Musings of Two Dogs

Cookie is no longer with us

2011-03-12T09:15:00.000-08:00

Cookie: March 10th 1998 thru March 9th 2011

Cookie was PTS on Wednesday, her incontinence just got too much to handle.
Just thought I should update this. I don't know what to say other than what I've already said elsewhere, other than, we all miss her.

Updates

2010-09-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no pictures this time cuz I'm not using my desktop computer where the pictures are stored.
Not much time right now, so go here for updates:
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Small_Dogs/thread/687229

I just realized...

2010-08-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

I have not kept you guys up-to-date on the latest goings-on. I'm sorry. My blogs have not been my internet priority for quite a while.
Anyway, for one thing Cookie developed fecal incontinence later on in July. We almost decided to put her down. Almost. Fortunately, we asked some people to pray and then she quit having accidents. One or two, but not from incontinence I don't think. I think her fecal incontinence has completely disappeared!

Then Treader was actually afraid of the backyard so that he wouldn't go back there. That caused some problems as you might imagine. I had to start taking him to the front yard so he could do his business.
Then of course his sores from the fiasco with fleas these past few months are still healing and he's keeping them from healing by scratching at them. He breaks cone collars eventually, so we ordered him a "comfy cone" which is made out of cloth. Should be coming soon.

And then to top it all off my dad's in the hospital again for high blood pressure, possible neurological problems, a UTI infection, and I think that's about all.=/

You know, it's funny. Just when you think "nothing's going on, just the same old boring routine", something happens and you want that "boring old routine" back. I guess God's telling me to be careful what I wish for.
I'm very, very thankful for the support given by friends online and off during this time. God has really blessed me with some awesome friends and family. =)
Everyone's prayers and support is much appreciated. Again I apologize for not updating this blog.

And to end this post, the dog's water dish got smashed by a rock in June or July. So we had to get a new--and bigger, one. I was happy when we finally got a new one, because the dish we used in the meantime was so small I had to refill it probably 10 times a day.
Here's the new dish:

Yes, we're still alive

2010-07-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

Very much alive. Just a bit bored lately.
See?

Okay, so it's been a while.
Treader had to wear this fashionable cone collar for a while. The natural flea meds we've tried so far haven't been working with him and he was all but chewing holes in himself when summer hit. Poor fellow. It didn't stay on for long, though, and we ordered some Frontline. We're going to try one more natural flea control method before we quit using them for him. (Cookie, they seem to work with.)

So, I've been doing more artwork than photography lately.

And much of it not of the dogs. I still love animal photography, but am trying to expand my abilities.

Plus, I haven't been inspired for simply awesome photo of the dogs lately. But I did get what I thought was an adorable shot of Cookie throwing Z's:

Cookie's Portrait

2009-11-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

Last month, they had a deal at the pet store where you could get an free 8x10 portrait done of one dog, with a $10 sitting fee. The above is Cookie's portrait, which came in this Saturday. My scanner wasn't working, so I used my camera. Thus the quality of the photo you see here is not the actual quality of the photo I have.

Some poor attempt of mine at portraits:

Treader's beeing coming right along with his Agility training. Some nice photos of him:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WARNING:
The next five or so photos portray Treader eating a turkey drumstick. If you do not wish to see this, scroll on down until you get past the second row of plus signs.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I've been trying to teach Treader to sit up and beg, and we're making some progress.

Treader waiting in front of the weaves. (Don't worry, his paw isn't injured.)

2009-11-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

This is a happy face. This is the face of "Oh my goodness, I get cold cuts for doing what my human wants!" Yep, I've begun using deli meat for training treats and it works just as well if not better than hot dogs.

Of course...
sometimes he still gets distracted. My little dirt lover thought the dirt was more interesting for a moment.

"Anything for turkey!"

Yay, finally some real progress with the weaves!

And Treader has always been good with the jump, but...
using the new training treats and a clicker, I've been able to make him do better on higher jumps. The one above is set at several inches over Treader's head!

I've also been working on teaching Treader to sit up and beg, pick up and hold objects on cue, and to go get his toys when he wants to play. Out of that list, the one with the most progress thus far is "sit up and beg", which to Treader is just "beg".

Recently, we went to the Petsmart near Jacksoneville and I was interested in the food choices there. We found canned Blue Buffalo. Cookie gets canned food about once a month, and up until now we've had to get her grocery store brands which are full of detestable ingredients.

How do you like my Collie figure? I saw this at the store and being a Collie fancier, I just had to get it.
Also got a figure of a German Shepherd puppy, to remember the puppy in Cookie:

These are the Kongs we I froze for the dog because I'd be gone for a while.

Now, very few Cookie pictures on this post for far, huh? To make up for here, here's her one and only, Mrs. Cookie Grumpypants:
This is what it looks like after a good brushing session with a German Shedder. Haha. But I can't take the credit for that pun. I got it from a fellow Shepherd owner.

No, I'm afraid she's not holding it. She'll take things out of my hand on command, but we have yet to have advanced that to where she'll hold the object until told to drop it. This photo was just taken very quickly, before Cookie dropped her comb.

I decided to have a mini Easter-egg hunt with the dogs the other day. Great way to exercise their minds. They both have to find the eggs, which is not hard to get them to do if you encourage them and help with the first few, and figure out how to open them to get the treat inside. This time, I put little bits of cheese-filled hot dogs therein.
Treader opening an egg he found.

Cookie with her egg.

Cookie getting her treat out.

I wanted to get a good shot of Cookie taking the egg off of the table, so I encouraged her again and again to take it off. I succeeded half-way a few times after many tries.
Heh, she thought I wanted her to paw at the egg.

Oh no, it's gonna fall down!

Well, I suppose that's all for this entry. Godspeed!

Toys, treats, and pictures

2009-10-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, after reading some articles on the dangers of tennis balls and seeing first-hand a dog with worn-down teeth from playing with tennis balls, I finally decided to dump my dog's tennis balls and get one of the nonabrasive tennis toys made by Kong. As you can see from the above picture, Treader loves it. Cookie...well, little miss "I don't do toys anymore" shows very little interest in them, just like any other toy, though she will catch it if I tell her to. She outgrew toys around the age of 8 years. Last actual playtime complete with tug-a-war and we shared was a cold night in December.

More pictures of Treader enjoying his new toy:
Normally, he just refuses to play outside (because sniffing around is more fun, don'tyaknow), but that day he made an exception.

I finally tried some Brewer's Yeast with Garlic a try for flea control, and it's working wonderfully...for Cookie. But for Treader...
Eep! Flea dirt! But the weird part is, he's scratching less.

I love this picture. Too cute!

And it's been a while since I gave an update on the birds, so...
Sorry for the poor quality here. Spirit's feathers are still trying to grow back. I think she's probably overgrooming. The trouble is, the safest place for the birds is my room, and there's not much human traffic there. (The dogs like to pop in and watch the birds.) Heck, I'm weird, so I don't even sleep in there. Because of a recent cold snap, we had to put them in the dining room, where they get a lot more attention from others. I feel that, in a way, this is the best situation for them anyway. It keeps Spirit from overgrooming. Problem here is, the kitchen is right next to this room, and there's no door there, and we do use tephlon (sp) when cooking. This situation makes me wish I had done more thinking back when I was researching responsible bird ownership. If I had known this was going to happen, I would have decided that a bird wasn't right for me in this situation.
Good news is, we're planning to put the computer back in my room soon, so my room will get a little more traffic. I've also been puting off clipping the bird's wings or really taming them, because Spirit's feather situation is stressful enough. I was going to wait until they all grew back before I did either. Any advice would be much appreciated.

ETA:
Also, please vote for Cookie and Treader in Dogster's Annual Coolest Dog and Cat Show:
Vote for Gray Dawn Treader in the World's Coolest

dog pictures & breed info
Vote for Burkett's Cookies 'n' Creme in the World's Coolest

dog pictures & breed info

New pictures

2009-09-08T02:04:00.000-07:00

I apologize once again for not having updated in a while. Won't be updating this blog but about once a month, maybe a lot or a little more or less from now on. I'm is getting more interested in other parts of the internet, and trying to spend more time with my dogs, finishing school, etc. It's been fun voicing things as my dogs see it, but I'm kinda growing out of it. I'll do it sometimes, maybe. I apologize if I'm disappointing anyone. If you are disappointed, just leave a comment about it and I'll keep your opinion on this in mind.
Not much to update on, but lots of pictures:
We babysat a friend's Chihuahua puppy for a while. He was a cutey-pie. Sweet, playful, smart, and a real handful for a dog that fits right in your hand. This particular picture is from a visit he made to us about two weeks before we puppysat him, so he's smaller in this picture than in the more recent ones I am about to show.

