Hide And Seek?

 Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone?

Oh where, oh where could she be?

OMG Hi!

(Mama's note: I did not put Lily under the blanket! She often burrows under the covers to play... in fact, this morning, I woke up to her frantically burying herself in my covers!)

Mama's Birthday Present

Hi everyone! We wanted to show you the birthday present that our Uncle Jay sent to our Mama! Its a book about dog training, called How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend. It was written by these monks in New York who raise and train dogs at their monastery! Can you believe that? Mama already started reading it last night. We told her that she is already our best friend... and she said "ditto," but she said she thinks Uncle Jay sent her this book because he thinks Lily needs to be trained more. 


(Lily: "What? Why do I have to be the one to get trained more?" 
Trixie: "Because you're the one that would never stop barking at him while he was here!" 
Lily: "Thats because he's like twelve feet tall and really loud! Besides... I am the one with perfect recall skills. All Mama has to do is call my name and open her arms, and I run straight to her. You are the one that Gramma has to chase into the street every time a dog walks by."
Trixie: "Well, who is the one who still pees on the carpet?"
Lily: "Who is the one who still jumps up on people when they're making food in the kitchen?"
Trixie: "You do that too. Its just that you're so small, nobody cares."
Sammy-Joe: "Quit arguing! You both could use some training as far as I'm concerned!") 


So... yeah. It looks like a really good book! Mama said when she's done reading it, we'll tell you all about it. And if anyone else has read it, let us know what you think!

Who Is This Beautiful Doggie?

Hi everyone! Its me, Trixie! Guess who got her very first professional grooming today? I'll give you a hint.

BEFORE

AFTER

I know, its a little hard to tell the difference in these pictures. Mama didn't want them to change me too much because she thought I looked super cute already. But I did get my face fur trimmed very nicely, and some of the wild hair on my back and sides, and also my... eh-em... buttock hair! My nails were also clipped, and I got a nice bath! Mama thinks I look very neat and clean. What do you think?


Lily just got her nails cut this time. But next time, its going to be her turn to get groomed! I don't think they'll be able to make her look as cute as I do, though, do you?

Dude, where are our comments?

We have an odd mystery here!
On Wednesday, when Lily posted about her birthday, we got 18 comments! We know, because we got each of the wonderful comments through our email, and we read them all there.
But when we checked on our actual blog, it said we only got 4 comments on that day! 
So... where'd the other 14 comments go? We know you all commented! We read them all! But they are not on our blog!
Hmm. Blogger.com is SUCH A PAIN sometimes!

Happy Birthday To Lily!

Hi, everyone! Its me, Lily Billy, and guess what? Today is my BIRTHDAY! Two year ago today, very early in the morning, I was born straight into my (human) Mama's hands!

Mama wanted to get me lots and lots of toys, but she is still broke! So she tried to give us a special day. (Trixie and Sammy-Joe also got a special day, because Mama was even broker when it was their birthday back in March!)

For my birthday treat, Mama made me special cupcakes! She put some of my favorite foods... peanut butter and carrots... in the cupcakes. Do they look delicious?

Since Sammy-Joe doesn't really like cupcakes, he got a can of cat food that he loves, and some CatSip!

Then, we went outside, where Mama said we could play outside for as long as we wanted to. But since it was so hot, we mostly sat under the picnic table.

We did get to share my birthday cupcakes with Andi, our neighborlab, and her sister and

brother!

(This is Andi looking over the fence to see if we have more cupcakes for her.)

We got hot and tired fast, even though Mama gave us a bowl of water outside. So we came inside, and Mama gave me my present... a great new Busy Bone! (Trixie got one too, but she ran off to hide hers right away.)

Mama promised she would get us all some better presents when she has more money... but we don't care. We are happy just being loved! (The cupcakes and new bones were a nice touch though.)

Uh-oh, my Mama wants to write something. She is picking me up and moving me! BYE EVERY

ONE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

***

From Lily's Mama...

Happy Birthday, little Lily! I love you with all my heart! I loved you as much then...

as I do now!

Thank you for being my puppy!

Love, Mama

Who Wants To Buy This House?

Our friend Pip is trying to sell his house. It looks like this.

Well, okay, it doesn't look exactly like that! For one thing, it is not a cartoon. But we are sure it is a very nice house! So if you are looking for a new house in the Chicago area, we can totally hook you up with a good one!

