Poor Fred...

Poor Fred has had a rough few months but is now doing much better...

He somehow contracted a bacterial infection in his ears. It also affected his left eye - lots of ucky gookies...

But after lots of ear cleaning, swabbing, drops and pills along with ointment for his eye, he's much more relaxed and feeling better.

We had our 1st snow just a few days ago and of course he couldn't wait to go outside. Now that the air is crips and the ground is cool, he's spending much more time outside. He's back to jumping, running and playing - giving even our high energy Boxer boys a run for their money! Hoo-Ray for Fred!

Fred Says - Help your dog be healthy!

Giving Your Dog Aspirin

Some Sites Worth Seeing

http://www.goodsearch.com

http://www.freekibble.com

http://www.baghdadpups.com

http://www.saveavet.org

http://www.feedapet.org

http://www.animalrescuesite.com

http://www.smallpawsrescue.org

http://www.dogsindanger.com

http://www.luckydogs.ning.com

Visit Fred's Friends at Pawprints of Richmond

Visit Fred's friends at Pawprints of Richmond - He loves the Raw Food diet. It keeps him fit and trim!

Open House... & "Raw Knowledge"

Monday August 31st 4 - 8 pm

Free Food!Goodie Bags!Prizes!

Feature Event ~ Raw Knowledge Seminar

Susan Serowicki of RFG Distributing and formerly of Nature's Variety shares her wealth of knowledge on the health benefits of a Raw Food diet for your dogs & cats. Susan will explain what to look for when buying your pet food and the differences between commercial raw food diets. Don't miss this opportunity! Take advantage of Susan's knowledge, some great deals on raw food and, at the same time, improve the health of your pets!

SORRY, BUT DUE TO LIMITED SPACE, OUR "BOUNCER," DUNCAN, AND OUR OTHER FURRY EMPLOYEES, PLEASE DO NOT BRING YOUR PETS...

I was a bad dog...

Although Fred is generally as sweet as sweet can be, he pulled a huge no-no today! Mary took him, the 2 boxer boys and Lily the Yorkie out to Gander Mountain for a walk this morning. Along came 2 Irish Setters...

At first all was well. Mary pulled our pack off the side of the trail and they showed no interest in the Setters. As the setters passed, they started barking and trying to get to our pack. Our Fred and the Boxer Boys decided they weren't going to let the challenge pass.

OFF THEY WENT!

Mary (my wife), was pulled to the ground and with her arms splayed out like superman - face down - was dragged across the path into the field after the 2 Setters. She has the bruses, scratches, cuts and dislocated finger along with some 'rope burn' from the leashes.

Finally she was able to stand and regain her footing and get the 3 under control. Our 4th, Lily... Well she finally proved to be all bark and no bite. She lost her comand of the pack today.

During the whole episode, Lily slipped from her harness and simply froze in the trail. She didn't bark, didn't snap - flat out didn't move. She was "out dogged" and she knew it. She wasn't about to jump into the fray with Fred, 2 boxers and 2 good size Setters.

Fred, our usual gentle giant, proved he'll only take so much taunting before he shows his business side. Dad-gum dog. He's really in the dog house.

Beef Ribs On Saturday

Well it’s been a few days since there’s been any Fred news. When the weather is hot n steamy, Fred likes to stick as close as possible to the Kitchen floor with the cold air from the airconditioner blowing on him.

Fred did get a special treat on Saturday morning August 8^th. Not a special day in and of itself, but he scored a rather large savory beef rib.

I’m not usually inclined to share beef ribs. But Fred has been cooped up the last several days because of the heat. Very little exercise as he can only handle being out side for a few minutes at a time. I felt bad for him.

Fred knows how to work me with his big droopy eyes. My wife pulled out the ribs to put in our slow cooker bbq pit – I was putting some seasoned rub on mine, and there was Fred. He was looking at me as though he hadn’t eaten in weeks, his eyes as droopy and as sad as they could be. I couldn’t resist.

He did his proper sit-stay command quite perfectly so I had no choice. I sliced a nice thick rib off the rack and let him at it! He was in heaven.

He did elect to eat it on his couch. That’s his way of protecting special things from his roomies… The Boxer Boys and Lily the Yorkie. Fred’s couch needed a good cleaning after that – but no mind. It’s leather so not hard to clean at all.

Ted, Rocky & Reggie - A few of Fred's Roommates...

Ted is 1 of Fred's better friends. Fred likes Ted because Ted thinks he's a dog - not a cat. Ted is a Maine Coon and already weighs 14 lbs and he's not even 1 yr old yet. Maine Coon's grow for 5 yrs! Looks like Fred won't be the only behemoth in the house!

Rocky the Boxer is a smart fellow. He and Fred are finally at a place where they get a long - for the most part - they're doing a little better than tollerating each other. Rocky is Reggie's best buddy in the world and sometimes Fred gets a little jealous since he's known Reggie longer.

Reggie - AKA "Sir Reginald the First" is the old man in the house at 4 yrs of age. He's a true Boxer through and through. As much bouncing and jumping as he does, his name should have been Tigger! Reggie gets along with everyone and every animal in the house. It's a rare occassion that Reggie doesn't like someone he meets so when he gives a warning, we pay attention.

