Category: Dogs

Catching Up On Projects

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Dogs, Garden, Food & Home Canning, Inspirational, Wise WordsLeave a comment

NDW Frost.jpg

IMG_1235.JPGThis is just a little personal catch up post.  Wasn’t intentionally taking a break from the blog, but working on winter projects has taken up mucho time.  Super cold here lately in the first days of the new year. I love winter here at the lake.  It turns into a bird sanctuary with bald eagles, seagulls, geese and ducks.

IMG_1220.JPGWe had good holiday family time.  My son’s big doggie looked cold so Grandma made him a sweater. I don’t really have a solid pattern to share because I figured it out by looking at some dog sweater crochet patterns, and then freestyling it.  Luckily, I had him here for a few days to custom craft it to his big great dane body. My son said I made him look like Clifford.

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Then our two goldens needed sweaters…

Next project was making juice from the last of the frozen fruit from the garden and I homecanned about 48 quart jars (there’s a post here somewhere on here about my superjuice.)

And then I finished and bottled two of four batches of wine I’ve had aging in 6 gallon carboys for almost a year.  The fruit came from my garden and the wine is completely organic.  The two batches yielded 44 bottles.IMG_1240.JPG

I’ve been dying to use a new wine filtering system my husband gifted me last summer.  Filtering can clean out any remaining yeast and particles and can smooth out the flavor. This was a batch of home grown grapes using Montrachet yeast.

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I am now a fan of filtering. It did a great job.  IMG_1243.JPG

I’ll be back in the saddle soon with some new insights I’ve been getting while I working on my projects.

In this new year, our job is to:

Wake up.

Release all that no longer serves us and remember who we really are.

Relax and enjoy the ride to ascension as we cherish this experience of watching things unfold.

Be compassionate with eachother.  Be Love.

Reiki with Dogs

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Dogs, Healing & Empowerment6 Comments

Many moons ago, I worked for an animal communicator.  I handled her payment accounts and sent out packages containing her books and Bach Flower Essence medicinals.  Overhearing many of her consultations, there’s a few things that stuck with me about life with our beloved pets.  One thing is we all can communicate to them, but when we do, do it in pictures.  Some pets know words, but most get our meaning when we picture what we want to communicate.  So, if I want to tell my dogs that we’re going to the park, I will picture the car and then driving to the park.  I say the words too, and they know it, but when my dog won’t come in, and I suddenly see a dog biscuit in my head, I’ll betcha it wasn’t me putting it there.

Another thing I learned was that when we are so connected with our lovies, and they cross over, if we ask them to, and they are willing, they will come back to us in another body.  We will know because it will feel like a continuation.  Sometimes they will do something that they did in that prior life like find a toy they buried under the garage, or lay in a certain place in the house.  When clients worried that they might not find their friend again, the answer was always don’t worry, they will put themselves in your path in a way that you cannot miss them.  I also learned that it helps them to burn a white candle after they leave us.

Even though I always had a knowing about things, it was my connection with my pets that led me to discover more about spirituality and how everything works in the spirit world and here on Earth.  That led me to Reiki and becoming a healer for myself, my family and my pets.  My animals loved when I gave Reiki treatments and always came to join in.  My golden retriever, Angie, now asks for some energy at least once a week.

I think the hardest lesson was with my golden, Misty, who had Lyme Disease.  The disease went to her kidneys and although I gave all I could and prayed so hard, the most good that came out of it was an easing of symptoms and getting two extra months together.  You see, sometimes, it is all up to divine will, and free will, and circumstances were such that it just had to happen.  The healing is really not my doing, it is between the soul of the receiver, and God.  That lesson has given me a plethora of wisdom.  Because, like ourselves and all of our loved ones, death is not a real end…all of us are eternal beings.

I have had success with pet Reiki healings though.  My dogs like to play and wrestle, and one has the particular habit of biting ears, well, the other ended up with a hematoma in her ear.  Her poor ear filling up with blood like a balloon.  She was set for surgery where they slice it open, clean it and stitch it back together.  With daily Reiki treatments, the blood slowly resorbed and healed in a way that future hematomas are less likely to happen.  I actually felt the ear thinning and normalizing with each Reiki treatment.  That absolutely delighted my heart.

