While I was gone this weekend Sean managed to train Big Boy to ring a bell when he wants to go outside. Its the cutest thing! We now have a big jingle bell tied up next to our sliding glass door and he’ll go right over and ring it with his nose. Now if we could just teach him to only ring it when he wants to go pee, not when he wants to go chew up sticks Little girl is catching on slowly. At first she just let big boy handle the bell and run after him. I started holding her back and making her ring the bell herself, and this afternoon she rang the bell without Big Boy around! They’ve also both put on weight after the weekend, I’m sure their dad was feeding them lots and lots of treats. Big Boy is certainly living up to his name at the moment.

In other news, they’ve also started running away. Their brother Rocky and new friend, a chihuahua named Louie, live 2 houses down the street. When they get out front (and usually if they have their collars on for some reason) they take off down the dirt road at full speed to Rocky’s house with Sean and I running and yelling after them (its quite a sight). But one positive thing about it is that we’ve gotten to know our neighbors pretty well now

Puppy training is going pretty well. During class they’re perfect angels, learning commands, following hand signals, and answering to their names. However as soon as they get home and are in the backyard, they go deaf We have to start giving them alot more treats while at home, carrying treat bags constantly .. I just cant get over having dog food on my hands all the time .. blech! Hopefully one day they’ll start coming in when they’re called.

Its been a little while since I’ve taken pictures of our 2, I’ll try to make some time for a photo shoot this weekend. Since we painted the house I havent had a chance to set up my studio again.

Natural Balance just recalled the puppies’ food! I’m so pissed, we picked this brand because its supposed to be natural and less processed then other brands. I totally feel let down From their website:

“NOTICE:
We are receiving consumer complaints regarding the Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Foods. We do not know what is wrong with the food at this time, but we have heard that animals are vomiting and experiencing kidney problems. Although the problems seem to be focused on one particular lot, as a precautionary measure, we are pulling all dates of Venison & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food from the shelves.

Please discontinue feeding all Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food, and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food.”

It sounds like we might be lucky and not have the lot they recalled, as our 2 just polished off their 2nd bag of Venison and Brown Rice, but both have thrown up in the past week. Each time we blamed it on other things they have been eating, which I still think were the causes, but now you never know. Also, I’ve been complaining about Little Girl peeing so much more then Big Boy, thinking she has a UTI, but she’s always made it through the night, so the vet yesterday said its probably behavioral .. but it could be kidney related right?!

I called the vet after reading this on CNN and they said they really dont have any food recommendations, because anything can pop up on a recall list. She did give me a name of a store that features organic pet food, and I’ll be taking a trip there this afternoon. And a book recommendation on holistic pet care, but she said it was really tricky to get the right balance of protein, carbs and veggies.

Hopefully our little ones will be okay.