Everyone knows how loyal dogs are. Rocky carried it a little too far yesterday ...and I feel so badly. I was in bed all day because I hurt my back and I was trying to rest it. Rocky stayed by my side ALL DAY. He wouldn't even leave to go downstairs to eat or drink. Finally about 3pm. or so he starts dry heaving and of course all he had to vomit was bile. Poor thing. I called my husband and asked him to please take Rocky downstairs with him so that the poor baby could eat and drink! My little man waited to be told it was ok for him to be away from me to eat....
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww poor baby..

Today is Rocky's third birthday and I can't do anything with him to celebrate.... I feel so bad. Yesterday I reached up over the washing machine and somehow blew my back out. I have been in bed ever since. The pain is excruciating and the only thing that is going to make it better is rest. To make matters worse, I FORGOT and had to be reminded of it! I'm a BAD MOMMY! I guess we will have to celebrate it once I get back on my feet..........poor Rocky.........

Today I want to defend poodles. Let's face it, poodles get a bad rap. Poodles are made fun of because of the way they are groomed in the show ring. People can't seem to get past their appearance. If you were to strip a poodle down completely, it would look like a hunting dog, very similar to a pointer. Square, strong, athletic, intelligent, incredibly trainable, eager to please, happy dogs with a keen sense of smell. Poodles were bred to be hunting dogs in Germany. Check out this link for the history of poodles.. http://www.poodlehistory.org

Whether you have a mini or a standard, these dogs need a lot of exercise. They are real dogs. What they don't do is shed and they are not known to be vicious. Thank God! Poodles seem to elicit very strong reactions by people. Either they love them or hate them. As a rule, no middle ground. Poodles move with elegance and grace. They think pretty highly of themselves and they think you should, too.

For those of you who think that poodles are all frou frou, you obviously have not spent any time with them. I openly invite all of you who think poodles are too girly to meet my boy, Rocky. He is all male and all dog. Ask anyone who has even seen him.... He rocks our world. Thats why his name is Rocky!

Rocky naturally hunts by scent. He can smell game a mile away. He has been known to point and also to flush, but he loves to chase squirrels. We play the "FIND IT" game with him in the house. I present for him an object to smell, then I close all the doors to the kitchen and hide the object. Then we let him loose to find it. He always does, and usually in short order. The game can go on for hours in this house. Hiding something under rugs or other objects don't deter him.

We are the envy of the neighborhood.... Rocky has been retrieving the newspaper since he was a puppy. No going out in the rain or cold for us.... We just tell him to get the paper and he brings it in and waits for his "pay" of three little dog biscuits. Not two and God forbid, one. If you try to give him less, he will wait for the rest. If you give him four, he will drop the fourth and take his three to his bed to enjoy.

My daughter took her new white Standard Poodle to a dog park yesterday in Charleston. Her dog attracted a lot of attention, of course some good, some bad. She overheard someone say that Fable was "so prissy" and she replied, "that's not prissy, it's graceful!"

Men have a lot problems with poodles.....they don't want to be seen in their company... like it is some measure of their manhood... it drives me nuts!!!!! I have seen men who absolutely believe that they HATE poodles, be totally fascinated with my dog, Rocky. I'm talking men who walk around with a pit bull terrier on a thick chain!! It is so funny.

I admit that Poodles are not for everyone. Their high maintenance alone, is a huge monetary commitment. All that I ask is that people have a more open mind when it comes to them.

Rocky had to make a visit to the vet yesterday.....(always a good way to blow $100.) I had given the pupster a bath on Saturday and we took him to visit some folks with a new standard poodle puppy. Later that evening, I noticed him biting at his hindquarters....the next morning he had licked his back to the point where he had an oozing boo boo. Rocky tends to really fuss with his injuries. He has a history of licking them incessantly, and getting a staph infection, so I never wait too long to bring him to the vet on something like this. This thing was spreading and getting ugly!

Our vet REALLY likes Rocky. He always has, so when he said to me.... "I'm not going to shave him, but this injury really needs air to get better......" I knew it was going to be up to me. The doctor knows that I am a groomer and he has never put a scissor or clipper to him because of that fact. He gave us some antibiotic/anti-itch spray to apply to the injury twice daily, gave him his kennel cough vaccine and we left.

Upon getting home, I put Rocky on my grooming table. With my husband's help I attempted to take as little hair off of the wound as possible. I quickly realized that it needed a surgical blade to cut the hair away from the inflamed skin. Since his hair is pretty long this time of year, shaving even a small section really shows because it was on his top, back. He looks moth eaten! Immediately after applying the medication, the wound looked less inflamed. It looks even better today. So as soon it heals, I will have to groom him to blend the rest of his hair with this spot. Thankfully, his hair grows pretty fast, approximately one half inch or more per month, so we are only looking at about 3 weeks +/-. Sometimes it is good to be a groomer.......

I just have to write about this, I'm sorry... it just ticks me off to no end... Here I rant...

I live in a pretty affluent neighborhood with many dogs and many dog walkers. We have a dog poo bag dispenser just around the block. So will someone PLEASE tell me WHY is there dog poo on the sidewalk!? Why? I just don't get it. I mean, no one wants it in front of their house! Why are people letting this happen....

I will admit that I have occasionally been caught without a poo bag, but for the most part, I usually carry one with me. Furthermore, if my dog did poo on the sidewalk, I would at least try to kick it to the side or the gutter or something. Find a stick or something to move it! Have some class, will you?

