Fostering The Gidget Bean

As many of you know, here at the Lounge, we've often fostered dogs on their way to a new life. Typically, these dogs are very large, Livestock Guardian Dog types, Anatolians and their mixes. Recently, I took on a puppy that was alleged to be part Great Pyrenees, which she's clearly not.

Here's the 7 month old puppy Fletcher & I are fostering; Ms Gidget "The Bean" Wigglebutt. We had been looking for a good companion for Fletcher, whose 10.5 years are beginning to show, and he's slowing down.

Gidget is not the one he was looking for, and he's definitely still looking, so Gidget will need to find just the right family to call home.

Where's the Lounge?

Happy Spring! Have you wondered where to find your pet's favorite treat this spring? Some local markets have shifted, & I'm "going Mobile," so this should help sort that out:

Saturdays 8am - noon at The Farmer's Market at St. Stephens
If you haven't been, please plan to check it out on a Saturday morning, and you'll be enjoying the shade, clean pavement, village-style layout, nice variety & selection of local vendors, all with ample parking nearby.

Happy Labrador Day!

Hello Again! Well, it's been so long since I updated this blog, I might as well just jump right back in on the question most often heard on this lovely long weekend: "What can my dog safely chew?" As I look up into the troubled eyes of each doting new owner of the inevitably wiggly Labrador puppy in front of me, I completely understand. Your new puppy is experiencing life through his mouth, and nothing is safe from his full expression of the joy of chewing. You've got about 2 years to redirect, distract, refocus and channel that oral trait into something you can live with, and I'll be glad to help you survive them!

There's some confusing information out there about which types of things are safe for your dog to chew, so I sat down on this Labor Day to offer up some links. It's not hard to find articles backing my opinions, except that they all seem to invariably end with something like this:

"Whether or not your dog has problems with rawhide chews, you might want to try a variety of chewing treats and toys, including rawhide, natural marrow bones, and hard rubber toys to fully satisfy your dog’s chewing and other needs." - from the self-referential http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/rawhide-good-or-bad-for-your-dog

Since they'd just gone on for 2 pages about all the perils of rawhide, it seems odd that they'd include them again. I don't recommend rawhides, for all of the reasons from that article, as well as my one core belief about All Things That Dogs Can Chew, which is: if it's not perishable, don't give it to your dog.

Dog Years

Thinking this morning about the multi-faceted culture of the Mosuo people, an agrarian tribe living on Lugu Lake  in China. There are many reasons to study these unique people of the "Women's Kingdom," with their special method of preserving pork, traditionally sustainable growing practices,  brightly colored fabrics, and strongly matriarchal socio-political system. My mind keeps returning to a lovely Mosuo myth involving dogs. 

 It is traditional for each Mosuo child to be formally celebrated into their 13th year on January 1st, in a feast with specific rituals symbolic of new adult rights and responsibilities. Standing at the support pole for the mother's house, one foot on pork, the other on rice, each child dons the full skirt, or long trousers, of their first set of adult clothing. They complete their step into adulthood by offering food to the household dogs; the first of a lifetime of such formally offered meals. Here is the story behind that ritual. 

Moving Forward

It's been 10 years since I first started feeding raw meat to my severely malnourished and abused rescue dog Annie. I watched in amazement as her body swiftly healed, her fur grew plush and her expression turned from fear and distrust to sweetness and affection. It took almost 6 months of research and experimentation to find just the right combination of ingredients to provide all the nutrition that her body might need, in an easily digestible and tasty recipe that she'd devour with delight. Watching her grow into a healthy, lovely, and confident companion gave me the impetus to start DogTown Lounge in the hopes that other pets might benefit from what I've learned.