Snowy Day

This is Trixie, everyone! Feels good to stretch my paws on the computer after being away for so long! Me and Lily just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the support for Mama's post about Sammy-Joe. She really is having a hard time getting over losing him. We tell her that he is still here with us... we see him all the time!

We thought we'd stop by and post a few pictures! Here in Chicago, it has been so cold for the past few days, we've barely been able to go outside! We'd go outside for a few minutes, and our paws would start to hurt. We've basically been going outside, doing our necessary business, and going back in. So today it is 15 whopping degrees out, and the sunshine felt lovely! We actually stayed outside and played for a while! You can see that the snow is so deep, Grampa shoveled out part of the yard so we'd be able to walk in it. Especially Lily...the snow is over her head!

We're going to bug Mama to let us come back here and post once in a while. Mama started her own blog where she posts about having ADHD and autism, and we do appear in there once in a while, but we think it is not fair that she should have all the bloggy fun. So, look for us!

With love,
from Trixie

Smarty Sunday: Winter Safety For Pets

Hi, everyone! Its me, Sammy-Joe, here with another super smart episode of Smarty Sunday! I can't believe its been a week already!
The other day it snowed here in Chicago, where we live. It may have snowed where you live to! Do you pets know how to keep yourselves safe during the winter? I thought I'd talk about this today, now that it is officially winter! Let me share them with you.


1. Dogs and cats...  You may love to play outside in the snow! But watch the weather, and trust your humans to use their best judgement about how long you should stay out. If it is so cold that your human doesn't want to stay out for very long, then you probably shouldn't stay out very long either. I know sometimes we don't notice the cold until it is too late! If it is below freezing, especially, just go outside long enough to do your potty business and then hurry back in. Some pets might like to wear coats to help keep them warm. But if you do wear a coat, ask your human to supervise you just in case you get caught on something! 


2. Your humans have probably heard that they should not leave you alone in a hot car in the summer. But do they know that the same goes for a cold car in winter? The car can act as a refrigerator, making it even colder inside there than it is outside. If you are left alone, you could get hypothermia. Please make sure your parents know this! 


3. If you do go outside on a snowy day, make sure you are wearing your collar with your ID tag at all times. If you go for a walk, ask your parents to keep you on your leash. Why? The snow can mess up the scents that we are used to. If we wander off and get lost, we might not be able to find our way back home using our trusty noses. If we are wearing our collars with ID tags, we have a better chance of getting a helpful human to take us home.


4. Cats... if you are allowed to roam free outdoors, do not climb into the hood of a car to stay warm. It is a bad idea! The human may not know you are there, and if he starts the car, you could be seriously injured or even killed. If you, or other cats in your neighborhood, do roam free, ask your humans to bang on the hood of their car before they start it up in the morning. This will scare away any cats that might be curled up underneath. 


5. When you come in from playing outside, do not lick your fur until your parents have dried you off! I know you probably have snow and ice on your fur and you want to clean yourself off. But the snow and ice could have salt, antifreeze, and other chemicals in it, and that could make you sick! So tell your humans to dry you off  with a towel as soon as you come in. Don't try to do the job yourself with your tongue. Have them dry your feet off well, too.


6. What if you do get lost, or sneak out, and end up being outside in the cold longer than your parents wanted you to be? You should know the signs of hypothermia and frostbite, and share them with your parents. If you can't stop shivering even after you get in, if your fur looks all puffed up or is standing on end, and if you seem disoriented or lethargic, you could have hypothermia. If your skin turns bright red, pale, or black, you could have frostbite. If either of these things happen, your parents need to get you to the vet! 


7. Remember, antifreeze is poison! If you see something blue on your driveway, do not lick it! In fact, tell your humans to clean up any antifreeze spills right away, just in case you forget that its poison. 


8. Do your humans use a space heater in areas of the house that are cold? Remind them that you need to be supervised whenever the space heater is on. They shouldn't leave it running when they are not in the room. You might chew the cord, or knock it over while you are running around playing, or jump on top of it if you are a cat. I know none of you would do any of these things because you are perfect angels. But still. Also, even just rubbing against the space heater could be dangerous, if the heater is too hot. Be careful with those things!