OK, thats all... back to your regularly scheduled activities!

Lazy Dogs

Something great happened this morning!
When Gramma and Grampa left for work, we were barking angrily at them through the window, saying, "Fine! Go ahead, then! Just leave us here! Don't feel guilty or anything!"
Then we heard someone calling us from upstairs.
It was Mama!
She never went to work today! 
So we all got to cuddle in bed together for several more hours!
(Except for Sammy-Joe, who was sleeping on the desk!)
Happy Cinco De Mayo, by the way! 

We Tried A Brand New Dog Food!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nutrish for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Something interesting happened to us recently! The people from Nutrish asked us to try Rachael Ray Nutrish just 6 dry dog food! They sent us a sample, and they even sent us a little bowl... which was a good idea, since Mama thought we should have separate bowls to try the new food out so we wouldn't be fighting over it. 

Before she would let us try it, Mama told us a little about what we were about to eat. (We aren't particularly picky...  taste is everything to us... but we know nutrition is important to humans, so we listened!) She said that the first ingredient is always meat. (Hey, we like that idea!) Some other foods use lots of  meat by-products, fillers and artificial flavors and preservatives. But not Nutrish! In the just 6 food we were about to try, the main ingredient is lamb. Thats good for us in particular, especially, since Trixie seems to throw up a lot and lamb is good for the tummy! 

The other main ingredients are Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Dried Beet Pulp, Poultry Fat and Natural Chicken Flavor. Do you notice there are 5 ingredients besides the lamb? Thats why they call it just 6! They do also add vitamins and minerals to make it super healthy.

By the time Mama finished explaining all this to us, we were barking, "JUST GIVE US THE FOOD!" So... Mama divided it between our regular bowl, and the little bowl they sent us. 

               

Delicious and nutritious! We gobbled it down!

Poor Sammy-Joe was so jealous that we were getting a special treat, he was crying in the other room. So Mama gave him a scoop of wet cat food (which he only gets on special occasions) to make him happy. She tried to take a picture, but his fort was too dark and it didn't come out! 

Anyway... as we ate, Mama had one more thing to tell us. She said some of the proceeds from sales of Rachel Ray's line of dog foods will be donated to pet rescue organizations like the ASPCA and Bad Rap. 

That does it! You've won our hearts, Rachel Ray! 

Friends, if you want to try out Rachael Ray Nutrish just 6 dry dog food for  yourself, you can request a free sample!

Well, we're full now, so we're going to go outside and burn some energy off by running around in circles. See ya later! 

Wordless Wednesday: Basket Of Lily

Don't forget to check out other Wordless Wednesday entries at BlogPaw!

Almost Home Dogs - McFadden, The Shelf Pup!

Hi everyone! Its been a long time since we've interviewed an Almost Home dog. But now that Mama is starting to be a little less busy, we're going to try to get back into our blogging habits! This weekend while she was volunteering, Mama met a little dog who she really loved and wanted to share with you. So today, we want to introduce you to McFadden, the shelf pup!

M: Hi everyone!


TLS: McFadden, why does Mama call you the Shelf Pup?


M: Well, as you can see from the picture, I'm standing on one of the shelves at Petsmart. Your Mama was hanging out with me at the adoption show there, and I kept getting onto the shelves! It was like my secret cave!


TLS: We can see how you would like that! So, McFadden, some people say you look like a tiny German Shepherd. Are you?


M: No! I'm a full-grown dog... even though I'm still pretty young at about thirteen months old. I am a pug/chihuahua mix!


TLS: Thats a great mix... two of our favorite kinds of dogs!


M: Thanks!


TLS: Mama says you are a little afraid of men.


M: Just a little. I don't remember what might have happened to me when I was a pup, but sometimes men freak me out when I first meet them. Of course, I can warm up to them if they spend some time with me and show me that they're not going to hurt me! It is a good idea for men (and anyone else for that matter) to sit or crouch near me and put their hand out for me to sniff, instead of towering over me or bending over me, when they first meet me. Otherwise, I might cower away and not want to go up to them! I am super close to my new foster father, so that shows that I am not too scared of men.


TLS: What about kids?


M: I think I like kids, as long as they don't hurt me! At the adoption show, a little girl came and sat by me, and I adored her! I laid in her lap with my belly up, wagged my legs in the air, and enjoyed her pets and cuddles. Kids can be great, if they know how to treat a doggie!


