A new look

With a teeny tiny bit of mom's help I have designed a new blog look. Personally, I think it is very cool, but these things always look different on other people's computers so we thought we would get some feedback.

Usually the issue is the width of the page, we have our screen resolution set quite high 1290 x 1024 which is actually the standard now but if you have yours set lower then this, you may see the scroll bar and not all of the page will appear on your screen. Sorry if this happening to you.

Apart from this though, is it readable to you? I spent a lot of time adjusting the transparency of the background so the black text would show up nicely. My mom has some issues with colored text so we kept it black so she could read it. So what do you think........what are your thoughts?

Out and About

Mom Dad and I decided to go for a drive this morning and we went off to Petco to get my special food. Due to my food allergies I can only eat a special food that is made of sweet potato and venison. It is a L.I.D (limited ingredient diet) food and Petco are the only ones that carry this brand. After having a look around, checking out the birds and the rabbits and the smelly rats we went to checkout and of coarse get my cookie. It wasn't my usual cashier so mom had to show her which cookie I was allowed to have. After we got that I reminded mom that a new PetSmart had just open up and that we should go for a look. So off we went, over the river and into Iowa. We drove a way I had never been before and it was fun seeing it all. We finally got there and it was a very nice store and look what I got, two free frisbees and they are the small ones that I like, a free nail trim and they took my photo and made a button badge of me and that was free too. I got to meet lots of other dogs and got lots of pats and even a hug from a little girl. The staff there also complimented me on being the most well behaved doggie they had seen. My Sunday has been most enjoyable, hope everyone had a great day too.

Wordy Wednesday - Combs

The word for today is COMBS

Okay, so if your moms and dads are like mine they have probably bought a dozen combs and brushes trying to find the 'perfect' one. Well my mom got one the other day which she loves and of coarse I hate ......but she says I should share it with you anyway. This is actually a cat comb (the indignity of it) and it has teeth that spin and that makes it easier to go through the fur, especially any matts or tangles.

Mom always grumbles about combing my tush area as the under coat is extremely thick there for some reason and all the brushes and combs we have tried don't really get through that undercoat. Well, this little comb did the job. Mom started at the bottom of my legs and worked her way up layers and YES, she got all that undercoat completely combed. Personally, I didn't see anything wrong with a slighted matted undercoat as it is 'underneath' where no one would see it......but you know how moms are, she said SHE KNEW it was matted and that was a good enough reason. So the word for today is combs......and finding a good one.

PS : All the little Sheltie Charms have new homes now - I will get them in the post tomorrow.

A give away

When we went to the State Park on the weekend, mom was having a look around the gift shop while dad was renewing our permit. It's probably an odd thing to find at a State Park, but they had these wonderful little Sheltie charms. Mom has three spare ones that we are going to give to the first three doggies that ask for them. She said they are probably too heavy to be on a charm bracelet but are great on a key ring. They are an inch long and were only 99 cents each. Mom says she thinks they wrong the price on them as she seen the same thing else where and they cost much much more. So......if you would like a little Sheltie charm, just leave a message and send your mailing address to me at cowspotdog@mail.com Personally I think the legs are way too short - it reminds me of a long haired Franklin (corgi) BOL

Two of the teeny shelties have homes - one is going to Josh and Jess and one to Marie - still one left.

Reilly got mail!

I be so excited today - I got my first ever mail - addressed to me !!!!! Katie sent me a thank you card. I had to give it a good sniffing all over too before I let the mom open it for me and then had to give it another sniffing when the card came out. Mom is putting it in my "Life of Reilly" book for me - she keeps lots of interesting photos and bit and pieces in that.

Today was the last of the Spring weather we will be seeing for the next week - it is dropping from 60's down to 40's again, so the mom and I went for a nice long walk with Franklin and his mom. We even saw a bunny sitting in the middle of the road. Luckily it was a road that there is no traffic on but it still seemed an odd place to sit. We also went to PetSmart and you never guess what - there was a cat there that looked just like me! It had long fluffy fur and was white and black. But you know what was terrible - mom said she would like to have that CAT!!! I just looked at her like she had lost her mind - it's a cat and cats are those things that sit on the other side of my fence tormenting me. I pulled the mom away from the adoption center as quick as I could. I don't know - what would mom's do if we didn't have the common sense to make decisions for them?

