Wordless (ha!) Wednesday: KONG Premium Treats Giveaway

If you've been around a while, you know I have a hard time being wordless... and this is going to be another one of those wordy-Wordless Wed. posts. But hey... you could win stuff!

We were approached by JAKKS Pets, partners with KONG for the KONG Premium Treat line, about doing a review and giveaway. Rita said, "Sign us up!" Momma said, "Hang on... let's read through everything."

Once the Momma found out the treats are USA-made (very important - don't buy treats made in China!) and use good ingredients (all-natural, no animal by-products, and no wheat, corn or soy!) she agreed with Rita.

So, the lovely folks from KONG Premium Treats sent us 3 treats of our choosing to try, and now THREE lucky winners will win the same - a prize pack with 3 fabulous treats:

A prize package with a trio of treats!

Is My Dog Dumb, Or Just Not as Bored as I Thought?

... Or is she really, really smart?

Rita is usually fine with just a walk every morning and a bit of play time in the afternoon or evening. The rest of the day, she generally entertains herself checking things out in the yard, napping, and following me around. But she often has this bored-out-of-her-skull expression on her face.

"Ho-hum. Another day. Another 37 naps."

Mirth Watch Thursday: Best Dog Body Part

What's the best part of a dog? Is it his/her tail, since that's how your pup shows love? Is it the nose - so perfect for planting kisses on? While those dog-parts are pretty great, I personally think the best part of a dog is it's ears!

Whether floppy...

Rita enjoying a cinnamon roll treat

Wordless Wednesday: Name Game Challenge

Last week, Pamela at Something Wagging This Way Comes mentioned a fun photo challenge going on at the Raising a Super Dog blog. The blog follows the adventures of Euka II, a puppy in training for Canine Companions for Independence. The challenge was to take of a photo of your pup with his/her name spelled out in kibble.

Obviously for service dogs, this is an important lesson - that not everything on the ground is there for their own enjoyment. But I wondered, could Rita (definitely not service dog material due to her fears/issues) handle the challenge? We've been working on our down/stay, so I decided to try it. 

As you can see, success!

Senorita Rita Needs a Margarita!

Okay, I rolled these pics out last year too, but they're so perfect (I still can't believe the faces she made for these pics!) that you should just expect these to be an annual event. Oh, and they're not exactly the same anyway - I played with them on PicMonkey.com!

Enjoy:

Wordless Wednesday: Rita Must Be a Good Dog...

...cuz it says so right on the box we got today! Yep, Rita won something again! This time from Good Dog Takeouts treats from Jeffie's month long birthday party over at Talking Dogs Blog.

It's no wonder Rita thinks every package that comes to the door is for her - more than half the time, they are!

"Oh, for me?? Give me a hand, Momma!"

Monday Mischief: I Met My New Cousin!

Rita here! I met my new cousin, Reggie, this weekend. Momma said I did really good! She took about a thousand pictures, so I will let the pics tell the story:

We met through some bars, but he looked like he wanted to kiss me, and I looked like I wasn't going to eat him, so they let us meet for reals.

Mirth Watch Thursday: Opposable Thumbs

Last night the hubs asked me what I thought Rita would do if she had opposable thumbs.** I said we'd probably need to put a lock on both the fridge and pantry doors.

What If My Dog Had Opposable Thumbs?
I decided to Google "what if dogs had opposable thumbs" just to see what would come up, and it turns out there's actually a "What if cats and dogs had opposable thumbs?" Day. It's March 3rd. Unfortunately we forgot to celebrate it this year. It's in its 22nd year! According to the man who started the "holiday," people "aren't supposed to actually do anything on March 3." (Which is good, since I forgot to send out cards and get gifts!) "It's all about contemplation of canine and feline evolution." Since we missed the official "celebration," we'll contemplate it now.

Here are the top 3 things I think Rita would do if she had opposable thumbs:
1. Open the fridge and help herself to the contents of the cheese drawer.

2. Go online and order all the treats she can stuff herself with. (And she'd be able to open the front door when they were delivered.)

"If you loved me, you'd give me your credit card number."

3. Take the car and head down to the beach whenever she felt like it.

Okay, I wanted to put a picture here of Rita in the driver's seat of my car, but she ALWAYS sits in the back, and no amount of treats could convince her to keep her fuzzy butt in the front. She kept leaping into the back. And nobody wants a backseat driver. (She's so funny. We had to fight with Bailey and Abby to keep them OUT of the front!)

What If a Cat Had Opposable Thumbs?
If a cat had opposable thumbs, he'd probably just lie there and do the Roman Emperor "thumbs up/thumbs down" thing whenever you displeased him. "Why did you bring me so few cat treats? Thumbs down!"

And now... here is Jimmy, a cat who can actually do that:

As you can see, no, Jimmy does not want to do it again. And I love how he gives her the "thumbs down" when she says it's time to get up.

What would your pet do if he/she had thumbs? 

