Cowspotdog

Mishmash Monday 2

2012-02-20T06:54:00.002-06:00

Trying to get all three dogs in one picture and getting them all facing in the right direction in nearly impossible. In this shot Jackson has his head through a little gap in the fence, Reilly's tail got caught by a gust of wind and looks like a big feather duster (either that or he had some powerful gas ! ) and Denny wasn't sure which way to go.

Nothing like a little sunshine

2012-02-18T10:40:00.008-06:00

We had some wonderful sunshine yesterday afternoon, it was even warm enough for Mom to come outside with us and play for a while. We had a game of zoomies first and then fetch the stuffy toy. After that we chased a ball around for awhile.

We also discovered that the corgi that lives in the house behind us is called Bolo and that we don't like him AT ALL. Mom thinks it odd I don't like him as Franklin (back in Nebraska) was my bestest buddy ever and he was a corgi. Of coarse Franklin was a real laid back little dude where as Bolo seem hyper and always jumps at at our fence. Cousin "IT" (Jackie) in particular doesn't like Bolo and goes CRAZY when he sees him near the fence.

But even the bad Bolo couldn't stop us enjoying the sunshine and we even smiled nicely for the "mom's flashy beast". Today on the other hand is cold, grey and they say we might even get some snow tonight. Sounds like a even better day to me.

True Colors Thursday - Week 5 - Aqua

2012-02-15T20:50:00.005-06:00

This weeks color for True Colors Thursday is another nice easy one - Aqua. The challenge was to find items that are aqua in color or have aqua in them - the twist was to show a photo that had aqua (water) in it.

Here are my finds
Me looking VERY worried because towels means B.A.T.H Mom's bathroom has all aqua colored mats and towels in it and it's somewhere I try to stay out of!

This was an aqua colored hot spot remedy we tried - it didn't work but is a pretty color

And finally - for the twist - this is MY favorite little lake - sigh - can't wait until spring comes and it looks like this again

Oh we forgot to mention, Mom goes to the surgical hospital today where she will be having pain blockers put in her spine. Please keep her in your thoughts - it only takes a few hours and she will be home this evening and hopefully it will help Mom a lot.

Wonderful Wednesday Review With Denny #1

2012-02-14T12:22:00.008-06:00

The other day the Mommy was wandering around in Bed Bath & Beyond when she bumped into a table. (She tends to be a bit clumsy that way) She suddenly heard something VERY familiar and turned around - it was a hole bunch or babble balls and they were ALL talking!

Now you have all seen me with my Babble Ball - which I totally love and play with all the time - but this one is smaller and has ridges on it rather then a smooth surface like my medium sized one has. It makes it much easier to pick up! These balls do actually have a battery inside them and you have to remove some screws to get to it - we haven't had to change the battery yet (Mommy just wanted to see how it worked inside so she took mine apart - can you believe that!!!!) Luckily for her it still worked when she put it back together again or I would not of been a happy Denny - no sireeeee!

This smaller ball would definitely be good for smaller dogs and costs $4.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond. Mom also had a 25% off everything coupon she used, so it didn't cost her that much. She bought a few other 'doggie' things that I be reviewing on other Wonderful Wednesdays so stay tuned !

Happy Valentines

2012-02-14T07:31:00.005-06:00

I am not quite the big fluffy handsome guy I use to be and I itch and scratch a lot - but if you will still have me beautiful Miss Katie - will you be my valentine?

Mishmash Monday 1

2012-02-13T11:18:00.005-06:00

We are playing along with Sara's Mishmash Monday where photo's that are not so great get to see the light of day. We have soooooo many of those! This one had not only our tug rope in the picture, but the camera cord as well. GaWoof Gawoof.......it looks like Mom is threatening to "hang us" if we don't co-operate and look at the flashy beast :) Now you know how Mom does eventually get us to look in her direction - we LOVE our tug rope and any time she picks it up - she has our attention. Come and join in and show us your pics that didn't quite work the way you wanted them too.

Bone Stealer

2012-02-12T08:32:00.006-06:00

I am NOT letting you move until you give me back my bone. I may be small but I can still stand over you (but only if you are laying down) MOM! tell him to give my bone back !

The right foot shoe monster

2012-02-10T16:47:00.005-06:00

Some years ago we had a shoe monster at our house. It didn't do anything bad - but shoes and socks would mysteriously end up outside. Okay, I admit it...... it was me. One has to remember though, that we dogs have very sensitive noses and dads shoes and sock did offend my senses somewhat so I figured I would just leave them outside to air. Well now there is a NEW shoe monster in the house and NO - it isn't me! This one ONLY ever takes the right shoe and ONLY ever chews on the right corner at the front. It also ONLY takes Mom's shoes which is not making her at all happy. Mom grew up not wearing shoes and has bad arthritis is her feet so finding extra wide, extra soft and small shoes is difficult and when she does....they are prized possessions. To find that a monster has blatantly attacked them and gnawed to corner off 3 right shoes and has not touched the left ones has her somewhat annoyed and a little perplexed.

Now personally I have a theory about this. I am pretty sure it involves the 'youngest' member of our family - although he is not the smallest. I would call him middle sized. I do believe he is white and tan in color and has been known in the past to be a trouble maker. I am pretty sure you can guess who I think the shoe monster is. As is stands now the Shoe Monster is up for three and the Shoes are running at zero - it is a trend Mom fully intends to turn around!

An Allergy Up-date

2012-02-10T05:11:00.000-06:00

I thought I would give you update on my allergies. So far there has been no improvement in terms of my itching and scratching - but we didn't expect there to be. That sweet lady dermatologist vet did say it would need to build up in my system before we start seeing any difference and that could take between 2 and 12 months.

The good news is my fur doesn't seem to be falling out much. Mom is not sure if that is the antibiotics or special shampoo that is helping or I just that I don't have much fur left to fall out. She is very sad to see I have lost my big rough around my neck but she tells me everyday - all day -that I am still her special beautiful boy. Geesh Mom - you sure know how to embarrass a guy!

I can't say I am 'liking' the injections (of allergy serum) but I don't really mind them either. Mom is very very gentle and always makes sure they are in a different spot each time. Getting me to take my pills is a challenge though, I went off the pill pockets so mom switched to cheese but I went off that too - so now I get my pills wrapped in a little prosciutto - gawoof gawoof ...I wonder what Mom will try next?

Mom has also sprayed the back garden to get rid of the ragweed (that is all the green you can see in the background). Mom hates having to use any chemicals in our backyard but she searched around to a pet friendly one and we are giving it try. There was just way to much for her dig up - but she did remove the bigger plants that were flowering.

We noticed a few of you asked if I had been tested for food allergies - and the answer is YES. I am allergic to any kind of poultry and grains and I don't do well on beef either, although the occasional bone doesn't bother me to much so long as there isn't any meat on it (sigh - the best part I might add).

And YES - we have pet health insurance for those that asked. It REALLY helped us out with the cost of this allergy treatment. Okay, that is enough for today, I am off to enjoy some cool outside and to dream of a nice meaty bone.

True Colors Thursday - Week 4 - Eucalyptus

2012-02-09T08:09:00.007-06:00

We are playing True Colors Thursday - which is all about taking a bit time to find something with or of a particular color. Now you don't have to be a great photographer to join in, it is just a fun thing and you will be amazed when you start looking - what you can find. Finn found the most amazing Eucalyptus colored floor tiles in the elevator where her Mom works and while at the pharmacy saw some eucalyptus cough drops! Blue found an amazing eucalyptus colored bowl and a cute Koala a penfriend from many years ago sent her and Mitch found a eucalyptus leaf wreath at his house and some Australian stamps that came on a card from a doggie friend in Australia. It can be anything and doesn't have to include us (doggies or critters) in the picture and it is amazing what interesting stories come with the things people find. You can even find colors of the things while out shopping - just grab your phone and snap away and you don't even have to buy anything :) So why not join us - we have a new color every Thursday and you have a whole week to find it! We also add an interesting twist each week. For this week - given that Eucalyptus is native to Australia the twist was to find something related to Australia and take a photograph of it.

Here are our photos. This was the "Wuzster" (Denny) when he was just a puppy (and he still is!) digging in Mom's plant pots. She doesn't know how many times she rescued her prized Eucalyptus tree from his paws - but it is quite a few. (That is it on the right of the photo) And for something Australian, Mom has this wonderful hand painted bag that she uses when she goes grocery shopping. (Yeah - that is me not looking happy about having my photo taken with it!) So what you waiting for - head on over to the True Colors Thursday Blog and join in! Next weeks color is Aqua - so start looking and remember it doesn't have to be a perfect match - just close to it so go out hunting and have fun!

Wordless Wednesday 02/08/12

2012-02-08T08:21:00.003-06:00

Getting up is so tiring !

2012-02-07T13:34:00.006-06:00

We all have our little rituals and I kind of forget mine when Mom took me to that cold and bad Knee-braska place. Well now I am back home, I am remembering how good those old rituals were and I am re-instating them. I begins my day by getting up out of my nice comfy basket bed and then do a funny wibbly wobbly walk until my blankie falls off - (it just loves me and wants to stay close but Mom doesn't like finding it outside). I then toter outside to check and leave some pee-mail before racing inside to where my breakfast is waiting. Now sometimes I will gobble this down and other times I don't feel like breakfast. I then scurry into the living room where the 'other mommy' sits and I bounce straight up in the chair next to her.

Now I am a leaning-cuddler type of guy and I love being in the crook of 'other mommies' arm. This way I can see out the breakfast room window and keep an eye on those naughty little birdies called sparrows. But it is soooooo tiring getting up, checking the yard and having breakfast that eventually - YES- you guessed it, I have to settle down with 'other mommy' for a nice nap. My head starts to get heavy as I listen to the 'other mommies' heartbeat and eventually those eyelids of mine just won't stay open a moment longer........unless I hear those little sparrows chirping and then I am off and out the doggie door faster then speeding train, a bullet - heck I could even given superman a run for his leotards :) Do you have a morning ritual at your house?

Let's Jump and Bounce !

2012-02-05T10:18:00.011-06:00

Mommy says we need to get more exercise before spring comes, so we have been watching some doggie movies like Air Bud to see the best way to get some. Today we have been practicing our jumps and getting some 'air"

What do you think, can we do a "slam dunk" with these moves. Personally, I think it is those weird beans and lentil things Mommy has been adding to our food. Can you believe Dr W. our Vet said I was getting 'hefty' !!!! It's just my fur that is heavy I swear it is. How could I jump so well if I was hefty?

Then check out this second to last picture - can you see that Jackie pushing me out of the way with his paws...and I thought he was my little buddy! He can be a meanie when it comes to grabbing the toy off the Mommy. Pssssttt - between me and you - he's a bit of a show off with all his bouncing!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2012-02-02T21:50:00.004-06:00

Okay Mom Happy Birthday - NOW CAN WE EAT THE CAKE !

Lets Play!

2012-02-01T23:06:00.005-06:00

We had such a great day yesterday - it was a wonderful 69 degrees (pretty good for the middle of winter !) It was very overcast though and we had a pretty heavy fog hanging around most of the day but when it cleared up, it encouraged all of us (even Mom) to go outside and play. Check out the "IT" when he see's Mom has a toy, he came 'flyin' across the yard and BOUNCE - up he jumped ! Not be outdone of coarse even the "Wuzster" got in on the act. Hey Mom - are you feeding those guys jumping jelly-beans or something?

It all looked way to energetic to me so I just watched the dweebs being silly and when they dropped the toy, I picked up and took it back indoors. Mom says I was being a spoil sport, but I was just saving it from being de-stuffed by those two young-uns. It's supposed to be nice again today so maybe if I let Mom pat me and make a bit of a fuss of her she will take ME to the park for a nice long sniffing session and a bit of a walk.

My Turn - My Turn !

2012-01-29T18:10:00.005-06:00

It is me Denny and today it is my turn to hog the blog - just don't tell Weilly okay ! Now I know some of you may think Weilly doesn't like me much - but really he does - well he tolerates me at least and I know I am growing on him - day by day (he says that is because I am just like a fungus!) I mean to say - just look at these photos - he is actually letting me sit right next to him and don't we just look the cutest together!

I know we are different in many little ways - like my ears are up and his are down, he is quiet and placid and I am shy and nervous, he isn't scared of anything and I am scared of everything, he is big and tall and I am little, he likes soft treats and I like hard, he loves car rides and I am scared of them, he likes a hard floor to sleep on and I like my soft bed .....and the list could go on. But you know we are so similar too - we both love our walks and our breakfast and dinner, we both love playing bitey face and making funny noises while we do, we both love our Mom and Dad and when I am scared and need him for reassurance - he always lets me snuggle up close to him. I love my big brother and you know what - I kinda think he loves me a little bit too.

