We might have a slight obsession with the dogs in our life! We've had 3 of our own and fostered over 15 dogs plus everyone in our family and most of our friends have at least one if not two dogs. My children would say that our current dog Brandy is my favorite child. I do whisper in her ear daily "who's my baby? who's my baby!" so I have absolutely no idea where they get that idea!! She is the 3rd dog and as we all know with children the 3rd often gets different rules, privileges and is maybe just a little more spoiled than the first...but in different ways. Our first dog wasn't allowed on the couch or in the bed, second dog only near the end of her life was she allowed on the couch but NEVER the bed, Brandy....well she was born in our kitchen so she has been allowed everywhere since day 1! She thinks she's human and if we put her in the back of the car with the stuff and the gear and the dogs she always ends up just jumping right over and sitting in the second row, with the kids, where she OBVIOUSLY belongs....
Here are a few of Brandy (& our) favorite things for dogs...we either own all of these items already or they are en route for Brandy to find under the tree this Christmas....
We only had to see this Carthartt jacket on another dog in the woods once to be influenced to order one as soon as we got home...we have this color b/c how could we not?
We hike in the woods with our dogs, a lot. Several of the areas we hike have warnings about hunting at various times of the year. We bought this hunter orange hat and cut it into several cuffs for her to wear around her neck on our woods walks so we can relax and know that she won't be mistaken for Bambi! We can't take credit for this one either- another dog owner came up with this one as well!
We love this leash b/c it allows us to give her some freedom on walks but hold her closer with the lower handle when people or another dog are walking by. We always have several on hand and even keep them at our lake house for renters in case they forgot their own dog's leash when packing.
We love a dog harness that attaches to the leash in the front b/c if the dog pulls forward it automatically pulls them back towards you. Many dogs are neck strong so if it pulls from their neck they just keep on pulling! We have always found this lead along with some coaching and training to stay "with me" helps our dogs to know that they have a job to do when they are on a walk with us.
Believe it or not even though Brandy ends up in our bed each night she does start on her own bed on the floor at the beginning of the night. She transitions sometime in the middle of the night to sleep with her pack. We actually have quite a few beds around the house in her favorite hang out spots (in front of the window, near the back door-usually with a good vantage point to watch bunnies). Our dogs have often liked the ones with edges and they truly use them like pillows. Brandy does the same thing with our actual throw pillows on the couch (did I mention she's spoiled?)
And yes we did actually order this hoodie for our dog this Christmas. We are a family that loves our hoodies. Maybe obsessively so. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of selfies in this hoodies future!
She loves her snuffle mat. We often give her a bone with peanut butter in it or her snuffle mat with treats hidden in it when we are leaving and we are going to be gone for a bit. This helps alleviate any of her anxiety about us leaving and has her occupied snuffling and not stressing as we head out the door.
With dogs comes a lot of responsibility. Feeding and walking and cleaning up lots and lots of 💩! We have one of these long stick rakes and scoopers at home and at our lake house for in the yard clean up. It also makes it very convenient for our renters to clean up after their dogs. We use traditional compostable poop bags on our dog walks.
We recently determined that we could not be pet owners that had dogs with hair that need to be brushed daily. I'm 100% all in for the daily walks - but daily brushing just doesn't happen around here. We do not brush our dogs often but when we do we use this!
We have always had dogs that were aggressive chewers. Although we get them the stuffed Santas, the hedgehogs and all the fun toys they always quickly end up in our dog toy basket as random parts. These below have stood the test of time. And not because our dogs don't like them so they just don't play with them. They search in the toy basket for these again and again.
There is nothing like the mom tosses me the ball game while she works out to keep your dog busy and out of your downward facing dog when you are working out at home.
Are we the only ones who play hide and go seek with our dog? We find that she is a very chill and quite mild mannered dog -except for door greetings! Our apologies in advance if you ever meet Brandy after ringing the door bell! BUT one thing that helps her be mild mannered is her daily walks and play time. We go for a neighborhood walk, a woods walk or a true on hike almost every day of the week with her. We all prefer to stay home on rainy days but love to get out on snowy days in New England. Walks year round are great stimulation for the dogs in your life and some good fresh air, forest breathing and vitamin D for you! My friend who is in cardiac rehab says to her patients, "Walk your dog every day, even if you don't have a dog!" Brandy also LOVES a good game of Hide and Go seek where we make her stay while we hide her toy in another room and then seek it out. We also play a mean game of chase in the house with her (our neighbors probably think we are nuts!) Keeps us all laughing and the kids laughing at us! This wubba toy is a great one for hide and seek or tug a war and it is actually still 100% in one piece!
Shhhh! The next gift is really a present we are getting for our kids this Christmas. Next year we will be empty nesters, except for our baby Brandy. We figure this is a fun way for all our kids to have daily interactions and get a sneak peek of their favorite pup while they are away at school and on the job!
Spoiled? Maybe!? I mean look at that face?! How can we not?
