Grandma Love

Charlie sure loves his Grandma! He is very excited every time she visits.

Squirrel Hunter: Stare Down

Once again the Squirrel Hunter came face to face with his nemisis: the brown squirrel.


A stare down of epic proportions...



Finally, brown squirrel broke the gaze and headed for the safety of higher branches.



We will meet again squirrel, we will meet again.

Soon To Be BFFs

Charlie loves little kids! Anytime he sees one his tail goes crazy and he is anxious to jump and do some face licking. He still has yet to figure out that he already has a kid at home of his very own. It's just a matter of time, though, and a little growing on our daughter Sofie's part, and I'm sure they'll soon be best buds!

Squirrel Hunter: Sniffing For Signs

The Squirrel Hunter is on patrol searching for signs of the elusive brown squirrel...







Aha! A treasure trove of discarded peanut shells (peanut lady must be at it again) the brown squirrels favorite treat, can't be too far now!

Squirrel Hunter: Observing

The Squirrel Hunter observes from afar as the bushy-tailed mammalia rodentia buries a peanut under the cover of the dense foilage of it's natural habitat.

Checking Out the Playground

Had to stop and take a peek at the kids playing at the daycare next door. Charlie sure wishes he could join them!

Morning Prowl

Charlie took some time to take in the sun on the morning walk (zen moment for him).

Followed by kickin' up some dirt! And of course squirrel hunting!

Cat Crazy

We have a new cat in the building whose favorite pastime seems to be taunting Charlie.

Every time we go out for a walk he inches as close as he can then sits starring , cool as a cucumber, which of course drives Charlie insane.

Played out!

Return to the newly remodeled dogpark, three squeaky toys, two socks, a chew stick equal tired Charlie.

A few choice pics over the past few months!

Loungin'

Just chillin' on the couch, you know 1/3 of it is mine, along with the bed!

Been awhile!

Well it's been awhile since I last posted, my life have changed! I now have a baby sister (well kind of)! I have been busy helping mom and dad with cleaning up spit up, changing diapers, and just plain entertaining her, it's very tiring! Hope to post more often, in the mean time, have a happy new year!

Charlie

Happy Howl-idays!

Merry Christmas!!

Tax Breaks For Fido?

A new bill up for approval in the House would allow pet owners to deduct up to $3,500 for qualifying pet care expenses. May sound crazy, but considering the thousands we've spent on Charlie in vet bills, doggy daycare, and chewsticks in just his first year we're all for it!

A Year In The Life...

It's hard to believe it, but a whole year has passed since we adopted Charlie from the shelter August 11th last year. Thinking back, we have all come a long way since those first few weeks of panic and fear that we had no idea what we'd gotten ourselves into. The last year has definitely been a dog dog world, between failed crate training, middle of the night potty breaks, teething, obedience class, chewstick obsessions, dog parks and so much more. It has been a long learning process, both for Charlie and us, but well-worth it and we couldn't imagine our lives without him. Now we are at the doorstep of another year and another new adventure with the addition of a new baby coming shortly and we can't wait to see what's in store for our family.

Dogs and 2 Year-Olds

Interesting article about research suggesting that dogs have the same intelligence level as a human two-year-old.

"Like 2-year-olds, dogs can experience fear, anger, happiness and disgust (perhaps at a human's sub-par math skills), but not guilt. Humans don't feel guilt until about age 4, Coren said."

Vote for Charlie!!

Just entered the cutest dog competition, we think he's a shoe-in!

A New Hobby

Charlie's new favorite pastime: collecting socks.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday Charlie!

While we don't know his exact birthday, we do know that Charlie was approximately 2 months old when we adopted him from the shelter in August last year, so odds are he was born sometime in June. We'll be celebrating this weekend with doggie frozen yogurt and a new toy!

And Baby Makes... A Full House

There's been a significant lack in posting, I know, but life in our household has been quite crazy the last few months. In January we found out we would be having a new addition to the family in the form of a baby, and as the baby's due date swiftly approaches we have been scrambling to prepare Charlie for his new housemate. Having been lax about keeping up with his training thus far, we have now ramped it up to a whopping ten minute session every evening, hoping that will start to help keep him focused and teach him to be a better listener in the coming months.

We also purchased "And Baby Makes Four: A Trimester By Trimester Guide to a Baby Friendly Dog" by Penny Scott-Fox, which suggests doing things such as playing a CD of a baby crying for four hours a day until your dog becomes immune to the sound and leaving baby scented items around the house. So far we have started with the crying baby CD, in my humble opinion however, four hours is simply too much for any dog - or human for that matter-  to have to listen to a screeching baby, plus he has done really well so far not paying it much attention at all, I guess we'll have to wait and see how he does with the real thing.

Made in the U.S. of ...China?

The FDA has reported several complaints since 2007 about chicken jerky treats manufactured in China, dogs have become ill and for some it has even proven fatal. I had not heard of these complaints until last week when the story circulated again on the internet and so for the last two months we have been feeding Charlie the Welcome Home Chicken Jerky treats available at Centinela Feed. From the first bite we knew he was hooked, the minute the bag came out he would make a beeline for his bed and sit patiently waiting for his favorite treat. He has never become ill from the treats, but after reading the FDA report we were naturally concerned. I scoured the back of the package, but found no information about where the treats were manufactured, so I called the number listed. A very kind customer service representative confirmed that the treats are in fact manufactured in China, but she tried to assure me that the plant is inspected regularly and that they have never received any complaints from customers. We decided that although we have had no issues, we will no longer be giving Charlie the treats. Anyone who followed the news this past year is aware of all the appalling recalls to come out of China, from toys to tainted milk, so for me it was a no brainer.

