Frequently asked questions
How old is Pokey?
As of July 2022, Pokey is six years old. She turned six on April 11. Her birthday is April 11, 2016.
Have you had Pokey since she was a puppy?
I've had her since she was 8 weeks old. I simultaneously cannot believe that she is already 6, and that I have only had her for 6 years! I cannot remember my life before her or imagine my life without her!
What is Pokey’s favorite indoor activity?
While Pokey is a smaller dog, she is very active and very energetic and has a huge zest for life! Pokey LOVES playing ball - indoors or outdoors! We play a lot of ball with her automated ball launcher indoors, and ball in the park outdoors.
The automatic ball launcher is this gadget seen here.
I bought mine on Amazon here.
What is Pokey’s favorite outdoor activity?
Pokey loves hiking with Mamma and going to the beach. We are lucky to live in San Francisco and have lots of outdoor dog friendly places to visit together. Not only do we explore San Francisco, but we also love traveling to the surrounding areas like Carmel-by-the-Sea, Napa, Yosemite, Tahoe etc. Pokey is a great traveler and does really well on our many excursions!
Where do you live and what do you love most about it ?
Pokey and I live in San Francisco, CA. I love that San Francisco is super dog friendly. Dogs outnumber children in San Francisco and I read that there are an estimated 120,000 dogs in San Francisco! In fact, a recent study of the country's most pet-friendly cities ranked San Francisco as number one! I love that I can generally take Pokey with me everywhere I go!
How much does Pokey weigh?
As of July 2022 - Pokey weighs about 20 lbs on a good day and 21 lbs on a fat day!
How did you teach Pokey to be off-leash?
I get asked that very often. I didn’t consciously or teach her anything other than making sure that she has a really good stay. We did agility classes when she was younger and she had to learn to stay in that, and that really helps when i want her to stop and stay. But it was mostly just her personality- even as a puppy I noticed always take me to see where I was. Always eyes on mom. Whenever we went to a park or anything like that, she would do her own thing and then he immediately turned around to make sure that I was there. And the second that she couldn’t see me, she came looking for me. So that gave me a lot of confidence then she wasn’t looking to wander off. She has this weird fear that she’s going to be abandoned? Which is really just shocking and surprising to me because I have literally never abandoned her 😂
So I started slowly by letting her off leash in places that I felt comfortable. And then increased it to letting her off leash when we walk outside. And now she’s just off leash unless I’m in a rush and can’t wait for her to stop and smell everything and annoy the effing shite out of me by being ridiculously slow. But I always leash her up if there’s too much chaos or confusion or too many dogs or something like that around.
I also think that the fact that we live in a city and don’t have a yard contributes to this because every single day Pokey leaves the house goes outside and sees loads of other people and dogs. And so going outside is not that exciting to her and most the time she just wants to go home to her heater anyways 😂😂 It takes like the thrill in adventure out of being outside the house since she has to do it every single day.
How did you get Pokey to enjoy water and swimming?
Pokey would see all the other dog swimming in a dog friendly pond near our house and I could tell that she was definitely very interested. She just wouldn’t go in herself so I actually went into the water with her. And then I threw a ball and she instinctively doggy paddled towards it. She was definitely scared and nervous, but her love of ball overcame the fear 😂
But I think you just have to know your dog. I knew that if I put Pokey in an uncomfortable situation but I was there with her and made it entertaining, that she would be fine. She’s not an anxious dog usually. So I was comfortable kind of forcing the situation upon her.
What is Pokey’s favorite treat?
Pokey is actually a really picky eater and so she has a fairly standard diet. She largely eats beef, because she’s mildly allergic to chicken. She doesn’t eat any raw food because I can’t get her to eat anything like that. She eats a really high fiber kibble that’s been prescribed because she has a really hard time pooping. Or at least she would take forever to find a spot to poop and I got exhausted waiting for her to poop. So the vet prescribed her a really high fiber kibble that helps her go to the bathroom quickly.
Pokey is such a picky eater that I don’t usually give her treats. She just doesn’t eat them, and I end up wasting money on stuff she doesn’t eat. I know that probably sounds kind of shocking. She gets two meals a day. She only gets treats when we’re training on some thing or if it’s part of an enrichment game where I hide the treats and let her do some nose work to keep her busy! Then she gets this treat called k9 magic - it’s a super healthy roll that I cut up into little pieces and hide in toys and stuff. Or she gets beef liver treats.
This is the K9 Magic treat that she eats:
https://www.planetbluedog.com/products/k9-magic?variant=31453591961715
This is the beef liver treat that she eats:
Has Pokey ever tried to eat her own poop?
Luckily Pokey has never tried to eat her own poop. When Pokey was a puppy, the puppy trainer I was working with told me not to yell at my dog when they poop inside the house because then they will be tempted to eat the poop to hide it from you. That completely horrified me and I had nightmares of my dog eating her poop. So that is actually when I bought a nest camera that looked at her pen so that I could see what she was doing. She has never eaten her poop or anything like that, but I do know that there are lots of dog owners that struggle with this!
Is Pokey spayed and if yes, when did you spay her?
I spayed Pokey pretty early on because I work full-time and no Dog Walker or daycare in San Francisco would take an un-spayed dog. So Pokey was spayed at around five months. I have read though that it is better to spay your dog after they’ve gone through their first heat cycle - which is usually around six months. However, the vet said it was fine to spay her earlier, and I live in a condo building, no yard, and really didn’t have any means or support in handling a dog at home until she was in heat, so I had to get her spayed earlier. My mom was visiting me and could take care of Pokey after her surgery and it seemed like a good time to just get it done so I did it a little earlier. I also think that being a city dog who encounters other dogs every single day, it’s very hard to have an un-spayed dog. There’s no back yard where you can just let the dog run around. You walk your dog outside every single day and see lots of other dogs.
However, I have read that there are benefits to dogs getting spayed only after they go through their first heat - they don’t have certain hormones or something like that and some people think it’s better to wait. I don’t know the details and I’m sure it can be googled.
How often do you bathe Pokey?
Pokey gets her paws rinsed almost every day. Wipes are not good enough because we live in the city and it’s definitely dirty. I generally don’t give Pokey a shampoo bath more than twice a month. But I rinse her down with water especially when we go to the beach and she’s covered in sand. I put fish oil in her food to counteract any dryness.
I can’t get my dog to cuddle with me. How do you get Pokey to cuddle with you?
I force Pokey to cuddle with me. I have no shame in the forced cuddling game.
I grab Pokey, and hold her close to me until I feel her will to resist subside. And then my heart is happy.
Are there many bostons in San Francisco?
Oh yes. Tons of Boston’s. There are also tons of dogs in San Francisco. In fact there are more dogs than children in San Francisco!
Where did you get Pokey?
I made Pokey. With my own two hands. Seriously.
How did you pick the name Pokey?
I get asked this so often, I decided to write a blog post about it here!
What does the name Pokey mean?
I ALSO get asked this very often, so I decided to write another blog post about where I think the name Pokey comes from here!
Is Pokey difficult when taking medication?
She is so so so so difficult. It is sometimes impossible to get her to take it and I generally have to shove everything down her mouth.