Callie's Birthday

Callie is 6 years old today!

Vegetarian Dogs?

We have been feeding the pack a vegetarian diet for over 6 years. (See below) People who say dogs can't be vegetarians obviously do not know what they are talking about. Chacha, Fifi and Callie are living proof that dogs do not have to eat the flesh of other animals to survive and thrive. 

Nature's Recipe dry food is fed free-choice and they get "table food" at least once a day. 

I mix blended raw vegetables and fruit with their food occasionally for added nutrients. (I will post the recipe for that later.) 

And the dogs love it! Dogs food is dog food. For the most part, they don't know what the ingredients are. 

It could be made from abused chickens that have lived in a cage so small they could not even flap their wings. 

Or cows that are so worn and weak from having baby after baby for years, milked dry after their calves are stolen again and again, and after being imprisoned in a tiny stall in a dark shed, they can't even walk to the trailer that will take them to the slaughter house. 

Or the organs and "bad parts" of animals that are so gross humans can't get away with grinding them up into sausage and hamburgers. 

Or it could be made with peas, potatoes, oats and other healthy, cruelty-free food. 

It is up to their caregiver to decided. What will you choose? 

Ps. Fifi and Callie DO eat meat occasionally. They are my sisters' dogs so they feed them what they want to. Every so often a treat or something with dead animals in it. 

Chacha's Past

(This is the first picture I have of my dear boy)

Bare cage. Loud, frantic barking. Cold. Lonely. 

Chacha's first 7 months of life were spent with a backyard breeder/puppy mill/hoarder. 

How anyone could treat any animal like that is beyond me. Even more so my grandmother who always seemed so nice, but I know better now.  (Thankfully, the animal control stopped her from breeding several years ago, but she still has so many dogs... I wish they would do more. I wish I could do more.) 

I was only eight when she gave me Chacha as a Christmas gift. 

I had met him a few times before then and he was always happy to see me (and be let out of the cage).  He was so skinny it looked as if he was starving, and he had very little fur on his paws or tail. His dewclaws had been pulled out when he was younger. I am still very angry about that. How could anyone pull a puppies toes out?! Humans are monsters. Most of them are at least. He still bares the scars and has arthritis in his paws because of this. And he still loves her. I don't know why.

He is safe now. I will always care for him and love him. 

He has been my best friend since that cold Christmas so long ago and I will defend him to the death if necessary. He is always there for me, to protect me. I feel safe when he is around and he feels the same about me. We are more then friends, we are family. Along with Callie and Fifi, we are a pack. 

Could I ask for more?

Fifi's Birthday

Fifi is 9 years old today! Time flies...

True Love

Who says animals don't love?

Chacha has been in love with Fifi since they first met and you can see it in his eyes when he looks at her. If you say her name, he snaps his head around to look for her. He is very protective of his lady, doesn't even let her play with Callie.

He holds Callie back while she eats (Fifi is nervous around bowls and Callie takes advantage of this by stealing all of her food). 

When he is around Fifi, Chacha is a real gentleman.

At the Lighthouse

With the cool weather we have been having, it is a great time to go on nature trails.

And who's better to take along then your best friend?

Dogs love to explore, so I take Chacha with me as often as possible. I usually have to carry him after a while because he doesn't have the energy he use to, but he keeps going for as long as he can.

Yesterday, we went to the lighthouse and everyone had a great time. Dogs are awesome!

Chacha's Photo Album

I've got a photo album that I will fill with just pictures Chacha. 

I've only got two pictures in it so far, but will be getting some more printed soon.

Chacha is not amused...

Training with the Clicker

I recently read The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller. 

It is a great book that any person with a dog or thinking about getting a dog should have. No hitting, jerking around or bullying your dog, just fun and effective ways to teach him to do what you want. I was planning to wait until I got a clicker to start with Chacha, but yesterday I found a old one that I've had for years. Although it is broken, it still clicks and will have to do for now. 

We started yesterday. I will be updateing our progress every so often. 

Here are the exercises for week #1. 

The Clicker - This teaches the dog that the click means treats. All you have to do is click then quickly give him a treat. Once the dog learns this, it will never need to be repeated. Chacha seemed to get after only about 6, but we done 15 just to be sure.

Name - Say the dog's name. If he looks at you, click and treat. This teaches him to pay attention to you when he hears his name. After I got the hang of timing the clicker right, Chacha caught on. Today he did better. 

