St. Patricks Day

St Paddy's day again. It was around this time last year I started telling you about my quirky little poodle, Gypsy Gal. And a few stories about the cats from time to time too. Anyway, you can see that Gypsy is sporting her green collar for the occasion. She has a matching green leash to complete the Irish look. The big doings in our little town are on Sunday. I think we might take the dogs downtown for the parade. Saturday we took them to a local dog park. The park that usually has no dogs in site. This time we showed up and there were two dogs inside the park and another two just arriving when we did. The two that were already there promptly departed when we arrived. The two remaining dogs were the fattest labs I have ever seen in my life. They could not run or jump or any of the things our dogs wanted them to do. They could hardly walk. They left after a few minutes. So, again we had the park to ourselves.

Having the park to herself made Gypsy jump for joy. I can't get her to run through this thing but jumping over it is no problem. Rim just tried to eat it.

Gypsy also mastered going up and down the ramp thing with ease. I think she would be a good agility dog if I worked with her on it. The biggest challenge would be to slow her down.
We will fill you in on the St. Paddy's day adventure later.

New Bed

In the last blog I ranted about my skinny Gypsy Gal. Or, as Sandi calls her, The Bag O Bones. Her hips and ribs stick out like a starving native of a third world country. When she lays down on the hard wood floor it sounds painful. Even when she lays in her bed it sounds bad because it doesn't have much padding. Today Sandi went out to the local pet store and came home with a new dog bed for Gyp. This one equipped with the latest in "Gel Memory Foam" technology. Plenty of padding to protect the bones until I can figure out a way to plump her up.
Good luck with that!
We put the plush new bed in Gypsy's favorite spot anxious to see how she would take to it. But as usual, the cats have to explore anything new that comes into the house.

Virgil and Stormi seen to approve of the new furniture. Actually I had to run them off so Gypsy could give it a try. Gypsy would never consider chasing the cats out of her bed.

Once she was able to occupy the bed, she conked out and slept great. She really did look more comfortable.
Actually I would have preferred a sleep number bed! I'm a number 72!
Of course this morning when I came home from the gym, the cats had taken over the bed again.

Battle of the Bulge...less

If you've read this blog for any time you probably already know it has been a loosing battle to get any weight on Gypsy.
No bulges on me!
From the beginning she has been a very picky eater and not food driven in the least. At puppy training she would spit the treats out when she sat.
I refuse to be bribed!
I've tried raw food, home made food, something called "silk balls" that were guaranteed to put weight on her. Nothing worked. You name it, we've tried it. She would eat the new food with enthusiasm for a day or so and then, turn her nose up at it. She has been in the 38 to 41 pound range for most of her adult life. Prior to getting Rim she was actually gaining some weight and was all the way up to 41. Since Rim came on board, she has lost weight and is probably around 38 pounds right now. You can feel each of her ribs and her hips stick out. The vet would like to see her pack a few pounds on but she is a challenging patient. So, I'm trying another combination of her kibble that she seems to like the most (Dogswell) and a few other things.

 

I'm combining her kibble with cheddar cheese.

 

I prefer imported cheese please!

To this I stir in a few table spoons of chicken broth (homemade) and mix it up. She has been eating pretty good for the last week or so since we've started this meal plan. Sometimes I will add a few spoons of warm water to make a yummy gravy. She likes that as an alternative.

 

Hey, this isn't half bad!

I'll keep you posted on the weight gain program. Sandi has noticed that Gypsy is getting pretty good at sorting through the kibble to pick out the cheddar cheese. Living with Gypsy is like living with a DIVA super model.

Toy Time

I've mentioned several times that Gypsy is not a chewer or plays with toys very much. That is with the exception of Dino, her all time favorite. Dino has been on the shelf this winter. Rim likes to dominate Dino and he and Gyp get into Dino wars in the backyard. Not a pretty site and it frustrates the heck out of Gypsy. All the other backyard toys Gypsy could care less about. Inside the house she has really never played with much. She on occasion will chew on a rope but besides that, nothing. We bought this hard chew thing the other day for Rim, trying to keep him occupied inside. He is a playful pup and likes to chew. He is basically the polar opposite of Gyp.  Gypsy has decide she likes this thing and has been chewing the daylights out of it. She is having a ball with this thing. Plus it has to be good for her teeth.
Dental hygiene is very important to me!
I think the chewing has stimulated her eating mechanism because she seems to be eating better. Or it could be the fresh, grated sharp cheddar cheese I'm mixing into her food?

In or Out???

I

When Gyp is inside she is usually checking up on activities out back.

When she is outside she wants to know what is up inside. Nervous Nelly.

Play Time

The other day we took Rim and Gypsy over to a friends house to meet his friends Standard Poodle. A very beautiful Red female that was extremely well behaved. Despite being freezing cold out, we walked the dogs down the street to a fenced in area to let them run. Not quite a dog park but close. On the way there the friends dog was calm, walked great on the leash, and sat when they came upon a street to cross. Rimmer was a good boy and Gypsy was beside herself with excitement. When we got to the play area the leashes came off.

 

RELEASE THE HOUNDS! 

 

 

 Gypsy does her usual thing, taking off like a rocket. She is still one of the fastest dogs I've ever seen. Rim is on her heels, trying his best to keep up. He has gotten into the habit of nipping at her legs/heels and it drives her nuts.

 

 

Soon, the Red Standard took chase after our two. She too is very fast and from what I understand a squirrel hunter. They were flying across the field.

Soon Rim decided the Red dog would be fun to pick on.

This little red head put up a good fight and gave it right back to Rim. Hey, Gypsy doesn't fight back!

Rim finally decided to leave this girl alone and find Gypsy to pick on again.

It was great having Rim and Gypsy meet a new dog and have some play time. I really think they enjoyed the afternoon and the exercise was great for them both. They slept great that night.