family Archives - Stylish Paws

Tag: family

12
Feb
2021

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day. It’s a day you either love or hate. Some love to celebrate it and some don’t and that’s ok, thank goodness we’re all different. You can guess that I love to celebrate it!

Many argue that your love for someone shouldn’t have to be shown on one particular day of the year and while I agree with that, there is something different about sharing a meal, a coffee or a slab of chocolate with someone you love on 14 February. That someone doesn’t have to be a romantic love partner either. It can be your child, your furry loves, your best friend or a family member you treasure. There are so many people I wish I could share a slab of chocolate with on Valentine’s Day this year but as we all know, some things cannot happen right now.

With that being said, our little family will celebrate together. We will drink pink milkshakes, share cupcakes and eat spaghetti & meatballs lady and the tramp style 😉

This years valentines treats are not necessarily dog specific but if there is one thing that 2020 taught me, it’s that life is way to short to not eat cake. So this valentine’s day Zara will eat cupcakes and Gia will help make them…

Yes these cupcakes came out of a box, and who actually cares right. We still had to add the eggs, butter and milk hahaha! This is a local Zambian brand which I’m happy to report did not disappoint. They turned out perfectly, Gia devoured them while Zara I don’t think really tasted them as she swallowed the entire thing whole, paper and all-typical Zara! So thank you Meraki cakes for our yummy valentines cupcakes.

We hope you enjoy your valentine’s day however you decide to celebrate it, remember to hug your loved ones extra tight and give your furry loves an extra kiss at bedtime 😉

Thank you for reading

17
Jun
2020

Dogs and Babies… A year on

categories: Zara

When I first posted about dogs and babies, a year ago, baby Gia was less than a month old and I was still in South Africa waiting for the doctors clearance that we were both able to fly. So much has happened in that year…

This topic also sparks a lot of interest from my amazing Instagram community. I cannot thank my followers enough for welcoming baby Gia the way that you have! You all LOVE seeing Zara and Gia together, you love to watch their bond grow, as do I! Gia has grown into a beautiful, kind and loving one year old and Zara is learning about life with a tiny almost walking human, but has embraced her role as big sis in ways we never imagined.

Our main goal with the girls has always been and always will be for them to respect each other. They both require their own space, time alone as well as family time. From the very beginning we have been teaching and showing both Zara and Gia how to interact in a respectful way. For example: Gia is not allowed to crawl or stand all over Zara in her attempt to get onto the couch. Zara is not allowed to push over, stand on Gia or steal Gia’s food from under her nose. Things happen, Gia is a one year old and Zara is an excitable 53kg Rottweiler! The girls are not perfect nor perfectly behaved all the time, it’s how we manage it and teach them what’s acceptable that’s important.

We got our fair share of ‘warnings’ when I was pregnant with Gia and we still get raised eyebrows when we mention we have a one year old and a Rottweiler. The judgement only makes us want to showcase the girls even more.

Here are some of the things we did when baby Gia arrived home and things we still do to make sure Zara feels very much included and part of her pack…

No area is off limits

No area is off limits in our home. I got a lot of warnings and even read numerous articles that said pets should be kept out of the nursery. I’m not quite sure what keeping your pets out of your baby’s room would do… but it wasn’t going to happen in our home. Zara helped us prepare Gia’s room which was our way of showing her that change is coming. As a result of including Zara, she now leaves a toy in Gia’s room every night and it’s also her favourite place to take a nap.

Sharing toys

The girls share toys. Yes Gia is at the age where everything goes into her mouth, as long as she can’t choke on it, I am totally fine with it. I think the world needs to worry about a lot more than dog germs. Both Zara and Gia have recently been dewormed so in my eyes it’s good for them to share toys. It teaches Gia important lessons, so important that Gia now puts her comfort rabbit toy in her mouth just like Zara would to transport it… Genius I tell you 😉

Learning to share food

It’s no secret Zara lives for food! I always knew the starting solids stage with Gia would spark a lot of interest from Zara and it definitely did. Without a doubt meal times are Zara’s favourite! We’ve had to teach Zara that she can’t steal food from Gia’s bowl or out her hand. We have taught Zara the clues Gia gives to say ok you can have this now. Zara has been very patient and she knows that when Gia is done there is always something for her. Of course this doesn’t happen 100% of the time, just last week Zara decided to steal Gia’s entire meal. But it’s ok, not the end of the world. We are all still learning.

Showing affection

We have never stopped showing Zara how much we love and appreciate her. We might have a tiny human who demands so much time, energy and love but we include Zara in all of that too. Gia sees how much we kiss and hug Zara and it has become her favourite thing to do… Kiss Zara! We also allow Zara to kiss Gia, why wouldn’t we. Gia’s first kiss from Zara was the day after I arrived home with Gia. It was important that Zara knew it was ok to love and show love towards this new human that is now living in her space.

Being respectful

Respect is an important part of Zara and Gia’s relationship. They both need to respect each other and learn each others boundaries. I am extremely lucky to be a stay at home mom so I am always around making sure boundaries and limits are not crossed. Gia is only one year old and still has plenty to learn, so when I see Zara has had enough kisses from her baby sis I gently remove Gia from the situation and direct her attention towards another activity. In the same way when Zara is licking Gia’s face ferociously to welcome her home from our shopping trip, I divert Zara’s attention so Gia can catch her breath.

Both Zara and Gia are our girls. One I gave birth to and the other I didn’t but that doesn’t mean Zara cannot be a fully fledged member of our family. It is possible to keep your fur babies as part of your family when you welcome a human baby. I struggle to understand why some people find it so difficult. Some days are harder than others, being new parents is tough. There is nothing easy about raising a tiny human but I honestly couldn’t imagine doing this without Zara. She’s licked away plenty tears and endured hours of cuddling when we are too tired to run around and play. Zara has embraced her role as big sis and we couldn’t be prouder!