** There's a little back story here... One day loooong ago, Mike and I were talking and I said it was a good thing the dog (our beagle, Bailey, at the time) didn't have opposable thumbs. The next day, I heard him talking to Bailey, and he said something to her about not having "disposable thumbs." Yeah, he gets a lotta teasing about that. (In his defense, English is not his first language - although you'd never know it to talk to him since he has no accent - but he still gets a lotta teasing about that.)

Monday Mischief: Photo Mischief

I'm not super techy when it comes to messing with photos. I've never "shopped" a photo, as it were. (Why do they call it PhotoShop? It has nothing to do with shopping. Outta be PhotoTweak. Just my opinion...)
But recently I have played with made mischief with a few photos - and I think I might be addicted now. The photos I want to share also relate to two giveaways you can enter, so read on!

What the Dog Ate Giveaway
Thanks so much to Taryn over at A Tail of Two Cardis who wrote a lovely post about my novel, and is hosting a giveaway for a copy right now. All you have to do to enter is visit her post here before Thursday, April 25th and leave a comment about a funny thing that your dog (or another pet or even you) ate. It's open to folks beyond just the US, so hop on over there.

Now, when you do, you'll see that Taryn decided to "revise" the cover of What the Dog Ate, substituting one of her handsome pups for my usual cover model:

Too cute, right??

This of course made me wonder: "Why didn't I ever think of that?!?" So, here you go - Rita as cover girl:

She makes a cute cover girl, IMHO!

If you are wondering what the dog ate, that's a little spot of melted cheese on her nose.

Celebrate Jeffie's Birthday! 
Meanwhile, Jeffie over at the Talking Dogs blog is celebrating his 7th birthday, and stretching out the celebrating over the entire month of April. (You know how to pawrty, Jeffie!) Part of the celebration involves a giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card if you submit a party pic of your pup by April 27. Check out this post here re: entering. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing, so go on over and join the fun. 

I can't resist taking fun pics of Rita, so we had to enter. I was able to doctor up the pictures I sent with some captions using the free website PicMonkey. (Thanks to Taryn -again- this time for the heads up about PicMonkey!) There's a paid subscription version, but you can do some fun things even with the free version.

So, here are some outtakes of the pics I took of Rita, and at the end you'll see the final captioned shots I sent in for Jeffie's pawrty.

One outtake - she's drinking a "The Vixen" beer

Another outtake - the party "aftermath"

One more outtake - I put some cheese on the lid!

 And here are the 2 I submitted:

I had to put a treat in the lampshade to get her in there, of course!

Now go out there and have some fun with your photos! And enter some fun giveaways!

Happy Monday Mischief!

FitDog Friday: Pearly-White Canines!

... and incisors and whatever else a dog's mouth has going on in there. Yes, today on FitDog Friday, I'm posting about something that may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to keeping your pup fit and healthy: teeth. Just as with humans and dental health, keeping a dog's teeth healthy is super important too! (Note: Be sure to read to the end of the post for a link to a giveaway on one of our fave blogs!)

Do I Really Have to Brush My Dog's Teeth?
I grew up in the days of ignoring the dog's teeth, so it's been a little hard to get in the habit of regular brushing. When I came across Jozi the Corgi (yes, another Corgi! You know we love those around here, as evidenced by yesterday's post!) & the Pussycats' Smooch a Pooch Giveaway, we had to enter. How could Pooch Smooches resist a "Smooch a Pooch" giveaway?? Plus, I figured if we won I'd have no excuse not to brush Rita's teeth.

Well - we won! So now I have to start brushing Rita's teeth. And we've been lazy, but no more excuses.

I couldn't believe how big the box with our winnings was. Rita could have fit inside! I didn't remember everything involved in the prize package, so was expecting a tiny box with a doggy toothbrush and some Dentastix - but no! There were tons of goodies!

She's so excited, her head's all blurry in this photo.

I had to really dig around in there to make sure we didn't miss anything!

Rita with our haul!

Here's everything we won:

• A coupon for a free office visit and dental consultation to Banfield (inside Petsmart)** 
• Paw Print Keepsake 
• Doggie Toothbrush 
• 2 Doggie Toys
• Dentastix Fresh samples - yes sir, yes sir - 3 bags full!
• Sephora goodies including a $25.00 Sephora gift card (Whoo-hoo! Some shopping for the Momma!)
• Toothbrush, toothpaste & Altoids for us humans to keep our breath minty fresh and clean

Rita loved the toys that were included:

"Give, Momma!"

But quickly abandoned them in favor of the Dentastix:

"Oh, I love the easy-open packaging."

"Seriously, Momma. The Sephora thing is yours. Get away from my Dentastix!"

Just one, Rita!

After she finished the lone Dentastix I would let her have, she was back playing with her new toys. This one is really cute and is designed for snuggling - it sort of has a blankie attached to the stuffed part.

"I'll snuggle this later. Right now, I think I'll eat it."

Today we got out the toothbrush, which is really cool and 3-sided. As luck would have it, I'd been reading My Brown Newfie's post on all the benefits of coconut oil, (check it out cuz there's lots of good info about the health benefits both inside and out, for you AND the dog!). Via the comments and following some links, I found that some folks use it to brush their dog's teeth, so I thought I'd try that. I've tried in the past to brush Rita's teeth with one of those finger brushes and some gross chicken-flavored toothpaste, but she was not keen.

