Write a Post, Help a Dog

As many of you know, I write 3 different blogs, each one showcasing different passions of mine.  I write a book review blog, a small town life blog, and of course this blog about my furry little loves.  So, I have blogger friends who specialize in all kinds of different blogs.  One of these friends is Melissa from Books and Things. Melissa loves to read, just like me, and she also is a pet parent, also like me.  So when I saw her blog about something amazing that would help shelter dogs, I had to get on board.

The Pedigree Foundation and Pedigree dogfood has, in the past, had a blogging program where any time a blogger wrote a blog for the program, 20 pounds of dogfood were donated to a specific shelter.  The program is called Write a Post, Help a Dog.  Last year, nearly 400 bloggers participated, resulting in 7,820 pounds of dog food donated.  How amazing is this.  Well, this year, the program is back, and I am doing my part to help.  And I am hoping you will too!  In fact, you can copy all the info below for your blog post!

How you can help in 2011

Simply spread the word about Write a Post, Help a Dog 2011 and once again Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of food for each blogger's post. Here's all you need to include in your post:

The Write a Post, Help a Dog program is aimed at raising awareness and food for the more than four million dogs that wind up in shelters and breed rescues each year.

For each blog post mentioning the Pedigree Foundation from now until midnight ET on September 3, Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of its new dry Pedigree recipe food for dogs -- its best recipe ever -- to a shelter, because every dog deserves leading nutrition.

The Pedigree Foundation -- a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization is committed to helping dogs by providing grants to shelters and rescues and encouraging dog adoption. This year the Foundation has already raised more than $376,570 against its goal of $1.5 million to carry out its work to fund grants that not only help shelters operate, but to further shelter innovations.

The Pedigree Foundation depends on charitable contributions from individuals to carry out its mission to help dogs find loving homes. In addition to writing a blog post, here's how you can help:

Donate online at http://pedigreefoundation.org/donate.aspx

Apply for a shelter grant from the Pedigree Foundation by completing a form at www.pedigreefoundation.org

Purchase Dogs Rule Gear at www.dogsrulegear.com where the proceeds go to the Pedigree Foundation to help loving dogs find a home. SPECIAL OFFER: Get 10 percent off Dogs Rule Gear by using the promo code BlogPaws10 from August 22 - September 30.

Then, link up to our Blog Hop below, hosted by the Pedigree BlogPaws bloggers to help spread the word about Write a Post, Help a Dog.  I really hope many of you will consider blogging to help such a wonderful cause!

The Power of Two

This totally warms my heart.

In honor of National Dog Day this week, there was a photo contest in which we entered the dogs' photos.  I sent my Hubby several possibilities.  He showed one in particular to his coworker, M.  M has a doxie as well, and has been begging her husband for a second one.  He has been resistant, and Hubby has been telling M what a good thing it has been for Dex to get a little sister.  So, Hubby sends M the picture.  M forwards it to her husband.

Her husband responds by saying, OK, we are getting a second doxie.

So, this picture right here, helped make M a very happy woman, and is going to send a doxie to a loving home where he or she will have a great older sibling.

Yeah, my dogs are just that awesome.

Lookie what I got!

This past weekend was a big arts and crafts festival in our town.  The vendors include lots of people with doggie themed wares, collars, coats, toys, that kind of stuff.  I looked for something for the doggies, but nothing caught my eye.

As we were walking along a stretch, we saw a vendor who made really cute woodworking items.  We had bought something from this particular vendor last year at a different festival, and we had it customized with our last name.  When we saw one of his new items, at an incredibly reasonable price, we could not resist.

Isn't it the cutest?

Pampered, by Chloe

Mommy and Daddy often spoil me, but today really took the cake.  It has been so hot, as many of you know, and with my fur being longer and shaggier than Dexter's, I tend to be uncomfortable in the heat.  Today, Mommy helped make me feel better by taking me for my very first haircut.