9. If you live near a body of water, be careful. You might notice that the water turns to ice, and you might feel like you can walk across it. But the ice could break, and you could fall into the cold, cold, cold water! This has happened to other dogs and cats before. So please stay away from bodies of water unless your parents are absolutely sure that the ice is thick enough for ice skating. To be sure, please remind your parents again to supervise you when you are outside, and keep you on a leash during walks. 


Maybe I made it seem like winter is terribly dangerous for pets! But winter can still be a lot of fun. Just be careful, and make sure you stay warm enough and are supervised, and you'll have an awesome winter!

Thanks for reading Smarty Sunday, everyone! I hope you feel smarter! 

Hey, We Remember This Stuff!

Hi everyone! Look what finally happened here in Chicago! 

"Do you remember this stuff, Lily?"

"I think so! Its so c-c-c-cold!"

"Its coming down harder. Mama says I'd better put on my tiny little Pawz Dog Boots!"

"It smells pretty good!"

"I think it tastes like ice cream... without the sugar! And without the cream!"

"Hey you two, quit eating all the snow!"

"Oh no, I think we stayed outside too long! I'm turning into a snow dog!" (Does anyone know how to get these little snowballs off of scruffy dogs?)

We hope everyone else is having lots of fun in the snow, too! 

We Luv This Beautiful Weather!

Hi everyone! Here in Chicagoland, it has finally quit raining and/or snowing, and the doggies among us love the sunshine! We soak up so much of it, Mama thinks we'll get suntans!
Mama lets us go out a bunch of times each day. Usually she brings her book outside, so she doesn't get bored while we lounge around. Sometimes we run around and play, or talk to our neighbor lab, and sometimes Mama brings Lily's little tennis ball outside. (Lily is amazed that her tennis ball also exists outside in the yard! Being outside makes it even more fun than usual!)
Sometimes we like to hang out by this tree. There are often squirrels and birds up there, and we bark at them to let them know who the bosses of this yard are!

But mostly, we do a lot of this.

And when Mama finally gets bored, or hungry, or has to leave, and she tells us to come in, we like to do this.

But when we do go inside, we almost always end up doing this.

Isn't it a dog's life?

Lazy Spring Afternoons

Finally the weather is starting to get nicer where we live. Mama can actually go outside without putting on a hat and heavy coat! That means we get to spend more time outside. 

There is something about a spring afternoon that makes you just want to stretch out in the sun.

And me and Lily aren't the only ones who think so!

After we went inside, look who we spotted out the window!

Do you see him?

Enjoy the beautiful weather, everyone! 

With love, from Trixie

Searching For Spring

We keep hearing pets and humans talking about spring being on its way. With the temperature in the 40's today, we decided to go searching for spring in our backyard! 

This dilapidated snowman Mama built seems to be shrinking a little. Is that a good sign?

"Spring? Can you hear me?" 

Oh no! This flamingo has been buried in the snow so long, he turned blue! 

"Help! Does anyone know flamingo CPR?"

Thanks For The Boots!

Hi everyone! Its me, Lily!

Now that we are always doing reviews and winning stuff, whenever the mail comes Trixie and I get all excited and start jumping around! We're always hoping we will get treats or a toy.

The other day I got a package and it wasn't treats or a toy! Before I tell you what it was, I have to tell you a funny story.

We won a set of Pawz Dog Boots from Cooper And Lola's blog a few weeks ago. We were all excited, because where we live it is so snowy! I don't mind being barefoot in the yard, but when we go for walks I get salt in my paw pads and it stings! I start limping and Mama has to carry me. The same thing happens to Trixie, and Grampa has to carry her! Mama thought, if I put on boots, they would keep my feet from getting owies. She had been looking for some boots, when we won these!

Mama had to look at the size chart on the Pawz website and guess what size to order me. The sizes recommended for chihuahuas or malteses (which are two of my mixes) were TINY or XX Small. Mama thinks I am a very tiny dog, so she ordered me a TINY size!