The Indignity of It

2012-01-29T17:59:00.004-06:00

There are some things a dog should NEVER be subjected too and having his photo taken while in the bath is one of them. The other is having to stand there for a whole 5 minutes while the yucky new shampoo does it's supposed magic on my itchy scratchy skin.

Okay, I admit it - my skin does feel better after having my bath BUT my pride and dignity may be irretrievably harmed! Mom says I am being melodramatic about the whole thing, but a dog has to stand for a what a dog has to stand for. Notice how I put on my very best "oh poor me" face. At least I got a nice treat after having to endure this humiliating experience.

The Emporer's New Coat

2012-01-29T17:40:00.008-06:00

Hello there it is me Jackkkkkeeeeeeee - Emperor of the Sundeck and here to show off the new coat that 'Other Mommy' bought me. Yeah - that is me "Ruff n Tough" I am one mean bad nosed dude - you can tell that by the skull and cross bones on my jacket and my shaking wobbly knees (looking around nervously encase Big Dog notices me on HIS bloggie)!

You are probably wondering why 'Other Mommy" bought me a new coat well "someone" who shall not be mentioned (but who can be clearly seen in the photo with me) decided I was a tug toy to be dragged around the garden by my very favorite hoody jacket. And when he finished doing that he decided my hoody was very tasty and gnawed a great big hole in the back of it (while I was still wearing it!) There was no fixing it and it passed quietly into the rag box never to be seen again - so then I didn't have a nice sweat shirt hoody to wear until "Other Mommy" spotted this one and got it for me. Note - she didn't get him one because he was so naughty! Don't you all think green in my color - Big Dog says I look like a gooey green slug !!!

Let the tears flow

2012-01-29T05:25:00.006-06:00

My Mom reads the oddest things and today on this especially sad day she remembered a passage from a book about a particular African tribe that believes when someone dies they are carried to the great resting place in a canoe and that everyone in the tribe must cry freely so that their tears become a river on which the canoe travels. Today our Dog with Blogs tribe must cry freely to help our dearest friend Miss Maggie on her travels to and across the rainbow bridge.

We thought a wonderful tribute to our dear friend would be to post about a particular memory (or post) about her that you remember. For us - we will always remember her entering our Pee-mail contest where we asked for doggies to send pics of themselves "checking" out pee-mail in their neighborhood. Miss Maggie took matters into her own paws though and decided it would be better to leave some pee-mail ! We loved it and Miss Maggie and Mitch actually won that contest and got their very own fire hydrant for their wonderful garden. We know that right now Miss Maggie is missing her Mom and Dad and her brother Mitch as much as they are missing her - but we also know she is running happily and checking all the pee-mail with so many of her dear friends right now in Rainbow land. Please stop by Maggie and Mitch's page and leave them some hugs and love.

In Memory of the Beautiful Maggie - our Pee-Mail Queen.

BIG Post - the results

2012-01-27T13:25:00.013-06:00

Sorry this is a a BIG post but I have such a lot to share. First of all we headed off and 6.30 am towards Memphis which is about an hour and a half away. It was VERY misty and rained just about the whole way there and back (actually it was worse coming back). Here we are on the bridge that crosses the Tennessee River between Arkansas and Tennessee. Can you see Memphis up ahead? No, that was how misty it was, you couldn't even see the big tall buildings, heck you couldn't even see the river! Here I am in the back seat secure and safe wearing my awesome lambswool harness (which it turns out was a BAD idea - more about that later)

We were a bit worried about the rush hour traffic, but as it turned out it was quite light and Mom and Dad even had time to go to Starbucks (Mom's love to splurge occasionally of a Vanilla Steamer which is just hot milk and vanilla all whipped up so it is frothy) Mom got me a nice cup of cool water too. I must say I REALLY like this vet's office and the VET - ohhhhh she was sooo sweet to me! Look, they have these pawesome big windows we can look out of while we were waiting. You can see me smiling as I am waiting with my Dad. They also has these pawsome photographs on the wall taken by a local photographer. Doesn't that look like a certain black Labradork (errrrr I mean Labradude) on the wall? One of the hardest things to photograph is a black dog - did you know that? It is because their coloring doesn't show their expressions as easily - but this guy was amazing!

Anyway in came Dr B - and she was just as cute as a button! She also has 2 shelties herself, a border collie an 2 mix breed dogs - all which she adopted. She couldn't believe how beautiful and placid I was and she kept rubbing my ears - how did she know I LOVE that.....I thought only my Mom knew that !

Dr B. carefully explained everything they would be doing and what they would be testing for and how they would do it. She said Mom and Dad could leave me and come back in an hour to get the results. I was more then happy to follow Dr B. and trotted happily down the hall with her. Mom and Dad went to have breakfast at a nearby I-Hop. Mom treated herself to a pancake with butter-pecan syrup. She LOVES I-Hop's butter-pecan syrup!

When they got back I came racing in to see them wagging my tail like crazy. Dr B came in and showed us the area they tested and explained the results. They tested 68 different allergens on me - 68! Do you see the size of that shaved spot! Heck - I am naked and now everyone can see how spotted I am under my coat. You can also see all the irritated areas !

Okay - the results. The rating is '0' for normal and '4' for severe.

I tested 4 on histamine levels, Ragweed (Dr B said I could of been a 6 on that it was so bad) Cocklebur and Goldrod and Black Ants and Cockroaches. Mom was befuddled by the cockroaches as she has never seen in the house or the garden. I am also allergic the Red Cedar and Juniper, sheep wool (hence the problem with my harness which has a sheep wool lining) human dander and dust mites. I am also allergic to Rye Grass and Couch as well as a few other plants. They didn't test for food allergies as we have already have that done and we know I am allergic to grains and any kind of poultry.

So there we have it....We left the Dr B's office over a $1000 lighter in the pocket and with some special serum that is made just for me and my allergies. Dr B. says it will take at least two months to start having any noticeable affect and could be up to a year before we get full results. I also have some special antibiotic shampoo and a spritz spray to use on my fur every day. She found when she shaved me that I have a bad skin infection and she thinks this is why my fur has been falling out. So I have antibiotics I have to take too. She also did a thyroid test and a blood panel as Shelties are prone to thyroid issues and that can also make fur fall out but mine came back normal and my blood panel was fine too except for the inflammation level - which is the allergies at work.

Can you believe Mom insisted I have my harness on for the ride back home even though it was made of sheep's wool. Hey, I just thought of something - how silly is it ...that a sheepdog is allergic to sheep !!!!!! I insisted sitting silly on the seat after she put it on as I wasn't happy about wearing it - but Mom said the road conditions were horrendous and she wasn't taking any chances.

Now luckily Mom is used to injections as she has to give herself one every morning - so this morning we started our new schedule where she gave me my injection first (that is the box at the bottom), and she filled out my record book and then she gave herself her injection. See..... Mom and I share so much in common! Mom says I also the biggest bravest boy - I didn't even wake up when she gave me my injection this morning. It goes between my shoulders and luckily I have quite a bit of 'padding' there so I didn't even feel it.

Of coarse there are lots of other things Mom has to do now to lessen my allergies.....as soon as we got home she went online to identify what this ragweed and other weeds look like - and YES we have heaps in our backyard! So tomorrow she will be going crazy with the hoe to remove as much as she can. She also has a big air purifier going near where I like to sleep and Dad is going to give me a bath this weekend. That is really something I could without is a weekly bath!

Now while Mom was out checking the garden this morning, she noticed all the fences were steaming - yes steaming. We thought it looked so weird we had to take a picture of it to share with you. You can see any of the photos bigger just by clicking on them.

So that was my adventure in Memphis. We didn't really get to see much of it because of the rain but I like spending time with my Mom and Dad - just the three of us. And paws crossed this treatment will help - we will certainly let everyone knows how it goes.

Hynotic gaze

2012-01-25T16:26:00.003-06:00

I came up with this pawsome plan to Hypnotize the Mommy and make her take me to Memphis with her. I tried telling her Weilly needs me there to hold his paw but she said I was being silly. So this is how it went.

Look into my eyes Mommy....look closely in my eyes.

Mommy - you will take me to Memphis.....you will take me to Memphis.

Your eyes are getting tired and your mind is now open to my suggestive thoughts....you WILL take Denny to Memphis with you and buy him lots of treats and toys.

Take Denny to Memphis....take Denny to Memphis.

Then the Mommy started talking to me.

Denny - you are getting sleepy, very sleepy

And Denny NO ! You are NOT going to Memphis.

You have to stay home with Jackie and his Mom.

You are getting sleepy Denny, you are relaxed and you will not miss Mommy at all....you are happy NOT to go Memphis.

[The Mom] guess that worked!!!!!

The one and ONLY cowspotdog !

2012-01-23T18:49:00.004-06:00

Yes, it is me, a little lighter in the coat then normal but here non the less - and look - I am smiling!!! I haven't really shared a lot about my itchy scratchy allergies so I thought I would give an update. Dad says they started in Nebraska (Mom doesn't remember that because she was in hospital) but they really went crazy when we all moved to Arkansas. Dr W. has had me on prednesone, different allergy medications, monthly allergy shots and the latest was a drug called Atopica (Cyclosporine). Mom has had this drug herself for the treatment of her Lupus - it is an immune suppressant and Mom was REALLY worried about me being on it as she remembered how REALLY sick it made her. After a lot of discussion between Mom, Dad and Dr W. it was decided to give it try as I was scratching so much I was getting sores and skin infections. Sadly, it didn't help at all (Mom does think it is related to my rapid hair loss though) and it was stopped. So now I will be putting on 'my blue suede shoes' and be 'walking in Memphis' later this week to see a specialist vet. Mom says it is a lady vet and I like lady vets - they are always so gentle with me. I am really hoping she can help me as I am not liking all the extra baths I have been getting lately. Did you know that long fur like mine can act like an air filter, allergens can get trapped in it thus making us more itchy then normal and that the only way to lessen this is regular baths! I told Mom I AM NOT a walking air filter...but she wouldn't listen and as much as I hate to admit, it does feel better to have regular bath at the moment. I will give an update when we have some news - until then I just have to keep the dweebs from hogging MY blog.

Ello - it's me Denny !

2012-01-22T20:30:00.004-06:00

Shhhh come closer - I have something to share but I don't want the Big Dog to hear. There is a reason you haven't seen much of him on his bloggie lately - see the Big Dog is a bit embarrassed. As some of you know he has been having some major problems with his allergies and this week Mom and Dad are taking him to see a specialist dermatologist vet in Memphis. In the meantime though the big dog has been shedding his coat - like excessively and he's a bit embarrassed about how thin it has got. I keep telling him he is still the most handsome biggest brother but he just grumbles about me being a "Wuzster". Mom and Dad tried everything they and local vet could think of to help him but nothing has worked. They have searched the internet and read everything they could on the matter. Sadly the specialist may have to shave his side so they can do some patch testing - he is not happy about that but Mom keeps telling him if it helps find out what is causing his allergies and we can treat it - then his beautiful fur will grow back and he won't be so itchy scratchy. Keep your paws crossed that the vet can do something for the Big Dog as he really isn't a happy or comfortable Big Dog at the moment.

Caught !

2012-01-20T17:05:00.004-06:00

Here I was thinking about devious ways to get back at the blog-hogging "IT" when he did it for me. This morning we suddenly heard "IT" barking and whining loudly outside and then the "Wuzster" also joined in. It sounded REALLY odd to the Mom so off she went outside to check what all the noise was about. Imagine her surprise when she saw "IT" had got into the veggie patch to do some digging - and gawoof gawoof "IT" couldn't get back out again! Personally I think Mom should have left the little blog-hogger there but nnnnnooooooooo she had to go and get him out. Luckily there are not any veggies growing in there - just some parsley that refuses to give in to the winter cold and some old tomato vines that Dad hasn't pulled out yet. You need to click on the second picture to see it big as the look on "IT's" face is priceless! Ahhh revenge is so sweet :) Hey Mom - instead of planting veggies again in spring why can't we just keep it as an "IT" pen?

The art of 'sunpuddling'

2012-01-18T14:42:00.011-06:00

Can you believe it - that Mr Big Dog (otherwise known as Reilly) has been woofing about renaming his blog to Cowspotdog And The Dweebs! The nerve of him especial as I am NOT a dweeb - I am a DORKY! (Dauchshund x Yorkie). 'Other Mommy' chuckles every time I say I am a Dorky - but I am not sure why - do you know why??????