Platt River State Park

Mom dad and I went off to renew our State Park Permit this morning which meant I also got to GO to the State Park. Platt River is one of my favorite places and in a couple of weeks it will be green again. As you can see, it is still pretty brown from winter at the moment. I do think considering it is now officially Spring that they could and take the signs down....as there was not a speck of ice to be seen any where and I checked every where just to make sure!!!! Of coarse the best thing about the state parks is all the great smells......here I am checking out something. I don't know what it was but it sure smelled good. We saw deer prints everywhere, so maybe a deer had passed by this bush.
















Wow, we walked and walked and then we came to the lake and I must admit I was a bit worried when I saw they saw these things on the water. They kind of reminded me of that killer duck, but mom said these were not ducks, they were geese. They were very very noisy what ever they were and they followed us right around the lake. There are actually cabins that people can rent at this park and they are right near this lake. Mom thinks people come down and feed the geese as they were very friendly. Personally, I didn't trust them......they looked to much like ducks to me.

















And then here I am at the top of hill......I was King of Hill!!!! Mom said I look so proud sitting there looking over the whole park. And finally here I am next to my car. Mom got me a nice drink of water and then I flopped on the back seat for a nap all the way home.

True Color Thursday

Here is our True Color Thursday. Not as interesting as Ludo's colors or his flying picture - you have got to see that one it is so pawsome!!! Green is a popular color around our house though and this what mom and I found just in her craft room. Hope you all have a wonderful green Thursday. I have to race outside again as I saw one of those pesky ground squirrels poke its head out for the first time since last year.......and I am determined to catch one this year. Mom thinks they are cute but they are what they are - squirrels and that means they have to be chased. Oh, these are not like normal squirrels, these love being out during the day, enjoy the sunshine and they live in holes in the ground. They are classed as vermin where we live and they can cause a lot of damage with their digging. They are very small....only about 6" in legnth and a lot of people think they are chipmunks but actually they are not. Gotta go...woofitty woofs

Sun, fresh air !

Yesterday it reached 73 and today 71. It has just been wonderful. This morning the mom was feeling good so off we went over to my little buddy Franklin's house. There he was waiting on the steps for me and then his mom and my mom, Franklin and me, we all set off on a walk. Dog oh dog, it felt so good to be enjoying the warm weather. We took Franklin a way he hadn't been before so of coarse he had to stop ever two feet for a sniff. We met a little min-pin called Toby and then a standard poodle and you will never guess what his name was - Toby!!!! We did think a little rude when he just stepped over Franklin - sure the little dude is short but a dog doesn't have to rub it in! We are already seeing lots of green shoots in the grass and the air seems full of birds all twittering. This afternoon, the mom and I have just been sitting outside enjoying the weather. And the best part is more people are out walking and they all have to come by my yard so I get to bark like crazy and say hello to everyone. Ah, spring......makes a dog feel good!

Dad won't let me in!

My mom - she love me so much she went and got me this huge big yummy bone. I sniffed at it, I tasted it and YES it was perfect. I even had to hold my nose up to the wind so the flavor could roll around in my mouth a little. After half an hour of chomping it outside, I decided to come back in....and you know what - Dad wouldn't let me bring my bone in!!!! So I sat outside refusing to drop it and he still wouldn't let me bring it in. I mean to bark....what is a dog to do. You can't leave a delicious bone like this outside - for dogs sake, a cat might come along and look at it or another dog might come and try to steal it. Those pesky ground squirrels might even come of their winter hiding spot and try nibbling on it. So I sat there, waiting and holding my bone, holding and holding and holding. Dad just kept saying drop the bone and you can come in and eventually I did, but then I kept worrying about and wanted out again. Sigh, guarding a yummy bone is a hard job!

I be nominated - thank you Travis

I am honored .....Travis has nominated me for his Supa Saturday award....please do visit Travis and vote for one of the blogs he has listed....and it doesn't have to be mine......just which ever you like.

Supa Saturday!!!

