Throwback Thursday: Portraits with Mia

Six years ago yesterday I had these pictures taken with Mia.  They were for my high school senior picture.  I didn't end up submitting them to the yearbook, but they are very special to me and I'm glad I have them.

Throwback Thursday: A Fall Hike

These pictures were from a hike I went on with Mia a few years ago at Mills Riverside Park.  We always had such a great time hiking at this park.  Soon I will be able to go on some beautiful fall hikes with Delilah!  Unfortunately the camera I had back then broke, and my phone's camera doesn't do Vermont's gorgeous scenery justice.  

Throwback Thursday: Puppy Pictures!

Mia's been gone for almost 3 months now.  I still can't believe it, I think about her every day.  In memory of Mia, I will be doing Throwback Thursdays on Tiny Paws, Big Adventures to celebrate the adventures we had together.

2 Weeks Old

4 week old Mia and 11 year old me.

In other news, Delilah's consult with the trainer will be tomorrow.  We're very excited and nervous!  Hopefully I can get some help for this dog and get her back on track for agility!

In Memory of Mia

Mia passed away last Saturday morning unexpectedly from heart failure.  She had just turned 12 years old.

She was the best friend I ever could have asked for.  She was the perfect dog.  Mia was one of those rare dogs that was naturally well behaved, and oh so sweet and gentle.  She helped us raise ducklings and chicks.  She'd watch toads and caterpillars- lying down and occasionally giving them a nudge with her nose.  When she found baby birds on the ground, she'd get so agitated and find a human, leading them to the bird so they could help.  She loved babies.  

Mia loved hiking.  We'd go on adventures all around Vermont.  She never ran off, she always came when called.  She helped me teach younger dogs off leash manners, like Delilah and some dogs I dogsat.  They'd always follow her lead and I was able to get reliable recalls from everyone whenever we went hiking.  Delilah and Mia were kind of jealous of each other so there was definitely some competition/sibling rivalry going on as well.

Mia taught me so much about dog training.  When we got Mia, I had wanted to do agility, but I was too young to take classes.  So I taught her a bunch of tricks and we would do obstacle courses in the backyard.  The last time I stayed at my parents house, I was practicing agility with Delilah.  Mia wanted in on it and started jumping the jump, which was the only obstacle set up that she knew how to do.  She such a smart, eager dog.  She learned everything so quickly and listened so well.  We had a "special trick"; I taught her to heel off leash so I would walk her around my neighborhood off leash.  I could tell her to sit-stay or down-stay and keep walking, and she would stay there.  I would then say, "Okay, heel" and she'd trot to catch up and then go back into a heel.  Lastly, when our house was in sight, I would put her in a stay and get a head start.  Then I would yell, "Okay, go!" and we would race back to the house.  

She never did anything bad.  Even when she was "naughty," it was actually really endearing.  When she was a puppy and we first started leaving her out of the crate, she found the toilet paper hanging in the bathroom, grabbed the end, and ran around the house with it.  When we got home, the entire first floor was TP'd!

I felt really guilty about getting Delilah.  I didn't spend a lot of alone time with Mia this past year.  I just wish I could have done something special with just her before she left.

Mia, I will always love you.  Thanks for the memories. <3

A Week with Mia

So Delilah and I wrapped up our house sitting with Mia last week.  We had a lot of fun.  We celebrated Mia's 12th birthday as you saw in our last post with "cake" and presents, we practiced agility, and we went hiking a couple of times.  They were both soooo good during the hikes.  Mia, loyal as ever, stayed by my side the entire time.  Delilah was EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE but always came when called.  I played a game with them when we went hiking: every so often I would stop and if there was a dog sitting by my side she would get a treat.  At first Mia was the only one there but within 15 minutes or so they caught on and both dogs were consistently sitting by my side whenever I stopped.  They both behave so much better when the other's around.  I think there might be a little competition going on between them- it's so nice having an older, well behaved dog to bring Delilah out with.

We all slept in bed together every night.

Happy Birthday Mia!

As you may know, I'm watching the fluffy collection this week, which coincides with the 12th birthday of my fluffiest friend, Mia!

To celebrate, we went for a long walk in the nice weather.

I bought her a little kong duck toy, and a birthday cake!

