Cheese cures all

Our dear sweet dog is getting old, by Mastiff standards, and has more aches and pains than she would like. She runs up and down the stairs a lot too - to greet people or check on the kids. She tweaked her shoulder a few weeks ago and it wasn't improving. As with the last time she did this - the remedy is doggie Celebrex, actually called Rimadyl. She is a much happier dog for it. To give her her meds we wrap them up in a piece of Kraft singles. She knows these reside in the fridge - she has put together the fact that shortly after she eats the cheese she feels better...so now when the pain starts to come back, she goes to the fridge and pokes at it until we feed her. 

These meds aren't cheap, if only we could use the cheese as a placebo we'd be golden. :)

Hey, dogs believe in Santa, too!

Twitter keeps me busy when I have a few free minutes. I have discovered several new doggie stuff sites! Here's a good one, no matter what breed you have!

Paw Luxury - Eco-Living for the Everyday Dog which even has a bed big enough for the Mushy Dog! 

My Mastiff and Mini-Me

I wanna be just like you

Baby bites dog

Older...

One bummer about having a Mastiff is that their life expectancy is much shorter than a smaller dog. Little aches and pains take on more import with a big dog - a little arthritis in the shoulder means harder time going up and down the stairs. With a smaller dog this is inconvenient but if you had to you could carry the dog back downstairs...with a giant dog this isn't really feasible. Mushy isn't old yet but she is getting creakier has started favoring her right foot. She is the most wonderful pet I have ever had and I can't quite imagine what life beyond her at her best will be like. Sigh.

"Sit"

Yes, she is sitting on the foot stool!

The many good places to sleep

Hard Core Fire Hose Toy

This is a TWO YEAR old toy. I don't expect everyone's Hard Care Fire Hose Toy will last that long but it was a very good $8 investment. She is not a "light" chewer.

A few Mastiff Must Haves

In the past twenty four months I have had two kids. When you are expecting a baby, everyone throws you a shower and dispenses endless advice about what you actually need v. what you might want, etc. Now that my friends are having new babies I find that I am always making a must have list for them, based on my own experiences...don't worry I am not going to start advocating New Puppy Showers but I do have some thoughts on what to do, buy and expect if you are bringing a baby Mastiff into your home.

Expect drool - not so much when they are puppies, but around seven months the faucet comes on. I invested in stacks of white wash cloths in bulk from Costco. She is used to getting her mouth wiped - a lot.

Expect chewing, but not like a Labrador. I have tried many toys and found the two most successful ones are Hard Core Firehose Toys and the Nylabone Galileo Chew Bone.

Life with a very large dog!

Five years ago this week I got a phone call that changed my life.

"Were you serious about wanting a dog? A friend's family got a puppy that is just too much for them..."

Three weeks later I was at the Las Vegas Airport waiting for the big garage door to roll up at the oversized baggage claim. There she was, my four month old English Mastiff. I fell in love immediately.

Salome was game as I loaded her in the truck I had driven from LA and off we went to spend a winter in Steamboat Springs, CO.

Since that fateful day she and I have had quite a set of adventures - from a solitary winter locked away at a friend's ski lodge to the life we lead now - sharing the house with a husband, two tiny people and another dog.

Life is never dull and she takes her role in our household very seriously as you will see.