Wednesday, September 29, 2010

In Need of Help/Advice

First, hello! I am back from Florida. The reunion was kind of weird, but we had fun. There was a lot of alcohol involved lol. I missed Sadie terribly, but it was great coming home to her wiggly little butt!! She was very excited. And so was I. I cuddled with her all night.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I think Sadie has some kind of PTSD. I thought she had gotten better after this last incident, but I noticed Sadie was still acting weird in the mornings. Every morning when I wake up, she is the same as usual: excited to go outside. She runs to the front door, we go for a walk, and everything seems fine. Then when we get back into the house, I get her breakfast ready, and she just starts acting funny. She hides under the table and looks petrified again. And here's what's really bothering me...she won't come eat her breakfast! Sadie ALWAYS eats. But she won't even come over to the food. She just looks around the kitchen with her ears back and her eyes wide. It's like she sees or hears something and is afraid of it.

I have been bringing her food into my room, and she sometimes will eat in there. But this morning, it took a long time for her to calm down enough to eat. Besides the not eating, she is refusing to drink water in the morning, too. I got her to lick some ice cubes this morning, and I left water for her, but that still really worries me.

The only thing I can think of is that this other incident happened in the morning last week, and she was in the kitchen when she heard it. So maybe she is still having some kind of PTSD episode? My uncle mentioned that when my aunt went to go pick me up at the airport on Monday, Sadie was trying to get out of the house, pushing her nose up against the glass door constantly and crying. Something is scaring her. But what can it be??

It's starting to really upset me. And I really am afraid to leave her every day now. Does anyone have any suggestions? What would you do? Should I bring her to the vet? Help, please!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Separation Anxiety

I have been posting a lot lately! Hope you all don't mind :) You'll get a mini break from my rambling starting tomorrow. Which brings me to this post...

I am leaving tomorrow to go to Florida for my 10 year high school reunion (which is why I was on a weight loss mission for the past several months and lost 45 pounds!). I will be there until Monday afternoon. This means I have to leave Sadie here in NY with my aunt and uncle (who she loves!). But, I still have to LEAVE her. Which kills me. She guilt trips me, and just looks so pathetic when I leave, which breaks my heart.

The suitcase has come out, and she knows something is going on. I feel horrible leaving her, but it's great to know that she will be in good hands! I wish I could bring her with me everywhere though :) Hope everyone has a great weekend, and we'll see you again here next week!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

More Corgis with Blogs Calendar!

As many of you know, Kelly at Corgi Butts held a photo contest for her Corgis with Blogs calendar that she designs. Sadie was a finalist but unfortunately didn't make the cut for the calendar this year. She was up against some stiff competition!

But, because Kelly is so awesome, she created a second calendar including all of the corgi finalists that didn't make it into the calendar. And so, the More Corgis with Blogs calendar was born! Sadie is Miss August, and she looks adorable, if I do say so myself hehe. (And check out Mr. Bender on the cover! Love that pic!!)



You can buy this calendar here. If you'd prefer the original Corgis with Blogs calendar, you can purchase that here or here. Or, you could do what I'm doing and buy one of each! :) Thank you, Kelly!! Oh, and by the way, all proceeds go to Lakeshore Corgi Rescue!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

PTSD

As you know, I rescued Sadie several years ago. (More on that here.) But I still don't know her history. In the years that I've been with Sadie, I've certainly seen some classic abused dog behaviors though. I have no idea if she was abused as a pup. I honestly would rather not know what really happened to her, because I am sure it would upset me. But Sadie certainly has some history that I'm sure she wishes she could forget. I really think she suffers from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and it kills me every time something sets her off.

We experienced one of these episodes this morning. Any time Sadie hears some kind of beeping noise, such as the smoke detector (whether it's going off or the battery needs to be changed), Sadie FREAKS out. I've mentioned this briefly before here. This morning before I got ready for work, the battery alarm on the carbon monoxide detector started chirping. Sadie went running. I found her shaking in a corner with her ears back and her eyes wide. Her heart was racing. It didn't help that the cat decided to smack her as she walked by either lol.

I picked up Sadie and put her in the bathroom and quickly tried to replace the battery. (It took me awhile to figure out it was actually the carbon monoxide detector and not the smoke detector, too.) After I replaced the battery, I went back to check on Sadie. She hadn't moved. She looked petrified. I tried to calm her down as much as possible, but when she gets like this, it takes a long time for her to calm down. Every sound seems to get amplified for her, and she is just on edge for awhile. Her heart had stopped racing by the time I finished my shower, but I still had to carry her into my room, as she wouldn't leave the bathroom (even with the promise of treats!).

When this happens, it breaks my heart. I had to leave her, too, to go to work, which was even worse. She had calmed down by that time, but still looked a bit shaken. This is how she looked before I left:


You can see how scared she is in her face. And her ears stay that like for awhile after it happens. Every sound freaks her out. (And yes, I gave her that bear and her favorite blanket before I left in hopes that it would help her lol.) The best way I've discovered to calm her down is to just talk to her in a soothing tone and cuddle with her. I was rubbing her face and just being close to her for awhile. Something else that helps is Rescue Remedy, which has a version made especially for pets. It's a natural remedy (and they have a human version as well) and it definitely works. I've used the human version on myself. And the pet version definitely seems to calm Sadie down. I don't use it every time; only when it's really bad and she can't stop shaking in the corner.

Do your pets have similar reactions to certain sounds or sights? What do you do to calm them down? It's so sad seeing Sadie like this.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Don't You Want to Paw It Forward????

