Crazy, Dog People

UPDATED (10/13/13):  I added a video at the end of the post of us using the feeding station.  The quality is not great but you get to see it in action. Enjoy!

Happy beautiful Monday all!  Our area got it's first real taste of fall yesterday.  The sun is shining again today and there is a little chill in the air.  I personally could live like this for a few months and go back to summer, I love the heat and I hate winter.  The dogs are loving the cool weather and have been a little hyper since the front came through.

Speaking of dogs....today, I have a confession to make.  Well its not a secret or anything but some of you may not know.....my husband and I are crazy, dog people.  These are people who do abnormal, sometimes expensive, time consuming, human child like things for their dogs.  You all know one or are one.  I have talked about the dogs in the past or they have been in photos but I haven't ever talked about things we have done for them around the house.  They are indoor dogs so we have to integrate (I feel like I am back teaching using that word) their needs into our home design.  But first, a quick introduction for those of you who are new to the blog or don't know the background of the pups.

Aren't they cute?!

Can you tell Jaxson HATES photos? LOL.

First, is Jaxson Bruce, our 9 year old male.  I got Jaxson while in college after I had to put my other dog down.  He was only 6 weeks old.  I knew having a puppy was hard but being a single parent while going to school and working was REALLY HARD.  Luckily, my roommates had dogs and helped out with him a lot.  He is very loyal and serious when it comes to me.  In his world, his job is to know where I am at and to make sure I am ok.  He only snuggles a little and is very independent.

Things he loves:  swimming, fetching, running with mom, laying on the deck, laying in his boat bed watching the water, barking, riding in the front seat of the truck,  and riding in the boat and jumping out when we are not looking.

This guy LOVES his boat bed and LOVES looking out the window at the water.  Read about the skiff bed here.  It does have sheets but they were in the wash when I took this picture.

Sabine Lake is our 7 year old female.  After being married a few months, we thought Jaxson was lonely....he had never been the only dog.  We "rescued" her from a family that gave their children lab puppies and the kids (10 & 12 years old) had 6 months to prove themselves as dog owners or the pups would be given away.  Needless to say, they didn't prove themselves.  As soon as we pulled in and saw the 2 pups,  I told Brian we were bringing them both home.  Long story short, they were overweight, had no manners, neither responded to their names, had no idea what a toy was or how to fetch and were obviously neglected.    A man had already reserved a dog and was on his way to pick her up but since we were first to show up, we got to pick one and he got the other.  They were both crazy, chocolate and female so we just took one.  We still talk about sister all the time and wonder if she is ok.  God put something special in Sabine and I often wonder if sister has that something special too and if she is with a family that loves her and treats her well.  If I could go back I would have stayed to talk to the man personally and pushed harder to take sister home too.


Things she loves:  snuggling (she loves to love), following me around all day, laying in the same patch of grass in the yard, NOT swimming, visiting with the ducks, sticking her head through the deck railing, Brian (she is a daddy's girl), being mischievous, drinking from the hose/faucet,  posing for the camera and laying under things.  She has a hilarious personality....a lot more laid back than Jaxson.

Her dead grass patch.  She lays there so much the grass is having a hard time.  We just laid sod so its kind of annoying that she is killing my new grass but its hard to be mad at her when she loves it so much.  

Now that you have met the dogs, on to the furniture part of the post.  Dogs have a lot of stuff.  Not near as bad as human kids but enough that you need a good place to store it.  Our Bayou Vista home does not have a lot of storage.  Closets are decent but on the small side and we do not have a laundry room.  I am grateful our home does have a laundry closet upstairs, inside the house but I am missing our utility room in our NOLA house.  It was big and we were able to store all the dogs stuff and food in there.  Now, the dog food has been stored in the guest room and we have been feeding them in the hallway.  Their leashes are usually left in the chair and bones are stored in the cabinet.  Obviously not a permanent solution but it worked.  Then I saw this guy and knew he was the solution do my dog storage problems.

Not seeing it?   Here are a few afters.

Still can't see it?  

That's the point!  This guy holds all their stuff but you can't tell!

Dog Food & Jaxson's Daily Rx.

Leashes, Shampoos, Brushes, Bones, Monthly Treatments.

Life Jackets, Extra Leashes, and Collars.

Food Bowls.

See it in action.  Here they are waiting patiently for the "OK" to eat.

Eating.

Luckily our dogs are not food aggressive so this works for them.  They are close but are at a comfortable distance.

I painted it to match the entertainment center (Read about it here) and is now a beautiful feature in our living room.

I questioned this idea when we got home with the dresser, but I am so glad I went for it.  I love that you can't see any of their stuff but it is in our main living area and is convenient for us.  Also, it is secure.  Labs will eat themselves to the point of illness or bloat, which can kill them,  so keeping their food secure is important.

Here is a poor quality video of the dresser in action.

I saw this link about 21 Reasons a Dog is the Best Investment on Life In Velvet's Blog.  So cute and so true.

KITCHEN UPDATE:  The kitchen reveal will be this week!  I can't wait to show you all!  It is beautiful and we love it.  I hope you will love it too!