Welcome Back to Supa Saturday everyone!!!
Last week was a grrrreat success with Suzuki winning the first ever Supa Saturday award!!!
After lots of thinking I have finally decided the nominees.
The Nominees Are.....
Reilly at http://cowspotdog.blogspot.com/
The 3 happy heelers at http://gustheblueheeler.blogspot.com/
The OP Pack at http://thechronicleofwoos.blogspot.com/
And Maya at http://fortheloveoftwilight.blogspot.com/

Good Luck to all the nominees
Hope you have a pawsome day
Love Travis The Dog!!

True Colors - Violet

I thought I would join Ludo in a True Color Thursday game - which for us dogs is a bit odd because we are supposed to be color blind! Mom says violet is such a beautiful color and that Prince Charles violets are her favorite flowers because of the wonderful perfume. She says defining (what ever that means) what exactly is the color violet is not so easy. So we found a photo of some violets and went looking for some colors that matched that...and this is what we found. My activity toy, some push pin, mom's glasses case, a scrappy thing mom made and a can of air. The other thing mom has was the flowers in the background - she uses them a lot in when she is scrap booking (which I call ignoring Reilly time) I must say, I think violet goes very well with my coloring BOL! Remember you can click on the photo to see is larger. This was lots of fun hunting for things so hopefully we can join Ludo in another color next week.

Wordless Wednesday

I went to the post office

Okay, so the mom and I had a lot of parcels to send out this morning...so off we went to the post office over on the Military Base. Two of the parcels are from me and are going to Ludo and Katie for them finding the paw prints. Katie should get hers by the end of the week.....but I am not sure how long Ludo's will take.... it should be there by the end of next week. Apart from that, not a lot is happening. It is cold and raining today so there is not much do apart from nap.

PS : In between naps I was pawing the net a little and came across this cool site called Dogs In The News.

What was hiding in the grass.....

This is what we saw hiding in the grass. Mom says it is a possum but that it doesn't look anything like the possums she knows from back in Australia which she says all tend to have big eyes and look very cute. Mom was a bit worried about this little guy though as he just sat there looking at us, it didn't hiss or growl or try to run away even when I got close. Mom wouldn't let me get really close though as she knows animals here in the USA can have Rabies and she was pretty sure this guy could probably give a pretty good bite if it wanted too. - I guess he was doing what they do best - playing possum!!!

Bargain Alert !!!!

Mom Dad and I went to PetSmart and Petco this morning and at Petco we found this Coolaroo Bed out for $7.00 (normally $29.99) These are Australian made which made mom happy as she has always has these for her dogs back home BUT she also thought that for anyone wanting for a cheap "pause/wait" table for agility practice - you can't go pass this at the price. They also have smaller one available for $5.00. So if you live in the USA and have a Petco nearby, you might want to go and check it out. They are in the section where the normal pet beds are. Have a great weekend everyone.

I hear noises

I decided the mom needed some sunshine this afternoon so off we went to the leash free park. Now some of you may remember the 'incident' with the killer duck that suddenly flew straight at my head on one of my visits to the park. Well, ever since then I have been a bit weary about getting to close to the long grass. So there I was, happily enjoying all the great smells when there was a "rustle rustle" sound from the grass. I stopped and listened intently and then darn my curiosity....I just had to go and look and you will never guess what I saw..................................

Just been quiet

We haven't really been doing much of late and hopefully we have seen the last of the heavy snows and spring will be just around the corner. I can hardly wait, I so miss going to the parks. Mom was bored the other day and made this postcard of who else but me! She printed them out on some special post card backing so they look just like a real postcard.

Dawn and Katie asked where we got the postcard backs - mom buys them on Ebay - you can see them here or if you do a search on Google you will find them to0. Search on self-adhesive postcard backs or sticky postcard backs.

I know a few people have mentioned about making their own agility equipment, here are some of the websites we found useful. We made all of ourt equipment and it cost less then $60 to make jumps, weave poles, chute, hoop etc.

http://members.peak.org/~helix/Agility/

http://www.dogplay.com/Activities/Agility/agilitye.html

http://www.freewebs.com/hmagility/index.htm