Shiver me Timbers!

It's getting cold out here!

     Hey it's Teddy again!

     It is sooooooooo cold out today. The Weather Channel says that it is 21 but it FEELS like 10! And it's day light outside! How cold will it be tonight? Brrrrrrrr!

     Don't get me wrong. I LOVE playing in the snow. It is a ton of fun. But when my little paws are cold, I get to scratching at the door to come inside! There's nothing better than snuggling up with my humans and taking a long winter's nap. 

     Winter can be a dangerous time for animals. We will do anything to keep warm and there are little dangers that our humans should be aware of. But with just a little knowledge, humans can keep us fur babies perfectly happy and safe all season long.

     For instance, cats love to curl up in car engines. It's super toasty there and the body of the vehicle blocks the wind. We have a tuxedo kitty living in our winter habitat, so my humans make sure they tap on the car before they start it up just to make sure we don't have an visitors. There are a lot of feral cats in our neighborhood and old family pets that renters left behind, so my Mama does what she can to keep these kitties comfy in the cold. You click here to read more about caring for feral or stray cats in the winter.

     Another example is when I get salt all over my paws after a walk. It might not seem like a big deal but licking the salt off one's paws can actually give you a really bad stomach ache. Ice and ice melts can also cause the pads of our feet to crack and chafe. A simple solution is to just wipe your pets feet off when you come in the front door. Nothing extravagant, just a damp wash cloth to give our paws a quick wiping.

      Also,  if you light a fire or a space heater to keep your house warm, remember that pets love warmth. Keep an eye out for your pet and make sure that they are not to close to your fire or heater. A spark from a flame could catch your pet's fur on fire or a pad touching a heated surface could burn. Also, we tend to get excited and knock things over on accident. And no one wants their home accidentally burned down! (And especially not in the cold!)

      On that same note, make sure that you have carbon monoxide detector. Pets are even more susceptible to carbon monoxide than their owners because we tend to spend even more time in the house than you guys do. 

See?

      A lot of winter pet care is just using your common sense. Bigger breeds can stay out longer. Of course a Husky is going to like the snow more than a Chihuahua. Duh. One is from Russia, the other Mexico. Little dogs like me and cats have to wade through the snow and it's just not that fun after a while. Bigger dogs can plow through and keep going. The more fur we have, the warmer we stay. And if you have a small dog with little fur, please feel free to stick one of those stupid sweaters on them. My Mama makes me wear them. 

     If you keep a bowl of water outside for your pet, make sure it's not frozen. Frozen water is just silly. You can't drink it. And pets really need to stay hydrated when the humidity is down outside. Fresh water is always a good answer!

      Keep an eye on your pet for frostbite and hypothermia in the winter. Frostbite is particularly tricky because it's when all the blood rushes away from your tail and your paws and your ears. The tissue damage might not show right away. Hypothermia is easier to notice because you can see changes in your pet right away. Petsitter has a great article on treatment for frostbite and hypothermia.

      Winter can be a blast as long as the right precautions are taken. I know that I'm looking forward to building a snowman and getting in to snow ball fights. I'm also looking forward to the heat vent near my Mama's bed and extra food for winter weight. Make sure to stay warm this winter. And keep your fur friends warm and safe too! Bark!

   

Gobble Tov!