The dogs showed some interest in him, but overall left him alone.

Mr. Puppy (whose real name is Oreo) decided that he liked Cookie's kibble. He tried to climb into her food bag, and picked up and ate a piece before we could put it out of his reach.

And Oreo was almost housetrained now. (Was because we watched him a couple of weeks ago and he is probably fully housetrained by now.)

And he has the cutest kink in his tail.

"Forget about the puppy--time for pictures of me."

Did you know that Treader likes the new dirt in our driveway?
"Nomnom. ... Okay, first test of new dirt in driveway passed."

"Initiating second test."

"Second test successful. This driveway is normal in every way and safe to drive on."

And then I had him balance on the back of our (stationary) truck.

What? Cookie too? What tastes so good about this new dirt???
"Um...it's minty?"

The End

Cookie - New Pics

2009-07-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it's been a while. Mistress got held up for about a week, but the rest of our absence really has no excuse.
We have lots of photos to share, though.
But, first, we'll update you about Treader's yearly-check-up at the vet's. It went great! He's healthier than he was last year since the switch to raw and the only problem found was one hookworm, which was most likely aquired during one of Treader's sneaky out-doors-running-loose runs.
We're also seriously considering switching to natural flea treatment in favor of commercial flea control. We are of the mindset that shuns harmful chemicals.

Oops...

Miss.

Yay, finally a catch!

"No Frisbee for me, thanks. This weather makes one lazy as a daisy."

This week has been nothin' but rain in the evening. But this evening, by God's grace, the storming stopped early enough for us to go to the park! A different one, this time. It's baseball field. Perfect for us to play around in since it's fenced in. Still, we couldn't close the gate, so mistress kept our leashes on so that she could grab us in case we headed toward the exit.

"You're safe!"

And then we saw a rainbow! And mistress took a picture of it...

Treader was more interested in sniffing than running, and mistress left our toys at home by mistake, so she had to lure Treader into running by running herself. Good exercise for the both of them!
Treader, looking more like his Papillon side...

Me? I'm content to go at a leisurely walk...
And watch the pretty sights and smell the pretty smells.

Some pictures from the past few days...

Kong happiness!

On Treader's birthday (celebrated July 18th), we went to the pet store and he picked out his birthday present.

German Shepherd breed information
He picked out this toy:
...but broke it within a week. Surprisingly cheaply made, I guess. He's not normally one to intentionally wreck his toys.

Then we headed over to DQ, where we were supposed to get an ice cream cone, but their machine was broke...

But we did get to meet Treader's former owner, and found out more about his past!
Mistress's description from a forum she frequents:
"Treader's former owner! It's the day we celebrate Treader's birthday, and we had brought him to Pet Supplies "Plus" to buy have him pick out a birthday present. We almost got him a Loofa dog, but he liked the stuffed ball on a rope better.
Well, we were going to get him an ice cream cone from dairy queen (hey, it's only once a year), and while I was waiting outside the front of DQ, one of the workers there came out to take a short break.
She liked Cookie and Treader. Commented that Treader looks like a dog she lost named Camden, just fluffier. This caught my attention, as this was Treader's old name at the shelter. I told her this just a bit later.
After a few more minutes conversation, I asked her how long ago she had lost him and it was about two years. She said that he liked to run off and he got loose while they were moving to another part of the county. The shelter had found Treader as a stray, so it fit together.
He doesn't respond to his old name anymore, but I've always wondered where Treader came from. She says that she had gotten him from a shelter about a year before he ran off, and that he was smaller back then, she thinks that he was just coming out of the puppy stage.
This means I also know a bit more about Treader's age--that puts him at about approximately 4 years old. Which means he was 2 years old when the shelter found him.
(She also said that he'd had his tag on when he got loose, but since they were moving they didn't have the same phone number.)

Just had to share. This had me rather excited. "

Dogster's dog breed info

Treader--

2009-07-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Hi, everypup! Been busy lately. Practicing a lot of Agility, and learning how to do the weaves. Funfunfun!

BTW, how's this for a pose(?):

Doing the weaves:
Mistress is teaching them to me using what is called the "weave-o-matics" method. You slant the weaves, then slowly bring them up.
She likes to take pictures, after which is time to review them:

Oh, and Cookie's Kong got misplaced, so she had to borrow mine:

Speaking of Cookie, mistress found an affordable dog food for her that is better than what we were feeding:
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul
It's 24 bucks.

Cookie's getting stiff and the ladder scares her, so mistress couldn't get her to pose with both paws on the ladder.
But I didn't mind.
Kinda.

More weaves!

"Coulda had a V8!" says Cookie.

BTW, if you like our pictures and would like to see more, mistress uploads the very best of them onto her profile on DeviantART. There's a link to her dA profile at the bottom of the page.
A warning, though:
Deviantart does contain some questionable content (though mistress's page does not), and though the mature content filter works quite well, you still need to be careful. So, if you avoid sites with mature content and/or filthy language, avoid deviantart.

Cookie - Long time, no post. Sorry

2009-06-06T06:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. Been a bit boring lately, and up 'til today we hadn't logged onto Blogger for a while. Plus, mistress misplaced her camera for record time. (One month.) Turns out it was just under the computer table! Can you believe it?
Mistress installed the pawsomely awesome Dogster skin on her Firefox browser:
You can do the same here:
http://blogs.dogster.com/dogster_site_updates/2009/06/04/dogster-browser/

The humans have been doing things like making tornadoes lately:
Good thing that the tornado's in the bottle and can't wreck our house. Even little tornadoes can be bad. Or so I heard.
Mistress did a photo session with Treader yesterday (I need to be brushed and the brush was missing, so she's going to wait to do my photo session):
"Get this...whatever-you-call-it off me, please!"

"Darn mosquitoes!"

Right after snapping at a mosquito.

"Mistress made me pose here. Ooh! Nice view."

"Get me down now, please?"

Treader with a leaf on his head! Teehee!

Then mistress got a treat out to try to make him wave for the camera, and Treader thought she wanted him to dance:
Darn, didn't catch the wave on time.

Okay, here's the wave:
Sorta. More like he's just holding his paw up like Lassie.

Treader--Old Pictures of me and Cookie

2009-05-23T03:42:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted from CaBr forums:
http://drrevived.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=gallery&thread=428&page=1
ETA:
Very Sorry about some of the pictures being shown-half way. To see them full-view and in completion, click on them and open in another tab/window.

Some of these go as far back as early-2007.
Treader:
The oldest one of Treader:

Treader in the shelter, before he was even up for adoption. Yes, I did take this one. I didn't have the flash on, and Treader (then know as Camden) kept whining and standing on his hind legs over and over, that's why it's blurry. This is was taken June 21st, 2007.

Spoiler:

Treader on his first day at his new home:

Playing with his new toy sometime in early August.

Play growling.

Treader's old toy, Blink the alien. He eventually tore him up from playing tug-o-war so much with him and I threw him away.

Treader's old toy, Hedgie the Hedgehog. Got Hedgie as a gift for buying from 1-800 Pet Meds.

Treader leaning over to pick up his toy.

Collage of a failed attempt at Canine Freestyle.

Screenshot from a video of Treader and Cookie gaiting.

An old tennis ball. Treader loves tennis balls, but we don't use them anymore because I read that they wear down a dog's teeth.

Treader staring at the camera. This is a unique and lucky shot. Treader never did that pose again.

A fashion pose! Treader with one of Cookie's bandanas. That bandana has since got missing...

Looking at these old pictures, it struck me how Treader has gained a great deal of fluffiness since then. He hasn't gained or lost much weight. It also struck me how his paws looked a different color...in older picture, they are pinkish, like the skin is showing through the fur. In pictures taken a few months after starting the raw diet, his paws are the color of the fur. Interesting.

Spoiler:

Here's some newer pictures of Treader to illustrate:

Treader indoors on a hot day. I put the T-shirt on him. It belonged to me when I was 6 years old, and I just couldn't get over how small it was. When I let Treader out, he took it off in the backyard and hid it. XD

Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now...

Treader acting as a therapy dog for my dad.

Sharp toothies!

Hey, another fashion shot! Treader found it boring.

Cookie:

Cookie's booboo.

Backpacking.

Plaaay baaall!

Bases are loaded...

