This post is part of the Pet Photo Challenge hosted by Six Legs Are Better Than Two.
Tag Archives: tulips
Caturday Art #2
I used an ice digital effect to create these two pieces. I love how smooth the lines are, like flowing water. I’m really enjoying participating in the Caturday art blog hop and getting the chance to be more creative on this blog.
This post is part of the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by Athena Cat Goddess.
Pretty Flowers Can Be Pretty Dangerous For Pets
Spring is here and that means flowers are blooming. Whether it’s perennials blossoming or you or your neighbors are planting some new annuals, you and your pets will probably encounter some flowers at this time of year. In general it’s always best to keep your dogs from eating any type of plants, but now that it’s Spring all the new flowers may smell too interesting for your dogs to ignore. Even if you have no flowers on your own property, you may pass some flowers on a walk in the park or around the neighborhood. So today I’ve put together a list of flowers your pets need to avoid, as they may cause health issues if eaten or even sniffed. Remember to keep your pets from all parts of these plants, as sometimes it’s the stem or leaves that are harmful to pets, not necessarily the flower petals.
Flowering plants that may be harmful to pets:
- Lilies of any type
- Azaleas
- Crocuses
- Begonia
- Buttercup
- Gardenia
- Carnations
- Chrysanthemum
- Clematis
- Daffodil
- Dahlia
- Daisy
- Geranium
- Gladiola
- Hibiscus
- Hyacinth
- Hydrangea
- Iris
- Lavender
- Morning Glory
- Oleander
- Peony
- Rhododendron
- Tulips
- Wisteria
Although the flowers above present potential dangers for your pets, it is possible to have beautiful flowers and keep your pets safe if you plan correctly. As you can see from Sadie’s photos, I do have some of the flowers from the list around my home. But I plant flowers only in the front of my house, where Sadie never goes unattended, without a leash. In the backyard Sadie is free to sniff and play all she wants without worry, as there are no potentially harmful plants at all.
To learn more about possible health issues and check about the safety of specific plants, go to the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control website.
This post is part of the BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday blog hop.
Walks Before Photos
Last holiday season I shared with you my favorite tips for taking a great photo of your pets. (Click here to see all of those tips.) Today I’d like to focus on one tip in particular: walk your dogs before taking your photos. As I mentioned before, walking your dog before a photo session has a number of benefits. You can work out your dog’s excess energy, making him or her more cooperative when sitting still for a photo. Also, your dog enjoys going for a walk, and your dog’s happy mood when you get home usually shows through in your photos. Sadie and I had a photo shoot last month that is a perfect example of the difference between taking photos before and after a walk.
Before the walk…
… after the walk!
In the first photo, I took Sadie outside to use the bathroom and decided to pose her by some pretty flowers. Sadie grumbled the whole time, didn’t want to look at the camera, and was generally annoyed that I was trying to take pictures of her. Since it was a nice day, I decided to take Sadie for a walk immediately to see if it would put her in a better mood. The last two photos were taken when we got back from the walk. Sadie is posing in front of the same pretty flowers, but with a much happier smile.
This post is part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog.
This post is also part of the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Love Is Being Owned By a Husky, and M.K. Clinton.
Spring – #52Snapshots
This week’s 52 Snapshots of Life theme is Spring. Although it’s technically Spring right now, the weather here in NJ hasn’t quite caught up yet. In fact, it actually snowed on the first day of Spring last week. So today I’m going to share some photos from last Spring, in the hopes that real Spring weather isn’t too far away.
This post is part of The Lazy Pit Bull‘s #52Snapshots of Life Challenge