Another Tequila Sunrise

Wordless Weekend Wrap-up

2012-01-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

WAY more snow!

2012-01-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

So yesterday it snowed, right? Well, it snowed A TON in the afternoon and evening. It stopped snowing around midnight or so, and it cleared up today, but we woke up to this:

Somedoggie had come up in our yard during the night, and if it weren't for his tracks, we would have been stuck on the porch - it was REALLY deep!

Before Dad could cut a track for us in the backyard, he had to tackle the driveway.

But he finally finished the driveway, and we came out to supervise the work in the backyard.

Dad! Are you done yet? We want to zoomie!

As soon as Dad was done, we checked out his work.

Eight paws up!

And, of course, as soon as we had our path cut, we started going off piste!

Yup. We're total powder hounds!

And, of course, we had to stop and appreciate the white fluffy bounty that had come our way...

It was a long time coming, but it looks like our snow dance finally paid off!!!

This is more like it!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Lots of Snow!

2012-01-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

First, let me say that this snow is completely natural, sent straight from the Snow Gods, and not from Frankie's snow guns. Also, I have it on the best authority that Frankie's attempts at bribery have been intercepted and contained. Not that I would stoop to accepting such obvious attempts to sway my decision in the Too Darn Cute judging. Although I would suggest they be sent to Dave and Zim, since they could use the snow and they have no input on the outcome of the Too Darn Cute category. No reason that Frankie's blatant bribery attempts should go to waste!

It started snowing in the wee hours of the morning, and continued to snow all day. Finally!!!!

So, we got in some SERIOUS snow zoomies!

And some serious snow frisbee time!

It doesn't get any better than this!

Or this!

And tug-o-war is ALWAYS better in new snow!

And is best when it's two on one.

We beat Mom! Heehee!

And Abby showed off her Mad Frisbee Skillz!

And we played hide-and-seek!

I see you!

And there was a little Sisterly Love...

Good times!

Abby doing what she does best... It was snowing really hard at this point!

Although every time we came back inside, Mom was mutter something about having to throw more towels in the dryer. I have no idea what she was talking about!

So I've got a little snow on my legs. It's deep out there!

The only person who didn't seem to be really enjoying the snow was Dad. Apparently clearing the driveway in a blizzard is not his idea of a good time...

I'm sure our smiling faces made him feel much happier!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Snow!

2012-01-19T20:35:00.001-07:00

Wet, mushy snow, but snow. And it was thick and slick enough that Mom chose to work from home today. And believe it or not, she actually worked. She spent all day at the computer muttering to herself and doing 'work things'. Amazing! But she did take us outside a few times....

And we got in some frisbee time.

And some frisbee/zoomie time.

And some plain old zoomie time.

Dad got to play with the ATV....

And Abby was, well, a doofus...

And me? Well, let's just say that I'm not the Too Darn Cute Judge for Mango Minster 2012 for nothing, ya know! Heehee.

Heehee. So the snow was wet; I consider it a fashion statement!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

What a difference a year makes!

2012-01-15T20:07:00.002-07:00

This time last year, our yard looked like this:

Actual photo from Jan 15, 2011

You'll notice that on this date last year we had snow. A fair amount of snow, actually.

This year?

Seriously?

Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd say Mom was pulling your leg by pulling out some pictures from early fall. But no. This is what our yard looks like today.

*sigh*

Not that we don't have fun (and we do have a little snow where the yard is in shadows)...

Look Mom! No hands! Heehee!

We're supposed to get a storm tonight/tomorrow morning, but it doesn't sound like much. However, at this point, ANYTHING would be better than nothing.

But don't get me wrong; we have fun no matter whether we have snow or not. AND, with the warm, dry weather we've been having, the streets in the neighborhood are dry, and this weekend Mom took us on two very long walkies, which was great! Oh, and Mom and Dad aren't really complaining about the snow TOO much; no snow means Mom has an easy commute and Dad doesn't have to clear the driveway!

But we're going to do another snow dance anyway!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: I know there are a bunch of Cuties entered in Mango Minster that I haven't visited yet - but not to worry, I'll be visiting you soon!

New Snow. Sort of.

2012-01-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

First, a little Mango Minster house-keeping:

The Thundering Herd is completely correct; in times like these, where we have a paucity of snow, a snow gun is a necessity, not a luxury. Thus it cannot be considered a bribe. So thanks for the offer, Frankie, we'll take it, but we are assuming this is a donation made in friendship to help us cope with unfavorable weather conditions and not an attempt to unfairly sway my judging decision. If the delivery man needs our address, let us know.

We'll just hook it up to our neighbor's hose so we don't use OUR water! Heehee!

Speaking of snow.... Mother Nature decided to tease us yesterday with an inch of snow. Seriously. An inch! ~~Why bother?~~ It's better than nothing, but we've still got bare patches in our yard. We are supposed to get a HUGE change in weather patterns near the end of the month, but in the meantime, we'll keep hoping for Frankie's snow gun.

However, we did the best we could with the little snow we got...

Seriously pathetic amounts of snow.

We did get in some zoomies (heck, we'll do zoomies in mud), but we need some SNOW!!!

Did I mention that we need some snow? This time last year, we couldn't stand where we are standing now - there were FEET of snow here...

This is it?!? Seriously?!?

Hey, Mom... where's the snow?

And by this afternoon, our snow was melting again...

Not that it stopped us from a little more bitey-face action.

And more zoomie action.

And, of course, we can still look cute.

Or, in Abby's case, play keep-away with the squeaky ball....

We'll keep working on our snow dance. And wait for the delivery man to bring us our snow gun! Heehee.

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Mango Minster 2012 - Cutie Patooties

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yippee!!! It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!! It's Mango Minster time!!! And to make it even better, I am returning to Mango Minster as a judge for the second year in a row!!! I don't know how I got to be so lucky, but it's true!!! And I'm SO EXCITED!!!! Last year, I had the great honor of judging the Bad Sports - a category that is near and dear to my heart. I'm not a Bad Sport, but I had the privilege of living with TaiChi, a Grand Master of Bad Sport-itude.

This year, I have the fantastic honor of judging those of you who are deemed Too Darn Cute (and yes, you know who you are!). It's going to be tough to handle the ginormous amount of cuteness that abounds in this competition, but I feel I am up to the task. After all, I KNOW cute.


Me as a Cute Puppy with TaiChi!

Check out that cute little button nose of mine! Heehee!

But I don't want you to think that you have to be a puppy to be cute. Cute comes in all shapes, sizes, ages, and species....

Mom and Dad are partial to 'doodles but you get the idea...

So as a judge, what am I looking for? Well, honestly, I can't really quantify it - like I said, cute comes in a whole bunch of different forms. BUT, I will tell you that a bunch of pictures in your entry post will really help; some of you cuties I have known for a long time, some of you are new to me - while I will do my best to learn as much about each of you as possible, it will help if you can show me the versatility of your cuteness with multiple pictures.


Age is no barrier to cuteness!

I know all my examples are poodles - I can't help it; I've only got Mom's photo albums to draw from, and there are lots and lots of poodles. However, don't think I'm biased toward poodles - I appreciate cuteness in all its varieties!

So don't be shy - let me see you in all your cute glory. Make me go 'Squee' with your cuteness! I can't wait to see all the entries!

Let the games begin! And if you don't know much about Mango Minster, or want to learn more about how to be a part of the Greatest Critter Show in the Universe, check it out!

*kissey face*
-Fiona, Too Darn Cute Judge, Mango Minster 2012

PeeEss: I'm TOTALLY not taking bribes. Well, I'm mostly totally not taking bribes; I mean, as fellow judge Loki pointed out, EVERYONE has their price... I just don't know what mine is... However, I fully expect any bribes from you cuties to be wrapped in pink and have a big bow on it! Heehee. Seriously, I don't need any bribes, as your overwhelming cuteness is reward enough! :-)

Hi 2012!

2012-01-01T21:00:00.002-07:00

Being fans of Science, we're going to go along with NASA's belief that the world will NOT come to an abrupt end in 2012. However, the start of the new year brings with it one of the worst snow years in decades for us. Really. Look in the background of one of our zoomie pictures....

Look at that grass on the side - there's grass all over the place in our yard. And almost no snow. This is TERRIBLE!

So, Abby and I thought we might appease the snow gods with a bitey-face snow dance...

I'm not exactly sure if that will appease the snow gods or not, but it was fun! And we'll keep you posted if we ever get any snow. I can just hear Granny now: "Be careful what you wish for!"

In keeping with the new year, we decided to bark a lot, to chase away any bad spirits from 2011. We may not have scared off any spirits, but we got the attention of all the dogs in the neighborhood, who decided to join in the noise making!

Heehee.

Even more exciting that all the bitey-face and barking, however, is the start of Mango Minster 2012! We are HUGE fans of Mango Minster, and while we might be a wee bit biased, we think Mango Minster is THE BEST DOG SHOW IN THE UNIVERSE. Seriously. It is totally awesome! Entries are open until Feb. 5, but they are only allowing 20 entries per category, so get your entry in soon! Abby has been really pushing to enter this year, and since the rules say that there can only be one entrant per household, this year is going to be Abby's year! Look for her entry shortly!

Happy New Year from all of us!

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Mango Minster Entry: Abby the Working Stiff

2012-01-01T16:18:00.002-07:00

*sigh* The Hippobottomus wanted to write this post herself, and while I am a bit leery of setting some sort of precedent, I have to agree that she is the best one to write this entry. -Fiona

HI!!! It’s Abbyhere. Yes, it’s actually me! I was able to wrest control of the computeraway from my older sister long enough to post my Mango Minster entry. It took some work, but I was able topersuade Fi that I could best present mycase for being a Working Stiff.

I know, you're thinking, "Abby, we know working Goldendoodles, and you are no Clive." Well, I agree, I am no Clive - but then I don't think there are too many dogs in the world that are close to being like Clive. But, I am a Working Stiff nonetheless. If you look at some of our other bloggie posts, I know it all looks like fun and games, but trust me, if it weren't for me, our entire household would grind to a halt. Allow me to give you some examples and I think you'll agree, I'm not just a cute lay-about, I WORK.

First, I have spent my Entire Life trying to train Mom how to feed turkey hotdogs. I started training Mom when I was a wee spud of 10 weeks old, and have been working with her ever since. Mom is a bit dense when it comes to turkey hotdog dispensing, so trust me when I tell you this is WORK.

Here, at a mere 12 weeks old, with the help of Jessi the Turkey Hotdog Goddess, I am demonstrating the Proper Turkey Hotdog Delivery Technique.

As I have mentioned, Mom is not a quick study, and I have spent almost two years training Mom.

This has not been an easy process, and I fear that I will be spending my entire life giving Mom 'refresher training' in how to feed turkey hotdogs.

