Wordless Wednesday: Wherein, Rita Wondered if Wilson Owns a Wubba

Rita luuuuuves** her Wubba.

San Diego: Come for the Breweries, Bring Your Dog!

San Diego is well known for its craft breweries - there are well over 100 of them. (141 by this count!) If you like craft beer, this is definitely a mecca you'll want to visit one day.

And the good news is, you can bring your dog! Many of the breweries are dog friendly, and you can find a good list here, and a few additional places on this list here. One brewery we really like that isn't on either of these lists is Duck Foot Brewing.

And I cannot lie!

Your Face Is Going To Freeze That Way

Did your mom ever say that to you? Mine used to when I was a kid. I've been saying it to these two nuts a lot, since they play a lotta bitey face.

Most of my pics of them are just a blur, but I got a few where you can at least get the gist of the bitey face/ear/leg games they like to play.

Knowledge Is Not Bliss, But It Beats Ignorance!

A few weeks ago, I noticed a spot in Rita's armpit. It felt like a scab stuck in her hair, so I tried to pull it out, but then realized it was attached. I gave it a few days, thinking it was just a scab that wasn't ready to fall off.

When it was still there a week or so later, I figured we better get it checked. It was small, and I thought it was probably just a mole or skin tag, but made an appointment anyway. The night before the appointment, I took this picture of it.

Rita: "I Can See the Mother Country from Here!"

I really wanted Rita to be saying "I can see Mexico from my house!"... but technically we can't see it from our house. But we can see it from some spots in our 'hood.

(That's Mexico waaaay in the background.)

THIS Close to Done, So New Dishes for Everypawdy!

Since I was wordy yesterday - with my review of the new dog book LOYAL - I'll try to be wordless less wordy today. (You know me... impossible to be totally wordless.)

Remember ages ago when Rita and I donned our safety glasses in preparation for our kitchen remodel??

Book Review: #LOYAL from National Geographic & #TLCBookTours

I was contacted by TLC Book Tours and offered the chance to read and review "Loyal: 38 Inspiring Tales of Bravery, Heroism, and the Devotion of Dogs" It's rare to have a solicited post on Pooch Smooches, but this book called to me so I asked them to please send me a copy.

Signs of Spring... And Other Signs

Spring is officially here!

It's showing up in our yard, where our ice plant is very happy after all the rain we've had.

A Tale of Two Kitties. (Okay, Really, Cats. Sorta.)

Rita "met" two "cats" this past Sunday. Normally, she hates cats, which you may recall if you've been following the blog for ages, because there was the time we took her to visit my sis, and Rita went ape over not only the actual cat in the house, but also this stone cat looking down from a bookshelf.

Around Here, We Love An Under Dog

We usually cheer for the underdog here at our house. That doesn't always work out too well (take the recent Super Bowl for instance...). But we do have a particular favorite "under" dog...

Here she is under "cover":

Tap-Dancing Dog

This girl LOVES to play with her Himalayan cheese chews. Almost as much as she likes to eat them. (Those of you who are on Instagram have probably already seen this.)

Love that entrance!

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!

Shepherds Keeping Watch

Since we have our own little shepherd (mix), I wanted to do a shepherd-themed card this year, and this is what I came up with:

Shepherds Keeping Watch...

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

I thought of the phrase "good fences make good neighbors"** when I took this photo of Rita checking out a neighbor's hens.

December Dog Photo Challenge - Plus Bloopers!

Rita and I decided to join Spencer the Goldendoodle's December Dog Photo Challenge for a fun way to be inspired this month with our photos that we post on Instagram and Facebook. (It's not too late to join! Check out the link to Spencer's page and join us!)

I thought I'd share some of the bloopers today! (We always have many since Rita isn't in love with getting her picture taken. And, wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I posted twice in one week! I'm really enjoying my new once/week schedule, but I wanted to share this before December was half over!)

The other day, the word was SWEATER. With Rita's thick coat + our San Diego weather, she's not a sweater girl, so instead I had her pose with #bearsinsweaters. I got this adorable photo:

Easy Xmas Craft: Scrabble Tile Ornaments

If you've been a blog reader for a while, you know my sisters and I get together every now and then for what we call "forced crafting." (It's like a forced march - you will participate. And you will enjoy it, dammit.)

