I don't know anyone personally who uses it, and I've never used it.




















Also, don't forget to include human food along with your dog's main food.  Eggs help to keep their coat nice and shiny.  Frozen vegetables are a good choice for a healthy snack for you and the dog.  And how can anyone forget meat?  Dogs are carnivores, after all.  Oh, and also dog treats.  Just like we need our candy, dogs need their treats.  Peanut butter flavored dog treats are a big thing for dogs. At least, my dog loves them.  I suggest feeding your dog about 3 times a day.  Two bigger meals at breakfast and dinner and smaller one at lunch.  If you have a dog like mine, you'll end up feeding him way more than three types.  But if you want a dog with a small mid-section, try keeping to three types.  Fill in the in between times with frozen vegetables

And finally, love your dog.  Dogs are like humans in that they need love.  Could you live and life where nobody cared about you?  I know I couldn't.  Well, dogs can't either.  They may be animals, but that doesn't mean they are emotionless.

Other people might go into more details about dog care, but each dog is different and each owner is different.  Raising a dog is much like raising a child.  I know my parents have used different forms of discipline for each child, because each child is different.  So is each dog.  Every owner has his own preference on how to raise a dog just as every parent has his own preference on how to raise a child.  I only ask that you always remember to show a little kindness to your dog, because they will always show kindness to us.

Thank you so much for reading this!  I know I can be repetitive, I'm sorry for that, but I hope it wasn't too bad.  Have a wonderful day and give your canine friend a good pat on the head.

~Emma~

DIY Dog Toy

     Here is a super simple dog toy that you can make with items just laying around your house!

My dog, Cocoa, has a tendency to chew on laundry. Whether it's in a basket or on a person it's all chewing items to him! That's why I made this toy. I suppose the fabrics felt good in his mouth because they were firm enough to help but soft enough to not cut him (he's teething). So, with no further ado, let's get started!

You will need:

Scissors
3 strips of fabric (the fabrics don't have to be the same type or color or anything. Use your imagination to create a one of a kind toy)

I used two strips of fleece and a strip of a woven cottony sort of fabric.

My fleece strips were narrower than my cotton one because of the thickness of the fabric. I cut the cotton one wider to make up for the lightness of the fabric weave. The fleece is about 3" wide while the cotton is 4" (looks like other measurements because the tape measure was bent).

Tie the three strips together at the top leaving about two inches at the top. Braid down about one foot. Then tie off again. Cut the excess strip at the end to make the top and bottom even.

Cut the excess strip at the end to make the top and bottom even.

TIP: if you don't have fabric around your house, cut strips from a rag, or an old t-shirt. It'll work just the same.

Tada! Now, my dog (and yours, as the case may be) can chew on fabric to his heart's content without getting into trouble.

Betta Fish!

I have always had a love for Betta fish for many reasons. The first it how easy they can be kept, without keeping them in unsuitable habitats. Today I'm going to give a 'how to' sort of thing for keeping betta fish. One thing to note is that this is all my opinion however it's all been tested on many, many betta fish and has proved very successful.

First thing to talk about is tank sizes. There is a lot of talk about this topic over the internet however I think you'll find that my suggestion makes sense even to the very beginner fish keeper. At the pet stores you can finds the smallest little tanks that are just not healthy for fish to live it. Although you might think "Woah! I can keep a fish in a jar the size of a drinking glass, how easy is that?!" Just be warned that if you decide to keep your fish in a drinking glass sized tank its life will be more than 50% shorter. And so what I recommend, very highly, is that two gallons should be the SMALLEST you keep your single Betta fish in. If at first you read this and think that two gallons means you have to have a filter and a heater and all this professional fish equipment to keep your fish healthy. That is not correct. Although I recommend a filter for any tank you keep, two gallon tanks with just one fish in it can be kept easily cleaned without equipment. And so we can move on to fish decor and more!

For the most part, all the decorations and rocks found at the pet store are safe to use. I'm going to tell you the easiest ones to use, not the 'prettiest' or 'coolest'. Just the easiest. Alright, for rocks the I always use 'river rocks' you can get them in bags at the pet store. The reason I chose these over other rocks is that these are much bigger than other rocks and can therefore be cleaned easier. They don't fit down the drain and don't stick to everything when they're wet. As for decor I always keep it simple. One or two plants and for pretty-ness and color, I have a collection of large (Okay... not large, but maybe 5 or 6 times bigger than a standard river rock) colorful rocks that I put in the tank one at a time. That way every time I clean my fish's tank I get to make it a little different. One thing I think I need to touch on is feeding; when and what. 

As for what I always use tropical fish food crisps. There is a link to the page of the exact food I use. As for when I feed, I feed my betta two ore three crisps (I always squeeze them in my fingers to crush them before I put them in the water) every other day. Your betta's stomach is only the size of one of its eye, so it doesn't need a lot of food. I know successful betta keepers who only feed theirs once a week. I urge you not to feed them every day, that can cut down their life length. 

Whew! We're getting close to being done! I promise! 

I also want to talk about gold fish vs. betta fish. What most people don't know, and what pet store clerks don't tell you, is that gold fish are pond-fish and can actually get over 7 inches long! Imagine having a gold fish in a 'gold fish bowl'. Those are usually between 1 and 3 gallons. Putting a gold fish in that stunts its growth so much that it slowly kills the poor not so little fish. Betta fish's growth is not stunted in a two gallon tank, therefore they make great pets! I know there is a slight thrill of having a gold fish in a gold fish bowl, but just think about how that fish needs a least 100 gallons to live nicely. That's why the are classified as 'pond fish'. 

In this post I didn't talk about the best ways of cleaning your fish tank, because I thought  if I had the post would become a book. Not that cleaning them is hard, its just that I always have a lot to say when it comes to animals. 

Here is the link I was talking about, about the fish food: http://www.tetra-fish.com/sites/tetrafish/catalog/Detail.aspx?id=4172

Here is a picture of my betta tank, you can see my plant and rock, with the river rocks:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s130/sh/7f3fbe80-ab6a-4dab-bcb0-22703373a157/e048a7b2f040c6105023d94269eacd64

NOTE: That is an 'evernote' link, it is safe (No adds, as far as I know) just copy and paste it into your brower and it will show you my picture. I'm sorry I'm not as smart as Rachel, and can't figure out how to post pictures right to this post. Ah well.

Thanks for reading!
As always, the always talking,

~MOIRA

Cocoa, the brave, the daring... the adorable

And here he is! Cocoa--       Cute isn't he?

 He is 14 weeks old, a standard poodle, chocolate colored, and oh-so-cute!

He seemed to have the most fun outside, hopping around in the snow. So so so cute!
Sorry about the picture quality, these were taken on my phone of a perpetually moving subject.

-Rachel-

Coming Soon!

     New puppy joining our family this Saturday!! Yay! I am super excited! My dog Jasper died last summer and we've all missed him, but now we are getting a new puppy! He is a brown Standard Poodle named Cocoa. He is 14 weeks old so he's still pretty little. Pictures coming as soon as possible!

-Rachel-