But I do far more work than just that. Here are some bullet-points from my resume:

I've tried to teach Mom how to throw a tennis ball (that was a bit of a failure, but you know what they say about silk purses and sow ears...)

I let Mom know when it it time to mow the lawn.

Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

And I do my part with the yardwork by helping with the pruning!

Check out ALL my pruning work!

I take care of Dad when he's sick, by being a Puppy Hat (TM).

I hold down the snow.

I hold down the floor.

I humor Mom with her crazy 'photo ops'

I provide comic relief when needed.

I make sure my parents get regular exercise.

Likewise, I make sure my sister gets plenty of exercise.

I protect the property from tree rats and other miscreants.

I make sure Mom updates our bloggie at least every once in a while.

I finally crate-trained Mom.

I make sure Mom eats her veggies.

And I do tons of other stuff around the house, like, I've eliminated Mom's need for an alarm clock - 5:25am is a perfect time to get up; it's not my fault that I don't know which days are 'weekends' or 'holidays' and which days are 'work days'....

Most importantly, I am a foil for my sister. If I weren't around, I have a feeling Fi would be called a 'rotten dog' on occasion. But with me around, Fi is always The Good Dog, because I have generously taken over the role of 'Rotten Dog' all so my sister will shine. I'm the one who tries to run down the hill to greet doggies on the street so Fi doesn't have to. I'm the one who runs off with the tennis ball while Fi stands around looking well-behaved in comparison. I'm the one who barks at potential intruders when they are 2 blocks away, so Mom and Dad have plenty of time to prepare. I'm the one who rolls in poop at daycare and has to be given an 'emergency bath' while Fi looks fresh as a daisy.

I've got my 'Bad Dog' face on here to emphasize the point.

It's not easy being the Bad Dog, but I'm willing to make the effort, so Fi looks good. All the time. And it takes work for me to be Bad, since my natural inclination is toward cuteness. It's also not easy making sure everyone in the house does what they are supposed to while also presenting my sister in the best possible light, but I'm a Working Stiff, and I get it done!

So, to sum it all up, I may not be a certified service doggie, but I've got my hands totally fully trying to keep Mom and Dad in line while keeping my big sister out of trouble. It's a full time job and I honestly don't know what my family would do without me! So I am definitely a Working Stiff!

*kissey face*

Abby the Working Stiff Hippobotomus

Happy Bitey-Face, erm, Boxing Day!

2011-12-26T20:05:00.001-07:00

Bitey-face is like boxing, right? Sort of? Maybe? Oh, Mom just said that Boxing Day has nothing to do with pugilistic activities, and has more to do with tipping one's servants. Does that mean Abby and I have to tip Mom? I bet if we both jumped on her at once, we could knock her down. Which would sort of be like tipping her...

*ahem*

Regardless of what Mom says, Abby and I are CERTAIN Boxing Day is celebrated with bitey-face exhibitions.

We've got our anti-gravity boots on here!

This Boxing Day stuff is pretty cool!

But let you think we do nothing but bitey each other all day, let me assure you we do other funballs things, like chasing each other around The Bush. (Ignore the shovel - that is Mom's 'waste management tool' - also known as the Poo Flinger...)

We could do this all day. And frequently do until Mom gets cold and calls us in, and then we come running!

Heehee! We hope everyone is enjoying the holidays - and thanks for all the wonderful cards from all our bloggie friends! We got WAY more cards than Mom and Dad did!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

We have been preparing for the arrival of Sandy Paws by demonstrating what Good Girls we are!

We share stuff...

See, we're totally sharing the Frisbee! Heehee!

And we've been exercising in preparation for all the Christmas goodies that are sure to come our way...

And we've been Extra Good in showing our sisterly affection for each other....

Yep, we're totally prepared! Heehee!

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends across the world!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: Don't forget to leave out scotch and chew-toys for Santa and his Reindogs! (If you don't know about Reindogs, be sure to read Mogley's Most Informative Post - the reindeer just have better press agents, while the reindogs are doing all the work!)

Abby's Birthday and a Turkey-Hotdog Refresher Course for Mom

2011-12-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like we are doomed to posting once a week for a while - something to do with Mom leaving at o'-dark-thirty, and it being sort of dusk-y when she gets home, making for non-optimal photo time. Mom has been saying something about how she has never been so excited for the Solstice in her life as she is this year - even if it is only a few minutes a day, she wants to know the days are getting longer. But, Mom has assured me that she is going to try to post once a week.

Which is a good thing, as well have All Sorts of Exciting Things going on.

First, Abby took Mom to Petco for a refresher class on how to feed turkey-hotdogs as Mom has been slacking in the turkey-hotdog department for a while.

Abby, being Abby, had to go suck-up to Jessi, first thing, and then go make friends with the two little Westies who were finishing up their class...

After the little dogs left, Abby got her private lesson (of which there are no pictures, because Jessi was really focusing on Mom's turkey-hotdog-delivery technique). At the end of the private lesson, Mom's technique wasn't totally perfected yet, so Jessi invited Mom to continue to practice in the next class of the day, whose only member was Mogli, a 9 month old Newfoundland.

Abby greeted Mogli modestly, as usual.

Okay, so Abby really doesn't DO modesty....

And then they got back down to the serious business of Mom feeding turkey-hotdogs in such an enticing manner that Abby would run through Petco looking for Mom and her turkey-hotdogs. First Mom practiced by just standing at the end of an aisle and offering her turkey-hotdogs. Then Mom was hiding behind things, and Abby proved too be too clever. So Mom thought she'd be Super Clever....

Let's just say Abby had the last laugh!

However, we think Mom is now crate-trained! Heehee!

Mom got her revenge, however.... You know how I mentioned that this last Monday was Abby's birthday, but we were holding off on the celebrating until this weekend? Well, after the Crate Incident yesterday (Mom says she got in there voluntarily, but I think Abby lured her in with some turkey hotdogs!), Mom decided to do the birthday thing today. Which meant that Abby had to wear The Birthday Hat!

Abby is looking rather pleased with herself because Mom is hold bits of ham just off camera. But I almost feel sorry for the poor girl - I mean with a birthday in December she's subjected to the elf hat, and the antlers AND the birthday hat all in the same month! I least with my birthday in July, I get to spread out the, ah, glad tidings!

Mom made cake (well, mini-cakes) for both of us. Although keeping true to the 'second-child-is-an-afterthought' maxim, Mom didn't actually have a birthday candle for Abby, and had to, ah, improvise! (And get the card off the candle before it caught fire!) But the cake was quite tasty!

And Granny and Grandpa had sent us some Most Excellent sweet potato snacks which we checked out - 4 paws up! Thanks from both of us (because Abby will share, I promise!)!

After the birthday celebrations, Abby and I ran off our cake with a little bitey face.

And a little frisbee time.

And, a little Sitting In The Snow Looking Regal. She's a Hippobottomus, what can I say? Besides, she did get Mom to crawl in that crate, so that's totally deserving of a little lazing about!

And finally, a gratuitous picture of me, because the ratio of Fi:Abby photos is way out of balance! Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Ho-ho-ho (Or the Things We Do to Amuse Mom)

2011-12-10T13:49:00.001-07:00

As you may (or may not) know, Abby and I have the sickies. We've got 'kennel cough' or the flu, or something - apparently whatever we've got is going around. When Dad came home from skiing on Thursday, I was coughing and hacking up mucous-y stuff all over the place, and he called Mom (who was on her way to work after her first day of skiing for the season), who turned around and took me to the vet, who diagnosed me with a 'respiratory infection' and put me on antibiotics and vitamin C. That same evening Abby started coughing and hacking (although not as bad as me), and was also put on antibiotics and vitamin C. Mom has been told we'll make a full recovery in 'no time'.

Being the sneaky, opportunistic person that she is, Mom took advantage of our sickies to *gasp* dress us up for Christmas photos. Granny and Grampa thought we'd be 'dashing' in antlers and elf hats so they had sent us one of each, and Mom has been waiting for 'just the right moment' to take photos. Apparently when we're sickie is 'the right moment'. Thanks, Mom. We'll wait for the 'right moment' to leave some surprises for you...

Abby was not amused.

However, there were treat involved...

And when there are treats involved, I can be persuaded to pose. For a bit, at least.

Don't even THINK about adding a red nose!

This means I'll get lots of goodies from Santa, right?

Mom, you'd look pretty funny with antlers on, too.

This puts me on the 'NICE' list forever, right?

Abby was also coerced into participating in the Christmas photos...

Heehee! That's one happy looking reindog, dontcha think?

Awww.... She makes such a CUTE reindog!

Heh. Talk about a grumpy-looking elf! Maybe she should stick with the reindog look!

The photo session was a bit tiring (even with Mom taking us out one at a time so we wouldn't attempt to bitey each other, and with Dad collaborating by providing the treats), but it amused Mom, and occasionally we have to do things to amuse her...

Oh, because of our sickies, Mom is thinking about postponing Abby's birthday celebration for a few days. Abby turns 2 on Monday, but she wants us to enjoy the birthday cake (Mom's got a doggie cake recipe, complete with cream cheese and peanut butter frosting!), so she's thinking about holding off until next weekend. Besides, a birthday party AND antlers and elf hats might just be too much excitement for one weekend! Teehee.

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Time to Beat the Servants

2011-12-04T19:57:00.001-07:00

*sigh* Mom really has been slacking on the blog thing (and my toes are way too big for the keys on her keyboard). First it was "the new job is keeping me busy" (yeah, but you get home at 4pm most days....) and now it's "but I've got Christmas cards to mail, and I've got to make your annual calendar so it can get shipped in time". Yeah. Whatever.

In spite of all of these 'things' Mom has to do, she managed to eek out a little time to drag us to the groomers on Saturday.

Don't let our newly-shorn smiling faces fool you: Mom was holding up some cheese!

Apparently, Mom thought we were getting a little 'woolly.'

Us? Woolly? Naw.

We're not woolly; we're just getting ready for winter.

Mom thought that turning on the air conditioning in the bedroom because we were hot was a bit excessive, just because it was 18 degrees outside and she and Dad were already freezing... *sheesh*

So once we got back from being de-shag-ified, we immediately went out to get the 'new dog' smell off.

Abby, doing what she does best; being goofy.

Today, Mom and Dad took us on a bunch of walkies, but instead of helping us catch up on our friends' bloggies, Mom has been combing through the photos from the last year, trying to select the Top 48 for our calendar. Here are a few possible choices....

Mom is still working on the calendar, she's (clearly) got a million choices! In the meantime, Abby and I are going to go back to winter tug-of-war.

For those of you who were paying attention last winter, we have several frisbees - one was 'retired' after a vigorous winter of tug-o-war, but we've got 3 more that are still putting up the good fight!

