My Pittied Life: December

My Pittied Life - Lolathepitty.com

My Pittied Life - Lolathepitty.com

Happy New Year, friends!

Did I tell you we move in less than four weeks? I cannot wait and the negative-whatever temps in Minnesota have just been helping that urge.

I hope y’all had a great Christmas – we spent ours in Colorado and (of course) took Lola and Rio with.

Which brings us to this months My Pittied Life.

A White Christmas

Okay, not so much. It did snow the night of Christmas and the next day if that counts. Otherwise it was 35-50 degrees the entire time. Not too shabby – I’ll take it.

We were able to stay for just over a week as I had some work to do with my new marketing position. Lola and Rio did great on the 13-hour road trip (probably better than me). But we have our perfect system figured out with the dogs – might be another blog post someday, *wink, wink*. Of course when we got to my father’s house they were ready to run!

Here are some pics from our little mini vacay.

My Pittied Life - lolathepitty.com

Flyball

We are going to miss our flyball team when we make the big move but have connected with another team in northern Colorado. Here is a little video that was taken with a Go Pro at our team practice.

Lola is so close to being able to compete, in fact she made her first (practically) full run in warm-ups at a local tournament.

After you watch that video, you have to watch this spoof. Promise you’ll laugh.

Blog-iversary – LolathePitty.com turns ONE!

I completely passed over my own blog’s anniversary… shame. Lola the Pitty has now been up and running for over one year! Pretty exciting if ya ask me.

On the Blog

Besides all the craziness that the holiday brings, we have a Paw Care Kit giveaway for your pooches! So if you haven’t entered, please do – featuring awesome products from Natural Dog Company.

Plus, save this article, you’ll need it someday. Or at least we have. 5 Tips for Treating Dog Diarrhea. Did I tell you finally know how to spell diarrhea? It’s one of those funny words that I used to look at every time I’d spell it out because it just didn’t look right…

p.s. look for an update on the Monster Holiday Drive – we are just wrapping up details on the fundraiser and plan to share soon! One thing I can tell you – we raised over $5,000 worth of products for dogs in need. I’m astonished. Thank YOU.

Pet Resolutions

We’re sharing something fun with you today that Victoria Stilwell started.

New Year’s Resolutions…from Lola and Rio.

I had to brainstorm and try to imagine (if Lola and Rio could rationalize) what they would resolve to do better in 2015.

Here’s what I’ve come up with:

#PetResolutions from Lolathepitty.com

Let’s hope the expression on their faces is not an indication of how successful they’ll be.

What are your #PetResolutions? Please share with us on Victoria Stilwell’s site then tag on social media with #PetResolutions!

petresolutions-1

Happy New Year!

p.s. check out our Top 4 Blog Posts of 2014!

My Pittied Life: November

My Pittied Life - Lolathepitty.com

November proved to be quite the exciting month… I’ve got some exciting announcements in life de Sarah, so read on!

My Pittied Life - Lolathepitty.com

Mini Rescue Operation

It was a typical Friday night. We had just finished running some errands and went to get a bite to eat. After sitting down with our BBQ sandwiches, I glanced out the window and saw a tiny white dog running through the parking lot – towards the highway.

I watched it for just a moment to see if for some odd reason it had an owner following (knowing this was not likely)…then two seconds later, I popped up out of my seat yelling back to Antonio that I’d be back, “there was a dog I had to get”! Me and my big clunky snow boots ran out the door, (attracting some strange glances on the way) and over to the direction I saw the dog.

I knelt down on the ground, kissed at the dog and watched her trot the other direction. Antonio followed me out the door with a chunk of my sandwich to try and coax the scared pup. At the same time an older couple drove up and asked if it was my dog and I asked them the same. Both resulting in the same answer – no. I asked the gentleman to drive past the dog, who was now heading toward the highway, and get out so that we could hopefully catch the dog or at the very least, direct her the other way.

My Pittied Life - lolathepitty.com

We corralled the dog into a corner of the building and the poor thing appeared to be blind. Knowing there wasn’t much of a choice, I put my gloves on and quickly snatched the dog up. The dog yelped, most likely out of fright, but quickly calmed down. I told the older couple that I would take care of finding the owner and getting this pup back home safe.

