I was home alone and I honestly didn’t do much. I obviously walked Drax a bunch but most of my day was pretty much watching Netflix and eating a shit ton of strawberries.
Eventually I did go to my Mum’s house to cut my step-dads hair which was nice to get out and actually do what my job is. I hung out with them for a bit then went home to make dinner.
For dinner I made chicken stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in prosciutto with some side rice. Damn was it good and damn was it filling. Now Amanda wants to makes it for family dinner so we shall do that!
Not much else happened I was tired and sore so Dave and I hung out and relaxed for the night.
Day 87:
Today was a good day, Dave went to his mum’s grocery store to pick up a few things then we’ll probably do our regular grocery shopping tomorrow.
My sister and I hung out today, we drove to Spirit Tree to pick up some stuff which I completely forgot my mask since I’ve been in my quarantine bubble but we figured it out.
After we drove to Orangeville to go Philadelphia Kitchen sandwich which I haven’t had in forever. We ate in my car and had a nice time. Once we finished stuffing our faces we headed back home but stopped at Ace Hardware to see if they had bird stuff for my Dad for Father’s Day. They did and we got it so he’s done. Now just got to work on my step-dads gift, we have ideas though!
After we left Ace Hardware I realized there was chocolate on my seat from the bite if brownie I had and asked my sister if there was chocolate on my ass, of course there was and she rubbed it off for me using the Lysol wipes that I had in my trunk. I walked around all day with chocolate on my ass🤦♀️.
We drove home, watched a movie then my sister went home and Dave and I had dinner. The rest is the same as every other night!
Most of you know I have my lovely dog Drax and he is a bully breed (American Pit Bull Terrier).
I know what most people think about this breed or any of bully breed for that matter; they’re dangerous, they’re made to kill people and animals, can’t be tamed, etc. The list goes on but I’m not here to write to you about all bully breeds, I’m here to you to talk specifically about MY dog. No dog is the same, just like no person is the same. Charles Manson, Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Karla Homolka are terrible people but does that mean we should ban people? No. Therefore you cannot say my dog is a bad dog because of the way he was born. Yes my dog is incredibly cute, friendly and listens well but there’s a lot most people don’t see. This is behind the scenes of owning a bully breed, lets begin!
Dogs are a lot of work no matter the breed or size, if you’re not going to put the time or effort in then don’t get one. We got Drax at 8 weeks old and at 8 weeks old training started. That means we were potty training him, teaching him sit, stay, walking him on the leash and so much more. I know most people get a puppy and they think oh he’s a puppy I just want to play with him and be cute. Yes that is 100% true but this is the best time to train him and will set his habits for the rest of his life.
Crate training also began the night we got him and yes he did cry the first 3 nights, all night long but after than he was fine. I know most people don’t like crates because they think they’re just shoving them in a box, I mean if you’re shoving them in there while your home and ignoring them then yea you are an asshole. For Drax the only time he’s locked in the crate is when we’re not home, when we are home the door to the crate is always open and you know what? Drax will go in there on his own. We treat his crate like it’s his own personal space, if he’s in there we leave him alone. Now that he’s older we planned to get rid of it but he likes the crate too much, he hates when the door is closed and will hit the crate so the door swings open.
Socializing with dogs and people of all backgrounds is key. If your dog does not have all it’s shots you need to tell people and maybe only want them in areas you trust. Most dog owners love puppies and will let their dogs go to a puppy because their dog has all their shots. Drax has A LOT of friends in the dog world because my boyfriend can talk to anyone and we socialized him. With people we wanted him to know every skin colour so my boyfriend asked a couple of friends with different backgrounds to hang out with Drax. If you have dreads my dog will love you because he thinks anyone with dreads is that one person. Dogs have eyes people!
The next main thing for Drax was a routine, from day one at 8am we woke him up and at 8pm it was time to settle down for bed. After that you fill in the times, so specific time for breakfast and dinner, walk times, play times, nap times, etc. Every living thing, including humans, crave routine. That is why all of us are going stir crazy being in quarantine! Now that Drax is 1 year and 8 months he wakes me up at 8am to start the day, I literally do not use an alarm clock unless it’s Saturday because I get up an hour earlier (when I was working).
We went to puppy school with Drax, yep, I’ve had a lot of dogs throughout my life but there’s always room to learn. For 6 weeks every Tuesday we went to puppy school at PetSmart. We wanted to do it there because Drax goes crazy in this store, it’s the one place that he turns into a BIG child with all the toys, dogs and people. Whatever we learned in that class we went home and worked on it for the rest of the week until the next class.
Because we went to puppy school for every good behaviour we ask of him or randomly see him do he gets a reward aka a treat. Drax will do anything for food, he’s a piggy. Now with that being said, if we see or sense bad behaviour coming a re-focus is required IMMEDIATELY. That means getting his focus and making him do commands, that makes his focus on us and takes his mind off whatever bad behaviour he was thinking of doing. If he does bad behaviour is gets corrected immediately aswell.
This next one is a little weird, it’s like you’re beating up your dog but you’re not. From day one with Drax I would grab his paws and hold on to them, grab his tail, pull his tail, pinch his skin like babies do, grab his face, kiss his face, keep my face in his face, touch his ears, and pull on his ears. I still do that to this day and I do it because NOTHING phases him now. I clean his ears once a week, and my boyfriend cuts his nails, he literally just lays there.
Drax getting his nails done.
The vet can touch him, kids can touch him, anyone can touch him in more sensitve spots because I bugged the shit out of him and still do.
