Happy 4th!

We hope everyone had a great 4th! All the dogs stayed home with fun chews tonight while the humans went out for fireworks. It was Skipper's first 4th of July but he didn't seem bothered by the firework noises at all. Quenya gets a little uncomfortable but usually is happy sleeping it off. Victoria doesn't care unless there is a particularly loud boom, which she gives small alert barks to. Skipper was put in his kennel, given a chew and covered up before we left. When we came home he was happy to come out, go potty and romp about the yard despite the lingering firework noises. I'd also been worried about my new miniature horse colt, Soryn. Soryn only just turned two years old this month which is still very young for horses. He seemed completely unperturbed by the evening's irregularities though. My other horse, Diamond, is veteran at staying calm in nerve-wracking situations and I know his presence was calming for little Soryn.

I noticed someone had brought their puppy to the fireworks tonight. That's right, a puppy--maybe three to four months. That is how lifelong phobias are born people. Flooding is a mistake in dog training, and too many people do it unintentionally and wind up hurting their dogs for life. It's a similar concept to "sacking out" in horses, something I've come across hundreds of times as an equestrian. While externally it may seem like the animal has gotten to a point where it's "fine" with the stimulus, inside their poor brains are going insane and/or simply shutting down.

Hopefully everyone's pets had a happy, safe evening!

Our camera has been, ahem, misplaced for the last week or so--here are some photos from a couple months ago!

You said there'd be flowers. Where are the flowers? This is disgusting, mom.

See, Victoria won't even look it's so disgusting.