Our New Addition

It has been absolute ages since I last blogged about my pets and I do apologise.  I’ve had so much going on.  Today I want to talk about the newest addition to our family, Atticus Finch.  Finch is a rescue dog and he is a Pomeranian cross.  We’re not overly sure what he is mixed with but our guess is a long haired Chihuahua. 

We wanted Gatsby, our little pug to have a brother and to be socialised with other dogs.  We really wanted some company for him and to give another little dog a happy and loving home.  We decided to visit the DSPCA and see if there were any dogs that would be matched to us.  The staff there were very helpful and introduced us to Finch.

Finch was in the shelter with his sister.  Both dogs had lived in a home with over 200 dogs.  Finch’s sister had already been adopted so he was going to be on his own and he isn’t great on his own.  He was a very quiet little chap with a sweet little face.  I held him for a few minutes and gave him as much of a snuggle as he would allow.  He was very shy.

Later that afternoon we brought Gatsby to meet Finch and took both dogs for a little stroll.  They were indifferent to each other.  At first I thought this was a problem but the staff assured me that this was best case scenario as if the boys didn’t like each other or were incompatible they would have fought straightaway.

Later that week we went to collect Finch and bring him home.  I was very nervous about how he might react to his new hedgehog and guinea pig brothers.  We were told that as soon as we got out of the car we should walk the two boys around the block before bringing them into the house.  When Finch entered his new home he was inquisitive about his new brothers but wasn’t bothered by them, nor did he bark or attack them.  He sat on my knee and on the couch for his first evening and tried to take in his new surroundings.

He was incredibly nervous of both us and Gatsby for the first few days. Both boys had a few small scraps to decide which one of them was the alpha but it wasn’t anything serious.  Finch didn’t know his name and didn’t understand any basic commands.  He also wasn’t used to the lead so at times that was difficult.

So how is he getting on now?  He is still a little shy and is not always great with new people but him and I have become great friends.  He follows me around the house.  He loves his brothers and running around gardens.  He gets very excited for his walks and bounces out the door.  He still has a few funny quirks.  He takes his food from his bowl and runs away with it, eating it in hiding.  He cowers when anyone pets him from behind.  He is nervous of approaching people and he likes to hide in confined spaces.  Each week that passes I see another positive change in him.  His tail is always wagging and he usually has a cheeky grin on his face.  He loves a sneaky slice of ham as a treat.  Ear rubs are his favourite.  He can’t be without Gatsby and adores playing with him.  He lets me put hats and outfits on him and sits still while I do it.

Finch still has a few problems but he has come such a long way and we love that he is part of our family.  He had a tough start to his life but he is happy and spoiled in his new forever home.

January Sales

January can be a bit of a sad month but there is one serious positive, the sales. I picked up some great bargains, most of which can be found on my beauty blog, www.rubylainemakeup.com.  I did get a one or two lovely bits for animals and animal lovers that I want to share with you.

I'm in love with my new pug mug.  It is so cute.  I got this in Boots for €6 in the half price sale.

The next item I purchased is a fleece throw from Penneys.  It was reduced to €5.  This is so soft and gorgeous and has planets, stars and astronauts on it.  There were other patterns too.  I  got this to make snuggle sacks for my hedgehog as he loves them. I'll do a tutorial on how to make them soon.  

Finally I got some tshirts in the toddler section of Penneys for the dog.  These weren't on sale but they were €7.50 in total for the two of them so they were a great deal.  Gatsby is nearly 6 months old and I got his tshirts for a 6-9 month old baby.  The sleeves on the Batman one were a bit long so we cut them.  He's adorable in them.

I hope these bits and pieces were of use to you.  I'd love to hear about any pet related bargains you picked up.

Our Pets' Christmas

Today is probably a bit of a depressing day for a lot of people as it is the first day back to work.  The Christmas festivities are a now behind us.  To cheer myself up and hopefully you too, I want to share my pets' Christmas Day with you.

This is Pumpkin's second Christmas with us and the first for Thor, Loki and Gatsby.  I had stockings over the fireplace for each of the pets and Santa came on Christmas Eve and left presents for them.  On Christmas Eve, we all snuggled up on the couch in a blanket and watched Beauty and the Beast's Enchanted Christmas. 

Gatsby was the first of our babies to find out what Santa brought.  We put a bow on him and put him under the tree as a cute present.  He actually didn't mind the bow at all.  Santa brought him lots of edible treats, squeaky toys, chew toys, anti-slip socks (which he wasn't so fond of) and a cuddly toy penguin.  He loved all his gifts but his absolute favourite was the toy penguin. It hasn't left his side since he got it.  Unfortunately he chewed the leg off his penguin which meant I spent New Year's Eve performing emergency surgery and sewing it back on.  

For Christmas he wore his Santa jacket for the day and came with us, as did all the pets to my parents' house.  He played for the day, was spoiled rotten and enjoyed some turkey and ham.  My mam got him another chew toy and a book for teaching him tricks and  training.  He had a great day and slept the whole way home snoring his brains out.

Thor and Loki were next to open their stockings.  They had chew toys, treats for their cage and a cardboard tunnel.  They didn't have as much animation as the other boys and kind of just pee'd everywhere!  They really did love their tunnel and chewed it to bits before lunch.  They came with us and played with Gatsby at my parents' house.  They had little Santa hats but only wore them for a few minutes.

