St Patrick's Day parade, Alexandria, VA

We are members of the Potomac Valley Irish Wolfhound Club. (This is the club we got Finn from, through their rescue!) The club is invited every year to many parades, but the Alexandria, VA St Patrick's Day parade is a favorite.

When I hear the club was doing the parade, I started to prepare.

I found a wonderful leash and collar set!

Then I found a tie! Finn was all set to wear the green.

When we got to the staging area, there were lots of other Irish Wolfhounds.

Finn and Bill were ready!


We were visited by Irish Dancers.

They also fell in love with Connie, a six month old IW puppy!

Mike, Bill and Finn, ready to go!

We walked the parade with our IW friends. Most often heard comment, "Hey, that dog is wearing a TIE!"

We were stopped by many, many people, especially kids who wanted to pet Finn. (sorry, no photos, too hard to juggle leash and camera)

A good time was had by all! There will be more photos of the parade, as it seemed like every camera was pointed at Finn with his snazzy tie!

Pets on Wheels - first visit

Finnegan, official Pets on Wheels volunteer!

Food issues revisited

We have had constant food issues with Finnegan. He is a picky eater, and many of the dog treats and goodies upset his stomach. We had tried other dog foods before, and settled on Eukanuba as the least bad effects. For those without wolfhounds 'bad effects' are loose stools, vomiting, and worst of all, lots of gas. Really foul, room clearing, eye watering gas. When you consider the size of a wolfhound...but enough said.

While the Eukanuba was doing pretty well, I asked many other IW owners what they fed, and most feed grain free diets. Taste of the Wild and Wellness were often mentioned, and one person claimed after switching to Taste of the Wild she had NO GAS from her IW.

Well, she had my attention! I found Wellness at Petco, and searched the boutique stores until I found Taste of the Wild. I very gradually introduced the new foods over 2 weeks. We have now been on the High Plains TOTW diet with some Wellness tossed on as a top dressing for 3 weeks. Finn's tummy troubles have gotten much better, and yes, the gas is reduced! There will always be some gas simply because a dog that size can't eat and drink without swallowing some air. But the amount and ick factor are greatly reduced.

The biggest change is that Finn is a happy eater now. The food smells yummy even to me, very meaty. We can switch to other flavors in TOTW and Wellness so he doesn't get bored, and by feeding him a blend, if I run out of one I don't have to intro a new food suddenly.

So both Taste of the Wild and Wellness get two paws up from us!

Rally!

Finn and I went to a Rally clinic today, to try it out.

So what is Rally you say? Rally is an obedience event where you and your dog coordinate to accomplish specific moves. The emphasis is on the relationship between you and your dog, and fun!

From the AKC site:

"Rally is a new dog sport that is sweeping the nation. It was created to promote a positive relationship between the dog and its owner. Animation and enthusiasm throughout the performance is encouraged. Emphasis is on fun and excitement for the dog and handler, and the spectator, by providing a more "natural" approach to the performance.

Each team is judged on the execution of a single, continuous performance of numbered exercises on a course, uninterrupted by orders from the judge. Many of the exercises are derived from "doodles" people use when training for Obedience.

Perfect heel position is not required but you must maintain a loose leash at all times. Harsh verbal or leash corrections are not tolerated."

• Question: "Who can do Rally?"
  
  Answer: "Anybody! Rally was designed with the average pet dog owner in mind, as a way to introduce them into the world of dog sports and for people to just have fun with their dogs. Whether you've just completed your CGC or are looking for something else to do, or you want to hone up on your obedience skills, Rally has something to offer you and your companion."
  
  
• Question: "Will this help my dog to compete in regular Obedience?"
  
  Answer: "Rally is a wonderful sport for dogs and handlers who experience "ring stress", or for whatever reasons, would not be successful in traditional obedience. The Novice level is all on leash, you are allowed to use multiple hand and verbal cues, and you can talk to and encourage your dog throughout the performance. This makes it a great place to work through both of your ring nerves and to have some success in the ring."
  
  
• Question: "Can beginners do Rally?"
  
  Answer: "Absolutely! Rally makes a great entry-level class for both obedience and agility. But don't be fooled! Rally can still be a challenge. You must work closely as a team as you negotiate the course, heeling from sign to sign and performing one of the many different exercises. Some are quite complex (there are 50 different exercises to choose from)."

It was really, really fun! Finn did quite well, I think we may try it in a show this spring.

It is also quite tiring..here is a photo of Finn and an IW puppy towards the end of the class.

This is a cell phone photo, it is really hard to take good photos of an event when you are busy enjoying the event yourself!

Universal truth

Finn's view of the world

Finn and I had a conversation this morning.

First, let me explain some things. Last week Katana the cat caught and ate a spider. She then promptly threw up the still live spider, and her breakfast. We were feeding dry kibble, and the kibble was still in one piece when it came out. She wasn't chewing her food. I opened her mouth and realized she was down to about 5 teeth. As she is a 13 year old cat, this wasn't too surprising. She obviously has been getting enough nutrition since she resembles a butterball turkey in shape. But, feeling sorry for her toothless state, I went out and purchased a bag of canned cat food (grain free Taste of the Wild).

So now she has dry kibble 24/7, and twice a day gets a spoon full of yummy canned food. Enter Finn into the picture.

Finn: That smells really good!
Me: That is for Katana.

Finn: But I want the good smelling stuff!
Me: This is cat food, not dog food.

Finn: Why does the cat get the good food? She never does anything fun.
Me: This is all she gets, you get cookies, fruit, and I make you a hot meal every evening with meat and goodies. Katana never gets food like you do.

Finn: I don't remember any of that. I'm really hungry and that smells so good. Can I lick the can?
Me: No, you will cut yourself. Cat food is bad for dogs.

Finn: How can anything that smells that good be bad??

Finn: *Sigh,* I guess I will just eat the cookie in my bowl.

It's been almost a week, and we have this conversation every time Katana gets fed.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!
Finn got a cookie for Valentine's Day.

A gourmet Apple-Cinnamon cookie that weighed about 1/2 pound! It's a really big cookie. I took a photo on a marble stand, then thought I would take a photo on the rug, to see which would look better.

I got one shot on the rug..

Then this happened.

Well, it was his cookie. Finn took it to his bed to savor. Finn is a firm believer in eating cookies in bed. (you can better see the size of the cookie here)

Pausing after the first crunch to see what I was doing.

Notice the crumbs in the bed from earlier cookies.

It was a very yummy cookie!