What a catch!

She's getting there!

She's making a grab for the ball...

...and she misses!

"Bally-bally-ball, I'm coming after you!"

"And it's an awesome save!"

"Come to papa...or mama...whatever."

Safe!

Sadie (my grandma's former dog) and Cookie

Crawling on command.

Agility practice:

FRISBEE!

Arguing with Treader

Special Poses, Featuring both Dogs:

Dr. Cookie and Nurse Treader.

Giving my brother his shots.

"Treader, I am your mother."

"OMD! You can't be! Nooooo!"

Cookie's Wardrobe.

"Are you certain this is the latest style?"

"None of yo beeswax...nya!"

(Singing) "And the stone went 'round and 'round, and the giant came tumbling down..."

"Not so sharp now, are we Mister Sword?"

"Huh?"

"I haz a Fan!"

"Buzz off, Bear. I don't need a fan."

"Yeah, yeah...a promotional for reading...just get it over with, 'kay?"

"Silly Wabbit, Trix is for kids!"

"Dear Lord,
Thank you for this food. Amen.
Short 'n' sweet...let's eat!"

"Cookie and assistent Treader here today on Home Improvement."
How to wear safety goggles...or not(!):
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/.... provement1.jpg
"What this button do?":
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/.... provement2.jpg
"And that's all for today on Home Improvement!":
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/.... provement3.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....oses/yummy. jpg
Cookie posing next to the food we used to food. (A food that I personally wouldn't recommend anymore.)

Pictures too big to post directly:
Cookie the Cowgirl(!):
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....es/Cowgir l.jpg
Cool Cookie:
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....oIloo kgood.jpg
Fashion Cookie:
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....ent=Famous1.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....es/Famous 2.jpg
"Look at this cool offer!":
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....esy ourmail.jpg
Cookie in school:
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....es/Histor y.jpg
No one in particular: "I see you got yourself some new laundry"
Treader: "I'm not laundry!":
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/.... rtylaundry.jpg
Cookie in an old nightgown:
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....Nightg own3.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....Nightg own5.jpg
Piano Practice:
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....nop ractice.jpg

ETA:
Oh, kriffing crispy fries! Some of the pictures aren't stanging showing up! I'll just show you the albums:
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....f%20the%20Dogs/
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh95/....pecial%20Poses/
If you drop any comments on any of the pictures, please let me in a post here or in a PM and provide a direct link. Thanks.

Cookie - Questions about a possibly sick Budgie

2009-05-15T04:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a while and there's not much to update on about us dogs. But we know your help about our Budgie. I'll copy mistress's post from Dogster, which we decided to ask there, after asking the vet, birdchannel forum members, and other sources.

"[i]I've asked the vet, I've asked some friends on a birdchannel, I've asked on another forum, and I've asked some people I know in RL, but for the life of me I can't figure out who to belief.
My Budgie, Spirit, started a heavy molt, in March (or maybe it was last month...). She lost a bunch of feathers, creating bald spots and spots where her downy feathers show up. Right now, there's downy feathers on her upper chest showing, a bald spot on her back (under her wings), and an almost bald neck (which can only be seen when she lifts her head up high). Not exactly a pretty sight...

The feathers seem to be growing back, but slowly. I'm not concerned that it's a bit early for a molt, because people-on-birdchannel's (including Budgie owners) birds are having early molts, too. I think it's because of the early summer weather we've been having. I'm thinking that stress may be a factor, because Spirit's old buddy, Reepicheep, died in January and Spirit's been down in the dumps ever since. Until we got another Budgie (a 6 year old skyblue dilute named Dr. Looney) on Wednesday. She perked right up and is acting like her old self again.

This prolonged heavy molting is scaring me. The people on birdchannel think it's serious and the vet thinks it's normal. I'm so confused. Part of me just wants to assume that stress brought this on and now that she's got a cage buddy it'll get better fast. But, for safety's sake, I cannot do that. If an infection brought this on, I don't want the "newer" Budgie catching it.

And the family doesn't want to bring Spirit to the vet unless it's serious. Since the vet said (over the phone) that it doesn't sound serious, so the family doesn't want to take her in as of now. So I guess that I'll just keep an eye on the poor bird for any further signs of trouble. I've said this several times in the past day and I'll say it again...I wish I knew as much about birds as I know about dogs.

I need tips from you guys, and most importantly, prayers.[/i]"

Here's a picture of Spirit from Wednesday:

You might want to see Dr. Looney too, so here's some pictures of him:

ETA:
So far we've gotten advice to keep an eye on her, make sure she's not plucking, and to get a food that helps with molting.

Treader -

2009-04-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, mistress's uncle's dog spent a few days with us as mistress's uncle went to a funeral a few states away. Snoopy has been on this blog once before. And here he is:
Well, his picture. Snoopy himself is back at his own home now.
Let me tell ya, with Snoopy around, life is not boring. Well, life isn't exactly boring when he's not around either...he just adds some bounce to it. Mistress was having me pose like this before he came because she didn't have anything else to do at the time:
But when Snoopy came, he pretty much kept her on her toes.

I had fun playing with Snoopy for the most part. Except he wanted to keep playing even after I was tired out so I had to growl at him several times.
And he'd take my toys...

And chew them up...
He chewed my Tennis Toughies dumbbell ins half for example...
Before:
After:
We have some things in common though.
Snoopy hates dog food and expressed a desire to have me "share" my raw meals.
Well, okay, I don't hate dog food, but I do love raw meat and that's what Snoop and I have in common.

On Easter, mistress tried to share her Peeps with us:
And we hated them.

But mistress had other fun planned. She hid some plastic eggs with hot dogs in them all over one room of the house and had us look for them. We were each supposed to find four eggs, and after we found our share, we were put into our crates to prevent us from stealing another dog's egg.

Snoopy caught on quickest:
It took Cookie a while to get it, but she eventually got it:

I caught on second quickest:

Turns out that mistress put the eggs on top of my crate after the goodies were taken out, so when I got put into my crate...
I thought I had hit the jackpot.

Mistress fed each of us a pork picnic for supper. She cooked Snoopy's, because Snoopy's human does not want Snoopy to be fed raw meat.
Later that night, Snoopy played with a balloon

Then it finally popped:

I thought that the balloon business was foolishness...
I had learned not to play with balloons a long time ago (okay, a few months ago) because they scared me when they popped. But, you know what? Snoopy seemed to enjoy having his balloon pop!
Snoopy went home Wednesday morning. But before we move on, here's a video on me playing with him in the backyard:

[ETA: The sound seems to have been messed up after the video was uploaded. The sound you hear on the video is actually farther behind than the sound that was actually happening at that point. Al east, that's the way it appeared on our computer.]

Mistress has been slacking up on our walks, so she decided to get back into the habit on Thursday evening. Cookie was hoping we were going for a ride.

And of course, as always, mistress used the opportunity to work our obedience skills...

Here are some other pictures mistress took on our walk:

Update from Cookie

2009-04-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

German Shepherd breed information
Haven't post in a while. Sorry. Lately, we ran out of my incontinence medication and family members started complaining about the smell and started assuming that the medication quit working, saying either we find a way to get rid of the smell or *gulp* I get put down. Grrr. Those family members can make mistress angry sometimes. Luckily, it got resolved and we got a refill on the medication on the same day that I got my shots.

Here was our post on Dogster:
Some of you may remember last year when my dad wanted to have Cookie put down or given away because of her incontinence. This came up again, except now it's my grandmother doing most of the complaining. But she has my dad wrapped around her middle finger. If she complains, he automatically believes her and becomes a miserable person to be around.

Yes, the medication has been working. But we ran out of it two weeks ago, and then the house started smelling again. My grandmother had to stay here for two days while we went camping, so she noticed it. And when I got back, I found my dad assuming that Treader was not housetrained and that Cookie is leaking all over the place and either we fix it or the dogs are going to leave. Sheesh, get the whole freaking story before assuming that the dogs will have to go. Do I have to go through this every freaking year?

So, my grandmother had a little talk with my mom saying either we clean the carpet or she wants Cookie to be put down. The problem is, the house is under her name, so she has some right to complain about how it smells. =/

But she doesn't have the whole story either. I tried to tell her that we ran out of Cookie's medication and we'd be getting more today (and we did, along with having Cookie's shots), but noooo...I'm not a reliable source to her apparently. And she also wasn't aware that we could increase the dang dosage of the medication either, apparently.

Why does my step-dad's family have to be so dang negative and complaining right when people are satisfied?

