Greetings to all...

Greetings to all this Christmas Eve! Ben is all settled and cozy, can’t wait to get busy dreaming of all the goodstuffs under the tree... Idling to the time where he can tear into those double-wrapped gift packs of bully sticks. In case you were wondering where Molly has been, she has been hiding from the Santa hat. I attempted to get a photo of her donning the seasonal accoutrement without looking absolutely horrified and miserable, but was wholly unsuccessful. This one could be interpreted in a few ways:

"If I must suffer through this I ain’t gonna make it pretty" OR
"If you flash that light thingy at me one more time..."
Rest assured, as soon as the hat came off and the light flashy thingy went away, Molly was in good spirits again, doing her happy laps around the living room. So in the spirit of happy, I wish ya'll and your furry critters Happy Holidays from all of us at dogzoomies!

Do I hear...

Dreaming of...

Three Dog Night

With a frigid air mass hovering o’er us, my sister and I came to talk about our dogs' sleeping habits. Molly is more of a curl-up-in-a-ball type while Ben is usually a side-sleeper. If he’s not, it usually means something. If Ben happens to be curled up in a ball, in the middle of the living room for example, then that means “Hey you turn that thermostat up, will ya?”

I don’t mind if they are with me on the bed, esp in winter, as they do make wonderful heaters. They must be invited, and if I ask them to move they must oblige or else they will get booted to the confines of the super-plush-overstuffed-microsuede-sherpa-fleece-donut bed or the heat-retaining-memory foam-sherpa-fleece-covered-orthopedic bed.

Molly is happy to stay with me in bed as I read, but the moment I take my reading glasses off and reach over to turn off the light, she hops off and settles into her super-plush-overstuffed-microsuede-sherpa-fleece-donut bed where she will stay til morning. The last thing I see before the light goes out is Molly looking up at me waiting for me to turn the dang light off.

If Ben joins me, he’ll usually be there all night. I'll be hanging off the edge of the bed as Ben catches ZZZs smack dab in the middle. Of. My. Bed. A simple command, “move,” will elicit a grumble and he’ll move about an inch. When I tell him again to move, he’ll turn his head to look at me, still grumbling, and then move off to the side. This activity usually stirs Molly awake and she will proceed to give Ben the evil eye or the disciplinary muzzle poke. Then we all go back to bed and try to get warm and cozy again.

It was brrrrrrrrr last night! So cold a night it could be coined a three dog night*, but it was a only a two dog night for me, as I only have two dogs! But I suppose if I ball up all that shedded hair that has accumulated en masse around the house this past week, I could come up with something roughly the size of another dog. (Which reminds me – must bring out the Furminator.)

* Whas she sayin? The expression comes from the Australian Aborigines who spent a lot of their time outdoors looking after animals. During cold winter nights when the temperature dipped, a fellow often cuddled up with his dogs to keep warm. For slightly cold nights, you needed the body heat of only one dog to keep warm thus `one dog night'. When very cold, you added a second dog for ‘two dog night.’ For extremely cold nights, you needed three dogs to keep warm, a `three dog night.’

Autumn-hued puppers

It's moo frisbee fetch time!

I'm back from my California trip and settled back into work, and life. Of course I've been back for a couple weeks (I am so reminded by my sister) without any new posts at all, especially of those gorgeous BCs of hers. So here they are, making an appearance once again on dogzoomies, are the delightful Lucas and Josey!

Canine Company

Been busy lately so I'm lacking in posts. Just got back from one trip to head out to another. This time it's for fun! I am leaving the pups behind... but they are in good hands.

So the suitcase is out again and the dogs sense what's up, they know the drill. I do tell them that I am visiting their west coast pup pals, Jo and Lucas, and oh yeah, the peoples... my sister and her hubby. Moll's head perks at the mention of Lucas. But I think it registers that it is I who will see her dog pal, and not her, and thus I get the look, as noted in photo above...

But I don't get too down about it, as I will not be lacking in canine company. Soon I will be playing tug with this seemingly quiet and innocent looking one...

And waking up to this one...

Cookie time!

Not too long ago, my brother’s fiance and fellow dog-lover dropped off some home-baked tasty morsels for Molly and Ben to taste test. We got big baggies each of Coconut Ginger Chews with a Peanut Butter or Carob half dip, Peanut Butter Biscuits, Blueberry Mini-muffins, Pumpkin Poppers and Carob Mini-muffins. I take a sampling each week to store in the fridge and pop the rest in the freezer for good keepin’. All are made without corn and wheat and no added sugar or artificial nastiness. This is good stuff.. But that’s just me. The verdict of all this gluten-free goodness by the taste testers themselves...

Ben ranked the Coconut Ginger Chews the highest, gobbling those up fast with nary an ‘inspection sniff.’ The chews were followed by the Peanut Butter Biscuits which he ate eagerly.

BTW, I rank how much Ben enjoys foodstuffs by how many times and if he sniffs the treat in question before taking it (the ‘inspection sniff’) and not just how quickly he consumes them because he tends to savor and eat slowly most types of treats (meat not included).

The two muffin flavors tied at 3rd. Pumpkin Poppers, to my surprise, ranked low for Ben. He sniffed twice before taking it – halfheartedly at that – and didn’t proceed to eat the popper til he saw Molly inhale 2 of them.

And Molly, her thoughts? The goodies receive her approval... All of them, equally. The bigger quantities and the higher the frequency the better.

Days and daze of dog

Dog days
The star, Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, resides in the constellation Canis Major. All stars shine... but none do it quite like Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky... shining twice as bright as any other star.

In ancient Greek times the dawn rising of Sirius marked the hottest part of summer. This is the origin of the phrase "dog days of summer." The Old Farmer's Almanac lists the traditional timing of “dog days” as the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11.


Dog daze
Often I find my dogs in what I perceive as peaceful, introspective moments, as if in a daze... taking in the morning sun, or evening light. I always wonder what they are thinking when I see them like this. But maybe they are thinking nothing at all, which is the purpose. I’ll come and sit next to them. I’ll gaze out to the horizon and temporarily lose myself to that moment. I’m suddenly aware of the birds chirping, the sway of the trees in the slightest breeze. The encroaching humidity signaling the onset of another hot summer day. And I take it all in. Thinking nothing at all, which is the purpose.

Canine Country Campin'

Last week, my crew and I had the opportunity to return for dog camp, the "Canine Country Camp" at Glen Highland Farm! (Yes I know we were just there a month ago for a Getaway!) A blast was had by all – a really great group of dog-minded folk and their dogs coming together for a week of learning and play!



Camp was full of border collies and Aussies this year! Love those kooky herders... Met some folks from last year’s camp and also got to chat more with the flyball and agility instructors teaching at Camp.

Molly received a novice agility award! (Ok that really gives me some serious motivation to continue the agility fun with both Molly and Ben.) Ben got some accolades from fellow campers about his ability to chill out and look so peaceful. I started to call him Zen Ben and snapped an appropriate photo:


And a few more pics from camp...