Balancing to Build Up the Dog's Confidence

I wanted to try to do a pictorial of our vaca with Rita to Cambria in Central CA today, but I didn't have time to get organized, so instead I'm sharing a subset of Rita balancing on things while we were on vaca!

I'm always impressed by Mr. N., the adorable Tenacious Little Terrier and the Adventures of Zoe & Phoenix and all the other talented dogs out there who can hop up on trees and whatnot and pose for photos. Since Rita has a lot of fears, I figured we'd try some hoping-up-and-posing pics, too, to build up her confidence - but we started small!

Here she is on a bench. (I know: easy-peasy. But they had all these cool benches made of logs and driftwood so it was mostly for the photo op and to practice her "go to your bed" command. That was the command I used to get her up on all these things. If I pat something - sofa, her bed, bench, whatever - and say "go to your bed" she'll get on it.)

A Puffy-Faced Puppy

We were away last week on vacation so took a little bloggy break. Missed you guys! Catching up on recent mischief today, and hopefully I'll get around to sharing our vaca pics soon!

Some of you may have seen this on Facebook, but recently, Rita was happily hanging out on the deck outside, as she often likes to do...

Our Dog is Calling the Drought Police - We Gave Her a Bath

Rita LOVES the drought in California. Because of it, she hasn't had a bath in ages! She was terribly over-due so we had to give her one this past weekend. (Siriusly, Rita - we had no choice!)

Since I knew we'd be giving her a bath when we got home, I let her indulge in one of her fave things to do on a hot walk - dunk in a puddle.

Filthy dunking puppy

What the Dog Ate - In Real Life

If you've read my first book, What the Dog Ate, you know it starts with a woman finding out at her vet's office that her dog has eaten a pair of thong panties... but they aren't hers.

In real life, Rita's cousin Reggie recently had to visit the vet a few times. At first my sis and her hubs thought he was eating his own hair. He'd thrown up a hair ball, and then tried to throw up a few times at night, so off to the vet he went, where he had to endure the mischief of being prescribed some cat medicine! (Oh, the indignity...) (Did you know dogs can get hairballs, just like cats do? Especially long-haired dogs? I had no idea!)

No self-respecting dog wants to take medicine with a cat on the box!

Less-Wordy Wednesday: A Little Library

I found a little library in our 'hood. So fun!

I was out walking Rita the other day, and someone had put a "little library" on one of the side streets by our house. It had just started, so there weren't too many books then, but I did get Room, which I've been wanting to read.

Dog Normal or DOG CRAZY? Meg Donohue #Book #Giveaway!

Today for Monday Mischief, I have some exciting mischief. I recently read USA Today bestselling author Meg Donohue's DOG CRAZY. I really enjoyed it and I think you will too! So, today I've got an interview with Meg (#squee) and a giveaway of a signed paperback copy of DOG CRAZY!

Read on!

Isn't the cover adorable?!

Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and Us

Do you know that saying that "only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun"?

Well, you can add us to that list.

"I wouldn't say I'm *mad*, just annoyed."