Glasses on puddle

Bella- contemplating fall

The puddle of today

Blackmud Creek - Late August - post Waterton walk

Day 930 - puddle entry

Col-Ours in the Family....

Puddle's Dad

DJ's Riptide HIC, CRN, RPT, FD, FDX, FDCH, FDCH-S, SC-FB, SQ-SE

Name: Riptide   DOB: November 11, 2007   Accolades:      Edmonton Humane Society Education Dog 2011 - current                         Skyhoundz Worlds Open Qualifier 2011                         Skyhoundz Worlds Open Qualifier 2013                         Multiple Community Events & Festivals  Riptide is the perfect gentleman. As a Canine Education Assistant at the Edmonton Humane Society he makes hundreds of schools visits per year, interacting with tens of thousands of students, and teaching dog safety, tolerance, and empathy to students. He is a competent herding dog on ducks, sheep and cattle, will play frisbee for hours, loves flyball, knows over 300 commands and unique behaviours, and enjoys the company of friends, strangers, and animals.  Rip will work with anyone, and for anyone. He especially loves children and can often be found in the company of 'his' junior handler, Liam, who has dubbed him 'Riptile'.

Puddle's Mamma

Ravine Acres Ember HIC, RPT, DD, SW-OB, SQ-OB, SQ-OE, SC-DAA

Name: Ember
  DOB:   March 9, 2009
  Titled sports:  Herding
                        Disc Dog
   Accolades:     Skyhoundz Worlds Open Qualifier 2010
                        Skyhoundz Worlds Open Qualifier 2011
                        Skyhoundz Worlds Open Qualifier 2013
                        Edmonton Rush Lacrosse Halftime Show
                        Calgary Stampeders Pregame Show
                        Multiple Community Events & Festivals
 Ember is a driven, hard working girl with an unrivaled love of flying plastic. At 29 lbs and 17" of pure muscle and power, she is the backbone of my performance team. She is a dream with people and makes sure that the dogs that share her space maintain polite attitudes

Puddle's Sister

Zero G's Point Break HIC, RPT, FD, FDX "Crash"

  Name: Crash

   DOB:   December 28, 2010

   Titled sports: Herding

                        Disc Dog

                        Flyball

   Accolades:     Skyhoundz Worlds Pairs Qualifier 2013

                        Calgary Stampeders Pregame Show

                        Multiple Community Events & Festivals

 Crash is loving, snuggly dog that loves nothing more than to see me happy. She is an incredible athlete and is extremely precise in everything she does. Complex behaviours are a breeze for Crash and she performs them with zest and vigor. Her favourite trick is a real crowd pleaser; a 360 end over end back flip into a 10' rebound off of my torso. On stock work she is a soft, easy to handle dog and has herded ducks for children! Even though she is still finding her stride in flyball she is pulling in very respectable times in the low 5 seconds and will likely be consistent in hitting 4's in coming tournaments. She is quite capable of 3's, but needs to figure out how to turn on her afterburners. 32 lbs, 18".

source: http://www.zerogaussies.com/

Zero G's - puddle jumper 

 Name: puddle (aka: puds, da puds, muddles, cuddles, befuddles, fuds, mamma's boy etc)

   DOB:   December 28, 2010
  Accolades:     family man; pillow cushion, mamma's boy, graduated puppy school, cat lover.

@ 6 months of age

puddle back to puppy times: "Never work against Mother Nature. You only succeed when you work with her."

Mom put puddle in for a "time out" but dad's coming to the rescue!

Assisting in any way we can #yeg#1

Mr Lounge

Edmonton sized hail. ALL TIME Record breaking temperatures today humidex 43 degrees Celsius

Toddler days

Day 905 - Afternoon family back yard walk....

The science of...poop

(@ telus science world, Edmonton Alberta)
http://www.telusworldofscienceedmonton.com/

Day 904 (2 years, 5 months, 22 days) Stoic and calm @ home.

Winter is breaking by the creekside

Day 867: Walking Bearspaw - Edmonton/Alberta

There are those special places that collectively people regard as sacred. It's what the group defines it to be.

But sometimes, as an individual, you need to find and discover your own sacred space. It could be a place that others may never see value in worth. It's what the group can never define and take away. The one. Such sacred space of mine ...

Day 859 - Three's a chum

Bella the French Bull Dog (pack lead alpha) (5 year old)
Puddle (want to be pack lead) (omega  :)  (day 859)
Bailey the Pug  (beta) (senior citizen)

"Clouds and Sun on Sunday" (April 21, 2013 - Wayne McIsaac (c) )

 Courtesy of: Wayne McIsaac // April 21, 2013

 Edmonton, Alberta // Shot: Clouds and Sun on Sunday 

Thoughts on RAW

Source: http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/raw-dog-food-dietary-concerns-benefits-and-risks

"...Racing greyhounds and sled dogs have long eaten raw food diets. Extending those feeding practices to the family pet is a more recent idea, proposed in 1993 by Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst. He called his feeding suggestions the BARF diet, an acronym that stands for Bones and Raw Food, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.

Billinghurst suggested that adult dogs would thrive on an evolutionary diet based on what canines ate before they became domesticated: Raw, meaty bones and vegetable scraps. Grain-based commercial pet foods, he contended, were harmful to a dog’s health.

Many mainstream veterinarians disagree, as does the FDA. The risks of raw diets have been documented in several studies published in veterinary journals.

Potential benefits of the raw dog food diet that supporters tout include:

• Shinier coats
• Healthier skin
• Cleaner teeth
• Higher energy levels
• Smaller stools

Potential risks include:

• Threats to human and dog health from bacteria in raw meat
• An unbalanced diet that may damage the health of dogs if given for an extended period
• Potential for whole bones to choke an animal, break teeth or cause an internal puncture"

(Side Note:) What is interesting is the two camps of thought in the veterinary community re: raw food diets for your dog: "Pro Raw" (holistic, natural methods of care) versus "Against Raw" (traditional vet medicine, as taught in current mainstream universities).  

The old paradigm (mainstream veterinarians and the FDA) of grabbing the old bag of dry commercially manufactured kibble is being questioned. 

From my experience, the benefits far out weigh the minimal risks. We handle raw food in our own kitchens. The claim that RAW is an unbalanced diet is untrue. 

If there were such thing as a balanced diet (do you play a balancing game with your own diets?), then dry kibble provides very little of it. Simply stated, raw food diets provide the essential spectrum of nutrients, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, enzymes, etc....  its raw/natural/fresh food    :)

The last risk is probably most apparent for a dog who chews on the occasional raw bone. However, bone chewing is great for young dogs since it contributes to jaw and facial bone development. Also takes care of tartar on teeth. 

Having your dog chew on fresh raw bones can be beneficial to its psychological development.  But the general rule on bones is to observe and hold the bone, as the dog's time with raw bone should be deemed recreational time with your dog.....