March 21, 2017

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.

March 7, 2017

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.

February 28, 2017

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":


February 21, 2017

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!

February 14, 2017

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?)

February 7, 2017

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...

January 31, 2017

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!

January 24, 2017

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!

January 17, 2017

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!

January 10, 2017

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)