Thursday, May 2, 2019

How Often Should I Feed my Dog?

From Leif's point of view, feeding should be done all the time. There is just not enough time in the day to eat all the food that would be necessary to fill him up.
Black Labrador retriever looking up into the camera, sits on some grass. Has a pitiful hungry feed me look on his face.
"Please Feed Me!"

Of course Leif is a Labrador Retriever and they have no Full up button in their brain. They can just eat and eat until it endangers their lives. Yes a dog can die from over-eating.

I feed Leif twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. I set his meals about twelve hours apart so he has breakfast at about 6am and dinner about 6pm. But you don't have to do that just give plenty of time between meals for them to digest their food.

Leif's breakfast is one American measuring cup of dry food, from this I take a small bait bag of food for his treats and rewards as he works through the day. Then in the evening he has another single cup measure of dry food plus I empty his bait bag from the day into his dish so all told he gets two measured cups of food per day.

To measure his food I use this Collapseable  Folding Measuring Cup.  This measuring cup is ideal if you want to travel, you can put it in a bag to measure your dogs food on the go.

Leif is an active working dog and this measure of food keeps him around the seventy pound weight mark. He also has a nicely trimmed body with a good waist and you can just feel his rib cage if you press lightly on his chest.

The image below is a link to the measuring cup on amazon.




Being a Lab and if he could talk he would probably claim to be starving but, that is just the Lab talking. I strive to keep him healthy for as long as possible. He is after all is said and done very important to me, both as a pet and a working dog.






Thursday, August 25, 2016

Service Dog Attack

On Tuesday, William, my partner and I went to get a coffee and to enjoy some time walking around in the cooler weather after the recent Summer heat.



After he finished his coffee we were leaving Starbucks . That is when I was attacked.



Read the story here: William Elliott A Life with Blindness: Second Service Dog Attack: I ad planned my day to start quietly, just a short walk to the bus stop a five minute bus ride around the corner then a walk to the new ...

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Always Busy

Guide dog Leif, a black Labrador Retriever, sits on some bare earth and looks up into the camera.
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As a puppy I always new that I was special. I got lots of praises, met very interesting people and got to fly inside aeroplanes and play with lots of other puppies.

Today as a qualified and working guide dog I always draw lots of attention when I  go out with my human, William.

William has a little bet with himself wherever we go. He listens out for the cries of little children calling out, "Doggie!"

The most "Doggies!" we have ever encountered was in a supermarket last week, where I raised twenty-one such cries in just thirteen minutes.

William always says how he would love a dollar for each cry of "doggie!" He would have a fortune. I just say if I had a piece of kibble for those cries, I would have a full tummy.

Did you know there is now a theory that we Labs have a missing gene? That missing gene told our wolf ancestors that our tummies were full and that we should stop eating.

Stop Eating! Wow I could never do that. Can you imagine how thin and gaunt I would look, a mere shadow of myself. I need to eat constantly to maintain my energy. I am constantly on the hunt for food. Whether it be kibble, an apple, popcorn or cedar chips. All find their way into my tummy at some time or other.

A few months ago, William found himself with a new hobby, his job is to feed me, his hobby is television production. He even has his own television program, 'Blindside Fresno' This program is produced each month and  talks about blindness and low vision issues. It has been interviews with people in the blind community in the first programs but later he promises a major role for me. But this may just be him making bigshot producer promises just to get me to work harder for him.

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When I haven't been working hard with William at the television studio I have had some nice days with doggie pals at the local dog park swimming pool. With temperatures here getting into the low 100 degrees F level it is much too hot to walk outside so it is nice to spend time cooling my paws in the pool.

Well tomorrow is a hard walking and working day for me. A doctors trip with William then out to speak to some prospective guests on his TV show.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

I Was On Television

A few days ago, I was invited by my friends at Fresno Far Sighted Puppy Raisers to go on a night walk around the Fig Garden Village shopping center.

My puppy pals Doyle and Eagle were there along with their puppy raisers. When  William and I arrived we did not know that the evening was also planned to be filmed by Jonathan, a journalism student at Fresno State University.

As we walked around the shops and restaurants we were filmed and I think I did a pretty good job of showing what a guide dog does for a living.

The link below will take you to the finished news report as broadcast on Fresno State Focus on 12/14/15.   Please share if you enjoy it.



Sunday, March 15, 2015

How to tell your Partner You want a Treat



Thursday, December 25, 2014

Friday, October 24, 2014

The First Year

This week has seen my first anniversary with William, my partner whom I guide.

I cannot really complain about my life. William lets me do all sorts of fun things.

This year I have, since graduating from Guide Dogs for the Blind;

Created a Facebook Page. I actually have more friends on my Facebook page than William. Awesome!

Attended council meetings to ask the council for more accessible road crossings for the disabled, my cuteness wins over the councillors everytime.

Been to give talks on Guide Dogs for the Blind at the local library, scout and girls groups.

Trained with and supported the local middle school boys soccer team and been their very lucky charm.

Won our families fantasy football game trophy, without even knowing a single player.

Appeared on stamps, greetings cards and mugs. How handsome I look in my harness.



Black Lab Stamp
Black Lab Stamp by Bretsuki
Look at other Black Stamps at zazzle.com



 
Black Lab and Flag Greeting Card
Black Lab and Flag Greeting Card by Bretsuki
Find other Black lab Cards at zazzle.com