Showing posts with label Fiesta Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiesta Island. Show all posts

June 13, 2013

Extra, Extra... Exercise & a Mess o' Followin' Up

It's FitDog Friday as well as Follow-up Friday, so we're (mainly) following up today on how K9 Kamp is going.

Have you been to Peggy's Pet Place and/or Kol’s Notes to enter the giveaway and find out more about K9 Kamp? If you haven't, then get over there. Lots of fun things to win!

So, the K9 Kamp challenge is to work an extra 20 to 30 minutes into your pup's exercise routine 3 or 4 times per week. As I mentioned at the start of kamp, Rita and I walk a lot - about a marathon a week, between a long walk every morning and sometimes another 20 minutes a few nights a week. Adding more time sounded tough, so at first I thought we'd try upping the intensity instead.
A happy-walker makes for a happy-kamper

No Mirth Today - The Worst Walk I Ever Took

I had a very different post planned for our usual Mirth Watch Thursday, but today (Wednesday as I am writing this), I had the worst walk I've ever had with my dog.

Not even sure where to start.

As you know, my friend and I walk with our dogs (Rita, and Rita's best friend, Dakota the boxer) at Fiesta Island (FI) at least 3 days/week. On the weekdays we usually know almost everyone down there. There are a couple of dogs that our dogs don't like, or that don't like our dogs, and we steer clear. Sometimes there's a bit of noise and a skirmish, but no one ever gets bit and it's always fine.

Well, now that school's out and it's summer, there are a lot more people down there. I'm constantly checking out the other dogs and assessing Rita's body language, etc.

We were just about finished up with our walk and had run into another friend who comes to FI pretty much every day with her 4 huskies. At the same time two men (big, older men with big walking sticks) and 3 dogs were coming the other direction. They had a timid puppy with them, and Dakota ran at it showing teeth. Dakota is very good about listening to her mom, but before my friend could even yell "Sit, Stay", the one man raised his walking stick and hit Dakota across the back with it, breaking the stick. (Luckily, he had the smaller of the 2 sticks. The other stick was thicker and could have inflicted some serious damage.)

May 28, 2013

Back to Normal(ish)

Hello everyone! Sorry the blog has been quiet for a week. I've been having blogging withdrawals, but   hopefully starting tomorrow things will be back to normal.

I had to take a break from the blogging mainly due to computer troubles (and also just plain being busy - we went away for a few days, it was the hub's birthday, my brother-in-law visited, my sis and I were prepping our entries for the fair - anyway, posts & pics to follow on some of that!).

The computer was definitely the BIG problem though. My laptop died and I was forced to go out and buy a new PC. I'd known I needed a new one for a while but kept putting it off because I was overwhelmed by the options (Mac or PC? Laptop or desktop? Touch screen??). But when your computer dies, your forced to do some quick shopping.

March 13, 2013

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

January 21, 2013

Monday Mischief: 'Bout Time!

It's been really cold here lately in San Diego. Which is a relative thing, of course.

After all, a cold day here looks a lot like this:

Look how bundled up we are!
While a cold day in other parts of the country looks a lot more like this:
Just another January day in Chicago...

November 1, 2012

A Special Beach Day

Last Wednesday a handful of current/former Tripawd owners met up at Fiesta Island. In attendance, we had Linda & Bernie Bin Laden (siblings to Angel Max), Queen Nova's mom was there (unfortunately, being a Great Dane and all, it was not possible for Nova herself to fit in a carry-on and come along with Mom on her trip out from Michigan), Wookie (the lone Tripawd in attendance), and of course Rita (sister to Angel Abby).

It was a beautiful day - sunny and hot and the water was about as calm as I've ever seen it in the bay.
Linda, Rita & Bernie immediately head for the water.
Rita & Big Bear

October 24, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: In The Trenches

...or, in this case, hopefully not in the trenches. The yard project continues and things are at the point where they continue to look worse each day.
Rita wondering where her yard went. (Nice clouds reflected in the window.)

We are hoping we'll soon be at a point where things will start looking better - but that might still be weeks away!

In Other News
  1. As I'm writing this, Rita and I just got back from a fun outing with some other current/former Tripawd owners. We had a lovely time at Fiesta Island. I'll do a full on post with pics soon. 
  2. I've been waiting to receive a fun package in the mail, which should also be fun for some of the blog readers. Someone is sending me something to share with y'all, so stay tuned for that. 
  3. I got another really great review for What the Dog Ate the other day that you can check out here, on a super fun & funny blog called Chronicles of Cardigan. Check out some of her other fun posts while you are there and the pics of her gorgeous Corgis and cats. 


September 26, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Beach!

It's (mostly) Wordless Wednesday time again - and today's word is BEACH!

Rita finally got to go back to Fiesta Island!
Here is her super-excited (although blurry) face on the way there.

