Gus Winter 2011/2012

All photo's by Boneheads!

Meet Cedar!

How cute is this boy?

I can't believe this guy hasn't been adopted yet!

Cedar is a stunning 11 month old Catahoula mix puppy who LOVES people and is good with other dogs. He loves playing with his foster brother and would do well with another playful medium or large dog of either sex. Cedar has great recall off-leash, is crate and house trained. HE would make a great running partner as he loves to run in the forest with his foster mom and siblings. He LOVES to wrestle with his foster brother and would be a fantastic match for another playful medium or large dog. He loves to PLAY! 

If you are interested in learning more about this boy contact  Cross Our Paws Rescue.

My journey through feeding Raw...

After much humming and hawing, research and budgeting I decided we had to make the switch to a raw diet for Gus. Since we adopted him he has had chronic eye goobers/eye infections. He was even on antibiotics once because it didn't go away after doing the saline rinses and homeopathic remedies. He wasn't exactly eating what you would call crap, he was after all eating the "healthiest" Ahem "most expensive" kibble on the market. We thought we were giving him the best,healthy food he could ever need. 

Our vet, Dr. Sue Pollen at the Vancouver Animal wellness hospital (amazing btw) kept telling us how much better raw was but I thought it would be too expensive, too much work, too hard, blah, blah ,blah. 

We were also having issues with Gus' anal glands, if you have a dog you'll know what I'm talking about -yuck!

Finally after having no luck getting rid of the eye gunk and feeling pretty desperate to curb the anal glad situation, I did some more research and made the switch! 

Well 2 1/2 weeks in - no more eye gunk AND I haven't smelled the anal glands at all! AMAZING! 

Another bonus is that he teeth are sparkling white, whiter then they have ever been!

Also for the first time Gus seems to REALLY enjoy what he's eating! He gets excited for dinner and dances and hops around!

We haven't committed to any one brand of food yet, so far we have tried Red Dog Blue Kat, Mountain Dog, natural instinct and Club Canine. I don't know if we will end up sticking to one brand or just keep alternating between them, I guess we'll just see how it goes! 

One things for sure we wont be going back to processed kibbles!!

Lynn Canyon - Lynn Loop Trail

We hiked Lynn Loop trail today and it was fantastic! The whole hike is off leash. Gus was in doggy heaven running through the forest, meeting other dogs and drinking from cold mountain streams. This is a great alternative to our Endowment lands walks. It didn't take long to get there from our place on Main street, about 30 minutes. I'm sure it would take MUCH longer if we attempted this on a weekday after work! 

The trail was fairly easy, there was about a 10 minute uphill climb at the beginning and then it evened out and the trail meandered through a forest filled with Cedar and Hemlock trees. It eventually ended up on the gravel service road that runs along Lynn Creek. All in all it was about a 1.5 - 2 hour hike and we were not going too fast, we even stopped to let the dogs have a few play sessions. 

The trail is very well maintained, and is fairly well traveled (so you're never far from other humans). I highly recommend this hike whether you have a doggy friend or not! 

Gus

Everett Crowley Park Review

We have been  looking for new places to take Gus for off leash fun. Dog parks are not the best for him, he is HIGH energy and tends to bowl over little dogs and run around like a maniac if we are just standing around. We usually take him to the UBC Endowment lands at least once a week, usually a couple times. Its perfect for him there, he can be off leash running around, jumping through the forest as fast as he wants with out bugging anyone. Plus he seems to do a lot better when we are on a "mission" rather than standing around. I like it a lot more too, standing around at the dog park gets boring after a few minutes. 

Off leash trail

I had read about Everett Crowley on the City of Vancouver dog park page and thought it sounded like something worth checking out and I'm so glad we did! It's 100 acres of off leash fun right in the city! Ok maybe it's not all off leash but the majority of trails are. It is located in the neighborhood of Killarney between South East Marine Drive and 63rd Avenue on Kerr Street. Everett Crowley used to be the Avalon dairy farm, in 1944 it was donated to the city and they turned it into a landfill. The residents were not happy and complained and it was eventually closed down . In the late 80's it was turned into the park it is today. There are some nice views of the North Arm of the Fraser River and of the Richmond cranberry farms. 