We'll try to get around to bloggies, but Mom wants to ALSO get the Christmas cards mailed out, so have some patience with us!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

More Snow!

2011-11-21T20:40:00.001-07:00

Yeah, yeah, we know.... We've been totally slacking on the bloggie thing - both posting and visiting. If it's any consolation, you can totally blame Mom. Seriously. See, Mom gets up at 5:45am to go to work, and Mom is not exactly a Morning Person. Grandpa is probably snickering at this point, thinking back to all the 5am swim practices he drove Mom to when she was a wee pup; he can testify to Mom's total lack of Morning Person-ness. Anyhoo, so Mom gets up at o'dark-thirty and heads off to work, and while she comes home at a reasonable time (and if the weather cooperates, she and Dad will take us on a walk before dinner), she's ready for bed at 8pm or something, and that doesn't leave a lot of bloggie time. We're hoping that Mom will eventually adjust to this morning thing and we'll be back to our regular bloggie post and visits. But in the meantime, bear with us...

Enough of the blather. We got snow this weekend! It was another wet (for us) snow, so Dad had a lot of work to clear the driveway, but Abby and I had lots of fun bitey-ing and zoomie-ing.

Happy snow doggies!

So yeah, we totally did the New Snow Zoomie thing. (Again, we've got you snowless doggies in our thoughts with each snowy lap!)

Powder hounds!

It doesn't get better than this!

More zoomies, or some bitey-face?

Definitely some bitey-face!

Heehee. Bitey-face is ALWAYS awesome in new snow!

And for those of you who are thinking picturesque winter/holiday photos, here is the obligatory Winter Wonderland shot from our back deck.

Apparently this morning was not so much of a Winter Wonderland; when Mom got up to go to work this morning, we had gotten 4-5 inches of snow, and it was snowing hard! Mom had her first opportunity to experience her commute in snow. Apparently her little car is just fine in snow, and after years of racing rear-wheel-drive cars in the rain on race tires, she knew enough to not drive like a total idiot in the inclement weather.... But we enjoyed the snow! However, we are supposed to have good weather until Thanksgiving day - which means lots of walkies AND snow zoomies. Does it get any better? I think not!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Snow!

2011-11-13T11:36:00.001-07:00

Yippee! Nothing like snow to get the feet flying!

Of course, we've been enjoying the weekend snow a bit more than Dad; he started off with a snowblower, and had to move to the plow because the snow was thick and heavy...

Since Dad wasn't having much fun with the snow, we did our best to have enough fun for him, too!

Is it me, or does Abby have Crazy Eyes in those last two pictures?

Yesterday it snowed pretty much all day, and Abby and I took full advantage of the Bitey Face While Snowing opportunities.

Seriously, bitey-face in new snow is just awesome!

Of course, zoomies in new snow Totally Rock, too!

This picture looks a lot like the first one in the post, but in this picture, it's snowing, which makes it a Completely Different Photo! Heehee.

Oh yeah!

And for those of you snowless doggies, I feel your pain. In fact, in order to draw attention to your plight, I am going to strike serious poses and smackdown my sister in the hopes that the world will recognize what a tragedy it is to see dogs without snow of their own. Feel free to join me in this cause!

Snowless doggies, I feel your pain.

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Snow and Snooters and Stuff

2011-11-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hiya! Mom's been slacking on the blogging (writing and reading) as of late, because, well, she has decided that her job as Doggie Chauffeur/Care-taker doesn't offer a good health plan, and so she's got some job thingy that will give both Mom and Dad health insurance that will be almost as good as what Abby and I currently have. Yep. You heard it right; Mom's got a job. She's doing something super-nerdy at the University. Or she will be doing something super-nerdy once they actually get her a computer; apparently Mom can't perform complex statistical calculations by hand. Even when she takes off her shoes and socks! Heehee!

Which means we will be spending lots of quality time with Dad, while Mom gets up at the wee hours of the day so she can hurry home in the afternoon to spend quality time with us before the sun sets. That's okay. Dad has proven himself to be quite the competent solo dog walker, and Mom's stocking up on ~~bribes~~, erm, bully sticks, so Abby and I are quite happy about the arrangement!

Oh, and for those of you who were asking, here's Mom's new car. (Apparently the Jeep doesn't get the best gas mileage in the world, so Mom got this little AWD car for commuting - good gas mileage, and it was really inexpensive, so it almost pays for itself. And it's BLUE!)

Abby and I went for our first ride on Sunday, and gave it two nose-prints of approval! When Mom got it, she swapped out the regular tires for snow tires (you know, since now that it has started snowing, it won't stop until May!). Which was a Very Good Plan, because it snowed the morning she picked it up.

Abby and I went out early in the morning and discovered one of our neighbors had come to pay a social visit!

Since he didn't seem interested in playing, Abby chased him off the property (and earned herself a private 'recall' lesson, since she was more interested in chasing him down the driveway than heeding Mom's calls...).

Once our yard was ours again, we engaged in some serious bitey-face action. Because, say it with me, bitey-face is ALWAYS better in new snow!

Good times!

After much bitey-ing, Mom felt the need to get snooter pictures. See, Mango's been giving our buddy Bert a hard time about his big snooter (frankly, we think Bert is Most Handsome, and has a perfectly proportioned snooter - see?)

So we wanted to show Bert out support with our own snooter pictures...

Yes, we think Abby's nose is fake!

Me? I look regal even with a snowy snooter!

Heehee. Anyhoo, we got more snow this afternoon, and Mom's computer won't be ready until NOON tomorrow (Seriously!), so we fully expect Mom to get more snow photos. No idea when she might get around to posting them, but she'll post them sometime...

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Yipee!!!

2011-11-01T21:30:00.003-06:00

Heh. It's a good thing Mom did all her raking and fertilizing and whatnot on Sunday, as ~~she was crippled on Monday~~, erm, we got snow today. Actually, when we helpfully woke Mom up at 6:30 this morning, it was raining, but by 8am it was snowing!

It snowed for a couple of hours, and then it cleared up, and then we had some flurries, and now it's clearing up again. But we're supposed to get more snow on Friday, so we've really got to get our early-season bitey-face action going! Because we all know that bitey-face is MUCH BETTER in new snow!!!

Yep, I got Mad Skillz!

Oh yeah, and zoomies. We got in a bunch of zoomies. Bitey-face is an anaerobic activity, so we have to balance our training with some aerobic zoomie time!

Wheeee! I can fly!

Zoom-zoom!

Oh, and while I wouldn't ordinarily embarrass my sister on the interwebs (well, okay, I totally would...) this picture was just Too Priceless not to post. If you look closely, you'll notice my dear sweet Hippobottomused sister has done a total face plant! We were racing around the bush seen in the above photo, and Abby came dashing down the hill at a high rate of speed, and well, SPLAT!

Not to worry. No fluffy Hippobottomi were hurt. If Mom hadn't gotten the resulting face plant on camera, it would be like it never happened! Heehee.

And really, we had a great time in the snow together!

Caninus Goofius

Mmmm! Love the taste of fresh snow!

We'll keep you updated with all the snow excitement!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Fall Funballs!

2011-10-30T21:02:00.001-06:00

Heehee. After seeing the weather forecast, Mom decided that today was The Day. She had to rake leaves and get the fall fertilizer down on the yard, so she could 'call it quits' on the lawn. We're supposed to have rain/snow on Tuesday and then some more weather on Friday, so Mom was doing all sorts of yard work-y things.

See all those leaves? Mom raked up most of them and removed them. (I say 'most' because about halfway through the whole raking adventure, Mom decided that her raking muscles had atrophied over the summer, and so removing 'most' of the leaves was good enough...)

While Mom was coming up with reasons to justify a shoddy raking job, Abby and I took the opportunity to enjoy the nice fall day.

And zoomies? Boy, oh boy! The cool day (the high was in the mid-50s) was MADE for serious zoomies!

As you can see in this last picture, our grass is mostly leaf-free. For now. Not all the leaves have fallen off the trees, but Mom has declared herself 'done' with the yard until springtime!

After Mom did all the ~~whining~~, erm, raking, and noticed that it was windy, and there were still leaves yet to fall, she hustled us off to Home Depot so she could get the 'fall fertilizer' (apparently our fertilizer contributions were not appreciated - either that or Mom is going to bronze them, as she picks them up each and every day...). So now she is really done with the yard. And all she has left is to clean up all the leaves off the deck! Heehee.

In other excitement, we had another doggie class this weekend. You'll notice that I was paying SuperClose attention to Dad (he's NOT looking at his watch in this picture - he was just moving his hand, but Mom only got a couple of pictures, so she had to use what she had...)

Abby? Not so much on the paying attention thing...

Yeah, she was doing what she was supposed to be doing, but instead of paying attention to Mom, Abby was busy checking out her boyfriend Axel a goofy chocolate lab. (Is 'goofy lab' redundant? Yeah, I thought so!) In fairness to Abby, this was during the last 10 minutes of class, and Abby's puppy brain tends to melt after about 30 minutes of class!

For all of you who got snow in the East? We'll be firing up AirFiona for a visit - we need a snow fix!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Frisbee Time!

2011-10-23T21:19:00.003-06:00

In addition to our Saturday doggie class (Dad came to class again, so I got to go, too! When it's just Mom going by herself, Abby is usually the one to go because she needs to have her puppy-brain mentals stimulated - something about how it 'wears her out'. But when Dad comes, we both get to go! Alas, Mom didn't get any pictures because she was busy stimulating Abby's mentals - which is not as easy as it sounds, because Abby's brain tends to melt after about 20 minutes or so, and it takes all of Mom's mentals to keep Abby on task!) we've been enjoying the fall weather with lots of walks, and Frisbee Time!

Now when you look at the following frisbee pictures, keep in mind that Mom was throwing the frisbee with one hand while trying to snap the picture with the other. So the fact that we've got ANY action photos is impressive.

Nothing like some good frisbee time in fall!

Speaking of fall, all of the reds (the oaks) are gone, and we're down to the oranges and the yellows (the aspens). Which means Mom's got a lot of raking ahead of her! Heehee! BTW, you may need to biggify the pictures to really see the colors. And yes, our sky really is that blue!

Our backyard

Across the street from us

Happy fall! (And thanks to all of you who provided Abby with moral support on the whole 'Abby + poo = bath' thing - I still think the little rat might actually LIKE baths. Or she likes rolling in poo SO MUCH that the baths are a small price to pay... I mentioned she's got a puppy brain, right? Heehee.)

