Bird Invasion!

Ok. So Opie and me, well, we're sort of hunting breed dogs, ya know? (Even though we don't know yet what exactly Opie is made up of...) Anyway, if there is something around that we should hunt... well, we kind know about it, ya know? I mean, it's stinktive... or something like that.

Anyway, dogmom seems to think we should just ignore all the things that we think we should hunt....

Like the crows ...

And the robins ...

And the geese...

But how in the world are we supposed to ignore these ducks in the street?!?

Dogmom swears she saw four turkeys today on the way to Dog Pad... but we didn't see 'em and she doesn't have pictures...

Wuf Ya!

Pet Wash! = Car Ride!

Dogmom says we're gonna go back to the pet wash today! You know what that means, dogs?

Car Ride! Car Ride! Car Ride!

See, if we just get a bath... it's different. That means going upstairs to the bathroom and getting wet and smelly shampoo that dogmom seems to like and toweled off and staying off the bed till we're dry and all that.

But... the pet wash means a CAR RIDE! And TREATS! And getting toweled off. And then getting back in the car and watching the machines clean the outside of the car... that was kind of scary the first time... but now it means TREATS! And then stopping at the coffee place, where they give us MORE TREATS! And a longer car ride. And then going back home and taking a NAP!

Here are some old pictures from the pet wash. (Some of you have seen these before on our blog. Dogmom promises to take some more.)

See? It's a room at the car wash place in Savage. That's the closest pet wash to where we live. It has a tub that's off the floor and has a ramp for us to walk up (but we don't use it... we just jump.)

And dogmom puts money in the box on the wall and the water and the shampoo and the creme rinse come out. Then dogmom uses our light blue towels to dry us off. And then (we don't like this part) she puts more money in and the loud-windy-blower-thing comes on.

Then we jump down and wait by the door for dogmom to put everything back in our bag so we can go for a CAR RIDE!

Oh... in case you're wondering why we are getting more than one bath in a week... it's because we decided to roll around in the rabbit poop on the grass this morning. Dogmom doesn't seem to like it much when we do that... She says we're too smelly to stay in the house. We usually only go to the pet wash or bath on Saturdays... to keep dogmom from sneezing at us.

Wuf Ya!

Boomies!

Ok, dawgs. So, we were gonna talk about the pet wash for all those dogs that emailed us and read our post and asked what it is... and then we were gonna remind everybody to vote in the "Guess Opie's Breed" contest before the DNA test results come back (which should be sometime this week!)

But, instead, we have to talk about the boomies. We don't like the boomies. Dogmom thinks if she gives the boomies a cute name like boomies, that we'll not freak out. Doesn't work. Dufus of a human, you'd think she woulda figured out that it doesn't work by now.

You know what boomies are, right? I don't know what else they're called, cuz dogmom always calls 'em boomies. We don't like 'em. But I said that already.

You know how sometimes, not every time, but sometimes, when it rains, the sky flashes really really bright and then there is a big noise? Not when it's the other way around and the sky is growling for a while and then there is the light. Those growlies don't bother us. We figure the sky's just having a bad day and is upset cuz of the rain.

But the other ones... the ones that Crack! Pop! Flash! BOOOM! ... those are the boomies that we don't like. We don't like them at all!

Opie has a reason. A few years ago when we first moved to Minnesota and when Jennifer was our bestest dogwalker and dogmom was traveling a lot for her job... See, one day when Jennifer was walking us, some kids (big kids, not little kids) were playing around with these things that make a boomies sound. Not a big boomies sound like last night, but big enough, you know?

Jennifer called them firecrackers. She was mad at the kids and tried to walk us really fast and stay away from them. But, you know what they did? Do ya, huh? Those bratty kids actually threw the boomies at Opie! Right at him. They went Boom! Crack! Pop! Crack! Boom! right under Opie's tummy. Yup! Scared the bejeebees (and a lot of other stuff) right out of him.