September 1, 2012

Update on a Limping Puppy

I don't normally blog on the weekends, but we just got back from the vet, and I figured this was the easiest way to update everyone at once who loves little Senorita Rita. Don't worry - it's not scary news. But it does involve the words "bone disease."

As many of you know, Rita has been limping on off for about a month now. We'd been taking it easy on and off - skipping trips to the beach and foregoing our usual long walks - and then the limp would go away so we'd go back to normal.

This past Monday after a particularly crazed wrestling match at Fiesta Island, she started limping really badly. We took it easy all week (no walks on Tues or Wed, and only short trips around the block on Thur and Fri), and she seemed fine again. But then last night she was definitely limping again, seemingly for no reason. So, this morning we were off to the vet.

June 21, 2012

Best Birthday Evar!

I'm 1!
Hi everypawdy, it's me, Rita! I thought I would write today's blog and tell you about my pawesome best birthday ever. Oh wait, I'm only 1, so this was also my worst birthday ever.

My pawrents decided my bday is June 16, but they said we'd celebrate all weekend long. Well, the weekend didn't start out all that great cuz they were gone a REALLY long time on Friday night. And then when they came home late, they wanted to go to bed. I wanted to play! At least Daddy said I could sleep in the bed the whole night. :)

Let's get these things open, Momma!
On Saturday morning, I got to have a pancake! Then I got to open PRESENTS! I got an eel and a bag of yummy stuff.

You gotta go for the vulnerable parts first!









The eel is a little unwieldy (unweeldy?)...but I love him.
Then we went to Fiesta Island! I love it there. But it was embarrassing that day cuz my Momma brought her camera along and she was taking, like, tons of pictures. None of the other dogs' Mommas were taking pictures! She can be sooooo embarrassing.
I ran and played like crazy!


I was princess of the beach!

"HAPPY BDAY, RITA!" "Thanks. You don't have to shout."
I love to go in the water there!
This is why Momma calls me Bunny Rita...
...I hop when I run. I know, I'm cute!

After Fiesta Island, we went to visit my cousin, Nick, and Tee who took all the pretty pictures of me, and their dog, Lucy. We got treats. Whoohoo!
Ohhh, yeah. Keep 'em comin'!
Finally, the ... wait ... {Momma, what's that phrase again?? "Pièce de résistance." Um... okay.} So, finally, the peas - they resist ants was when we went to In-N-Out on Sunday night and I got to have a Flying Dutchman!
I am transfixed by the power of the burger!
It was a totally pawesome birthday - except for that home alone all Friday night stuff! There's room for improvement next year. Oh, one more thing...
Thanks angel sister Abby for fixin' it so I could come here!


Final News from K9 Kamp
Momma and I had a lot of fun doing K9 Kamp together. And... not only that... we won stuff!

First there were the awards. Whoo-hoo, we got Kamper Awards!


Yep, beach babe -- that's me. (Momma says that is just like my angel sister Abby.) And the gopher wrestling award was a brand new special award - just for us!

And then there was also the swag that we won!!!
  • Fugly Friends Stuffingless Dog Toy; I can't wait to get my lips on this!!
     
  • A whole set of paw-made, mixed fabric Squeaky Bone dog bone toys from Lars and Flint
 
  • AND a $20 Gift Certificates to Dogwise.com, courtesy of Pooch to 5k
     

Can you believe all that pawesome stuff?! I think I won cuz they knew it was my birthday. Momma says it was random - but I'm pretty sure she's wrong. I will do another post when I get all my swag. My tail is swagging with joy!! Thanks Kol's Notes and Peggy's Pet Place and all the swag sponsors!! You guys are totally pawesome!

May 23, 2012

We're Walkin' Here

This week's K9 Kamp challenge is walking. Lots of walking. Because Rita is a pretty high-energy pup, we walk every day. But this week's challenge is to either get out and walk if you aren't already or, if you are, then amp it up by hitting hills, adding in intervals of faster walking/jogging, trying new routes, etc. So, in the paraphrased words of Ratso Rizzo from "Midnight Cowboy" (a movie I've never actually seen...), "We're walkin' here!" And we're trying to up our usual efforts!

Rita Romping at Fiesta Island
Pretty much every M, W, F we meet Rita's friend Dakota and her mom at Fiesta Island and we walk for an hour. It's great exercise for the dogs (they run and play like maniacs) but not such great exercise for us, because we end up standing and watching the dogs play, or we run into the other "regulars" and stop to talk. My heart rate only goes up if I have to wrestle Rita for a dead gopher or if we see a snake. (Which we just did on Wednesday! Aggghhhh. It was not poisonous, but still. Aggghhhh, I say!)