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Another Bath for Abby

2011-10-19T16:25:00.000-06:00

Today we went to daycare at Doginhaus and through no fault of the the daycare people, Abby rolled in poo. Again. If you recall, she did this a couple of weeks ago, too. Frankly, I think she LIKES getting a bath. Seriously. Why else would she roll in poo so often? Anyhoo, the nice daycare people called Mom and warned her before she came and picked us up. Which, of course, meant that Mom was all prepared with the flashy beast... And Doginhaus has a nifty (or so says Mom... Me? Any place that combines dogs and baths can't be good...) self-wash place.

The self-wash room has a big doggie tub (and a floor shower kind thingy for some of you full-figured doggies who might not like walking up the ramp.... actually, Abby doesn't like to go up the ramp - she uses it as an escape route, so Mom opens the door and lifts Abby in and shuts the door before she can escape...).

Complete with special shampoo ("Conditioning shampoo for the mountain dog" - which I think translates into any doggie who rolls in mountain poo...).

And an apron for Mom, so she doesn't get totally soaked.

Before the water started spraying, Abby was all enthusiastic. Seriously. I think my nut-job sister actually LIKES baths. Or just doesn't remember what comes next.

Once the sprayer was on, and the shampoo was flowing, Abby got her 'sad puppy' face on. Like that would make Mom stop or something. As if!

Me? I was perfectly happy to sit in the corner and enjoy that fact that I was not the doofus who chose to roll in poo.

Neener-neener!

Abby was contemplating a jail-break at one point, but Mom was quick to finish up before ~~the little rat~~, erm, my darling sister could escape.

And then it took like a million towels to dry her off when she was all done. Notice how Abby is still trying to work the 'poor me' thing? Yeah. It didn't work.

And in no time at all, Abby had that 'new dog' smell about her again! Which means that it's time to go play bitey-face in the dirt! Heehee! You'll notice I was heading for the door before Mom got some crazy idea like giving me a bath, too!

In other excitement, Mom persuaded Dad to come to a doggie class last Saturday, so both Abby and I could get edjumacated together! Vienna sausages all around!

And we've been going on walkies, enjoying the fall colors and our tennis ball time!

It may be Fall, but for us it's spring-y time! Heehee.

Zoom-zoom!

And now it's time to go get that new dog smell off Abby! Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Where'd the Snow Go?

2011-10-10T21:36:00.000-06:00

It's true. Our snow has all melted. *sigh*

And we're back to our regular fall zoomies. But... Mom forgot she had a bunch more snow pictures that she hadn't yet taken off the camera yet. So when Mom finally pulled them off, it was like we had snow all over again! So, we're going to hop into our Way Back Machine and enjoy the snow from a couple of days ago One More Time!

Seriously, snow zoomies are The Best!

Of course, bitey-face in snow is always awesome, too!

So, Mom, would you bring the snow back. Please?!?

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the (snowless) Hippobottomus

PeeEss: For those of you who were wondering, snow this time of year is not at all unusual. Of course, it usually disappears within a day or two, but some snow is better than no snow!

Snow!

2011-10-06T11:00:00.001-06:00

It's true! Snow!

For those of you who have been paying attention, our last measurable snowfall was Memorial Day (May 30th) until this morning! (Which, if you do the math - or count on your toes - is a wee bit more than 4 months without snow. Four whole months!!! If that's not proof positive of global warming, I don't know what is!) But never fear, the weather people had predicted snow this week, and we were pleasantly surprised to see they actually got it right!

When we went out at 6:30 this morning, Mom brought out the camera, so she could document the first snow of the season. Because nothing actually happens unless you takes pictures and post them on the internet. It's sort of like a tree falling in an empty forest... Heehee.

She was worried the snow might melt before the sun rose, and she'd miss her photo op...

No worries on that front!

And when there's new snow... Well, you can all say it with me... "Bitey-face is ALWAYS better in new snow!" Abby and I took full advantage of the conditions the get in some early-season bitey-face (we've got a long winter bitey-face season; early-season on-snow conditioning is crucial to a successful season!).

Dancing with the 'Doodles

Sisterly love at its finest!

This snow won't stay - we'll have our grass back soon, and I'm sure we'll have some warmer days before Winter begins in earnest. (We don't have snow on the ground 'permanently' until November. Which means lots of wet, muddy footprints upon which Mom can gaze fondly and think loving thoughts of us!)

But we'll enjoy it while we've got it!

And Abby will do what she does best while the snow lasts! Heehee!

BTW, since it's the first snow of the season, we're winding up the rubber band on Air Fiona, and we'll be sending it out to all you snow dogs (and you know who you are) who are in serious need of a fix! Sibe Party at Fiona and Abby's House!!! Mom won't notice a few ~~hundred~~ more muddy footprints!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the (snowy) Hippobottomus

Fall and Stuff

2011-09-28T22:29:00.000-06:00

We were out strolling the other day, and Mom thought it would be nice to get some pictures of the fall foliage.

Um. That is just the hillside. Totally boring. I mean, where are the doggies?

Much better. Well, it would be much, much better if you could see more of us, and less of the road, but whatever. Mom wants to make the point that it's Fall. Okay, we got it, we got it. If you want to see tons of pictures of boring hillsides, just ask Mom - she took TONS of them. Seriously... We went on one of our walks, and Mom was fascinated with the hillside by the Olympic Park...

At least Mom wasn't so dazzled by the hillside that she forgot about us... We stopped by the park on that walk, and had some quality tennis ball time.

Even though the lighting looks a little different both of the above pictures are Abby. You know, the dog totally missing the ball! Heehee!

Me? I've got mad catching skills! Heehee.

I think Abby might have been having some tennis ball focus issues because she's been Vienna sausage-oriented as of late. She had another doggie class last Saturday, and she was a total suck-up

What a suck up!

And for those of you who are fans of Sherman (and you know who you are!), here's a gratuitous Sherman picture!

And a picture of our Fearless Trainer, and her sidekick Lulu.

I'm not sure if all that edjumacation has done much for Abby, though. Today we were at daycare, and she thought she was all clever by rolling in poop. When Mom came to get us, the daycare people noticed that my dear sister was, ah, a bit aromatic. Abby and I were taken into the 'self-wash' room at the daycare, where Mom had the last laugh. Armed with doggie shampoo, an apron, and lots of towels, Mom loaded Abby into the tub (three times, actually, as Abby felt the need to escape the first two times) and shampooed her. Me? Since I was the Good Dog, I got to avoid the whole Forced Bathing adventure. Alas, Mom has no pictures of this whole adventure, as she wrestling with Abby, the shower hose, the shampoo, and the towels. But even with the fancy-schmancy doggie shampoo, trust me when I tell you that I was the one who came out of the whole ordeal smelling like roses! Heehee!

After getting a bath, Abby came home and immediately felt the need to get rid of the 'clean' smell.

She's a SPAZ! But that's not news, huh?

After Abby was done with her spaz-out, we got in some quality zoomies.

And some bitey-face.

New-dog smell was totally eradicated! Heehee.

We've also been working on our weave poles, although Mom has been slacking (again), and hasn't gotten any video of our latest (and best) attempts at the weave poles. However, here is a super short video for Granny, so she can see the basic idea of what we're attempting. For the record, Mom's cutting out the hand-motions and is working on her technique, while I'm just getting speedier. We may even add the final two poles sometime!

Here's the link for those of you who get this via email: http://youtu.be/uN4XvGS09JA

We'll work on Mom to get some better video. And more pictures of us, and stuff! Heehee.

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Fall colors, certificates and green feet

2011-09-22T12:47:00.001-06:00

Heehee.

Fall is here. Trust me. This is our backyard.

All fall-like.

Which means.... fall bitey-face!

We just wanted you to know that we haven't given up bite-facing. We're still working on our weave poles and our hurdles, but sometimes we've just got to cut loose and bitey each other!

Mom still has to work on her technique, and we're not exactly Brutus and Carmen, but hey, we've graduated to four poles!

In other excitement, we went to the park this morning, and the grass had Just Been Cut. (As in, the gardener was still cutting the far end of the field while we were there.) No pictures of our park action, but Mom was greatly amused with our green feet.

Green feet? Really? You think that's funny?!?

Apparently Mom thought the green feet were really funny, as she too lots of pictures of our feet, especially Abby's since her coloring makes her leprechaun-like feet more obvious.

Heehee.

And finally, our Canine Good Citizen certificates arrived! And as our Grandpa keeps pointing out, the certificate is the Most Important Thing! Heehee!

Now we're both certified. Or certifiable, or something...

Frankly, my sister STILL looks certifiable, in my humble opinion...

Heehee.

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Park Times!

2011-09-14T13:25:00.000-06:00

Okay, we've been slacking a bit on the blogging department. All that modelling was Hard Work! Heehee.

Anyhoo, we've been busy with 'stuff.' After the Mango Momma's Most Excellent Weave Pole Instructional Video Mom has been inspired to get us out with own own weave poles. But since we've only had one attempt where we've had more than two poles set up, we don't have any pictures or video yet. But one of these days...

On Sunday, we had another playdate with Lulu the Bug. For a short little thing, she's quite speedy...

We had quite the funballs time, and look forward to future playdates!

Today we went on a walk on the Multi-Use Trail (MUT). We haven't been on this trail in a while, and it was good to get out and go for a long walkie. The weather was really nice - high 50's-low 60's (i.e. perfect) - so we really enjoyed ourselves. We also, of course, stopped by the park, and got in a little tennis ball action.

Check out that vertical leap!

We were all into catching balls out of the air today!

Two tennis balls makes for twice the fun!

Happy park times!

We have also been doing bitey-face zoomies in the backyard, but Mom has been slacking with the bitey-face photos; I'll have to talk with her about that.... But I didn't want you to think we had given up biteying each other in favor of modelling. Although my sister is a HAM. At daycare they have pictures of all of us, and mine is an action photo (duh!) while Abby's picture is yet another photo where she's Totally Hamming It Up for the camera. Who'd've thunk that the Hippobottomus would aspire to be a model? Heehee.

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Photo Shoot, Part Doo

2011-09-09T21:29:00.000-06:00

So, last post was all about Abby, the total ham and camera hog, right? Well, FINALLY, the pictures of ME showed up. You can see that I'm totally NOT a ham. Unlike my sister, I prefer a more, ah, casual, wind-blowing-through-my-ears kind of look.

Carefree, if you will!

Actually, to be honest, I didn't really like the 'popping' noise of the photographer's flash, and I didn't like the feeling of the material they used for the background and the floor. So I may or may not have been ready to bolt in the above picture. I'm just saying...

Oh, and it didn't help that Mom brought Abby along, because she thought it would be 'fun' to get some pictures of the two of us together. Fun?!? Mom, you've got a twisted sense of fun.

Let's just say the 'cute, loving sister' photos didn't exactly materialize.

We were on one leash so, theoretically, we would sit together and look all cute. Yuh. That totally worked.