    Happy Thanksgivukkah! And Happy Thanksgiving too! Teddy reporting in.
    I think I have said it before but I will say it again. I LOVE Thanksgiving. It is definitely a holiday designed for doggies like me. Food everywhere. Mama spills something, she calls us in. Grammy has extra, she calls us over. Granddaddy has samples, he feeds them to us. I think I've already gained 10 pounds.
    Unfortunately, there are some things that we can't eat. And a lot of my friends have been reminding me to remind everyone that there are some foods that just aren't safe for us dogs to eat. Luckily, I've broken it down for you.
    #1. Turkey Skin. It looks delicious. It can be very dangerous and lead to pancreatitis, which is very bad.
    #2. Alcohol. Sure the video will get you a bunch of YouTube hits and Facebook likes, but is it worth giving your fur friends seizures, liver damage, or even death?
    #3. Mushrooms. Delicious fungus to you. Deathly poison to us dogs. It can lead to vomiting or even a coma.
    #4. Onions and Garlic. These two foods found in dressing can lead to anemia in a doggie and my Mama just had a fur friend pass away from that.  Definite no-nos.
    #5. Nutmeg. A tricky spice found on sweet potatoes and pumpkin, which are both good for dogs. Nutmeg can lead to tremors and problems with a dog's central nervous system.
   #6. Raw batter and Dough. We dogs can get salmonella too, you know. Plus it can puff up in our bellies and make us very sick indeed.
    #7. Nuts. Macadamia nuts and walnuts in particular contain toxins. Within 12 hours, you dog could be vomiting, not able to stand, and could even die.
    #8. Sage. It has an essential oil that upsets a dog's belly. Best to keep it away from us!
    #9. Cooked Bones. I know that we all loves bones. They taste good and are crunchy. But they can splinter in our digestive tracts and cause us much pain and cost you much money.
    #10. Chocolate. Need I say more?
   Now, that said, OF COURSE you want your best friend to join in your Thanksgiving feast. My Mama would never celebrate without me. Here's what's on my menu for tomorrow.
     #1. Mashed and Sweet Potatoes. They're delicious and we love them.
     #2. Green Beans. And the humans aren't even eating those!
     #3. Pumpkin. Not pie. Just pumpkin. Yum!
     #4. Cranberry Sauce. Not with nuts or anything, just plain old cranberry sauce, the way I like it!
     #5. Carrots. One of my faves!
     Enjoy your holiday with your whole family, pets included. If you feed your cat turkey, make sure you have de-boned it completely. I know cats love turkey. I am going to be eating the green beans the most. Those are a huge treat for me.
     Gotta go now! Mama's calling me to go out and there's still snow on the ground! Barks and Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Hanukkah!

Even the Pilgrims and Indians could get along for one day!

Rainy day blues....

   It's raining today.
   I have a love/ hate relationship with the rain. I hate to get wet. (Just ask my groomer!) But I LOVE to be muddy. Playing in the mud is so much fun. I love the way it squishes between my paws and fills up my nose when I root around in it. I roll around in mud. It is just the most fun stuff in the world.
   My sister ruins this for me because she HATES the mud. But she loves the rain. She loves to get wet. Grammy got us a pool for next summer and my crazy sister knocked it down last night, just it would fill up with rain that she could jump in and play around in. She splashes like a duck and makes a ton of noise. That means our Mama then gets on to us and makes us come back in to the house.
   Ruin-er.
   With it raining out, that means we get stuck inside for more time than usual. Most days we go outside every  two to three hours, just depending on what's going on that day. I love to be outside. Sometimes i don't want to come in but my Mama gets mad and makes me. She used to let me run around outside for hours, but then I started running away and now someone has to stay outside with me at all times because Mama says I'm "untrustworthy". Whatever that means.
   So we get stuck inside and I get incredibly bored. I love to play. Coco, my sister, does not. She would rather just lay down beside Mama as she works and watch TV. She's been watching this show called "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on Netflix and I have to say, that show just makes me want to play more. I mean, c'mon! They're fighting! I like fighting. I loved to jump and roll around and bite and kick. That's all good stuff. So I bite Coco and hope she gets mad enough to play with me. Sometimes this works.
   Other times, I try to bring her a peace offering. Like the leg of my old toy, Griselda. I try to get her to play tug of war with me. Sometimes she does. I think she thinks that since she has about seventy pounds on me that she is much stronger than I am. I think not. I can lock my jaws tight and hold right on to my toy. Eventually though she gets bored and let's me win so she can go back to watching TV.
   I don't think her first family played very much.
   The best way to get her to play is to get Mama to play. This is not hard. I just bring a toy to her and she'll throw it. Or play tug of war. Or lift me waaaaay up in the air as I hold on to my toy and spin me in circles. Coco immediately begins to play with me then and that's exactly what I wanted. She can't stand it when people pay attention to me. She's kind of a drama queen.
   Another thing that I like to do on rainy days is aggravate my Grammy. She usually feels down when it is rainy out. Opression, I think it's called. So I try to impress her by getting her to play with me. I whine at her door until she opens it to yell at me and then I sneak in. Usually she has a toy for me in her room, but if there is no toy, I just pick up the nearest Kleenex. Grammy yells at me and then tries to take the Kleenex and has to chase me all over the room to get it. She pretends to be mad, but then she calls me a "silly little tramp" and scratches behind my ears. Then we take a nap together. That makes us both happy.
   Rainy days are stinky, but they can be fun too. Remember that your furry friend probably doesn't mean to be more mischievous, they're probably just bored, like me. Playing with them will help. I'm hoping that I can find my mini tennis balls today. Wish me luck! Hopefully tomorrow will be sunny!

Rooting around in the mud is fun! Mud is a great place to hide treasures!