I think it was tougher on Mommy than on me, since she had to leave me alone with a stranger, but I really did not mind.  Mommy stayed in the store and watched most of the time.  The ladies complimented me on how well I behaved.  It felt so good to get a little trim.

They put cute little bows in my hair once I was all trimmed up.

AND

Mommy paid a little extra to get my nails painted!

I felt so special and pretty.  I even posed for a few pictures when we got home.

But let me tell you, all this pampering has me pooped, so I am going to take nap.

Love,
Chloe

Travel Tips

Hello friends!  I am hoping some of you can help me out.  We are having a bit of trouble traveling with Dexter.  When we first got him, and he was the only dog in our house, he traveled just fine.  He wanted to sit on my lap in the car, but other than that, he did great.

How that we have two dogs, traveling is more complicated.  Chloe does great, she sleeps in the backseat, she never fusses if we leave our room without her, she does get scared when pottying in a new place, but otherwise, she is a breeze.  It is Dex that is the issue.  He now gets very excited in the car, almost agitated.  He paces and jumps and claws, it is awful.  On our most recent trip, we bought a calming collar for him, and it worked like a charm.  He spent most of the drive sleeping in the back seat with Chloe.  The only time he got agitated was when we went through a drive through for lunch, and that was only because he wanted our french fries.  He was an angel;  I thought we were home free.

I could not have been more wrong.  The trouble was once we checked into the hotel we were staying at.  He would totally freak out when we would leave the room.  His excessive barks could be heard throughout the hotel.  And when we returned, he had totally detroyed the plastic tray that serves as the bottom of his crate.  It was awful.  I am at such a loss as to what to do.  We really want to be able to continue taking them on trips with us, but if his behavior continues like this, we just cannot.  It is not good for him to be getting this upset, and it is really stressful for us.

So, friends, do any of you have any suggestions as to how we can handle this behavior, and how to make traveling with the dogs more enjoyable for all of us?

What I Like About You- Chloe Edition

Oh Chloe.  Miss Peepants.  Chloebell.  Chloenstein.  Chloe Bear.  Sally Draper.  You honestly have made our family complete.  I was so nervous about adding a second puppy to the family, but you were our missing piece.  There is so so much I love about you.

First off, your ears. From the day we brought you home, your ears had the cutest little curls on them.

You ears were really the only indication, for a long time, that you were a long haired doxie. The rest of you is starting to catch up, but your ears are still the shaggiest part of you. They are like permanent pigtails, and I just love it.


Next, your eyes.

You have such soulful brown eyes. You are my brown eyed girl. They always look a little sad, because your fur around them is so dark, so it looks like you have on black eyeliner. Such an emo puppy. And don't get me started on how cute that snoot is.


Next up, your personality. And for such a tiny dog, your personality is huge.

From the minute we brought you home, you ruled the roost. You are miss sassafras. You bully Dexter, you bully Nora, and you are smaller than them both. You climb stairs, and leap off of the couch. You give daddy special kisses by "booping" him, and you kiss my by licking my eye. You have so many weird quirks, like rolling in the grass, but that is what makes you special. Now, if only we could get you potty trained.

But I think most of all, I love that you are Daddy's Girl.

Because for a long time, it was just me and Dex all day everyday, he is such a Mama's Boy. I am glad that you and Daddy have your own special bond, even though you show that you love me lots as well. It makes me all warm and fuzzy when we all sit on the couch together, and you fall asleep in Daddy's arms.

In short, Miss Thang, you have made us complete. And I love you to pieces.

Summertime Summertime Sum Sum Summertime

Today is the first official day of summer.  And the best part of summer, in my opinion, is swimming.  Good thing we have a pool.  Not for us, for the doggies.

A few days ago, we got the pool out and filled it up.  It was a stiflingly hot day, and we thought this might perk up the pups.  Dexter had gone swimming last year, but this was all new for Chloe.

Dexter seemed much more interested this year.  In fact, he sat in the pool as we filled it up.  Just sat there, letting the cool water flow over his tootsies.  He was in heaven.

