Sasha Has A New Family!

When I first acquired my 4 parakeets I read about everything I could find about them. I had no knowledge of birds up to this point and didn't want to make any major mistakes. The first big stumbling block came in the first book I read and continued in all the articles I found on raising parakeets. It seemed to be a recurring theme...Protect your parakeets from the family dog.

This bothered me a great deal, I have to admit. My dog, Sasha, goes everywhere with me. She also participates in my daily routine...all day, every day. I knew she would just be devastated if she couldn't share my time with the birds. Naturally, I wanted to protect the birds.

So I tried. For about a week. It was horrible. Sasha ended up spending most of her time laying on the couch. Staring at me with those big brown, now sad, eyes. She would watch me, watch the birds, and seemed to loose her joy for life. It broke my heart. Sasha has been with me through thick and thin and now she felt as though she was being pushed aside.

I couldn't take it. I knew it wasn't going to work this way. So Sasha and I began tending to the birds together. Patiently, I taught her to be gentle around them. She got to the point, when they were free to wander in the house, she was like a bodyguard. She followed them everywhere. If one wandered away and she couldn't find it, she would go crazy hunting everywhere till she located the little fugitive. Then she would "herd" it back to where the others were.

I still keep a close eye on her but I am not worried. She loves all 4 of them, knows them all by name. What has really surprised me, they seem to have become attached to her, too. They show no fear of her at all.

Now, when I have to go and do errands, and it's too hot to take Sasha in the car with me, I ask her if she will stay home and watch the birds. She trots in by the cage and lays down, and there she stays untill I get back!

Yes, you have to be careful but in many cases, your pets can become good friends. In Sasha's case, she seems to be their protector.

PARAKEETS, ANYONE????

Ever since my early teens I have been superstitious about birds being in the house. This is how it started.

Once evening my Grandparents had a bird get in the house. No big deal, right? The next morning when my Grandmother got up, she was deaf. She remained deaf for the rest of her life and nobody knew why. My mother told me that wild birds getting in the house was bad luck. For some reason, that just stuck with me forever. But I even made it worse by deciding that ANY bird in the house was bad luck. I then decided I wasn't to crazy about the ones out doors either!

It's odd how such foolish things can make an impression on us and affect our lives. You would think that being of at least average intelligence I would have gotten over this long before now.

A couple of years ago I moved to Arizona with my new husband. He is a lover of all plants and animals. I don't know very many people here and he works all day so I have a lot of time by myself.

Well, nature is quite a bit different here from what I was use to on the East Coast. I had never seen a real Coyote, for instance, and here they are in my back yard! But also, I fell in love with the Quail and the Roadrunner. Before you know it I am putting out blocks for the Quail and Dove and feeders for the smaller birds. Now all of a sudden watching the birds has become a large part of my day.
They brought me so much tranquility and pleasure.

This got my husband thinking and so for Mother's Day he decided to get me Parakeets. I didn't really think that I wanted to go to this extreme but he was pretty excited about it, and I didn't want to disappoint him so I agreed to go a look at some and maybe in the future......(but I was thinking, maybe not, too).

So off we go to the Pet Store. Can you believe we ended up with 4 Parakeets? I just fell in love with them and could have picked out many more if space wasn't a problem!

Now I know nothing about taking care of birds. What they eat, what they need, what they like. I started out with a book to tell me everything. In the first week it seemed all I did was clean bird cages!

At this point, they have all become individuals to me and I love them all. I am still working with them for a couple of hours a day so that they will become tame. They each have their own personalities, something I would never have believed about birds before. They are so playful, they make my "heart smile".

Now you remember my dog, Sasha...this has been something for her. She just loves them and when they are loose she follows them everywhere. She is so gentle with them and they are actually less afraid of her than of humans.

I know now that you must spend lots of time with Parakeets in order for them to get to really trust you. To bond with you, so to speak. They all progress differently.

I'd love to hear from any of you with tips for raising Parakeets as I'm sure that there is so much more for me to learn.

If you are anything like me, I love to get lots of pictures of my pets. My biggest problem is with Sasha. I was never able to get her eyes to come out looking natural. Half the time they were red. Anyway, I found this book that teaches you how to get great pictures of your animals and it really worked for me. To learn more CLICK HERE.

ONE EASY WAY TO TREAT DEPRESSION

We all have days that are just harder to get through than others, don't you agree? Some days just everything you do seems like a major effort. I don't know why that is, but for me, at least, it is a fact of life. One of my problems is a health issue, and some days I am able to breeze through the day without giving it a second thought, but other days, that's just not the case. My doctor told me that "depression" is a side effect that I have to deal with along with the help of some medication. I was not at all pleased to hear this. I don't even like the sound of the word "depression".

Many people suffer with severe depression and many more people go untreated. That is sad because there are some good medications available that can really help us these days. It bothered me to be diagnosed as depressed and I can't help but wonder if that's why some people don't get the help they need.

One thing I did discover. When I am really down, you know, those days when you just don't want anyone to bother you. You just want to be alone. My Cocker Spaniel, Sasha, somehow, can always make me smile. She will bring me toys to play with and she won't leave me alone until I play with her! Sasha seems to sense when it's not a great day for me and goes on a campaign to "Make Mommy Smile".

I would recommend to anyone that suffers from "The Blues" to get a house pet. Sasha is happy every day and she does her best to see that everybody around her is happy, too!
This is truly, one easy way to help treat depression.

Because I want to take as good care of her as she does of me, I have started making her dog food my self. After all the dog food scares, I don't want to take any chances. If you feel the same about your dog and want to know more about making dog food, "CLICK HERE".

MY DOG, SASHA

What do you think of as your greatest asset? Can you guess what mine is?
I bet your thinking it's a big, beautiful home with a lovely pool and gorgeous landscaped grounds. But nope! Don't have that. How about a Brand New Luxury Car, fully loaded? Ok, so I don't have that either. Just maybe it's not a material thing. I know... I have a wonderful husband. Maybe he's my greatest asset. Although he is very high on my list of "Favorite Things", at least number 2, (let's not tell him though), the top spot goes to my 6 year old Cocker Spaniel, Sasha.
How in the world did Sasha gain such a "Lofty" position in my life? Well, we have been together for 6 years, since she was 8 weeks old. She has so much enthusiasm for life that her whole personality just makes you smile and your day becomes brighter. Sasha is also very intelligent and you can literally watch her "think things out". She understands what I say to her and responds to my suggestions. Amazing... Every person she meets in her travels is her "New Best Friend Forever" and people can't help but react to her. What a gift it must be to be able to make so many people smile! Like bringing a "Pocket Full of Sunshine" everywhere you go. She fills our home with Love, Comfort, and Good Nature. If either my husband or I are having a not so good day, Sasha knows. Somehow she just senses when things aren't right and she adjusts her behavior to ours.

Although Sasha is 6 years old, she still bounces around like a puppy, with the cutest little hops and skips that just light up my day. Because I want Sasha to stay as happy and youthful as she is now, I try to stay informed about what is new in the world of dogs. With all the scares in the pet food industry right now it is hard for a pet owner to know what to do to keep their dog safe. To see how to keep your dog in the best of health CLICK HERE.