Butters by the San Francisco Bay

Butters is the Life of the Party! He is a 2-year-old purebred yellow Labrador Retriever who is affectionate, social, and friendly with all people and animals of all ages. He has gone through training with Bob Gutierrez of A Better Way Dog Training. Living in San Francisco, Butters' favorite places to play are Fort Funston, Golden Gate Park, and Baker Beach. We no longer provide dog sitting or dog boarding services. However, we will gladly meet at a local park for doggy dates.

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Butters started going to a new doggy daycare earlier this year in preparation for my maternity leave.

SF Surf Dogs (www.SFSurfDogs.com) is an in-home doggy daycare owned by a super-cool and amazingly sweet woman named Isabel. She's very accommodating and gives our dog everything he needs when my husband & I are gone - love, care, and outdoor exercise! He gets to play with her dogs, Bobby & Frankie, and the other doggies in daycare, so he gets to socialize with other dogs of all ages and sizes. It's also helpful that we're given a bill at the end of the month so we can give one payment, rather than upfront every time we pick him up!

All the doggies go for walks and romps at Fort Funston, Baker Beach, Ocean Beach, McLaren Park, and other off-leash doggie areas in San Francisco. Butters has so much fun swimming, surfing, wrestling, and playing fetch that he knocks out immediately after coming back into the house. I can shake him and shout his name - and all he does is look at me, wag his tail, and passes back out. SO AWESOME!

If you're in San Francisco and are looking around for an extraordinary doggy daycare or boarding facilitiy, be sure to contact Isabel at SF Surf Dogs and let her know that Butters sent you!!

(Yelp Review)

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In honor of National Puppy Day, here are some photos of Butters as a teeny tiny 10 week old puppy :)  How could you not fall in love with this lil cutie? Hehe.

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Butters exploring in the snow :)

Truckee, CA March 2 - 4, 2012

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On my husband's birthday weekend, we decided to go to Lake Tahoe to have fun in the snow! Luckily, a friend of ours has a cabin in Truckee - so he let us crash there for the weekend.

I figured the guys would want to party it up and snowboard - and since I'm 6 months pregnant, I thought it would be nice to relax and go walking in the area. Of course, I wanted to bring Butters - not only so he could experience the snow for the first time, but so I wouldn't be alone and feeling anxious or afraid if something were to happen to me - God forbid, I fall or get attacked by a bear or something! Does that qualify me as being classified as "city folk"? LOL.

Anyway, Butters had a blast! He wasn't sure about the snow at first... he even sniffed up a nose full of snow! But eventually, he was so comfortable in it that he didn't want to come back into the cabin and just wanted to catch some snowballs! We went on a few hiking trips, so we both got to explore and exercise.

We already can't wait to go back! :)

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Butters Learns How to Swim

At first, he fell head-in to the water.. then after a few tries with my cousin, Dom, Butters loved swimming in the water and couldn't get enough!

Collins Lake, CA July 30, 2011

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I'm horrible at blog posting. I forget I own them sometimes because I'm just super busy! After busting 40-hour work weeks while being pregnant, cooking, cleaning, walking & playing Butters, going to dog parks, playing video games with friends, spending time with the hubby, and hanging out with friends and family - when do I really have time to be online, right? Right. You understand.

So something I forgot to post this past fall after we got done with Butters' dog training: we went CAMPING!!!

My extended family & I went camping at Collins Lake in August in Northern California - 3 hours drive away from San Francisco. Dogs are allowed as long as they are leashed (wah, I need to find an off-leash camp ground!). Leon & I had our own tent and Butters had his own tent next to ours (Thanks Arnie!). We had our own private area since our party was so big, so we were lake-side away from other campers.

Fun things Butters did for the first time:

Camping, LOL. Even in his own tent.

He swam for the first time and LOVED it!

He went boating around the lake.

Unfortunately had to be on a long 26-ft retractable leash the whole weekend... but it's worth it as long as he was able to come.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the photos of Butters camping!

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I found out that I was pregnant on October 31st.

Then, on November 4, I was involved in a car accident. I was rear-ended on the way to work and had to be taken by ambulance with a co-worker. I won't have my car back until November 28th - after Thanksgiving. UGH! Knowing that I'm pregnant made the car accident even WORSE / SCARY for me -_-.

Since the accident, my mom & step-dad have been taking Butters out for me to burn his energy while I recover at home. They walk him on-leash in Golden Gate Park or off-leash at Fort Funston. They've been going 2-4 miles and are usually gone for a couple of hours.... thank goodness because Butters stays calm, happy, and tired in the apartment. 