If you are pregnant or recently welcomed a newborn into your family and have fur babies too, I really hope this post has inspired you. It is ok to have pets and babies!

ps: The photos used in this post are 100% natural and unfiltered. They’re personal photos I wanted to share to give you a glimpse of how my girls interact on a real level. They’re not posed and beautifully edited. They’re beautiful moments simply captured on my iPhone 🙂

Thank you for reading.

20
Aug
2018

Oscar.

categories: Oscar

How do you say goodbye to your best friend? I still don’t know even after losing you.

You were my best friend and at times my only friend! We were together for almost fifteen years, and I would say the most important fifteen years of life. I was sixteen years old and trying to find my way, you gave me purpose and responsibility.

This tiny bundle of excess skin, ears and paws came into my life and it was without a doubt love at first sight. I was literally obsessed with you. I guess I felt like a new mum does after giving birth to her child, I was proud of you, showing you off at every chance I got and one hundred percent devoted to you.

The cuddles we shared were endless and of course the best. No ones cuddles can compare to your cuddles my boy. You wanted to be on top of me all the time, at the very least right beside me. Nicknamed my cuddle bug for a very good reason, we would snuggle under the duvet for hours. In those moments my heart was completely at peace. As you got older your cuddling intensified, as if that was possible. Spoilt with an Egyptian cotton duvet set because quite frankly I wouldn’t have it any other way! The way your tail would wag when you were dreaming made my heart burst with happiness. I always hoped you were dreaming of me 🙂

Our time in South Africa, and most of your life, we enjoyed quite a few beach holidays together. Those holidays were my absolute favourite ones. You even managed to escape out the gate of my grandmothers house and I spent two hours looking for you in the pouring rain sobbing my heart out, convinced you were gone and a cane rat had eaten you! Listening with your ears was never your strong point so luckily I found you, harnessed you up and took you home. Phew!

You loved our holidays at the beach, well the beach sand in particular. Digging trenches for days and managing to get yourself totally covered from snout to tail. It was all such fun.

When your dad came into our lives thirteen years ago, you were not sold on the idea of having to share me. In fact I don’t think you ever were, haha! You were convinced I could only cuddle you and give only you my undivided attention. Of course I was on your side and it was definitely a ‘Love Me Love My Dog’ kinda situation… Luckily that didn’t put dad off at all. I think it made him love you even more because he knew you would protect me no matter what. It showed your loyalty towards me.

Then it was time for our Zambian adventure to commence. With you by my side I knew I could handle anything. Our flight to Zambia was the longest two hours of my whole life. I was a nervous wreck. So many thoughts were running through my mind. Were you scared, were you warm enough, was it too loud for you. We landed, I rushed through customs, collected our baggage, gave dad a half hearted hug and kiss and immediately said “We need to get Oscar NOW”. Bearing in mind it was about forty degrees celsius outside and now I was worried you would overheat or dehydrate. Dad firmly told me to wait in the car while he goes inside, he didn’t want me to get upset if I saw something I wasn’t happy with. Dad came rushing out the cargo hold to call me, I bounced out the car because I thought something was wrong… I peered into the hold and saw the most gorgeous boy sitting so proper and so calm in his specially made flight crate. A wave of massive relief and happiness flooded over me. My boy was totally fine. He handled that plane trip like a champ! Our new adventure had just begun…

You were never the ‘fetch’ kind of pup and as a result your toys just piled up until your toy boxes were overflowing. Enter Zara… All your toys were gone within a few weeks! I was a little apprehensive about getting Zara because we had been kicked out of two different doggy schools for your apparent aggression towards any other dog in your need to protect me. Ooops…

Needless to say, you were a fantastic big brother to Zara. You don’t show your emotions like Zara does, but in your own way you adored her and she knew it. You taught her so much, how to eat like a lady, how to model like a beauty queen and most importantly how to cuddle.

You were an amazing big brother to our bunny babies too. So kind and gentle towards them. You taught Zara gentleness too. She watched how you loved your bunny babies and copied you.

To say that I miss you is a serious understatement. In fact there are no words to describe the feeling of loss that I have. I wake up every morning and see your empty bed, and the pain in my heart from the day before returns. At night I still make your bed in the exact way you loved it. I don’t think I will ever stop making your bed. Zara sniffs your bedding, does some twirls and then settles down for a while before going off to her own bed. She misses you too.

Stylish Paws and everything about it was created because of you. It started off as just a small website selling one item, now I have a beautiful online store that showcases stylish and unique pet goodies plus this amazing blog. I am so proud of Stylish Paws and what I have made it into, but it’s all because of you my boy! You will always be the face of Stylish Paws. I will never stop sharing you with the world. I will push through the pain and promise to keep moving forward. Product reviews and photoshoots will never be the same without you but I promise to showcase Zara in the best way I know how. I promise to carry on for you.

The love and support I have received from the amazing Instagram community that I find myself in has been overwhelming. I continue to get messages asking how we as a family are coping, genuine messages of love and concern for us. Instagram is a wonderful thing, I have made some beautiful friendships thorough the app. It was the place I started sharing Oscar first. The place where people started falling in love with him, people from all over the world. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Life goes on and for the time being we are adjusting and learning how to do life without Oscar. It’s tough, extremely tough. I have only known life in Zambia with Oscar. We started this adventure together, now I have to carry it on. Zara has brought immense joy into our family and I do believe that she has helped me with this huge loss. I thank my husband for her. I thank him for having the foresight of knowing and understanding I would need her to get through this.

Oscar, I will never stop loving you.

Until we meet again…

Love always

Mom

xoxox