Meet Melody

With my new job, I spend a lot of time on the road and away from home.  Because of this, my girlfriend has had some sleepless nights.  She wanted to get a dog to help her feel more secure, and after some hesitation I agreed.

(My original argument was 'get a gun.'  Why?  You don't have to feed a gun anything but bullets, and they don't poop in the yard...)

After a long week in Montana, I came home to a black German Shepherd named Princess.  She's 18 months old, fairly trained, really sweet, and one sharp cookie.

Except... Princess.  What a lame name...

After some consideration, the gf picked Melody.  I preferred Gir, but that's just me.

Melody is very well-behaved, and just needs a little more training before she's the perfect dog.  Unlike the Miles experiment, this dog may just work out for us.  She wants to socialize with the cats, but not eat them.  The cats are adjusting better with Mel than they did with Miles, so I'm quite pleased.

My one complaint really isn't a true complaint, but she's definitely mommy's girl.  She still needs an escort outside to potty, because she has some major separation-issues.  I take her outside and she'll do her business, UNLESS the gf is home.  Then it has to be her.

I almost wanted to name her Shadow, because she shadows my gf around everywhere.  It makes sense, since they were alone together for two days before I came home, but she's still not adjusting to me as fast as she is to 'mommy.'

Since I'm back in the pet industry, this pooch is going to be spoiled.  She's eating a premium food (which is good, because she was anorexic-thin when we got her...), getting all the coolest toys and treats, and will always have the best of the best.

Best of all, Miles didn't last 3 days before he overwhelmed us.  Melody is on day 5 and things are good.

I think it's official... I have a dog.  Well, not exactly.  The girlfriend has a dog.  Maybe I'll eventually get one of my own?  We will see.

If I ever get a dog specifically for me, he's going to have to be a consummate road dog.

awwwww yeah....

Meet Miles

This was kind of an impulse thing on my part...

I wake up Wednesday morning, and go to work as usual.  Around 8:30 I get a text from my girlfriend:

"OMG cute puppies at the animal shelter!"

We have talked about getting a dog in the past, but never too seriously.   Today, for some reason, I'm more into it.

I tell her to go look.  She has 2 or 3 she was interested in.  I get texts and pictures while she's there, and I agree to meet her at the shelter on my lunchbreak.

I go there, and see the 3 she liked.

One of them had BAD separation anxiety, and I could just see our couch shredded into bits.

The other two were more or less a pair.  They seemed so inseparable, and I didn't want two.  If we only took one, they would both be heartbroken.  Which is a shame, because they were Australian shepherds, and one was GORGEOUS.

I'm shooting down her attempts one by one, when I see Niles.  Niles is a Border Collie, 6 months old.  Already neutered, microchipped, and housebroken.  He calls us over using Jedi-dog mind tricks, and we talk about him for a while.

And, as you can guess...

I can has bed?

...he came home with us.

Niles is now Miles.  He is attached to his old name, but I wasn't.  I picked 'Miles' because it was close enough for him, and I'm a Miles Davis fan.  All in all, a good name for a dog.

Now, miles is a Border Collie, and those are some hyper sum'bitches.

I forgot about that part...

BUNNY!!!! Bunnybunnybunnybunnybunny...

The good news is we have a nice-sized back yard, and plenty of room to run around.

And this means, I'll be building a dog house this weekend.

As for my Weeble?  She's under the bed, cowering.  She'll get used to him, just like we got used to her.


And now, a word from our sponsors...

I spent 8 years in the pet food industry before moving to Idaho, and I will be feeding Miles Canidae dog food.

Why?  Because it's a damn good food, highly nutritious, and it costs less to feed than Pedigree or most of the other foods you will find at Petco, Petsmart, Walmart or Target.

Best of all, Canidae doesn't have the crap you find in other cheap-o foods.  No meat by-products, no corn, no soy, no bad stuff.  It's a super-premium food, and a really good price.

The only problem is there is one place in 40 miles that sells Canidae, whereas I had hundreds to choose from in Southern California.  Sucks, and they're pricey, but it's still the best thing I could feed without spending about $200/mo on feeding him.

So there you go.  If you have a dog, and you're feeding Pedigree, Pro Plan, Iams, or anything else, give Canidae a look.  You won't be disappointed.

Yes, I sold it for 8 years.  But I believe in it too.  Consider this as my "brought to you by Seagrams Gin, because I drink it, and they're payin me for it" speech, even though Canidae isn't payin me for it.

But dudes.  If you're listening, call me.