Then we tried putting Chloe in the pool.  She was, shall we say, unenthusiastic.  Most of the time, she would hop right out before she was completely out of our hands.  And once Dexter saw her freaking out, he was no longer interested in staying in the pool.

The pool did seem to help them cool off however. After his little swim, Dexter ran around the yard for the first time in weeks. He had been mostly just moseying, never really wanting to play, because of the heat. But now that he was wet, he was ready to run!

Chloe just mostly wanted to shake

and roll around.

But still, it seems like they had fun, and that is the important thing.

Poor Dog

Hello friends, hope all is well with you.  We have been patiently waiting for Chloe to get an "all clear" from the vet after her surgery.  Yesterday, she got her stitches out, and is now able to play once again.  She is now the happiest dog in the world.

Speaking of happy, or in this case unhappy dogs, there is a video clip that Hubby showed me that be both absolutely adore.  I seriously watch it at least 3 times a day right now, it is so funny.

I hope you enjoyed it!

Review: FunBites

We are always looking for new treats for our dogs to try, so when I had an opportunity to try FunBites, I was excited to possibly find another healthy treat to add to our treat rotation.

These treats are marketed as being healthy for dogs, fortified with calcium and phosphorus.  The chewing also helps clean teeth and freshen breath.  While my dogs do not have a huge problem with this, it never helps to have treats aimed at good dental health.

When I first brought the treats out, the dogs were not interested, as they were engaged in a serious game of bitey face.

 However, when they heard me open the bag, they came running.

 Dexter, the older dog, quickly chewed his snack down to nothing.

 Chloe, who is still just a puppy, took more time with hers, and when she walked away from it for a moment, Dexter swooped in and finished it for her.  Clearly, he approves of the snacks.  I tried later to give Chloe another one, and she finished it, chewing it slowly.  She will definitely get the dental benefits from these.

Since my dogs are small, this was a perfect treat for them.  They both seemed to like them a lot.  The packaging says these are appropriate for all dogs up to 75 lbs.  However, the bigger the dog, the less time it will take to chew, which reduces the dental benefits.

Also, be forewarned that these treats contain rice flour, maltodextrins and dextrose.  For dogs with food allergies, this may be a problem.  Also, for dogs with weight issues, this treat may not be a good choice.  There are a lot of empty calories in the treats.  My dogs stay within a healthy range, so these will work for me.  But for older dogs, dogs with low activity levels, or dogs already overweight, these may not be the right choice.

So in summary, a decent treat for small dogs that will help with dental health.  A nice additional source of calcium, but beware the additives and their empty calories.  As for us, we give these Harkle Hounds seal of approval.

I received this product for review as part of the Amazon Vine program.

Meet Our Neighbor

When we first moved into our neighborhood, we attended a block party to get to know our neighbors.  Turned out our neighbors right across the alley has a doxie.  It was one of the deciding factors in us getting a doxie, because their little lady was so sweet.  When we first got Dex, we told these neighbors about our new doxie love.  Sadly, their doxie had passed away.  They were planning on getting another one, and before we knew it, a little doxie pup appeared in their yard.

Over the months, both Dex and Chloe have come to think of this pup as their friend.  Her name is Izzie, and she is such a sweetie.  She is a few weeks younger than Dexter.  They talk all the time when they are outside together, and sometimes she and her mommy come to visit at our fence.  Once Chloe is all healed from her spay, I am hoping they can all 3 play together in the yard occasionally.

Isn't she just the prettiest little lady?

