Pooches: Dyson vs Hoover

Though most of our house has hardwood floors, the dogs seem to think the best place to throw up, pee or poo is on the rug or on the carpeting in our bedroom. Safe to say that the rug and the carpets were pretty disgusting until we found the two best inventions for homes with dogs, the Hoover SteamVac with Clean Surge and the Dyson DC15 Animal. It is truly amazing to see how much dog hair is on our rug and carpet and they look fairly clean after vacuuming with the Dyson. When we were looking for a steam vac, we read several reviews and finally bought the Hoover SteamVac with Clean Surge. After one use, the carpet and the rug look amazing. Though they will never look brand new, the Hoover took out almost all of the set in vomit, poo and pee stains in our rug and carpet. I highly recommend both the Hoover and the Dyson for homes with pets or even kids.

Pooches: Miss M and Mr B walk 4 Kilometers!

This past weekend, we participated in the PAWS Chicago's Eighth Annual Run for Their Lives 4K walk. Poor Ms. M and Mr. B had to walk 4K. They were pretty wiped out when we got home. At the event was a costume contest, an agility course and a whole bunch of booths with free treats and goodies. Though the weather was cloudy and a little chilly, it was still a great day with the pooches.

Pooches: Jookie Portraits

Miss M and Mr B had a chance to mug for the camera and have professional photos taken. Jookie Portrait Boutique specializes in children's photography, but also does work with pets. They were nice enough to offer a fundraiser for New Leash on Life, Miss M's rescue organization, with proceeds going to rescue homeless pups. The owner and photographer, Jill, was so nice and great with the pooches. We still have to order our pics and will post when we get them. In the meantime, you can view some of the proofs HERE.

Doggy Style: The Pirate Dogs

Miss M pretends to be hard-core. She thinks she's a rocker chic.

She wanted to get a collar to show how tough she is, but she didn't want people to think she was a boy.

That's how she ended up with her pink collar with pirate skulls.

When we adopted Mr. B, he decided to get a matching blue collar with skulls. It matches his grey coat quite nicely.

They get many compliments on their collars as we cruise the neighborhood.

Although we've had more then one child ask why they're dressed like pirates.

Doggy Style: Home Decor as Dogbeds

As we are decorating our place, we wanted to get some dogbeds that aren't complete eyesores. Instead of trying to find the best dog beds, we decided to go the other way and buy home decor they can use as beds.


1. Ikea RENS Sheepskin Rug
We have a couple of these in different areas. They add a nice texture to the room, and the pooches love sleeping on them. I've been able to just throw them in the wash if they get a bit too grey, or at just $20 each I keep a couple on hand as replacements.


2. West Elm Floor Cushions
I scanned West Elm for sales, and I was able to scoop up a nice patterned floor cushion and a couple of their Overlapping Squares floor cushions. These pillows add a nice decor, while Miss M absolutely loves to sit on them upright like a person. They are double-sided, so we will flip them over if they start looking too dingy. The covers are removable, so we can get them dry-cleaned as well.


3. Boots and Barkley Dogbeds from Target
We use these in the dogs' crates. It seems they only carry these in-store, however these are probably the most affordable, functional, and best-looking dog beds I've found. They're made out of a type of "memory foam" which molds to the dogs' bodies. When Miss M first got this bed, she wouldn't get out of it even when I asked her to go for a walk. They are a microsuede material, and they are a tan on one side and a beige on the other. The covers are machine washable, and super-easy to keep clean. I would have to say, I wouldn't recommend these for puppies as the cover zipper isn't very durable. Miss M used to have a chewing problem where she was able to chew off the zipper, and get to the insides, making her very own "snow day". I would also recommend buying the waterproof cover which they sell separately. In case the pooches have an accident, it won't soak into the memory foam. Our dogs have these beds in their crates, and we also have them in our bedroom where the pooches sleep at night.
-Miss A

Pooches: Curtis Scott "Pitbull Whisperer"