Antonio had ran back into the restaurant to grab my purse and the car keys and luckily the dog was wearing an id tag with a phone number! The first time we tried calling – no answer. The second time – an answer! An elderly woman answered the phone and I told her I had a fluffy white dog in front of me. She was delighted and asked where she was found. Five minutes later, this woman drove down to pick up her 14 year old blind, and mostly deaf dog.

Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

The BIG News

In August (was it August? Yep.) I resigned from my marketing job of nearly five years. It was one of the biggest decisions of my life. But it was time – time to focus on me and move forward. And it was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

The first couple months went by, sluggishly and the couple promising job interviews proved not to be.

But something exciting happened recently and I’ve been questioning whether to share immediately or wait a while…oh well, here it goes:

I recently accepted a job with a marketing company.

A marketing company that just so happens to have a dog as it’s logo.

I mean, how perfect is that?

A marketing company where I’ll be working alongside Lola and Rio most of the day.

A marketing company in Colorado.

We’re moving! Moving back home.

Buh-bye Minnesota. It’s been nice (and cold), but it’s time.

I’m going miss the connections and friends we’ve made here but I’m excited. I’ll miss my horseback riding buddy, my dog friends, my rescue connections, our flyball team, our favorite places to take the dogs to play, and my mother (Lola and Rio’s grandma), but I’m ecstatic about the future.

We’ll keep you posted on the move!

 Kennel Cough Sucks

Oh, Rio. You’ve been healthy (minus the $2,500 surgery) for almost an entire year… so I guess we were due –  kennel cough got the best of him. Luckily, we had a vet appointment made for his one-year shots and what not so we had them check out the coughing. Didn’t seem to effect him all too much though and I’m just glad Lola never caught it! Sick dogs are no fun. But I’ll definitely take kennel cough over giardia or any other intestinal parasite. Yikes.

Holiday Gift Guides

We had two fabulous gift guides that I posted in November. One is a gift guide for dog lovers and one is specifically for all my “pibble” lovers. But of course, they kind of carry over into one another.

Check ’em out below!

Lola the Pitty’s 7 Top Gifts for Pit Bull Lovers

Holiday Gift Guide for Pit Bull Lovers and Advocates! lolathepitty.com
and

Lola the Pitty’s Gift Guide for Dog Lovers

 

Lola the Pitty's Holiday Gift Guide for Dog Lovers!

Thanks for reading, we’ll catch up next month!

P.s. Do I have any Colorado friends?

My Pittied Life: October

The sun is now setting before five p.m. The temps are dropping (a little too quickly for my liking), almost all the leaves have fallen and November is here.

October definitely sped by, but we packed in a TON of activities into those 31 days.

Let’s see, where shall I begin?

My Pittied Life - Lolathepitty.com

The Search Is On

As many of you know, I resigned from my full time marketing job a couple months back to make a couple of my life goals a reality. Well, I may finally have an opportunity that may be pretty promising. Still too many unknowns to make a big announcement, but I’ll hopefully have more news to share in the next series of ‘My Pittied Life’!

Milestones
It was a pretty exciting month in the social media world for Lola the Pitty. Our Facebook page has surpassed 5K fans (and we have never once paid for ads or sponsored posts)! Plus, we now have over 1K followers on Instagram and Pinterest! Not too shabby for a blog that was started less than a year ago. Thank you so much to all of our friends and supporters!

Awesome Play Dates

We know the days are getting shorter and the weeks (ok, months) where no one even wants to step foot outside are coming up fast! Therefore, we took full advantage of the beautiful autumn and made trip after trip to the hockey rink, aka our personal dog park. And today, we drove down to Mankato where we met up with a few friends for a play date at The Paw!

Play date! Lolathepitty.com

Monster Holiday Drive

We’ve been sharing, unpacking, organizing, sorting, and tearing down boxes from all of the awesome donations we’ve received for this great fundraiser. Please consider donating to help homeless animals in need! Learn more: Lola and Tater’s Monster Holiday Drive.

Monster Holiday Drive - lolathepitty.com

Fun Mail!

We’ve been privileged enough to find several awesome companies whose missions and products we love; take a peak at a couple of the exciting packages we’ve received in the mail:

lolathepitty-products
KAE-O Sweatshirt // Karma dog collar
Woo Woo Dog ID Tags - lolathepitty.com
WooWoo Workshop ID Tag

‘Tis the season:

Homemade Doggy Egg Nog Recipe
DIY Pumpkin Spice Puppuccinos

We Asked Our Fans: What Do You Love Most About Your Pit Bull?

