Running With The Doggy

Not to be confused with Running With The Devil. (Personally, I'd rather run with my dog.)

I love my new running shoes. And my running buddy!

Our New Family Member. Or "Everybody Loves Carson." (Well, *I* love him anyway...)

Rita has come a long way since we first got her. We don't know if perhaps someone hit her with a stick or something in her past life on the "mean streets," but when she first came to us she would run away whenever I got the broom out.

And that was often, because: shedding! (Look at the pile of dog hair I've got going in that photo. No, wait - don't!)

My Dog Is A Walking Contradiction. Literally. Like, On Walks, I Mean.

Rita is... kind of odd sometimes. (Okay, a lot of the time.)

One thing that's odd about her is that she doesn't really like strangers... and yet, when we go on walks, she often turns up people's walkways as if she wants to go say hi. My normally antisocial dog starts acting social.

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!