Anyway, in response to such a blatant meanie attitude from Mr Big Dog...... I am dognapping his blog and making it all about ME - at least until he finds out and then I am going to run and hide under the deck where he can't reach me!

So here we go. Today I am going to teach you all step by step the finer art of sun-puddling. (did you know that sun-puddling spelled with a hyphen is actually in the dictionary!)

Step 1 - you must find the perfect sun-puddle first and for those that aren't sure, the perfect sun-puddle is warm and makes the floor all bright.
Step 2 - you have to really enjoy a good sun-puddle so this means rolling around in delight in it.

Step 3 - When you have finished having a a good roll then you need to rest a little. You don't want to overdo your sun-puddling.
Step 4 - Now this one is extremely important so focus here every pup. Next you have to look TOTALLY adorable so your Mommy or "Other Mommy" will say ohhhhhh how cute and adorable you are ..............and GIVE you a TREAT.

Step 5 - Of coarse you want them to think you are enjoying your sun-puddle sooooooo much that you are not REALLY interested in any old treat. (Even if it is my favorite Duck Jerky!)
Step 6 - You give a shrug and nonchalantly pick a piece up just to try it and then gobble it down FAST before the "Other Mommy" realizes she have given you 3.... yes {THREE} pieces. We were supposed to get a piece each gawoof gawoof!

And there you have it my fellow furbees. I am throwing out a challenge to each and every one of you - CLAIM THE SUN-PUDDLE - make it you own and show us all a picture of you enjoying it on your blogs. Well what are you waiting for? Oh woof - I think I hear Mr Big Dog coming!!!!

Arhhh arhhh arhhhh CHOOOOO

2012-01-17T13:28:00.004-06:00

{Arhhh arhhh arhhhh CHOOOOO}. Oh dogness, there seems to be something tickling my {arrrrrrccchhhoooo} nose and I just can't stop sneezing. I wonder what it could be and where it could of {arrrrrccchhhooooo} come from? "Other Mommy" says I am a very healthy doggie because I have a nice {arrrrrccchhhooooo} wet shiny nose - but what she didn't know {arrrrrrrrchooooo} was I stuck it in the water bowl to try and {arrrrccchhhoooooo} wash off the itchy thing. What do you think - does that look like long {arrrrccchhhoooooo} white hair....and where could that of come from I {arrrrccchhhoooooo} wonder?

For those having trouble finding some celestial blue for Thursday's color challenge (peeking over in Dawns direction) I have posted some photos of the items I found over on the True Colors Blog that may help :)

True Colors Thursday Blog

2012-01-14T18:19:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the confusion over the missing True Colors Blog. I had been informed by numerous people that original "True Colors" was no longer being updated and there were no challenges. Seems this wasn't quite correct and that Blue is still doing 'true colors' but on her own blog. I wanted to check with her whether she wanted to continue it and she said it would be okay to have both....so we are back and looking for more people to join in.

The first weeks challenge is already posted so head on over to the True Colors Thursday Blog and check it out. We have also created this button that you can add to your own blog and please let your buddies know the blog is up and running. Have fun looking for things to take photo's of and remember there is no rigid rules and everything is from your own perspective. http://truecolorthursday.blogspot.com/

Jackies Sunpuddles

2012-01-13T13:36:00.009-06:00

Shhh don't tell the big dog Reilly I am on his bloggie today. I have been doing some catching up on the all the bloggies and one of the things I love is Phantoms (from the Woos) use of the term sunpuddle. I LOVE LOVE LOVE sunpuddles and when those other two silly furballs are outside enjoying the cold I am inside (like any sane doggie would be) enjoying my warm little spots in the sun. It didn't take me long to remember where all the best ones are. Other Mommy - Reilly and Denny's Mommy - she opens all the blind just for me so there is lots of sunpuddles! Ah...sometimes it is the simplest things that make life so wonderful.

Phew - that was scary!

2012-01-12T06:49:00.005-06:00

Yesterday when we were doing our rounds of visiting all your blogs and leaving comments, the log on screen suddenly appeared and when we went to log on it said our account had been deactivated! What the woof !!!!! We tried through out the day to get back on and sent email after email to google.....Mom and I were in near panic state! Finally this morning we got an email to say there had been in error and our blog was restored. It really scared us and the first thing Mom did was download her template and blog (this is a good hint for everyone - make a copy of your template and blog because you never know what will happen)

If you need to do this click on the 'design' tab, then the 'edit template' tab and then you see at the top of the page in orange a line that says 'download a copy of your template'. Then go to to the 'settings' tab and click on the link that says 'export blog' This will download your entire blog for you and NO - it doesn't export it somewhere else or delete it. These instruction are only for blogger.

We sure are glad to be back and you know Mom always says "everything happens for a reason" and I guess the reason for this was to remind us to download our template and blog more often.

The proof is in the bedding!

2012-01-11T06:55:00.004-06:00

Some of you may remember that Mom bought the 'Wuzster' a new bed for Christmas but that he was too scared to get on it or even go near it. In fact he spent the first couple of days barking at it and finally just ignored it hoping that the 'evil' bed would go away. Well last night for the first time EVER the 'Wuzster' actually decided to have a snooze on it. Mom thinks it is because 'IT' has been snoozing on it and it now smells like him. This of coarse meant that 'IT' had no where to snooze so he just dragged one of the couch cushions to the middle of the couch, stomped it around a little to make it just right and then went to sleep on it. Mom was chuckling and thought of Mr Pip's Occupy the couch campaign. 'IT' made himself very comfortable right in the middle of the big couch declaring 'this is my spot'. As for me, I was by my FAVORITE spot by the front door acting a draft stopper - that cool air sneaking in is soooooo nice. Okay...I am off now to have serious barkings with those two young whipper snappers about HOGGING my blog!

Sssshhhh It's me Denny

2012-01-10T13:20:00.004-06:00

I thought I would sneak on Weilly's bloggy while he is taking a nap and share some exciting news. You probably all know that Weilly calls me the "Wuzster" because I get scared of so many things but since Jackie came back to live with 'ME" - things have been changing. I don't always shy away when someone tries to pat me now (Daddy likes this A LOT). New things don't scare as me as much. Normally if Mommy and Daddy move some furniture I get all worried and upset - well they changed 3 rooms around last weekend and I didn't care at all! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of me and they are happy to see me relaxing and just enjoying myself instead of being scared of everything. I love love love having MY Jackie home again.

What a day !

2012-01-09T14:37:00.003-06:00

Here I was enjoying a nice bit of sunshine when I was 'bribed' yes bribed to come inside and what was waiting me - or I should I say ALL of us....the dreaded B.A.T.H. Now they are forecasting rain for the next 3 days so I was REALLY enjoying my sun bathing and the LAST thing I wanted was a real 'bathing' with heaven forbid - W.A.T.E.R.

Mom asked "IT's" Mom if she would do the dreaded deed as Mom can not do it anymore. And why did I need a bath you ask - all because I kept Mom up half the night with my scratching. (Dad of coarse slept right through it - don't know why Mom can't) Was this a little Mom revenge I ponder? Sadly the new medicine the vet has been trying for my scratchies doesn't seem to be helping and we are just at a loss as to what can be causing it. I am also on antibiotics now as I have scratched myself so much in some places it has caused some skin abrasions. Mom is threatening to make me wear booties if I don't stop scratching - BOOTIES!!!! are you crazy woman!! Of coarse the dweebs just took it all without complaining - such young dweebs don't realize how bad B.A.T.H.S really are.

Denny - Jackie and the battered rabbit

2012-01-08T16:36:00.002-06:00

We haven't been doing much around the old homestead except for playing, playing and more playing. I am sooooo glad MY Jackie is home. Today we thought we would share some our cuteness and show us playing with the poor battered rabbit and having a game of bitey face as well.

Do I really have to.......

2012-01-05T12:56:00.006-06:00

Reilly - "Awwww Mom - Do I really have to sit here with them - they are such dweebs!"

Mom - "yes Reilly YOU do!

Reilly - "Well all you are going to get is 'my not happy about this' look - so there"

Mom - "You are like one of those guys from Grumpy Old Men, Reilly"

Reilly - "Well who wouldn't be grumpy having to sit next the It and Wuzster - the pair of dweebs!"

It's just not fair !

2012-01-04T14:39:00.003-06:00

Look at me - here I am in my nice big yard.....and do you see Wielly - NO, do you see Jackie - NO. Where are they you may well be asking?

Well Weilly has an excuse for not playing - see Mommy took him to the vets yesterday about his limping, he has something called arty-rife-tuss in his front right leg and also in his back left leg. The vet thinks his front leg was caused from doing agility - and that because he has been limping on it for quite some time on and off over the years he has put extra pressure on his back leg to compensate and now that one is hurting him too. Mommy was very sad as she was always so careful about his agility and never did a lot with him so she is surprised this has happened. But Wielly is much bigger then a normal sheltie and being white could also have something to do with it. Mommy says the Vet pulled Wielly's legs this way and that - and said Weilly is a very stoic doggy as he didn't make a sound the whole time. In fact the only way he knew Weilly felt any thing was when Wielly held his breath instead of panting. He also said Weilly wasn't allowed to go walkies for two whole weeks! Poor Weilly! He has some medicines to take every day now and hopefully that will help him feel better.

Now as for Jackie - his Mommy is being so mean - they don't get up until nearly 9.00am even though I wake up at 6.00 and want to play and then she keeps him in her room with him ALL afternoon even though I cry and cry at the door for him to come out. And she gets upset at me because I won't go to her and let her pat me - why would I????? She might grab me and lock me up in the room too !!! Jackie is MY buddy and I want him to be able to play with me all day long. It's just not fair!

It's me - Jackieeeeeee

2012-01-02T19:10:00.005-06:00

Guess who - it's me and I am home again. Sigh! I have a yard to run in, buddies to play with and LOTS of people to cuddle me - is this doggie heaven? The little puppy Denny has grown SOOOO much since I left, he is way bigger then me now but he is still lots of fun to play with and we have some great games of bitey face and chase around the house. Aunty Bree wasn't to sure how he would cope seeing me again but there was no problems at all - it was like I never left!

Mr Reilly - well he still the big dog that basically tries to ignore me - and he is THE BOSS - I guess some things never change.

I do remember his lessons on avoiding the 'flashy beast' though - as you can see from the photos. Aunty Bree tried so hard - she must of took at least 50 pictures and did she get one good one - NO. As we doggies know, it's not really us avoiding the 'flashy beast' - it is just the person behind it that isn't very good. Oh and best of all Aunty Bree had just cooked up some beef ribs and I got a whole one to myself and it was almost as big as me! I love being home again.

Just a walk in the park

2011-12-31T09:52:00.009-06:00

Hello, it is me, the one, the only and the cutest ever Denny!!!! Mommy decided this morning it might be a good idea for us to go on a long walk and tire me out as she says cousin Jackson is coming this very afternoon - a week early !!!! I must admit I am not sure if I remember him or if I will even like him anymore - and then there is the whole issue of his Mom too. She is also coming this afternoon - that is so scary, two NEW things to cope with - I may end up have a puppy melt down just from the stress of it all!

Anyway - back to our walk. It was so nice and cold, only 40 degrees and just perfect for us furry types. Mommy wasn't to sure about taking Weilly as he has started limping again. She rang the vets but the soonest we can see Dr W. is Tuesday. She did speak to him though and he said it would be okay to give him some pain medicine as he thinks Weilly has some arthritis in his shoulder. No silly old limp was going to stop my big brother from going to the park though - he's a tough old dude but Mommy kept a close watch on him anyway.

The lake was so pretty today, no wind so it was very calm and Mom wanted to get a picture of Weilly next to it. Of coarse I had to help. "Have you got the flashy thing at the right level Mommy, are you close enough Mommy, wouldn't you rather take a picture of ME Mommy." Of coarse Weilly wasn't being so helpful either, he was more interested in the geese and ducks and what was happening 'over there'.

We then went up through the forest path which was nice and quiet. The "Lake Walkers" as Mommy calls them tend to stick to the path around the edge of the lake, where as we like to follow the ones through the trees. But we both had to stop and stare and listen when we heard something scrattling in the bushes. I was a bit worried when Weilly said it was probably just a giant "white and tan dog" eating squirrel but Mommy said he was just teasing me. I was extra vigilant on the rest of our walkies though as you can never be too sure. I did have to wonder why they don't eat white and black doggies though?

