My Flying Squirrel

Do you know what a Flying Squirrel is?  Have you ever seen one?  I'm not talking about this . . .

Or this . . . 

I'm not even talking about this!  Although some of you may think of this type of flying squirrel when you hear those words.  This is the image Mommy used to think of when hearing those words BD (Before Dawgs).  There were a few instances when a flying squirrel got into her house while she was growing up that caused a bit of chaos.  

At our house, THIS is a Flying Squirrel:

This is my FAVORITE toy to play with (currently) and it's made by the same company that makes the Chuckit that throws Dixie's favorite toys!  The Flying Squirrel was also Hunter's favorite toy.  Mommy says she's purchased at least a half dozen of these over the past thirteen years.  They have the ability to last a while, but they don't always stand up to a really good game of tug-of-war (full disclosure in case you were thinking of getting one for yourself!).  

These pictures were taken before I was part of the family.  Had I been around, I'm SURE I would have been the winner of this game.  But maybe not --- Hunter was a fierce competitor when it came to his favorite toy!

The Flying Squirrel provides maximum aerobic exercise for me.  And acrobatic exercise!

This is what the Flying Squirrel looks like when Mommy gets it stuck in a tree . . . you know, like a REAL flying squirrel!

I would definitely recommend you try a Flying Squirrel for yourself.  It's sure to help you get your body beach ready!  And as the resident Supermodel, I would know! [wink, wink]

Jenna

How's the Weather?

No matter where you live people always want to know what the weather is like.  Mommy and Poppa have a sort of competition going between them to determine who has the coldest morning temperature.  If it's really unseasonably cold, they call each other to brag about it (or lament, we aren't sure which).  This past weekend Mommy was able to win the weather competition with all relatives and friends, paws down!

This was our Saturday weather:

This was our Sunday weather:

We are hoping this might be our last snow of the season, but who knows???  We can only hope Mother Nature will read our garden flag and follow its advice!

Here's to future spring-like weather . . . hopefully!
Jenna

Sleeping Beauty

About a year ago, I showed you my new bed cover.  I  have tried REALLY hard to take care of it and not tear it up, but it's such a hard job.  At first Mommy stitched my little rips and you couldn't even tell where I had torn the bed cover, but eventually she had to start patching just like the last time.  Mommy says the worst part isn't really that I'm tearing up the cover, but that I'm tearing up the BED!

I honestly can't help it!  What's a girl to do when she's cooped up in her crate for several hours a day??  I need to make myself comfy.

So Mommy did what she always does.  She repaired my holes.  She told me it wasn't gong to be pretty this time.  She said she really didn't care where the patches went so long as they covered the holes I had made . . .

I can feel Mommy's disappointment in me when she's ironing the new patches on.

Here's Miss Goody Two Paws supervising my cover being put back on.  She thinks she's oh-so-wonderful since she doesn't tear holes in her bed cover.

Here it is!  Back in place and ready for another snooze.  As promised, it's NOT pretty, but it is functional.  Hopefully these patches will last a while.

 Yes, Jenna's bed looks prettier than mine . . .

But we all know who the pretty DAWG is . . .

Lots of love to you,
Sleeping Beauty
aka Dixie

Road Trip Without Us

During Mommy's spring break, Mommy and Daddy took a road trip to Texas.  They had a pretty good time driving and driving and driving.  We aren't sure why they didn't take us with them.  Lately we take only road trips to the kennel.  Mommy said not to worry that we would be going on the next road trip with them.  Yeehaw!

As is usual for her, Mommy took LOTS of pictures along the way!

Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a fabulous Easter brunch in Texas.  It's a bit weird for them to eat out on a major holiday, but they both thought it was money well spent (if you have to eat out on a major holiday!).  Lucky for Mommy, the Easter bunny found her even on the road.

While on this adventure through Texas, Mommy noted the terrain changed several times.

Mommy also enjoyed checking out prairie dogs up close and personal.  Do you think they might like to have their name spelled "prairie dawgs"?

Until next time,
Dixie and Jenna
Cowdawgs in Training

Gone Too Far?

Have you noticed when you travel down the aisles of your grocery store that the words GLUTEN FREE keep popping out at you?  Even on foods that have never contained gluten?  Mommy says it's only a matter of time before someone pops a GF sticker on an apple to entice someone to buy it!  Personally we haven't noticed this trend because Mommy doesn't take us to the store with her.  We're not sure why considering she took Hunter to the store when they lived in Minnesota.  We think we deserve equal treatment, but that's a discussion for another day.

Mommy tends to notice the gluten free words since she's allergic to wheat.  Despite her super powers to detect these words on new foods, they managed to elude her attention recently until the item was already home.

When Mommy finally noticed those words on our new package of dawg treats, she was shocked!  There are many dawgs who are allergic to wheat just like Mommy, but usually those packages say "wheat free."