Now the hard part: finding something to replace Charlie's favorite tasty treat. After 20 minutes in Centinela Feed yesterday it quickly became apparent that all brands of Chicken Jerky are manufactured in China, along with a great deal of other dog treats. We finally settled on some flavored milk bones, which he seems to like although it's no jerky. Later in the day while running errands we stumbled on a small local pet store where we found some promising candidates. I selected a bag of dehydrated sweet potatoes which have a similar consistency to the jerky, fingers crossed that Charlie feels the same.

The Unwritten Rules

Every dog park has a sign posted at the entrance listing the rules, obviously for the purpose of making the dog park a safe and enjoyable experience for all. In addition to these listed rules, in my humble opinion, there is a need for a certain amount of unwritten etiquette as well. For example, in almost every dog park bunch there is certain to be at least one dog I like to call "the humper." This is the dog whose activity of choice consists of mounting every dog in the park. If you are the owner of just such a dog, it is your responsibility to pull your offending dog away and not just stand back, giggling nervously and proclaiming "Oh, he always does that, I don't know why." Hmm, I wonder.

Worse yet are the people who seem to have less sense than their four-legged companions. Today we took a trek out to the big park, which was packed with dogs and owners, Charlie had a great time, I, however, was dismayed by the fact that two people chose to bring their small children with them to the park and by small I mean not older than three years at the most, one even younger. Now, I am all for the dog park being a family experience, but there is a huge issue of safety, especially when dealing with very small children. Charlie is not an aggressive dog, but he LOVES small children, loves them so much that the minute he spots one he makes a beeline, drawn like a magnet, and jumps up to lick their face. Of course anytime we are in public he is leashed and so he is not allowed to leap on children. The dog park, however, is a free space where he can run wherever he pleases, it is made for him and other dogs, not for children, but when a child enters a dog park and is injured, either intentionally or accidentally, who is to blame? I certainly don't want to take the risk of finding out and so I can't help but think that children so small should not be allowed in, or at the very least should not be able to walk around on their own two feet. If you are smaller than a small dog, then perhaps you are too small. 

Today I was appalled to find that not only was one little girl allowed to run free in the park, but she was not even there with a dog! It's one thing to have your child accompany you and your dog to the park, but to enter the park without a dog is irresponsible and just plain rude. It's not a petting zoo for crying out loud. It's a park... for dogs.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a happy holiday!

ROVER

Tuesday was Charlie's first visit to Rover Kennels, a doggy daycare in Culver City. We had been looking for a place that we could use occasionally to board him either for the night or a few hours, when we came across this place and immediately loved it. We went in for an "interview" last weekend and Charlie came through with flying colors. We were a tad nervous since he has been irritable as of late, going through his "terrible teens," but he did great.

Tuesday night we had an event to go to so we brought Charlie in for Dinner and a Movie, which allows you to drop off your dog anytime between 6-7pm and pick up anytime before midnight (Monday through Friday), he is fed his dinner, gets play time with other dogs and then gets to chill out in the presidential suite watching a movie (how that works I have no idea, as he has almost no interest in our television at home). Dinner and A Movie was one of the main reasons we sought out Rover, since they are the only facility we found that offered a service like this, but once we saw the place we knew it was perfect. It's a great facility and the people there are friendly, attentive and obviously dog lovers. Charlie seemed to be happy with the experience on Tuesday so we are bringing him back again tonight while we meet some friends for dinner and drinks.

WANTED: Peanut Lady

WANTED: Santa Monica Peanut Lady

Crime: Scattering peanuts which rile up the squirrels and birds and in turn, make Charlie crazy.

Last seen on the corner of 4th and Raymond scattering peanuts on the sidewalk.

Always seen carrying a one pound bag of peanuts (source of peanuts unknown, deal with a circus elephant suspected).

If spotted, call for back-up. Do not approach or you may come under fire of peanut pelting.

Tails of the dog park

This past weekend we were at the nice dog park at the Santa Monica airport, standing around chatting while Charlie played. Apparently Sunny was standing a little too still and a dog mistook his leg for a tree.

I thought it was hysterical, Sunny was less amused.

Until, that is, the same dog thought he would make a matching pair and relieve himself on my leg too. 

Good times.

Happy Halloween!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth... fangs and molars

The tooth fairy will be busy the next few months as we just discovered this week that Charlie lost his first two baby teeth: bottom row, front and center. While his gummy smile is ridiculously cute the irritability and chewing that accompanies the next several weeks is not. The Nylabone, once ignored, is a new favorite of his along with the ChillyBone, a canvas bone that can be soaked and frozen, both seem to sooth his imaginably aching gums. 

Bird Chasing - A Series

Don't tell Charlie what he's chewing

Charlie is a chewer. Plain and simple. Anything he can get his teeth on he is happy to chew. His preferences include: shoelaces, our couch, magazines, the living room rug and of course my hands. The only thing Charlie likes chewing better than any of these things is a tasty, fragrant bully stick. I like to think of the bully stick as a puppy pacifier, when all else fails it is our go to for calming the little wild man's snapping jaws. For those of you unfamiliar a bully stick, aka "macho sticks" aka "bully bone" aka "pizzles" is a dog treat made from a dried bull's penis. While some dog owner's have qualms about allowing their Fidos to chomp on animal parts, bullysticks are all natural, fully-ingestible and unlike rawhide will not choke or obstruct a dog's bowel. Charlie is of course oblivious to the true nature of his favorite chew stick and I am happy to keep him in blissful chewing  ignorance especially when it spares our furniture, flesh and sanity.