We asked our fans - "What Do You Love Most About YOUR Pit Bull" - here's what they said. lolathepitty.com

We asked our fans - "What Do You Love Most About YOUR Pit Bull" - here's what they said. lolathepitty.com

After a recent post, 15 Things My Dog Has Taught Me, it sparked the question, “What do you love most about your dog…your pit bull?”. So I set out to our loyal Facebook fans and asked them what they love most about their pit bulls. I absolutely loved reading the responses and seeing how much joy our dogs bring to our lives, regardless of breed.

Here’s what our friends had to say!


 

Her Love, loyalty, and kisses” – Cassie M.

 I love her kindness and play bows when greeting new dogs – still, at 15 years old. I love her snoring and her happy talking when she rolls around on her back after a nap. I love how she will sit for photographs, but dislikes looking at the camera. I love how she trusts me 100%.” – Sherrie S.

Their unconditional love!! Life is better with a four-legged furbaby!!” – Ashley T.

“Love and companionship without judgment” – Rachelle C.

They all have such different personalities! I love Lili’s way of getting my attention. She’s subtle, but relentless. I love her playful, happy, bouncing spirit. I love how Rufus is the guardian of the group. He wants to be where I am, he’s my best buddy, he’s everyone’s best friend, and he’s so incredibly sweet, mellow and charming. I love Kane’s sass and attitude, because underneath it all is this giant, playful mama’s boy. I love Kane’s ability to say “mama”. He’s my talker! And then there’s Simon… I love his eyebrows, his underbite, and his zest for life. He’s all eyes and all ears all the time. I love how he’s so desperate to try to learn new tricks, and how he throws out all of his tricks when I’m trying to teach him something new. I love how all of them snuggle, and how sweet and charming they all are.” – Stephanie W.

“I love everything about this girl!” – Corey B.

I love her because she’s totally goofy! Always cheerful. ” – Jeanine L.

I love Jack’s playfulness, his loyalty, his kissable face…” – Stephanie L.

[Tweet “”She makes me a better trainer and a better person.” – Lori N. #pitbulladvocate”]

My pit bull is my best friend, she is confident and her beautiful smile makes everything okay again even on the worst of days…and she is a world class snuggler”! – Tina H.

Love, loyalty, and pure happiness in both of mine” – Annette G.

“She loves road trips, adventures and the beach!” – Deborah G.

I love Snoopy for the way she won me over and helped heal my heart when I didn’t think I was ready to get another pittie so soon after my last one crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I went to the Animal Humane Society in Buffalo to look and walked out with my new purpose” – Nicole P.

Oh gosh there’s so many things, but one is how they are always so happy and smiling.” – Andrea C.

I love the wiggly butt, the kisses and her loyalty. She is my baby girl and this smile says it all!” – Julie D.

I love the way her tail helicopters when she sees someone she loves. I love the way she sits like a 15 year old boy. I love the way she loves me. I love her smile, her devotion, her desire to be with us. She is my little girl.” – Jennifer C.

The way he makes me laugh.” – Sarah H.

The way she is so excited to see me when I come home, the way she loves to snuggle with me, the head tilt when I am talking to her, and her gentle, loving spirit! She is my baby!” – Sherry C.

His enthusiasm & smile when I get back home from work or a trip.” – Michael H.

I love his loyalty, his unconditional love. I love his ability to move on from his past and love humans no matter how he’d been treated before finding me!” – Tails of a Foster Mom

I love how Snow makes me appreciate the simple things in life” – Princess & Karma

“They bring so much joy to my life. I never wanted a pitbull and now I have them. They have the BEST personalities and are so in tune with their surroundings.” – Brianne H.

I love that no matter what happens, no matter who turns their back on me, my ‘Pit Bull’ will always be there for me.” – Gabrielle S.

I just love everything about my Kirby…how he talks to me when he wants to play, his unconditional love, his gentleness with the grandkids, the ways he has to make sure I understand just what he wants and the way he says thank you when he gets it!” – Donna H.

I love that no matter what type of day I’ve had Brahma can make me smile, feel loved, and know that everything is going to be okay. He is the definition of love and perseverance. When he was 6 months old he was hit by a snowmobile and almost died. Even though they saved his leg he’s missing a huge chunk of his hip and you’d never know. Nothing stops him from doing what he loves and making people smile. He’s my best friend” – Sin C.