Pumpkin was probably the most excited out of all the babies.  He ran around the sitting room, played with his new goodies and had a big smile on his face.  He got some mealies which were probably his favourite thing and a new snuggle sack.  He was thrilled.   He's such a happy little boy.  He sat on my knee with Gatsby in the car and had a great day at my parents' house.  He had a little Santa hat too.

I had such a lovely Christmas with my pets.  They are the sweetest little creatures.

Dog Treats

Earlier in the week I posted stocking fillers and gift ideas for the pets in your life.  I included some ideas for dog treats but I wanted to give the recipe again with more detailed instructions.  These are a great alternative to shop bought treats as they have no nasty additives.  I saw this recipe on tv and decided to give it a go.  My little boy loves them.

You'll need:
350g plain flour
2 tablespoons of dried parsley
1 egg
Low salt chicken stock cube
120ml of hot water
Bowl
Wooden spoon
Cookie cutters

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.  Add the plain flour to the bowl with the dried parsley and egg.  Give them a stir.  Dissolve the stock cube in 120ml of hot water and add to the mix.  The mixture will start to smell like dog food at this point. Stir it and then start to knead it.  Once it looks a bit doughy, flour a chopping board or the counter and continue to knead.   Roll it to about 1/2 inch thick before cutting out shapes.  Add some grease-proof paper to a tray and throw the biscuits in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

Gatsby has been with us over a month now and as he is a new puppy, some of our friends are coming over to see him this evening.  I baked some of these treats in Christmas shapes for our friends' dogs.  I bought presentation bags (with ribbons) in Dealz  so parceled the treats up in them.  They will make a lovely gift for anyone with a dog.  

The treats are also great for house training puppies.  You can break them into smaller pieces if you don't want to give them a full size treat each time they do their business outside. 

The treats will last for a couple of weeks.

Pet Gifts and Stocking Fillers

I am the definition of a crazy pet lady.  I love my animals; they are my children.  I waited for so long to have them and they are an absolute joy to be around.  I currently have pneumonia and Gatsby (the pug puppy) is minding me.  They are the most loving little creatures in the world.  I have created lots of Christmas lists so it only seems right that I do one for pets.

Starting off with my first born, Pumpkin (the hedgehog) I bought him a new snuggle sack. For those of you not familiar with snuggle sacks, they are a great invention for small furries. They are double lined fleece bags that the smallies like to sit in.  Santa brought one to Pumpkin last year and he loved it so much he is currently using it to sleep in.  He needs a new sack for sitting on the couch (hedgehogs love heat) so I ordered him one on Etsy.  This was about €7 so it was a great bargain.

Like other small creatures, hedgehogs love to run in wheels.   We have a giant one that Pumpkin adores.  We got ours from Carolina Storm Hedgehogs in the states.  I'd highly recommend this website for anyone with hedgehogs.  There'll be lots of great stocking fillers and treats.

My guinea pigs are our second lot of pets.  We have two, Thor and Loki. Thor should technically be on the naughty list because he has been a bit of a brat lately.  For Christmas they have some new hats.  I buy the Santa hats for wine bottles and put them on the smaller babies.  I also knitted them two elf style hats (I told you at the beginning I was crazy!).

My piggies love to chew and their favourite thing is to chew cardboard tunnels so they are getting a selection of them in their stocking.  Any pet shops will stock them and they aren't expensive.

Dealz, EuroGiant and Mr. Price all stock great cat and dog gifts.  These range from food stockings to Christmas collars to festive clothes.  Now I don't have cats, as much as I love them I'm allergic to them. I don't want to leave them out of the list.  Dealz have cat toys.  The stick ones with string and a toy at the end.  There probably is a proper name for them but I don't know it.  They have little Christmassy ones that are very cute.  Home Store and More stock cat Christmas collars.

Gatsby is our latest addition.  His new obsession is pulling the baubles off my Christmas tree and chasing them around the house. For the doggies, Dealz have little jumpers that are a light fleece and available in a small, medium and large. The snowman costumes are adorable and are again available in the same sizes.

Squeaky Santa is a much loved toy in our house and it is great for any puppy or dog.  They also have squeaky penguins.

I wanted a Santa jacket for Gatsby and found a lovely one in EuroGiant.  The material is stiff so it means the hood isn't flopping into his eyes.  It fits him really well and he likes it.

I mentioned Mr. Price earlier and they have great treats for cats and dogs.  For dogs they have squeaky slippers and as any dog owner knows dogs love slippers.  These are €1.49 each. I also got Gatsby a camouflage jacket for €6.99.

Dealz also have animal stockings so you'll have a nice carrier for your pet treats.

I saw a recipe on tv for dog biscuits.  I'm going to make these for Gatsby and his doggie friends.  The recipe is very simple: 350g plain flour, 2 tablespoons of dried parsley, one egg and chicken stock (low salt cube disolved in 120ml of hot water).  Mix it all together and knead it.  Cut out whatever shapes you want and throw it all in the oven at 200 degrees celsius for 20-30 minutes.

I hope you and your pets have a very happy Christmas.