Sit - Chacha already knows how to sit, but I usually have to lure him. Hopefully with more practice he will sit on cue. 

Down - Chacha knows this too. But as with sit, I have to lure him.

The Problem with Girls

Fifi and Callie are in heat... 

Now Chacha is going to be acting crazy for a couple of weeks or so. 

He can't get them pregnant for some reason, but he doesn't seem to understand that. If he could, we would probably have to get the girls spayed. Chacha is so small that he might not wake back up if we took him in, and Fifi is only a little bit bigger. One of my aunts took a cat to be spayed and she died, so we've never wanted to chance it. 

That being said, my next dog will be fixed when he/she is young and healthy.

Chacha doesn't like it, but he is banished to my room until he leaves the girls alone.

Why is it Going Away?

The fur on Chacha's ears, tail and paws is slowly disappearing. 

I don't know if it is because of his age or something genetic. I noticed that some of my Granny's chihuahuas also have this, so I'm thinking it's genetic.

Car Ride

My Mom had to run some errands today and me and Chacha came along. 

Chacha enjoyed the car ride. New people to bark at, new sights to see, new smells....

Bath Time

I try to give Chacha a bath every week or sometimes every other week. 

He is not very happy about it... but at least he is clean.

Just Trimming Toenails

It had been a while since I trimmed Chacha's toenails and they were definitely overgrown. 

I found the clippers today and fixed that. Here is a before and after photo.

Oh, Lunch!

This is Callie eating homemade vegan mac and cheese. 

All the dogs love it and so do I. 

(Message me for the recipe. It is really good!)

The song is The Prisoner by Iron Maiden

Eating His Vegetables

This is a video of Chacha eating tomatoes and part of a baked potato. 

He has trouble chewing because he has lost most of his teeth, so we have to soften his dry dog food and he gets lots of 'table scraps' too.

The song in the background is Hopeless by Breaking Benjamin.

Pool = Food

Callie actually likes to swim in our new pool. 

I find this very surprising because the other dogs have never liked getting wet. 

But Callie has learned that sometimes the pool means food, and she loves food. 

Fireworks

Chacha and Callie are not big fans of the fireworks (or thunder) but at least they don't panic. 

They just ask to be held or go hide in one of the bedrooms. 

Good Dog

We have never took the dogs to the park before because of several reasons.

1 - There are usually people running, bicycling, and walking their dogs, and our dogs bark at everything. 

2 - We walk for over an hour. And while Callie loves to run, Chacha wouldn't be able to keep up. And once Fifi has decided that she has gone far enough, she demands to be carried, which is usually after about twenty minutes or so. 

3 - Every time we ask if we can bring them with us, Dad says no. Probably because of the above reasons.

Anyway, the other day Mom decided to take Nolan on a short walk, and me and Chacha tagged along. Even though it was his first time at the park, he acted very good. Once we started walking, he did not bark at anyone and did his best to keep up. He is such a good dog!

P.S. Nolan is my cousin's baby that my mother babysits.  

Walk at the Lighthouse

We had a nice walk at the Lighthouse this past Saturday. We saw a opossum, raccoons, alligators, fiddler crabs, blue crabs, lots of little fishes, many different kinds of birds and a beautiful rainbow. The dogs always enjoy going places.

Run, Run, Run!

Fifi and Callie did not understand that they had to stay inside while Dad was driving the tractor today. Every time the door was opened they would race towards the garden completely ignoring me as I called them back. They were not getting in the way or barking or anything, but if they had gotten under they tractor they could have been crushed. Better safe then sorry. 

But why did they want to go outside then anyway? Most of the time they are scratching on the door after a few minutes so we will let them in. I think that they are crazy, but in a good way of course.

Happy Birthday Chacha!

Today is Chacha's 10th birthday! 

It does not seem like that long ago when Chacha was given to me for Christmas at 7 months old. 

But then, I can't really remember a time without him. He is always there when I am upset or not feeling well and I always try to be there for him. Although my family has always had dogs, he is the first and only dog that is mine. We know each other like a book! Age is not slowing him down much and he still enjoys chasing chickens, going on nature walks, bossing Callie around and attacking my sister, Summer. He does not have many teeth left so his tongue hangs out and he can't chew much hard food. He has white hair down his back and is going bald on his ears and tail. Other then that, he has not changed much. He spends a lot of time sleeping, but so does the other dogs.
I do not understand how so many people can abandoned their dogs once they get older.
I have never loved Chacha more then I do now.