Gracie's Bark | Pet Friendly Resource

Gracie's Bark is Reaching Out to Rescue Dogs

We are rolling out our Reaching Out To Rescue segment on our bark blog. We've been helping out a shelter over in TN with articles on some of the dogs they have up for adoption. Check out:

http://www.graciesbark.com/blog/2010/02/gracies-bark-is-reaching-out-to-rescue.html

Gracie's Bark is happy to spotlight any dogs in need of a good home. We are very willing to do our part in finding the loving homes these dogs need, it is the least we can do! Email us anytime with requests at [email protected].

Gracie has truly been an inspiration to us and we don't know what we would do without her. This is our way of giving back to the pet community for providing us with such a wonderful dog. 

 

 

Tammi Jacobsen & Rob Oliveira
Dog Bloggers     

[email protected]

www.GraciesBark.com

www.Facebook.com/GraciesBark

www.twitter.com/GraciesBark

Local Pet Idol Contest: VOTE FOR GRACIE!

AM 1420 WBSM, Melissa's Pet Depot, Mason's Corner, and Breeder's Choice are looking for the cutest Pet Idol 2010!!!

The voting for Pet Idol 2010 will begin February 15th through the 26th!!!

Please VOTE FOR GRACIE! VOTE for number 4!

 

A special THANK YOU to all our friends for voting! 

Don't forget she's number 4.

Click here... to VOTE FOR GRACIE! 

Become Gracie's Spotlight Dog for March! Submit your story and picture today.

Gracie's Bark spotlights a dog once a month! Send Gracie a picture and two to three sentence about your favorite dog to [email protected].

Check out Gracie's previous spotlight dogs:

Brody from North Easton, MA

Butch from Methuen, MA

Abby from Middleboro, MA

Our Little Doggie Valentine

Our little Doggie Valentine had a great day yesterday. Gracie's Valentine wishes came true and she got to run her little heart out in the snow. She had a blast and here are some wonderful pictures to prove it. I guess you could say she's quite photogenic. Gracie really likes to pose for us and also allows us to get good running shots too! 

Gracie's Dog-Be-Mine Valentine? Who do you want to spend Valentine's Day with?

Well, who do all you dog lovers out there want to spend Valentine's Day with? I know we have plans to spend some time with each other and, of course, with our girl Gracie! 

 

 

There was a global poll that asked people if they preferred to spend Valentine's Day with their pets! Check out the the results here... 

Happy Valentine's Day to all the dogs out there! 

Hugs & Kisses... Love Gracie

A Little Girl, With A Big Stick!

For Gracie, getting along with other dogs can sometimes be just as challenging as humans trying to get along with other people. For the most part she is a great dog with other dogs. But there are those certain dogs that for some reason get under her skin. Someone who spends significant time with her and other dogs recently described Gracie to me as “a little girl, with a big stick”.    

I will be honest with all of you, she likes to rule the roost. She’s half Australian Shepherd and half Yellow Lab, but her Aussie traits definitely prevail.  As with all mix breed dogs they take different traits from different breeds.  Most of the time, it ends up being the strongest personality from the specific breed that show through.

Aussie’s are natural herding dogs. Although they like to control their herds and keep things in order, they have also been known to stir up a herd just to put them back in order again. They strive for a job to do and can get bored quite fast.

Now on the flip side, Gracie has a “core” set of dogs she has spent significant time with and she adores them. For example, my parents have two Scottish Terriers that spend a lot of time with her. She plays very gently with them even though they literally jump all over her and bite her ears constantly. She is incredibly tolerant and we know she would never hurt them.  Gracie also plays with another Lab mix named Buddy, a Golden named Cali, and a mix breed named Lexi. She accepts them into her life without a problem and enjoys their company immensely.

We love Gracie and everyone around us that she spends time with loves her too. But she can give you a run for your money and spending time with her involves a ton of patience and understanding.

Gracie is one of the main reasons we started this bark blog. We want to share our stories and experiences with all of you and have you share yours back with us.  Because she challenges us everyday, she keeps us in line with the care we give her. She is included in almost everything we do. Gracie is an amazing dog and we are so fortunate to have her in our lives.

Gracie’s loyalty to us is undeniable and her level of intelligence far surpasses any dog I’ve ever come in contact with.  She is also such a goof sometimes and can make us laugh several times a day.  

Dog Exercise - Gracie's Winter Walks

Winter in New England can be quite cold most of the time, and sometimes just down right freezing. Since Gracie is half Aussie, she really needs to get some type of daily exercise that can get her heart rate pumping and/or stimulate her mentally!

If she doesn't get this needed exercise, we are in for a whole lot of trouble. Gracie will bark at us non-stop and follow us around the house, right at the back of our heels. There's no way we can get away with not taking her for at least one walk every day, not matter how cold or icy it is outside. 

