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!

Kamp K9: It's Not "Fat Camp"; It's "Fit Camp"

What? Two posts in two days? It's unheard of around here, but I came across a blog (Kol's Notes) that is doing a "Kamp K9" challenge and I thought Rita and I would join in the fun. Since it starts tomorrow, I wanted to get a little intro post in today.

Kamp K9 (sponsored by Kol's Notes and Peggy's Pet Place) is about fun and fitness with your four-legged friend. (Or three-legged -- little shout-out there to my Tripawds pals.) Each Friday for the next four Fridays, there will be "weekly fitness challenges designed to get us all out and having fun."

Now, Rita is in no way overweight. She's absolutely perfect. Although her vet described her weight as "the high end of optimum." So, still optimum, but he made it sound like if she gained even one pound it would be too much. Momma on the other hand has gone past the high end of optimum. I know I'm probably not considered "overweight" by a BMI calculation or whatever, but I'm definitely into the "low end of regrettable."

Ever since Abby's H.O. (her Hypertrophic Osteopathy, described here) started to curtail her activities back in November, my working out went downhill. My little cardio buddy didn't have it in her anymore, so from the end of November through early January, our usual one hour beach walks turned into 20 - 40 minute beach strolls, where we ambled along, covering a fraction of the distance we'd normally cover. Of course this was also the critical Christmas calorie-crazy and cookie-craving season, so the timing could not have been worse for cutting back on the working out. And I felt guilty going for a walk or run without her. I know that's a little crazy, but I also know that Crazy Dog People will understand that. (Are you a CDP? I am.)

Then when we lost her in January, depression hit and I no longer felt like doing weights or yoga or any of my usual routine. Once we got Rita, I hoped that would help, but we don't walk as fast as Abby and I used to, and I've been lazy about getting back into the weights/yoga.

If you've been following the blog for a while, you'll remember that Abby was very into her fitness routine and all about maintaining her slim super model figure. With Rita, eh... not as much. Don't get me wrong - she loves to hike or play, but she's really all about the eating. (That's my girl!)

She does enjoy a little Downward Facing Dog, but...

...weights? Eh...

So boring!

So, although I'm not saying I'm fat, I am definitely saying that I've gained a few pounds and need to reverse that trend. Last week was great since we were on vacation and hiked every day, but now that we're home again, I need to get back into a routine! Hopefully Kamp K9 will be a fun way to get back into enjoying getting some exercise.

Prizes 
You and your pup can play along too! No need to register or sign up or anything - just find out what the challenges are here or at the sites noted above each week and participate. If you visit this page on the Kol's Notes blog, you can find out about all the fun giveaways related to the Kamp K9 challenge.

This is a Blog Hop
This is my first attempt at a blog hop. Until a couple of days ago, I didn't even know this existed. But basically it's a bunch of bloggers posting about the same topic, so you can click any of the links below and see their posts, and on their post you should also see the same list of links. Hence, hopping from blog to blog. (Damn, the hopping thing would have good to do when Abby was still around. She was an excellent hopper!) Hope this works... Paws crossed. So, here it is, the blog hop:

Reservoir Dog

I usually try to update the blog at least once a week, but we were away last week on a very last minute vacation. Since it was so last minute it was too hard to figure out something to do with Rita, so she went along. And since Rita was coming along, our options were limited to a car trip so we drove 8 hours north to the little one-time gold mining town of Murphys, CA.

A puppy in the poppies

Murphys is in the central Sierra Nevada foothills sort of halfway between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. It's a cute little town with wineries and nice restaurants. It's nicknamed the "Queen of the Sierra," which seems funny for a town with such a masculine name. Maybe they should change it to "King of the Sierra." Or better yet, the gender neutral "Monarch of the Sierra." But I guess that just doesn't have the same romantic ring to it. ["Where'd you go on vacation?" "Oh, we went to Murphys. It's the Autocrat of the Sierra."] I guess the Murphys PR people know what they are doing. (BTW, I keep wanting to write Murphy's, which is not correct. You can read a funny little story about why there's no apostrophe in Murphys here.)

