How I am dealing with allergies

Sorry, buddy, no more sleeping in the bed for you.

Or at least how I'm planning to deal with it. For about a week ago I got ascertained that I've allergy for dogs (and all kind of fur animals for the matter), which was kind of a shook for me since I've grown up will all kinds of pets, horses, cats, rats, hamsters.... You name it. I've never felt allergic when I've had Beethoven, no sneezing, no red eyes, no nothing. But apparently the stress of the allergy have caused my body to attack the skin, giving it open wounds and generally made me sick.
Shelties are known for being kind of allergy friendly dogs, many with dog allergies doesn’t react on their fur as much as other types of shedding dogs. However they're not listed as allergy friendly and may most likely never be either since its very individually both for the dogs and the people. Maybe that's why I haven’t noticed much of it, I don’t know.

So to the dealing part.
When I came home from the doctors office, I started to do some research on the internet on how other people dealt with their allergies. I found one product (or actually a series of products.) that looked very promising. Apparently about 90% of the users got better after using this product. It sounded too good to be true. Hopefully it's not just a sales trick and it really does work. The product is called Petal Cleanse from Bio-life. Very simple to use, just grooming the dog and apply the liquid in the fur. Even a dummy could do that.
I've only been using the product once though, but it does look promising. My hands doesn’t feel as weird now after the treatment. Great bonus is that Beethovens fur became so nice and shiny, and it doesn’t seem like it has any negative effect on him either. I would never use it on him if it was bad for him.

Other things I'm doing for getting better.
- Vacuuming at least once a week. I could be better at it though, but at least I'm doing something. (Do I need to say that I wish for a robot vacuum for christmas?)
- Beethoven's not allowed on the bedroom anymore. Not even on the floor. Kind of hard thing to do, he has been sleeping in my bed since he came here. It has gone better than expected, both for me and him.
- Bathing the dog more frequently. I hate it and so does the dog. Bath time has never been any pleasure in this household, he doesn’t like to get wet and runs away then I even think about giving him a bath. But its for the better.
- Limiting contact with other dogs. I love dogs, I really do, but its not a good thing to be all cuddly with the allergy. One thing's my own dog which has been treated for allergens, an whole other thing about other dogs, specially those who are not allergy friendly.
- Renew the air in the apartment more often. Okay, this one would be a little hard to do now, it's -10C out and about 15 cm with snow. Not to mention how expensive it would be. But in the fall, spring and summer I should open up the windows to bring in some fresh air. It would be good for the work/indoor environment as well.

I think that's the most of it, except taking the meds and treatment, but I'm sure everyone with common sense would do that if they needed to. How do you deal with your allergies?

My thoughts about walking

Beethoven from last winter.

One thing I've been astonished about as a dog owner, other people and dog owners seem shocked that I walk my dog minimum 3 times a day. Why is that such a shook? 3 walks a day isn’t much in my honest opinion, and I wish I was better at walking my dog. All dogs should be allowed to go out of their home for a minimum of one hour. It doesn’t have to be a long walk in the wild woods and mountains, but at least a short walk on perhaps 15 - 30 minutes, 3 times a day. Everyone should be able to squeeze in that time in a day, if not, well you'll have to consider if a dog's the suitable pet for you.
I've a lot of stuff going on in my life, so it's kind of nice to have a break from it all. I'm pretty sure you guys feel the same too, lot of stress, nagging, plenty of things you have to do but never get to do anyway, worries, happiness which you can't deal with properly... that sort of thing.
 When walking the dog I leave most of my worries at home, turning of the mobile phone, leaving the computer who eats up way too much time of my life. Just walking around in my own thoughts and mind while the dog doing, dog stuff, I guess. To getting the mind in order and sorted out. Or just to dwell on some conversations from months back (wait a minute... did he call me fat? How dare he!) or coming up with awesome discussions and practice for them, even though you never get to use them any time or anywhere. Or perhaps think about things that you might think about in bed (Oh what will I've for dinner. Pizza sounds kinda nice. I love pizza. Do I've any in the freezer? Some mozzarella and ham would be yummy too, or do I've steak...) Suddenly I look down on my watch to realize I've been out for over a hour, time to head back home. Some cases coming back to my entrance door thinking «I'm already home? What the...»
Time flies while walking the dog, and after a good walk one feels more relaxed and connected. Maybe came up with some ideas how to untangle some things of personal matter or perhaps job related. I believe it's good for everyone to have that sort of break during the day. Just enjoying the sweet company of a fluffy ball of fur. It's good therapy. It makes me kind of sad that a lot of people don’t even give it a chance. After a few weeks, or perhaps a month or two, it feels like the most natural thing. You wake up in the morning, getting ready and take the dog out for a short walk before breakfast. Shortly it's just a part of your morning routine, like brushing your teeth or hair, or trying to get those beloved five more minutes in bed, your morning coffee with the newspaper.
I think many dog owners will be surprised how easy it really is to take the dog for three or more walks a day. Not only does it make your dog happy, it's also good for your and the dogs health. I know I get stressed when I'm not out with my dog or at least together with the dog in a social way , simply because I'm so used to it. I remember the dog was away for a couple days and it really did stress me out because I didn’t get to go out the way I was used to. I do know a lot of people who feel that way. I guess humans are habit animals, don't like much change in their daily routines when it's already set. It's just isn’t natural for us to stop doing what we do every day, not just every day, but multiply times a day.
So what do you think about walking the dog? How's your day with the dog? I would like to hear from you folks, so leave a comment or two if you want to, it would make me happy.

Heartwarming video and the return of blogger

Long time, no see. I've been away from blogging in a long time and I'm really sorry for it. I've been long term sick and the blog just slipped through my mind. But I'll get back to writing shortly.
Beethoven's doing wonderful, he has grown into a great little dog with huge personality. Today he's about a year and a half, so still not completely full grown. Because of my illness, I've not been able to start with him yet, and he's not by far ready for that sort of thing. But he's a great house buddy and a wonderful motivation to get back into life and routines.
The rabbit's doing great too and they are coming along pretty well.
Today I came a cross a video which I would like to share with you guys. It's about a cute little dog called Derby which were born with deformed legs and got the help he deserves. It's very inspiring to see that the new technology today can help dogs, people or other types of animals such as little Derby. He looks so happy, don’t you think? It's so heartwarming and makes one wanna do more for these kind of causes. Anyway, this is all for today, I've to get going. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the video.