Facebook Withdrawal, Oh My!

For a person who was sure she did not wish to join Facebook, I certainly have become dependent on it!  The Dal lists have become very under-used as so many have turned to Facebook and other social networking sites.  Rather than consistently seeing annoying postings from people you detest, you can pick and choose who you want to hear from.  If you later find them to be annoying or if they have views you find offensive, it's so easy to just "un-friend" them or block their postings for awhile.  Your Friends List can include co-workers, friends, fellow hobbyists, neighbors, relatives, politicians you support, special interest groups you agree with, restaurants, magazines, and news sources.  The list seems to be endless, but the great thing is that you CHOOSE who you wish to connect with.

I confess to being a Facebook adict, and check in first thing in the morning and last thing at night.   Strong hot coffee and Facebook gets me off to a good start in the morning. It allows me to stay in touch with family and friends, exchange ideas and opinions, and stay current on happening out there.  It also provides a very good support network for people who are going through rough times and a group of people to share your excitement over the good things that happen in your life.  Hard to beat that in today's busy and stressful world!

Facebook can also become a source of aggravation when things are not running the way they should, when you can't access pages, and pictures won't upload or download  they way they should.  Yesterday was particularly annoying when I could not access Facebook at all, from late afternoon until I checked just before going to bed.  My gosh, what was I missing?  And how did I function before I joined?  It gave me cause for concern as I am obviously a lot more dependent on it than I should be.  Do I need to rethink my Facebook use?  Perhaps.


Mariah shared a dog bed with Josie & Argus

It always amazes me how quickly new puppies become part of the "family".  Mariah has settled in nicely and seems resigned to being in a crate part of the time.  She may fuss for a few minutes, but then settles in to chew a bone or doze.  Her problem seems to have been the small plastic crate, as she is much more accepting of the large wire crate. House training is coming along well too, no more crate accidents (was that just stress?) and she's quick to get down to business when taken outside.  Yesterday she actually asked to go out once, definitely a good sign.

This weekend we will concentrate on socialization, with trips to PetCo and to Chuck & Don's, and a visit to one of the training schools to work on leash walking on rubber matting.  Never too early to start their show training!  We had a vet appointment scheduled too, as I was concerned that she was peeing too often and in such small amounts, but that seems to be OK now and I may cancel the appointment.  UTIs are not uncommon in little girl Dalmatians, so I will continue to monitor that.

Mariah is working on a chunk of turkey neck.

Mariah is doing well on her new diet, and has eaten turkey necks, egg yolks, ground turkey and chicken backs with absolutely no problem.  She chews everything carefully, and her stools are nice and firm.  I've switched a number of pups over this way and they accept raw immediately and never look back.  I'll start adding veggies and occasional supplements next week.  I also need to place a raw food order, with one more dog to feed.   Although adult dogs eat only about 2% of their body weight in food per day, growing pups often eat 10% of their weight every day.  They do seem to be more satisfied on "real" food though and are not so quick to fuss about being hungry - but they sure eat with enthusiasm!