This was as close as they ever got to us sitting together and looking cute. You'll notice that I'm plotting my escape while my goofball sister is entranced by the squeaky-toys being employed by the photographer's assistant. But Mom was REALLY hoping she might manage to get a picture of her with the two of us.

Um. Not so much. You'll notice the death-grip Mom had on me in an attempt to get me to look at the camera. Uh, I mentioned that I really didn't like the photographer's flash? Or the proximity of my sister?

Finally, Mom got the hint that maybe the two of us weren't going to cooperate. So, she got another picture of her with Abby the hambone,

and then put Abby in the car, so we could focus on ME! Finally. *sheesh*

I went with the contemplative look first. You can almost see the Deep Thoughts I'm thinking!

Then it was time for pictures with Mom. I mean, Abby can't be the only one with totally cute pictures of her with Mom.

The last one came out pretty good. However, I'll let you in a little behind-the-scenes secret. That last photo is cropped. Here's the full-sized version...

If you look closely, you'll see that I was trying to get off the icky-feeling background. However, you might also notice Mom has a cookie in her lower hand... A cookie that I received immediately following the taking of that picture. Hence my interest and enthusiasm!

Heehee.

Okay, so I'm not quite the model my sister is. Mom's happy that she got a couple good shots with me and her, and she thought my ears flapping in the breeze were cute (even if there really was no breeze, and it was just me not really sitting still...).

And I have to admit, it's a more unique look than you get with my sister the model! Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-06T21:06:00.001-06:00

Except that it's not Wednesday yet, and it's not wordless. It's called artistic license! Heehee.

So, remember right after Abby did her Good Citizen thingy, Petco was doing the photograph thingy? And then Mom hauled me in the next day? Well, some of the pictures of Abby have come in, and Mom is anticipating the DVD of all of our photos in the next couple of days. But in the meantime, here are some pictures of the hard copy photos of my sister, the total ham.

Total hambone! But, I'll admit, she looks pretty cute. You know, for my sister and all.

In this photo, Mom was trying to emulate the picture she got of Abby when she was a puppy.

This is the photo Mom was trying to imitate. Frankly, I think Abby looks WAY more serious as a puppy than as an "adult."

Mom calls this Abby's "Jesus photo" because in the original it looks like she's got a halo around her!

Abby's 'model' strut.

This one is Mom's favorite.

Abby is such a suck-up, smiling at the camera like that! Alas, I was not quite as cooperative. But you'll see when Mom gets the DVD with my pictures!

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

What HAVE we been up to?

2011-09-03T22:02:00.000-06:00

So, what HAVE we been up to, now that we are Good Citizens, you ask? Well.... We've been going to the park a lot...

And we've been getting in some quality bitey-face time.

In case you're curious, that little fence in the background is to keep a certain sister of mine from sneaking through the one hole in the bushes and barking at innocent doggies walking down the street.

Oh! And our hurdles showed up!

We weren't using them there - other than as an obstacle around which to zoomie!

But we have started using them. Mom has been setting up both of them, but to get the video, she just filmed one hurdle. We're not exactly Brutus and Carmen (yet... well, maybe never, since apparently we can do sheep herding trials every weekend, but Mom still can't find a local place for dog agility, so the backyard it is!)

Here's our latest video (Mom's still learning how to use the basic movie software on her computer...): http://youtu.be/1x2Zbxqadwg

If you can't see the video, here are a few still 'highlights':

You'll notice in the video (or the last photo here) that Abby tried to get a treat from Mom for running beside the hurdle, rather than over it. Mom was paying attention and made Abby go back and go over it to get her treat!

And the other excitement? Abby has been going to MORE doggie classes! Jessi (the turkey hotdog goddess) has a class on Saturday mornings, and she wanted another doggie in the class, so I went the first week (when Mom almost took me to the car show, instead), and then decided that since Abby gets Saturday Morning Crazies, class would be a good diversion for her. And the class has Abby's buddy Sherman, the English Bulldog:

Heehee! Look at that face!

And Lulu is also a frequent member of the class, so everyone is happy!

Abby's got a couple more weeks of class. In this class she's continuing to work on Good Citizen stuff, as well as "high stress" situations where she's supposed to stay focused on Mom. As you can see from the not-so-high stress exercise, Abby is shifty-eyed, and tries to avoid making eye-contact with Mom. Apparently, however, Mom said Abby is "doing well" in spite of her shifty-eyedness.

Well, apparently I'm doing SO well that I am not even doing classes. Or maybe there isn't another class right now. Something like that... Heehee. I do miss seeing Jessi every week. And I miss the extra Vienna sausages... so maybe I'll have to talk to Mom about another class!

There is a rumor, however, that we might have a playdate tomorrow with Lulu! Jessi has recently moved, so she now lives much closer to us than she used to, and since our park is usually empty, and Lulu requires a lot of zoomie time, Mom and Jessi are trying to coordinate a time where Abby and Lulu and I can all have crazy funballs times together! I'll keep you posted!

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: In case you were wondering about that picture of Mom in Abby's doggie class.... well, it was 35 degrees this morning, and still "a bit nippy" when Mom and Abby went to class, hence Mom's long-sleeve shirt. You can't see the lady with the standard poodle, but she had a sweatshirt on. It's nice during the days, but starting to get cool at night!

Pedigree's Write a Post, Help A Dog Post

2011-09-01T12:28:00.001-06:00

According to our good friend Tank, who heard from our buddy Bocci, Pedigree is donating 20 lbs of food for each bloggie post between now and midnight Sept. 3rd, 2011 that mentions the Pedigree Foundation. The Pedigree Foundation is dedicated to helping shelters and rescue organizations who help the millions of dogs who, through no fault of their own, wind up in shelters each year.

My sister Abby and I are Very Lucky Doggies. We have loving parents who take very good care of us, making sure we get the proper food and exercise, training, and regular healthcare. And we have a lot of doggie (and kitty) friends who have saved their humans from dog-less (and cat-less) existences when they came home from shelters and rescue homes. (A house without a dog? Or three? Perish the thought!)

So we think it's pretty cool that Pedigree is donating dog food to shelters Just For A Bloggie Post. Seriously! Twenty pounds of food! If you've ever had to carry twenty pounds of food up from the garage (not that I have, mind you, but Mom has), you know that's not an insignificant amount of food! Needless to say, we think a few minutes of our time is a great trade for a shelter to get 20 lbs of food. And we strongly encourage all of our doggie friends (and their assistants with opposable thumbs) to do a quick post for the Pedigree Foundation before midnight on September 3rd (that would be midnight Eastern Time, BTW). It's free kibble for shelters, so go! Post! Now!

We'll be back to our irregularly scheduled posts soon. But in the meantime, here's a couple pictures of Abby who was determined, even on her first night home, to Never Miss a Meal. Now go do your own post so other doggies don't miss meals! It costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time!

She's totally sacked out! Heehee!

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: If you want more information on the Write A Post, Help a Dog drive, check out Bocci's post - he's got all the information: http://boccibeefs.blogspot.com/2011/08/pedigrees-write-post-help-dog-2011.html And then go write your own post!

Anything Abby Can Do...

2011-08-26T19:55:00.011-06:00

Heehee. Let me just say that I love my little sister. But what are little sisters for if you can't harass them? I think Mom's brothers would totally agree with that. But I digress... You know how my sister has been in this super-intensive doggie class for 6 weeks to learn to be a Canine Good Citizen? And how Mom has spent TONS of time practicing with her so she'd pass her test? And how she passed her test on Tuesday? Well, I think it's pretty cool, and I'm proud of her. Because, frankly, she has a puppy brain, and it's amazing she can learn anything.

*ahem*

No, really, I'm proud of her.

In the meantime, while Abby has been toiling away in her CGC prep class, I've been in an 'Adult 2' class - way more fun and games, and far less 'serious stuff.' Well, today was the last day of my class, and when it turned out that my buddy Cooper wouldn't be at class, I got to play with Lulu...

And Mom asked Jessi (the Turkey Hotdog Goddess) what it would take for me to get ready for the Canine Good Citizen test. After a bunch of yammering, they decided to do a 'practice test.' And I did just fine. So fine, in fact that since Jessi didn't have a class right after my class, Mom asked if maybe we could do the real test. You know. Since we were there, and everything.

And guess what?!?

I passed! So just like my sister, I'm now officially a Canine Good Citizen! And I didn't have to do a 6 week prep course to pass, either! AND, Mom didn't douse herself in Vienna sausage juice. Neener-neener! So yeah, anything Abby can do, I can do better! Or I can do it at least as well as she can!

Heh. Actually, I'm NOT going to rub my non-Vienna sausage-scented results in my sister's face; we are both Good Citizens, and that's cool with me!

Besides, I can still put the smackdown on her whenever I want!

Heehee.

Anyhoo, this does not mean that we are now all edjumacated and done with stuff. In fact, now that we've got Mom trained on the blue cheese/Vienna sausage dispensing, we want to keep going to school - why stop when we've finally got her trained? Besides, I'm sure Jessi has Super Secret Vienna Sausage Dispensing Techniques that Mom is now ready to learn!

Thanks, Jessi! We all think you are PAWSOME!!!

And for those of you who are Lulu fans (and really, who isn't? I mean, she's a Bug - how can you NOT love her?), here is a gratuitous Lulu picture. (Since I was being tested, Mom didn't get any photos of me.... But Lulu photos are good, too!)

*kissey face*

-Fiona (CGC) and Abby (CGC) the Hippobottomus (for the record, 'Hippobottomus' didn't fit on the AKC form...)

My Sister the Good Citizen!

2011-08-23T18:37:00.019-06:00

Yup, it's true! Hard to believe, I know, but it's true! Abby passed the Canine Good Citizen test today!

Heh. Does that look like the face of a good citizen to you? Awww. Okay, I won't harass my little sister too much. I'm actually pretty proud of the little goofball!

When Mom came home after Abby's first class with the list of things Abby had to be able to do to pass the test, Mom and Dad were both pretty skeptical. I mean, the test requires my inherently goofy sister to be, well, less goofy. Personally, I didn't think there were enough Vienna sausages in the world to make that happen, but Jessi (the turkey hotdog lady) did an amazing job in instructing Mom on how to administer Vienna sausages (and blue cheese!) in such a manner that Abby could contain her inherent goofiness. Jessi did a great job in giving Mom homework assignments, and suggestions of things to do that might "help Abby succeed." Heehee. That sounds all stuffy-like, but it's true - without Jessi, there's no way Abby could have passed this test.