“My babies make everyday a great day and without them I don’t know where I’d be” – Lisa R.

“I love how she wiggles when she’s happy and how she RAH RAH ROOS in her sweet pittie language. I love how her eyes widen when she tastes something she extra loves (like peanut butter, her all-time favorite!). All of these reasons and more are why she is my company’s Brand Ambassador. All I have to do is post pictures of her on social media and tell stories of her sweetness, and she is doing so much good in the world by changing people’s perceptions of pits.” – Katherine, KOTAW Marketing

My Rampage is my world. He is the most patient understanding dog I’ve ever owned.” – Logan Noelle S.

“They care for me and have helped me heal from my stroke and through my disabilities.” – Judy U.

I love how my sweet ol’ girl (nine years old) has opened her heart to the pestering of a new puppy. She’s had her home and her humans all to herself for three years but never shows an ounce of jealousy. And my new pup…. I just love his energy and enthusiasm! And the way he gets like a turtle on his back and ‘talks’ til he can get himself rolled back up right!” – Denise K.

How cuddly she is!” – Julie M.

Life is just better with a pibble!” – Susannah D.

What do you love most about your pit bull? Share below!

15 Things My Pit Bull Has Taught Me

Homemade Dog Treat Recipes!

“Monster” Holiday Drive

"Monster" Elf Drive - collecting donated items for dogs & cats in need!

"Monster" Elf Drive - collecting donated items for dogs & cats in need!

We are so excited to be participating in the “Monster” Holiday Drive! Have you heard of it? The drive is an amazingly successful campaign organized by the minds behind the organization, I’m Not a Monster.

Basically, all of the ‘elves’ (aka Lola, Tater Tot and a ton of other dogs) work hard to gather donation items for dogs in need! It’s pretty awesome to say the least.

The initiative was inspired by toys on clearance. They sat unwanted, not unlike the pets waiting at the shelters. The pets and toys are not broken; they just haven’t found their perfect home yet. So to help as many homeless pets as possible, they recruit “Monster” Elves to gather items; so not only we lift their spirits, but also bring attention to the good shelters and the various causes they represent.

[Tweet “Being in a shelter is not fun for any pets. Together, we can make a difference! www.lolathepitty.com/monster-holiday-drive/ #monsterholidaydrive”]

Check out the 2013 totals. Holy cow.

holiday-tally-poster-large

For the 2014 drive, we’ve teamed up with our friend Tater Tot and his girl, Amaya! We’ve got a pretty good start (thanks to Amaya’s awesome effort) but every item helps. 100% of the items collected will be donated to Heading Home K9 Rescue and Across America Boxer Rescue.

Learn more about the Monster Holiday Drive!

Please consider donating by purchasing an item or two on Tater and Lola’s Amazon Wish List to help dogs & cats in need.

Thank you for your support!

“Help us spread some holiday cheer for homeless pets waiting in shelters by donating toys, blankets & treats!”

tater-lola-monster

Check it out!

15 Things My Dog Has Taught Me

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Puppuccinos

15 Things My Dog (a Pit Bull) has Taught Me

15 Things My Dog (a pit bull) has Taught Me - lolathepitty.com

15 Things My Dog (a pit bull) has Taught Me - lolathepitty.com

We can learn so much from our dogs…

Our dogs don’t hold grudges, they don’t judge us, and they love us no matter what.

In fact, we just bought a framed print the other day:

Things We Learn From our Dogs - lolathepitty.com

But of course there’s more than that. Here are 15 things I’ve learned from my dog, a pit bull:

1. Daycare isn’t just for kids

2. Whining actually does work at times

3. Do something fun every day

4. Sometimes all you need is a nap

5. Trust your gut

6. It’s okay to pee outside (as long as no one’s watching)

7. King beds are the best to sleep on

8. Snuggling is one of the best things, ever

9. Kisses are to be used sparingly and only for those you really love (Rio has yet to learn this one)

10. Be thankful for anyone that feeds you

11. Sunshine = happiness

12. Roam & explore at every opportunity

13. Be yourself

14. Don’t judge

15. Live in the moment

What have you learned from your dog?

*Check out my favorite inspiring dog quotes & dog treat recipes!