I doubt that the situation is nearly as bad as it was last year, as we have Cookie's medication dosage increased, but still, pray that it will work. Please.

Anyway, about my vet visit for my shots. Sorry, no pictures, but I sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting room on my own accord. The staff at the vet office thought it was so cute. They asked if I got on the furniture at home too, but the human said that I'm good about staying off the couch and beds. Then the vet called us in, and the usual procedures. When I got weighed, I had gained a couple of pounds. Instead of 72 lbs, I was 79 lbs. The vet thinks I'm at the perfect weight now and don't need to gain anymore. Mistress would like to have me lose one more pound.

And Treader played a trick on mistress yesterday. He got loose and after a while when he saw mistress outside, he walked up to her while pretending to be tired. He was panting, walking slowly, tail down, head lowered...and when mistress stepped toward him to bring him inside, he suddenly wasn't tired anymore and zoomed away. It was his early April Fool's joke. Made mistress mad though. Whose says us dogs don't have a sense of humor? :D

Oh yes, and mistress found this hilarious thing:
Pick the month you were born:
January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March--------I karate chopped
April----------I licked
May----------I jumped on
June----------I smelled
July-----------I did the Macarena With
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7-------my mobile phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbour
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------ - a smurf
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a homeless guy
31-------a llama

What is the last number of the year you were born:
1--------- In my car
2 --------- On your car
3 ----------- In a hole
4 ----------- Under your bed
5 ----------- Riding a Motorcycle
6 --------- sliding down a hill
7 --------- in an elevator
8---------- at the dinner table
9 -------- In line at the bank
0 -------- in your bathroom

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
White---------because I'm cool like that
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink-----------because I'm NOT crazy.
Red-----------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple---------because I'm AWESOME!
Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he's my leader.
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange--------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown---------because I can.
Other----------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself!

If you're a dog or animal like me, just use your fur color.
I ended up with:
I karate chopped a monster at the dinner table because that's how I roll.

Had a Good Birthday--Cookie

2009-03-06T22:37:00.001-08:00

I had a great birthday, everywoof. I'm 11 years old now. I don't feel old. Do I look that old? Anyway...
I got extra treats today.
Mistress and her mom and brother took me on a long carride this afternoon. We went several places. At the bank drive-thru, the lady at the window gave me a treat. I didn't eat it right away because I didn't have a reliable surface to eat it on until mistress let me eat it over her lap.

Then we got a soda at the gas-station and mistress let me drink some of hers in a separate cup. It tasted good, but I didn't like the fizz-y sensation on my tongue.

Then we went to DQ and mistress got me a small vanilla ice cream cone. It was cool (pun intended:D) and I loved it. The cone itself didn't seem so luscious, but I ate it because of the ice cream on it's sides. (I had to eat in the bed of the truck since dogs aren't allowed inside DQ and so I wouldn't make a mess in the cab of the truck..)

After mistress led me back into the cab, a guy walked by complimenting me. I growled a little because he came suspiciously close to the truck, but mistress told me to quit in a whisper, so I just stared at the guy in a funny way. He asked what was wrong and mistress said, "Nothing. She just had an ice cream cone."

(BTW, I know that soda and ice cream is bad for us dogs, but it's just my birthday, a once a year occasion.)

Mistress fed me some of Treader's raw chicken thighs for supper, which was super.

Then I played with the napkins:

Treader thought that the napkin was food!

Then the other night we had Frisbeeeeee fun:

Then I got my turn, and I'm out of practice, so I kept missing...
Dang! Another miss(!):

"Throwitthrowitthrowit!"

"Gotcha!"

"Throw it some more!"

Then I started enjoying it so much that my head started turning into a Frisbee...
Kidding. It's just the position of the Frisbee that makes it look like that.

Then I got tired...

Oh, and Treader got loose again this evening. Mistress told him that if he didn't come in right now, he'd be camping outside for the night. He ran off when she said that, so she just told him "Happy Trails!" and went inside.
But then Treader came up to the door wanting back in later and mistress gave in.

Treader -

2009-02-22T18:27:00.000-08:00

Cookie hurt her paw a couple of weeks ago. She had to go to the vet's and have
her leg x-rayed, but the x-ray didn't show anything wrong. So the vet thought it was just a soft tissue injury and sent her home with pain meds. Her leg is completely better now.
I've been doing good. I rolled in something that I thought smelled good the other day, but mistress didn't like it, so I got a bath. I hate baths as much as I love food.

Some recent photos:

We had a good Valentines Day. Except when mistress hooked balloons to our collars.

Cookie and I each got to open this little box to find it full of treats:

Cookie -

2009-01-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

When we went to the park last week, I got to go on the swinging bench! I was a little nervous, cuz that thing is wobbly.
But here I am sitting/laying/standing on it:

We walked around a bit after that. There were some teenagers skateboarding later on, which made me nervous. Don't they know that it's against the park rules to skateboard in the park?
Not much else to talk about today. So here's some pictures:

Treader - Cookie is not overweight anymore

2009-01-18T15:02:00.001-08:00

I'm happy for my "sister" Cookie. She is not overweight anymore. Last year, she weighed 94 pounds. Mistress put her on a diet and now she weighs 72 pounds. Mistress's grandmother thought that Cookie was malnourished after this, so she threatened to take Cookie away. Mistress asked some of her friends online on Dogster and other sites the best action to take.
The answer: a vet visit. Have the vet give an opinion on Cookie's new weight.
So mistress did that the next day. The vet said that Cookie is healthy and she's not starved, but she personally thinks that Cookie could use 4 or so more pounds. But it won't hurt Cookie to keep her at her current weight.
She said to feed half a cup more dog food. Everyone was satisfied with the report.
She also gave mistress a suppliment to sprinkle over Cookie's daily meals that helps keep her at the right weight, helps her arthritis, and helps her digestion process.
Here's Cookie now:

Oh yes, and mistress was going through some of her pictures and wanted to post some of what she thinks were the best pictures of us.
Me:

o

Cookie:

Cookie - We're doing good

2009-01-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

We've been doing good this month. (Don't ask why that was underlined, I'm trying to figure it out myself.)
The humans did a little raking as of late. We have a big yard (two acres).
I'm slowing down. I can't jump high anymore or as good as I used to.

You know I used to be able to jump a six foot fence without getting a running start?

Mistress had me down for this pic:

Mistress got us some late Christmas presents a few days ago:
New Tennis ball:
New stuffie:
New rope:
New squeakie:
I didn't like them, even to catch though. Mistress should have remembered that I don't like toys anymore. Let Treader keep them for his own.

Treader - Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hi pals. I'm going to show you some of the things that I got for Christmas today.
This shirt, which didn't fit too well. Mistress took it off after she took this picture.
This edible (it's rawhide) card. I knew just what to do with it.
But Cookie couldn't figure out what it was for.
This pawesome stuffed candy cane.
This raised food dish.

Cookie got one too, but it looked different.

Some dog cookies!

And an Agility set! Here's some picture of me using it:

And guess what one of mistress's gifts was? A Collie statue! She loves Collies.

Cookie wants me to stay on the tunnel.

"Treat? Give me!"

Cookie - Nice Autunmish pics and more

2008-12-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

I've had a great time lately. I like running around outside, you know. Okay, you probably already knew that. But did you know that I was an overweight girl (*blush*) and now I'm almost done losing weight? Mistress is so happy about that and so am I. I hated being on a diet.
Nice pics of me:
Look at Treader.
Haha, he's funny!

"Get over here, Treader."
"Oh, the heck with him..."

Posing for pictures is getting boring.

Now for Treader pictures, with a few more of me:
"Bowling balls make lousy tree ornaments", he says. Boy isn't that the truth?

Treader - Deck the Halls

2008-12-13T03:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we didn't deck the halls, but we did put up the tree. And I helped by holding the tree in place while I laid under it. I'm a good helper, huh?

Phew, that was hard work.

Cookie - I've Been Good

2008-12-08T20:20:00.000-08:00

Guess what mistress pulled tonight? She got me and Treader wearing Christmas hats! One that said "I've Been Good". And I have. I didn't even try to knock the hat off I was so good. :D
I was jolly enough at first:
Until mistress ran out of treats.
The she did this:
And I got bored:
Then she took my hat off and told me to catch it as she tossed it to me. I caught it:
And she happened to find one more treat up her sleeve (actually, now that I'm thinking about it, she did get up to get another one) and hid it in the hat. I naturally tried to find it:
I found it and she took the hat and toss it again, saying "get it!".
"Bweh. This hat tastes bad!"
Was it all worth it?
It was, to score some good points with Santa Paws and to get those treats!