Reilly & Denny McRib Day

2011-12-28T13:24:00.005-06:00

Remember how Mom got us a whole rack of beef ribs for Christmas - well this morning we got to have one each and dog oh dog were they good. Sorry the photos are a little blury - we were in to much of a hurry to take them outside and chomp on them. As you can see - the wuzster is surrounded by yet another one of his de-stuffed toys. Mom bought a couple of "tuff" toys for him - but he made short work of those too. Hey Mom - if you don't give him a bone to sharpen his teeth on - maybe he won't be able to rip his toys to shred but there would be a lot of left over ribs......I will just have to to do my best and eat them all myself- what ya think Mom????

2011-12-27T14:13:00.004-06:00

Dad had 4 days off over Christmas and the best thing of all is that he took us the pet stores and to the park. Of coarse we loved the park the best. It was a little chilly for Mom and Dad but we enjoyed it. Here we are checking out all the geese and ducks on the lake and yes you guessed it - the Wuzster was scared of them.

Then we went to check out the dog jumping dock which Dad hadn't seen before. We enjoy being ON it but there is NO way we would jump OFF it - that would constitute us getting wet and we HATE being wet.

Our only other news is I went to the vets today and I got my stitches out. My ouchie is all healed up and Dr W. is very happy with it. Have a great week every furbody.

Merry Christmas Every Furbody

2011-12-25T12:58:00.003-06:00

Dog oh dog - did Santa Paws bring you lots of goodies. He sure left our stockings full with toys and yummy chew bones, cookies and he even left us a WHOLE rack of real beef ribs...Mom cooked them up but she says we can only have one each day! I was so happy with my goodies...but the Wuzster - he was just scared of his new toys. I mean to say - what dog in his right mind is scared of new toys???? Check out the silly dudes videos. Oh, and Merry Christmas to all the pawparents too. Check out all our wonderful cards around the fire place. Two of them are Mom and Dad's - the rest are all ours!! Thank you so much to all our buddies.

Cousin IT

2011-12-22T11:54:00.003-06:00

Do you remember "IT" otherwise known as Jackson or Jackeeeeee. Well..... he will be coming back to live with us in the new year.

Didn't we just get rid of him.....ummmm I mean didn't he go to live with his Mom? Well his Mom is coming back with him too.

I guess the good thing is "IT" will keep the "Wuzster" occupied and I can back to some serious snoozin/lazy time.

Ah, I remember the good old days when I was the ONLY dog...I miss those days. Mom and I could just get in the car and go...now she has to chase the Wuzster around for 10 minutes because he's "scared" of getting in the car. Once he is in, he's fine - he just has an aversion to actually 'getting in'. I tell you that boy is missing a few bones in the dog bowl. Mom is a bit worried how the "Wuzster" will react to Jackson. They were best buddies when Denny was little but he's older now is not at all sure about new dogs. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Me and my shadow

2011-12-19T15:01:00.007-06:00

To celebrate my good news from the vet, the Mom and Dad took us for a long walk along my favorite path.

It sure does look different in winter and Mom said she misses all the green. It was still pretty in a dreary winter kind of way - not that I noticed as the only thing I was interested in was the SMELLS and to be sure, there was plenty of good ones.

Of coarse the pesky Wuzster "shadow" was right there by my side the whole time. Why the little dude can't go off exploring by himself I don't know. This path leads up the lookout where you can see for miles and miles in all directions. We didn't climb to the top today as Mom was worried about my leg and she was getting pretty cold. So off we went back down the path heading for MY car and a great time was had by all.

Pawsome News

2011-12-18T06:02:00.003-06:00

We have the MOST pawsome vet, he went in last night to check on the doggies that had to stay is hospital and saw a fax with my results on it. He called Mom and Dad straight away as he knew how worried they were. My tumor was a benign basal tumor and basically nothing to worry about. Mom and Dad (and me) are so happy and so relieved.

Added to our happiness - Mom went to see the surgeon on Friday and the wound was so small that he was to do a mini surgery right there at his office to close it up. Paws crossed - that is the last surgery Mom will need and the last two years of complication will finally be behind her.

We certainly feel very blessed this weekend - but we also know there is much sadness this weekend too with the tragic events that happen to the Houston Pittie Pack. They had a house fire and lost not only their home but also 5 of there furbabies. We can not imagine how devastating this must be - so please visit them and let them know you are thinking of them.

Pop goes the weazel

2011-12-15T13:47:00.001-06:00

The Wuzster (Denny) was very happy when I came home and last night even decided to play with his new toy - a weazel ball (the Mom spoils that boy!) It took him awhile to get use to it and he had to bark and growl at quite a bit, but eventually he figured out it would be fun to play with. I like it because it keeps him from bothering me and wanting to be close by side. I am feeling much better today I am happy to say, a little sore and still limping but otherwise good.

My Ouchie & My Great Adventure

2011-12-14T11:06:00.011-06:00

What a great day I am have had. Mom took the bandage off my ouchie this morning, made sure it was all clean and then re-wrapped it. We want to take a moment to remind everyone to take some time - (just 10 minutes) and check your furbabies all over as these nasty lumps can just appear in just a few days like mine did. You can see from the picture how big it was - that is quite a battle scar I will have!

Now Mom being the big softy she is decided I needed a treat today so off we went to my two favorite pets stores. It's a pity the Wuzster had to come along but he needs to work on his fears so I guess it is okay.

So off we went went exploring this aisle and that aisle, checking out all the great smells and new products. "How about a new Harness Mom - Oh that is right we bought one just a few weeks ago". "Well what about some Christmas goodies - look at all the things they have to choose from?"Mom did buy us some Ginger Snap cookies at Petco which made us very happy.

Next we went to our other favorite store Hollywood Feed. They have the best selection of toys but my favorite girl wasn't working today and I didn't get a treat. I wasn't too happy about that and barked loudly to tell the stingy person all about it. But I can't really complain because look at the goodies my Mom got me. Bully sticks, Veggie Sticks, my favorite Char-tar cookies, some lamb jerky and she got us some new food to try and guess what it is ???? It is Kangaroo and Red Lentil and I have already had a little taste test and give it a high four paws ! They also make a Venison Formula and a Salmon. Mom also got me the venison to try. Yes !! I could get use to being pampered just for having an ouchie.

My boy is home

2011-12-13T17:46:00.005-06:00

The big dog is home !!! He is still a little groggy but he gobbled down his dinner and is now snoozing happily. It will be Friday before the get the biopsy results so it is just a wait and keep paws crossed. The vet said the tumor wasn't attached to the bone or the muscle and he checked Reilly ALL over to make sure there wasn't any others hiding under all that fur - thankfully there wasn't. We can not thank you enough - every doggie, kitty and their Moms and Dads for all the good wishes, vibes and prayers.

The Wuzster (Denny) was quite beside himself all day trying to find Reilly - he really relies on him to feel "safe and not so frightened". Sadly nothing I could do seemed to help him, I tried playing, giving him pats and cuddles, gave him a bone but he was like a "cat on hot bricks" all jumpy and nervous. I couldn't even get him to go for a walk! He is now sleeping right next to Reilly (shhh don't tell anyone but their feet are touching and they look so cute!) Thank you again everyone - The Reilly and Denny - Mom and Dad.

An update

2011-12-12T14:50:00.005-06:00

I took Mr Reilly to the vets and the news so far is not good. The lump is not any kind cyst and the biopsy they did showed abnormal and unusual cells that "look" cancerous but until a full biopsy of the entire lump is done, they won't know for sure. Reilly will be going in tomorrow morning at 8.00 a.m. for surgery to have it removed. The good news is that it isn't attached to the bone but it has left quite an indentation in the muscle. The only thing we can do at this point is wait, worry and pray for our beautiful boy - please keep all your paws crossed for him. He means the absolute world to us and we can not bare the thought of loosing him.

Limping and a lump

2011-12-11T10:27:00.004-06:00

Last night Reilly started limping and it got to the point where he couldn't put any weight on his right front leg. This morning he seemed a little better but over the coarse of the morning it has got worse again. I checked his foot, pads, knee and shoulder last night multiple times and couldn't see anything wrong. He was moving them fine and didn't show any response when these were light squeezed or touched. This morning when I checked though I found a large lump up on the top part of his leg. It feels kind of squishy. It is so worrying an unfortunately the earliest we can get him into the vets is tomorrow. Please keep your paws crossed for my beautiful boy - we will update as soon as we have some news.

Side by side

2011-12-10T19:23:00.004-06:00

We noticed quite a few buddies mentioned how 'cute' the Wuzster looks walking next to me. I dread to say this but he does this ALL the time. He is so scared of everything that he is basically glued to my side when ever we go somewhere. And to make things worse he even 'nuzzles' me as we we are walking .....eeeeewwww puppy cooties how gross! A dog can't have a decent sniff without him sticking his head in the way. So is it cute that he walks right by my side ALL the time - I certainly don't think so !

We LOVE our Mom !

2011-12-09T12:06:00.011-06:00

Even though it is only 40 degrees here today, Mom put on a double layer of clothes and a nice warm coat and took us to the park. Dog oh Dog - have we been waiting for this. Here we are waiting for Mom to hurry up and let us get to sniffing part - she is so slow, first she had to put her gloves on, lock the car, then get the camera out....and all the time we were waiting very impatiently ! Silly Denny was wondering where all the 'green' had gone - he just doesn't grasp the concept of winter yet!

Eventually we got moving and of coarse the Wuzster (Denny) was his normal woozie self. He was scared of Mom's scarf and tried to hide behind a tree and then was scared because the tree "grabbed" his lead and wouldn't let go. One really has to wonder about that boy!

Even he couldn't resist the tantalizing aromas to be found in the park and Mom was quite pleased that the little dude is actually starting to enjoy smells now (before he would just walk and never took any interest in the delightful waftings occurring in the air). Here we are checking out this lovely pile of leaves. I don't know what it was in those leaves - be we didn't want to leave them. We asked Mom if we could scoop them and the smell up - and take home but she just glared at us and mumbled something about "what a mess that would be". We continued with our walk, wandering along the lake edge but with the wind blowing across the water the Mom was getting chilled so we headed back to the car. What a terrific walkies and day we have had - hope yours is as good.

The Wuzster is SCARED

2011-12-08T08:44:00.007-06:00

Yes - the Wuzster (otherwise known as Denny) is scared. He read that Santa Paws might not visit him because he has been so naughty lately. Firstly he has no idea who Santa Paws is and that scares him, he has no idea what Christmas is - so that is scaring him - REALLY - what doesn't scare that Wuzster?

Can you believe Mom actually told ME off because I was telling Wuzster that Santa Paws was an evil huge old rabid bear that would come down the chimney during the night and eat him and that Crispmas (as we like to call it) is when naughty little dogs get thrown into the oven and cooked until they are crisp!!! Mom says the Wuzster doesn't understand my dry sense of humor and that he has a "sensitive" kind of soul and frightens easily - which really means he's a WUZSTER!

For some reason the little dude got under his blanket in his bed and hid all night - we just heard strange little whimpering sounds occasionally so we knew he hadn't suffocated under there!!!! Dog oh Dog - what can you say. That will teach him calling me an OLD lazy dog ! Actually Mom and I have been VERY busy making our Christmas cards (and a big old mess in the her craft room - sssshhhh don't tell her I shared this - she would be horrified) Chuckles - that will teach her for letting the Wuzster on my blog ! Ahhhhh...nothing like a little doggie revenge :) Oh - we got some more snow over night - sigh I am one happy boy!

Oh Denny Boy !

2011-12-07T14:17:00.013-06:00

G'day.....(Mommy is teaching Australian). It's me the Denny and I thought I would blog today cause the OLD big dog is to lazy too. First, let me tell you it has been sooooooo dreary here. Monday it rained non stop, Tuesday it rained non stop (we got 7.5 inches of the wet stuff). Of coarse Weilly and I are in the "Hate Water Sub -Group" of shelties and HATED the rain - can you BELIEVE there are some out there that actually like playing in it!!!!! Anyway, when we got up this morning it had finally stopped raining and we got SNOW. Three beautiful inches of it - oh I do love the snow. Sadly 6 hours later it has nearly all melted away already. Mommy took these pictures out the front of our house because it has already melted in the back - doesn't the snow look pretty on our holly bushes? This year Mommy is enjoying go Christmassee for some reason.

So how does one not go a little crazy when it is raining.... you may ask! I did try a few things to keep occupied - like emptying the little bathroom trash can 3 times. (If Mommy had been smart she would of emptied it into the big trash outside after the first round). Hhhhmmmm for some reason Mommy didn't seem to appreciate my decorating the floor for her. I then chewed one of Mommy's shoes - again she didn't seem to happy with my attempts to improve them. I then found a nice toilet roll which I shredded all over the lounge room rug - I thought it made of kind of snowy inside - but again NO, the Mommy wasn't to happy - she's very hard to please! I thought I would give her a break so yesterday for something different I chewed up Daddy's telephone holster which I 'found' on his bedside cupboard - he WASN'T very happy at all with my improvements either - parents, sometimes you just can't make them happy!

