I use Heartguard all year because we sometimes have warm weather in the winter. The vet recommended it and she has to get tested every year because there have been a lot of heartworm cases in my area.

Cali is on a strict feeding schedule 2 times a day. Between 6:30-7:00a and 6-6:30p 7 days a week. Of course I would like to sleep in on weekends, but we do better on a schedule. I usually leave a treat and ice cube in her crate before I leave for work and one Kong. This may sound strange, but Cali does not eat her food out of her bowl. She only drinks her water out of her bowl. I normally put her kibble on a plate (yes a plate, I am crazy:o ) or feed her from her Kong. I have 3 med size Kongs and will fill 2-3 up and place them in different places around the house for her to find. She loves this game because she thinks she is hunting for her own food. For some reason she does not like eating out of her bowl. I noticed this the first few weeks that I had her. She would go days without eating so I finally decided to try a plate and she loves it:) She has her own plate.

They are so cute!! It was in the mid 80's from last weekend up until Tuesday and the weather went back down to the 30's-40's here in Louisville, KY.

LOL:D I like the drop to the ground technique to get her to come back! I will have to try it if/when it happens again:) I started crying really hard a couple of weeks ago and she raced over to me frantically, jumped in my lap and started licking me all over my face. I immediately went from crying to laughing!! The drop down on the ground method might work 1 or 2 times, but they are very smart and catch on to our tricks quickly. She looks at me crazy if I try to make her fetch a ball more than 2 times in a row.:)

Good to hear that your surgery went well. I am sure you will have a speedy recovery with Abbey by your side.:)

This is so funny:D Cali does the same thing when it is raining. We had heavy rain last night and she was whimpering the entire time I took her out. I put a puppy pad by the front door and she pee'd on the pad. Normally we stay outside and get drenched until she decides to go, but I gave in last night due to the storm.

I was able to go back to work today and Cali did not run off into the woods. It was chilly this morning so we were in and out in no time. I will definitely work with her on coming back to me when her name is called, but she can be pretty determined when she wants to chase after a bird, leaf, wind etc..:) Fortunately she was not anywhere near the street. This is not the first time she broke away from her leash and took off running, but she usually comes back if I don't chase after her. I remember reading a post on this site about stronger leash clamps and will be going to purchase one tomorrow. I will say that she keeps me on my toes and keeps me laughing all the time:D

Cute pictures. They are very photogenic.

Welcome to the boards. You have found the right place for your questions. This is a wonderful site.:)

The past 45 days have been really challenging and Cali has been there right by my side. I have to say my emotions have gone from love,hate,love,dislike,love,annoyed,love,agitated,love toward Cali. The reasons for this is that I have been on medical disability, had a death in the family (cousin very close like older sister, died suddenly after outpatient surgery) and mother hospitalized all in the past 45 days. Cali has been really good:rolleyes: the past few days in my time of distress, but it all ended this morning. I have missed a lot of work due to everything that has been going on and was finally returning this morning. Well my car wouldnt start and then Cali took off into the woods:mad: I took her to go pee and poop and when I was bending over to pick up her poop with the scooper, a bird caught her attention and she broke loose from the leash and chased the bird into the woods!!! Let me say that I am highly allergic to trees, grass, bushes etc. and have chronic asthma and have been this way since a child, but I keep things well under control with meds(ran out of allergy meds 5 days ago. Shame on me). I also carry an epi-pen with me everywhere because I have had serious emergencies arise from an allergic reactions periodically over the past 30 years. My doctor told me I should move to Alaska because I am allergic to everthing that a person could possibly be allergic to in Kentucky.
Anyway I yelled Cali's name 2 times and of course she did not come, my neighbor ran after her, but she finally came back on her on with a piece of a bush in her mouth. She immediately started itching and I gave her a Benadryl and wiped her down with a warm cloth she was okay. By this time I could have strangled her, but I did not have time to lose my temper because I started to break out in hives all over my body and my face blew up like a blowfish. I used my epi-pen and took some Benadryl and my neighbor took me to the hospital. I did not panic because this has happened to me before. I was back at home within an 1 1/2 hours and Cali was resting peacefully. As I am typing this she is asleep on her back with her 4 paws straight up in the air.:) In retrospect I realize that since I have had her there has been one adventure after another. She keeps me laughing, smiling, screaming and cursing, but I would not trade her for the world. Oh, by the way, my neighbor adores Cali and he got a tick on him when he went into the woods after her this morning:( He laughed it off and was happy that I was okay). She was extremely happy to see me when I got home and I must say that I was happy to see her too. She got a really good bath when I got home and I washed everything in hot water. I am sure I had an allergic reaction from something she came in contact with in the woods. Took her to the vet today and she is okay. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to share story because I am sure you all can relate to the range of emotions from owning this cat/dog:)