Any medium to large breed dog is considered a working dog, they need a purpose. With that being said Drax gets walked 2-3 times a day (5 times a day in quarantine) because if you don’t any dog will get bored and become destructive. Also I believe in problem solving, just like kids, but without causing frustrating. Drax has a couple of mind/nose problem solving games. His favourite is hide and sniff, we do this more in the winter when it’s -40 out. Drax goes in his crate and I hide treats all over the house, he then uses his nose to find them. We also bought a game that is like hide and sniff but it spins and he has to open little bones to get the treats. Another thing is toys, toys, toys! He has a lot of toys and he destroys them but it keeps him from eating thing we don’t want him to eat like our shoes.
The next couple of things are simple and dont need an explaination. We’re strict with him and I personally have high expectations of him (that’s just the way I was raised I guess and I’m big on trust). He grew up in a tiny bachelor basement apartment so there was no room for him to hide to be bad. He’s NEVER been hit by my boyfriend or myself. I don’t believe abuse will solve anything, I find respect is stronger than fear. Lastly, and the most important next to training is love.
So yes we absolutely love Drax but he’s just like having a toddler and everyday is work but dogs give back the work you put out.
Left: Drax cuddling at 8 weeks. Right: Drax cuddling at 1 year and 8 months. Some things never change.
Drax has an instagram if any of you are interested, @lifewithdrax
HEY everyone, missing MIA blog girl here. I’m here to explain why I haven’t written a blog post in a very long time.
Reason No. 1 I bought a car! This was months of searching and testing and I finally bought one, Kia Optima! It’s amazing and the freedom is great but bills are not.
Reason No. 2 I (sorta) moved in with my boyfriend, so for awhile I didn’t have my laptop (not to mention my laptop broke for awhile) and I’ve been busy making dinner, working and cleaning.
Reason No. 3 Work, work, work, work, work! In my line of work the closer you get to Christmas and New Years Eve the crazier work gets and that’s exactly what happened in my life.
Reason No. 4 My boyfriend and I got a puppy! His name is Drax and he’s the cutest little monster.
He is currently 5 months and 45lbs, he’s going to be huge but he’s a big cuddle monster and power chewer that takes up all my time.
That’s it! That’s my life, that’s what I’ve been up too. Sorry for the very late post and I will try to keep at it!
I’m participating in Aveda Earth Month 2017 and aim to personally raise $250+ in support of WaterAid to provided access to clean, drinkable water to thousands in need. Did you know that 1 billion people live without access to clean drinking water? Without safe water or sanitation, people are trapped in a cycle of poverty and disease. Across that developing world, millions of women are wasting precious time collecting dirty water and children are suffering from preventable illness.
This Earth Month, the Aveda Canada network aims to give back by raising $595,000 in support of WaterAid and change lives of 23,800 People forever.
Please help me in my efforts to end the world water crisis. A $25 can provide one person with clean water for life. A $50 donation can provide a toolkit to maintain a village water point. What can save lives are often necessities we take for granted.
Your donation is tax-deductible and can be made through several methods, including cash, credit card and PayPal. Any amount, great or small, helps in the fight. You can make an online donation by going to http://give.watercan.com/goto/maeghancoulter
We are starting out 2017 with a bang! On January 1st my boyfriend and I went to the Centennial Classic at Exhibition Stadium (BMO Field) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada!
I’ve personally never been to Exhibition Stadium, usually soccer or football is played here, it was packed with Leafs and Red Wings fans as you can see above. The weather was about 3°c but dropped to 2°c as the sun went away.
Our seats we’re pretty good but we were sitting on bleachers so our butts we’re cold, well at least my boyfriend’s butt was cold. One of the best parts was the game was the national anthems, at the end they had a jet fly over which flew right over my boyfriend and I. It was so loud you could feel it in your chest.
The first period went by pretty quick and we missed most of the second period getting food and going for washroom breaks, which was okay because everything happened in the 3rd.
In the third the leafs took the lead until literally the last second of the game when the Red Wings scored. It went under review since everyone said the clock ran out. The goal was good and into overtime we went. It was intense, not a single soul was sitting down then Austin Matthews scores! I kid you not the bleachers were bending from people jumping up and down, everyone was yelling and high fives were all around. In that last 5 mins we all forgot we were freezing our butts off.
It was a perfect way to start the new year off. Once in a life time experience and I’m so thankful of my boyfriend for making it happen.
I know I haven’t written in a really long time and I aplogize for that but it is because I’m currently enrolled at Aveda Institute Toronto! It’s an intense hairstylist program that I’m loving. When the Christmas break coming up I’m going to try to write and get you all updated!
I have one update for you which is I cut my hair! As you know I had pretty long hair and one day a student and I decided it needed to be cut so we did it that day! We took about 6-12 inches off!
There it is! Well I will hopefully be writing a lot in the upcoming break to get you updated!
This is a long over due post, I just haven’t gotten around to writing it. On Sunday January 17th my boyfriend and I just got home from the Reptile Expo in Toronto when my Mum called me to tell me about my chameleon Allen. She knows nothing about reptiles so she said he’s sick or dying or is dead, my boyfriend and I came to my house to find Allen hanging by a claw on the screen.
I knew something was up because he wasn’t eating for the last week but at the same time I thought he was just being his grumpy self, as he has not eaten before.
Allen was old for a chameleon so he lived a long life and it’s better that he’s not suffering anymore. He was a great first chameleon, he dealt with me learning how to take care of him and a few mishaps but always went green when I walked into the room. I’ve learnt a lot about chameleons from him and hopefully will get a new one in the near future.
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