TLS: How about other dogs?


M: Sure! I love to play. I have a foster brother and we wrestle all the time. He's a terrier so he wants to play, literally, all the time! When he starts to annoy me, I have to growl at him and walk away. But we are good friends. And other dogs are great too! I've never met a cat, so I'd have to meet one in person and see how I feel about him. (Sammy-Joe doesn't count!)


TLS: Sensitive question time. Are you house trained?


M: Well... I'm working on it. My foster parents are trying to teach me about house training, since my previous owners forgot to cover that topic. I think I'm starting to get it, though!


TLS: What would be the perfect home for you?


M: I'm not picky. Anyone who will love me and be kind to me and never hit me. I would love to be someone's lap dog in the evenings while they are watching TV! I also love to run and play. I am soft, and cute, and very cuddly.


TLS: You sound like the perfect little dog!


M: Thanks! I hope someone will come and get me soon so I can have a forever home.


TLS: Thanks for talking with us, McFadden! Good luck!


If you live in or around Schaumburg, IL and you'd like to meet McFadden... or any of his buddies... please give Almost Home Foundation a call at 630-582-3738. You can also email them at dogs@almosthomefoundation.org. Some wonderful doggie is waiting for you! 

Smarty Sunday: All Different Pets!

Hi everyone, its me, Sammy-Joe, here to share some more smartness with you on this great Sunday! 
Today Mama read this article about a friendly pet wallaby who got loose in Arizona. Of course, the first thing Mama said was, "I want a pet wallaby!" We Googled it and found out that, yes, wallabies are available as pets! We also found a bunch of other... um... unusual pets people can have.


I wanted to share this with you in fun, but first, I just wanted to remind everyone. Any time you get any pet, you should do you research first to learn about all the things the pet will need, and you should decide if this is really the best pet for you. Once you get a pet, there's no turning back! We don't want to hear about someone having to open a shelter for all of the unwanted wallabies that have been tossed out of their homes in a few years when people decide they're not exciting anymore! So please... if you do decide to get one of these pets... do a lot of thinking and preparing beforehand. (I'm not talking to my regular readers, who I know are very responsible pet owners! But you never know who will do a Google search, and find this blog entry, so I just wanted to do my part and tell people. DON'T DUMP YOUR PETS... whether they are dogs, cats, bunnies, or wallabies!

A lot of kids have guinea pigs as pets. What if your guinea pig weighed 150 pounds? If you have a 150 pound guinea pig, it is probably actually a capybara. They are the largest members of the rodent family. We found this information on Paw-talk: "Capybara can make captivating pets, but you should definitely have them neutered. Males can become aggressive, territorial and frustrated. If you do have one, neutering should take place between 6-9 months of age. They are intelligent and can be trained to do various tricks, such as sit, beg, and more. They are affectionate and very clean animals. If gotten young, you can train your capybara to walk on a leash. I would suggest a harness type lead, such as used for pot belly pigs. They are slow and deliberate movers though, so don't expect to work miracles. You won't be taking your pet capybara out jogging with you!

An enclosure for a capybara should be strong enough to prevent escape, they are known to be diggers. They should have a shelter ( large dog house, etc. ), mounds of grass and hay, and a tub of water to play in. A large child's pool would do nicely.

Capybara will eat most anything ! Seeds, fruits, vegetables, grass, hay, etc. You can also feed rabbit chow etc. as a supplement to their diet of hay and vegetables. They are rodents, and do NEED non toxic items to chew, such as willow or birch branches."

We also found a pet blog by a capybara's "owner." So be sure to check out the blog called Capybara Madness!

You've probably heard of people owning potbellied pigs and pygmy goats (both of which, by the way, are frequently abandoned after would-be owners decide the work isn't worth the fun) so you probably won't be surprised to know that some people like to have pet sheep! Sheep are said to be gentle and smar... as long as they are females or neutered males and do not have horns. (I don't know... do some come without horns, or does someone remove the horns, or what???) Smaller breeds of sheep, like babydoll sheep and mini-shetland sheep, could even live in your house with you. (Sure, a big sheep could live in your house too. But it might knock stuff over!) Look, we even found a pet blogger with sheep! 

