5 Ways We’re Celebrating Our Dogs on National Pet Day
We are THOSE dog people – the dog people who talk about our dogs like they are our kids. The dog people who get more presents for our dogs on Christmas than we get presents for each other. THOSE dog people who would rather spend a Friday evening at the dog park with our pups then out with friends. THOSE dog people who refer to each other as “mommy” and “daddy” when talking to our dogs about each other. Our dogs have completely changed our lives and have completed our little family in ways we didn’t realize we needed to be completed. Our dogs are our everything, and today, on national pet day, I figured I would formally introduce them to the HTC family!
Meet Rosie (Rosie Roo, Rosie Lynn, Roo, Roo-Roo, Little Lamb)
Rosie is our four-year-old Golden Short Hair (half Golden Retriever, half German Shorthair Pointer.) I know I’m her fur mama, but I truly believe she is the most beautiful dog I’ve ever seen. She’s got such a dark red coat that many people think she’s an Irish setter. Rosie is a SASSY DIVA. She get’s easily offended by the smallest things. Give her too much food in her food bowl? She’ll knock it all over the floor. Not enough water in the water bowl? She’ll flip it over. Not getting out of the bed fast enough in the morning? She’ll ring the potty bells at the back door for 2 minutes straight (try sleeping in with potty bells ringing that long. It’s impossible.)
Rosie is the queen of the house. She has decided that the Chaise in our front living room is her throne and NO ONE else is allowed to sit on it. She acts like dead weight every time I try to move her over so I can sit on it with her. She growls any time her puppy cousin, Emmie, tries to get on it with her. Rosie loves her toys and will often stash them in her bed or put them on the chaise where she can watch them and ensure no one else plays with them. She will make the grumpiest faces if you ask her to do anything she doesn’t want to do (like take pictures, as seen below.)
Rosie is the fastest dog I’ve ever seen in my entire life. She has outpaced a greyhound on several occasions at the dog park and her favorite thing to do is to be chased because she always wins. She definitely has a strong prey drive (that’s the GSH in her) and loves to look at birds, chase birds, and watch birds. That being said, she has the energy capacity of a teaspoon and can only play hard for about 40 minutes before she is totally wiped out. She gets SUPER grumpy and has to go home and sleep for about 6 hours before she’s ready to play again.
Rosie is our adventure dog. She LOVES to go Jeeping, to go for walks, to go for hikes, and to play in the ocean. There isn’t an adventure she isn’t up for going on.
Rosie is incredibly smart and very VERY well trained. Some of you know that Rosie is actually a trained and certified service dog for me and can brace against my weight to give me extra stabilization on my bad knee days. She has the BEST manners when she’s wearing her service vest – she listens well, she does what I ask her to do, and she’s extra sensitive to what I might need. When she’s not wearing her vest, she’s just a regular old dog with lots of sass.
Meet Teddy (Teddy Bear, Ted, Ted-Ted, Buggy Boy, Bug)
Teddy is our one-year-old English Cream Golden Doodle (Half English Cream golden retriever, half poodle.) Teddy is the HAPPIEST dog in the entire world. Seriously. He is never sad, he is never angsty, and he is never moody. He does not comprehend getting in trouble – whenever we catch him chewing something he shouldn’t chew on and try to discipline him, he just wags his tail and tries to play.
Teddy loves to snuggle and thinks he is a lap dog. He is of the mindset that if he fits, he sits-even if he doesn’t fit. If you are sitting on the floor, he will try to sit in your lap. If you are lying on your stomach on the bed, he will sit on your back. If you are sitting on the stairs, he will sit on the stairs right next to you like a little person. Teddy LOVES to be with his people and loves having all the attention. If you try to pet Rosie, he will be right there, trying to get the pets instead. He follows me all around the house and always wants to be in the same room as me.
Teddy LOVES BOXES! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that Teddy does ALL of our PR unboxings. He opens the boxes and carries all of the products around in his mouth. He never eats them or chews them, but he just gets so excited to check out what is in the box.
Teddy is the most in-tune dog I’ve ever met. He just KNOWS when someone is hurting or when someone is sad or when someone needs a little extra loving. When we had our miscarriage last November, Teddy stuck to my side like glue. He was always next to me, always snuggling me, and always giving me extra little kisses and nudges. My very busy puppy was completely calm and content to just be next to me for a week straight and to let me hold him like a literal teddy bear when I was sad.
Our dogs could not be more different from each other. They are the complete polar opposites in almost every way, which is why I think they make such great companions for each other. Teddy LOVES his sister, Rosie, more than anything or anyone. And although the first two weeks after we brought Teddy home were a little rough, Rosie thinks that Teddy is the best thing to ever happen to them. They chase each other in the yard, they wrestle, they chase lights together, and Teddy will often drag Rosie around by her collar when he wants her to play (and when she’s throwing a fit about it.)
5 Ways to Celebrate Your Dog on National Pet Day
Go to the dog park! Since Teddy gets super carsick, he doesn’t go out for adventures beyond our neighborhood often. But, if we are very careful with how he sits in the car and take corners really slowly, we can get him to the closest dog park without any puppy puke. Teddy and Rosie both THRIVE as the dog park. Teddy loves making new friends and Rosie loves being chased and having as much space as possible to run.
Spend some one on one time with your dogs if you have more than one! We do almost everything with Rosie and Teddy together, but it’s super important to us to make sure they have one on one time with each of us, as well. It helps them become independent dogs and deepens our bonds with them on an individual level. Rosie gets to go to work with Dustin every couple weeks, which means Teddy and I get to have time going on our own adventures! The first time I took Teddy on a walk all by himself, he was a nervous wreck. He jumped at everything and kept close to me the whole time. I realized it was because he didn’t have Rosie to rely on! So, we have made it a habit to go on 1:1 walks every few weeks so that he can feel braver on his own and so that Rosie can have a break from all his energy!
Work on some new tricks. Teaching dogs new tricks is a great way to challenge them mentally, bond with them, and help them grow their confidence. After getting the basics down (like sit and come) we often go for long periods of time before teaching our pups a new trick. We’ve been trying to do some training every day for at least 15 minutes over the last couple weeks and it has really improved their behavior! Right now, we’re teaching Rosie some advanced tricks, like orbit (walking backward in a circle) and we’re teaching Teddy “Avada Kedavra” (because my dream is to have a dog trained in Harry Potter spells.)
Bring home some new toys. Teddy is a chewer so we don’t bring home a lot of toys since they last about 5 seconds in our house. But, on National Pet Day, we’re bringing home a whole bunch of new toys for Rosie and Teddy to squeak, destroy and snuggle (in Rosie’s case, at least.)
Switch your dog over to a completely personalized mix of dog food! We made the switch to Just Right by Purina last month and could not be happier with our choice to switch Rosie and Teddy over to this kibble. Since Rosie and Teddy are soooooo different from one another (in terms of coat, energy levels, eating habits, etc.) it doesn’t make sense to have them on the same kind of kibble! They each have different needs to support their bodies and personalities.
That’s where Just Right by Purina comes in. You fill out a profile answering questions about what makes your dog tick – including what your dog’s coat is like, what your dog’s eating habits are, what your dog’s energy levels are like and if your dog has any allergies. Then, Just Right by Purina creates a personalized blend of kibble tailored to fit your dog’s unique needs. The best part about Just Right by Purina’s kibbles is that the ingredients are all natural – meaning no fillers or by-products. Plus, you can tweak your kibble formula as needed – so you can always make adjustments as your dog grows!
You can read more about why we choose to switch over to Just Right by Purina here!
