Spring Shedding

I will start off with telling you an update from last week. The boy dog ended up getting to my Isabelle so now we are trying to find out if she is pregnant or not. We are hoping not because if she is she will not be able to have the puppies. The dog was so much bigger than her it would really hurt her or possible kill her. She has an appointment next Monday to have the surgery. So on to another subject... those of you who have dogs have to experience shedding whether it is light or heavy. I find little black hairs on my clothes all the time. I hate it! I started trying to figure out what I could do to stop the shedding.

I came across a product called FURminator. They make shampoos and sprays but their most popular thing is the shedding tool. It is a comb but it has sharp teeth and cuts out the dead undercoat. I have not bought the actual FURminator brand yet but I bought an off brand just to see how it works. The drawback to this product is that the lowest price is $43. It goes up for larger dogs. You can pick the long haired or short haired tool. The tool that I have works very well. You have to do it several times a week but it gets so much extra hair off of her. The FURminator products can be found at Petsmart.

Love Sick

I have had a bit of a problem with dogs at my house this week. This is a subject that many pet owners want to avoid talking about, and even thinking about. Apparently my Isabelle has been a hot item on the town this week. About a week ago I noticed a little shaggy dog outside my house. I had never seen it before so I assumed it was a stray. I felt bad for it and took food out for it to eat. I later discovered he was not hungry at all, he was hot on the trail of Isabelle. She is going through her heat cycle and it makes me very uncomfortable. She is a year and a half old and I have not had her spayed yet. Her male suitor has stayed here, night and day, for a week solid. He is quite bigger than her and tries to attack her. I have had to go out with her on a leash or stand with rocks or a stick in hand when I take her out. He barks all night! Thursday night it was quite bad. I had to go outside in the middle of the freezing cold night and throw coke bottles at him to try to scare him away ( I know funny picture)! We have tried everything and he will not leave. I hope this week he will know it has ended and his job here is done!

I know I am going to have to make her an appointment to get spayed, but I have heard some bad side effects, as well as good ones. The pros are the obvious, preventing pregnancy as well as cancers. I have heard that the surgery could change a dogs personality. People have told me that it could make dogs lazy and not as full of life. I have read several articles on the internet and most of them seem to disagree. Some people have said that it could make male dogs have a slight change in personality in some cases but not for females. There is also a threat with the anesthesia on little dogs like mine. I would like to know if any of you have had experiences with the surgery. I do not want to have it done and make her personality change, but I do not want to take the chance on her getting pregnant by a dog like this one who is much larger than her and could really harm her.

Longing for Love

Coming home to your dog looking out the window for you can either be the most heartwarming moment, or the most heartbreaking. Most every time I leave my house I have no worries, because Isabelle is looking out the back dash of my car, laying in "her spot" going wherever I may be going. Believe me, when I have to tell her no, it not only breaks her heart but mine as well. I tell her no on mostly, only 2 occasions, when I go to class, or when I go to church, although she has been known to sit in my car and wait on me to get out of church. When I get home, she is sitting in my upstairs window sill watching, longingly, out the window for me to return. My Mother has to go upstairs and retrieve her numerous times throughout the day because once she goes up my stairs, she can't get down.

Many of you have told me that you have pets at home as well. You may not be in a position where you can commute from home as I do. I know that dorms do not allow pets and most apartments will not allow them either. So you have no choice but to leave your animals at home, which can be so heartbreaking. I ran across some interesting information. Lees- McRae College located in Banner Elk, North Carolina where I am from, has recently opened a pet friendly dorm. They are allowing pets under 40 lbs. to be allowed in the dorm rooms. Students are allowed to have fish, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, ferrets, cats, and dogs. I think it would be great if ETSU turned one of it's older dorms into a pet friendly dorm. If enough people inquire about this to the housing department then maybe we could get the housing officials to discuss this. Please tell me what you think.