One amazing thing is that animals can sense Reiki energy very easily.  When working with them, they will tell you what they need.  They will turn around and give you the body part that needs healing.  They may tell you when they’ve had enough by moving away.  They know this energy, they are connected with nature and the Earth and are as divine as we are, and in most cases they have come to share our life to help us along our path.

According to author Diane Stein in her book Natural Healing for Dogs & Cats (ISBN 0-89594-614-9), most pets have 5 major chakras and 21 minor chakras.  The picture below shows a general layout of cat and dog chakras.  Like humans, animals connect to their oversoul through the crown chakra, except it is just above the center of the eyes, instead of the top of the head like humans.  Animals ground themselves through their belly chakra instead of the root chakra like humans.  Through the four chakras under their paws, they sense the energy of the area..  They pick good energy spots to lay down this way.  One amazing thing about animal chakras is that they open and activate at an accelerated rate with close interaction with humans.  Animals actually take in more healthy energy when loving and being loved by humans.  Their heart chakra opens and strengthens the more we love them.  Just another amazing way that love conquers all. DogChakras.jpg

I Cook for Dogs

On By thinkcarebelieveIn Dogs, Garden, Food & Home Canning1 Comment

Doggie Chicken Soup is a staple in my house.  I learned the hard way.  About 5-10 years ago when tainted dog food and treats truth came out.  We were in the group of puppy parents that fed duck jerky treats imported from China found to be tainted with a spray that killed rats in the shipping containers on their trip to the US.  Angie had seizures.  Luckily I figured it out and saw a warning and stopped feeding them immediately.  I took the unfinished packages back to the store for refund, giving the reason that they were tainted and made my dog sick.  It took SO long for all those China sourced treats to be pulled from the shelves.  Too long.  Thank God this led to the formation of watchdog groups.  You can sign up for dogfoodadvisor recall email alerts here.  Be sure to check your packaging for “Made in the USA” or something that states that the food was completely sourced and made in the USA.  You can check your brand of food at dogfoodanalysis.com , an independent lab that has tested over 1500 foods.  There’s a reason one of the first questions your vet asks is what kind of food you dog is eating.

So, that is part of the reason I began cooking for my Goldens.  The other part is allergies.  If you do not have a dog with allergies, I am sincerely happy for you and your doggie.  If you do, then you know the struggle- I don’t have to tell you.  And the question that nags me is: Is it really the genetics of the dog making them more sensitive or is it the increase of chemicals in our environment, water and food supply?  Whether your dog has allergy challenges or not, being careful about what goes into your dog makes sense.

Before I launch into my recipe for Doggie Chicken Soup, I just want to state that yes, I am aware of Raw Food Diet and BARF (Bones and Raw Food.) Not gonna make judgments on it, if you are curious, I encourage you to check it out and/or talk to your vet about it.  Every dog is different and every doggie Mom and Dad are too.  You have to find the right combination for your pet’s optimum health.  The days of absentmindedly throwing kibble in a bowl for Fido are long over.  Like us, dogs need clean food with energy.  If you really get into this and begin doing research, you will undoubtedly get confused.  I found expert and study contradictions all over the place.  In the end, this is what I’ve come up with over the course of 15 years and is giving good results on my doggie and grand doggie, so therefore I feel comfortable sharing.

Doggie Chicken Soup

Rule of thumb:  1/3 meat, 1/3 veggies, 1/3 carbs

Meat:  Boneless chicken breast- can be cut into chunks beforehand, or later. Organic is best.  Eggs are okay too, but break the yolk.  Some dog food home cooks add the shell too for added calcium.