Mommy eventually found something to keep us amused - do you notice how both Weilly and I use our right paws to hold that nasty little toys that WON'T give us our treats without a lot of hard work? And do you see that EVIL bed behind Weilly - Mommy bought that for me thinking I would like it - but it is something new and different and I spent all day barking and growling at it. Today I am ignoring it in the hope that it will go away because I am CERTAINLY NOT going to place MY paws on such an evil soft thing.

So that is how our week has gone so far. Oh, we nearly forgot - Mommy was supposed to have her final surgery today but alas she has an infection again and it has been postponed. I don't mind at all as I like having my Mommy home with me - and who would pick up my 'decorating' attempts if she wasn't here?

Product Review Friday - Bamboo Quick Control - Leash + Seat Belt Latch

2011-12-02T07:52:00.009-06:00

Bamboo Quick Control - Leash + Seat Belt Latch

Recently in the news there have instances of doggies being in cars that were involved in accidents and not being harnessed or restrained in anyway they have escaped the car and been found running down the freeways. This always worries Mom so when we saw these she bought them. These are the Bamboo Quick Control - Leash + Seat Belt Latch and they come in 3 foot and 6 foot length leashes and in 3 colors (blue, black and red). These are extremely sturdy leashes with excellent stitching and would easily hold the largest of dogs. We got the 6 foot length in blue to match MY car. The leash itself has a seat belt clip that just snaps into the seal belt. It is adjustable so you can adjust it to suit the size of the dog. We leave it a little longer for Denny as he prefers to sit on the floor - where as I like to sit on the seat and look out the window. The leash also has a zippered pocket so you put poop bags or some money/id - in it if you go walking. Now we hunted the 'net' and found ours for $7.99 each and 4.99 for postage for the 2. They have them on Amazon but definitely do some hunting around for the best price and make sure you include the postage in the overall cost.

We give this product a high 5 paws as we are very impressed with the quality and its ease of use. We do recommend it for short trips and still prefer our sturdier harnesses if we go on longer trips.

Anti Word Verification

2011-12-01T07:31:00.003-06:00

Now some of you may remember my grumbles about this in the past but it seems I need to send out a reminder as we have noticed quite a lot of doggies using this on their bloggies again. Word Verification is very annoying and frustrating for people with vision problems and those with dyslexia - like my Mom. (Imagine how confusing ordinary words can be - and then jumble them all up - yikes!) It is also so frustrating when you have to enter those darn silly letters 3 or 4 times which the Mom has to do !!!!! If you are worried about SPAM then just set you comments to "approval needed" instead. That way you can delete any bad things before they even get on your blog. You can find this under 'Settings' and the sub tab 'Comments' if you are using blogger.

It's a winter wonderland

2011-11-29T08:53:00.009-06:00

Wow wow wow ! We got 4 inches of snow last night and have we been having so much fun this morning. You know this is a bit of an odd thing for us here in Arkansas but I guess the weather dogs were all working just at the right time to create this. Anyway - The little dude Wuzster (Denny) has decided he TOTALLY loves it. This is his first snow! There is hope for the boy after all! He races around and jumps up at the tree branches to make the snow fall, he grabs mouthfuls of it and then shakes his head at the cold (probably getting brain freeze the dufuss). Me - I am just just enjoying laying down in the snow and enjoying the cold (I bet I could give the Woo's a run for their cookies when it comes to enjoying the snow - hmmm maybe I am a new hybrid polar sheltie???) Mom thinks it funny that whenever she look outside - there I am curled up in the snow fast asleep - she says I look like a husky. Sadly most of it will melt away today but while it is here we are going to enjoy it - "get the towels ready Mom - we are going out again!!!!!" Gawoof gawoof - Mom isn't so happy that she has to dry us off every time we come back inside.

It's snowing

2011-11-28T18:50:00.005-06:00

Look at my deck ! It's snowing and it's big fluffy flakes and we are having so much fun playing in it. The "Wuzster" was a little scared of it to begin with but I showed him how pawsome it is to be able to run in the cold and not get all hot - after that he was one happy little dude and has been jumping up trying to catch the flakes ever since. Dog oh dog - I love the cold!

Changes

2011-11-28T09:10:00.009-06:00

Mom says something odd has happened to me lately. In my 4 and a half years I have NEVER shown any interest in getting up on or sleeping on the sofa but over the last few weeks I have developed a liking to it. Don't tell her - but here are the real reasons for this change.
1. I get to be close to my dad
2. When I stand up on the back of the sofa I can see out the big window
3. The 'wuzster' otherwise known as Denny hasn't figured out how to jump up the sofa so it gives me time away from him
4. I find lots of good crumbs in the cushions that my dad drops
5. I get to "butt change" the remote and put on my favorite shows
6. I get LOTS of cuddles from my dad when I jump up next to him.
7. My bones are not getting any younger and I now enjoy a bit of padding to rest them upon.
8. I get to smirk at Mom and say "see I love my Dad" - you are just okay!

PS - talking about looking our the big window - I just did and it's SNOWING !!!!!

Something is happening

2011-11-26T13:12:00.004-06:00

Now as a new puppy to life where everything is still strange and unusual for me I have noticed something very odd. It seems to be getting COLD. Mommy says I am noticing this because I was a summer puppy. This "cold" thing is a new phenomenon to me an although I must admit I have been really enjoying sitting out on my (I mean Weilly's) deck lately - I am also noticing that first thing in the morning it makes my little footsies feel a bit funny. That is when I come running inside and snuggle up on my little bed. And you know what else - the grass is scrunchy !!! Mommy says it's because we have had some frosts in the morning lately and that makes the grass icy and cold.

You know, when you are 'new' to life there seems to be a lot of strange things that don't seem to make sense. Take this morning for instance. Daddy decided to clean up the yard and take some trash to the refuge center and do you know what he did - he took Weilly for a car ride with him and left me at home - boo hoo!!!!! Now admittedly I am scared about getting in the car and tend to run away and hide but once I am in the car I am fine - but do you think that is any reason to leave me home? Sure it would of meant 10 minutes of chasing me around the house but I would of loved that car ride once I got in it. Instead I had to stay home and be with the boring old Mommy.

I guess you are wondering how Mommy is doing too. She gets pretty frustrated some days as even the smallest tasks wear her out and leave her feeling dizzy, shaking and needing to lay down for an hour. And needless to say on top of it all the poor Mommy also got Daddy's flu. She didn't get it as bad as Dad but enough to make her spend a few days just sleeping in bed - the hardest thing for her though is the coughing. When you have a tummy full of stitches - the last thing you want to do is start coughing. Hopefully next Wednesday she will have all the stitches out and we will be able to start doing more again. Oh Mommy wanted to say a special thank you to Dawn and Katie (gawoof gawoof did you know Weilly is smitten over Miss Katie - he thinks she is soooo pretty) Dawn and Katie sent Mommy a get well card and it arrived when she was feeling really yucky and it helped cheer her up lots.

Fluffy boy

2011-11-22T15:55:00.002-06:00

Mommy says I am starting to get a nice fluffy coat now and a bushy tail. I just know I prefer sleeping on the nice cool tiles rather then the carpet because this fluffy coat is hot. Weilly and I have been soooo busy looking after Mommy and Daddy. Mommy is still very sore and sees her surgeon tomorrow to have some stitches out and Daddy is still very sick with the flu. He has even been home the last two days and Weilly says Daddy NEVER takes days off work unless he is really really sick. I hope Weilly and I don't get the flu I don't want to make those weird noises that Daddy does.

A little bit of pondering

2011-11-20T10:32:00.005-06:00

Hello - it's me Denny and I thought I would do some blogging today. I must admit I am bit confused at the moment, my mommy keeps coming and going and I don't know where she goes and I don't like it when she isn't home. Weilly and Daddy say Mommy keeps doing into this big building called a hospital where they are trying to make her better. But every time she comes home from there she doesn't seem better and has big ouchies and spends a lot of time in bed. I want my old Mommy back, the one that would take Weilly and me to the park and the pet store. I want the old Mommy back that would sit on the floor with me and give me brushes and teach me new things. Mommy is so sad at the moment - she wants to play with me and cuddle but she's too sore. We are trying to be good for Mommy but we have so much energy and want to run and play. And now Daddy is sick too he had something called the flu and is making HUGE barking noises that scares me. I don't think Mommies and daddies should be allowed to get sick - it is too upsetting for us doggies.

Mom watch

2011-11-17T07:25:00.002-06:00

Mom is going to have surgery again today - they can't fix it all at the moment and she will need more surgery in a couple more weeks but it should make her a bit more comfortable. Please keep your paws together for our Mom and send lots of good vibes her way.

good memories

2011-11-13T18:11:00.002-06:00

I know Mom is still healing and she is really struggling with a lot of pain, but I sure do miss our walkies. Mom and I were chatting and saying how much we enjoy the smells in the woods and at this time of the year all the changing colors. We have noticed the woods are also much quieter now and we are guessing many of the birds are heading for warmer climates. Mom goes back to the surgeon on Wednesday and hopefully we will have some good new again and things can back on track and we will be able to get in some more walks before it gets too cold. Thank you everyone for the power of the paw - we know it helped so much.

Coffee With a Canine

2011-11-11T14:19:00.003-06:00

How cool - we were featured on "Coffee with a Canine" today. If you would like to check out our interview you can visit here. Bree, Reilly and Denny (We also suggested some our buddies for future interviews too :) Mom is home now and taking it easy - we will be busy 'nursing' her this weekend and making sure she feels better.

Some more news

2011-11-10T21:31:00.004-06:00

Well we found out today what has been causing the problem for my Mom - she has the dreaded MRSA infection again. They have begun treatment already and hopefully she will be able to come home tomorrow but will need home help to continue the treatment. She will also need more surgery in 2-3 weeks to repair the skin again. We just want our Mom home - the little wuzster especially has been missing her - he is such a sappy little guy. And I guess I kind of miss the Mom too - just don't let her know I said that okay :)

Quick up-date

2011-11-09T08:07:00.003-06:00

Dad is helping me with this update. He said Mom has had her surgery - she had a huge abscess that actually burst just as they moved her to the operating table but it is all cleaned up now and paws crossed things will get better. She does have to have a blood transfusion today as she is very anemic and her albumin level is also low. She ate a big breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it and Dad was very pleased with that. They are going to keep Mom in hospital until Friday but happily MY dad is here to take care of me and Wuzster. Thankyou so much for the power of the paw - we KNOW it made a huge difference.

We need the power of the paw please

2011-11-08T10:17:00.003-06:00

Mom hasn't been feeling really well the last few days - running a temperature, in quite a bit of pain and such. Last night Dad check her wound and found it all swollen and red. They have just been to the doctors and he is admitting her to hospital with surgery this afternoon to drain what appears to be a large fluid build up and infection. Please put your paws together for my Mom and send some healing thoughts her way. She is very upset by this latest development and was hoping that this time there was not going to be any complications - but we guess it wasn't meant to be that way.

Come see what I found Denny

2011-11-07T12:18:00.005-06:00

"Come on Denny - come and see what I just found in the tomato patch"

"Errrm it's okay Mommie, I can see it from here"

"Come on little one - it won't hurt you"

"Are you sure Mommie - okay I might come a little closer"

"OH MOMMIE - it's tasty! I like this funny looking thing"

We went out to pick the last of our tomatoes this morning and found this "triplet" tomato hiding in the branches. There are actually 3 separate stems on the other side but the tomatoes are all joined together. Natures likes to do funny things sometimes.

Nose shoves and paw swipes

2011-11-04T13:47:00.003-05:00

As much as I hate to admit it - the Wuzster is one smart little dude - not as smart as me but pretty close. Mom has been trying some different interactive toys with him as well as his normal training and recently bought this puzzle game for him. Now she got this from Beauditious Paws for $12.99 and saw the same thing on Amazon for $44.00 so do your homework before buying such things as there is a HUGE price difference. This is Denny's first attempt and he had it figured out in just a few minutes. It is funny to see what "style" each doggy uses to get the treats. Denny is a shove with his nose and swipe with his paws kind of guy. We have seen other dogs who will take hold of the pegs and in their mouth and pull them out, and one doggy who figured out it is easy to just tip the game upside down!

We give this a four paw rating - it is a great toy. For Denny though, being the little kleptomaniac that he is - Mom has to remember to pick up all the pegs or they will find themselves outside amongst his other "lost and found" items.