When the rain started last week, they stopped walking him because it's too cold. Instead, they've been going to the gym in their apartment complex to get their workouts to stay DRY! Needless to say, Butters is probably mentally energetic, but he is calm/mellow in the apartment and just lays on the bed with me. You may ask, where is Leon in all of this? Well, he generally commutes and works between 10am and 7pm, sometimes all to midnight. His job entails walking 8+ hours per day, 5-6/days per week, as a Security Guard, so when he gets home, he's tired and usually asleep. So yeah. Butters just hangs out and keeps me sane/calm so I don't have to stress or worry like I normally would when I'm alone.

Until I get the doctor's OK, I'm hunting around for dog walkers and overnight pet sitters to make sure Butters gets enough exercise and mental stimulation instead of just... laying there with me :p

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It's been a while since I've posted on here! Butters has been keeping us active and in-shape a couple of hours a day - then any free time is spent relaxing at home or hanging out with some friends!

While we do enjoy walks in Golden Gate Park, which is 2 blocks away from our new apartment, we've been spending most of our days hiking 2 miles at Fort Funston! Butters loves to meet other dogs here to play. But, if I have the chuck-it and ball for fetch, he'll usually ignore them coz he LOVES to play fetch! Fort Funston gives him a lot of room to run off-leash, burn energy, hunt for the ball in the sand dunes or the shallow end of the beach, and when he gets home, he does nothing but sleep it all off!

Needless to say, Fort Funston is our favorite place to go!

Only other bit of news about our lil pup: Butters graduated Beginner Class 1 week early! Woohoo!

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We moved out of Parkmerced and back to our old apartment near Golden Gate Park!

Instead of living 3 blocks from Lake Merced, I am now located 2 blocks away from Golden Gate Park at 30th Avenue.

Let me tell you now: I love it compared to walking at Lake Merced and Butters loves it too!  We've been exploring different trails and walk all the way to the Golden Gate Park Dog Park at 38th/Fulton to let him play fetch or socialize with other dogs, and back around the Polo Fields, through more trails, and back home. According to my runtastic app, that specific walk was 3.15 miles. The trees definitely hold in the humidity, so even though it looks cold, it's actually quite warm and keeps me sweating.

While it isn't the first time I've been dog walking at Golden Gate Park (I used to walk Doogie around some of these trails and paths last year), it's become a daily ritual to be in the park now instead of Lake Merced or the Parkmerced neighborhood. I notice myself walking longer and farther just because I enjoy being in the park and seeing how far I can go in comparison to Tané, a neighbor who runs Butters 5-miles per day 2-3 times per week in Golden Gate Park. So far, my farthest was 3.15 miles.

He's also doing well in the new apartment. He's already used to our friend, Nick, and our neighbor, Adele. On our landing, we put up a patch of grass which he always uses to potty. While he's learned to pee on it, he hasn't learned to poop on it yet even though we've put some of his poo on it. Instead, he prefers to poo during walks around the neighborhood, Golden Gate Park, and at dog parks. He's enjoying the landing and seems to prefer laying outside under the sun with a soccer ball instead of lounging in the living room since it's the first time he's had his own outdoor area. We share the landing with our neighbor, who also leaves her back door open in case Butters wants to come in and hang out with her or stare at her bird chirping and flying around its cage.

So far, we love it. We're happy and thankful for this place.

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AND GREAT NEWS!!!  Butters is graduating from Basic Dog Class early and is moving on to Intermediate Dog Class!!  Per our trainer's recommendation, Butters is doing well in class, so we're being bumped up early!  I notice it too - Butters doesn't jump as much anymore, doesn't get distracted as easily, doesn't pull the leash as much as he used to, and can hold his commands longer. My husband and I have learned so much in this class and we're happy that Butters has been making quick improvements in under a month of dog class! Thanks Bob!

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Butters is starting Dog School at A Better Way Dog Training taught by Bob Gutierrez at Ace Dog Sports.  The facility is located in Brisbane off Highway 101 at the Cow Palace / Bayshore Blvd exit.

I was looking to have Butters start dog classes due to his slight lack of impulse control. He gets distracted, and when he gets excited greeting people, he jumps. I also wanted him to learn more than just the basic commands... such as Agility work just to vary the type of training and exercise he gets, so we signed up for Dog Class!