Morning Rain & A Big Comphy Leather Sofa

Ahhhh! Fred's very own Big Comphy Couch!

I don't want to come in! It's nice and cool and rainy!

Just a couple of new pics today.

It was cool and raining this morning. Fred enjoys that kind of weather so much. As a rule, he'll listen to me without hesitation - but this morning I had to call him twice. I cut him a break because it's been so hot lately and he loves light cool rainy weather. It really puts a bounce in his step.

Once he was back in he headed straight to his couch. After some much needed new furniture for the people in the house, he got his big ol' comphy leather couch back. It's his favorite bed time spot.

Boxer Boys Have an Outing...

I didn't bring a camera with me today - wish I had. A very sad Fred T St Bernard stayed home while the 2 boxer boys went on an outing.

Sir Reginald the First (Reggie) and Rocky The Boxer got to go with the family to grandma and grandpa's for a cook-out - bbq chicken on the grill. Yum!

The boxer boys ran all over the place - tons of room to run play and jump at grand ma and grand pa's - but not for Fred. Fred has too much hair and grandma is allergic. Poor Fred.

Any way - when the boxer boys got home Fred jumped and played out side with them for a short while. He gets worn out and a little too hot in the summer sun - even in the cooler evenings. Hey - why don't you try putting on a fur coat and going outside in 80 degree weather and jumping and running and playing until you're sweating like crazy - not a lot of fun after a few minutes!

Well - Fred will get to have a few more adventures of his own over the next week. The evenings should be cooler and longer walks will hopefully be in order for him.

Have a wonderful evening this Sunday August 2nd, 2009.

More of Tuesday's long way around the block walk...

Whew - finally made it back home!

We're on the home stretch!

I thought you said LESS than 1 mile! Can we take a break?

The pack hits the open road!

Hey - can that little yappy dog in that house come out to play?

Walk Around The LOOONGG Block...

The boxer boys are finally ready to go....

The little white terrier across the street is up to something....

Are we ready yet? What's the hold up?

It was a little cooler out this evening - under 80 - so we took the long way around the block. Fred kept a pretty good pace even though he was pretty hot by the end.

Feeding Time

Fred's had a little more kick in his step. Over the last few week's he's been on a raw food diet - along with the other dogs. It was recommended by his vet and the owner of PawPrints, a holistic dog food store.

The base is oates - kind of like oatmeal, a little water, then usually any sort of veggies. He seems to prefer spinach and also likes carrots. Fruits include blueberries and strawberries ... and on occassion for a special treat - bananas. This bowl included ground turkey and also non-fat yogurt.

He loves this stuff! Looks gross - sounds even grosser - but you can barely hold him back while it's being prepared. And, surprisingly enough, not only is this type of diet healthier, while it takes a little extra time to prepare (especially with 4 dogs to feed!), it's cheaper than buying 40+ lb bags of dog food each week and the ingredients last much longer!

So if you have the time to do some meal prep for your dogs, want to give them something healthy and want to cut back on your budget - a raw diet is a great way to go!

WTW (What the Woof!)

OK - so Fred's lookin' at me this morning/afternoon now like.. "WTW!" ... Why is it I got to go play at the gym for a while and he had to stay home?

Poor guy can't take the heat so no long walks while it's hot out. Maybe a nice long drive and 30 minutes of tug time in the back yard will perk him up...

Saturday Snackies

Everyone all had super yummy beef bones for Saturday morning snackies! Fred and Lillian got along for a few minutes anyway while they munched and crunched on their bones.

The boxerboys also sank their teeth into the savory snacks! A delicious time was had by all!

Reggie's Home

Today 1 of Fred's buddies - roomie I suppose, came home from the vet. Reggie (Sir Reginald The 1st), one of our boxers - almost 4 yrs old, had a little surgery.

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The kids found a bit of a growth on his right rear leg. Better safe than sorry, my wife took him to the vet and had it removed. We'll know if it was actually cancerous in about 2 weeks. They have to put a piece of it in a peetree (not sure how to spell that) dish and it takes that long for it to grow.

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Vet says "No excessive activity for 10 days" ... ummmmm... he's a boxer. Do any of you have any idea what Boxers are like? Nothing but fuzzy balls of super high energy! Plus he lives with another Boxer - Rocky, a hyper Yorkshire Terrier (Yorkie) and of course Fred.

So - OK, Fred's no fireball but he can bounce around for a few minutes when he's excited.

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He's not liking being carried down the front steps to go out for business. And he's really not liking being in his doggie cage. But, the vet says to keep him as confined as possible and away from his buddies so his leg can heal. Too much fun and his stitches could pop - and we don't want that.

A couple of days may frustrate him a little - but once he's had a chance to heal a bit, he'll be back to tearing around the yard as usual.

My First Blog Ever

I've never blogged before - unless you count the 140 character mini-blogging of twitter - which I don't.

I'm Fred's owner. Fred is a 3 year old St Bernard that I've had since he was 8 weeks old. He's the biggest lap dog I've ever had. Super protective and great with my kids.

If I can figure out how - I'll put his picture in here. If you like, you can follow Fred at http://www.twitter.com/fredadog He's only been tweeting a few days now so he's still on a learning curve...

I guess this blog will be about Fred, what he's been doing, where he's been going. It's a new thing - so it will evlove as I learn more about this.