You might also remember the last time we did a Scrabble tile craft, it involved dogs (we made pendants for necklaces and earrings):

Remember these guys?

Forget Puss in Boots; It's Pup in Socks!

My niece is a graphic artist (okay, technically she brands herself as a "professional weirdo"). Here we are snap-chatting at her wedding earlier this year. (I do not snap-chat, but my niece does and of course, knowing me as she does, she knew the dog filter would be the most appropriate.)

Animal Lovers' Bucket List Item: Visit Best Friends

As I mentioned in last week's post about our dog-less (but not dog-free!) vacation, we spent one day at Best Friends Animal Society. And it was pawesome!

A Dog-Less Road Trip - But Not Totally

Remember I posted recently about Rita's car anxiety and the triple-whammy I was going to try to use on her for our upcoming road trip? Well, I didn't have to triple-whammy her, because at the last minute things worked out for her to stay and play with Reg. (Yay! She loves Reg and hadn't seen him in a while!)

Reg & Rita - Reunited!

Running Negative Splits With the Dog

If you don't run or swim competitively, you might not know what negative splits are. (No, they're not banana splits minus the banana.) A negative split is when you try to complete the second half of your workout/race in less time than it took to do the first half.

Normally, you're nice and fresh for the first half, so that's your faster half - but not if you run with Rita. Rita always seems to want to run a negative split.

My adorable running partner. (Note the sandy nose.)

Is There a Dog-Lover Gene?

I think there must be a dog-lover gene. I have no scientific evidence, but I do have photographic evidence!

I give you... me with our pup Bailey* (many moons ago)...

When Car Rides Turn Scary - Pups with Anxiety

Rita is great about riding in the car - at least when we're just running errands. She hops in the back seat, raring to go, and never tries to come up front. In fact, I've left an open bag of treats in the front seat when I run into the store for something quick, and she's still just sitting quietly in the back when I return.

But lately, when we go on road trips, she gets worse and worse anxiety each time. Here she is hiding under the bed we put in the backseat to keep her comfy:

"The evil things won't find me under here!"

Furry Ninja: Is My Pet Trying To Kill Me?

This seemingly innocent fuzzy-faced pup tried to kill me a couple of weeks ago.

So cute. So innocent looking. But a silent killer lurks within....

Q&A with Author Barbara Techel - "Wisdom Found in the Pause"

Some of you may already know my guest today, or you might remember her previous visit to Pooch Smooches (especially since it was a very memorable post called "Poop Happens"). Please welcome author and all-around lovely person, Barbara Techel!

Barbara has a new book out called "Wisdom Found in the Pause: Joie's Gift." It's available on Amazon as an e-book or paperback.

Today I'm interviewing Barbara, and you can find my review at the end of the post!

Barbara & her special-needs pup, Joie

You Can't Beat a Beach Vaca With Your Furry Buddy!

As you guys know, we took a week off from the blog a couple of weeks ago to celebrate our 20th anniversary. To celebrate, we traveled up the coast with Rita to Los Olivos and Cambria in central California.

Rita is still getting really stressed in the car (probably a subject for another post) so she was exhausted after our drive to Los Olivos. She collapsed on top of her squeaky chipmunk.

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

I love the fall. It's my favorite season! ...except in San Diego when we have the worst heat of the year. Like now. Bleh.

Actually, by the time it's really Wordless Wednesday, we're supposed to have cooled off a lot, but the last few days have been miserable. It's bad enough to have the post-vaca blues, but post-vaca blues + a heat wave is really no fun!

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Feet

I wanted to use this photo for today's post, but didn't know what to say about it, so I Googled "feet quotes." Because, hey, there are quotes about everything, right?, so why not feet.

I really liked the first one that came up!

Don't Forget: Remember Me Thursday® on 9/22

According to the The Humane Society, only 30% of pets in US households come from rescue facilities. And there are huge numbers of pets out there just waiting for their forever home. That's why Helen Woodward Animal Center (where I volunteer every Monday) started Remember Me Thursday®, which takes place this year on September 22.

Remember Me Thursday® is a global awareness campaign advocating for orphan pets to live in forever homes, not die waiting for them. The goal is to "shine a light on all orphan pets waiting in shelters and rescues right now."