Veggies:  Cubed celery, broccoli, carrots, green beans, peas, kale, spinach, zucchini, yellow squash- you want a good mixture, especially of color equal to the amount of chicken breast.  Each batch you make should be a little different, therefore giving your doggie a variety of nutrients.  Organic or homegrown is best. Absolutely NO onion, garlic, grapes or raisins.  (Garlic is one of those controversial ingredients so best be safe and leave it out)

Carbs:   Cubed sweet potato, white potato, white rice, brown rice, oatmeal,  whole wheat pasta, quinoa.  Organic or homegrown is best.

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All goes into a pot or crockpot and liberally covered with clean, filtered water.  No salt or seasonings.  Some chopped parsley or rosemary is okay.  Slow cook til meat is cooked and veggies are just cooked, but not mushy.  Sometimes I keep the food cubed, sometimes I run it all through my food processor.  Variety is good.  Let it be soupy.

I make a big batch so I freeze in 2 qt containers and defrost as needed.  I also home can so I have some on a shelf, but have to use a pressurecanner for that.  Probably best explained in a future post.

Now, I spoon this over a kibble.  My thought process is this:  you never know what life is gonna throw at you, and I want my dogs to still eat a good, safe kibble just in case I can’t cook.  I found a good organic kibble with human grade ingredients and a probiotic (something helpful with allergies.)  Also, I want to recommend a dry food from a company called The Honest Kitchen.  100% human grade food and highly rated by dogfoodanalysis.com.  It is dehydrated and ground up and powdery so I like to add a spoonful or two to my homemade.  I like that my dogs are getting a variety of good nutrients.

Dog Agility Progress

On By thinkcarebelieveIn DogsLeave a comment

Tom and Toby had their third Dog Agility lesson yesterday with Kim Malmer of Rocky Creek Dog Agility.  They’re making great progress. Here are some still shots and an 8 minute video of their third class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the Youtube video of this class.  It’s about 8 minutes long, but worth seeing til the end.

Tom and Toby have made wonderful progress and have a great foundation for a bright future together. We won’t be attending the next classes because we’re moving on south to Dillon SC, an hour west of Myrtle Beach. We’ll be enjoying the warmer weather there as fall turns to winter, and will be getting ready for a show in Myrtle Beach the first weekend of December. We do plan to come back up here for the holidays and hope to catch up with Tom and Toby and their progress. I’ll be sure to post progress notes as I receive them. Special thanks to Kim Malmer for taking them on as students and for being such a great teacher!!!

UPDATE:  Tom and Toby attended their first Agility Trial in early November…

(pics sent to me)

…and due to their great teamwork, Toby qualified as a Level 1 Agility Dog!!!

Rocky Creek Dog Agility (Ephrata, PA)

On By thinkcarebelieveIn DogsLeave a comment

We had the opportunity to visit Rocky Creek Dog Agility in Ephrata, PA today (near Lancaster).  This is quite an impressive operation with an outdoor dog agility course and one that is indoors  in a building.  There is also a pool with a ramp for dogs to try their paws at “Big Air”.

This is Owner/ Instructor Kim Malmer who spent her time introducing us to the sport of dog agility.  Kim is a super lady and was encouraging, enthusiastic and informative.  We were impressed with her and her facilities.

Their website is: www.rockycreekdogagility.com

This is our son, Tom and this is a picture taken about a year and a half ago on the day that he picked up his brand new Golden Retriever named Toby.

… and this is Tom and Toby today.  Toby is an energetic, athletic big boy and we decided we wanted to see if he could do agility.

After getting Toby tuned in to the rewards, he got used to being on wobbly things. 

This would get him ready to go over the see-saw in the future.

For the next challenge, Toby would have to get used to going through a tunnel.

Toby wasn’t sure he wanted to go through with this one.

So Instructor Kim scrunched up the tunnel short and had Tom meet Toby inside.

And out he came… Taa-Daah!  We were so proud of him!

Then he tried other pieces of equipment.  An open tunnel…

A jump…

A table.

 Toby was thrilled to learn some new tricks.

It was a very, very good day!

Huge thanks to Rocky Creek Dog Agility for letting Tom and Toby try the sport.  Agility is a wonderful way to get some exercise for mind and body (yours and your dog’s).  They’ll be back for regular classes and we’ll delight in their progress.