Today when I came at her with the new toothbrush with a bit of coconut oil on it, she was happy to give it a go!

"Yum!"

"Momma, could you stop the brushing action and just let me lick this??!"

Look at those pearly whites! Gotta keep 'em that way!

Thanks again to Jozi the Corgi & the Pussycats! (Stop by and check out their cute blog!)


**NOTE: I'm happy with our vet and he runs a teeth cleaning special every February, so if anyone would like the coupon for the free Banfield checkup, let me know. I'm happy to mail it to you!

Do you brush your dog's teeth? It's important for keeping them healthy!

Now... In Other News?
Remember when Taryn from A Tail of Two Cardis won my giveaway celebrating What the Dog Ate's first anniversary? Well, she's having her own giveaway starting today, so stop by A Tail of Two Cardis and check it out!





Mirth Watch Thursday: The Unbearable Cuteness of Puppy

Mirth Watch Thursday is all about making you smile (and/or laugh) - and what could be more smile-inducing than a NEW PUPPY??? Nothing - that's what. And thus for today's smiles we bring you the newest member of our extended family. Meet my new nephew, Reggie:

Here he is, quickly falling in love with his new Momma.

Wordless Wednesday: Spa or Gulag?

Rita generally doesn't like to be brushed, so when Daddy came at her with the brush** this weekend, she went belly up. 

Ugh. You try to get a little shut-eye in the sun. But no....

Blog the Change: My First Shelter Love

It's time again for Blog the Change. When I was trying to think of what I wanted to write about, I thought I might do a post on Black Dog Syndrome (if you've never heard of it, in a nutshell - black dogs, especially big ones, are much less likely to get adopted than their lighter shelter mates). While I was looking for a picture of Smiley, my sister's very lovable black Lab mix from my youth, I came across lots of pics of my first shelter love - Lazar Wolf:

Lazar, the day we brought her home - 1980

Mirth Watch Thursday: Peeps Show

Peeps. Would it really be Easter without them? No, not to eat - just to mess with. Or microwave. Or decorate with. Or make bunny ears for your dog.

Slightly-Less-Wordy Wednesday: Staycation

A couple of weeks ago, the hubs suddenly decided to take a week off. We didn't have time to plan much, and we had some things to do around the house, so we decided on a "staycation." We'd only done this once before, and the last time it was pretty much a disaster. We took off the week in 2003 when the massive "Cedar Fire" hit San Diego. The fire hit the second day of vacation, so we spent 3 1/2 days basically trapped in the house (because the sky was orange and the air unbreathable) while we watched the terrible, depressing news. (At one point we even had our cars packed and ready to evacuate.) Luckily this time was much more successful!

A staycation is pretty much ideal when you have a dog. (No worries about how the pooch will adapt to the new locale.) And we had fun being dorks and pretending we'd rented our house from VRBO. ("Can you believe these people left us all these projects to do? Jerks!")

We basically pretended we were retired. We slept in every morning, enjoyed our coffees, and then went for long walks on the beach with Rita:

Had the beach to ourselves!

Wordless Wednesday: SPRING!

To celebrate the first day of spring, I thought I'd share pics I took of some of the beautiful flowers in our neighborhood on a recent walk with Rita. And... we have a winner in the What the Dog Ate's birthday giveaway!

But first... Spring has sprung:

A California poppy

Monday Mischief: Cozy Blankie!

We've discovered that Rita LOVES this faux-fur blankie we have on our sofa. Normally, it just drapes over the back of the couch, looking cozy. But one night, it was chilly so I grabbed the blankie and unfurled it to throw over the hubs and myself. Who was immediately right there wanting up for a snuggle with us? Miss Rita.

"Oh, I loooove this blankie, Momma."

Mirth Watch Thursday: 7 Smiles, 1 Scream & A Giveaway

A week or so ago, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal on the benefits of smiling. According to the article, "Researchers are finding that wearing a smile brings certain benefits, like slowing down the heart and reducing stress." One of the researchers added, "You can influence mental health by what you do with your face, whether you smile more or frown less."

So, bring your face over to Pooch Smooches and engage in some smiling. No, it's not just dorking around and a waste of time. You're reducing your stress levels!

In order to induce today's smiles, I give you: seven smiling dogs, one screaming pepper, and a chance to win fun stuff.

Seven Smilers

An adorable pup from the shelter where I volunteer. (He got adopted!)

Wordless Wednesday: To The Beach!

Snapped a few shots of Rita on the way to the beach the other day. These are taken after we turned on to the little one-way road that leads to Fiesta Island, or Disneyland for Dogs as I call it. I just held my camera over and snapped, without looking, but they still came out kinda cute.

This one is taken w/ window up, no flash

Mirth Watch Thursday: Rita's Rant

Hi everypawdy. Rita here. I have a bone to pick with the authors, illustrators, screen writers, directors, claymation-ers and muppeteers of this here world!

I want to know - where are the bitches that a little girl-pup like myself can look up to?

I beseech you. Seriously... what gives??