To all my lovely followers, you still have a chance to take part in Paws It Forward!!! You know your pup wants to get some fun loot from another dog lover, and you know you want to share the love with two more pups :)

Natasha still needs one more person interested in taking part in this, so check out her blog post here:

Natasha and Pazzo at Breathing and Butter

Also, I updated the link to Philip's post here:

Lyuba and Philip at The Life of Philip the Corgi

(As of now, the second person to comment doesn't appear to have a blog, so you may still have a chance on getting in on the action there as well...keep an eye on the comments.)

Friday, September 17, 2010

Hurry for Your Chance at Paws It Forward!

My recipients received their packages and will be posting about it today! So run over to their blogs for your chance to take part in Paws It Forward!

Natasha and Pazzo at Breathing and Butter

Kaly and Toby at My Fuzzy Munchkin

Lyuba and Philip at The Life of Philip the Corgi

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Halloween Costumes

I have already starting seeing the dog Halloween costumes at PetSmart and Target...but I'm still not sure what Sadie will be this year. There are some cute options out there!! Yes, I torture her every year with a Halloween costume.

Here are her costumes from the past few years:







Do you dress your dogs up for Halloween? If so, what are they going to be this year? :)

Monday, September 13, 2010

Ready to Ship!

I was able to gather up lots of goodies for my Paws It Forward packages last week, and I wanted to let the recipients know I will be mailing them out tomorrow morning before I go to work. I hope everyone likes what I picked out! It was so hard not to go overboard hehe. If you haven't been able to get in on the Paws It Forward action, keep an eye on these blogs:

Natasha and Pazzo at Breathing and Butter

Kaly and Toby at My Fuzzy Munchkin

Lyuba and Philip at The Life of Philip the Corgi

Yes, I allowed three winners, mainly because Natasha is a good personal friend, and I wanted to give all the corgi moms with blogs a chance to get in on this! But, because Natasha doesn't have as many "dog" followers, you will definitely have a good chance to receive a package from her if you haven't already, so keep your eyes peeled! (Plus, she doesn't live too far away from me, so she will most likely receive her package first.) I'm all about sharing the love. Can't wait to see how the pups react to their packages :)

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Corgi Art!

As I mentioned yesterday, I received lots of fun packages over the weekend.

During the Paws It Forward excitement on the blogs these past few weeks, I saw that Kelly at Corgi Butts and Karen at Butterball the Nutball received amazing corgi paintings from their Paws It Forward sender, Katie at All That Jazz. I immediately contacted Katie asking if I could purchase one of these paintings from her, because I loved it so much!! She agreed, and I received my painting over the weekend. I absolutely LOVE it. Don't you?


It is so fun and bright (which I love)! I'm a big fan of silhouette paintings, so this is perfect for me. I think Sadie likes it, too.

"For me?"

After seeing this, I am sure you will want one as well! And you're in luck :) Katie will paint one for you, too!! Check out this post on Katie's blog for more details about how you can purchase one of your own corgi silhouette paintings! No two paintings are the same, so you will get your own one-of-a-kind piece to treasure for many years to come.

The other package I received contained the printed, matted, and framed version of the illustration of Sadie that Kelly at Corgi Butts did for me. (You can see my post about that here.) I highly recommend purchasing one of these prints after you get an illustration done of your pet, because it is gorgeous! It's such a great keepsake. Sadie also approves of this piece of art :)



Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Paws It Forward

Sadie and I received three very special packages this weekend!! We will discuss two very exciting corgi art pieces tomorrow, so be sure to check back then. But first thing's first: Paws It Forward! I finally managed to comment in time on a Paws It Forward post over at Butterball the Nutball's blog (now home to Butterball AND Benny). I was very excited to participate in this fun idea.

For any of you that aren't familar with it, the basic idea is that each person that receives a Paws It Forward package will send out two more packages, and each of those people will send two packages, and so on and so forth.

Sadie was VERY excited when we received our package from Karen, Butterball, and Benny:

 "Mama!!! OPEN IT!!!!"

 "OMG LOOK!!!"

 
 "This is all for ME??"

Just take a look at all the goodies she got! 
 Sadie loves these! Her two favorite flavors, together: Peanut Butter and Banana!

 Hahaha this rubber chicken is too funny!

 Sadie kept poking it with her nose lol.

 Sadie was IN LOVE with this bear! It came with an extra squeaker, too!

 "MINE MINE MINE!"

 Sadie with her loot! We also got two fun squeaky balls as you can see above! (She wouldn't move closer for the picture...until...)

Sadie apparently practicing her yoga after grabbing the bear from the loot display haha.

Thank you sooooo much Karen, Butterball, and Benny! Look at the cute card they sent us, too:

Ok, so here's the part you've been waiting for! The first two people to comment on this post will get their own Paws It Forward package from me and Sadie! If you have a blog where you can post about this after you receive your package, if you haven't participated already, and if you have a dog (any breed), comment on this post and leave your email address. I will contact you for your mailing address :) Good luck!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Vote for Sadie!

I might be a little too late in posting this...It seems like a lot of people already voted. And it seems like Sadie isn't getting that many votes :( But Kelly at Corgi Butts is having a photo contest for her corgi calendar, and Sadie is a finalist! We'd love it if you would vote for Sadie! I would love to see my little girl's face on a calendar for a whole month. There are so many great pictures, and it's hard to pick just 12...but Sadie is number 10. You probably recognize the picture :)


So please vote if you like Sadie's picture! :) You can vote here or click on the photo. (ETA: And by the way, if you didn't vote for us, it's ok! I know how difficult it was to pick 12 pictures from the 30 finalists. It's like Sophie's Choice!! Those corgis are all too cute.)
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