Recuperating, by Chloe

Hello dear friends, I just wanted to give you a little update as to what is new with me.  I had to take a trip to the vet this week.  I had to go get spayed.  Mommy explained that this was a necessary procedure to insure my continued health, and to make sure that our family does not grow larger than what Mommy and Daddy can handle.  Mommy also got me microchipped, so that if I ever get lost, they can get me back home as soon as possible

Mommy took me to the vet yesterday morning, and had to leave me there overnight.  I had my surgery, and Mommy called yesterday afternoon to check on me.  They told her I was doing well, and I could come home in the morning.  So, early this morning, Mommy came to get me and bring me home.  I napped pretty much all day, but I am eating and pottying normally, and I really want to play, but Mommy says I can't for 2 weeks.  Dexter keeps telling me the time will go fast, I sure hope so, because I miss wrestling.  But I am enjoying the extra cuddle time with Mommy.

So, thanks for prayers and positive thoughts.  I hope I will be running through the grass again soon!

We know we are a day late but....

We hope you all had a Happy Easter!

We got to visit Mommy's family, who met Chloe for the first time.  We also got to visit our doggie cousins, Phoebe, Champ, and Peaches.

We had a wonderful day, and hope you all did too!

Love,
Dexter and Chloe

A Weinerful Birthday

It was my birthday this past Wednesday.  Hubby and I took a little trip at the beginning of the week, complete with the dogs.  We had a blast, despite bad weather, Chloe being pee shy outside, and Dexter having separation anxiety each time we left the hotel room.

When we returned, Hubby gave me my presents.  I got a shirt, a video game, a necklace, some candy, a camera gadget, and a doxie.  No, not a real one, but he is adorable none the less.

It is a paperweight, and he looks fantastic on our mantle with the other doxie chotchkies.  I am getting quite a collection!

We Went on VACATION! by Dexter and Chloe

Hello friends, it is the awesome dachshunds here.  Sorry we have not talked to you in a while, but we went on a vacation with Mommy and Daddy to help celebrate Mommy's birthday!

We went for a long car ride to Erie, Pennsylvania.  We liked riding in the car, it is so fun to look out the window.  It was only about a 2 hour drive.  When we first got to Erie, we went to a place called Presque Isle.  We gave Mommy and Daddy a bit of a scare there, because I (Dexter) slipped out of my collar and took off running.  I finally caught up with the rest of my family, and Mommy and Daddy decided we needed to stay in the car.

After that, we drove a little around town, and then we got to our hotel.  Boy oh boy did we have fun jumping on the bed.  We stayed in the room while our parents went to dinner.

The next day it was really rainy, so we once again stayed in the room and snoozed while Mommy and Daddy went out and about.  They came back with treats for us, so we were pretty excited about that.

The third day, we checked out of the room and headed for home.  We made a couple of stops, again, we had to stay in the car, because us doggies are not allowed in most stores.  But then we headed for home.  We slept most of the way, but then Mommy and Daddy stopped for lunch and we woke up.  We decided we wanted to ride in the back window for a bit.  It was so fun, we felt like we were surfing.  Mommy was there to make sure we did not fall though.

All in all, we had a great trip.  This was my (Chloe) first vacation, Dexter told me it would be fun, and he was so right.

So, when can we go again Mom and Dad?

A kitty named Bruce

Last weekend , Hubby and I joined some friends in a trip to a local used book store.  I just love mucking around in this place, hoping to find some great bargains (I never leave empty handed).

One of my favorite things about the store is Bruce.

Bruce is the resident cat, always willing to pose for a picture. During this visit, I found him snuggled into a beanbag chair in the children's book section. i could not resist snapping a few shots.

Isn't he handsome? And since he enjoys a good belly scratch now and then, I gave him some scratched on belly and behind ears to thank him for posing so nicely.

He accepted them as payment quite willingly.

Look at all the cuteness!

Last weekend, while at a very cool store, I found pretty much the best thing ever.

I can't wait to make cookies with it,  but in the mean time, I can play with it!

Poor Kitty

Well this week we did something that we sincerely hoped to avoid.  It was probably the most difficult decision I have made regarding my pets.  Yesterday, we had Nora declawed.

When I first got Nora, she never really clawed anything, and I did not have any nice furniture to worry about, so, no harm no foul.