We cannot say enough about Curtis Scott, Chicago Dog Trainer. We call him our personal pit bull whisperer. Mr. B had a hard time adjusting to Chicago living when we first adopted him. During walks, he would keep darting back and forth and pull on the leash. In addition, we were captives in our house, because he would keep whistling and barking in his crate whenever we left his sight. It would be ideal to leave him and Miss M alone in the house, but with two big dogs you never know what condition your house would be when you get home. So after a week of being captive at home 24/7 we called Curtis for his help with Mr. B. In our first session, he worked with Mr. B for 5 min and after that Mr. B was a changed dog. All of a sudden, we had loose leash walk whenever we walked him and he stayed to our left. In our second session, we worked on his isolation distress. Initially, we thought it was separation anxiety, but Curtis quickly evaluated that Mr. B had isolation distress which could be quickly resolved, but also could quickly become separation anxiety. In this session, Curtis required more time with Mr. B, about 10 min. Now Mr. B either sits quietly in his crate or sleeps and patiently waits for us to come home. We owe much of our summer to Curtis. Even though both session required a total of 15 min of work, he would talk to us for hours to explain everything that he has done and answered all of our questions. In two days he worked with us for well over 2 hours, but his price was extremely reasonable, so it was clear to see that he really is in it for the dogs. We highly recommend Curtis and we know he can do wonders for you and your dog. Also, Curtis works closely with Unleashed, which we use for all our day care, boarding and dog walking needs. They are very knowledgeable about dogs, especially bullies and they work very hard to make our dogs and us happy. Also, its nice to have Curtis there at times to help supervise their day care and boarding. So if you have any doggy issues, please contact Curtis Scott, he will change both you and your dog's lives.
-Dr. E

Doggy Style: Bowls

Being the ever-fashionable pooches, our dogs have been quite picky about their bowls.
A lot of stores and restaurants will leave bowls of water out for dogs, and we noticed that there are some our dogs will run up to, and drink the whole thing, and others they will snub even though they are obviously thirsty.

This pink number is Miss M's favorite. It is outside a dress boutique on Division and she is always routine in darting over to drink from it. It is actually part of the Issac Mizrahi collection at Target. We figured since Miss M is so "dainty" and always "elegant" this pink, flowery bowl would be appropriate.

We also wanted to get a water bowl big enough to serve both the pooches. This bowl is HUGE and probably holds a full gallon of water. Besides being able to simultaneously accommodate two big pitbull heads clamoring for water, we thought it looked sleek and modern and looked nice with our decor. Who knew this was also available at Target!

-Miss A

Pooches: Meet Mr. B

Mr. B is a simple country dog from Kalamazoo, Michigan living in the big city. He has adapted well, but still a little shell-shocked. In the past, he was a "dog at large" in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Rather than paying for the accumulated leash law fines, Mr. B's original owner surrendered him to the City Pound. At the pound, Mr. B had the last cell block and people would turn around right before Mr. B because his cell block neighbor was so obnoxious. Lucky for us, the Kalamazoo Animal Rescue went all the way to the end of the cell blocks and rescued Mr. B from the pound.

Mr. B is either a blue-nose Pit Bull or an American Staffordshire Terrier. Unlike Ms. M, he is calm and chillaxed. He will be starting obedience training at Unleashed this coming September.

Pooches: Meet Miss M

Miss M was a street dog in Chicago. She had been picked up as a stray and sent to the City Pound. Unfortunately, since there are so many homeless Bullies, they are one of the first breeds to be euthanized. Miss M actually had an appointment on their calendar to be killed, but luckily for all of us New Leash on Life Animal Rescue got her just in time.

We think Miss M is part American Bulldog and part Boxer. She loves attention from people and will wiggle her entire body and stare at people until they pet her. She also loves food which makes her really easy to train. She has gone to several classes and has even taken a test to earn her CGC--Canine Good Citizen certification. She also helps out around the house and has been trained to put her own toys away on command.

Disclaimer

The blog you are about to read is true, and based on real events in our everyday life.
However, given the fact that we are High School Teachers at a neighborhood school in Chicago, our names and the names of our dogs have been altered to protect our identities against probing students.