Better A Beach Day That Starts Bad And Ends Well

A couple of weeks ago, we had a day at the beach that started out great and ended badly. (Due to a DADO* with his uncontrollable dog off leash at the on-leash beach.) But I don't want to talk about that because it makes my blood pressure go up. Instead... let's visit a day at the beach that started out badly and ended much better!

The other day, we got to the beach and it was not only super foggy, it was really high tide. Like, only-a-narrow-slip-of-beach-to-run-on-in-some-places high. There was tons of stinky seaweed all over the beach. (Dog heaven, right?)

At Least The End Is Getting Closer

We've had a wee break from the construction for our kitchen remodel, for various reasons, but now that that workers are back, Rita just... can't... even...

Ruff! Wait... Roof?!

When you're out on a walk, and you hear barking, and you turn to look...

...and the barking dog is on the roof!

Stress-Eating Our Way Through the Remodel

As I mentioned last week, we've just started a kitchen remodel. And, naturally, Rita and I are both finding it stressful.

I have to keep Rita closed up in the back half of the house since she doesn't like strange men in the house (neither do I; and even if she did like them, they're constantly coming and going out to their trucks and leaving the door open, so either way - she's on lock-down).

She's mostly okay, but when she hears them talking too loud (or whistling - she HATES whistling for some reason!), she gets upset and starts barking.

A little shot of spray-cheese is just the thing to take the edge off and put her in a much calmer mood!

Under Construction... Almost

We here at Chez Pooch Smooches are on the eve of a kitchen renovation. (Ugh.)

Rita and I have donned our safety goggles and hardhats (not pictured) and are ready for the work to begin!

It's Like Living With a Mastiff Sometimes

My nephew Leo the mastiff often goes around with a drool rag tucked into his collar. He's a big sweetie - and he's also a big drooler!

Here he is demonstrating two techniques at once - the "strand" and the "bubble." Impressive.

Good job, Leo! (Photo credit: my bro)

New Dog Picture Books for the Collection

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you had a nice holiday season. Ours was lovely with too much food but lots of long walks (and a few runs) to try to counteract all the calories. Now it's back to the ol' routine...

I thought I'd share a couple of fun dog picture books we got for Christmas. We have a lot of dog books, but there's always room for more, right?

First of all, thanks to Jan at The Poodle (and Dog) Blog for mentioning Zen Dogs by Alex Cearns before Christmas. I got a copy for the hubs for one of his presents.

LOVE the cover!