Going Digital

2011-11-03T11:43:00.004-05:00

So the Mom is struggling bit with the whole energy thing and spends much of the day resting and playing on the computer. She does get up and move about a bit - but a trip to the letter box yesterday nearly did her in - so of coarse the whole idea of going walkies to the park is not even on the table and of coarse that also means no photos to really share. It is bad enough WE are bored but now she is too and look at what she has been doing to pass the time. Yesterday she found a cool website (in her opinion) where you can make digital scrap booking pages. No paper needed! She did this one in about 5 minutes and likes that it is bright and colorful. When you finish the page you can of coarse print them out too. Yeah ! just what we need - another book full of Reilly ignoring the flashy beast photos. Get better QUICK Mom is all I can say!

$10 Tasty Ticket

2011-11-01T15:18:00.006-05:00

With Mom not feeling quite her normal self the Wuzster has been feeling a little bored. Destuffing of the stuffy toys seems to have become his number one time passing thing at the moment and of coarse 'finding things' that are not even lost - he is a magician at that. So when Mom's instant scratchy ticket (a $10 winner no less) disappeared from the coffee table there was only one thing to do and that was to follow the trail of paper bits outside and guess who we found at the end of it??? The missing ticket, Dad's eye glass cleaning cloth, a measure cup, a door stop and he has even found a wooden spoon. Mom is now calling him clepto-Denny but what I KNOW one thing for sure - There goes your new stuffy that Mom was planning to buy you this week Wuzster - ah the price you pay for a tasty ticket.

Mom is home

2011-10-30T09:31:00.002-05:00

My Mom is home and I am soooo happy. Her surgery went really well with no complications and she able to move around pretty well. She is a bit sore of coarse and has about a hundred staples in but other wise is good. It will be a few days before I can blog some more as I have the most important job of looking after her. I have told the Wuzster in my sternest woof that he has to stay out of Mom's way - we don't want him tripping her up. Okay- time for me to go back on the Reilly Watch - thank you for all the good wishes - they helped Mom so much - the power of the paws is amazing!

A visit to the Vet and a warning!

2011-10-25T11:48:00.008-05:00

Mom being the 'panic person' she is had me off to the VETS today to have my eye checked out. It turns out to be a teeny tiny scratch on the cornea. More than likely 'self' inflicted due to my allergies and my recent scratching like crazy around my nose. He did a stain test on my eye - put some yucky yellow drops in it to see if was deep and is actually already healed so nothing at all to worry about. The best part is we got to go to the park afterwards! Scrunching in all the leaves is soooo much fun!

Now the Wuzster (Denny) - is a different story. After being subjected to the dreaded B.A.T.H this past weekend Mom put on our flea and tick treatment. The Denny started acting quite strangely, he couldn't settle down and his feet kept jumping - like he was trying to shake something of the bottom of his foot and he looked really "worried and stressed" The little guy just wasn't his weird normal self - he was even weirder! Mom thought he was just upset about them moving all the 'junk' from the sunroom into the spare room. Denny HATES change and will bark like crazy even if the broom is not it's usual spot!!! But then she remembered he had the same reaction when she put the flea treatment on once before - she thought then it was just because he wasn't use to it - it was his first time and it probably felt funny.

Mom asked the vet today about it and it turns out Denny was having a neurological reaction to a chemical in the flea treatment. He was on Certifect which is a new treatment from Frontline. - PLEASE NOTE : The original Frontline DOES NOT HAVE this chemical in it. He said certain dog breeds such as Shelties, Collies and Shepard's - can have these neurological reactions and it can vary from just twitches like Denny had - to actual seizures.

Mom in all her wisdom has decided to keep us both on just Frontline now as she KNOWS that doesn't bother us. Thankfully the VET says there will be no long term issues with Denny - it is just a temporary thing when dogs have a reaction. He still SCARED the heck out of Mom when she heard it though and poor Denny has had to suffer through many additional cuddles this morning and much 'poor baby' cooing. Yep! the name Wuzster suits him perfectly! Mom has also learned that we will ONLY see our 'regular' vet now - it was his partner that suggested the Certifect for Denny and we won't be seeing him again!

Mom Mom Mom!

2011-10-24T15:45:00.004-05:00

Look Mom - something destuffed my BRAND new toy ! Who could of done that and why would they do it...it was brand new. It must be those darn monsters that Weilly is always talking about. Bad little monsters they are!

Mom is taking Weilly to the vets tomorrow, he has a white spot in his eye. Mom is not sure if it is a scratch or something else but it looks like it is in his eye and not on the surface.

Mom also got the all clear for her surgery on Wednesday so if we are not around for a few days - that is why. I don't think I like the idea of my Mom being away for a couple of days - who is going to play with me and give me my treats and tell me everything is okay when I get scared?

This and that - with Denny

2011-10-20T13:28:00.001-05:00

Mom - "Denny, Denny, Denny ! Look this way for Mom"

Denny - "No ! Weilly says I should never look at you when you have the flashy beast in your hand and I am tired - I want to take a nap"

Mom - "Denny, Dennnneeeeeee come on babycakes look at Mommy"

Denny - MOM! don't call me that - doggies will hear and gawoof at me"

Reilly in the background "Gawoof gawoof gawoof!"

Mom - Denny, walkies, cookie, ball, toys"

Denny - "Mom, you are not going to trick me into looking at the flashy beast and besides there is a bug over there in the grass that is so much more interesting."

Reilly - "That isn't a bug wuzster - it's a piece of poop !"

Denny - "Is TOO! Weilly - it's a dung beetle!"

Mom - "Denny - just one little picture - Look I have some duck jerky for you"

Denny - Ducky jerky - where! {CLICK} That is soooo not fair Mom!

Reilly - "Gawoof gawoof - he falls for it every time - what a wuzster!

Denny - "I am sorry Weilly - I tried but my tummy wouldn't listen when it heard 'duck' - it just MADE me look "

Weilly says he is sorry he hasn't been to visit you all - Weilly's big computer died. It was making funny clicking noises and then wouldn't turn on anymore. He says it is still under warranty (what ever that means) and he got a new hard drive fed-ex'd too him this morning, so he is busy installing all the software again. Gawoof gawoof - his paws are to big to use Mom's laptop but I can cause I have little paws so today I got to blog!

Babbling away

2011-10-18T09:40:00.003-05:00

Mom saw that Mr Chewy had one of these babbling balls over on his and Oreo's blog and thought that would make a great toy for the Wuzster - I mean Denny. You can see the result here - be warned - there is barking !!! Mom filmed this on her new teeny tiny camera a canon powershot elph high defination - so let us know what you think of the quality. We do know it picks up the sound great.

What a pawsome morning

2011-10-15T10:51:00.012-05:00

We got up early this morning and Mom said "Come on boys - let's go on an adventure" My dogness, we were in the car and waiting before she could blink! One of the things we have discovered about our park is that there are all these wonderful paths that go winding through the forest. This is the one we took today which actually goes from one park across to another park - so we got a two-fer (we visited TWO parks in one walk!) We started by this sign that said"you are here - well doh, we knew that already! Human signs are so silly sometimes) I was soooo happy that YES I even looked at the Mom when she took a photo - take it in fellow doggies - it doesn't happen often. So off we went, following this pawsome winding paths and Mom was pretty happy, the smells were wonderful - even to her although she kept her nose above ground level - she missed ALL the best stuff I think, but she seemed to love the smell of the trees. The Wuzster of coarse was skittish the whole way, he doesn't like strange noises and a branch across the path just about had him in a frenzy ! Me on the other paw was just LOVING it and yes, look another photo of a happy me - looking at the camera again.
Then we came to this little bridge and the Wuzster refused to cross it - he planted all four paws and refused to move. "Weilly - there is troll hiding under it and it will eat me" he cried. So I had to go and check the bridge out and 'scare' the troll away. Both Mom and me stood on the other and waited and YES eventually the chicken liver Wuzster did cross it. [Interjection from MOM : Reilly be nice about your little brother]

After our walk Mom had another surprise - another two-fer. She took us to Petco and to Hollywood Feed. At Petco she got me a really nice padded harness to wear on our walk (my good one somehow got lost when we moved) And she got ME some yummy treats - I don't think the Wuzster deserves any - he was even more scared in the store then he was at the park - kept crying something about aisle monsters! Mom did buy him a DAP collar though. Then we went to Hollywood which we really like because there is a nice lady there who always has the BEST treats and of coarse she adores me and gives me extra. And of coarse we got my bag of special dog food - "yep let me check the wrapper Mom - that is the one!" The nice lady even carried it out to MY car because Mom isn't allowed to pick up heavy things. What a great morning - but we are dog tired now - so we are going to have a nice long snooze. Have a great weekend everyone.

No walk in the park !

2011-10-13T10:14:00.009-05:00

Today Mom though it would be "FUN" to take a walk around the neighborhood and attach me to the Wuzster!!!! Trust me it was NO fun at all! She thought she would try this shorter double walker in the hopes we wouldn't get so tangled - yeah right Mom - you KNEW that wasn't going to happen. Of coarse the Wuzster was scared of EVERYTHING. It started at the end of our driveway when he saw the trash can, then it was the blue bags they use for recycling, a strange car, the city trash truck nearly had him in frenzy and the fire hydrant - well I am sure you can imagine.

Anyway, back to my hour of torment - emmm I mean walk. Needless to say the double walker was not a success - it would of been if the Wuzster wasn't attached to it!!! We still got to check our some interesting things though. Our little neighborhood lake is looking very pretty with it's autumn colors and there is even a duck family that has taken up residence -probably because the people that live around the lake feed them :)

We also found an interesting letterbox - this one had a cherub on it and we saw this cute harvest display. We hope more people do these so we can take pics of them - they look so cute. Do peoples in your neighborhood do these - we would love to see them if they do.

Just as a side note - Mom has been thinking about trying a DAP collar on the Wuzster, she has been scouring the internet for information to help him with his 'fears' and wondered if any other doggies had tried them and did they actually work???

I'm bored - what can we do?

2011-10-12T13:03:00.012-05:00

Little Mr Denny decided he was bored and wanted to do something different today. I thought for awhile and then noticed some geese - "let's go chase them into the water" Denny the Wuzster just looked at me "they are scary Weilly- you chase them and I will watch from here next to Mommy.

Well look - there is a beach volley ball all set up - we could play in the sand ! The Wuzster "I don't know - that sand looks scary and what about that net thing, it might fall and trap me Weilly. Hmmmm young ones can be so annoying! Okay, look there is a picnic pavilion - we could have a picnic. The Wuzster - "I don't know - it looks like those geese are coming back and they might want to steal our food - those sure are scary geese Weilly !"

Okay Wuzster - lets go check out the playground - all kiddies love the playground. "Oh I don't know about this Weilly - what is that bright shiny thing over there and what are those weird shaped things - and that sheep looks like it is going to spring on me any minute?" Sigh - Okay - lets go look at the castle then - that is just like a house and you like our house don't you? "I don't know Weilly, it's very tall and it looks scary inside - can we go home now - I'm not bored anymore - just scared !

Going Educational

2011-10-11T12:50:00.008-05:00

Mom said we were going somewhere educational for our walkies this morning - what ever Mom ! So long as there are smells - that is what is REALLY important. So off we went to this place called a 'nature center' where they grow all the local 'native' types of plants. Ha !! Mom thought she could get us to pose by the sign - but we were too busy watching a fat little birdie hopping across the path to look at her. Then we went to check out the butterfly garden - obviously someone forgot to tell the butterflies it was for them - we didn't see a single one! But Mom got some good ideas and wrote down the names of some of the pretty plants.

We also saw this interesting bush with bright purple berries on it. It was one of the few plants that didn't have a tag - so we have no idea what it is. And then there was this pretty fern like plants with the deep scarlet red flowers. Again, no tag so we don't know what it is (not very educational is what we are thinking!) We got lots of sniffing in and even got to see another frog and a lizard. Mom says it's the first lizard she has seen here and it was too fast to get a photo of. Hope you all had a great day too.

Colors of the Season

2011-10-10T11:53:00.008-05:00

We went for a walkies ALL over MY park this morning and it was so perfect. The temperatures were cool and everything had an autumn glow to it - at least that is what Mom said - we were way to busy sniffing to notice such silly things. Here we are checking out some of the smells along one of the wooded trails - hmmm smells like something different - Mom said the footprints looked like a deer had wandered through here recently. Last week all the trees were still mainly green but this week they have turned all yellows and red and lots of the leaves have already fallen. The Wuzster (Denny) was really scared when he first stepped on some scrunchy leaves - I swear that little dude is scared of his own shadow sometimes - EVERYTHING seems to scare him! And you can imagine what happened when he saw and heard the ducks - now a NORMAL dog like me - we just want to get in there and chase those pesky ducks - but not the Wuzster - NO he ran behind Mom and wanted picking up! Mom doesn't fall for that though, she showed him that the ducks were nothing to scared of.

