Puppy Morgana

I absolutely love it when I find pictures of Morgana as a puppy she was soooo adorable!

Dog harnesses: when should you use them? Which are the best?

If you have seen the video of Cassies first walk (http://youtu.be/SxASFg6vYI4) you can begin to understand the problem we have when it comes to walkies. Morgana, being the chihuahua she is, was just naturally a little lady and went to the toilet where she was supposed to and walked perfectly outside but Cassie... that was a different story.

Cassie walking? She would be like a horse and pull you along the road, instead of you taking her for walks it would be the other way round. She is deceptively strong. Cassie and Morgana had the same harness as puppies (one in pink and the other red as seen in the video) and Morgana never had a problem with this harness but we noticed when Cassie pulled it caused her to wheeze because of the pressure around her neck and we knew this was hurting her and her neck.

So we did a little research and we found some good reviews about the 'non-pull dog harness'. The harness was easily to put on and worked straight away and stopped Cassie from pulling almost completely and her panting and wheezing stopped. It might not be the prettiest harness ever but it was a miracle. It works by gentley tightening across the chest when the little trouble pulls.

 
Some people might want to use a 'choke' collar to prevent pulling but I personally believe the non-pull harness has the same effect without the distress. I have recommended this harness to other owners who are taken for walks by their little monsters and I have heard nothing but praise about this harness. Now that Cassie walks with hardly any pulling at all we don't use this harness as much, so we have managed to buy her some pretty harnesses.

So to conclude, the luxury furplast dog harness is perfect for dogs who do not pull (though the little diamonds do come off quite easily). If your dog pulls please give the non-pull dog harness a go it may work for your dog, it could be your quick simple solution too.

Please use a harness if your dog pulls, has a short muzzle or is a small dog as their windpipes are more delicate than the larger breeds.

Check out these links for some harnesses:

Non-Pull Dog Harness from PetPlanet

Padded and Puppia Dog Harnesses from Pet London

Product Review: The Puppy Pen

When buying a puppy there is the typical list of things to get before you bring your little furbaby home.

The obvious list includes;

The essentials

• Puppy food- it is best to stick with what they have been weaned onto because what you will come to realise is that puppy tummys can get upset easily. So ask the breeder or who you are getting your little bundle of joy from what food they are currently eating. If you want to switch its best to wait a while and slowly introduce the new food mixed with the old over a period of a week or so, that means slowly increasing the new food and decreasing the old.
• Bowls- water and food bowls are very important. Remember that the puppies and dogs have to have access to water at all times.
• Puppy pads- the little cutie will need to go to the toilet somewhere and until they have all their jabs no going outside!
• Puppy bed including blankets

Should you buy a crate?

Now most breeders and pet shops will recommend that you buy a crate when you buy a new puppy, I personally do not like the idea of crates. When we got Morgana she was placed in a crate and my heart nearly broke seeing how terrified she was inside it so she was never put in one again. To be honest my hamsters cage is bigger and much nicer than some of these crates. However, this meant that when we got home Morgana could run rampage in the living room. If you're interested to see what she got up to check out her first night at home http://youtu.be/iAdfp3OkIbE. So everyone went into overdrive trying to find something that could work. So we found the perfect solution: the puppy pen.



The PetGear Puppy Pen can also be collapsed so it is portable, it comes with a bag to put the collapsed pen in, as well as a waterproof base in case of any little accidents. There is a zip panel for access in and out for the little pup. The pen is big enough to put a bed in with some space to move around and unlike a crate this would keeps warm during cold weather. 

I think Cassie liked her puppy pen

This pen is perfect for puppies and small dogs. I would definitely recommend that all owners looking for a way to enclose their new puppy to get a fabric puppy pen.

There are a few on amazon...

Pet Gear Portable Pen Pink

Medium Portable Play Pen

Cassies first toy

Just found this video from a year ago of Cassie Bears first day with us and her favourite toy :)

Morgana: The little night terror

The first night with Morgana was very entertaining, at least for my mum who insisted that everyone went to bed but Morgana had other ideas! When visiting Morgana several times before we brought her home there was no way you could not love her little angelic face, but as soon as it hit midnight on the day we brought her home... I thought we might have brought a gremlin instead of a puppy.

We were expecting a quiet night with all the excitement that happened during the day, what with the car tyre going flat whilst we were on the motorway which meant we had to pull in to a little remote Sainsburys petrol station. To add to that the AA couldn't seem to find us, but it was two hours later that Morgana's puppy eyes and my mum's friendly attitude caught the eye of a very nice gentleman who changed the tyre for us.

By the time we got home we thought we had a little sleeping angel but as soon as everyone went to bed it started and we realised just how cheeky she could be... squeaking, stealing socks, stealing blankets, licking, attempting to jump on the sofa, chewing my little brothers homework, opening Christmas presents and that is just to mention a few. My mum decided to record a little snippet of what she 'went through' whilst everyone else slept...

So by the morning she had stolen not only one but two of my mums blankets and made herself very comfy. This was the end result...