I have fun aggravating my Grammy!

Halloween...

Coco and I share a pumpkin straight from the garden. Mama was not happy when she found this.

 Halloween is my mama's most favorite holiday of all.

 I don't want to tell her, but I can't stand it. It's super creepy. I remember last year. The doorbell rang for hours. I wasn't allowed outside after dark. These creepy, small creatures walked by all night long and the later it got, the louder everything got. Honestly, I thought it was a horrible night. I went and curled up in bed with my Grammy. It was warm and quiet there.

  From what I understand, Halloween is a great time for humans. They get to go to parties and dance and eat candy. But most people don't understand how spooky Halloween really is for their pets. We don't like strangers knocking on our doors. We don't like loud noises. And we can't eat chocolate. Where's the fun it for a dog?

   I much prefer Thanksgiving, where I get to eat a ton of stuff.

   I have a few tips I'd like to share with my human friends to help them help their pets have a Happy and Safe Halloween.
  #1. Keep your pets inside after dark.
   Like I said earlier, Halloween is creepy. And a lot of creeps come out on this night. These creeps like to steal animals. Or scare them. Or abuse them. So the best thing to do is keep your fur baby in your house, preferably somewhere quiet. Now, I know that I'm going to have to go pee at some point during the night and I'm sure your dog will too. But please make sure that you take your best friend out on a leash and away from strangers.
  #2. Use a safe and comfortable costume for your pet.
  If you're like my Mama, she insists on dressing us up in these ridiculous outfits. But at least she makes sure that it's not too tight and that I can't choke in it. And when I get too tired and irritated by being dressed up, she takes that stuff off of me. So please remember, we already have a big furry outfit on. It's called our coat. And we really don't like human clothes. Please keep it simple.
  #3. Make sure all the candy and wrappers and treats are kept out our reach.
  We love to chew and eat and play with everything. The things are considered treats for children could kill a fur child. Chocolate is delicious but dangerous and candy wrappers can choke us. If you really want to treat us, here is a link to some delicious peanut butter and pumpkin treats you can make! Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Treats
  #4. Watch out for your Jack O Lanterns.
  Especially around those sneaky, slinky cats. If you have a candle in your pumpkin, they could knock it over and catch the whole house on fire. or stick a paw or a tail in and get burned. You know how curious cats are..... and speaking of cats....
  #5. Keep a close eye on your black cats.
  Dogs too but people who are really mean and sadistic (I heard my Daddy say that word) like to harm black pets on Halloween in rituals or just out of pure meanness. White cats are vulnerable too. And white dogs. Really all animals. If you open your door for a trick or treater, make sure your pet doesn't dart out. And make sure they have the proper identification on them, just in case something happens.
  #6. ENJOY YOURSELF!
  Halloween can be very scary, but it can also be very fun. Make your pet some treats, walk them around the neighborhood in their costume while it's still daylight, take lots of pics, and snuggle down and watch "Hocus Pocus" at night. I know that's what me and my family plan to do! Hope you all have a very safe and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Me, My Grammy, and My cousins, Halloween 2012

To Play is the Thing!

Can I take your order please?

I think that all humans should consider living with a dog. It makes life a lot more fun. My humans are a lot of fun to play with. I love to jump on my Grammy's door. It makes a loud pop and that makes her jump off her bed every time. So funny!

My Mama is the most fun to play with because she has the most time to play with us. Our favorite game is called "Sock". She takes Daddy's old socks (the holes with the holes from his talons) and ties a knot in them so that we know which socks are ours. I like to pick these socks up and jump on her lap and then stare at her until she takes the hint.

Most of the time she fusses, "I don't wanna play sock!" Well, everybody knows that that's just silliness. Mama loves to play sock too. Eventually she throws it away from her, after I pick it up and drop it on her laptop a time or two.  Coco and I run as fast we can to see who gets the sock first. It's usually me. Coco is good at running long distances, but I'm a great sprinter.

I grab the sock, snarl at Coco in superiority, then bring the sock back to Mama. Sometimes Coco takes one end of the sock and we play tug of war. That's my favorite! Coco is super-strong, but my jaws lock down tight.

Playing is the absolute most fun thing in the world to do. Next to eat. And also bark. But playing is definitely the tops. We also like to play ball or chase apples that fall from trees. We have a pretty big yard, so there is always something to sniff or dig at. My Mama tells me I'm a lucky boy for having suck a big yard. She says some dogs got no yards at all. And that makes me sad.

