Tag A Long

It looks like we've finally got Spring here in Minneapolis. We're always at least three weeks behind everybody else on this front, and today's the day we get to join the rest of the U.S. in spring frolicking. It's going to be a whopping 70 degrees this afternoon!

Yesterday wasn't too bad either. We made it up to around 64 degrees, and to celebrate everybody went biking. Seriously, even me, after a long hard day of work. I hopped on my bike and took a leisurely pedal around the lake. The bike path was crowded with bikers, rollerbladers, and runners, all of us trying to get a breath of the fresh spring air before nightfall.

The best part of my afternoon yesterday was seeing three different bikers cruising along with their dogs in their bike baskets. Too bad Gus and Charly would never fit into a bike basket...

After Dinner Mint?

Yesterday evening turned out to be way more eventful than Daniel and I had planned. It started off just fine. We met with a potential wedding florist right after work, stopped at the grocery store for some dinner ingredients, and then made our way home to walk the dogs and cook supper. And then everything went downhill...

Dan and I have our household chores pretty well divied up. Most of the things we split equally. If he cooks dinner one night, then it's my turn the next night. If he cooks, I clean. If he walks the dogs, I take out the trash. If he washes the laundry, I fold it, and vice versa. Tit for tat as they say.

Yesterday was Dan's turn to cook dinner, and my turn to walk the dogs. Of course a simple dog walk turned into a nightmare when both dogs decided to sniff out and proceeded to consume massive amounts of left over dog poop from somebody else's pup!

As soon as I realized what was happening I yanked them back from the crime scene, and then forced my gloved hand into their mouths. I had to yank out huge baseball sized poops, and Charly especially had poop all over his mouth and snout! It was horrifying!

So I cut the walk short, and rushed home. I had to interrupt Daniel in the kitchen for him to help me get the boys into the bath tub and washed. The smell eminating from their mouths was so revolting that it took the two of us several washings each to thoroughly clean them up.

Yesterday's incident was almost as bad as the time Gus got into a thick foamy coat of slime on Cedar Lake. But not quite. Note to first time dog owners or people who do not own dogs: Most dogs eat poop. Some eat it more frequently and some eat it less, but almost all of them eat poop, either their own or somebody else's.

I remember being horrified when Charly did this for the first time as a pup. I immediately called the veterinarian and she told me it was normal behavior. I hung up the phone, and stood there dumbfounded at this new information I had learned.

Charly doesn't eat poop very often, but once in a while, especially in the Spring when the ground is at its most fertile with left over thawed dog poop from the winter, he gets into something gross.

Look at this beautiful pristine retro biscuit dinner jar from Barker and Meowski. Too bad Gus and Charly won't be getting any treats for a while. Just Kidding!

Pit Stop

Jason Stenvold Glen Lake Photography

Dan and I traveled to Spartanburg, South Carolina this weekend to attend the wedding of our very special friends Lukas and Julie. On our way we spent a day in Asheville, North Carolina for a small visit to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

We were planning on doing some hiking but it never stopped raining, so instead we explored the quaint and lovely town. While strolling through the main drag we came across two young men and their lovely pit bull dog. Of course we approached them and asked politely whether we could pet their beautiful friend.

They welcomed our enthusiasm for the mama dog and let us know that they desperately needed to find her a new home. With no money, no automobile, and some friends waiting for them out West, they needed to get on a Greyhound bus as soon as they made enough cash, and when they did they would need to leave the mama dog behind, since Greyhound won't let dogs travel on board.

You have no idea how badly I wanted to take this dog home with me to Minnesota. We had flown though, so that would have been pretty impossible, considering the dog had no papers, no vaccines, no history, etc. Not to mention Gus probably would have had a major fit with the addition of another dog to our household. We stayed petting the dog and talking to the men for longer than we should have, and left reluctantly, after dropping a ten dollar bill into their collection hat.