As you can see, it was lovely. We hiked every day and since it was HOT (mid- to high-80s) we had to always go someplace with water so Rita could stay cool, like New Melones Reservoir. Most of my pics ended up being just of Rita chilling in the water, hence the Reservoir Dog title.

On our first hike, before she got too hot!

Reservoir dog, pic #1

More reservoir dogging

Here she's at least playing fetch-the-stick in the water.

And there were LOTS of geese, including wee babies

...which Rita loved! (And thankfully did not eat.)

Other than that, we chilled at the cabin, on the chaise...

...or the sheep skin rug.

A relaxing time was had by all. Until we had to drive home through Friday afternoon LA traffic. Bleh. Not a great way to end a vacation. Still, it was wonderful to get away! I just hope Rita's not getting too spoiled. She's been with us less than 4 months and this is already her second vacation. Definitely not the norm around here! Now it's back to the grind little puppy! Back to the grind! (Laughable, as she has a totally cushy life. Right now she is sleeping on the sofa after a one hour romp at the beach this a.m. Her work is never done.)



Cinco de Meow Update

Thanks to everyone who voted for Rita in the Cinco de Meow contest that I wrote about last time. We ended up third, which is kinda fitting since three is obviously the lucky number of all Tripawds. Our 3rd place winnings of $50 went to support Tripawds.com. And Rita got some special lamb and duck treats as payment for her modeling services.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo-Eve. As you can see, our Margarita Rita is ready to celebrate!

Cinco de Mayo is a funny "holiday." Much like St. Patrick's Day, it's one of those days where Americans make a much bigger deal about it than the folks in the country of origin. And it's not Mexican Independence Day, like many Americans think it is. (That's actually in September, and it passes with barely a Corona being raised in salute.) Cinco de Mayo is a remembrance of the Battle of Puebla. But at any rate, it's as good an excuse as any (as if we need an excuse around our house!) to have a margarita (or two), so we will definitely be participating in the celebrations on Saturday.

Rita says, "Just don't over-celebrate!"

I entered the photo above of Rita (the one where she's sniffing the bottle with that "It smells like...home" face) in a little Facebook photo contest for "Cinco de Meow" (oddly named since it's almost all dogs. Plus a turkey. Or a really ugly dog...). She's so funny. She was asleep, so I set the bottle down next to her, thinking she'd get up and walk away, but nope - she struck these two funny poses. Maybe she has a little of her angel sister Abby's modeling ways in her! Anyway, if she wins we are donating our winnings to Tripawds. Right now she's in 1st place so hopefully she'll win and the Tripawds coffers will be $100 richer!

A Reminder
Don't forget, you have until Friday May 11 to leave a comment on my friend's blog and be entered for a chance to win a copy of What the Dog Ate.

Have a happy Cinco de Mayo! Don't overdo it!

A Giveaway & Guest Blogging

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I'd come across a blog with the same name as my book: What the Dog Ate. I introduced myself to Donna, the blog owner who uses it to post very yummy looking recipes, and sent her a copy of my book. Well, yesterday I found out that she not only posted a great review of my book on her blog (hooray!), she's also hosting a giveaway of 3 copies! So, visit her post here to see the review, and if you leave a comment you'll be entered to win. If you've already read/bought the book, you could always enter and win a copy for a friend. But wait - there's more... She's also posted a dog biscuit recipe that includes bacon! (There's a lot of bacon-talk in the book, so this is a perfect recipe to include!) Rita is after me to get with it and make a batch.

In other news, I mentioned in my last post that I'd be guest-blogging at Miss Mae's Doggy Tales, and that post is up today and you can read it here. It includes one of my favorite stories about our beautiful angel beagle, Bailey -- plus lots of cute photos of her.


In other pooch-related news, I'm off to my usual Monday volunteer gig at Helen Woodward today where I play with/walk the dogs that are up for adoption. I was checking out the pups on the website this morning
and there are so many cute ones I can't wait to meet:

Aggggh! So cute!