Coco and I always have so much fun playing that I can't imagine not playing.

My Mama used to work with a group called second Chance Animal Rescue. Unfortunately, it closed down before I was even born, but my Mama tells us all about the dogs she used to work with their. They were Pit Bulls and Rotts and Chows. She says these doggies are considered "Bully Breeds". The only Bully I know is a big, drooling chocolate Lab named Coco.

Mama says that a lot of people were scared of these dogs. But she says that these dogs were even more scared of people because people used to make these dogs fight each other. I thought to myself, Well, Coco and I fight all the time. But then I found out that people made these people really fighting each other, like until someone was hurt or dying. And to top it off, THEY DID IT FOR MONEY! And THEN they didn't even get the doggies a vet or even any treats. They just left them to die!

When my Mama worked with these dogs, she took them outside to play every day. And sometimes these dogs fought each other. that's what they were trained to do. But most of the time, these "Bullies" were so happy to be out of that life, so happy to be well-cared for, that they just rolled in the grass. Laid in the sunshine. Were just grateful for their freedom.

I am grateful for my freedom as well. Glad that I have a big yard and my sister and humans to play with. I hope that one day all dogs know the happiness I feel.

I hope that they get the chance to just play.

THESE are the "Squirrels of Our Lives"

What a jerk!

Squirrels are jerks! Most people don't think that there are so many squirrels in the city, but ask a dog. they'll tell you. They're everywhere! All I need to do is lift my doggie nose in the air and I can smell them.
We 'specially have a squirrel problem at our house. Granddaddy has a big garden with a grape vine and three big fruit trees. The squirrels love our fruit trees and that makes me and my sister, Coco, very mad! Because we love the fruit from the trees too. The apples make perfect balls for catch and the pears are like tiny footballs. We even throw them back and forth to each other. It's fun!
This morning, I did my fence patrol, just as I always do. Lo and behold, I saw half an apple just sitting on the top of the fence. I sniffed the air. I could still smell the squirrel, but where was he?
Looking around, I couldn't find the squirrel in any of the trees or on any of the fencing. Coco was sniffing out the underbrush around the fence. I took a moment to chase my tail, couldn't catch it, so I stared at my Mama for a minute.
All of the sudden, the wind kicked up from the not-compost-bin direction and I spotted him, sitting low on my dog pen with a frickin' pear in his mouth!
I howled with anger. How dare he sit there with that pear in his mouth and just twitch his puffy tail at me?!? As I bounded toward the back corner of our yard, I felt Coco trotting beside me. That's good. She's tall so she can grab stuff for me. But I am the fierece warrior hunter. I howled again.
The squirrel looked at me, a look of pure terror shining in those small, beady eyes. I snarled, Coco barking beside me. The squirrel scurried up the telephone pole beside the dog pen, seeking sanctuary behind the wooden fence that separates us from my birth mom's old family. Coco and I stood at the fence, pointing up the telephone pole and howling for the squirrel's capture.
Alas, our Mama is not our Daddy and she won't shoot a squirrel with even the BB gun. Coco gave a sniff at the squirrel-filled air and went back to grazing the grass in front of the garden. I stood for a moment, watching the vile squirrel that had invaded my yard. He'll be back. And I'll remember him.
For now, I will take comfort in the fact that I can play kick ball with the pear he dropped.

Blame it on the rain.... or maybe the teething...

Bark! Hey! Teddy here again. It's raining here in Chicago.  I love the rain, but I think that my mama is irritated by it because she has to take me on a bunch of walks now.

That's because I am on house arrest. I have been running out of the yard every time I go out lately, even with supervision. The other night my mama was out in the yard with us and I snucked out as soon as she turned her head to watch my sister, Coco, run toward the front fence. I was sneaky. I slid right out the back, between our neighbors' fence and the barrier my mama and Daddy put up by the dog pen.It didn't even look like I got out of the yard. The barrier hadn't even moved. Because I slid through a small gap.But my mama caught me when I was sliding back through, running back in to the yard to make sure my Daddy couldn't catch me from the street behind us.

Earlier that same day, my sister and partner in crime, Coco, knocked the barrier down for me. Then I was able to just run through the gap because it's about six inches wide. Coco got stuck and my mama caught her. So, since Coco got busted, I just came back through the gap so that I wouldn't get in to more trouble. I knew we had been busted, so we were definitely in trouble. I told Coco play it cool. I ran to my mama's feet and rolled over to show her I submitted. Coco, the dumb dumb, ran past my mama and started jumping at the front fence. Barking at some kids riding by on their bikes! That made my mama even more mad. And here my Daddy thinks I'm bad.