Anyway, since M,W,F walks are not good cardio days for me, I try to make up for it on the other days - and this week with the kick in the butt from K9 Kamp we tried to really up the effort. For example, on our usual route on Tuesday, we walked FAST and finished 8 minutes quicker than usual time. Another day we added some bits of jogging in here and there - even on the uphill bits. Painful!

On Saturday, Rita and I went back to the beach and when she would stop to play with another dog, I'd keep walking. Then I'd call her and I'd start running fast until she caught me. It was fun - so fun I had other strange dogs chasing me as well... Perhaps not a great idea, but a good time was had by all. And since I can't run in circles around the bushes, like Rita does with the other dogs, (well, I could, but I don't want to be labeled The Crazy Lady of Fiesta Island) this was the next best thing.

We are ready for our next week of the Challenge. We'll keep up with the walking and add in whatever is next! Check out Kol's Notes and Peggy's Pet Place for K9 Kamp details or for info on giveaways.

Something Fishy
Waiting for the Fish Oil to make its next move
In other health-related news, I started giving Rita a fish oil pill every day. We used to give Abby one, and a friend mentioned the other day that her vet said fish oil is good for dogs (read more on that here), so we decided to start giving Rita one as well.

I'd read that most dogs will just eat the pill if you hand it to them, but not miss picky eater super model Abby. I had to pop it down her throat and reward her with a treat after. (Hmmm. Clever ploy on her part for more treats?) But chow-hound Rita does like to just eat them. Well, after she inspects/plays with them a bit.

Summer Reading
If you are looking for a fun summer read, don't just take my word for it that What the Dog Ate makes for good pool/beachside entertainment. Check out this lovely review from examiner.com. Also, the ebook is now finally also available on iTunes and at Barnes & Noble, if you don't have a Kindle.

Thanks for reading. Join us next week for part II of K9 Kamp! And get out there and walk/jog with your pups!

April 20, 2012

Gopher It!

After the last week or so, I think "gopher it!" is Rita's new motto. Let me explain. A really unfortunate number of dead gophers have appeared at Fiesta Island lately. I've lost count of how many she's found/picked up/carried around--but not of how many she's eaten. That count stands at 2 1/2 (over the course of a week).

The beagle in her can smell them at 200 paces, and she'll suddenly veer off into the bushes straight for the little buggers. She usually proudly brings them back to me. "Look, Mama! Dinner's on me tonight!" For the most part, I've been able to get her to "Leave it" (command often shrieked...) and trade her for a jerky treat (100% made in the USA!*), but today she wasn't buying what I was selling. She brings it right to me, I offer her the jerky treat in exchange, and then she wolfed it down. No amount of "Leave it" yelling or jerky treat waving would help. I tried to pry her jaws open (not easy when you are also trying to not touch the dead gopher sections that are hanging out of her mouth...like the little tiny, creepy feet...) but was unsuccessful.

"It's all ... SQUISHY!!!!"
In other horrifying dead gopher news, I had to stand on one (!) to keep her from eating it. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear I have no pictures of any of this madness, but I do have a depiction of what my face probably looked like when I stood on the gopher. (And, yes, it's always a Bad Hair Day at the beach.)

The beagle/former-beach-scanvenger combo is just not a good one. I'm guessing this was probably her M.O. when she lived on the beach, which makes me sad. At any rate, I guess it's a good thing she's not a kisser!

I called the vet's office and asked if I should be worry. A woman at the park said the reason there are so many DEAD gophers (Rita's definitely finding them already dead -- ex-gophers, as it were -- and not hunting them down/killing them) is because there was an exterminator at the beach protecting the Least Tern nesting area. She said they use coumadin/warfarin to "bleed out" the rats/gophers, but supposedly the dose is low enough to not hurt the dogs. The vet said to just keep an eye on her for any signs she's not feeling well, but she's been her usual spunky, constantly hungry self.

I guess the moral is that I need to start bringing higher-value treats along to the beach. The jerky is not cutting it! My friend helpfully suggested dead birds. Since I don't really want to carry a dead bird in my pocket, I might try a bully stick. She had her first one the other day (well, half of one anyway) and loved it. (If you don't know what a bully stick is, here is what is says on the package: "Ingredients - bull pizzle." Yes, bull pizzle. That kinda cracked me up. But I guess it's about the nicest way to put it!)
"My first bully stick!"
"Mm-mmm good! Two dew-claws up!"

Two Other Quick/Amusing Bits of News


Quick news: My website is up! Go to www.jackiebouchard.com and check it out if you have a minute. My friend did the logo for me. She's so talented!

Amusing News: When you have a blog, you get stats about how many visitors you've had and how/where they came to your site from. For me, it's mostly from Tripawds or Facebook, but sometimes there's an amusing Google search that brings someone to my site. Well, today it was a search on "very dirty smooches." Yep, guess what comes up when you search that -- two pages from my blog are the first hits! Lovely. :) One was the "Our Dirty Little Secret" post I did about when we first got Rita and another was a post with a picture of a "very dirty" Rita. Guess I should try to not use the word dirty anymore. Filthy's probably no good either! Will have to go with sandy or muddy from now on!