Instead of going to PetCo to hit up our friend and trainer there, I looked on Craigslist and found Bob's advertisement. I looked him up on Yelp where dog owners had praised his methods to fix their aggressive dogs. Butters isn't aggressive, but I figure - if he can help those dogs, he can certainly help us!  Plus, we can take Butters past the Advanced Class into Agility work, Companion Dog exercises, and a Canine Good Citizen Certification course. Oh, the possibilities!

So here we are... taking a walk around the area until the first class begins :)  A friend likened the photo to a "Mad Max" photo pictured second. 

And I guess Butters wanted a bath after, because he jumped into the tub and had both front paws up while he laid in there... I couldn't help but take a photo! :D

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Back in May, I boarded Archie in my home for a weekend. I also got to see Paul, an old high school classmate of mine who is brothers with Archie's owner, Joe, when they were dropping off Archie. Small world! :)

At first, Archie didn't want to come in as he saw Joe & Paul walk away, but once he got in the house and saw a puppy-sized football in my hand - it was Game On!  I got him to run upstairs and play a small game of indoor fetch with me. His tail was wagging as he checked out the house with Butters and seemed a lot more comfortable being in my house with us.  I immediately took them out for an hour walk around the neighborhood - and there they went... going potty together at the same time again.

On Saturday morning, I took Archie & Butters out for a 6AM walk around the neighborhood. This is my favorite time to walk them since there are less distractions since almost everyone and their dogs are still fast asleep or just getting up. I built up a good sweat before I had them pose for a quick photo :)

After some play time and rest in the house, I took them for an afternoon walk to the enclosed dog park at Parkmerced. The dog park is less than a 5 minute walk away from my house (4 blocks), so I took them there to play off-leash under the cool sun in hopes that other neighborhood dogs were there to socialize with them. 

Archie and Butters LOVED fetch, but after 10 minutes, they seemed uninterested.  Butters doesn't like to compete for the ball - anytime another dog chases after his ball, he stays back and lets them have it. Archie just walked and sniffed around, so I took them back home. Little did I know, Archie had some old sores on his paw that were bleeding :(  I didn't realize it at first until Leon asked me why there was blood on the floor.  I felt so bad because I didn't know the sores were there and they were bleeding from the 10 minute game of fetch - and he LOVES fetch... literally, he'll throw the ball at your feet, drool, whine, and jump back in excitement.  I cleaned off his paws as much as he would let me and I kept him rested on a big clean towel. I notified Joe right away, who told me that Archie has a history of sores after fetch which he and his vet are aware of. *PHEW* - While I was relieved to know that I didn't cause the sores (which was evident to me because they looked old and some of the old sores weren't bleeding), I felt bad because Archie loves to go out but I wanted him to rest his paws for the remainder of his stay to prevent any infection or additional injury.

For the rest of the weekend, I only took Archie out to potty and cleaned his paws once we got back into the house.  I thought it would drive him bananas, but the sores made him get some rest which I was thankful for. Butters kept him company and they sat together and laid together the rest of the weekend. I tried to play more calm games and do short training sessions with Archie to keep him mentally tired. I monitored his paws and continued to keep them clean, which helped because he wasn't limping as much the next day.

Archie is such a good dog! Pet sitting him as much as I have has made me grow closer to him and I definitely enjoy having him around. I know he feels the same way because his personality and attitude with me and in my house is evidently more positive than when we first met. He hangs out with Butters, he can look in my eyes and follow my lead, and his tail is constantly wagging. Super cool dog... I can't wait to see him again soon :)

CLIENT LINK TO ALBUM.

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This Easter, I celebrated with my extended family at my grandma's house.  I hid some Easter eggs with the other older cousins for the younger cousins to run out and find.  And there were tons of food, love, and laughs all day long!

After 3 hours of partying with the family, I decided to pick-up Butters and bring him to the party now that the eggs were picked up and chocolate inside the house.  He had A LOT of fun - he explored, played with the kids, did some tricks for people when he saw a chicken drumstick in their hands, socialized with my cousin's new puppy, and played fetch.  He even posed with some bunny ears to be our Easter Bunny this year!  So cute :)

The only down side was his very first cut/scrape wound.  After tons of fetch, we were doing one last fetch run - and on his way from the yard to the patio, he seemed to have gotten stuck at the stairs!  He got out from the 3rd step, but cried and limped while leaning against me so I pet him until he calmed down a little.  In less than a minute, he seemed OK... but it could be because he wanted someone's chicken.  Once Leon and I got home, we noticed a gash on his rear inner thigh that extended down his legs.  OH NO! :(