Somewhere in the midst of all this, I forgot to go poop. My stomach really wasn't feeling good later that day. Daddy came home to eat lunch and Coco and I both got super excited. I got so excited that I accidentally pooped on the floor. Even worse, it was on the carpet. My Daddy did not like that. I ran away immediately and tried to hide, ashamed of myself. Luckily, my mama cleaned it up and reminded me how gross it is to use the bathroom on the carpet in the room where we eat, sleep, and watch TV. I had to see her point there.

Those were the third and fourth times I ran away in the past two days. My Mama keeps trying to figure it out, but I just have Spring Fever I guess. I just want to go bark at the squirrels and sniff the flowers. I like watching the kids play in their yards. I love to sniff the chlorine at the pool. It's a wonderful time to run free.

I sure do miss sweet freedom.....

So now my mama has been taking me on long walks. The leash sucks, but it's better than nothing. She told me that I broke their trust and I have to earn my freedom back. If I'm outside I'm on a leash or in my dog pen. I don't have free roam of the yard. Coco does, that lucky heifer. But one day I will earn the privilege back. One day.
Until then I hope Coco doesn't find that ham bone I buried up front.

I kissed a Lab and I liked it....

Hello everybody! Teddy here. Sorry I've been MIA but my Mama and I had a lot of stuff to figure out about my career as a dog who blogs. In the mean time, I have news for all of those who don't know.....

I have a sister.

Yes, that's right. My mama and Daddy got me a sister. She's older than me (she's 2) and much, much bigger. Her name is Coco and she is a Chocolate Lab. Her old family didn't want her anymore because she kept getting in to the garbage. they called her a "destructive dog" and said she frightened their two small children. 

I think she was there before the kids. Maybe they scared her. 

At any rate, I have a sister! For the most part, I really love her. Coco is kind of stupid, but maybe that's because I'm just really, really smart for a dog, but she does try really hard. It took her about two weeks to learn to sit at the door, where as I just do it automatically. But she's always up for a fight. Rolling around, biting each other, barking. It's awesome. And she's super fast at running, so chasing her is a blast. Plus, she's tall so she can reach things that I can't (and sometimes things we aren't supposed to touch, which gets us BOTH in trouble).

For a while she smelled really good. Like I couldn't help myself from wanting to lick her good. My Mama said that she was in heat because she hadn't been spayed yet. She even had to wear a diaper. I felt bad for the diaper, but I licked her face to make her feel better. But now she doesn't smell as good. In fact, I think she may need a bath as bad as I do. (And I'm starting to grow dread locks!) 

Coco is awesome and is my new best friend. Even my cat likes Coco. I'm glad my Mama and Daddy adopted her. Now I have someone to snuggle with at night and someone to play with all through the day.

I'm a happy dog.

No Mas...

Friend of the Week!

Hello all! Teddy the Terrible Terrier here! Last week, I started my Friend of the Week feature and I tried to talk to the HCAC about the animals in their care, but they didn't seem to want to talk to me. Hmmmm.... But this week, I found a great little lady up for adoption, available with a great organization I am confident will be happy to talk with me, Angels Among Us. That's where my aunt Ashley gets fosters from and she's helped bunches of animals find their forever homes this way.
At any rate, I picked Barbie for a very special reason. My Mama used to live with three chihuahuas and she has a special place for those "dumb, shaky monsters" in her heart. So the other day, mama recorded "Beverley Hills Chihuahua". We watched part of it while Daddy was at work and amazingly Daddy watched the end of it with us when he got home! (Believe me, Chihuahuas and Beverley Hills and my Daddy don't belong in the same sentence!)
I learned a very valuable lesson from those chihuahuas in that movie. It's not the size of the dog that matters, it's the size of their spirit. And Barbie looks like she has a great spirit! She;s said to be shy at first, but loves to cover you in kisses. I can't relate to the shy part, but I can definitely relate to the kisses part. I'm thinking about licking my Grammy right now!
Anyway, I hope that you will check out Barbie's Page on Petfinder. Also go check out Angels Among Us and see how you can do more to help this great organization and all the amazing rescue work that they do!
Paws and Kisses!

A little help for my friends....