Since we've recently enclosed our yard with a fence, I've been able to play some fetch with her in the yard. She has now learned how to tell us when she wants to play fetch. She finds her tennis ball and carries it in her mouth around the house, dropping it at our feet and in our laps. This is her way of telling us, she's bored and wants us to do something with her. If we do not comply with her demand, she will begin to rip the tennis ball! 

 

We've also taught her how to play hide and seek. When the weather is not cooperating at all, we make her wait in one room, while we hide her favorite treats around the house. We then encourage her to "Seek" out all her treats. Gracie really enjoys this game! 

There are many ways to keep your dog entertained during the winter months. Sometimes it just takes some creativity on our part to make it work.

Does anyone have any other indoor activity ideas or suggestions? We are always looking for new ways to keep our girl entertained. 

Gracie's Bark is Reaching Out to Rescue

We wanted to take a moment of your time and talk to everyone about why we are so passionate about Dog Rescues. There are misconceptions out there that rescuing a dog from a shelter would just be inheriting somebody else's problems. This is how many people view rescue dogs - as dogs that were given up because they had behavioral issues and did not make good pets.

In the vast majority of cases, this is not true. Unfortunately, many people buy dogs without thinking about the time, effort, dedication and expenses they need to invest in that dog. Many of these dogs end up in shelters, wandering around outside homeless, or it they are lucky, they make it into a rescue.

There are many people today struggling to make ends meet and maintaining their dog can be difficult. Please remember that many people are now giving their dogs up because they cannot afford the expense. This does not mean they are bad dogs. Many of them are just waiting to find the right home where they can be loved and cared for.

A friend of mine, Allison Nuovo, reached out to me recently to put some pictures of some dogs that are ready for adoption in Tennessee. Allison adopted her dog Abby from the GRReat Dog Rescue in Tennessee and she has stayed in touch with them. Abby is our Spotlight Dog this month. Click here to hear Abby's story. The GRReat Dog Rescue is a dog rescue located in Lenoir City, Tennessee. For more information, please click GRReat Dog Rescue.

Below are some pictures of the dogs available through the Loudon County Animal Shelter located in Tennessee that Allison wanted to spotlight. If you would like to contact the Loudon County Animal Shelter for more information please visit their website at: Loudon County Animal Shelter.

        

Gracei's Bark is happy to spotlight any dogs in need of a good home. Please email [email protected] with your requests.  
 
 
 
 
 

Oh no Gracie! We are going to get you back on track!

Since we've been hibernating a bit this winter because of the cold temperatures, Gracie has not been exposed to all the people and dogs she usually is exposed to during the warmer weather. 

We've been walking our normal route during the winter and recently there has been more foot traffic. Gracie is a highly reactive dog and I need to make sure I am prepared when there are bicycles, roller blades and other dogs around. Keeping her attention focused on me takes a lot of work, but when prepared, I can pull it off usually without a hitch.

We encountered several situations lately when I was not prepared, so you can imagine my frustration. I always have to remember to keep my frustrations aside and just deal with the matter at hand. My feeling of frustration can be passed on to her, increasing her anxiety over moving objects and/or other dogs, whatever the case may be. Of course she is going to slip up every now and then, everyone does! It's a part of life. I have to remind myself that no one can be perfect, not even my girl Grace. 

Getting back on track is an awesome feeling. When I see her focusing on me when a dog walks by, it really makes me realize how smart and eager to please she is. She trusts me and I do not want to let her down.  

I would really like to start using Clicker Training more. I just seem to struggle with juggling enticing treats, the clicker (even when it is around my wrist) and her leash. As for right now, we've been taking the "Leave It" command a bit further and started using it outside. I talk to her to get her attention. In a very firm but calm way I say "Leave It". Once she looks at me instead of the other distraction, I give her a treat. 

Gracie is a great dog with a strong personality that we love. We just need to be more attentive to her issues with moving objects and her protectiveness over us. We are working on everything and we know it will all take some time. Our goal is to be consistent with our training and to understand she has her limits too.

Good Girl Gracie. Keep up the good work!    

If anyone has any recommendations for help with juggling the clicker, treats and leash, please let me know! 

I would love to hear any suggestions or solutions that work for all of you.

 

To Gracie with love - Banana Biscotti Biscuits

Tricia White, a great friend and co-worker, has a fabulous food blog called Friends Food Family where she shares recipes and stories. Definitely worth checking out!

Rob & I have had the pleasure of eating dinner at Tricia & Jeff's home and they are both amazing chefs!

Tricia & Jeff also have a very handsome dog named Brody and we love to share with each other all the wonderful stories about being dog owners. 

Tricia has put together a wonderful homemade dog biscuit recipe that I want to share with all of you. Click here for the recipe: To Gracie with love - Banana Biscotti Biscuits.

Thank you Tricia for this wonderful dog biscuit recipe. We are looking forward to more of these on your food blog. Gracie loves her Banana Biscotti Biscuits!

Below is a great picture of their handsome dog Brody.