Animal Wellness Magazine

Check out my mum's (that's the British version of mom) article which has been published in the June/July issue of Animal Wellness Magazine. It's about eco-friendly ways to dispose of dog poop -- you know, the stuff a lot of people don't like to pick up. A lot of people don't realize just how toxic dog poop is to the environment but my mommy explains all of that in the article.

Mommy always has a bag with her when we go for a walk but many people in our neighborhood don't curb their dogs and...well....I love to eat the stuff so it's always a challenge for mummy to keep me away from it. "Leave It" is a command I'm not fond of but I do it anyway because I'm a well behaved canine (most of the time -- except when I'm counter surfing or rummaging through the trash for leftovers). I've been really good about not eating poop ever since mommy taught me "Leave It" but it doesn't mean I don't like it anymore. ;-)

Anyway, my photo is in Animal Wellness Magazine as well. Actually I was in it last month for their April/May issue and now I'm pictured with my mommy in the June/July issue. So be sure to check out Animal Wellness. It's a great magazine for dogs (and cats) and their humans!

New Year’s Resolutions for dogs

Mommy says I have a couple of bad habits that I should resolve to change in 2010. Me? Bad habits? I thought I was perfect!

So what are my bad habits? I pretend to sniff the grass while walking with my parents and then I speedily eat any poop I can find on the ground. OK, this is not entirely my fault. After all, if all dog owners picked up their dog's poop then I wouldn't be so tempted. Right?

My other bad habit? I use my cuteness to manipulate my parents. Shh, don't tell them though because they have no idea.

Do you have a bad habit you'd like to change next year? Click here to read some of the top doggy New Year's Resolutions.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and safe new year to all of my animal friends!

I Can Brush My Own Teeth

As you can see from my photo, I know how to brush my own teeth. Mommy was quite surprised when she noticed that I had taken my toothbrush from the mat - where mommy normally brushes my teeth - to the dining room area. Mommy thought it was the beef flavored toothpaste that I liked, but there was no toothpaste on my toothbrush when I took it to the dining room and started chewing it. I'm not normally a chewer so it surprised mommy. I guess she didn't realize just how clean I want my teeth. I want to have a movie star smile.

Mommy got mad at me today because during our walk in the woods, I ran off and started to eat something. Of course I was pre-occupied so I couldn't hear mommy calling me; OK, so I heard mommy but I ignored her. Hee-hee! Mommy had to make her way through the woods to get me and when she found me, I was quite shocked. I didn't think mommy couldn't make it through all those trees. Mommy saw that I was licking something but she didn't know what it was. She saw flies and it was all wet. My breath didn't smell like poop but still mommy thought it was poop - possibly even human poop. Gross. Whatever I ate, I sure hope I don't get sick from it. Mommy won't let me run off again. My bad.

I'll Be Sleeping In My Orvis Bed From Now On

Mommy didn't get any sleep last night and I think I'm to blame. You see, we took daddy to the airport yesterday and as a special treat, mommy allowed me to sleep on daddy's side of the bed. The problem is, I moved around all night, made lots of noise - including loud snoring - and at 6:50 AM, I threw up bile. Don't worry, mommy managed to get me off of the bed and onto the hardwood floor in time, but now she's upset because my antacids just don't seem to be working like they used to.

Mommy made sure she didn't feed me anything new yesterday so she thinks that maybe I snuck something in at the park yesterday morning when I was walking with daddy. Or maybe I just need more antacid? So anyway, I have to sleep in my own bed tonight but that's OK with me because I love my Orvis bolster bed.

I remember when mommy went to a special warehouse sale to buy me a plush Orvis bed. You can see a picture of me in my Orvis bed above this article. I don't look very happy in the photo because I had just gotten a bath and my parents made me wear a towel to keep my back fur flat. It's a lot of work staying gorgeous. Anyway, mommy got my bed on sale but I think it would have been very expensive if she has purchased it in the store. I like Orvis because they allow dogs in their stores. Did you know that? They are very dog-friendly especially to hunting dogs like me. OK, so I only hunt for cats, squirrels, and poop while in the park, but I'm still hunting.

Mommy is thinking about not taking me to the local park anymore because some people there are very inconsiderate and put their trash all over the place. Whenever we go there, I see lots of bottles, chicken bones, and empty bags of potato chips. I don't know why they don't throw away their trash when there are trash bins all around the park. It makes mommy very upset because I have a knack for finding all of this stuff and I try to eat it quickly. Mommy has to watch me like a hawk.

And there are those dog parents who don't curb their dogs - that means pick up their poop - and I love to eat poop so it's like a buffet for me. Mommy wishes someone would enforce the rules but no one seems to care so it's best we go somewhere else from now on so I don't have to be tempted on a daily basis. The other park we go to in the mornings has woods and is very clean but we have to drive to get there. Mommy is trying to convince daddy to move but he thinks we live in a convenient location. Come on daddy, let's move to a nicer area where people don't litter in the park and they pick up after their dogs.

My Weekend Walks

On Friday night mommy took me for a walk to the local park. We go every evening but some nights are more fun than others. On our way there I ran onto Spot's driveway - Spot is a cat, not a dog. Spot arched his back and started hissing at me but I didn't care. Mommy tried to pull me away but I just stood there with my tail - oops, I mean stub - wagging

When we were on way home two large dogs came out of no where. I wasn't sure if I should be scared or not but mommy told me it was OK.

The dogs' owner kept shouting at the dogs but they didn't listen. Mommy put her hand out so the dogs could sniff her and she kept saying things like "Hello doggy!" in a silly voice to the big dogs to keep them calm.

I stood still as the two big dogs sniffed me, but they got bored after a while and just wanted to be pet by mommy. Then, a car was driving down the street and one of the big dogs ran into the road but mommy protected him from being hit. When the car stopped and pulled into the driveway, a man got out and told mommy how pretty I was.

We continued walking down the street when two kids on bicycles came up to us. I didn't know what to do so mommy made me go over to them so they could pet me. Some kids in our area don't have nice dogs so mommy thought it was important to show them that I was a nice doggy and that I could be pet without biting them.

Then we were almost home and I ran into Spot's driveway again - I never learn! Needless to say, Spot arched his back and hissed at me again. You'd think he would be friendly by now but I'm getting the feeling that he doesn't like me much. Again, I tried to stand my ground but mommy didn't want my eyes to be scratched so she pulled me away. Oh well, maybe next time.

Over the weekend, daddy took me for my walks. Even though my parents are together, daddy has custody of me over the weekend...or something like that. Mommy says I'm daddy's dog on Saturdays and Sundays so he has to walk me. The good thing about walking with daddy is that he lets me off the leash when I'm at the local park so I can run and find poop before daddy can get to me. Poop is one of my favorite treats but my parents don't like me eating it. I don't know why, do you?