Now, I'll show you Treader's photo shoot. There's not as many of him tonight because he wasn't being as interesting as I was. That is unusual for him.

But I guess running around outside all day (he ran off chasing some stray cats when someone opened the front door, the little opportunist) is tiring.
He did manage to smile some though:

Treader Again. (I was on TV!)

2008-12-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

I wasn't able to go on the internet for a couple of days. Sorry about that everywoof.

Guess what, pals? I was on TV! Remember a while back when we went to the Pooch Plunge at the local water park? Well, there was a gut with a TV camera going around and doing some interviews. No, we didn't get interviewed, but they showed the footage from that on the local channel today. You could see me in two or three general shots and one close-up (I was the little guy whose leg was tangled in the leash next to the Labrador Retriever). Exciting, huh?
And mistress made this drawing of me as a Jedi a few days ago:
And would you believe that our trees are just now pretty colors? Not that we have a lot of colors. Pine trees dominate our particular street and their needles stay green. We do have a couple of maple trees on our yard though. Mistress got this pic:
Me in the back-yard:
Mistress got some nice actions pics too:

Cookie even got into the ball-catching spirit:

We've got some videos:

And, how could we forget that Christmas is near now? I didn't and I have some nice Christmas-y pics to show you.
Non-edited ones from last year:

And one more thing. Two more actually. Mistress has a little hobby of making short videos and wanted to share her most recent ones on here:

Treader

2008-11-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

Mistress got some great pics of us lately. She's going to be having a display of photos at the homeschooling group's talent show. Mostly of dogs, including me and Cookie. Last year, she did a display of tricks with me and Cookie.
Mistress got some good picture of Cookie last night. Cookie was eating peanut butter and she has some neat tongue moves:

Some of me, because this is my entry:

Cookie - Star ship treats?

2008-11-13T17:18:00.000-08:00

*gasp* What's that? A bird? A plane?
Eek! It's a star ship! And it's coming to get meeee!
It's coming around for another pass. *shiver*
Maybe if I try catch it, I can keep it from hurting me.
Dang! I missed it!
Where'd it go?
There it is! *catch, swallow*
You know, that tasted good. Could it be...?
Silly me. It was only some pizza-flavored treats that mistress was tossing.
Come on, yum-yum treat, fly into my mouth, er!...landing pad.

Cookie - I got a bath yesterday

2008-11-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

Our internet went out for a while because mistress downloaded Service Pack 3, but we were given advice on removing it and internet is back now.
Mistress gave me a bath yesterday. I hate bath so much that I won't even want one for a treat. And if you know me, you know that I LOVE treats.
I look like this when mistress has one:

Mistress had me get into the bathtub:"Why do you have to do this to me?":
:Phew, it's finally over":

And, wonder of wonders, Treader was actually catching his Frisbee IN THE AIR:

But then the sound of squirrels crashing through the trees broke the spell:
And Treader just wandered around the yard looking for something interesting:

Mistress finally had him pose for a nice picture:What a ham.

Did I mention that mistress took a few of mistress Frisbeein' too? Here:
Nice shot of my jaws holding the Frisbee after I caught it:
Taking it out of mistress's hand on command:
Frisbee fail:Would you believe that I actually missed that last one?

Treader - more photos

2008-11-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone. We haven't posted in a little while. Did you all have a good Halloween? A lot has happened. These guys are fixing the house. That's what mistress said they were doing. (That's very interesting, I didn't know that you could neuter a house.) They had to tear down part of the fence to fix the back of the house. Now, they're fixing the front. Here I am sitting on one of the trailers that they used:

Mistress's friend's mom found two abandoned kittens. Aren't they cute(?):

Some action photos of me:

The pictures are not in order. Sorry about that.

Cookie - I'll Show Mine if You Show Yours

2008-10-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

First, let me say that I do not have a favorite toy anymore. I grew out of toys when I was about 8 years old. Even when I liked toys, I didn't have a favorite. But Treader still loves toys. I will post his favorite. He has a lot of toys and he loves them all. But I'd have to say that his favorite is his Ducky that he got for winning a contest on a Dogster group:
Ducky is an Easter toy, even though the contest was about Valentines Day. It used to squeak, but as he put holes in the toy, he pulled the squeaker out. Now Ducky is pretty much de-stuffed, but Treader still loves it. Another toy that Treader loves the most is his Tennis Tails ball:
Treader likes to pull the fuzz of the tail, and of course he likes to chase and catch the ball.

And some more recent pictures of Treader:
What the? What's he doin' here, Kung Fu(?):
Nice pose:

I know that you want to see some of me, but mistress didn't take many pictures of me in the past few days. Weird, huh?

Treader - your vote wanted!

2008-10-13T22:55:00.001-07:00

Mistress has entered Cookie and I in Dogster's World's Coolest Dog and Cat Show. We'd appreciate your vote.
Cookie's_entries

My_entries

Entries of furamily members:
Tinker_Bell(cat)
Soldier (cat)
India's puppies
Snoopy
India
Sadie

The ones on Sadie's page are all almost a year or more old since she lives with someone else now.
Pawlease and thank you!

Cookie - new pictures

2008-10-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

Mistress got me a Kong! I love it when it's filled with food. I just can't get all the peanut butter out of it for some reason. I have a virsatile tongue, but not that virsatile.
Mistress got these lovely head shots of Treader (in the first one, he just finished licking his lips):

And Treader got to go to the park (it was his turn so I didn't get to go, but by the yellow moon, why should he have to take turns?):
(In the above picture, only seconds before it was taken, Treader had walked up to the little boy and licked his face.)
Posing:
Sit/staying at the park:

More of me with my Kong:

Treader - raw update and pictures

2008-10-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hello everywoof once again. I've been on raw for almost a month now, and the way it's been going I'll be able to stay on it almost fur sure. I only threw up once. (Don't worry, in that picture to the right I'm only yawning.) We scored half a week's worth of beef this week. Mistress's mom had gotten some hamburger meat and when she cooked one it turned out to be hard for people to chew. So she let mistress give it to me on my raw meals. Only problems was that there was no bone in it, so mistress gave me some of Cookie's chicken feet so I'd get some bone. I've also had pork and a few livers this week. Mistress hopes to get some kidneys for my organ content next week. Tomorrow she'll be getting some more meat. The butcher has much better meat selections than the grocery store, so she hopes to get some more variety into my diet.
Enough about raw, I'll tell you about my training. Mistress says that my recall and overall obedience is improving. In my pictures above, mistress set me up there and told me to stay. So I did and I didn't get down until she told me that I could. Here I am after she told me that I could get down:

We've got some pawesome pictures from last weekend to show off:

Ever played Donut-Socks? It's a great game that mistress and I made up. She rolls a few socks into a donut-shape and tosses them to me while I try to catch them:
"Throw it, throw it!":
Another amazing catch by Treader(!):
How high did that one go(?):
Rest time:
Catching a donut-sock during my rest:
Holy donuts(!), this one is BIG(!):
Holding the big one whilst I wait for another one to coming flying my way:
Any more(?):
Me screaming:
Heehee, not really. Just a weird yawn.

And some pictures from the other day:
These flowers bloom every fall:
Mistress had Cookie pose in front of them:
Cookie isn't interested in the flowers, she's looking for cats to chase:
Guess what Miss Glutton got caught red-pawed doing(?):
Yep, stealing the food that gets laid out for the stray kittens. Look at her guilty face!

Cookie -

2008-09-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

We're doing good here folks. We've had a lot happen lately. Lotsa new pictures fur you:
Treader with all of mistress's plush Webkinz:
Mistress made Treader pose with this blanket:
Me:
Looks how she embarrasses me(!):
But it's funny when she does it to Treader (heeheehee!):
And then she tries puting a cape on Treader (heeheehohohaha, I love it!):
And he proceeds to take it off as soon as mistress's back is turned, but mistress turned around and caught him it the act with this photo as evidence:
Then after a while she put the darn starn thing on ME of all dogs:
Oh well, at least I can be Super Cookie now:
And I don't know why mistress is always looking for the "perfect action shot", but here is one she got of me just before I caught a flying dog treat:
The next day, mistress lost the nail clippers, so Treader had to take a trip to the groomer's:
He was curious at first:
But he hated the nail clipping. They used a dremmel after that:
Treader was glad to get out of there:
And head fur home:

We actually have more new ans pawesome pictures, but mistress's brother is going camping and mistress let her camera get borrowed fur once. Please pray that the camera makes it back home in one piece.

