Birthday Message to my Dog

Today my sweet little dog, Eco, turns 5 years old. I just can't believe how quickly the time has gone by.

Eco at 7 weeks

Eco at 3 months old

I'm sure my family would remind me that the first two years seemed long since she was still in training. And the first year took a while - especially with all those sharp pointy baby teeth. But she has blossomed into the sweetest companion and friend.

Eco at two years old

The most common words I hear people say to describe her is  "sweet" and "puppy". Many can't believe that she is five years old. Actually I can't believe she's 5 either - where did the last 3 years go? Besides daily walks and play sessions, a few trips to the vet, several swims in the summer time, monthly baths and a multitude of tricks.

Eco can: sit up and beg, wave, roll over, play day, bark, whisper, spin, twirl, walk backwards, cross her legs. She knows the names of her toys and can retrieve them on command placing them in my hand. She can follow hand signals from a distance and can do a series of tricks before getting her reward. She doesn't bark when someone knocks on the door and she doesn't steal food in the kitchen.

In fact, the other day a piece of bread was sitting on a plastic cutting board which was sitting on top of the toaster. The cutting board slipped off the toaster landing on the counter but the piece of bread rocketed to the floor. Eco walked in the room and discovered it first but sat down and looked at it until someone came in the room and told her she could eat it. Granted there was small puddle of drool by her feet, but she did not gobble up the bread. I wish she'd do the same for cat poop outside - but she can't - which makes her almost perfect, but not quite. Just the way a dog should be, otherwise they wouldn't be able to give us our daily chuckle.

Thanks for being so sweet and so soft and for making me laugh everyday Eco. And Happy Birthday to you!
(and now the voice of my husband is in my head, mocking me, saying "she can't read!")\

 ****

Wanna know about her name? Back in 2009, my dog Jazz had  just died after a 5 month battle with cancer. Our funds were depleted from the cost of cancer treatment. I wasn't sure  how long it would be before I could get another dog. And then we received a rebate for our Toyota Yaris - an Eco/Environmental Levy because it was an efficient vehicle. The cost of the cheque was the exact amount we needed for our puppy! And that's how Eco came to be a part of our daily life.

Uggie the Dog

Okay another video you must watch!

I just love this little guy

It's electric!

If any of you has a barking dog and is considering an e-collar (shock collar), then perhaps this video may help you decide:

Otherwise the tapping of his feet might just make you laugh a little.

Doggie Diapers

So as you recall from my May 21st post about my brother's newest dog, Gekko she has a bit of an incontinence problem so I found this site: K9 Diaper.  Is anyone familiar with this type of product? I think it would probably help everyone in the house if something was there to catch some of the 'random' droplets.

Years ago when I was a teenager, I had a Old English Sheepdog who wasn't spayed and who developed breast cancer(please always spay your dog before she's 3 - I speak from experience). She had a couple of lumpectomy operations and the first time she went in for surgery to remove several 'breasts" my mom converted a piece of lingerie into a cover for her chest which helped keep her stitches clean .... but it was much easier with an Old English because they don't have tails!

By the way, here's Gekko's* adoption sign from the SPCA: 

...didn't they do a good job at pulling on our heart strings? 

*I believe my SIL changed her name from Echo to Gekko 

because my  dog's name is Eco (pronounced "Eeek-o) and they were close  sounding. 

I'll have to verify that though, in case you're curious.  

Monkey the Dog

Okay not only does this dog melt my heart because he's so cute, but the videographer/photographer. Robin Layton has an extreme talent of picking out just the right parts to make us love this little guy even more. I absolutely adore her photographs, and this video:



He's so cute. But I don't think I could watch my dog rip apart a stuffy without stepping in to stop it!

Can your dog do this?

We can put kibble on my sweet little dog's nose and when we tell her to take it, she will catch it in her mouth  - chomp.

But she can also balance things on her head - see?

Such a good little girl.