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: Mistaken Identity

Today, it's time for a pup pop quiz on Pooch Smooches.

I want you to tell me what this is:

You don't even need any help with this do you? You don't need a hint (like "it rhymes with merit") or multiple choice options to narrow it down (like: "a. Seal pup, b. Ferret, c. Toy Poodle, d. Rodent of Unusual Size".)

I Have Been Remiss - Part II: Winnings!

Okay, I know it's wordless Wednesday, so I'll try to not be too wordy and mainly show pics of what we won, but I have to give shout-outs where they are (over)due!

First off, we won several books!

"I don't always read, but when I do, it better involve a dog." ~ Rita