Happy Birthday, Lyla! Today, I got some extra pumpkin for breakfast!

Love, Beni

that's awesome! :) Its the usual questions I believe that any new person would have. How do you figure out how much to feed? and how does it balance with the added nutrients in dry food (joint/bone health/vitamins).

I know someone once told me it helps to rotate different cuts.. beef/chicken/pork and fish twice a week.

I hope Sky is feeling better soon.

Brando...I hope you're feeling better soon so you can enjoy your new family and they can have fun with you!

How's Brando doing???? I bet you're having a great time!

Happy Birthday Lyla!

Has Lyla started eating more? Now that we're on Innova, Beni has started eating his whole bowl, so we're doing portion control. He's also filled out a little and is not quite so skinny. I think he's around 26 pounds now!

Beni is scared of new things that move on their own. For example, if I leave a jacket on the couch and it starts slipping off the couch, he'll have a cow. If he's licking the yogurt container and it starts to wobble a bit he'll jump a little. But he has gotten a little better about it. Our Petsmart trainer suggested rolling things away from him and having him chase it, and he likes that, and I think it has made him more confident. He also really likes chasing/herding the soccer ball, when at first he was really scared of it. I think he's fearful of those new things, but once he gets used to it he's better the second time around. He will come and sniff new things, but very cautiously, and the instant it starts moving on it's own he does a mini-spaz. :P

Beni also loves people and is getting to love dogs. He's fine with dogs his size (he had a meetup with Roger and they instantly took a liking to each other) but bigger ones he's a little intimidated of at first, and then after a few minutes he gets more comfortable. It's that first greeting sniff. If the other dog goes too fast he'll sometimes bare his teeth a little and then after they play more then he's fine.

Hope you're having fun with Brando! He's such a nice looking dog!

Lyla is the cutest thing i have EVER seen!!

they sound like a cute pair!!!

Hi! Thanks for recommending honest kitchen, I've been looking into it a little bit more and it seems like a great company! I've been trying to figure out the cost of it and it seems like it wouldn't be that much more than feeding Nibbler her kibble and it's fairly close to doing raw. It seems like it would be at least worth trying for a few months, so thanks for the recommendation!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

-Alex, Teresa, and Beni

Thanks for asking about agility! Unfortunately I had to put it on hold til spring; I checked out the facility and it's several miles back on the most winding country roads you have ever seen. We can get a lot of ice and unpredictable snow squalls here. I have an arthritic condition that leaves my spine and neck very rigid and a minor car crash could be fairly catastrophic, so I use perhaps an abundance of caution. I felt a bit foolish dropping out but the trainer was very understanding. I'll either take a beginner class in spring or perhaps take a few private lessons on Saturday afternoons when at least I can see the road! I will let you know how it goes once we start.

Hi! I laughed when I read your description of Lyla. She could be related to my Corgi, Heidi. Except I have seen Heidi FRAP before...frequently...but not until she was older and not much of a puppy anymore. I like to think of her as Benjamin Button - aging backwards - b/c she seemed so lazy and mature when young, and has gotten more hyper and playful as she's grown older. :) Anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one out there who's decided "sit" is enough of an accomplishment for my Corgi. Happy holidays! :)

Thank you for your message. I checked out the second link you sent me but the first one would not open.

I was going to send you a message but there's a problem with the message function here so I thought I'd leave a comment!
I have a work friend who lost an Akita under mysterious circumstances. She sent the dog to Cornell for an autopsy and all they could come up with was some vague immune issue that may (but maybe not) have been caused by reactions to vaccines over time.
With her current dogs, she has worked out with her vet that after the initial puppy rounds, they do titer-testing every year and only vaccinate when the titer counts drop below a threshold. It has worked for her, but honestly her dogs don't get out around other dogs a lot either, so there is that to consider. She also needed to vet-shop to find one willing to do that. Vets, like doctors, vary in their willingness to work outside of their own accepted protocols. If your Aussie has lots of nagging immune-type health issues, I can understand your feelings on the matter even though I might choose a different path myself. I hope that your agility club is willing to work with whatever you decide is best for your dog. Good luck!

You're telling me! Especially after getting to visit and then not being able to just take him home with me right there and then! But I've been biding my time by buying my puppy essentials, it's been a fun experience. haha :0)