Treader - fed late

2008-09-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hi all once again. Supper came late tonight. Mistress couldn't feed me til 9:30 PM fur some reason. Since it was so late, she fed Cookie first, then put her in another room and fed me.
Cookie watching mistress prepare my meal. She envies my being fed raw don't you see:
I had to be fed inside since it was so late:
Some say that feeding raw makes a dog blood thirsty. Here I am being blood-thirsty:
Naw, it's just another pick of me enjoying supper! Raw does not really make a dog blood-thirsty.

I like to rub myself on the couch:
And this picture turned out horrible, but here I am jumping onto the bed:

Cookie - pictures

2008-09-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

Today wasn't really very exciting. Mistress was at her friend's house for about 4 hours. Mistress did get some goofy pictures of my though.
This one is from yesterday:
I was asleep this way and mistress thought that I looked goofy, so she got out her camera. When she turned it on, it woke me up and here I am half-asleep with my tongue hanging out
These are from today:
Mistress just HAD to put bracelets on me. *rolls eyes*
My content look.

Treader seems to be doing well on the raw diet already! Mistress says that his breath doesn't stink now and she thinks that he coat seems shinier.
Treader eating his RBM in the backyard. Mistress feeds him his raw on the edge of the porch, but he prefers to eat it in the backyard for some reason.

Treader - 2nd day of raw

2008-09-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

The picture to the right is of me standing on my hind legs because mistress is about give me my raw meat. Today, mistress introduced me to an RBM (raw meaty bone), which I loved.
Starting the meal:
Mistress gives it out in my old dish (don't worry, she cleaned about the old kibble crumbs), but it isn't long before I take it out of the dish and eat over the ground.
Yummy. I had taken my RBM into the back yard, but mistress called me back and asked me please not to bury the bone.
After that meat was gone, I went back for the RBM:
Eating my RBM in the backyard:

Mistress had me pose for a few quick pictures:

Cookie - Treader officially started the RAW diet today!

2008-09-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

Today, Treader started the raw diet. Mistress got some raw chicken out, weighed it (about half a pound) and gave it to Treader. (NOTE: You always need to research on the raw diet and how to feed it before feeding your pets the raw diet.) He loved it much better than dog food. I wish that I could start the raw diet too. I like meat sooooo much better than kibble. At least I get raw chicken feeties though, right? Treader will be getting all chicken this week, and next week mistress'll add more variety to his raw diet.
Mistress took lots of pictures, here are a few:
Mistress served it on a dish at first:
But Treader soon took it off:

Treader -

2008-09-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Mistress got some good pics today.
Cookie waiting patiently for her chicken foot:
Cookie posing:
Mistress went in the truck to get something and Cookie thought she was going for a ride:
She likes to sit in the driver seat:
Then mistress told Cookie to get out:

Cookie missed the Frisbee:
Then she caught it the on the next throw:
Me jumping around on the couch:
This would be a grrrreat picture if only mistress caught me head in the photo:
Me and my toy that is getting worn out:
This would be sooooooo pawesome if all of me was in it! Mistress was amazed that she got a picture of me in the air:
Catching my toy:

Cookie doing her "get up" trick. Mistress had her stop half-way.

Cookie - Be prepared!

2008-09-10T16:33:00.001-07:00

To all people who have the potential to be hit by a hurricane (like if you live on the coast), today I want to be remind you to be prepared! Particularly, make sure that you are prepared to take your pets. Mistress saw something about it on the weather channel today and then she prepared Treader and I an evacuating kit and it's in her newest backpack, because that one holds a LOT.
First, mistress packed things that are important, like Treader's RAW diet journal so that she won't forget what to feed him and how much (oh ya, didn't I tell ya, Treader is trying out the RAW diet and we'll probably end up keeping him on it):
Then she put the clicker and a toy in another spot:
She put some dog books (they have stuff about health problems in them) and our health records in the main part of the back pack:
Then she packed some of our toys:
You should also pack bottled water and a pet first aid kit. Sorry, no pictures of that.
And here is the back pack fully loaded:
Notice that on one of the side pockets mistress some plastic bags to clean up after us with while we're evacuating. A lot of people don't clean up after their dog's poop because they're too lazy or don't see the big deal. I ask you this, how would you like to be strolling along in the park or on a sidewalk and step into a fresh pile of dog poo? Now, see why people should clean up after their pets?
Here I am checking out the dog evacuation kit:
And mistress finally got a picture of me with my mouth open while barking at a car that got into our driveway to turn around:
And Treader the old rascal got out into the rain and came back before we left:

Oh, one more thing. Treader wanted me to tell you a little about his raw journal. Treader is trying the RAW diet for an entire month and mistress decided to keep a journal so that just on case she forgets something she can look in the journal.
It looks like this:
Mistress has sloppy handwriting, doesn't she? BOL
Anywoof, if Treader does well on the diet, we'll keep feeding it to him. Mistress has to pay for the meat for the raw diet with her allowance money and she can't afford to both of us the raw diet, she probably couldn't afford to feed me alone the raw diet, but she can afford to feed Treader the raw diet. Besides, I get one raw chicken foot a day, so I won't completely miss out.

Treader - swimming!

2008-09-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today I got to go swimming. Mistress wanted to know how I like water. I don't (see my picture over to the right of me trying to stay out of the water). (Mistress won't take me swimming on purpose ever again.) But I can swim! See, today the St. Marys Aquatic Center allowed dogs to come on the last day that they are open. Mistress would have brought Cookie, but (1) Cookie doesn't always behave around other dogs, (2) she is socializing Cookie gradually but this would probably have too much too fast for Cookie, and (3) in a place with a LOT of other dogs and a LOT of distractions mistress doesn't think that she can handle two dogs at once, at least until we are completely trained.
I did have a blast when we weren't in the water. I met lots of other dogs. Mistress saw it is a training opportunity and she had me do lots of sit/stays and practiced walking on a loose lead.
I will show you pictures of me then of the other dogs there:
Waiting to go:
On the way there (sorry for the noise, we had the A/C aiming toward the general direction of the camera:

Meeting another dog:
People love me!:
Swimming:
I wanted to stay here:
I hate being wet:

We met a Shar Pei:An English Bulldog and the other one's supposed to be an Aussie mix:
This German Shepherd kept playing with the part that water spouts out of (more of this guy later, mistress took lots of pictures of him):
A white German Shepherd and what looks like an Airdale:
A Golden Retriever puppy:
A Newfoundland (Newfie):
There were at least 4 Snhauzers, here's one:
This Golden puppy looks like she's sunbathing, but she's trying to dry herself off on the towel:
A grown-up Golden:
A Lab/Border Collie mix:
Swimming again:
Watching from the sidlines:
A close-up:
Another English Bulldog:
More of the German Shepherd from earlier:

Catching his ball:
Laying down on command:

He likes his ball:Then they went to a different part of the pool:

That's all of that. Would you like to see my new toy now? I did promise to show it to you:
Me chasing it:

No, we did not find the wire. We had to use another computer, insert the memory card from the camera, load the pictures onto a jump drive, and then load them on our computer. We'll have to do that until we find the wire.

Cookie & Treader - Wow!

2008-09-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

Our furiends Essex and Deacon awarded us with two awards.

Thanks, Essex and Deacon!

The rules are:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog

2. Link the person you received your award from

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Put links of those blogs on yours, and

5. Leave a message on the blogs that you've nominated

We have several blogs which we follow.
We would like to nominate:
Daisy the Curly Cat
Abby K-9
Firefly's Dog Blog Spot
Just Another Dog Blog
Cowspotdog
Skeezix the Cat
Three Woofs and a Woo
Sorry if we did any that already got the awards. Woof!

Treader - old pictures

2008-09-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I have no new pictures available to show you this time. The wire that goes to the camera got lost. So frustrating, huh? So I used an old picture, the oldest picture of me on record! And it's a professional one! At least I think it's professional...it looks like it, doesn't it? This picture is over a year old. It was my adoption photo.
Guess what happened today? Mistress's brother bought me a new toy since it was on sale! Wish that I could show it to ya guys. I will as soon as possible, pinky - er, paw - promise.
Mistress didn't feel all that well at the beginning of this week. Now she has an ear infection. Hope she feels better soon.
Since I don't have much to bark about, how about some more old pictures? One taken by mistress herself!
Mistress's picture of me at the pound when she first saw me before I was up for adoption. Sorry for the blurriness, I was whining and puting my paws on and off the bars.
My first photo of me at home.
Mistress put this shirt on me and I took it off in the backyard.
Playtime. I'm a play-growler.
Mistress's collage from freestyle practice. Mistress wanted to try it for a while, but then lost interest.