These treats were free with the purchase of our dawg food recently.  There were three flavors from which to choose, so Mommy chose the flavor she thought she would like best.  Not that she's going to eat these, but she was trying to keep our best interests at heart.  And Mommy loves pumpkin!

So, have the makers of these treats taken the gluten free trend too far?  Are they trying to appeal to hipsters who think avoiding gluten is the "in" thing to do, so therefore their dawgs need to be gluten free as well?  Trust us, if Mommy could eat wheat, SHE WOULD!

What do you think?  Happy April Fool's Day!
Dixie and Jenna

Happy Easter!

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

 Jenna

 Dixie

Have a blessed Easter!

Wags and Kisses, 

Dixie and Jenna

PS:  Happy egg hunting!

Hairy Spring to You!

Happy Spring!  Although spring is a great time of year, it definitely has its disadvantages for Mommy.  This is the time of year when we are at our dirtiest and hairiest.  With those spring showers come mud puddles.  We tend to track in more dirt and mud at this time of year than any other.  We are also losing our winter coats, so we're making the house hairier than usual.  It's very frustrating for Mommy to keep the house clean.

Mommy gave us a bath recently to help with the problem.  We completely filled the drain in the shower with hair FOUR times.  Ugh!  We covered the bathroom floor with a fine layer of hair as well.  Poor Mommy looked like she had a major hormone imbalance or was turning into a werewolf with all the hair we left on her arms and legs.  Once we dried off, she took us outside and brushed us to try to remove even more hair . . .

Most of this hair is Jenna's.  For some reason, she is hairier than me.  I seriously think Mommy could brush Jenna for twenty-four hours straight and the brush would still fill up with hair!

Maybe we should try it?  If Jenna became a naked dog, then no one would have difficulty telling us apart!  Sounds like a good plan to me.

Hairy Spring to you!
Dixie

While Daddy's Away . . .

Last week, Daddy was out of town for a few days.  Apparently our world falls apart when Daddy isn't here!

The weather was FABULOUS while Daddy was away, so we were able to play outside A LOT!  Unfortunately, that's where our world started having a bit of difficulty.

First, Mommy threw my favorite toy into a tree!  She's done this before, but usually it's a short tree or it lands fairly close to the bottom of the tree.  Not this time!  And naturally, the tallest person in our family was out of town!  Mommy had to go into the garage and retrieve the telescoping light bulb changer.  It was the only item tall enough for Mommy to knock the toy down.  Mommy didn't stop long enough to take a picture (thankfully and surprisingly), but I'll show you where the toy was:

Not even five minutes later, and we had another small problem.  Mommy threw Dixie's tennis ball over the fence!  This definitely isn't the first time Mommy (or Daddy) has done this, and it's an easy fix.  The worst part of this problem is we have to listen to Dixie bark her head off until the ball is back on our side of the fence and in her mouth!

Mommy reported her short comings to Daddy.  He only asked that she please not break us while he was gone.  [sigh]  He still blames Mommy for breaking Hunter (twice).  Both times Hunter tore his ACL, Mommy was on duty.  When Dixie jumped off the table on the deck as a puppy and broke her toe, guess who was responsible for putting her up there?  Yep, Mommy!  So far I've escaped Mommy's torture, but I fear I might be broken one day too . . . accidentally, of course!  No offense, Mommy!

Daddy is back in town and all is right in the world . . . for now!  [sigh]
Jenna

PS: Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Hopefully you're wearing green and won't be pinched.  Dixie and I aren't so fortunate . . .

Spring Cleaning

Mommy has been on a cleaning frenzy lately.  She's been cleaning house, PLUS cleaning out.  If Dixie and I aren't careful, we're going to find ourselves in the Goodwill pile.  I'm sure we'd be a great catch for anyone lucky enough to spot us, but I digress.

Recently Mommy took down a wall collage of family photos and replaced it with a new black and white print we've recently purchased.  Mommy LOVES this print although she's not sure it really goes with anything in our house.  Except us, of course.  Either Dixie or I could have posed for this artist.  You and I know it was me since I'm the one they call the Supermodel!

When Mommy took down the other pictures, she had LOTS of holes to spackle and paint over before hanging the new print.  My sister and I are so helpful to have around; we helped with the clean up. We did our best to lick up all the dust from the baseboards as a result of the sanding, and then Dixie even licked the walls!  Way to go, Sister!

I thought I was playing it cool with my clean up duties, but apparently not . . .

Mommy said I need to be more careful with my clean up process.  I already have enough gray hairs to look much older than my sister.  After my task, I looked even OLDER!

I hope your spring cleaning doesn't give you gray hairs!

Jenna

What Spring?

Just when we thought spring had sprung . . .

What's wrong with this picture???  We woke up last Friday to about two inches of snow on the ground!

You might think Mommy would be happy about this, but she didn't get a snow day out of it.  She didn't even have a delayed start!  These pictures were taken as we played for a few minutes before her departure.  [sigh]

Don't be too sad for us.  It's 70 degrees here today!

Happy spring (again)!
Dixie and Jenna