Thanks for reading! (Or at least looking at the pictures.)

* Don't buy any treats/food for your pet with ingredients from China!!!

April 11, 2012

Hoppy Belated Easter

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter. We didn't do a whole lot, but we did take Rita down to Fiesta Island, which is nice at this time of year when all the daisies are blooming. We tried to recreate the famous Abby lifeguard photo, but Rita wasn't playing along. She was willing to sit next to the lifeguard stand for treats, but wouldn't strike that "lifeguard at the ready pose" that Abby had. (I included the old Abby picture at the bottom, just cuz it's a classic...)
One of the MANY dogs she played with Sunday
Rita loves Fiesta Island and tries to play with every single dog. A lot of people are shocked when their dogs play with her and will say, "My dog never plays with other dogs," which is causing her to start to be well known there. On Tuesday when we went back, I heard a woman yell, "There's Rita!" which was kind of fun as it reminded me of how people would recognize Abby and call out her name. (They never recognize me. It's funny how folks that loved Abby have no idea who I am. But I'm the same - I mostly just know the dogs and the dogs' names!)


We saw three tripawds on Easter Sunday, which was pretty special--and which really made it a hoppy Easter. Unfortunately I was not quick enough to get photos, and they were all heading opposite directions or were too far away so we didn't even get a chance to talk to any of them.


In other Eastery news, my sis and I took a break from felting little wooly pups to felt little wooly bunnies, complete with nests full of colored eggs. It was fun to use some bright colors for a change! We might try doing some birds at some point, just to have fun with some of our colored wool.


Happy Spring everyone!

February 15, 2012

A Very Busy Girl!

Bunny Rita's been a very busy girl the past few days. This might be a long one because I've been taking TONS of pictures of her.

I Love Lucy
First of all, Rita met Lucy, my nephew and his girlfriend's dog. I think that makes Lucy & Rita cousins once removed. Although these two are more like never-to-be-removed cousins. Rita is probably a month or 2 older than Lucy, and they played hard for three hours straight. Most of my pictures from them playing outside look like this:
A blur or puppies
Action shot!










They seemed to enjoy this...
Inside, they played a "Queen of the Bed" game that went on and on. 
Great-white-shark teeth!
A rare moment of rest

Rita definitely LOVED Lucy and looked very sad when they left. Then she crashed!

Bunny Meets Bernie
You might remember Bernie, aka Bernie bin Laden, from this video I posted of him back in January.Well, Bernie wanted to come down from his home in Orange County to meet Bunny Rita, so the roads were cleared, and the appropriate authorities were warned, and we signed Rita up for insurance (our first time having pup insurance, btw), and the two of them met at Fiesta Island on Monday, along with Linda, Bernie's older and wiser sister.

No, don't follow Bernie! That way lies nuthin' but trouble!
Linda es muy linda.
They were actually pretty tame, I think because Rita was still hung over from her play marathon with Lucy the night before.
A very dirty Rita
Afterwards we went to In-N-Out, which was obviously a huge hit.
"Nom, nom, nom"



"Are there any more Flying Dutchmen?"
Bernie decided to give Mike the kisses he's been missing since Rita is stingy with them.



Then Bernie decided his dad might be jealous, so gave him a bunch too. Below, John demonstrates the appropriate way to receive Bernie's kisses: lips and eyes all clamped tight shut. The only problem is that Bernie then kisses your nose, sealing off your access to oxygen, so that you are forced to open your mouth. But you really don't want to do that, so it's best to just hold your breath til you pass out.


Bernie also decided I needed my makeup washed off - but I have no pictures of that (which is probably a good thing).

Bunny Rita's Special Valentine
Rita also received not one, but TWO special Valentine's from her long distance boyfriend, Rocket. First of all, he sent her a Valentine's care package that included a Monkeydog helmet, a stuffed pink monkey, and some chocolates for Rita's mama. (Which Rita's mama did not share with Rita's daddy...)

If you missed it I explained about MonkeyButts (aka Monkeydogs) here, but basically they are quadpawds who stir up friendly trouble on Tripawds.com to keep the smiles coming on a site that can sometimes be filled with sad news. The Monkeybutts' leader, Rocket (a.k.a. the "MonkeyButt-Bunny Vampire Pirate") has a little crush on MBBunny Rita, so he sent her a helmet. She is ready for battle with those silly Tripawds!

The other special Valentine he sent her was this special video viewable here, which cracks me up every time I watch it. My Rita es muy bonita! Y Rocket es muy macho!


Hope you all had a good Valentine's Day, whether your Valentine is two-, three-, or four-legged (or web-footed or talon-ed or whatever. I don't judge.)!