running for relaxation

throughout june, chris & i have been out and running many mornings. we must get up & go early to avoid this oppressive big heat / humidity issue we’ve got going here in north florida.

i mostly enjoy our by dawn’s early light jaunts - or try not to think about it - i just wake up & run. my mantra is: it’s just another part of my day, like brushing my teeth (a huge thank you to kate for getting me off on the right foot with this!)

on days that we have to be at work, chris & i and get up at 0500; that’s 5 am for you non-military types, [beep beep beeeeeep ...pet peeve alert] aka “5 am in the morning.” [silly syllable wasters, you don’t have to say both “a.m.” AND “in the morning” - the definition of “a.m.” is amante meridiem: before noon] not one of our 5 dogs will get up with us at this way ridiculous hour. it’s just me & my guy huffing & puffing through our neighborhood.

weekends have risen to a new level of happy for us. we don’t get up until 6 am (yes, in the morning), the latest the dogs will let us sleep. (as you know & the dogs clearly realize, there’s a long long hour & a lot of sleep to be had between 5 am & 6 am). then it's coffee, newspaper, & out for our run by 0700. at this time of day, every one of our fur kids is begging to accompany us on our exercise expedition.

i love running with one of my dogs by my side; two is usually too much for me to think about - i’m busy concentrating on breathing & remaining upright. chris & i just circle around the block and swap them out. the little loop is for mojo (too much fur and mild hip dysplasia to go an entire mile) and lucas (not quite 2 years old, and a bit thick over the ribs.) the other 3 dogs can go on the big loop (2.3 miles), each of us taking one.

when we’re finished, chris and i are ready to relax and thankfully, so are the dogs. there is nothing better than a tired dog, unless, of course, it’s 5 tired dogs. an exhausted, happy dog has few requests & sleeps like a sweet little baby. they’re so relaxed i can clean teeth, cut nails & even eat a snack without being “hounded.” [that’s funny - i've never used HOUNDED when talking about my dogs - i love that!!]

i hope you have a way to keep your dog busy & tired. if you can’t run, walk or skip! if you don’t have time for activity with your pooch today, think about taking them to mojo’s backyard to play. get out early, get back home & enjoy the rest of your day with a calm canine.

don't tell the dogs their dad used to run without them.

it's been over a month.....

wow this last few weeks have been so busy & telling...no blogs by me. megan & i have vowed to each publish a new blog at least once weekly. find megan’s blog here: http://tallydogs.wordpress.com/

i’ve been working behind the scenes on several projects:

mojo’s backyard is going to be on twitter & facebook (“they” say we have to keep up with social media - “they” being the advertising types) stand by for more on that. you’ll want to sign up - we’re going to do live action updates on the crazy happenings at the doggie daycare, send recipes, quotes and even coupons to discount daycare and products. we’re planning to have good stuff give-a-ways, too. it doesn’t get much better than a give-a-way!!!!

megan & i have been working for months on our plans to start our very own dog ranch. our intent is to offer a permanent home for dogs if their owners become incapacitated or die. much much more on the BFF DOG RANCH in future posts.

we want to be your best friend’s next best friend.

my husband, chris, and i have made a family decision -



ditto, our little tall skinny gorgeous jack russell terrier is going to train for some competitive agility. the real challenge is mine - can i keep up with this lanky bundle of flying fur? i guess i picked the right month to start running again.
ditto & i will be under the close guidance of shawn, our amazing & oh-so-patient agility instructor. our goal is to attend our first competition on thanksgiving weekend. the training begins this monday with “two-a-week’s.” [doesn’t that sound jock-like? translation: two practices per week for now]

find info on shawn’s awesome agility classes here:

http://capitalcanine.com/agility.html

mojo has been shedding her undercoat...the brushing, vacuuming, plucking, grooming, sweeping, shaving, & did i mention vacuuming?....it’s almost too much for my fuzzy girl to bear. thank goodness it’s almost over. AND she’s lost four pounds of fat (it turns out it wasn’t the fluff that was weighing her down!) her hips feel better (no more crying when she stands up). HOW glucosamine works may be a medical mystery, but the fact that it WORKS is not a question for mojo.

life is good.
(and if you haven’t checked out that website, you should!!)

designer dogs

I haven’t blogged in so long and I have no excuse. I am once again working at mojo’s backyard part time along with my full time job as a physician assistant in dermatology. so I am busy (that’s a BIT of an excuse and true at the same time)

truth be told, I would much rather be with the dogs at mojos than the people at the dermatology joint (shhhh – don’t tell the folks at the derm office…I enjoy that work tremendously as well as the people, but the dogs…..ahhhhhhh the dogs)

I love doggie kisses and nuzzles and the smells (SOME of the smells anyway) and the noises, the fur (when it remains attached – the floating fur is not my favorite) I could watch the dogs play all day. heck I even like watching them sleep. they are gorgeous.

I’m trying to think – have I ever met a dog that was NOT amazing to look at. I have to go with NO. I will say this…puggles are so cute when they are puppies and when they grow up they get a bit….”less cute” shall we say.

you know a puggle is a “designer dog,” right? a puggle is a beagle bred with a pug. I believe it is recognized by some group as being official in some sort of way. to me, it doesn’t matter – I just love beagles and I love pugs, so PUGGLES – what’s not to love?

at my dermatology job I work with a wonderful woman who has a jack Russell and a shih-tzu combo dog. I don’t know if that combo is an “official” designer dog or not. but I have dubbed the breed as the jack-shit. her name is bella and she is a beauty!! so when I say she is a jack-shit, I mean it in the sweetest, kindest possible way.

pictured above is my designer dog, Eiyso, she is a lointer. (lab/pointer mix. some might call her a mutt or a mix. i just say she's my sensitive sweet girl.)

side note: if you haven’t noticed, I’m lowering my grammar and punctuation standards. maybe I can blog more if I don’t try to get things all perfect and pretty. after all, while my life is perfect, it ain’t always pretty.