No kidding. I went for an approximately one and a half mile loop and saw not one or two or even three, but four separate poos, probably done by at least three different size dogs. I swear I am going to take pictures of it next time I'm out walking Rocky.

For all of you dog walkers out there who let their dogs poo and just leave it.... you suck. You know who you are and I won't take it back! Be responsible, clean up after your mutt... No self-respecting dog owner would be caught dead letting their dog leave a load in the middle of the side walk. So disgusting.......

This is my horse, So Happy Lucky. Lucky for short. 27 years young and going strong. When I am depressed and nothing in this world seems to be right, just seeing Lucky makes me feel better. He is the best anti-depressant in the world. He is a happy guy, content just to "be".

Lucky always keeps me in the moment....no past, no future just what is going on right now. He doesn't hold a grudge, or get mad or resentful. He is my angel and I love him with all of my heart and soul.

I almost lost him four years ago... he had a really bad abscess in his foot. The infection became systemic, and attached to his heart. He lost weight, had a stage 4 heart murmur and looked ready to be put out of his misery. For three years we tried to get him to gain weight.... Everyday, someone would ride by his pasture and stop and ask if he was being abused or neglected. He was under a veterinarian's care and I was doing everything within my power to get him to gain weight and nothing worked. Finally the vet suggested as a last resort, to try giving him large dosages of vitamin e. (no selenium!) .... it was a miracle!! He had a noticeable weight gain in the first week!! After that he continued to gain and when the MD came out to check him he no longer had a heart mumur. But he has never been the same. I know a large part of it is because of his age. .........

He is so mellow now. It's hard to believe that he was a pistol, even until he was in his early 20's. I've had so much fun with him.... I used to show him in Western Pleasure and we were always in the ribbons. I took him on three day, camp and trail ride trips and rode him throught the streets of Wilbraham, MA. I've groomed him for hours and hours.

Lucky has brought me more happiness than any person deserves or at least this person. I love you, Luckmeister, my shining star.

Winter has finally arrived in North Carolina. Brrr. It was in the 20's last night, but the wind chill was in the low teens. I made sure I went out to see my horse, Lucky, to double blanket him. The top blanket is water proof and the under blanket has some fiberfill to it. So basically he looks like a little child in a snowsuit, trying to get around....

Many horse people don't think horses should be blanketed, but my guy is almost 28 years old and it takes a lot of calories to keep warm. When Lucky was younger, and we lived up north where he was stalled every night, I didn't usually blanket him, but now that he is older and has arthritis, I do. He doesn't seem to mind it, and it lets me sleep at night knowing he isn't freezing to death.

I have lucked out!!!! .... I have been able to locate a puppy for my daughter (at a reasonable price) and she is like an expectant mother....it's nuts! She is very anxious to get the puppy and it's about all she can think about. Last night it was the - "what are we going to name her" game. The puppy is a purebred, snow white Standard Poodle who is really, really pretty. The puppy is coming to my house first so that I can spend a little time with her and see what she knows and what she needs learn. My husband and my daughter are upset because they are afraid I will get too attached to it and want to keep it....

To be fair, I probably will get attached, but this dog is supposed to go to Heather. (Nevermind that I wanted a girl so I could "foo foo" it up. ) I'm a dog groomer with a specialty in Poodles so why wouldn't I want to groom her all in all kinds of styles....that just makes sense! But I will never trade my Rocky for this little one.... on the other hand I always wanted one of each .. a black poodle and white poodle, with the female being white.... ok ok enough!!

My daughter has never had a dog before in her life. She is in for a big surprise. Dogs are great, but they need a lot of attention, exercise, training and affection. I'm not concerned with the attention and affection aspect of it. I'm not even concerned with the exercise part of it. What I am concerned about is the training part. I don't want Rocky's little sister to be an obnoxious poodle. Honestly, does the world need another? I, for one don't think so...

The grooming part is something she is going to have to learn how to do. It's a lot of work, but she's got time to learn. Until then, she is either going to have to bring her up here to get groomed or to my old employers. Heather's boyfriend wants the dog to have a beard. Come on, wake up. This is a conformation SHOW BITCH. How can you take a well-bred, petite white poodle and mess her up with a beard? When I told the breeder, she almost fainted.

But I digress. Ok, so the training. That is the primary reason for her coming up here first. So that I can assess this puppy and help Heather to train her properly. She is a little timid and needs to gain some confidence. With a dog like this one, she needs training and she needs to be praised and rewarded for the smallest little achievement. I think I will tell Heather to make a list of things she wants her puppy to learn and a list of things that she doesn't want her dog to do, so that we can put together a training plan designed for her lifestyle. Versatility, is probably a good thing to strive for.... meaning, she can be in any situation without having a problem. Anyway, that is my plan. I've attached a photo.... any names come to mind?

My daughter has always had cats. Independent, mind of their own, cats. Run of the house cats, if you get my drift. Every place she lived in has had conveniences specifically for her cats. Wait till she gets this dog and the cats freak. Actually, I hope for her sake they don't. One or both of them have been known to "mark" their territory.

Lets face it folks. Dogs are needy and clingy and are always under foot unless they are up to no good (or as in the case of the missing Rocky.......... me forgetting to let him back in after having let him out to "get busy" or dog gets sick of waiting for me to go to bed and puts himself to bed..) They don't typically do their own thing, they wait for you and want to do what you are doing. Basically, they are like little kids but they sleep more.

I really want this puppy thing to be a positive experience for all of the parties involved - especially the dog, since she has nothing to say about her circumstances.