If this had happened to us in Minnesota I would have immediately called A Rotta Love, a Rottweiler and Pit Bull rescue group that fosters unwanted non-traditional breeds. Not being from North Carolina I didn't know who to contact at the time, and instead mentioned the mama dog to every person I continued to meet on our stroll through town.

Coincidentally, A Rotta Love is co-sponsoring an art show with Lintu Art, celebrating Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, and other non-traditional dog breeds through art. I missed the gallery opening this past Saturday, but First Thursday at the Northrup King Building is coming up this week, and Lintu Art should be open for showings.

Baby It's Spring!

Looks like we've got Spring! It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Minneapolis, and everybody seems to have added a skip to their walk, especially Gus and Charly. They love this weather, as do we. We can finally walk the dogs wearing only a fleece, no mittens, no hats, no scarves. We can go out for longer periods of time too, hours of which the boys can't get enough of. Gus gets to chase bunnies and squirrels that have come out of their winter hideouts, and Charly can sniff around for whatever the snow has left behind for him.

The only down side of Spring , and I wouldn't call it a down side, more of an inconvenience, is that the snow and hard ground begins to melt, which is such a huge relief, but everything turns wet so the dogs start tracking an infinite amount of dirt and mud into our house. So Dan and I end up sweeping and mopping the ground floor of our place about once or twice a day. Not fun!

I'm looking forward to a nice long walk around the lake this afternoon when I get off work. We'll enjoy the sunshine and warm temperatures for as long as we can today! Love this very springtime weiner dog onsie and burp cloth set from BellaBlu Designs on Etsy. Adorable. Would she make the shirt in my size?

On The Mend

It's been a pretty rough month. First Daniel came down with the cold that half the city seemed to be getting. Then I came down with that exact same cold, which eventually turned into a much worse version, some sort of terrible sinus infection that lasted three weeks. And then on Monday I somehow threw my back out, which immobilized me for 20 minutes (very scary), and then forced me to miss yet another day of work, there have been four so far this month. It's been a rough month to say the least.

Have you ever noticed how incredibly helpful it is to have your dogs around when you're sick? Seriously, emotionally, it is so much better to curl up in bed and feel crappy when there's a dog there with you to keep you company while the rest of the world keeps on moving. I definitely felt 10 times better when the dogs were at home with me, than when they were over at grandma's house because it was her turn to take care of them. Even Dan noticed that whenever the dogs were around the color came back to my face, if only for an hour.

It looks like I may be on the mend today. My sinuses feel clear, my head's not spinning, my back is sore but I can walk and come into work. This simple Akita dog puzzle from Canoe Online would have been so nice to have with me on my sick days off. Entertaining and easy enough to do when you're slowly fading into a nyquil induced nap.

Chicago Is For The Dogs

Dan's off to Chicago this weekend to visit with some college friends he hasn't seen in a while. I think it has been quite a few years since all of them got together, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a crazy weekend.

Inspired by Dan's trip to the windy city, I thought I'd search for a Chicago themed dog product and found this city-wide art contest Chicago held last year. High school students were asked to design a 2009-2010 City Vehicle Sticker under the theme “Dog Friendly Chicago," and the elected sticker will be displayed on nearly 1.3 million automobiles! Check out the 10 finalists!

Who Wants to Go On a Walkie?

We've had the dogs at our place for the past 10 days without interruption... my mother took an impromptu vacation to visit her family in Argentina, and we naturally took the dogs. It was rather nice to have the boys with us, day in and day out, with no scheduled pick ups or drop offs or chauffering, etc.

Well Grandma came back from her trip yesterday and drove straight over to our house to pick up the boys and you should have seen the spectacle that was our front entry. Gus and Charly could not contain their excitement to see their beloved grandmother. Jumping and barking and squealing and violent tail wagging, it was quite a sight.

Dan slept in this morning since there were no dogs to walk, yet despite his gratitude for that extra hour in bed, the first thing out of his mouth this morning was "I miss the boys."

This leash holder from Etsy seller Bublebellydesigns is so cute. I'm always scouting out good looking storage pieces for dog related things, and this one is on the top of my list.