So, it's kind of understandable that Opie's a-scare-ed of sudden loud noises. Dogmom tries to help him and for some things, he's better. Like, he doesn't freak out if dogmom drops a pan any more. (Of course, there are rewards when she does that...) And, he doesn't freak out so much at the construction sounds for the highway behind our house.

But boomies are a whole 'nuther story. There's no talkin' to him. There's no consolin' him. There's no convincin' him. His new way of coping is to try to get into the bathroom and when he does, he hides in the tub. Behind the curtain. Just sits there and shakes and stares at the corner. He doesn't want anybody around him or touching him or talking to him.

It makes dogmom feel really bad. I can tell.

I don't freak out quite that bad on the first one, but if there is a second one, I'm under the bed faster than agility dogs can run through the weave poles. And I'm not coming out till the sun is shining, I tell ya!

When we come out from our hiding places, we'll talk about the pet wash and DNA test, K?
How do you dogs feel about boomies?

Wuf Ya!

We Missed the Pawty !?!

Ok. So now we're really mad at dogmom. I mean, come on, dogs!

We intended to go to the Dogs with Blogs worldwide Wine and Cheese Pawty. We planned it. We pawed it on the calendar so dogmom wouldn't forget.

And, ya know what?

She forgot anyways. She like stayed away from the computer all night. Can you believe it? She never does that!

Ok. So, never mind that we went for lots of walks and played ball and went to the pet wash and took more walks and played outside and went for rides in the car and played ball and went for more walks and went to the bark park and...

We still missed the pawty. How long should we stay mad at her, huh?

Wuf Ya!

Wow! What A Day!

We had a really good day today!

First, we actually slept in ... Till 6:00! (Dogmom was so impressed!)

Then, we spent lots of time outside ... It was 80 degrees in Minnesota!

And then, we met our neighbor, Sam. He was really nice. And we hardly barked at his kids at all. Even when dogmom gave them some treats!

Now we're waiting for dogmom to hurry up and take us to the pet wash in Savage for a bath.

Wuf Ya!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Fun Fried-day?

We're fried. Exhausted. Tired.

We walked Randi down the back trail yesterday instead of down the sidewalk in the neighborhood. She wasn't walking fast enough or in the directions that Opie and I wanted to walk, so we essentially tugged her down the trail for 20 minutes.

And then we did our business and dragged her back home.

At least that's what she wrote in her note to dogmom. See, she writes a note every time she comes. They're in cahoots, I tell ya. We never know what she's writing. And, we can't read it -- um, not because we can't read... but because she leaves the note on the book on top the counter and we can't SEE it.

Well... then when dogmom came home, she read the note. And she got that funny tone on her voice like, you know, the noises the parents make on the Charlie Brown shows. Yup. I know you dogs know what I'm talking about.

So, dogmom takes us outside on our leashes. And, she starts down the trail. And, we're thinking, "Yay! We getta go on the trail!," ya know? Well. Hardly. Dogmom started in on this whole, "No tugging!" thing... and kept stopping... or, worse yet, stopping and turning around and going the other way. What's that all about? Geesh. We hate it when she does that.

So, we didn't actually get to walk down the trail. We walked the same unsmelly 50 feet back-and-forth, back-and-forth, back and forth. After 20 or 30 minutes or so, she said we weren't behaving and you know what she did? Huh, do ya?

She took us back inside! Hmmmmppphhh!

(Wuf Ya!)

Recycled Pet Food?

(We'll write today so the humans can understand, ok dogs? Short, concise sentences, just this once.)

Meet Pat.

(Did you know dogmom's name is a variant of Pat?)

Pat works with dogmom.

(If you can call enjoying what you do W-O-R-K!)

Pat edits the newspaper.

(Anybody heard of the Shakopee Valley News?)

And Pat writes, too.

(Dogmom tries to get him to write more about dogs.)

Pat has a dog, a Yorkie named "Angel."
(Dogmom says she's adorable, but we can't meet her cuz we'd probably mistake her for a small furry animal and try to eat her.)

