Do all dogs that love to bark, bark in their sleep?

With the last post being more on the serious side, thank goodness for the comic relief post of the week! 

Kyzer does a lot of funny things. Throughout the day he never ceases to amaze me on how goofy he can be. 

But even when he SLEEPS he can be entertaining! Throughout my life I have come across a fair share of funny videos of dogs sleeping, running in place and even twitching. The Yorkie I had growing up would sometimes twitch when he slept (or even Toot) but he never did anything too out of the ordinary. Kyzer, on the other hand, manages to BARK when he sleeps. It's obvious Kyzer is a very vocal dog, but I was not expecting for him to bark in his sleep. When he was a puppy, one night when he was sleeping, he all of a sudden he started making this weird bubbly noise. At first I was worried, but after turning on a light I realized that he was somehow managing to bark with his mouth shut. It sounded a lot like this:

Maybe I'm just a crazy dog lady, but I seriously think it's the cutest thing.

"It's either get rid of the dog, or find somewhere else"

Happy Dead Week! (For those of us in college)

So with it being SO CLOSE to the end of the school year and with summer just around the corner, it naturally came to be about that time where some of us need to find somewhere else to live. While I listened to countless amount of people complain and stress over who they were going to live with and where they were going to live, I thought I had the upper-hand. I already knew who I was going to live with, and we thought we would just stay at the same place where Kyzer grew up. He was already approved, so that shouldn’t be a problem, right? WRONG.

Well, if you are in college and know that wherever you live for the next few years is probably temporary, I suggest that if you ABSOLUTELY cannot wait and want a dog…get one that weighs no more than 10 pounds. 

Kyzer's Diary: The Light

There is something I can’t figure out. I never have a hard time catching things, but there is one thing I never seem able to catch—the mysterious orb.

I have only encountered this phenomenon a handful of times. It’s silent, but as quick and stealth-like as a ninja. At first I won’t even know it’s there, but then I’ll see it mocking me from the distance. This mysterious orb will stay for different lengths of time. Once it came for only a few minutes, while other times it’ll stay for what seems like hours. No matter how fast I am, or how many times I feel like I pounce on it or bite it successfully, it manages to dodge my grasp and float away. An apparition it may be, which makes it more mysterious and frustrating than any other thing I have encountered. 

One day I will catch this mysterious orb. One day I will finally be victorious. 

To Shave or Not to Shave your Dog...Good-bye Fluffiness!

Hello there!

So this weekend I did something a little spontaneous that I promised myself I would never do again: I SHAVED KYZER.

Kyzer and his Pig

Before we even got Kyzer, we went to numerous pet stores and Wal-Mart in order to get supplies for him before we brought him home. One of the favorite things we came across was a bright green pig from Wal-Mart...that when you squeezed it it sounded like an actual hog.

Are Dogs ACTUALLY as Expensive as some People Say?

Hello again!

So as we enter into April, we are getting towards the end of the semester. While others are planning their summer and fall class schedules, some are getting close to graduating! Unfortunately I’m not included in that group (I have another year and a half before I get that lucky…), but good luck to those whose college years are coming to an end!

Now with summer coming up, I know a lot of people decide to get a dog either once they graduate, or once summer hits so they have more time to raise a puppy. Sure, I didn’t get Kyzer in the summer (Although I really wish I would have), but I did get him during winter break. Breaks are a great time to acclimate a new pet to the home when you have more time having a break from school.

Kyzer about a month after we got him--his first real deep snow experience.

One criticism I encountered before I got a puppy was this: “Dogs are SO expensive.” Yes. Having a dog is an extra expense you need to plan for to make sure you have enough disposable income to buy him food and take him to the vet. Yes. Dog food can range anywhere from $20-$40+ for a decent size bag that will last you a while. Yes. Dog toys (at least good quality dog toys) are pretty pricey. Yes. Some vet bills are outrageously expensive and can be hard to plan for. 

"If you run with a toy, I'll chase you with a toy!"

One thing that I love about Kyzer is how generous he is with his things. He's not one of those dogs who is possessive over his toys, or even his bones/food. Whenever he's around other dogs, he shares his toys, and even lets other dogs take his toys away from him! Having a dog that isn't possessive over their things is a HUGE relief when it comes to having other dogs around. Although Kyzer is a little territorial over the property, once he smells the dog and gets a proper meeting, he's perfectly fine inviting them in the home and sharing his toys. At least we don't have to worry about Kyzer getting mad because another dog has his toys or is chewing his bone.

I want a dog....but I LOVE to Travel!

Happy Monday! And for some of you…HAPPY SPRING BREAK. Whether you are away at some island, or you are just at home working, at least you get a week off of school. I for one decided to save money this week just by working, but at least I get plenty of free time to hang out with my little doggie. And I know he is grateful for that!

With it being Spring Break-season, and with a good majority of people leaving for some sort of vacation, I thought it would be appropriate to address this concern of having a dog: liking to travel, but having a dog to worry about.

Kyzer's Diary #3

Remember a few posts back when I said the best way to get attention was to get yourself in a place that’s not easy to get to and bark?

Well...I was wrong. When you’re a small puppy, doing such tasks are easy but when you are my size—you have the tendency to get stuck.