Of course, Mom didn't get any actual photos of Abby being tested because Mom was 'handling' Abby, but here's a pre-test photo of Zoe and Lulu, Jessi's dog. Lulu was there to, uh, observe. For the record, Zoe is a Greater Swiss Mountain dog (and at 130 lbs, is the biggest doggie Mom has ever walked) and Lulu is a Bug - a Boston Terrier/Pug mix.

And to celebrate after the test! Heehee.

And and just so you know it's official...

I guess that means Abby is now certifiable, huh? Heehee!

*ahem*

Oh, and Mom had a Winning Day all around, because not only did Abby pass her Good Citizen test, but after the test, Mom saw this:

See, when Mom took me to my 'special Saturday doggie class' last Saturday, there was a Mustang car show going on VeryClose to Petco. And Mom was MIGHTY tempted to take me to the car show, instead of the class. But since Jessi had arranged it so I could go to the class on Saturday (instead of my regular class on Friday, where I would have been the only student), Mom skipped the car show.

But when she saw the car after Abby's test, Mom knew that she hadn't "missed" anything - she saw the only car she needed to! And she took about a zillion pictures of it.... For those of you 'not in the know' this is a Ford GT. Ford only made it for 3 years, and a grand total of 4038 of them were produced. Mom first saw one down in southern Utah (and laughed because the Highway Patrol rode alongside the car for about a mile while the cops oogled it), and has been enamored of them ever since. Mom figures these two cars were probably two of the 'stars' of the show:

But enough of that. If you want to see the zillions of pictures, ask Mom and she'll email them to you. Seriously, she was like a little kid and got pictures of EVERYTHING - the interior, the engine (that was actually signed), the front, the back, the exhaust... I've mentioned that she's crazy, right?

So enough of that and on to me. When Mom was doing all this work with Abby for the Good Citizen thing, I did a lot of the stuff, too. Mom hasn't figured out how to train one of us at a time, so when Abby was practicing the 'down' while Mom walked 20 feet away, I was practicing, too. And I've been working on 'loose leash walking' in my own classes, and we've even done the 'meet and greet' thingy in my own classes. So, now Mom's thinking that maybe I could be a Good Citizen, too.... Hmmm. I'll have to think about this one.

In the meantime, I've got another doggie class on Friday, and I guess Mom will talk with Jessi then about whether I'm "ready" to be a Good Citizen. If Abby can do it, how tough can it be?!? And I know Abby got a lot of blue cheese while preparing for the test, so I might be up for it.

Other than that, we've been playing at the park a lot. We've have a number of different doggies 'join' us while we are playing, and it's been fun. This short little sausage looking thing is Katie, and was much quicker than her little leggies would have you believe...

Katie's Dad was worried she'd 'interfere' but we had no issues - we have fun with other doggies!

And, of course, Abby and I have plenty of fun just with each other!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus and Canine Good Citizen

Nekkid Pictures AND Video

2011-08-19T20:20:00.013-06:00

Heehee. Today was another hot day (upper 80s, which for us, IS hot - I know the rest of the country would LOVE to have our weather... until it's snowing in May, and then maybe not so much...), so Abby and I were happy again to have our short hair cuts.

For those of you who like the fuzzy faces... our buddy Clive has a fuzzy face, and he's very handsome, but Mom and Dad like to see our pretty snooters (their words, not mine!).

And the haircuts were good for Park Zoomies. We were Super Streamlined!

I did NOT have my regularly scheduled doggie class today because I would have been The Only One - all of my classmates are on vacation! So, I am going to go to a Different Doggie Class tomorrow morning, with new and exciting classmates! I'm sure Mom will take pictures (and have to explain to the other humans about our bloggie so they don't think she's weird taking pictures of the other doggies). However, since I didn't have my class today, and Mom didn't want to take Abby to Petco to get ready for her Good Citizen test (the shopping area where Petco is located is Crazy Busy on Fridays, and Mom didn't want to hassle the traffic if she didn't have to), Mom decided to stimulate our mentals in other ways.

For Christmas (or maybe Abby's birthday, or something), Granny and Grandpa got us a 'beginner agility set.' We don't have any agility programs nearby (well, not that Mom knows of) - the closest is about 45 minutes away (on a good day), and Mom thought it would be a good idea to see if it was anything we were remotely interested in before she started driving us to Salt Lake (or invested in 'real' equipment). Anyhoo, Mom thought today would be a good day to play with the set. We have tried out the jump once before, and even though it's not the highest quality in the world (okay, it's a little flimsy), it works just fine for us, and we're having fun. Mom also thought this would be a great chance to get some video. Even though she had never used the video recorder on her camera before.

So... I present to you a short video of our adventures:

If you can't see the video, use this link: http://youtu.be/YtGDclgiiXo

Let's just say it is a testament to our love for Mom that we allowed her to film us. I mean, if she wants to look silly for the world to see, that's okay... But seriously, we had fun! And apparently Mom amused herself in making the video.... And feel free to chuckle all you like - Mom doesn't really know what she's doing, but she's promising to study up...

If you can't see the video, here are a few 'snapshots' from the video...

Yes, Abby knocked the bar down there...

Clearly, we're not going to be challenging Brutus and Carmen (aka The Flying Frenchies) any time soon, but we had fun, and it seemed to keep Mom amused!

More park pictures and pictures from my class later this weekend. Stay tuned!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

We're Nekkid!

2011-08-18T19:51:00.007-06:00

Heehee. That should bring in some interesting Google searches!

*ahem*

But really, we're nekkid.

You remember my shaggy face from just a few days ago?

Well, I am decidedly less shaggy now!

And my sister?

Shaggy.

Now, non-shaggy.

But still as goofy! Heehee!

However, now that I'm nekkid, I'm all sleek, and streamlined!

And much cooler! It was almost 90 today, and I gotta tell ya, it's nice to have gotten all those hairs cut off! And I'm sure I'll be super cool at my doggie class tomorrow! I'll keep you posted!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Serious Funballs Times!

2011-08-16T19:58:00.025-06:00

Hiya! So we've been doing all sorts of funballs stuff in doggie class. Well, I have. Abby's been trying to cram for her Canine Good Citizen test next week. More on that later...

At my class last week, Jessi (the turkey hotdog lady) brought her dog Lulu to class. (You may recall that Lulu was also at Abby's class last week.) Now, I've known Lulu for a while. Sometimes when Jessi would dog-sit us, she would bring over Lulu, and we'd have crazy good times. For a 14lb Bug (Boston Terrier/Pug mix), she can hold her own with the big dogs. It's always good to see Lulu.

Hi, Lulu!!!

Last Friday at my class, we were working on 'leave it' and Lulu was the 'demo dog.' She was first given something nommy to chew on...

And then told to 'leave it' and is distracted with something even more nommy (in this case, a bit of Vienna sausage).

Clever girl! Heehee.

There aren't alot (okay, any) pictures of me 'leaving' things, because when we were outside I wasn't really interested in any of the 'distractions' like rawhide chews, or cookies or even a tennis ball (hey, I had been at the park earlier...) - nothing was quite as interesting as the Vienna sausage bits, so I mastered that quickly. And let Mom take 'snooter shots' instead.

Hi Mom!

Oh, and just in case you were wondering about Lulu, even though her Mom is a "professional trainer of dogs" (to be more precise, she trains humans in efficient methods of turkey hotdog delivery), Lulu is a bit of a free spirit, and her Mom prefers her that way. So, while us other doggies were learning to 'leave' things, Lulu was busy checking out the box of goodies.

She's no dummy! Heehee.

But lest you think this is an all-Lulu post (which I'm sure Jessi wouldn't complain about), let me sneak in a picture of ME from the class. You know how Abby has been practicing lying down while Mom walks away from her?

Yeah, well, I can do that, too.

See?

Anyhoo... Speaking of my dear little sister. She's got her Canine Good Citizen test next week, and so this week's class was a 'practice test.' The class started off with a little socializing, as some of the uh, "more excitable doggies" (which may or may not include my sister, but probably does) need a few moments to compose themselves. Especially when the ever exciting Lulu is around!

Obviously Abby had to get all the latest gossip from Lulu and Denver...

And Lulu had to make the rounds - and make sure Mom didn't have any extra blue cheese on her fingers! (Check out that tongue! That is totally designed for efficient blue cheese removal!)

And then they got on with all the tests (which Mom doesn't have any pictures of because, well, she was trying to handle Abby through these adventures). Apparently Abby did OK (although I have intelligence which suggests that Mom might have slathered her fingers with blue cheese), in everything other than the 'greeting a friendly stranger' test and 'getting pet by a stranger' - in both of those tests, Abby is supposed to remain sitting while she either gets pet, or ignored while Mom shakes hands with the "stranger." Being the social butterfly that she is, Abby gets excited and doesn't like staying seated for long. She finally 'passed' both of them in practice test, but it took a while. Mom's not quite sure how she's going to help Abby 'cram' for this part of the test, but she'll work on it.

Of course, Abby will suck up to Jessi, to make Mom look bad.

What a suck-up! Heehee.

Even when the 'friendly stranger' approaches - Abby is all well-behaved. So at least we know she CAN do it... The question is whether she WILL do it for Mom! Heehee.

Anyhoo, I have a feeling Mom is going to be taking Abby to Petco to work on things a few times before the test. Which is cool, because bully sticks come from Petco, and I think we're getting low on bully sticks. Hint, hint....

I'll keep you posted!

In other excitement, we've been having funballs times at the park!

Zoom-zoom!

And before you ask about bitey-face photos, we've been bitey-facing, but usually in the early morning or in the evening (when it's cooler), and Mom isn't happy with any of the pictures she's taken. But rest assured that we are still doing serious bitey-facing!

Oh, and you might notice that I'm a bit shaggy...

It's a bit hot, and when my darling sister zooms around the yard and through the bushes, she picks up burrs and stickers and things. So apparently we are going in for haircuts on Thursday. So stay tuned for 'nekkid photos'! Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: Mom wants to post a picture of Indie, the pitbull in Abby's Good Citizen Class. She and Abby are buddies - always causing trouble. I think in this particular picture, Indie is being removed from Abby's Bad Influence!

Mom loves her face (well, Mom loves all of her - Indie is still a puppy - 8 months old - and such a sweetie!)... So here's a little more Indie-love!

And a gratuitous Lulu picture!

Kissey face! Heehee!

More Doggie Class Excitement

2011-08-09T20:59:00.023-06:00

Hiya! Mom's been slacking, uh, busy with other stuff, so we've got a few doggie classes to catch up on...

Last week, in my class we did this thing where we were supposed to get all excited, and then calm down all of a sudden. Now I will admit that I've got certain 'triggers' that get me all bouncy and excited (people ringing my doorbell, fr'instance), but Mom jumping around with squeaky toys isn't one of them...

Yeah, um...

Calming down wasn't really too tough. Some of my other class-mates were more easily excited, and so the class was focused on them...