Well, the boots came in the mail, and boy were they tiny! Mama tried to put them on my feet. They barely covered my toes! I stood there on my tiptoes, like a good sport, staring at Mama. The boots were kinda uncomfortable, but I didn't want to hurt Mama's feelings. So I tried putting two of my legs out at my sides at 90 degree angles!

Mama took the boots off.

She felt like a big cow because she had ordered me the wrong size. (What? Oh, sorry. Mama says she felt SHEEPISH. Same thing.) She had really been looking forward to putting those boots on me so I could walk more comfortably! So Mama decided to email the people at Pawz and ask if she could exchange the boots for a better size. She knew it was a long shot, since she had gotten the boots for free, and she was really embarrassed to ask! But looking at those Tiny boots was making her so sad.

So Mama emailed them. And guess what? A lady named Andrea emailed her back to say of course they would send me new boots! She told Mama to measure my feet, from heel to toe, and she would send me the right size. She even said I didn't have to send back the Tiny boots! She said I could give them to a friend! Mama is planning to take them to Almost Home Foundation next time she goes to volunteer, and see if some of the tiny dogs there can use them.

Anyway, the other day the package came in the mail, but it wasn't treats or toys. It was my new boots! I thought, "Uh-oh, here we go again."

But this time, the boots fit perfectly!

At first, I felt weird wearing them. I stood there and tried to lift up at least two or three of my paws at once.

But as soon as Mama opened the back door and let me out, I forgot all about the boots! I was zooming around with Trixie, going crazy and playing like usual. The boots did not slow me down at all or keep me from running comfortably, and they stayed on, even though I was tearing around the yard like a maniac!

Mama wanted to take a picture of me in the boots. But as you can see, the snow is so deep, you can't even find my feet!

So she tried taking a picture with her holding up just one of my front paws, to show off just one boot.

Its really cute, right?

I don't really like putting them on, which Mama says is just tough luck because I don't like putting my harness on either and these are just things I need to do. But once my boots are on, I'm fine! And now, when we go for walks, I do not have to get carried at all! I walk the whole way, and I even climb over the snow mountains that block parts of the sidewalk. My feet don't get owies at all. Mama said soon she is going to try to find a bigger pair for Trixie so that her feet don't sting either.

We wanted to give a BIG thank-you to Andrea at Pawz Dog Boots for sending us a new pair of boots even though Mama was a silly old goat who ordered the wrong size. (Oh yeah. I mean she was a sheep!) And of course, thanks to Cooper And Lola for hosting the giveaway!

Bye everyone! I love you!

The Great Blizzard of 2011!

On Tuesday night, when the dogs among us braved the blizzard to take our nightly walk, we weren't too happy.

But the next morning, when we woke up, we saw the blizzard in a whole new light!

Gramma and Grampa had shoveled some paths through the yard for us, so that we could walk around without sinking into the snow.

But we also had fun blazing our own trails! It was a little like swimming! 

Trixie checked out the big tree to see if it had made it through the blizzard. (It was fine!)

Yummy! Freshly fallen snow!

Mama stands next to the mountain that the snowblower made. (A snowblower is like a SUPER LOUD vacuum cleaner, by the way!)

Lily rests on top of the picnic table.

Mama makes a snow angel!

The snow is even more delicious over here!

"I'm the Queen Of The Mountain!"

"No, I wanna be the Queen Of The Mountain!"

It looks like Mama will be the Queen of the Mountain!

Mama Rules The World!!!

Now GRAMMA is Queen Of the Mountain!



Uh-ohs!!! Gramma? Are you okay?

Jump, Mama!

See, Lily? Snow isn't scary, after all!

 
PS... We are really short on entries for our Valentine's Day Giveaway! So your chances of winning are good! Don't forget about our three giveaways this week! You can enter to win the kitty surprise pack, the Kong Tugger Knot dog toy, and the dog treats from Claudia's Canine Cousine!

Snow Dog

And now for a weather update from Lily!


We live in Chicago and we just went for a walk in the blizzard! Outside, everything is WHITE WHITE WHITE! Mama is pointing with her mitten to how high the snow drifts were. She had to carry me to a shallow place to go potty!

USUALLY I AM ALL FOR WALKS, MAMA, BUT THIS IS A LITTLE CRAZY!