Can you believe Mom dragged us all over the park looking for trees with pretty leaves. She is making something called a "screen saver" and wanted to get pictures for it. I think a screen saver of ME would be much better - she said she would but that for some reason the majority of photo's she has of me are butt shots or with my head stuck in some bush - well doh Mom - that is how we dogs work. After the park we got to go on another adventure - we went to pet store which I coarse LOVED and the Wuzster hated. Doesn't that tell you there is something not quite right with the boy - what dog doesn't like the pet store???? Mom even bought us some Bully sticks and can you believe it - I was so tired when I got home - I didn't even want it but to make sure the Wuzster didn't get it - I fell asleep on it !!!!

Flummoxed !

2011-10-05T11:10:00.005-05:00

Last week when Mom when to her pre-op appointment the surgeon noticed a small lump on the old suture site and thought it was maybe fatty tissue, he was going to remove it when they did the surgery - but Mom noticed it has been getting bigger and sorer over the last few days and then yesterday afternoon - it suddenly burst open. This meant a quick trip to emergency care and then off to the see the surgeon again this morning. It was an abscess and there at the bottom of it was a stitch from the surgery over a year ago. It had been irritating her and caused an infection.

So of coarse Mom's big surgery has been cancelled for two weeks and she says she is a bit 'flummoxed' as to why these these things happen. I am happy though, it means Mom is still home and we can go WALKIES more. Mom says not today though as they had to do some 'poking' around the get the stitch out and she is a bit sore now.

Mom and Dad said to tell everyone "thank you" for all your kind thoughts and words - they really do mean a lot and hopefully there will not be any more setbacks in two weeks.

Our Weekend Adventure

2011-10-03T12:37:00.014-05:00

We went to two different parks this weekend and it was pawsome. The first one we went to has a huge lake - but it was the color of mud! Mom wondered how the poor fish even breathed as there was so much silt in the water and it is like this all the time ! We thought it was funny they had these little paddle boats available to rent on such a yucky old lake - but they did. Here we are with MY dad. And then here is the Denny looking all cute. Personally I am renaming him the Wuzster (more about that in a bit) And then here are doing our "yes we will pose but we WON'T look at the camera" routine. I am glad many other doggies are following our lead "way to go Katie!"

After visiting Lake Yucky as we are going to call it - we went to a much better place that also had a very pretty lake. This lake is super clean and they actually allow swimming in it all through summer - why anyone would WANT to jump in a lake is beyond me - but Mom says they do. And of coarse here is the Wuzster looking all cute again. Should I mention the little guy did a 10 point nose dive into the grass when he jumped down - gawoof gawoof - no that would be mean to mention it.

Then as we were walking along look what Mom spotted on the path (actually she nearly stood on the little guy). He's a tiny green tree frog and can you believe she actually picked it up - ewwwww frog cooties. You can see how tiny it is sitting on Mom's finger. She carefully put him back in the bushes so he wouldn't get stepped on - not that the little guy wanted to let go - those sticky little feet of his seemed to like Mom's finger.

And of coarse to round off such a great day Mom TRIED to get some pictures of us together. That is right Wuzster - you look that way and I will look the other. By time we got home the Wuzster was so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open. Oh - why the name Wuzster? Well what else do you call a doggy who scared of EVERYTHING !!! This little guy is the total opposite of me - where as I love people and going places and sniffing - he spends all his time fretting and worry and looking around like some monster is suddenly go to pop out and scare him. Okay so I did pop out from behind the bushes a few time and do that. Mom says we going to do lot of work on this as she doesn't want him scared of his own shadow. Yeah ! Good Luck with that one Mom - once a Wuzster always a Wuzster I say. This will be our last post for a little while as the Mom goes in hospital on Wednesday (she is such an airhead - she thought it was Thursday but it's not - it is Wednesday) We will busy helping the Dad to take care of Mom but we will be back real soon.

Just some musings

2011-10-01T07:29:00.006-05:00

Hello - Denny here. I thought we would share a pictures today - Mom says I am starting to get my 'big' dog coat now and that I all fluffy. She says she is surprised that my fur is still soft as silk, even with my new coat. Weilly says this is a BAD thing as it makes me more more 'cuddly' and he says cuddles are almost as a bad as getting wet. I am learning weally well and I squirm like crazy if Mom tries to cuddle me - it is okay for Dad too though - Weilly says that's okay. Mommy laughed at me yesterday - can you believe that - all because I tried to go under the bed to see if Jackie was hiding there and I got stuck! I am too big to get under there now. I sure do miss my Jackie - he was so good at playing bitey face. We wish we had some news or pictures to share of how he is doing - but Nebraska must be on the on other side of the universe because we haven't heard ANYTHING about him since he moved there. Mom found this last pic of him on the big camera yesterday - so we thought we would share it as I know some of (Weilly excluded) miss him a lot. Mom says she apologizes for not leaving messages on everyone's blogs - we do read them everyday but Mom does all the typing for those (me and Weilly only write on the blog). Mom has a pinched nerve in her back that keeps causing the fingers on her right hand to go numb and turn all white - it seems to get worse when she types so we have been left to pick up the slack and typing is pretty rough on little paws you know. Looks like a pawsome weekend - nice and cool and Mom says we are going exploring !

The dogs must be crazy!!!

2011-09-27T14:54:00.005-05:00

So here I was enjoying my walkies around the lake when I came across this sign on a gate - I wandered over to have a look and could hardly believe my eyes! They have a pier for dogs to jump off ???? What self respecting dog would WANT to jump off and actually get WET ????? Before Mom could get any crazy idea's I quickly looked off to the other side - I am sure there was something much more interesting OVER THERE on dry land.

In other news we will be needing the Power of the Paw next week and maybe a few prayers too. Mom is going to have surgery again. It's a BIG surgery and we are all a little scarred and worried - given what we went through last year. They will be sliding a muscle from each of her sides and pulling it together in the middle to reinforce her stomach. Currently she just has skin only over her stomach and that doesn't offer much protection for her insides and this is putting a lot of strain on the skin. That is why we have been doing such a lot of walking, to help Mom be strong for the surgery. So please don't worry if you don't see us around for the next couple of weeks - we will be busy helping Mom get better again but we will try to leave a few quick messages.

It's me !

2011-09-23T08:06:00.007-05:00

Mom says I had something done at the vets yesterday - I certainly don't wemember it and I am doing just fine this morning. So far I have been busy stealing - eeermmmm ....no 'finding' things from the laundry basket (Weilly taught me how to say things properly) I "found" some of Dad's shoe laces and can you believe it - I even "found" one of his shoes outside!!! Tee hee - it's a bit soggy because it wained last night. Weilly says it's the 'monsters' that do these things just to get us doggies into trouble! I was so hungry I gobbled up my breakfast this morning - then had a good game of bitey face with Weilly, then a good game of tug the wabbit, then we had a game of skitchum around the back garden and then I 'helped' Mom to get the morning paper - which mysteriously ended up with a shredded corner. Then we went to the park but Mom said we could only have a short walk as she doesn't want me "over doing it" - what ever that means. I am a puppy Mom!!! and puppies only have two speeds - fast and sleeping! Mom has also been trying to get a photo of my ears to show everyone -and she finally did it this morning. Do you notice the edges of my ears are turning black. Mom says it looks sooooo cute - aaaawwww Mom you are sooooo embarrassing ! Mom says because I have been such a big brave boy (I didn't ever throw up) that she is going to take me to the pet store and buy me a new toy. I have only had one new toy of my very own and I promptly took it outside and left it under the deck and we haven't seen it since! I like Weilly's the old toys - they are the best - they are all nicely chewed and smell good. I will probably take this new toy outside to 'season' it too. Mom says this will be an 'educational' toy to challenge me - we will see about that Mom! Okay, I am off to see what other mischief those 'monsters' have been in to because you just have to keep your eye on them ALL the time.

A thingless day

2011-09-22T12:59:00.007-05:00

The "THING" as I like to call him (otherwise known as Denny) - is in having his 'things' removed today. (He's being neutered and micro-chipped) We just checked on him and he is doing just fine, still a little groggy but otherwise did great. Mom was a little worried as the Denny is a little bit of a stressy dog (a lot if you ask me!) - he throws up as soon as he starts getting worried and shakes and trembles as soon as we get near the vets door. What a wuz!!!

In the meantime I have been enjoying some "Me and Mom" time. Dog oh dog - we went to the park again and she walked my butt off ------urm no I mean I walked her butt off ! Without the "THING" there to tangle the lead up every two minutes we did the entire lap on exactly one hour - Mom was pretty chuffed (me I was just pretty puffed!!!) Here I am catching my breath ------I mean sitting pretty while Mom takes a photo and then in the second one I was being silly - can you see the Reilly for the trees? - I thought I was pretty well hidden but Mom didn't seem to think so. I must admit I am really loving this fall weather and wish I could take you all on my walkies with me - though Mom would probably be a nervous wreck after a few minutes if we did :)

Different Views

2011-09-21T09:44:00.009-05:00

I barely have enough energy left to post today - we went for a full lap around the lake again today (2.4 miles which takes us an hour and a half). Mom says it would only be an hour if we didn't stop to check out the pee mail and leave some of our own!!! As if - MOM!!!! that is the BEST part of a walkies.

One of things we noticed today is what a few steps can make. The pictures below are all taken within feet of each other and yet look at the difference it can make - from being a greyish somber picture to a sparkling cool green. Mom only had the little camera with us today so they are not the greatest shots but you can see what we mean. Look at those silly ducks all lined up in a row on the log - then mom took the same pic from about 5 feet to the right and all the green shows up.

Mom wished she had her her big camera (the one with the telephoto lens) when we spotted this guy - we are not sure if it is a blue heron or blue stork - it seemed awfully big to be a heron. Either way, it looked so lonesome sitting there on a stump in the water, but then she moved about 10 feet to the left and got this shot with all the trees and the bird reflecting in the water. Remember you can click on the photo's to see them bigger.

And then all around the lakes edge we noticed these BIG fish - we are thinking they are probably catfish as they seemed to be feeding on the bottom. You can see how big it is by looking at the little fish around it - those were about 5" long ! They must be pretty clever old fish as we never see the fishermen catching them. The local park service keep this lake stocked with a variety of fish and we have seen some really good sized trout. We also had lots of people stopping to admire us today but I must admit I felt like biting some - they kept asking if the little one was HER puppy?? Do I look like a GIRL!!!!!

What a pawsome few days

2011-09-19T14:09:00.006-05:00

Dog oh Dog - we have been having so much fun since the cooler weather has arrived. This weekend Dad went with us and we went "off the beaten path" so as to say. We went to our park that has the walkway in the tree tops, but we followed a path leading off to one side. It was hard work let me tell you - up hill most the way, but look what we discovered when we got to the top - this pawsome lookout and YES - we ALL climbed to the top to see the view (well the Denny had to be carried up -the little wooz has this thing about going up things - but he came down all by himself!) As you can see it was pretty overcast - but that made it perfect for walking. Mom is doing much better and her bruises are just now shades of green/purple and blue but they don't hurt and she was fine doing all this adventuring.

Now you are probably all wondering about "IT" - and so are we kind of. We haven't really heard anything about how "IT" is doing but we do know his Mom was very happy to see him again. Personally, I can't see why - "IT" was just an "IT" after all. I am sure that given a few days to get used to his new surrounding "IT" will be back into mischief in no time. We did hear that his Mom has already bought him a Halloween costume to wear - gawoof gawoof !!!! Ah the life of a pampered apartment dog! We have lots more cool pics to share - but they can wait for another day, I am off for a well earned nap.

The Squirrel Chase Splat

2011-09-16T12:40:00.004-05:00

For some reason I have taken a real dislike to the squirrels in MY park. There are always fighting amongst themselves and making weird noises so when I saw them the other day - I was off so quickly I pulled the Mom right off her feet and she went SPLAT on the ground. Luckily we were under some pine trees at the time and there was a thick layer of pine needles but she was still pretty shaken and her hands and knees are all bruised (which is why we haven't been doing the rounds and saying hello to you all - she ALWAYS supervises what I type and hasn't been up to it the last few days). As some of you know my Mom spent A LOT of time in hospital last year and one of the side affects of not being able to eat for nearly a year is that her body pulled calcium from her bones - leaving her now with severe osteoporosis (brittle bones) so any kind of fall could REALLY hurt my Mom and we have to be VERY careful. Normally I walk along so quietly with Mom, not taking any notice of what is happening around - but those pesky squirrels - something about them just makes me go crazy. Hopefully we can get around to all your bloggies in the next day or two and see what everyone has been doing.

