Traveling with Rue

Over the last week Rue and I took quite the adventure around Southern MN and let's just say I've learned a bit about her traveling personality.

First off, the morning before we left we made an impromptu visit to the Vet so she could get her first Rabies shot, her first Bordatella (a.k.a. kennel cough), and her booster distemper shot. We also had her EU microchip inserted. I got mine from the AKC website which is incredibly reasonable and my Vet injected it for free. This 15-digit microchip is a NECESSITY for traveling throughout Europe next year and is just a great thing to have for your pet regardless if you're traveling or not.

Secondly, Rue is apparently really bad at recognizing social queues from other animals. We spent five days with my girlfriend, A, who has 2 cats and let's just say they were way less interested in her than she was in them. Apparently when cats hiss and claw at you means "let's play more" in Rue's mind. Silly dog.

Lastly, we spent another day with a different girlfriend who had a 1 year old lab who was more than happy to play with Rue but was a bit aggressive right away and to be honest, I've never seen Rue be so rude or bratty to another dog. I've pin-pointed her attitude problem to 3 hours of driving in the car, not being home for 5 days, and being jostled into a noisy environment of a bunch of girls at a bridal shower/bachelorette party.

Silly idea on my part? Yes, a little. But was I really going to leave my dog for a week when I wasn't even doing anything that I couldn't do without her? No. I also brought her kennel along in case she needed a safe house and it's my firm belief that if she is to live the "hockey lifestyle" of constant travel and unknown, she needs to be acclimated into it at an early age. Overall, I think the experience was good for both of us; I learned Rue's limits and she learned how to quickly adjust. Not once over the course of our impromptu vacay did she stop eating, act naughty, or have an accident in the house. To the contrary, I believe all the traveling helped solidify Rue's progress in potty training. I can't pinpoint what exactly helped, but we didn't have one single accident over the last 8 days.

Anyway, just thought I would update you on how baby girl is doing. I'll keep posting products that work for us. We're still on Blue Buffalo food which is still going well and I've actually purchased a new collar and I.D. tag from Etsy that I can't wait to post pictures of when they arrive in the mail.

Love&Luck

What's Upppp Wednesday

Not gonna lie, been in the shittiest of shitty moods as of late. Believe me, you don't want to hear about it. In order to brighten my mood and not bore you with shitty nonsense, let's have a little chit chat about some non-shitty nonsense.

I fell in love with Zara while I visited France this year and lately I've been seeing their amazing items all over fellow blogs so I finally decided to treat myself to a few items the other day. Can't wait to show pictures and review the items once I get them! Not going to lie, drunk online shopping is my new favorite pastime at night, ha. Everything seems so much more attractive and cheaper through rose colored glasses don't you agree?

Baby girl Rue also had her first puppy obedience class this week and to my slight surprise she was a stunner. We'll be attending puppy classes every week if my work schedule allows and then we will be joining the beginner obedience class in May after M's birthday. I'm really excited because a trained dog, is a happy dog. If you ever run into a dog that is misbehaved it is 98% the owner's responsibility (or fault) for their dog's behavior. Just like us, behavior is a learned experience so don't get mad at a poor pup if it's naughty. 

Here is a photo of Rue all freagin excited at class..

If you haven't figured it out already, I work mostly night shifts so I like to indulge myself in a little Food Network during the day if I have time. Tonight I'm trying out Paula Deen's apple stuffed pork tenderloin recipe for my dad. I'd like to make it for M but I suppose Pops needs to eat too so I figured he can be the guinea pig. It looked really good on the show (then again what doesn't) and since I don't really enjoy pork loin I figured what the hell, let's give it a whirl. 

I have a few novel reviews, traveling with pets, and Take Me Back to France posts coming soon! Stay tuned!

Love&Luck