Daisy and Gretchen » Comments

New Website for Daisy and Gretchen

Scott — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:46:43 +0000

After many hours of work we finally have a new website for Daisy & Gretchen. Perhaps a few bugs still exist, perhaps not. In any case we want to welcome you back and we promise to provide updated posts on a regular basis.

If this is your first visit, we are all about sharing the lives of Daisy & Gretchen with you and their many antics. And we also sprinkle the site with information about our world with dogs.

WELCOME BACK and ENJOY!!!

Puppy Mill Awareness Day 2009

Scott — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:35:27 +0000

I found this video at a great blog entitled ‘A Dog Lover’s Blog’ and realized it was definitely worth passing along. This is an issue that needs all of our attention and support…

A Sense of Duty

Scott — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:31:21 +0000

Ever since Daisy and Gretchen were puppies they have known the difference between adults and children. We don’t have any children and only see our nieces and nephews every once in a while, so it really did not make any since as to why they were much more gentle with children. Until, I read a section in “German Shorthairs” magazine Volume 34, and it states:

“Most German Shorthair Pointers instinctively know that kids are more delicate than adults and will act accordingly.”

After reading this I realized that we have some very smart dogs.

Even more interesting, over the weekend Daisy and Gretchen were “helping” Scott manicure the front yard and heard the cries of a child. The toddler was simply squabbling with a sibling as she apparently did not want to go back in the house. Gretchen immediately perked up her ears and began watching the situation approximately 6-7 houses down the street. With a worried look on her face, Gretchen began to go towards the child when the crying continued. I called her back, but was struck by her sense of duty to help.

Pointers need help!

Scott — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:24:07 +0000

Throwing a shout out for the California German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue as they need help in placements. According to their website (http://www.gsp-rescue.org/home.htm):

The California GSP Rescue Needs Your Help!

Due to a recent chain of events, the California German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue is desperately looking to place several dogs in a short amount of time.

Many of these dogs are seniors wanting nothing more than a place to nap, minimal exercise and affection. A few of the dogs are special needs requiring a little more attention than others while some of the dogs aren’t even GSPs but other breeds and mixes. All the dogs need to be placed.

If you know anyone that can provide assistance or is looking for a companion please contact the California GSP Rescue TODAY at http://www.gsp-rescue.org/home.htm

Attention Pawsengers

Scott — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:08:17 +0000

Yesterday, July 14th, marked the first flight of PetAirways, a classic example of innovation out of pet owner necessity. Although I do not anticipate needing to arrange a flight for Daisy and Gretchen in the foreseeable future, there is a demand for transporting pets by air. Especially with larger dogs like our German Shorthairs, the current method of stowing dogs in the cargo hold does not entice me one bit to take such a leap. And as a pet owner and pet lover, I can completely understand how uncomfortable I would be in such a situation.

Thus, I am glad to hear that PetAirways is taking off and offering a pet friendly solution to air travel and I wish them success. Perhaps in a number of years they will expand routes far enough so we (and by that I mean Daisy and Gretchen too) can relocate to our dream home in Hawaii. We definitely can’t leave home without them!

Check out the PetAirways video…

Natural Stress Relief

Scott — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:51:26 +0000

I’m a few days late on getting back to everyone, but this year’s 4th of July was no less stressful for Daisy and Gretchen than usual. This round was a bit different as we tried a natural stress relief called Rescue Remedy to calm the two and hopefully prevent Daisy from completely falling off the deep end.

Well, the Independence celebration was as expected, completely full of everything but the recommended safe and sane fireworks. Sparks rocketing into the air followed shortly by an explosion that reverberated throughout the house. By the way we are located in a county in California that has long ago banned the use of all fireworks because of the incredible amount of dry brush, open fields, and farmland, etc.

At any rate, the pre-fourth festivities on July 3rd initiated our trial of Rescue Remedy in which we provided the recommended dosage of 4 drops about for each dog. Approximately 2 hours later I decided to give another dose to see if I could witness a response. The small amount of fireworks that night did illicit a nervous reaction, but they were rather brief so I could not make an adequate determination if the product worked.

As the evening of the 4th rolled around were provided a double dose to Daisy and single dose to Gretchen for the mere fact that Daisy is incredibly sensitive to the noise. Well, I did not see any particular calming effect as she performed her usual routine of trying to jump onto book shelves, crawl under/into coffee and end tables, etc. As 11:00pm struck, both pooches were sound asleep. Was it the natural remedy finally taking hold or was it all the excitement and stress that put them to sleep?

I am not actually sure, but based on our experience it might be worth a try again on New Year’s Eve with an increase in the number of standard doses, i.e. every hour, starting around 5pm.

So, does anyone have any experience with a natural remedy that works or with rescue Remedy itself? If so please let us know. Otherwise our last option appears to be a visit to the vet for a prescription solution.

Back in action

Scott — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:38:36 +0000

Well, Daisy and Gretchen are finally back in action. It is rounding up a 3 week hiatus as vacation rolled directly into a week-long work trip, which was promptly followed up with a hard drive crash. We are planning to use the long weekend to get caught up with emails, new posts, and any site updates that pop up.

So while Daisy and Gretchen catch a nap in the sun, it is the perfect opportunity to introduce a few blogs we are currently following and have added to our blogroll as well as give a shout out to the world of Twitter (It’s about time!).

A Furry Friend (http://afurryfriend.blogspot.com/)
Online Pet Blog (http://puppyfast.blogspot.com/)
The 4Legged Blog (http://www.4-legged.com/blog/)

Follow Daisy and Gretchen on Twitter: http://twitter.com/germanshorthair