We will definitely go back. It's not anywhere near as beautiful as the Endowment lands but it's a great off leash area for dogs, lots of dogs to socialize with and we were able to walk around and get a bit of exercise as well. 

At one point Gus was sitting down holding his leg up, gave us a fright as we thought he'd blown a leg. When we got to him he was favoring it a bit and limping. I put him on leash so that he didn't make it worse. After about 10 minutes he seemed fine and we let him back off leash. He just goes for everything at 200% he's such a nut case when he's allowed to just go for it! This was yet another thing telling me I am supposed to do a doggy first aid course. I'm going to look for one now! Any suggestions?

Booo I forgot my camera, so all photo's are from Vancouver is Awesome

Well hello Buck!

Meet Buck

This cute little guy is in the Everett Animal Shelter in Everett, WA. Not really the place you want to end up, especially if you have 4 legs and a tail; about 22 percent of dogs and 40% of cats that come into the Everett shelter are euthanized. 


The Everett Animal Shelter holds strays for 72 hours. Once that time has passed, the animal may become available for adoption, be transferred to another agency or be euthanized.


72 hours is not very long, this is the reason you MUST have your dog or cat microchipped and have a collar with ID tags and a city license. Imagine finding out your pet was euthanized due to space in the shelter and you could have prevented it with a few simple steps. 


It scares me to think about Gus ever going missing, but I do have my bases covered - so to speak - he is microchipped, has multiple tags and a city of Vancouver license. 

I'm Gorgeous!

More about Buck


Buck is an 18 month old German Wirehaired Pointer looking for his forever home! Previous owner said that he is very smart. In a short time, they trained him to stay out of the kitchen and shake. He is extremely active. He is an escape artist though. He manages to dig and climb and work at latches to get out of his kennel. A safe and effective kennel or room while the family is away, is a must. Buck is an active, happy-go-lucky guy who will need daily vigorous exercise. Pointers are working dogs who need at least an hour of hard exercise daily, or they can become bored, vocal, and destructive. Playful and fun loving, Buck would make a great companion for an active family. Adopters should be prepared for a dog who needs to be kept busy, and would make a great dog for 4H, obedience, rally, or agility, and would also make a good biking, running, or hiking companion. Buck is a people oriented dog who needs a home where he will be made part of the family. Adopters should have previous dog experience. 


I think a lot of the time with "escape artists" the dogs have been cooped up and wouldn't be trying to escape if they had been properly tired out! Gus would drive us crazy if we didn't exercise him everyday, but as long as he's been out for his daily off leash exercise he's great. Way to often these poor guys are given up on too easily or bought/adopted without the adopter's doing their research. Just because this scruffy face aesthetically pleases you does NOT mean it is the right breed for your life style! 

High energy pointer boys happen to be my favorite and I can see this scruffy face fitting in with us perfectly! This boy will not be euthanized on my watch! Shhhh don't tell Josh I already emailed the shelter for more info.... :)

Thursdays Rescue Dog

I didn't do a Monday's rescue dog this week, so here's Thursdays!

Meet Nichole!

Nichole is gorgeous and loving and sweet. Her dad really hated to give her up and visited her every day in the shelter until her rescue woman came and took her out of the shelter. Nichole is in doggy daycare where she likes running around with her friends (She really, really likes running!) but she'd rather be in a home being loved. She rides beautifully in a car and is the best companion you'd ever want.

Happy Girl!

 Nichole sounds like a dream. She actually sounds like the perfect companion for Gus - Gus reallllyyyy likes running too. Gus isn't a dream in the car, he likes to try to help you drive...always interesting, so he needs to be strapped in or else if I'm in the passangers seat I let him sit on my lap with his nose out the window, this helps with his car sickness as well... we aren't ready for another dog just yet but I know this girl will make someone very happy...how about you?

Pointing Pointer

To find out more about Nichole contact Utah's Perfect Pointers!