When I was younger I used to crawl underneath my human’s bed and not only eat the box spring, but crawl around aimlessly down there and bark. It was so fun! The other day when both my humans were preoccupied doing their own thing, ignoring any gesture I made to get them to play with me, I thought I would result to this old trick that always seemed to work. Something I forgot, though, is that I’ve grown quite a bit since the last time I went on an adventure underneath the bed. 

A Message to the Owner with a Dog that Eats Everything

Hello and happy Monday!

Sorry for the late first post. This weekend was a busy one! But now, lucky for y’all, there will be TWO posts for your Monday, instead of just one. :)

(This is Kyzer’s excited face)

This post will be in honor of when cleaning the apartment this weekend, I had to throw away many of Kyzer’s completely pulverized toys. When you have a dog, if you’re like me you want to pick out the cutest, fluffiest stuffed toys for them. You want to get them a super-large tennis ball that’s bigger than their head. You come across the heavy-duty, super tough toys that you intend to buy, but then they end up being way too expensive so you instead grab the cheap, thin material toy right next to it. For some dogs, you can get away with buying almost any toy for them. But if you have a dog like Kyzer, it is crucial that you be more mindful when choosing toys. Because Kyzer. Eats. EVERYTHING. 

Kyzer's Diary #2: I Love Ice Cream.

I have a lot of favorite things. Like my ball, my cow, my food bowl, my water dish, cheese, cuddling, ice cubes, my humans, car rides, my bed, running, bones, treats, water, squeaky toys, old dryer sheets, jumping, sticks, barking, and many, many more!

But there's one thing that stands out above everything else. Something my whole world stops for:

Ice Cream.

"Are you gonna finish that?" Should we feed our dogs people food?

Now there are two types of people in this world: Those who don't  feed their dogs people food and then those who do. Growing up, we had a Yorkie we never fed people food to. Maybe it was just because he was so small and low to the ground, but he never seemed to beg, either. Even when we would try to give him some he turned his nose up to it. So when we got Kyzer, we made the decision that we were not going to feed Kyzer people food, either. My boyfriend had two big yellow labs at the time, and whenever we would eat dinner they would stand inches from us and would not budge until we were done eating. I did not want to have a dog do the same thing.

The first couple of weeks we had Kyzer we stayed with him at my parents' house. Every time we ate he would either frolic around or (rarely) sleep. We thought we were in the clear of having a dog beg for food. We were wrong.

The week before spring semester started we brought Kyzer to Lincoln where he would be living with my boyfriend and his roommates. After a long, wintery day we decided that nothing could make the night better than buying Cane's. My boyfriend didn't have a kitchen table, either, so we put up a gate to keep Kyzer in the living room with us and we ate our dinner sitting on the sofa. We weren't prepared for what would happen next.

Our cute, quiet little puppy suddenly became a rabid animal. He started chirping and squawking like a hungry, little bird, jumping at us on the couch. (He was not even a foot tall yet, so he had no chance of making it on the couch.) No matter what we did to try to soothe him, his gaze would not leave the sight of Cane's and he was doing everything in his power to get it. We were in shock! Kyzer had never had any people food before, but for some reason he was acting like he was entitled to what we were eating. (But let's be honest. Who WOULDN'T try everything in their power to get a bite of Cane's?)

The point of this story is that even if you try to never give your dog people food to try and prevent begging, guess what. If your dog is always as hungry as mine is, he KNOWS what food is and will want to try and convince you to give it to him. Lucky for us, Kyzer at least is a quiet begger now. He just sits a few steps away and stares at us until we finish eating.

I think when I took this picture I was actually eat Cane's, so that is what Kyzer's gaze is locked on.

So my stance on giving people food to dogs is if you can avoid it, I would. If your dog never takes a natural interest in it, take advantage of it. But if your dog is like Kyzer, sometimes those puppy eyes can easily convince. If Kyzer is being exceptionally good, sometimes I'm okay with giving him meat (take off the breading if there is any), cheese (but only tiny doses because too much can mess up their stomach), or carrots/apples or other foods that are actually good for dogs. Meats are at least natural for dogs since they are carnivores, so I'm usually pretty lenient about giving Kyzer meat. But one thing to remember is that even if your dog does always beg from day one, if you give in to their begging, their begging is likely to get worse. But, like for most things, before you EVER feed your dog human food, make sure to do your research. Because some foods that you might find to be innocent can be fatal for dogs, such as grapes/raisins, and onions. 

Now, the only thing I OCCASIONALLY give Kyzer that is contrary to the above paragraph is....ice cream. Kyzer LOVES ice cream. Now when I say I give him ice cream, I mean we'll sometimes go to Dairy Queen and buy Kyzer a pup cup (it's just plain vanilla in a small cup). Now Kyzer gets this treat only every few months, but it makes him so happy. And after a long, summer day, if we eat ice cream to cool off shouldn't we let our dog who's covered in a thick coat have the same luxury?

So whatever you decide your stance is, just remember that most dogs do in fact beg. And also remember that if you are super relaxed about feeding your dog human food, 1) do your research to make sure that they are okay to eat it, and 2) whatever you give them make it reasonable. I don't think dogs need to eat popcorn or potato chips. Dogs have sensitive stomachs so too much people food at once (even if its all meat) can upset their stomachs because it tends to be too rich. 

~Kathryn and Kyzer

P.S. Speaking of ice cream, in my next post I'll illustrate to you the love Kyzer has for ice cream. Let me tell you, it's honestly the weirdest thing.