PSA: Obscure Summer Safety Tips You Haven't Heard

 As conscious dog owners, we feel like we've heard all the dog safety tips a million times. Then there were some things we hadn't heard about, that actually happened to our real-life dog friends. Here are some things they shared with us that go beyond the Urban Myth:

The Importance of Dog Seatbelts

One of our SociaBulls friends just told us this scary story about how they were out for a drive and they had to stop the car suddenly. Their 70 pound pooch who loves sticking his head out of the car suddenly flew out the window. The car who was following behind them had to suddenly swerve and barely missed hitting their pooch. Besides a slightly scraped chin, he made it away safely, but it is frightening to think of how narrowly he escaped injury. Now he only rides in the car with his doggy seatbelt. Here is our original post detailing what we learned about dog seatbelts.

Monitoring your Pooch's Water Source

Another SociaBulls friend was recently very, very ill and diagnosed with lepto. It is something that is passed through animal urine; it is usually wildlife or rats. It can be picked up by drinking from a puddle or even licking the grass where an infected animal urinated. Apparently there can be several strands of the disease that are not always covered by the typical vaccination. Our friend is doing well now, but she doesn't have the stamina she once had. She wanted us to spread the word to always watch the water your pooch is drinking and never allow them to drink from standing water.

Watching for Sunburn and Skin Disease

So many of our pitbull type dogs have only one layer of fur which can make them prone to sun damage, especially the white dogs. Dogs skin can burn just like humans, and sometimes it only takes one single sunburn to cause severe damage. Pooches should stay out of the sun or wear sunscreen. Read more about it from Daisy the Pink Pitbull who recently had some of her sun-damaged spots removed.

What are some other below-the-radar safety tips we should all know?

Also, The Unknown Dangers of Human Food and When Dog Equipment Fails.

SociaBulls: A Date with Your Dog

I once knew a family who had a tradition of having setting aside one night each week to have a special family dinner. They found as things got hectic, it reminded them to slow down and really enjoy time together as a family. I've realized SociaBulls is like that too; we have set aside a day to have a weekly date with our dogs.

 No matter how busy we get, it's nice to keep our weekly appointment with our pooches and to be able to spend some quality time together.

 With our long walks by the beach, through city parks, and enjoying Chicago together. One of my favorite parts is the variations of families and seeing the pooches and people hanging out together at the water breaks and after the walk.

What other ways do you remind yourself to spend some special quality time with your pooch?

Join our Chicago SociaBulls  Facebook page for more photos and information about group walks. And check out the Hikabulls page where we first learned about the benefits of group walking.  
Please Note: As the weather has warmed up, bikers, runners, dogs, and kids have come out in full force in many of the areas that we walk. While we had previously been introducing new members a few at a time to each walk, we've decided that in order to continue to keep our group safe and make our walks a positive experience for everyone, we are putting new members "on hold" for the summer. You can still submit an application, and it will go on our wait list in the order it is received. Once things quiet down a bit more in the fall, we will resume introducing new members a few at a time to each walk, and will be contacting people on the wait list in a first-come, first-served manner.

Pooches: His & Hers Mr. B's

Even though Miss M is my very own pooch, and we lived together as bachelorettes, I still don't feel like she is my dog. My dog in the sense that she gets excited to see me, will follow me around, and is loyal to just me. Because Miss M is the type of pooch who wants to be the life of the party and will go home with anyone she meets. Sometimes I think she is, not so secretly, auditioning to find a new, better family:

See, Mr. B is very loyal to E. When E enters the room, his whole face just lights up:

Though I never realized what I was missing, until I did get my very own Mr. B. New foster dog Bachelor Boris is the first pooch I've had who just loves me. My Mr. B sleeps on the floor next to my side of the bed. He gets up and follows me when I leave the room, even if it's just for one minute. And he always has a big smile when he sees me.
While it is nice that Miss M is such a social butterfly, it is also nice to have a pooch who is so into me.
Do you find most dogs to be social butterflies? Or just really into one person like our Mr. B's? Or could it just be a boy dog thing?

PS. Why we will never own 3 dogs.
PPS. Join our facebook page to see more funny photos of the pooches with Bachelor Boris.

Pooches: On Bathing Dogs at Home

When Miss M and I first moved into E's place, I was very impressed with the fancy jacuzzi bath tub. Little did I realize, it would only be Miss M and Mr B who would use it.
After a series of roadrunner and coyote-like hijinks, I had decided to outsource all of our bathing. And it was only recently, after hearing many of your tips, that we decided to try again at home.
We've learned a couple of things that make it easier for us, though judging from their faces, I'm not sure what the pooches think.
We started using a hair-catcher over the drain to make it easier to clean:

We use a hand-held shower hose to make cleaning easier. Doesn't Miss M look like she approves?