Which was just fine. I got to pose for Mom a lot:

Hi Mom!

Heh. My class meets on Friday afternoons and we are outside for most of the class, so we get a lot of people walking by, and while the other doggies were working on being calm (really, I've got pictures of a calm labradude!), I have a lot of visitors. Strangers were coming up and petting me and telling me how beautiful I am. Heh. I know I'm pretty, but it's always nice to be told so, especially by complete strangers. Being around strangers has not been one of my strong suits (talk about things that get me excited!), but with a liberal application of turkey hotdogs from Mom, I had a great time on Friday! I LOVED people telling me how pretty I am! I was even approached by a little kid, and I didn't get all spooked (but I did get a lot of turkey hotdogs). Since Mom was feeding me turkey hotdogs, and Jessi was working with the other doggies, there aren't any pictures of this, but trust me - I was GREAT!!! Who knows, maybe I'll be a Good Citizen one of these years!

Speaking of 'good citizens'.... Oh. Wait. Calm labradude picture, first, so you don't think I'm lying. Cooper was totally getting the calm thing down!

Oh, and labradude water art...

Heh. That's some talent, dontcha think?

Okay, so on to the 'Good Citizen'. Let's just say that Mom's latest plan to get Abby to pass is to soak her shorts in beef juice. Oh. Wait. I didn't say that. But don't be surprised if Mom accidentally drops a cheeseburger in her pocket right before Abby's test. Heehee.

But seriously? Apparently Abby was TOTALLY BANANAS in her class today. Look at this face:

Does that look like a good citizen to you? Looks like a crazy citizen to me...

They started off with a little 'play session' that Mom couldn't get good shots of because of the lighting, but here's an idea of what goes on behind closed 'good citizen' doors!

That blonde blur is my 'good citizen' sister going bananas on Indie, the sweetie pit bull.

And then a few moments later, Abby looks like she's a good citizen, right?

Well, that lasted about 2 seconds (if that...)...

Bye!

Yeah, um... So, let's move on to later in the class.... Abby was being Such A Doofus that Jessi had to 'handle' Abby in the 'greeting another person with a dog' exercise. And even then, Abby had a tough time keeping it together.

Notice her inability to stay seated? Yeah. Let's just say that Little Miss Fluff Brain had a wee bit of a Tough Time today. However, she did have One Shining Moment when she was supposed to 'stay' while Mom walked away from her, and then back to her...

So, I guess that's progress. Notice the complete lack of other doggies? Yeah. That's probably why Abby was able to 'complete' this task.... *ahem*

The rest of the time? She was trying to contain her Innate Goofiness...

All of which is why Mom is thinking about slathering herself in Eau du Hamburger moments before Abby's test.... Luckily Abby's got another week of 'practice' before the Big Test Day.

The class was not a total loss, however. Jessi brought her dog Lulu today, and Lulu is a serious cutie. She's been to our house before, and she's total funballs to play with. Lulu is the little teeny dog in the middle there.... She's a 'Bug' - a Boston Terrier/Pug mix

Lulu totally holds her own with the other doggies - notice how she's grinning at Abby's attempts to chase her?

Heehee. And, Jessi definitely loved having Lulu around:

Awww. Isn't Lulu a cutie?!?

Anyhoo, if any of you have any suggestions of how Mom can keep Abby's attention during the Good Citizen test (you know, meat clothing, blue cheese perfume, etc.), please let me know, as I think she's gonna need all the help she can get!

Oh, and in other excitement? We've been going to the park a lot (but Mom hasn't been taking pictures for some reason, although she promises to do better...) and playing frisbee in the backyard.

Never a dull moment!

Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

My Sister the Super Spaz

2011-08-02T18:52:00.028-06:00

Before our Granny retired, she was one of Those School Teachers - you know, the teacher whose class you prayed to not be placed into. Mean Mrs. Marshall she was called. And one of the things Mean Mrs. Marshall would do to kids who stepped out of line was make them eat lunch with her, rather than with their friends. Why do I mention this?

Well, when Abby got to her Canine Good Citizen prep class today, she was being a Super Spaz. Yeah, really. Abby. I know, hard to believe, huh? Heehee. Because Abby was all spazzy, she had to go sit with the teacher!

However, I am sure that Granny never used Vienna sausages to get her students to behave. (Although, if Granny's students were eating the school lunch, maybe she did!) Jessi worked her magic, and Abby started to ~~pretend to be~~ act like a good dog. BTW, I am not trying to suggest that Jessi is Mean; I'm saying that Abby, like some of Granny's students, needed a little, uh, up-close-and-personal attention to behave like a good doggie.

However, Abby had to stay with Jessi for quite a while.

Not that Abby minded. Abby first met Jessi when Abby was 10 weeks old, and has never forgotten that Jessi is The Original Source of Turkey Hotdogs.

Abby as a 14 week old suck-up.

But I digress... Jessi got the wild beast that is my sister to calm down, and Abby went from Crazy Puppy...

To suck-up puppy (yeah, so she's a year and a half old - she'll always be a puppy!)....

She may be bigger, but that just means she's a bigger suck-up! Heehee.

Look at her, all good citizen-y in training!

But as soon as she got back to Mom?

Goofy puppy.

Heehee.

Meanwhile, the rest of Abby's class was, well, less goofy.

Zoe and Denver just hanging out like REAL Good Citizens.

Hefner, being the handsome standard poodle that he is.

Banjo, the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, being a good little doggie.

Okay, enough of the Good Doggies. Let's get back to my little sister and her class today. She and Mom had to approach another doggie/person pair, and Abby (and the other doggie) had to sit while Mom and the other person shook hands. Let's just say that A LOT of Vienna sausages were involved in this process...

Yes, Mom is shaking hands with the wrong hand, but her right hand is covered in a Vienna sausage/dog slobber combination...

Yeah, um, Abby's got a little more work to do before she's ready to past that part of the test! Heehee.

Then, Abby had to attempt to do the same thing that I did last week. She had to sit in the middle of a circle of doggies and attempt to pay attention to Mom... Emphasis on 'attempt.'

Mom had to dispense a whole bunch of turkey hotdogs to get this:

And you'll notice when Abby was one of the doggies walking in the circle, she kept trying to eat Mom's fingers off in an attempt to get at the turkey hotdogs...

Heehee. I think Abby's got a fair amount of work to do before she's ready to be a Good Citizen, but Mom is hoping that with Jessi's miracle-working abilities, Abby might be ready to pass the test in a few years, ah, in a few weeks. Or maybe Abby is just being a goofball to get the extra turkey hotdogs... Hmmm... I must ponder this behavioral cleverness... Heehee.

Okay. Enough about Abby and her ability to snarf down turkey hotdogs and Vienna sausages. Let's get to a few funballs shots from us at the park yesterday morning...

Good times! And yes, I've got the greatest sister in the world. Even if she's a goofball!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: Mom would like to thank Jessi for getting some pictures of Mom during our doggie classes. She'd also like to thank Jessi for molding us into the fine, upstanding doggies that we are today!

I'm a GOOD GIRL

2011-07-30T14:48:00.016-06:00

Just ask my Mom. She told me so about a million times on Friday, so it Must Be True!

Note from Mom: it is true. Actually, both girls are good girls; goofballs, yes, but good girls nonetheless.

I had MY doggie class on Friday, and I did all sorts of stuff that Abby has to be able to do to be a 'good citizen'. But first, we worked on Mom's turkey hotdog delivery technique. She gets better and better each week!

And Jessi (the woman who is teaching Mom to feed me turkey hotdogs) brought all sorts of funballs things out for us to do...

While Jessi was getting us sorted out, I checked out my fellow classmates:

Kaley the Weimaraner:

Her older brother Hunter, who, as an old dude, takes frequent rest breaks - no dummy him! Here he's ready to be tempted by nommy treats:

And Cooper, the labradude (who reminds me of a mini-Dexter):

Along with the funballs stuff, we had to do Scary Stuff! Like, we got pet by other people while their doggies sat there with them (!!!). BTW, there are pictures of Other Doggies, because Mom couldn't (obviously) take pictures of me when she was doing stuff with me, and Jessi could only take so many pictures of me while still trying to teach the class. So here are some of my classmates...

Cooper the labradude and Kaley the Weimaraner:

Despite the lack of pictures, I promise you, I did Very Well (just ask Mom) with this whole exercise and was much more focused on ~~Mom's turkey hotdogs~~, ah, Mom than the other doggies. I even let the people ruffle the hair on the top of my head while sitting there patiently! Go me!

Then, we did an easy-peasey exercise. Mom had to sit on the grass and keep me amused while the other doggies did their best to distract me.

I was so good I didn't even get distracted by the labradude, despite his best attempts to steal hotdog bits out of Mom's little pouch of turkey hotdogs and cheese.

Cool, huh?

Then, we went inside. It's hot, and so we spend half the class outside, get some water, and then spend the rest of the class inside. We played a lot of 'follow-the-leader' (again, no pictures, because Mom can't take pictures and walk at the same time... I don't think chews gum at the same time, either!).

In all fairness, Mom tried, but with both of us moving, she decided it was a bad idea....

See? Yeah....

Anyhoo, after walking around the store sitting and lying down and eating turkey hotdogs, we had an Obstacle Course!!!

We had the full aisle at the back of the store, and Jessi had been all sneaky-like and put out some obstacles - a frisbee with tennis balls, some rawhide chews, and a bag of treats, and Mom went to one end of the aisle while we stayed at the other end, and Mom had to call me to come to her without me being distracted by the obstacles. Lemme tell ya, passing those tennis balls was TOUGH!!!

Anyhoo, since Mom was busy calling me, she didn't get any pictures of me, but here's Kaley attempting to avoid the rawhide chewies.

And Cooper trying to avoid the bag of treats...

Again, there are no pictures of me because Mom was trying really hard not to laugh while trying to convince me to leave the tennis balls and come to her. Hey.... Tennis balls that don't have Abby Cooties on them are Pretty Tempting!

We had a good time, and Mom was very happy with how I did. And, I'll admit, I had fun. Of course, I always like having my own time with Mom - especially when she's handing out the turkey hotdogs!

Thanks Mom!

*kissey face*
-Fiona (and Abby the absent-from-this-post Hippobottomus)

My Sister is Such a Suck-Up

2011-07-26T19:24:00.025-06:00

Seriously. Abby is a total suck-up. Wave a few Vienna sausage bits in front of her snooter, and she'll fake being a good dog. Look at this....

Suck-up. Total suck-up.

Let me back up. While I am enrolled in a happy-go-lucky doggie class, Abby is enrolled in a AKC Canine Good Citizen prep class. I could go on and on about how my sister is so NOT a good citizen... I mean, she steals my bully sticks, she has to have everything I have, and she's a bed hog. But apparently the AKC doesn't grade her on how she behaves with her loving older sister.

