A Hair Cut for Snickers!

Snickers got her annual hair cut after we returned from our California trip. I tried to make an appointment before we left, but I waited too long to call and there were no appointments available for her. So she didn't get her hair cut until almost the middle of June!



Here is a before picture of our beautiful dog. Doesn't she look happy?


And here is the after picture. We interpret this look as embarrassed.


Before we had her shaved the first time, we did research it. Supposedly, dogs don't need the hair cut to stay cool during the summer. With this being said, though, I have noticed a huge improvement in Snickers since she has been shaved. We have had 90 degree days since early May this year and she was always panting, lethargic, and wanted to spend as little time as possible outdoors. She was even sleeping in the dining room instead of our bedroom because it was a cooler room. Since her hair cut, she is more active and has stopped panting. The added bonus is no more shedding for the time being! Yay!!

I've also read that sometimes a dog's hair doesn't grow back well after it has been shaved, but we have never had any trouble with that.

Another plus, it's easy to spot nasty ticks on her after being in the woods! Not so easy when she has her long fur.

We think she looks a bit like Gizmo from the movie Gremlins now.

Snickers, the Keeshond Sheltie

Snickers joined our family in January, 2004. We found her at Petsmart during one of their Adoption Days through the Paulding County Animal Shelter. We went looking for a Labrador or a Golden Retriever, but we ended up with a Keeshond -Sheltie mix.

This is a Keeshond:
And this is a Sheltie:



And when you mix the two together, you get Snickers!


Snickers has proven to be a wonderful addition to our family. She is super sweet and fairly obedient. She does have some faults. She sheds like crazy! Every May, we take her to get her summer hair cut. According to what I have read, hair cuts don't really make the dogs feel cooler during the summer months, but it does help on the amount of hair she sheds. Which makes me happy!


Some of her summer hair cuts have been better than others. The first couple of times she had them, she really acted embarrassed by her appearance. Some groomers have ended up making her look like a lion. It's really funny! Usually it looks better after a week or so. She LOOKS happy!



This is one of the first pictures we took of her. She has those big, brown puppy dog eyes.


She's great with the kids.



She is very social. If given the opportunity, she will just wander off to see who else is outside. When the kids were younger, they would sometimes forget to shut the gates and then later we would get phone calls saying our dog was down the street.


She likes participating in the neighborhood 4th of July parade.


But she doesn't like the fireworks. We took her with us to watch the fireworks one year and she spent the evening in our laps. She's a little too big to be a lap dog. She doesn't like thunderstorms either.


She enjoys going on hikes and walks. However, she likes to stop and smell EVERYTHING along the way.

She waits patiently for us when we take her to the Powder Springs Coffee Shoppe.

Most of the time she is very calm, but she does get the occasional crazy streak. We think it's funny when we does that.



We love our Snickers dog!

A Saturday Morning Walk

We moved to Powder Springs in Fall of 2000. Nearly 11 years later, downtown Powder Springs has its own coffee shop. Since it has opened in February, we have made weekly visits to this new business. On several occasions we have walked there. This past Saturday was one of those such occasions.

We decided to take Snickers on our walk. Without dog and kids, we can walk to the coffee shop in about 20 minutes. It took us 30 minutes this time.

Here we are leaving the neighborhood.


This is why it takes longer with the kids. Hannah has to stop at the goat house.


The boys didn't wait for us. They were walkers on a caffeine mission.


Not only does Hannah want to see the goats, but she waits until they come up to her so she can pet them, too.


We're almost to the Silver Comet trail. The bridge was just completed a couple of months ago.



Waiting to cross the street.



Continuing walking. We had to stop and clean up after Snickers a couple of times along the way. That's why it takes longer when we take her with us.



We've made it to the square. We're passing the old City Hall building.



Destination is in view now!


But when we arrived, another dog was already parked outside. This dog wasn't very happy to see Snickers. She/he barked non-stop at poor Snickers. I went around the corner and sat on a bench and waited with Snickers while the rest of the family went in and ordered drinks.



There you can see the coffee shop sign and entrance a little better.



James enjoyed a frozen coffee beverage while Hannah had a berry smoothie.



Soon the other dog left with its owner and I got to go inside and drink my coffee with my family.



There's Snickers waiting for us. She was so good! She didn't bark at all. She just waited for us to come back out.


Time for the return walk home.