Friend of the Week

Hello! We're expecting another snow storm up here according to the amount of The Weather Channel my mama is watching today. I think this could be a big one because I hear them calling it "Rocky", like that boxer in my Daddy's favorite movies. I enjoyed the sunshine today. And my Grammy got me some awesome  treats. While I was enjoying the peanut nutter goodness of the inside of my treats, I thought about my poor friends that don't get treats because they are in shelters. So I had a talk with my mama about this. I don't think she understands me all the time, but she did go on PetFinder.com for me and we looked at the pictures together. My heart got all sad when I saw a picture of this dog lady from my mama's hometown. She looked a lot like my cousin Diogi's sister, Yoshimi. Yoshimi was dognapped a few years ago and I told my mama that I wondered if it could be Yoshimi. So we posted the picture to my Uncle Charlie's Facebook page to ask him. But in the mean time, I didn't want this doggie to have to be executed. Because on the website there were big letters that read "Time Up" above her picture and I asked my mama what that meant. She said it meant these poor friends would soon be headed to the Rainbow Bridge. WHAT? I do not like that all. What if that is my cousin Yoshimi? My Uncle Charlie didn't even know she was out there all alone and scared and hurt. Doesn't she deserve a chance to be reunited with him? And even if it's not Yoshimi, she deserves a happy life. So I decided that I will feature a "Friend of the Week" on my blog. And all week I will talk about where that friend comes from and how people can help other friends in the same place.  So that nice lady dog at the top is my first Friend of the Week. I don't know her name, but they call her 12013 on the website. (And how awful is it to be known as a number and not a name? My mama says they did that in the Holocaust.) She is an Australian Shepard. You can find her information at http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/25446795. And check out some other friends while you are there! Stay tuned for more information about the animal control center she is at and how you can help animals in her situation escape this fate! Good luck 12013. I hope you find your forever home!

Snow Dog....

I don't know about other dogs, but I just love the snow. Maybe that's because I was born and raised in Chicago. But if you listen to my Daddy, "This snow ain't snow!" Well, I guess it is. It's white and fluffy and cold and wet and that is what my mama defines as snow. Whatever. It's fun. Do you know how much digging I can do, even in as little as two inches of snow! And I love looking at my paw prints everywhere. That's cool. And you can really see the birds and the squirrels when it snows. I love to stand there and bark at them after I chase them in to a tree.
But my mama made me kind of sad today. She says there are dogs that don't get to go out and play when it snows. She says these doggies are on "death row" and she gets all teary eyed. I don't like things that make my mama sad and I don't like the sound of this "death row". I know everybody likes cute puppies. And there are apparently tons of cute puppies at these shelter thingys. So why don't people just go get the puppies from the shelters? Makes sense to me. But my mama says that not everybody wants to take care of their puppy. Especially when it gets older. I can relate to that. My FurMama didn't like me. She wouldn't give me milk or take care of me when I was a bitty baby. And her flesh family didn't like me or my sister. So they sold my sister because they could. But they were going to give me to the shelter! Thank God they gave me to my Grammy instead, who helped me connect with my mama and Daddy. And I love my mama and my Daddy and my Grammy and my cat sister Furrball. I am so glad that I am adopted. So now I really really want to help my dog friends in shelters find their forever families. I think every dog deserves to play in the snow and laugh when their mama falls down on the ice. And bark at snow birds. And make the snow fly up around them when they run and catch a snow flake in their mouth.
This is my new mission. To make every dog a Snow Dog!

The Next NEXT Karate Kid....

I am a puppy. I like to chew things. I like to bark. A lot. I like to hike my leg up and pee on trees and run as fast as I can and roll around in bad smelling stuff and eat rotten apples that the squirrels throw from the trees and chase the cat. My new favorite thing, though, is being a ninja. My mama talks about being a Ninja all the time. But she's clumsy and she tromps around like an elephant, so I think she's not a good ninja at all. She likes to play this game with my Daddy where she hides from him and jumps out at him. Which is silly because my Daddy is trained to avert sneak attacks. So I used to think she was ridiculous. Until today. My Daddy was play chasing me and I tried sneak up on him. My rotten mama told on me. But Daddy thought I was funny and kept playing my game with me. Chase me and I'd run away then sneak back up on him and try to get his pants leg. It was fun. But I'm not sneaky enough. I think I need to continue my practice so I can become very, very sneaky. Like a REAL ninja. And sneak up on my Daddy and surprise him and make him see that I am a good guard dog, even if I am friendly and small. After all, chihuahuas were warriors. I've seen Beverly Hills Chihuahua with my mama. And I'm bigger than a stinkin' chihuahua. So I can be a warrior too!
As my mama says, "Wax on, wax off Teddy-san". Whatever the heck that means!