Tuesdays Abby goes off with Mom and learns how to ~~suck-up~~ pretend to be a good citizen, while I get to stay home with Dad and have some quality Abby-free time! Mom thought it was "only fair" to take pictures of Abby's class, since she took pictures of my class.

Abby's class has a bunch of well-behaved dogs. Like Zoe, the Swiss Mountain dog:

And Hefner, the standard poodle:

In the back is Denver the mutt, who is also a well-behaved doggie.

And Indie the pit bull:

And then, there's my sister....

Derrr....

Yeah. Um. Apparently Abby was the 'demo dog' for showing people how to deal with dogs who can't walk without pulling. Because Jessi knew Abby would pull....

Needless to say, Abby didn't disappoint! Heehee. Although... in all fairness, Abby finally got it...

Although I'm sure there were lots of turkey hotdogs involved. And I'm sure Jessi depleted her Vienna sausage supply to get this....

I don't think Abby ever quite got to Zoe's level....

See how she's all calm, and lying down in the middle of Petco with no humans frantically waving at her? Of course, as Mango suggested, as a fuller-figured gal, Zoe is quite adept at lying down and doing nothing. Abby? Um, well, let's just say she still suffers from puppy-brain-itis.

She's a goof-a-doodle!

All my harassing aside, apparently Abby is doing pretty well. She's less of a spaz than she used to be, and can (occasionally) walk calmly on a leash. Mom's got a lot of stuff to do to get Abby ready to take her test, but she's still got 4 weeks, and maybe my little sister will learn how to be less of a doofus. At least some of the time...

But enough about Abby. Let's see some pictures of me, dontcha think?

C'mon, Mom... would ya throw the frisbee already??

Much better!

So, I've been playing frisbee bitey-face with my sister...

And just some plain bitey-face...

Like my Jaws of Doom? Heehee!

And I've been checking on the squirrels...

Hmmm. No squirrels here. For now...

And really, I love my sister. Even if she steals my bully sticks... I mean, if I didn't have Abby, I wouldn't be able to do this:

Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Doggie Classes

2011-07-22T19:23:00.019-06:00

Hi! When we left you, Abby and I were zooming around the park, carefree and enjoying the halcyon days of summer.

Now, we're all serious-like.

Kinda.

You know, as serious as we can be.

Which isn't particularly serious. Did I mention that my sister is a goofball?

*ahem*

Abby and I are back in Doggie School. You would think that by now, we know how to be doggies, but apparently, Mom wants us to work on the finer points of Being A Dog. Heehee. Actually, Abby is signed up for a Canine Good Citizen prep class. 'Good Citizen!' As if! She's my little sister, and lemme tell ya.... Actually, she's enough of a suck-up, that she might just be able to pull it off. However, the class is being taught by Jessi - the woman who teaches Mom how to feed us turkey hotdogs - and you would think Jessi would know Abby well enough by now to know what a pest she is! Heehee.

Anyhoo, Mom didn't get any pictures of Abby's class, because Mom was too busy trying to make it look like Abby actually belonged in the class. Mom and Abby came home with a long list of things Abby is supposed to be able to do for the test. Let's just say that Abby has a bit of work to do! Mom says she'll try to get some pictures, as there's a very handsome standard poodle in there, as well as a statuesque Swiss Mountain doggie girl (I think the Mango would swoon!) and some other well behaved doggies.

My class meets on Fridays, and I made sure Mom brought the camera. My class has 4 doggies (including me). There are two Weimaraners:

Kaley (on the right), who is the youngster of the pair, and her older brother Hunter, who is 10. I didn't spend a lot of time getting to know them, as we were supposed to be focusing on our parents, and not chatting with each other, and these two were trying to be Good Doggies.

Of course, that didn't stop me from socializing with the other doggie in the class, a Labradude named Cooper.

Hi Cooper! I'm Fiona!

Here's another picture of Cooper:

He's still a young labrapup, but quite the handsome little fellow!

And here I am, looking quite studious, if I do say so myself!

Before we got into the lesson part, Jessi gave me scratchies and smoochies.

I mean, how could you not give scratchies and smoochies to a face like mine? Heehee!

The first part of the class was out in the parking lot, and I was able to show Jessi how good I am on a leash, and how I can pay attention to Mom even when there are other doggies walking around near me. When Mom has turkey hotdogs, that is!

After we did stuff in the parking lot, we all got water, as it's hot here. I know people in the rest of the country are dealing with 100+ degree temps, but for us, 85 is pretty hot - especially when you don't have central air conditioning, and when you are doing doggie classes in hot parking lots....

Hunter decided he had had enough of the heat and called it a day. Those of you who know us, know that we have a special fondness for senior doggies, and we didn't blame the old guy for taking a nap!

We did all sorts of fun things in class, most of which involved Mom feeding me turkey hotdogs and cheese at regular intervals.

By the time we were getting ready to move inside (we're doing the classes at Petco, so when we go inside, there are all sorts of distractions...), Mom was getting pretty good at feeding me turkey hotdogs! Another 5 weeks, and she should be a real pro!

When we went insides, we did all sorts of things, like trying to stay focused while Jessi walked around squeaking squeaky toys (um, I didn't do so well with that...), and while adoptable doggies were being taken out for test drives, and while all our classmates were walking around. And then we had to do scary things like lie down and let all the other doggies in the class walk past us (good thing Mom had a big supply of treats!). I was doing pretty well with things, until I got a little, erm, distracted at the end of the class...

Hey, I was focusing on treats, and not on the other doggies. That's good, right?!? Besides, if they didn't want me to lick them, they shouldn't hang these things at snooter level! Heehee.

Apparently, Mom was "very pleased" with how I did in class today. Me? I was very pleased with Mom's lack of stinginess with the treats! I had a fun time, and I'm looking forward to 5 more weeks of Mom learning how to feed me turkey hotdogs. (You'd think she'd have learned by now, but apparently she needs regular refresher courses!)

When I got home from learning how to be civilized around other doggies, I decided to celebrate with a little bitey-face with my sister!

Heehee!

I'll keep you posted on things, but I will say, the cool thing about these classes is that Abby and I each have our own special time with Mom, since we are in different classes (and we get a break from each other!).

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Another Day at the Park

2011-07-16T20:13:00.021-06:00

On Saturdays our usual walking trail is invaded by tons of people on bicycles ~~who don't know the rules and/or don't have the courtesy to warn people when they come up on them from behind~~ so Mom and Dad like to take Saturdays 'off' from our walks. But since we still need our exercise, Mom and Dad take us to the park in our neighborhood, instead.

Which is cool, because there is much zooming involved.

Zoom-zoom!

Lard Butt, erm, Abby actually zooms around, too.

Nothing like having the whole park to ourselves to run full out!

Is it me, or does Abby look abnormally LONG there? Heehee!

C'mon, Dad, throw the ball!!!!

They don't call me The Amazing Flying Fi-sters for nothing, you know! Teehee!

Seriously, can you have enough zoomie pictures? Nah, I didn't think so.

It has been hot (for us), so even when we go out in the morning, we get pretty hot and tired from all the zooming, and even I slow down after a while!

I'm done now. Let's go home!

And it leaves Abby totally pooped. At least for a little while, so it's all good!

Heehee!

Moose update: Our moosies have ventured elsewhere in the neighborhood - apparently they weren't super excited about some of the trucks that were going up and down our street and disturbing their rest. However, Momma Moose seems to be a sharp one, and I'm sure Baby Moose is being well taken care of. If there are any more sightings, I'll be sure to let you know. And Mom wants you all to know that while she worries about dog-moose interactions (and is also not so excited about cleaning up their, uh, 'parting gifts'), she realizes how Super Cool it is to live someplace where we have moosies (literally) out our front door. And Mom will admit that she really couldn't get enough of Baby Moose - Mom was on the front porch For Ages taking pictures of them. I think Baby Moose knew it and was posing!

See! I think Baby Moose is smiling for the camera!

Heehee.

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Moosies!

2011-07-12T20:04:00.015-06:00

Thanks again for all the wonderful birthday wishes! We are all full of excitement here!

Yesterday morning Abby and I woke Mom up a little before 6am so she could take us outside, and Mom was still half-asleep and wasn't really paying attention when she opened the back door....

I started barking and Abby did a U-turn and came right back inside (I followed right behind her). Why? Um....

That's right! Momma Moose with a little baby moose. Mom and Dad saw this mom and baby in the neighborhood about a month ago, but we had never expected they'd come pay us a visit.

The baby is a real youngster - definitely born just this year.

Mom was very worried that Momma Moose would take issue with us being around her baby, so Mom kept us inside - where we barked at them, and they just sort of flicked their ears at us. I guess we're not super-scary sounding! Heehee.

Momma Moose, could have been a different story, though. Last year Dad was trying to get a single female moose off the property (moose and dogs really don't mix well) and REALLY pissed her off when he threw a snowball at her - she got so mad she came around the front and was charging the front porch. Like seriously charging the front porch - if she could have figured out a way up, she probably would have. Anyway, angry moose are SCARY!

So, instead of our usual frolicking in the yard, Mom and Dad hustled us off on our walk, hoping that when we got home, Momma Moose and Baby would have moved on to greener pastures.

Well, we got back from our walk to discover they had moved - to the front yard!

And they seemed to be quite comfy....

Heehee. We scratch just like that!

And Baby Moose was pretty cute!

Dad was a little worried that Momma and Baby had decided to make this their new summer home, and tried to gently urge them to leave by turning on the sprinkler (from the safety of the porch). Let's just say that Momma Moose was not impressed. Or even remotely disturbed.

Whaddya think, Mom? Should I be worried about this flying water?

Naw. Just take a seat; this place has nommy trees, fresh grass - it's perfect.

Okay. Sounds good to me!

Momma and Baby hung around until about 2pm, when the garbage truck came by - I guess it was a little noisy for them! But now when we go out, Mom's Very Careful about checking for Momma and Baby!

See, never a dull moment here!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Note from Mom: I like seeing moose - I think they are amazing animals, but they scare the hell out of me. They are surprisingly fast, and when you've got a mother with a very young one, I'm not certain how they are going to react, and certainly they can be deadly to humans and dogs if they feel their young are being threatened. Luckily, this one seemed to be pretty mellow; she has been around the neighborhood for most of the spring, and didn't perceive the dogs as a threat (not that I gave her a chance to get worried - I kept the girls far away from them). So it was very cool to see the moose, and the baby really was a cutie but I'd just as soon they move on to someone else's yard! If you're interested in how to co-exist with moose, check out this article (http://www.xyz.net/~khltkbr/projects/moose/coexist.html).