This is Pat.

Pat is standing in dogmom's office.

Sometimes, Pat and dogmom talk about lunch. What to eat... where to go...
(Silly humans... why don't they just eat what's in their bowls?)

Dogmom likes to eat lunch at restaurants; Pat likes to eat lunch at his desk.

Till today...

Pat thinks he found out what they did with all that recalled pet food...

Maybe Pat will start to eat out more now.

Wuf Ya!

It's So Exhausting!

Dogmom says we're crazy dogs. She says that we have to relearn how to live with animals and people and green grass and trees and stuff. Cuz apparently we forgot over the winter.

There's just so much going on; it's so exhausting to keep up with it all, ya know?

I mean, all this new green grass is coming in outside our door. We just gotta try to eat it. Even with two of us, it's so hard to keep up!

And then, these birds keep tormenting us. First, it was the big fat robins. Now, the crows are here and they just keep sitting in our tree. I mean, geesh. We only have one... and now we're actually supposed to share it with the birds? What's up with that? We're really busy trying to eat all the grass; how are we supposed to keep track of the birds in the trees?

And, then, the geese decided to invade the wetlands behind the house. Dogmom was too slow with the camera, so she only got a picture of three of them. But, man, we have to keep the grass trimmed low, and keep the crows out of the tree, and now, we're supposed to put up with geese in the wetlands? Come on! And, don't even get me started on all the squirrels and the gophers and the mice out there!

Oh, and just to add one more thing to try to keep track of... LOOK! There's a new dog next door! Well, actually, there's another twinhome in between us, but look at this beautiful girl.

We haven't met her yet, but dogmom did and she thought she was really a sweet girl. We'll keep you posted.

But first, we have to go take a nap now. We're exhausted!
Wuf Ya!

What Breed of Dog is Your Human?

Welcome to Friday Fun Day... which means we don't have anything specific to bark about, so we're making something up or stealing from somedog else...

That, and we're STILL waiting to find out what breed Opie is.

Dogmom has had this link in her arsenal for a long time... help your human(s) to figure out how to take the quiz and post your findings in our comments section. We wanna see what kind of dogs you're all living with.

Our dogmom is a Great Dane. Here's the link:

discover your dog breed @ quiz meme

What's your human?
Wuf Ya!

Taxing Questions

Ok. Being dogs, we don't understand this whole human fascination with all things money. I mean, what do they need it for anyways? Opie and I don't have any money and it doesn't bother us any. In fact, what we find of dogmom's doesn't smell edible or even chewable for that matter...

It's tax day in the US. When humans seem to have to settle up with the government in terms of how much money they have versus how much money the government thinks they should have and how much our human counterparts should keep.

The silliness of this whole concept from a dogs' eye view... well, we think some changes should be made based on what we hear the humans talking about...

• For example... did you know that humans seem to be penalized if they're healthy like our dogmom? Since she doesn't spend an exhorbitant amount at the doctor... she doesn't get a deduction for it, whatever that is. She never comes even close to the amount she needs to spend on medical stuff to get the deduction. She thought she'd be close this year. Never mind that last year we hurt her back and she still needs to go to a chiropractor... or that she tore some stuff in her knee and had to go to the MRI machine and physical therapy... or that she's allergic to us... since the amount she spent last year was only 7.3% instead of 7.5% of her incoming dollars (a difference of less than $150) ... she doesn't get to count it. What's up with that?
• Also, she spent even more on Opie and me at the doctors than she did on herself. Doesn't count. Not a penny. What's up with that?
• And, why is it that the people with the most money get the most deductions so that they end up paying less than everybody else. Hmmm... what's up with that?
• And, don't even get us started on the whole singles-get-to-pay-more-than-married-people-thing...

Maybe our humans should just convert over to our dog economy... and we'll make the birds and the squirrels make all the money... there's so many more of them anyways.

Whaddayall think?