5 Ways to Advocate for Pit Bulls: October is Pit Bull Awareness Month

Five Ways to Advocate for Pit Bulls - lolathepitty.com
Five Ways to Advocate for Pit Bulls - lolathepitty.com
Photo by Amaya Frutkoff

October: a great month if you ask me. An entire month dedicated to raising awareness for pit bulls. Also – Pit Bull Awareness Day is October 25th!

While this is no different really than any month around this household, it is a great opportunity to spotlight pit bulls by educating,promoting adoption, responsible ownership and much more.

One of the things I’ve noticed which we inherit as a responsible pit bull owner: having to advocate for our dogs. We don’t necessarily choose it, but more or less fall into it. At one point or another, we will be presented with a situation where we have to stand up for our dog. Even though, as fellow pit bull owners know our dog is just a dog.

Here I’ve compiled five awesome, positive ways to advocate for pit bulls:

1. Share positive stories about pit bulls

Sites such as the Best Friends Animal Society, Huffington Post, several animal rescue pages, Lolathepitty.com (wink, wink) often publish stories about pit bulls in a positive light. You don’t necessarily have to point out “Hey look! It’s a pit bull doing something positive”, but more along the lines of, this is a really awesome or touching story and hey, the dog just so happens to be a “pit bull”.

2. Allow your dog to do the talkin’

Bring your (willing) breed ambassador to dog-friendly events and stores. Your presence and behavior will speak volumes for itself without saying a peep. Actions generally speak louder than words. But of course, if anyone asks about your pibble, feel free to proudly brag like any parent would.

3. Do Your Research

Before you see a post somewhere on social media that sets you off, think before you type (or talk). Let’s educate ourselves and become well informed advocates. The Unexamined Dog has a great article on ways to advocate for “pit bulls” and if you haven’t previously, check out Drayton Michaels.

4. Raise Positive Awareness with Gear

Yes, gear. For example, display a “My Pit Bull is Family” magnet on your car or wear a shirt that promotes pit bulls in a positive light – just a couple examples.

5. Make Friends

Neighbors, people you meet at the dog park or events, family, coworkers – these are all people that you may interact with on a fairly regular basis. Without even thinking, you are advocating for your dog by sharing pictures, positive experiences and best of all, having them meet your dog. Many people have neutral feelings about “pit bulls” but I can tell you that I personally have changed opinions of a few that would have otherwise “never trusted a pit bull”. Every positive experience makes a difference.

 

*Find out how National Pit Bull Awareness Month began!

Inspiring quotes (great to share on Pinterest!):

'You Just Need to BE' - @lolathepitty | Lolathepitty

The 3 C's of Life - www.lolathepitty.com

My Pittied Life: August

Welcome to another edition of our “pittied” lives. These months just keep passing me by…

My Pittied Life - Lolathepitty.com

Besides Googling things such as “how to express your dogs anal glands”, August was a fairly exciting month.

Well, in my life – not so much the dogs’ lives. Their lives are pretty consistent and really just vary on how many times they make it to the park that week.

Photo Shoot

I am in love with this photo of the four of us! These three make my life complete. Big thanks to my friend, Stephanie of YBF Photo for the awesome photo shoot.

falls-overlooking-lolathepitty

Resigning…

I made a big decision. A life changing decision. On August 15th, I resigned from my full-time position as a Marketing Director. It was time to put myself first, move on and accomplish my life goals. I can’t say too much yet, but I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted as I’m excited for the future.

And to be honest – I’m a little scared at the same time.

Park Time!

The weather (for once) has been awesome and so we’ve been taking advantage of park time with the pups.

Fairly certain I love the Minnehaha park as much as the dogs do…

Hiking trails, river access, off leash park = happy us and pups.

Lola and Rio usually leave looking like this: sand filled, wet, and dirty.

Blog Life:

Besides entertaining the two mutts, working on a couple web design projects, and working (yes, I had two jobs prior), I usually spend my nights parked on the couch with a laptop close by.

*We wrote about Natural Flea & Tick Preventatives, including the products we’ve tried and what’s worked the best.

*Gave away an awesome Kong Prize Pack filled with Lola’s Favorite Dog Toys…

*Upped our popularity by sharing these 5 Simple Dog Treat Recipes on Victoria Stilwell’s Positively.com site – check ’em out!

Thanks for reading!