When Hubby and I started dating, and since we have gotten married, Nora warmed up to him better than she does most people.  However, she does get territorial sometimes, and dislikes it when Hubby is in the kitchen.  She finds him there, and swipes.  Also, she swipes when he walks up the stairs.  More than a few times, she has drawn blood.  I get frustrated when she hurts him.

Then, she started clawing our new furniture.  In less than a year, she destroyed our brand new couch.

We got to a point where the Soft Paw nail caps were no longer working, and she could not be distracted by scratching toys.

So, our choices were declaw her, or get rid of her.  And we did not want to get rid of her, so...

Tuesday, Nora came home from surgery.  She is happy and well.  No bandages, or stitches.  Her nail beds are glued closed.  She is eating, and purring, and doing well.  The only problem is trying to keep her confined to one room so she does not run down the stairs.

I know a lot of people disagree with declawing cats, and I assure you, this was not a decision I took lightly.  But in my heart I think we made the right choice.

What I Like About You- Dexter Edition

I may be just a tiny bit biased, but I think Dexter is the handsomest dog in the tri-state area.  He is just so darn cute and lovable, even when he is being naughty.  Most people see Dexter and remark on his unusual coloring, which is definitely a big part of his charm, but he has so many other cute parts, I feel the need to highlight them.

Let's start with his eyes.  Now, when he was a baby, his eyes were bright blue, and over time they changed, all except for one spot on his right eye, which is still bright blue.  It gives him such a unique look.  And his eyes are so, well, soulful.  I look in those eyes and I know without a doubt, this dog loves me.

Next up, his nose.  I love this little nosey so much.  Hubby refers to it as Dex's snoot.  In fact, we refer to the doggies and being "snoot cute".  I love to have this little nose nuzzled up against me, tucked under my chin during some Mommy and Dexter quality time.  How can you not want to kiss it?

Oh and his paws.  Such big clumsy paws for such a little dog.  Such short stubby legs for a dog of such length.  His paws are so cute, and I love when he puts one on each of my shoulders, as if to give me a hug.  

I suppose I could go on and on, waxing poetic over each spot, and inch of his oddly shaped body.  But the truth is I love everything about this doggie.  He is my boy, my Dexter Doodle, and I love him to pieces.

I mean, how could you not love that face?

Walkies!

Well last night, we did it.  We braved it and took both dogs for a walk for the first time. Given Chloe's predilection for shenanigans, this was quite a risky thing to do.

Snarky things come in small packages.

We only went around the block, since a.) it was cold and I was wearing no coat b.) this was only the second time Chloe has walked on a leash and c.) our dogs have short legs and tire easily.

All in all, the walk went really well actually.  Chloe never fought the leash at all, other than to want to go faster.  She was not scared of cars much, which actually worries me a bit should she ever get loose, and she even took the opportunity to potty.  So all in all, we were really pleased.

Then when we got home, they wanted to run run run run run run run so we left them in the yard for a bit.

Apparently Dex is trying out for the track team, and needs to practice his hurdles.

All that fresh air and exercise really tired them out.  They were quiet all evening, and slept through the night.  For the first time ever, Hubby woke Chloe up this morning, usually it is the other way around.

Speaking of Hubby, read a funny tale he told about the pups here.

So, exercise and a good night's sleep.  Yay for walkies!

The Great Collar Debacle

I got the brilliant idea to get Nora a collar, after all these years.  I got her a cute little pink collar with flowers on it, and a bell.  She got used to it pretty quickly, and all was right with the world.

That is, until the 4th day or so.  You can see in the photo above, that the collar was getting a little "wispy".  That is because Nora was licking and chewing on it.  So, one evening, she was in bed with me, and all the sudden she started making a noise like she was in pain.  I could not figure out what was wrong, Hubby thought she was having a seizure.  Here, she somehow got her tongue and/or teeth caught in the collar.  Needless to say, once she was freed, the collar was removed.

I have since gotten her a blue pleather like collar, it is not nearly as cute, but so far, it is much safer.