A vet-tech also taught us to put cotton in the pooches ears to prevent water getting in and causing ear infections. Especially important for foster dog Boris's homemade cropped ears.

Though we are always interested in making things easier. What other bath tips do you have?

PS. More funny dog bath photos (where Mr B looks like a seal!).

A Week in the Life of the Other Mr. B, Boris the Bachelor in 10 Pictures

Boris, the Bachelor, has been constantly out and about since coming to stay with Miss M and Mr. B. He enjoys morning and afternoon walks around the neighborhood, meeting all sorts of new pooch friends

and engaging in deep conversation with humans.

Miss M and Mr. B have never had a pooch friend as cool as Boris, so they were very excited to show him around the city, including the best water bowl of them all, Buckingham Fountain. 

They were excited to take him along the route of the very first SociaBulls walk and 

around the museum campus and even walked down Michigan Avenue to Millennium Park.

In addition, Miss M and Mr. B were so excited to take him to all of the great neighborhood festivals with the chauffeur and maid 

where he patiently waited in line for food from food trucks 

and charmed all the ladies with his beautiful smile, genuine interest and gracious demeanor. 

But in the end, what he enjoyed most was laying out under the hot sun on the cool grass. 

Foster Dogs: On Fosters and Matchmaking

Bachelor Boris is the 5th foster dog we've had (which has been quite a feat with our own 2 big dogs in a smaller condo without a backyard,)  With each foster we've learned a bit more about how to help our pooches as they search for their perfect families. We've also realized how much it is like dating. Here are some things we've picked up along the way:

Getting Out There

 Much like 'Sex in the City', we think the key for our fosters finding their perfect families is to really be 'out there'. The more they're out there, the more opportunities they have to meet people, meet people who know people looking for a pooch, and run into 'their one'. So we always take the pooches out walking, we go to festivals, or just areas where we know there will be a lot of people. We know we are a bit spoiled in the city, but we were shocked to see how many people we met just standing outside of Starbucks.
This is actually how former foster Bella met her new dad (we wrote about it here).

Getting Noticed

Part of being 'out there' is also being noticed. Much like some of the single girls at the clubs do certain things to look available; our pooches wear flair. When our pooches wear bowties, or even flowers like Bessie Belle, it causes people to come over and start talking. Plus wearing an 'Adopt Me' collar advertising their availability also helps.

Being Seen

Just like online dating, we've realized how we can use social media to give a realistic portrayal of our pooches. Between the photos and stories people get a good sense of our fosters and they can share with their friends (how Bessie Belle found her home!), but we also found how important it is to make videos. The videos can show how the dogs walk on leash, interact with other pooches, and just more about their personality. SuperLevi's mom said she knew he was the one once someone forwarded this video to her.

We always love learning more. What are some other ways you help your fosters find their home? And were there any things your dogs did to find you?

PS. Foster flashback!
Little Red Wilma
Sweet Bella
SuperLevi
Bessie Belle
Bachelor Boris

SociaBulls: Adoptable Members Brushing up on Skills

(Adoptable Count Chocula from New Leash on Life Chicago)

We've written before about the many different reasons dogs and their people come on our SociaBulls walks. Some of our members are actually adoptable dogs. We allow current members to bring foster dogs, or dogs they work closely with through volunteering, to brush up on new skills. This weekend we welcomed 3 new adoptable members looking for their new families. We included these available pooches as the header photos, with photos of pooches from both of the weekend walks:

Count Chocula is absolutely stunning; the camera can't even capture how his fur shines like the inside of a seashell. Chocula is just a goofy guy with his big grin, bat-like ears, and affinity for climbing into people's laps.He is currently living in a great foster home where in a short time he has already learned several commands. He did a great job on his first walk; I don't even think he realized he was surrounded by 19 other dogs! Count Chocula is currently available through New Leash on Life Chicago and you can read more about him here.

This gorgeous pooch (below) is Diamond from Project Rescue Chicago. Diamond's original owner intended her to be a guard dog, and she was surrendered to a local shelter because she wasn't "mean". Diamond is 55lbs of pure sweetness, who spent much of this water break looking for pets and belly rubs. These are the few photos I could get of her when she wasn't flopped over waiting to be petted.

