Pooches: American Bulldogs, Am Staffs, and Pitbulls

Almost every time we take the pooches on the walk, someone will ask if they are twins. The funny thing is they are actually completely different breeds of dogs. Sure, they're both "pitbulls", or types of bully breeds, but from what we can gather, Miss M. is mainly American Bulldog with "traces" of Boxer.
Check out Exhibit A: The webbed feet. American Bulldogs were originally used for bull-baiting and bred to cling to bulls. Miss. M is adept at using her paws to clench things; if you shake hands with her she grabs back and it actually feels like shaking hands with real fingers.
Exhibit B: American Bulldogs can be quite lazy and lethargic around the house. Enough said.
Now we're pretty sure Mr. B. is a full-blooded American Staffordshire Terrier.
These dogs were bred to be stocky and muscular. Just check out Mr. B's biceps:
And he is the only dog that I ever met that has a fully defined buttock:
And as a terrier, he also enjoys chasing rats. A trait that has caused us problems as we walk through our fine city of Chicago.
So even though they are both different breeds, they have started to resemble one another; they're kind of like those couples that start to look alike.

Pooches: Mr. B. Helps Out

Even though Mr. B. was excluded from the Halloween party, he still did get to go on his own adventure.Knowing Mr. B. loves to help his people, we bought him this backpack so he could help out. Here is Miss M. peering out the window jealously as we're setting off on our walk:
Dogs love having a job; when he has his backpack Mr. B. walks with a purpose and keeps his head held high. He helped carry the package I needed to mail,bought some bread, and even stopped by the dog store to carry his own treats home.
The backpack can also be used as a training tool for dogs who have too much energy. If they carry a heavy load, your walks become twice as effective. Plus, they're great in the summer so the pooches can carry their own water. Mr. B. got nearly as many stares and comments as Miss M. did wearing her ballerina outfit.

Pooches: Halloween Dog Party

Miss M loves to dress up; yesterday she was able to start the season early at DoggyStyle's Halloween Parade of Hounds party. The pooches gathered at DoggyStyle to prepare for their costume parade:
There was a banana:
A trio of chickens:
This former Katrina dog, a Bassethound, Corgi, Lab mix, came as a scarecrow:
And of course Miss M. mugging for the camera:
After the parade, the pooches came back to DoggyStyle for some snacks and games. Those cupcakes were actually for the dogs. They also had bobbing for tennis balls, but Miss M. couldn't understand the concept and kept trying to drink the water instead.
The party was so exciting, when we got home Miss M. passed out still wearing her costume:
Meanwhile, poor Mr. B. was "stood up". He was waiting patiently in his teepee, all dressed up in his new turtle costume, for E. to come get him. Unfortunately, E's school meeting ran overtime so, sadly, poor Mr. B. was left behind.

Pooches: Pumpkin & Diarrhea

Speaking of pumpkin, I was reminded how this is a great diarrhea remedy for dogs.When I first adopted Miss M. she came with diarrhea. She was so nervous about her big move that it affected her system. Her adoption counselor told me to feed her canned pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie filling, and it would make her regular again. Miraculously, I fed her the pumpkin and we were back to using only one poo bag.

Since then, I've learned a couple of other home remedies to help the pooches' loose bowels. If they have diarrhea:
1. Don't feed the pooches. They might act like it's the end of the world, but it's really not a big deal for them to skip a meal. If nothing goes in, it can't go out. This is usually the first thing we try.
2. You can feed them boiled Chicken and Rice. This will quell their hunger while helping clear them up. We found Mr. B. really doesn't like to eat rice, but it will keep them full while they are getting better.
3. Tylin Powder. We were actually given a prescription by our vet. We add a bit of powder to the pumpkin or rice, and it usually helps clear loose bowels. The strange thing is we've found after using this they often won't go poo for days, then when we do it's very compacted and hard.

Pooches:Princess M's New Pillow

Miss M. has some very specific sleeping habits; she must always sleep with her head elevated. Even if it looks completely uncomfortable, this is how she prefers to sleep:

Using Mr. B as a pillow:

Or smooshed against the wall:Unfortunately for Miss M, we had to get rid of her favorite head elevating pillow. Mr. B has a habit of scratching to "plump up the pillows" and this time it went too far. He scratched a hole through the pillow and we got rid of it. Unbeknownst to us, Miss M. took it upon herself to find herself a new pillow. She started sneaking out of the bedroom at night, going to sleep on the "forbidden couch", and coming back into the bedroom before we woke up. We finally caught on to her when we found some of the pillows splayed across the floor and telltale brindle hair on the cushions.

We tried a couple of things to keep her from sneaking out, but Miss M. is quite devious and could not be stopped. While at Ikea the other day, we decided to get her a new pillow:It matches our bedroom, her bed, and it seems like she has taken to it quite well. The pillowcase was only about $7 and can be easily removed for cleaning. Princess M. finally has a place to rest her huge head.

Pooches: Sleeping Dogs

This is how we're woken up each morning. At 6:00, even on weekends, Miss M. will stick her lovely mug on the bed to wake us up so we can feed her breakfast.
And given that the pooches are up bright and early, I just assumed they were like cows who never sleep. But then I read dogs typically sleep 18 hours a day, and are only awake for 6 hours. I began to notice how whenever I looked at them, they really were catching some Z's:
So what do they do when they're awake?
Mr. B. likes to look out the window while Miss M. stares at flowers:
They chew.
They go on walks.
And of course they play. I guess that all can be covered in only 6 hours a day.

Chicagoing: Fall Farmer's Market

Lower temperatures haven't been the only signal fall is rapidly approaching. This weekend's farmer's market was filled with pumpkins, apples and cider:
Plenty of jewel-towed flowers:
And even Miss M.-looking dogs. The market is set to end at the end of the month. Luckily I was able to take my Gary Fisher Simple City 3--now with basket--and load him up with flowers.
Even Miss M. approves of this week's flowers.