apologies & tricky dogs

Very sorry I've been missing in action the last week or so. My "real" job (you know... the one that pays the bills) has been nuts lately, and my fun job had to be put on the back burner. Plus I turned another year older last week, so I've been coping with that as well.

Anyway, I'm back in action now. Just ordered this book from Dogwise. I love training tricks, especially with Mona Mae... she picks things up so quickly and she loves learning new things. But at some point, my creativity runs out and we're stuck with the same old - "High five!" and "Roll over."

It has really good reviews on Dogwise, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will contain some fun, creative tricks to add to our repertoire.

salvador

This adorable guy was just recently adopted through Bad Rap to Jackie Dunbar, California chair of the Delta Society. Yay! He just recently had surgery to repair an old leg injury, but he's now recuperating in his new home, and I'm sure will soon be another great breed ambassador through Delta Society's Pet Partner program. I have two bully Pet Partners at home so this dog and his story touched my heart even more than usual.

Read more about Salvador here (scroll to bottom of post), and to learn more about Bad Rap and the great work they do, check them out here and here!

new pecan pie puppies collars!

I finished up some new collar styles this week... I'm super happy with the zebra-print collar - it's going to look soooo good on my sassy Mona Mae. Miss Penny received a new one out of the last round - the sunflower - so it's Mona's turn this time. I hope I'm not giving my boys an inferiority complex since they rarely get new collars. They're probably just relieved that I'm not trying to strap flowers around their necks.

in the dog house

Lovin' this wall decal from Graphic Spaces. Totally customizable - they'll add your dog's name and you can change the color of the dog house OR the bird and paw. And it's not permanent - if you ever get tired of it, it's simple to remove. The design comes in multiple sizes to suit each dog. Such a fun way to customize your pooch's favorite spot!

house guest

The fuzzy bear you see above with my Mona Mae has been my house guest for the week (picture taken BEFORE they were buckled in and Bella whined the entire car ride). Her mom and two-legged brother have been on vacation, and Bella has been staying with me and my crew.

We've all had lots of fun together... and I'm pretty sure she's enjoyed her stay with friends (she's an only-dog at her house). My dogs have been quite... perplexed by her. My guys (and gals) are all fairly calm dogs - when it's time to settle, everyone relaxes... they find a dog bed, or they go grab a toy to chew on and things get quiet. Bella, on the other hand, is a busy bee. She's a border collie mix, and so I suppose the "ants in her pants" attitude is natural. She just can't sit still. And my dogs will stare at her, and then at me, with these looks like "WHAT is her problem? Did she have too much coffee this morning??"

Bella will leave to go back home shortly, and we'll all miss her!

make your dog smile

These cool tags from Make Your Dog Smile sure do put a grin on my face. I have a serious crush on the letter style tags... I mean, I'm Southern - I monogram the heck out of everything else, so why not my dogs?

The tags are all handmade and hand-stamped, and I love the variety of metals to choose from - especially the copper. Be sure to stop by to check them out and tell them Pecan Pie Puppies sent you!

the gourmet bone

Discovered a fantastic new seller on Etsy today - The Gourmet Bone. Based in Pennsylvania, they offer homemade gourmet dog treats. Love, love, LOVE the photography here too... such beautiful shots! If I wasn't convinced just by the products alone, I'm sure I'll be purchasing now after seeing the lovely photos!

Check them out here!

frisbee time

I've been working with Penny and Quincy on catching a frisbee. They're the only two of my dogs that seem to have a natural interest in fetching and catching. Let me just preface my account of our frisbee practice by saying that they both LOVE trying to catch these things. But their enthusiasm doesn't necessarily translate into making them good frisbee catchers.

I honestly expected Quincy - a naturally athletic dog - to excel at this. He can jump SO HIGH. He easily clears my 4 foot fence, and I've seen him make it over a 6 foot fence when he's able to push off of something. But it turns out that his enthusiasm coupled with his jumping ability turns out to be the problem. He overshoots the frisbee every time. He jumps OVER the frisbee... And then... he can't figure out how to pick the frisbee up off the ground. Take a look at the videos below - the first is one of his hilarious attempts to catch the frisbee (FYI - this is nowhere near as high as he usually jumps), and the second one is his even more hilarious attempt to pick it up off the ground. Miss Penny Sue, on the other hand, has turned out to be quite a natural at this. You can see her snag the frisbee in the last video - until Quincy knocks it out of her mouth that is...

mona mae... the party animal

So Mona Mae has been making the rounds lately... she attended my best friend's bachelorette weekend down at Sullivan's Island with me. That's her sporting her "Bachelorette Tiara" above with the Bride to Be. She got a little wild and crazy - had a little too much Pooch Punch - and she enjoyed hanging out with all the ladies. She had a blast on the beach as well - totally meant to get some video of her racing through the waves, but I'm slack and forgot.

And then we just recently attended another soiree at the lake... she was happy that she got an opportunity to break out her patriotic collar a little early.

clemson and camo

I know it might seem rather silly to purchase collars for my dogs when I can make my own. But I must confess that I really, REALLY want a couple of these for my boys because football season is right around the corner. And my justification is that I can't make/sew anything like this... Yes, I can make a camouflage collar, but that beautiful and majestic Tiger Paw is copyrighted so I'm out of luck on that front.

The other factor that helps lessen my guilt is the fact that they're only $10 each! So it's pretty safe to say Oliver and Quincy will be showing their Tiger Pride with these collars sometime soon.

the old dog and the baby carrots

There once was an old dog named Henry
And his favorite foods... Oh, there were many.

But none could compare to his #1 choice.
He sings it from the rooftops in his funny beagle voice...

"If I don't get my favorite treat, I simply can't bear it!
I must, just MUST, have a delicious baby carrot!"