We ALL tried a piece of the incredibly bland cake!  The animals were crazy for it!  I thought it was gross- smelled like graham crackers, tasted like cardboard.

They wanted more.  I gave them my piece.

Happy birthday Mia!

Mia Update: Watching Your Best Friend Age

For those of you who don't know, I have another dog named Mia.  She's not technically my dog, she's my parents' dog.  But I was 11 when we got her so I grew up with her and was the one responsible for much (well, all) of her training and exercise.  She was my best friend growing up; we went on a lot of adventures together.  She's one of those dogs who's just naturally well behaved and people oriented.

She was remarkably healthy and active for the first 9 or so years of her life.  I'd take her hiking and people would be like "Ahhh, how old's your puppy?"  I'd tell them she's 9, and they'd say "9 months?"

This changed a couple years ago when she was diagnosed with kidney disease.  She became incontinent.  She got on medications and a "renal friendly" diet and seemed to be doing better.  At some point a year or so ago I became concerned with the ingredients in her prescription diet (nothing that looked like real food, just chemicals and fillers) and began doing research on diets for dogs with kidney disease.  Some of the key points were they had to have a higher percentage of calcium:phosphorus in a balanced ratio, plenty of antioxidants, and low in protein (more important in the later stages of the disease).  I looked at the brands we sold at work and examined their nutritional values and ingredients lists.  I ultimately decided on Blue Buffalo's senior formula despite the recent controversy about their ingredients.  They had a relatively low protein content, high calcium:phosphorus levels, and were full of antioxidants.  The nutritional values were actually very similar to the prescription diet, the ingredients were the main difference.  Real meats, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

Well, Mia's been on the new diet for a while now, and she recently went back to the vet, and her kidney values are perfect!  I'm so glad she's doing well on this diet, because I feel so much better about Blue Buffalo's ingredients than Hill's.

The bad news: she has heart disease now.  :( :( :(

She's on medications that should help.

It's just hard watching your best friend age.

The Good One and the Crazy One

I'm watching Mia this weekend.   The fluffy collection is reunited!  Can you see Sophie making a cameo appearance in the background?

Always Be Prepared!

So proud of both the girls today!

I was in Essex running errands and I decided to stop at my parents' house with Delilah and hang out with Mia.  No one was home so I took them for a walk.

There I was, walking with two dogs (one of them insane), a bag of poop, and in the process of bending down and picking up another poop, when the clip to Delilah's harness broke and she took off sprinting down the street!  Bewildered, I quickly inverted the poop bag and thought for a few seconds about what I should do.  Delilah's crazy and has an incredibly high prey drive.  She is also very independent and will become fixated on small things she sees, smells, or hears.  I thought she was running off after a leaf or something blowing in the wind.

I dropped Mia's leash, and Mia, being the perfect dog that she is, just stood there and waited while I got up and started after Delilah.  I called "Delilah, come!"  She stopped and looked at me.  I called again and she turned around and started sprinting in my direction!  I was sooooo impressed and proud.  Recall is not something we've been practicing during the winter- we hike a lot when it's warm out but the past few months have been too cold for Delilah to spend too much time outside.  She had stopped and thought about what I was telling her, and then decided to listen!

I scooped her up and picked up Mia's leash (she had waited patiently the entire time) and we all went home.

The reason the lesson here is "always be prepared" is because that emergency recall is probably the number 1 most important thing that Delilah could know but I didn't have any treats or a toy to reinforce it!  I gave her a lot of praise and carried her home but I don't think that was appropriate reinforcement for that behavior- especially considering the loss of her freedom and me grabbing her to pick her up may have actually been aversive!  I really wish I had brought a high value reinforcer on that walk!  There's always a training opportunity waiting to happen!

Complementary picture of the girls from today (and an accurate portrayal of Mia's relationship with Delilah)

Happy Halloween!

I was so busy with Halloween and stuff yesterday that this is a little late, but happy Halloween from me and the pups!  We didn't get any trick or treaters at my apartment but my parents got a lot in Essex.  Mia LOVES little kids so she's always happy on Halloween.  Delilah hates kids so she's probably glad we didn't get any.

Delilah was a vampire bat!

Mia was a koala!

Also, Sam and I carved an owl pumpkin during my work Halloween party!