Unfortunately for Diamond, her owner never socialized her with other dogs so she tends to be a bit guarded. Among other things her rescue is doing with her, SociaBulls has become one way for Diamond to be around other dogs in a positive, safe way. She also did an amazing job on her first walk! Learn more about Diamond, here.

Adoptable Boris had an amazing week. After being launched from the shelter just earlier in the week, he made his big debut at this weekend's SociaBulls walk. Being our very own foster, we know just how perfect our little guy is.

Not to mention after being in a crate at the shelter for several weeks, our walks were the perfect way for him to stretch his legs. And perhaps our little Bachelor met some new suitors? You can see more photos of Bachelor Boris by liking this facebook page.

We were also very excited to learn foster dog Estelle who has been in our group brushing up her skills and waiting to be noticed has found her long-awaited forever home.
Plus, we were excited to see Hossa, who had walked in the group as an adoptable, returned with his new person after being adopted

Join our Chicago SociaBulls  Facebook page for more photos and information about group walks. And check out the Hikabulls page where we first learned about the benefits of group walking.  

Please Note: As the weather has warmed up, bikers, runners, dogs, and kids have come out in full force in many of the areas that we walk. While we had previously been introducing new members a few at a time to each walk, we've decided that in order to continue to keep our group safe and make our walks a positive experience for everyone, we are putting new members "on hold" for the summer. You can still submit an application, and it will go on our wait list in the order it is received. Once things quiet down a bit more in the fall, we will resume introducing new members a few at a time to each walk, and will be contacting people on the wait list in a first-come, first-served manner.

Meet Our New Foster: Boris 'The Bachelor'

 We were hoping to foster again before the end of summer, but we wanted to make sure we had a good fit for our own dogs. Little did we realize we would be lucky enough to get Bachelor Boris!
Boris is a pooch we had seen at the city shelter way back in the fall. He has a personality just as big as his lug head winning over everyone he met. This smiley guy even landed himself a coveted spot on the adoption floor, and he was adopted out during the shelter's big fall adoption event. So imagine everyone's disappointment when during a recent shelter visit we saw this familiar grin back in the same spot where he had just left.

Instead of finding his happy life, and walking off into the sunset, he was abandoned and picked up as a stray. They contacted his owners, but they never came back for him.
We can tell he's had a rough life, but none of this has broken his spirit. He is a wiggly happy guy who loves every person and dog he meets. So when New Leash on Life realized they had a spot open, they swooped in to add him to the New Leash family.

Like many a TV bachelor, it seems Boris hasn't had much luck finding a family on his own, and we're hoping by making his search visible we will be able to line up the perfect family. Sure he may not be a Firestone Tire heir, but Boris really is the complete package. He is house-trained, crate-trained, doesn't countersurf or topple garbage, he is outgoing and he greets people without jumping, he is AMAZING with other dogs, and is just an overall laid-back guy.
He would would be perfect for a beginning dog owner, families with kids, or integrated in as a second pooch. Did we mention he's basically all-around perfect?

We couldn't be more excited about welcoming him into our home, and helping him hand out his slobbery kisses as he searches for his forever home.
'Like" the New Leash on Life facebook page for extra photos and updates, and stay tuned as Bachelor Boris begins his journey to find the perfect match.

(Photo: Tickle Me Boris)

PS. We were just reminiscing about a recent foster who had this happen their very first night in our home.

Miss M's Decorating Decisions

Back when we were bachelorettes together, Miss M and I started a weekly tradition of going to the Farmer's Market each Saturday morning. We have been seeing the same Farmer for the last 5 years (he still remembers Miss M from the 'old days') and we always come home with armloads of flowers.
I always like how they smell, but then I noticed Miss M really taking ownership of our choices:

 And making sure they are perfectly arranged.

Is it possible Miss M can really appreciate flowers?

Tourist in Your Own City: Neighborhood Exploration

 During last summer's travels, we realized what we really enjoy about traveling is being able to walk around, explore, and eat food. Then we realized that we don't really have to travel far to do this since Chicago is such a diverse city. And it's something we can do with our pooches.
So instead of taking our usual daily walk, we decided to take the pooches to explore the Pilsen neighborhood. Pilsen is home to a vibrant Mexican-American community which was the perfect place to take the pooches to walk, explore and eat food. My favorites were grabbing churros (filled with chocolate and vanilla) and raspados from the street carts (mango with lime and chilli and coconut).

 The neighborhood is also know for its murals, which did make our usual walk a bit more exciting:

 Anyone else making your Daily Walks more like a vacation?

This was our first inspiration for making every walk like a vacation.