This is my old toy, Blink. I eventually put a hole in him, so mistress threw him away.This one is photoshopped.

One of my old tennis balls.

Mistress had the camera on the floor and I was trying to get a closer look. Turned out to be a one-in-a-million shot, I haven't done that since.Mistress was having me do all kinds of poses and I was getting tired.
One of the very first pictures of me. Mistress photoshopped it later on.

Would you care to see some clip art of me? Mistress made some and some of my Dogter pals made some. This first one was made by a Dogster pal, Bubbles Baby, a Sheltie:
Mistress made this by taking a picture of the backyard, making it bigger by mirroring it, and adding different poses of me and my ball in several frames. If the animation doesn't show up, click here.
Mistress made this one also.
And this was from when I was an honorable mention in a contest.
Mistress also made this one and with this I stop for today.
Thanks for reading!

Cookie - Keepsake

2008-08-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

Mistress made something called a "keepsake" today. It's cooling off right now. She was playing around with some white stuff that was squishy. Then she tried to have me push put my paw on it. She tried to push on my paw gently, but I didn't like it and jerked it away. Mistress finally just put one of my hind paws on it and had me shift weight onto that paw. Then she did Treader, who didn't like it and his paw impression isn't as deep as mine. Then she put it in the oven. Huh!?! She prepared the pictures of us which sahe had to print off the computer and took the "keepsake" out after 15 minutes. Here's what it looks like:
What this "keepsake" is, I'm sure glad that I won't have to stick my paw onto it again!

Treader - trampline fun

2008-08-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry that we haven't been posting daily. We quit doing that after something happened to another blogger friend of ours and it just broke our hearts. We will not post daily anymore, but we will post often, still taking turns. Golleeeee, do I have a lot of catching up to do on what's been happenin' in the Treader world. The picture to your right is my with mistress, who is bouncing on her friend's trampoline. It all started one day when I got loose when one of the boards fell off our yard fence (mistress fixed it later) and tracked mistress to her friend's house...I arrive at the their dog, their dog Angel barking at me. Have I told you about Angel? She's an angel, all right. She's a 14 year old Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix and is very small, smaller than me. Anyway, it turns out that mistress and her friend were about to go on the trampoline. Instead of taking me home, mistress decided to take me into her friend's backyard to see if I would like the trampoline. I didn't mind it, but I would have liked it better if it wasn't for the boing boing boing bouncing. Mistress finally just picked me up and held me. I did jump off once to meet the next door's neighbor's dog on the other side of the fence. This is the neighbor's dog:
Her name is Sassy and she is an English Mastiff. Very friendly too, but doesn't like people or other animals approaching her yard. Mistress's brother caught me and put me back on the trampoline.
Mistress had another friend who joined us take this picture:
Then they had to go inside, and I had to stay in the backyard because mistress's friend's mom didn't want me in her house because her cats were inside and I chase cats. (Don't worry, there was a container of water out there.)
Here's Angel barking her protest at my presence:
Surprise surprise mistress's friend's mom had gotten some dog treats from that new pet store and Angel didn't like them, so she gave them to us. Mistress gave me one, but I don't like crunchy treats as much as soft ones because they're hard to chew, so I didn't eat it right away:
Doing my "dance" trick for the treat (and cheating, I'm not supposed to lean on something):
And finding that it's crunchy and I didn't have time to chew crunchy treats just then:

Mistress finally took me home after 10 minutes and went back to her friend's house.
When she got home, mistress gave Cookie some:

She gave me some, and I went off to chew it up. It took a few minutes. I have such a little mouth. Mistress likes to toss treats to us, so here I am...reeeaaady and a-rarin' to jump:
Then, we had to prepare for tropical storm Fay. It's been very cloudy and rainy for the past few days. The internet and later the electricity even went out for a while.
Here I am testing out mistress's (and her brother's) new telescope:
You can see into space with it!
Here I am napping on mistress's mom's lap:
And on Saturday, mistress's mom got sick with something, then last night mistress's brother, and now today mistress and mistress's dad. Yipe! I hope that I'm not next. Mistress has been pretty much sleeping all day and is not sleepy tonight, so she was able to help me type.
That be all, dog bloggers. God bless you and keep you safe.

Cookie - Today, I bring you the TRUTH about Pit Bulls

2008-08-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

I give you two great sources. First, check out thetruthaboutpitbulls.com. Then, check out pitbulllovers.com. They have great and accurate info.

Okay, now, I'll say what I wanted to say:
First of all, the news is very very biased and will usually only report the stories about Pit Bull attacks and often lies about the breed or claims that it is a Pit Bull before they actually know what the dog is. Why? Scary stories sell, and Pit Bulls LOOK scary. Hardly ever does the news report a feel-good story. Not only that, but there are 25 different and distinct breeds that are easily mistaken for Pit Bulls.
Second of all, you have obviously never met a Pit Bull or read the breed's standard.
I've seen Pit Bulls serve as therapy dogs and service dog and pass Canine Good Citizen tests. So much for only attacking strangers. Pit Bulls actually pass temperament tests more than other breeds.
And, Pit Bulls were originally bred to work on the farm, not fight. They were used for fighting later, and it is a terrible practice. However, many Pit Bulls were rescued from the michael vick case only one of I believe 87 of them showed aggression though they were bred to/used for fighting. And another one of those dogs became a therapy dog.
Pit Bulls were considered the #1 family dog in the early 19th century. A Pit Bull mix named Captain Stubby was the first and most decorated war dog in history.
Pit Bulls, like all breeds, are not for everyone. They are extremely high energy (like a Jack Russel Terrier) and not all people can handle that. I have friends with Pit Bulls, and they are definitely not a breed for the couch potato. Pit Bulls have a tendency to be dog-aggressive, so socializing them at a young age is a must. By the way, I have met about 5 Pit Bulls in the past year, and not of them growled at me or anybody and not one tried to bite me or attack me. And guess what? Every time I was a stranger to them. I have never met an aggressive Pit Bull. I have however, met aggressive Labs and Chihuahuas and little breeds. It is the lack of rai=sing the dog right on the owner's part when any dog is aggressive. For example, most dog owners have no idea how important socialization is. Dogs who aren't socialized are more likely to become afraid. And a fearful dog is a dog that may bite. Dogs need to be socialized after they have had all their shots, ASAP. With well-behaved people and other dogs. Another example, some think that a puppy's growling is cute and unknowingly encourage it. Instead they should show the puppy that they will protect them if they need to and that there is nothing to be afraid of. As I said before, a fearful dog is a dog that may bite. Or someone having the wrong ideas about how a guard dog is supposed to act. They think that a guard dog should hate everyone to scare people away. Uh-uh. A good guard dogs ALERTS you to someone's presence on your property, watches the person closely, but does not try to attack the person without good reason. I could give other examples, but you get the idea.
I read that temperament in dogs is 35% genetic and 65% learned (molded by the way the dog is raised as a puppy).
"Pit Bull" is a general term, used to describe several different breeds. Including American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers (which are descended from the APBT), etc. (By the woof, the dog in the photos with Treader is an American Staffordshire Terrier, according to the dog's owner.) Some people think that all dogs with muscular necks and bulky heads are Pit Bulls. This wrong notion has caused many stockier-type Labs to be mistaken as Pit Bulls!

Treader again, Cookie doesn't feel like it today

2008-08-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

Getting slack, aren't I? I used to update a lot. Anyway, when mistress got home from her friend's house tonight and brought back her Rottweiler Webkinz, I found it and thought it was mine. She layed down on the couch and I asked her to play with me. She told me that she was sorry but she was tired. She had a hard time getting to sleep last night and when she did it was around 4 o'clock in the morning! Whoa! Anyway, I picked up "my" toy and she took it out of my mouth. At first I thought that she was playing with me, but then she just layed the toy down next to her and I jumped up with her and curled up.
Mistress gets to go to the water park tomorrow. I might actually get to go later on this month. On the last day that the water park is open, they allow humans to bring dogs with them. They were going to take me last year, but the special day was on a Sunday, the day they go to church. *sigh*

Treader - Mistress wanted to do a book review

2008-07-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

The Dog Whisperer: A Compassionate, Nonviolent Approach to Dog Training
In my opinion, this book is the number one dog training book. It explains how proper diet, positive reinforcement training, and others things can be useful in training dogs.
It tells you how you can train without shock collars, leash pops, pinch collars, or other infamous training methods. Cesar Millan has nothing to do with this book. It has helped me become a better leader, friend, and team with my dogs. I recommend this book to anyone who has dogs.

