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!