This one looks like Rita!

And this looks like a pointy-eared Abby!!

Speaking of our beautiful angel Abby, I'm looking forward to turning the calendar page tomorrow, because it's time for "Miss May"!:

Are you jealous that I am off to kiss/play with/handle all those cute pups??? You should be!

Inside the Dog's Head

Will as James

Have you ever watched "Inside the Actor's Studio"? Even if you haven't, you've probably seen Will Ferrel do his James Lipton impression. [Although he seems a bit pompous at times, I think James is probably a good guy. Anyone willing to play him/herself on the Simpsons probably doesn't take him/herself too seriously.]

Anyway, if you haven't seen the show, he always ends by asking the interviewee 10 questions, originally from a French TV show hosted by Bernard Pivot (whoever he is/was). Mr. Lipton likes to say Pivot's name with a snooty French flair. Today, I thought I'd ask Rita the "Pivot" [insert snooty French accent here] questions.

Me: Question1. What is your favorite word?

Rita: Treat! Or dinner. Geez, I didn't know this was going to be hard. Can I get a little something to eat?

Me: When we're done.

Rita: Are we done yet? Come over here. [sidles toward pantry] The treats are in this special little room over here. 

Me: Yes, I know where the treats are. Thanks. Can we move on?

Rita: Can I get a treat first?

Me: Fine, ok. Here's a treat. NOW can we move on?

Rita: nomnomnom

Getting a treat on a hike

Me: Q2. What is your least favorite word?

Rita: [swallows] Well, it's not just a single word--it's a phrase: "Leave it!" I do not like to leave it. If I wanted to leave it, I would not have picked it up in the first place.

Me: Q3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

Rita: Walks out in nature. Especially the beach, but a park or even the neighborhood will do. The smells! Oh, the smells that are just outside your door! You have no idea. You should really get outside and smell some s**t. I don't mean that literally. Well, no, actually I do. But, you know, not just s**t. You should smell everything! Big rush!

Me: Q4. What turns you off?

Rita: Rain, because it makes you wet and it washes away the smells.

Me: Q5. What is your favorite curse word?

Rita: S**t. Because it's so much more than just a curse word. 

Me: Q6. What sound or noise do you love?

Rita: It starts with the whirr & chug of the garage door, and then Mama yells, "Daddy's home!" That is a great sound! 

Me: Q7. What sound or noise do you hate?

Rita: The gardener! He makes a lot of scary noises. Plus he is in MY yard. (There are actually a lot of noises I hate, but I think that one is the worst.) Can you please make him stop coming?

Me: No, we need the gardener. Mama doesn't like to garden.

Rita: [mutters under her breath]

Me: I'll give you lots of treats next time he comes. Like we did last time, with the Frosty Paw.

Rita: Now you're talkin'! Ok. Keep him comin'!

Me: Q8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Rita: Oh gosh. My own job (guardian and protector of our house and property and street and anything at the other end of my leash) is really great, so I have to think about this... Um, I guess taste-tester of some sort. Maybe at like a hotdog factory or something. Or I would be a really good contraband-food-sniffer-outer. I mean, as long as you get to eat what you find. You get to eat that stuff, right? Like, I don't want to find some sausages in someone's luggage and then they just go in the bin. That's not right!

Me. Q9. What profession would you not like to do?

Rita: My daddy's. I don't know what the heck he does, but he's gone for a long time. And he comes home tired and hungry. I don't know what the heck they do him there, but, I mean, well tired is ok, but hungry is not good!  

Me. Q10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God/Dog say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Rita: "Dogs are welcome!! The park is on the left, the beach is on the right, and the buffet's in the back!" Are we done? Can I get a treat? [scampers off to the pantry]
Me: Fine. But wait up! I need a treat too!

 

Thanks for reading. 

Next week I'm going to be guest-blogging on Doggy Tales about our first pup, Bailey, and about beagles in general and their crazy voracious appetites. (Rita definitely is half-beagle. Maybe even 95% beagle when food is involved!) I'll remind you when it's up next week.

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!!!