Cookie - tons of fun!

2008-07-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

I had fun on Saturday! Mistress was in the pool with her brother, Treader was tied up close by, and I was allowed to be loose since I'm generally trust-worthy with the recall in the front yard. I saw a cat and ran off into the woods chasing it, but I came back in a few minutes after mistress kept calling me. When I came back mistress was fiddling with the water-rocket-sprinkler thing and I came and tried to catch the water coming out of it. Mistress started playing with it with me. Great fun! She went in the house to get new batteries for her camera and let her brother play with me with the water. Mistress took these pictures:

Treader

2008-07-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I got myself a great nap while mistress fiddled around on the computer. Then she was watching TV, and then she started brushing Cookie. Cookie was a little nervous. Not sure why, she usually isn't. But then mistress started talking to her in a voice like everything was just fine, instead of a coddling voice and after a few minutes Cookie was actually wagging her tail. Cookie was trying to sit down during brushing, and mistress was placing her hand on her belly whenever she started doing that, maybe that was what was making Cookie nervous. She succeeded at laying down a couple of times, but mistress made her hand into the shape it's in when she has a treat and told Cookie to get up. Cookie got up, and while mistress didn't have a treat, she got reward with cuddles, which she loves just as much. Then Cookie started barking because I was barking at something that I saw outside. Cookie tried to go to the door to see, but mistress blocked her with her arm and told Cookie to stay. Every time Cookie started to leave, mistress blocked her and repeated stay. Cookie stayed, but she kept barking. Mistress told her, calmly, "That's enough." and Cookie stopped for a second. Mistress immediately praised and rewarded her. Cookie barked again, same story. After a few minutes, Cookie quit barking at all. Mistress was done brushing after that. Then she told Cookie to sit. Cookie layed down and went onto her side instead. Mistress did what she did in brushing, except she told Cookie to sit. Cookie sat and got up only after mistress said she could. Then Cookie saw something out the window and ran off barking. Mistress said (still calmly), "That's enough". Cookie immediately stopped barking. Mistress praised and rewarded her. Me? I was watching it all. My point in telling you all this? Positive reinforcement training WORKS.
And, if you'll excuse me, it's supper time. Thanks for reading!

Cookie

2008-07-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Today after church mistress came back and played with Treader. He was rolling around a little and he almost fell off the bed that he was on, but he rolled the other way just in time. Then I got my chicken foot and it gets boring from there. Sorry.

Treader - I had a good birthday!

2008-07-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

They gave me my presents last night instead because they had to go see mistress's dad today. I got a squirrel squeaky toy, a ball with a fuzzy tail, and a whole pack of hot dogs (just for the occasion)! I love my toys, especially since both have fuzzy tails. I love to pull fuzz off of toys! (I got my two other presents earlier this week you'll remember. The Kong and my shirt.)
When I first got my squirrel:
Pulling the fuzz off my tennis tails ball:
Taking my hot dog where I can eat in peace:
I had to share with Cookie, but I got most of the hot dogs:

Then they made my sit/stay while they sang happy birthday to me. I stayed until I was told to get up.

Treader - tomorrow is the big day!!!

2008-07-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first anniversary of my adoption. I can't wait to find out what presents I'm getting! I personally hope that at least one of them is a tennis ball, because I've either lost or broken most of my current ones. Today mistress had to go to the dentist, so I was stuck in the crate for a few hours. When she got back she fed us. She always make me sit/stay while she's pouring my food, but today I tried to sneak into my crate to eat the food while she was puting the cup she uses away. She caught me and said "Ah-uh! No!" and made my sit/stay even longer. I tried to get up several times, but finally she made me sit/stay farther away from the crate for about a minute. And when she said "okay" I rushed into my crate to eat. I wanted to go for a walk, but mistress said that it was about to rain so no walk right now. Aw, phooey. (Oh, by the woof, do you know how I ask for a walk? Well, the leashes are hanging on a homemade coat-rack next to the door. I just walk up to it and bump the tip of the hanging leash with my nose. I'm so smart, eh?)
Mistress hasn't played with me yet today. She's trying to find her new Webkinz that she just got (a Rottweiler that she named "Jedi"). She suspects me, since sometimes I'll pick up stuffed animals and put them away with my other toys under beds and tables. Do I have it? Maybe and maybe not. I'm not telling. I might have to go to the vet's office too, because I'm making noises in my nose like I'm trying to get something out of it and the effort makes me sneeze. If it doesn't go away by tomorrow, she's taking me to the vet's. Not again...
That's all fur today furs. Oh and, tomorrow since it's my barkday I'll be posting even though it will be Cookie's turn.
P.S.
Some pics from yesterday's playtime:
Bouncing around with my toy:
Looking for my toy (mistress threw it):
Catching my toy:

Cookie - sorry for missing several posts

2008-07-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

These past few days have been busy busy. Mistress was slacking off on training just a week or two ago and now she's getting back into it again. I always have to sit and stay before a meal, I always have to stay in whatever spot she tells me too not just right next to the food dish like she used to let me do. She started up again after she noticed that I didn't obey as well outdoors or something. Plus brushing brushing brushing lately. LOTS of brushing. I shed like I was made to shed, mostly in the summer, but technically all year round. The humans were gone for the longest time today. They left at 10:00 AM and came back at around 4:30 PM. I was so excited when they got back that when mistress sat on the bed I jumped on with her even though I'm generally not allowed to do that.
(Mistress's brother put his little Cars tent on the bed.)
But I got off when I was told to:
Well, taht's about all fur now.

Treader - my barkday is coming up!!!

2008-07-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

Today was fun. I did something that mistress though was neat this morning. (Read about that here) Mistress played with me as usual. The humans had to go to the store today. They went to that new pet store in town, Pet Supplies "Plus". They found a good dog food there that didn't cost much too. Mistress had $30 and spent it on toys for me to get on my birthday (on the 18th of this month). Okay, we don't know when my real birthday is, but we celebrate it this month. Wow, I wonder what she got me. She gave me a couple of things early. A Kong, and at Wal*Marts she got me a little jacket/shirt thingy that says "CHAMP" on the front (or back if you wanna get technical about it). I like the Kong, but the shirt could go as far as I'm concerned.

2008-07-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

This picture of me is off of mistress's mom's camera and it was taken all the way from New Year's time. Wow, it makes me kinda sad...I miss that time of year. Anyway, not much goin' on today, so I just wanted to share some old pictures of me from over a year ago:

Treader - sorry for being so late

2008-07-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love computer trouble? Yep, you guessed it. We're having computer problems. First, when we installed our latest Windows update it interfered with the internet and kept us from going on. Mistress had to uninstall the update, shut down the computer, and turn off and turn back on the modem and router before it worked again. And then she left it on while she was at church tonight and now it's too tired to work properly it seems. Which is kinda funny because we could leave it on all day before and it would would almost perfectly. Now, it will cut off without warning, and all seems normal. The fans are all working and we just cleaned some dust off it yesterday. Maybe the heat's getting to it. Maybe the power supply is going bad. We're on mistress's dad's computer, that's why I can't share any picture on this post.
Well, we'll be back on our computer tomorrow, and we'll call mistress's dad's friend who is a computer expert. He can help with almost anything.
Now, I'll get to my day. Well, last night they had peperoni pizza and mistress' doesn't like the peperoni so me and Cookie got that. Mistress made Cookie do a trick and gave her a couple. When I came close when mistress offered me one, Cookie bossed me away. Mistress knows that Cookie is my boss and she respects that in most cases, but she doesn't like her trying to take food away from me. So, out of spite she gave me all the rest. Maybe it wasn't fair, but it was yummy. Cookie didn't seem to get it. She didn't get bossy with me, she just stared at mistress like she thought that mistress still had the peperoni. Then this morning mistress was upset about the internet not working. I mean, her mom called Comcast (our internet provider) and they couldn't help us fix it. They did say that a program may be interfering, and thats what gave mistress the idea to uninstall the update. Because this trouble didn't start until the update was installed. Mistress played with me later on. I didn't play much, but I did play some. And that's about it really. Unless I'm furgetting something.