Easy as 1,2,3 or 10-20-30

2011-09-13T12:59:00.009-05:00

Like so many Mom and Dad's out there - my Mom is always on the quest for the 'perfect picture' and as you are all frustratingly aware it is never easy - especially when you have more then one dog. So again Mom takes dozens of picture in the hopes of getting just one that was right.

In the first one, Denny was being silly and I just closed my eyes at his antics. In the second one I was looking at Mom - Denny was watching an ant ! But finally you think - look at photo's 3 and 4 - are they not perfect?????

Well actually.......they were after Mom photo-shopped in my open eyes. In both of these shots I really had my eyes closed. Mom took the eyes from photo 2 and pasted them in to photo's 3 and 4! ****THAT IS CHEATING MOM !**** Mom says she had to, she just loved us with our crossed paws (ewwwww puppy cooties - I am going to have to disinfect my leg!) So NO the REAL perfect picture is still eluding her - but no doubt she will keep trying and no doubt so will we - trying her patience that is - gawoof gawoof! PSSSSS it took Mom 43 photos to get these 4 - and she says it's our fault! We know a bad camera-mom when we see one :)

Oh My Dog !!! - We DID IT !

2011-09-12T10:11:00.010-05:00

We are so proud of our Mom! Today we did the FULL 2.4 miles lap around the lake !!!! Considering Mom could barely walk when we moved to Arkansas and she has no stomach muscles and her back is all messed up - this was a HUGE achievement for her. Of coarse we 'boys' just took in our stride !!! SSShhhhhh - Don't tell Mom but my dogness are we ever tired!!

We followed the "chit-chat" walk right around the lakes edge - which we have renamed the Reilly and Denny Walk (see the light blue) Yes !!! even the little guy did it !!!! It is 80% under the trees so was nice and cool and yes I did stop every now again (pretending to sniff) just so Mom and "THING" could have a little rest.

At the moment the park people are "trying" to prevent the Canadian geese from stopping. They have been making such a mess and even attacking people so now they are using these loud gun things to scare them away. You can see how well it is working !!! Of coarse it did scare the be-gee-bees out of the "THING" (okay Mom) the Denny - well actually it scared the breakfast right out of him. They set it off twice fairly close to us and it frightened him so much he threw up his breakfast ! What a wooz!!! Do you see the goose in this first picture - it has the body colorings of the Canadian goose but a white head. And in the second photo - there is a pair of white geese with their babies.

Then Mom took a couple of "scenery shots" just because she thought they looked pretty. I am like "Mom - who cares about pretty - they want to see me and hear about all the great smells." Of coarse with all the sniffing going on - the only shots she could get were of our butts - gawoof gawoof.

We are not sure - but we also thought we saw a beaver amongst all these tree roots in water. There are some mighty big catfish in this lake that tend to splash around a lot but what we saw actually jumped off the log into the water and unless some silly old cat fish was sun bathing we think it might of been an elusive beaver. We also noticed a couple of trees that had been freshly "chomped". We are going to check into this some more. And finally - check it out everyone - FALL colors already!!!! And FALL means cooler weather and cooler weather means MORE walks. Gotta love that! Oh and I got to chase a squirrel - dag-nabbit just one more foot of lead and I would have had it - so close !!

A Mesage From My Mom

2011-09-11T10:47:00.004-05:00

Ten years ago on September 9th my Mom left Australia - flying 16 hours straight to come and be with my Dad. He met her in San Francisco and because of the time zone difference she arrived on September 9th. Dad and she spent the next day in San Francisco enjoying the sights and just being happy to be together again. (Dad had been to Australia previously) On the evening of September 10th they flew to Detroit where my Dad was working. Mom was still a little jet lagged and slept in the next morning. She woke about 10.30 on September 11 and turned on the TV while she ironed some clothes to wear. What happened next is something we ALL remember.

For Mom and Dad it was very bitter/sweet in the weeks following. They had so many plans, things they wanted to see and do, things they wanted to enjoy and yet part of them felt guilty. While on one hand they were so happy to be together, they also felt so sad at what had happened. Dad being Military wonder if he would get called back, what he could do to help and what he would do about Mom. They thought constantly about all the people who lost their lives, all the people whose lives were changed forever that day and for the AMAZING hero's who found the strength to battle all the odds to save and rescue people. Mom thought about all the children who would missing a parent, a grandparent or a brother or sister. She thought about all the wives and husbands who would be missing the loves of their life - knowing they would never get to hug them one more time - or whisper those words "I love you" to them. Mom hung her head in quiet reflection every day for the following month - just a few minutes - praying for those who were so sad and in pain and giving thanks for the small bit of happiness she and Dad we able to have.

So today like EVERYONE - we remember - all the heroes of that day - including the wonderful 4 footed ones - you will NEVER EVER be forgotten.

This is a sad video to watch - but please do as out of 300 doggies that helped that day - there are now only 12 left alive. If you are wondering why so few - it is simply because many of the dogs were already 4 years and older at the time and sadly we know our wonderful companions do not live as long as we do. Big hugs and woofitty woofs to everyone today. Sorry for the loud commercial at the beginning, once you get past that it is truly beautiful.

Just for Dawn and Katie

2011-09-09T16:07:00.002-05:00

Mom took us to the lake today - she was feeling a bit sad about the "IT" leaving (personally I don't know why????) but I wasn't going to grumble because it meant we got to have a nice long and quiet walk. Mom said couldn't help thinking about Dawn and Katie today and how much they would both love to go on a walk like this. So this little video is for you and anyone else who just needs to take a break, breath in some fresh air and enjoy a little bit of nature. It was a little windy so the video is a little noisy and the 7 year circada's are out and they are VERY noisy - we will be glad when they depart for another 7 years :) But there is also some nice birdies chirping in the back ground and it is pretty by the lake.

Bye Bye

2011-09-09T06:15:00.004-05:00

Today I am leaving to go to kneebraska. I decided my Mommy would miss me to much if I stayed and she has been telling me about this place called a "leash free park" that Weilly use to go to when he lived there. They also have LOTS of pets stores we can go and visit and lots of parks too. We had a wonderful day yesterday - we went to lake and I got to sniff around for such a long time and I was one happy and tired boy by time we got home. I am still going to miss Weilly and Denny but Arkansas Mom says "life is an adventure - and we have to grab it with all paws so we don't miss out on anything" So that is what I am going to do! Hopefully Mommy will get my blog up and working again and you can see what I am doing in kneebraska. Lots of love, snuggles and slobbers - Jackie.

A petition to save - ME !!!

2011-09-07T11:20:00.010-05:00

I am sneaking on Weilly's blog to ask for your help. I am starting a petition to save ME ! I don't wanna go to kneebraska and live in a pokey little apartment. There won't be any big garden for me to run in, no Denny to play with, no deck for me sit on and sun myself and no exercise machine where I practice my looking 'cute' routine. I know my real Mommy is there and she loves and misses me......but there won't be any Arkansas Mommy there to feed me my duck treats and pick up all my toys at the end of the day. And what about my most favorite sleeping place - under Arkansas Mom and Dad's bed --on my (the) doggie bed I found hiding under there.

And you know - I am sure Weilly almost likes me now - he sometimes let's me sit near him, he likes to use me as a pillow, he will share his bones with me - after he's eaten all the good bits off it, he lets me clean up his empty food bowl and he doesn't step on me anymore (at least not as often) and he doesn't growl at me anymore.........doesn't that prove he likes me????

And I don't like the cold - and Arkansas Mommy says it gets very cold in kneebraska and they have LOTS of snow. My leggies are only 4 inches long - how am going to cope trying to pee in a foot of snow I ask? Please please please sign my petition (just by saying you agree with it) so I can stay where I am - whimper whimper whimper !!! But do it QUICK ! Time is running out for me !!!

King of the Castle !

2011-09-06T11:05:00.005-05:00

I always knew I was 'royalty' and see this proves it !! I have my very own castle. Sure it was at the park - but I am positive it was built just me - doesn't it looks like it fits me perfectly???? I think Mom should move this to my backyard and then I could climb to the top and survey my kingdom. Not to be outdone the 'youngster' tried to show off by climbing the Matterhorn. It was pretty high but the fearless little 'honey badger' thought it was great fun. (Dad was also stood just to one side to make sure he didn't fall) "IT" was too busy off sniffing to want his photo taken with anything interesting and being the 'psycho dog he is - he wouldn't of stopped still long enough for a photo anyway.

We can hardly believe it !

2011-09-05T12:59:00.005-05:00

For the first time in MONTHS - the temperature is only going for high of 76 !!!!! Which of coarse meant - YIPPEE PARK - HERE WE COME !!!!!! Of coase the Mom TRIED yet again to to get all 3 of us to pose - but even with Dad's help - you can see how well that worked. This field with all the yellow daisy type weeds looked so pretty though. And guess what - this is the LAST week "IT" will be with us. He is FINALLY going to live with him Mom in Kneebraska on Friday. Yeah - I know, he grows on you (a bit like fungus) and sure I "MIGHT" miss "IT" a little. "IT" has kept "THING" entertained during those vital puppy teething months - which meant "THING" wasn't gnawing on me. And "IT" does make a very good pillow to rest my head on. Now - if only can think of a way to get rid of the "THING" too - hmmmmm I shall have to ponder on this one. Mom seems quite attached to "THING" though I am not sure why, as like me - he is quite blase' about the whole cuddling business - preferring not to have it if he can. More pictures tomorrow of my park adventure ! And happy, relaxing, peaceful and pleasant Labor day everyone.

Lightening Strikes Twice

2011-09-01T15:23:00.002-05:00

Gawoof gawoof !! Poor mom has been trying all day to get a photo of the three of us - you know, me the handsome one - "IT" and "THING" 37 photo's later she decided to give up.

Why you wonder?
One of us would move at the last second - blur.
One of us would move at the last second - butt shot.
One of us would yawn - tonsil shot!
One of would sneeze at the last moment - slobber all over the camera lens shot!
One of would be looking away
Two of us would be looking away
Three of us would be looking away.

I think you are getting the idea and Mom being Mom - she is such a perfectionist she wanted a "GOOD" photo - ain't going to happen Mom!!! Anyway - she suddenly noticed that she hadn't turned over the calander page this morning and when she did look what she saw - we thought the Woo's would enjoy it - kinda reminds one of Lightening but it looks like this little chap has a touch of brown around his eyes. That is Mom's thumb in the picture - she even had trouble getting this photograph because of the light reflecting off it - do you think maybe it's just the Mom who is a bad photographer and not us as fault - we are all PERFECT boys after all !!!!

In the neighborhood

2011-08-30T08:38:00.013-05:00

Here I was thinking we were going out to get the newspaper (but wondering why I had my lead on as I don't usually do that just to get the paper) when Mom surprised me and said "lets go for a walk big dog - just you and me" Dog oh dog was I happy!!!! We actually had some rain a few days ago so everything is looking very green and pretty. Of coarse I had to check all the latest pee-mail and leave some 'messages' of my own. As we were walking Mom suddenly noticed something. Around our neighborhood the houses all have these big brick mail boxes and many people have decorated the tops with things. Here are some we saw - there was a big urn on one - a pineapple on another and a pug dog and puppy on another. We have many more to share (we were very carefully not to show numbers or addresses). We wondered if any one else has interesting mail boxes around their neighborhood? Take your Moms and Dad out for a walk and see what you can find - we will even send out some presents to the best ones. Have fun and remember those parents NEED the exercise - we only go to keep them company gawoof gawoof!!! Of coarse now Mom is wondering if she can find a sheltie statue to go on our mail box - silly Mom!

PS - She did find some !!! They are a little too expensive for us but - you can see them here - and many other doggies too !

She MADE me do it !!!

2011-08-29T10:37:00.005-05:00

Weilly warned me about this thing that Mom's make us do - called "posing" but as much as I kept trying to ignore her she was hypnotizing me with that sing song voice of hers and saying the magic word "cookie". How is a little guy like me - with hardly any world experience supposed to ignore that? So here I was - sitting up on this thing called a "stump" looking all cute for the Mom. I am sowry Weilly - I let you down but I am going to practice real hard not to look at the flashy beast any more! I must say though - I am really liking this thing called "walkies" and going to the place Weilly calls the "lake". Weilly says I have to do something called "sniffing" - he says it's the best part of going to the lake - but I am not sure what this 'sniffing" business thing is yet.