We got some gauze pads, surgical wrap, surgical tape, and neosporin. We used clean water and guaze to clean his wound which didn't look as bad as I initially thought when taking the picture in this post.  It wasn't an open wound and it wasn't heavily bleeding.  It looks more like a scrape that removed his hair and only bled a little around the wound but was red.  He slept in our bed instead of his crate - mainly because we want to increase his comfort.  Visibly, the cut seems to bother him sometimes... mainly when walking up the stairs.  Otherwise, he isn't limping and is walking OK.  I don't want to push it, so this week, we won't be running, doing strenuous hikes, having dog dates, or going to dog parks.  He needs to rest up and heal!

Glad he's OK and had a great Easter with the family aside from his leg injury.

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Our puppy, Butters, turned 1 year old on April 19, 2011.  He's dressed to impress and ready to eat some cake!

Here's the cake recipe my husband and I used:

1 ripe banana 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup water 3 eggs 2 cups white flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp cinnamon 3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

In a mixing bowl, beat together mashed banana, butter, & peanut butter until creamy.

Add eggs and water. Beat well.

Stir in dry ingredients.  Beat until smooth.

Pour batter into oiled and floured cake pan (I used two small loaf pans).

Bake for approximately 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.

Remove from pan, replace on wire rack, and cool.

And here's the frosting recipe we used - just blend them together until smooth and store in the refrigerator until the cake is ready to serve!

1 ripe banana, mashed 1 tbs butter  1/2 cup peanut butter 2 tsp vanilla  3 tbs white flour  1 tsp cinnamon

For the "candle", we used a doggy beef jerky! :-)

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My internal clock woke me up at 7am... but I laid in bed for another 30 minutes until I heard Butters pawing the front of his crate.  Time to get up and walk him!

That afternoon, I was originally supposed to meet someone from Craigslist who wants a canine jogging companion a couple of times per week in Golden Gate Park... but then, we ran into Teri & Kona while we were going for our morning walk.

Kona is a 14 month old pitbull/shepherd mix who is very social and had the same energy that Butters had.  So we took their leashes off and let them run around the field near our apartments so they could tire each other out a little.  Originally, we were only going to let them play for 10 minutes so I could meet up with the jogger, but while we were talking about the importance of socializing dogs, it easily became a good 30-45 minutes.  They wrestled, chased each other, played tug-O-war with a branch until it snapped & they each had their own, and laid out together until they couldn't keep going.

Needless to say, Butters was so tired he was asleep from that morning through the late afternoon.  So we rescheduled our meet with the Craigslist jogger for Wednesday!  Thankfully, they are very understanding and flexible!  We hope to run into Kona again soon to burn out Butters' energy!

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This past weekend, my husband and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary :)

One of the things we wanted to do for Butters during our weekend together was to take him somewhere he's never been before.  And that's how we ended up at the Centennial Way Dog Park in South San Francisco.  One of the few dog parks I found that separates the big dogs from the little dogs.

Butters LOVES this place!  There's a bunch of other dogs there that he can greet and play with, tons of running space, and a doggy water fountain.  We played fetch, walked him off-leash around the walking trail around the perimeter of the park, played some tug-O-war, and played with other doggies.  He even made a few doggy friends - Quincy the American Bulldog he was playing Tug-O-War with and Buster who was fetching balls with him.

He was SO tired that he laid out while my cousin, Vince, sat on top of him for a photo opportunity on our way home from the park.  Another great day @ a dog park with the B-Man.

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The weather forecast has been disappointing.  We've been having high winds, rain, and thunderstorms and it's supposed to be getting worse this week... and it's supposed to be Spring!

Yesterday, I decided to take full advantage of the sun when the rain decided to stop for a bit and take Butters out for a 3 mile walk around some off-road trails on the northeast end of Lake Merced.  We both got the exercise we needed and he was pooped out the rest of the day!

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Butters had another play date with my friend's dog, Kaiya.  Kaiya let Butters chase her for a couple minutes, but was so exhausted from her 4-mile hike at the Land's End trail the day before, that she didn't really feel like playing with him.  They did hang out though - and Butters got to play some fetch - so it was cool to have the doggies socialize.

They look so obedient by the kitchen coz they smell the chicken that Thea was cooking at the time!

I'm still tired from the St. Patrick's Day parade in SF yesterday that my post is just gonna end here.  LOL.  Gotta catch up on my naps!