When Mama was younger, before I was even born, she lived in a town that had the odd problem of foxes walking around in public. Mama learned that the foxes were not really dangerous. They wouldn't chase you, that is... but if you cornered one, it would probably bite you, just like any scared animal would! Mama enjoyed seeing the foxes around town. She was sad to later find out that one of the baby foxes ha rabies. :(  So she was excited to see that it is now possible to have a domesticated, pet fox... if you have $6,000 to order one from Russia. The reason it costs so much is mostly because they have to transport the fox to the USA all the way from Russia, which also involves a lot of paperwork. If you do have that kind of money, you could order a fox from this farm in Russia. The website says that these specially-bred, tame foxes are friendly to humans and other pets, can be litter box trained, and will curl up in your bed just like a cat or dog if you let them! (OMG now Mama wants a fox!) Oh yeah... for anyone out there who is getting a wise idea about owning a fox for less than $6,000... it is not legal or moral, and it is a bad idea, to take any animal out of nature and try to keep it as a pet. Don't do it!  (Should I tell you this... we just found a directory of Fennec fox breeders in the USA.) As always, DO YOUR RESEARCH before buying any pet! 

Look out! Its a stinky, yucky, disgusting skunk! Oh, wait, no, thats somebody's beloved pet! Skunks can be pets but, just like a lot of these unusual pets, they take a lot of work! You have to spend a lot of time bonding with a baby skunk so it learns that humans are friendly, skunk-proof your house, "corner train" your skunk (which means letting it choose a corner to go potty in, and then training it to go in a litter box you've placed in that corner), teaching it to play and not bite, skunk proofing your house, etc. We also read on the SkunkHaven website that, if your skunk bites someone and they go to the doctor, the doctor must report it to the health department, and your skunk might be taken and put to sleep. That would be heartbreaking! I think, if you plan on getting a skunk, you should do a lot of research and planning ahead of time! 

I found a lot of scary information about sugar gliders that would make me tell Mama to never get one! But then I found the North American Sugar Glider Association, and it seemed to dispel a lot of the things I read at the other sites. So, I have no idea what sugar gliders are like! They are either super messy or not messy at all, really noisy or very quiet, bite all the time or rarely bite at all,  and need giant aviaries or normal-sized cages. I have no idea! And I couldn't even find a pet blog about sugar gliders. All the info seems to come from breeders, and they all seem to contradict each other on purpose in order to get you to buy from them. One thing I know for sure is, they are very cute! If anyone out there has one they want to tell us about, we'd love to hear!


And now, for my final Smarty Sunday words. There is a reason why cats like me, and dogs like my sisters, are the most common household pets. We've been domesticated over generations and generations, we love being around humans (as long as we are treated with kindness) and we are pretty simple to care for. When you start getting into rarer pets, you have to be very careful not to bite off more than you can chew! I think, if you have your heart set on getting a rarer pet, you should first find a rescue organization that works with those pets, and spend some time volunteering there. (In fact, that wouldn't be a bad idea for those who want to get a dog or cat, or any other type of animal, either!) That way, you can get some first hand experience on what is involved in caring for the animals, 


I also found this article, on a website called Batworld, that talks about why it is a horrible idea to remove animals from nature and try to keep them as pets. Please read it, if you've had any thoughts of trying to domesticate a wild animal! 
"Try to imagine what this feels like…

Someone takes you captive, you don’t know why. You don’t speak their language and you are powerless to escape. You have no idea what they want of you, and you are terrified. Your captor locks you into a bathroom. This bathroom has a window covered with a shade, but you are not allowed to open it to get fresh air, or even look outside. There is a sink, but only your captor knows how to turn the water on. There is a toilet where you can eliminate, but only your captor decides when it should be flushed. You get the same thing to eat day after day after day after day. When you don’t feel good no one knows how to help, so you suffer in pain. There are no pictures on the walls, no TV, no computer, no phones, and no companions. You have absolutely nothing whatsoever to help you pass the endless days and nights. You are completely alone, and this is where you will spend every single day for the rest of your natural life.

This is what a wild animal feels when we take it into captivity. It has lost all control of its world. As captors, we control everything about that animals’ daily life. What it eats, when it gets fresh water, when its cage is cleaned, whether or not it gets fresh air, has companions, and whether or not it has enrichment to brighten its caged life.

You can see why it is not a good idea to own wild animals as pets. It might make you feel cool, but people who know better (and most of them do) feel that it is a horrible cruelty and they cringe when they see people keeping a wild animal as a pet."

Happy Smarty Sunday, everyone! I hope you feel a little smarter now!