Wuf Ya!

Dogs Outside Sunbathing in MN!

Yo Dawgs! Opie here!

It's warm outside! It's warm outside!

So, we're very busy working on our tans...

I learned a new trick this week. Dogmom bought a couple of those jingle bells and tied them to a shoestring on the door. Seems like she wants me to hit the bells with my paw if I want to go outside. (Duh!)


Uh-oh... dogmom's calling us... Maybe if we don't look at her, we won't really have to go back in... See?

Hmmm-dee-dum-dee-hmmm-hmmm... We can't hear what we can't see!

Wuf Ya! - Opie

Comments for Dr. Kate

We're very sad today. Cuz Dogmom is sad today. Cuz Dr. Kate is very very sad today.

Dr. Kate Knutson is the doggie dentist that fixed our teeth last year. You remember... when both Opie and I each broke off a canine tooth the same day? Dr. Kate fixed them both... and then I broke mine again and she fixed it again. Remember?

She's at Pet Crossing Animal and Dental Hospital in Bloomington, MN. www.petcrossing.com. It's a special place!

Anyway, we wuf Dr. Kate. We don't hold any grudges about her fixing our teeth. They feel a lot better now than they did before, that's for sure. I mean, Opie actually eats his food instead of just nibbling at it. (Though I still beat him done!)

Anyways... Dr. Kate had to put down one of her bestest animal friends, "Spidey" the cat. Spidey is to Dr. Kate what Floppy was to dogmom. That one-in-a-million-bestest-friend-totally-understanding-and-understandable-pet. You know the kind. The kind that we all strive to be...

But some animals and humans just click in that special way and there's no fighting it or trying to horne in on it. I'd like to think dogmom and me are getting there and Opie's just "the other dog," ya know?

Anyways... dogmom said we could try to collect some comments that will help Dr. Kate to maybe not miss Spidey so much... or at least to let her know that all our dogblogging buddies understand and are sad when somebody special like her is so sad.

We'll get things started: "Dr. Kate, we're so sorry that you had to help Spidey over the rainbow bridge. I had to help my doggie siblings and Opie, well, he's a dope, and dogmom still misses the Flopster dog. Anyway... if you want to share some Spidey stories with us that remember all the bestest things about her... we're listening. We wuf ya and are sending lots of goofy and dopey vibes... can ya feel 'em?"

Will everybody leave a comment for Dr. Kate? Dogmom will collect them and send them to her in a pretty package. Thanks!
Wuf Ya!

The Creation of DOG

Dogmom said we could reprint this poem in the singles newsletter from the Westwood Community Church in Chanhassen, MN. She has many friends who attend that church... and sometimes when she doesn't feel like being in the company of dogs (we don't understand that at all...), she participates in some of their singles events. Anyways, here's the poem...

THE CREATION
Author Unknown

When God had made the earth and sky
the flowers and the trees,
He then made all the animals
the fish, the birds and bees.

And when at last He'd finished
not one was quite the same.
He said, "I'll walk the world of mine
and give each one a name."

And so he traveled far and wide
and everywhere he went,
a little creature followed him
until its strength was spent.

When all were named upon the earth
and in the sky and sea,
the little creature said "Dear Lord,
there's not one left for me."

Kindly the Father said to him
I've left you to the end.
I've turned my own name back to front
and called you DOG, My friend."

That just about says it all, doesn't it?
Wuf Ya!

Robins, Fights, Snows... What the...?

Dogmom says it must be the weather. Either that or something about full moons and weredogs... although the full moon is way past us...

First, yesterday morning, we got this picture of the robins that live in the trees behind our house, by the wetlands...

Have you ever seen such fat robins? Dogmom said she doesn't think she has...

Then, when dogmom came home from work, Opie and eye (you'll see in a minute why I didn't say "I"), well, um, we kinda got in a little bit of a fight.

Not a real fight, really, just the little kind that lasts a couple of seconds... (Of course, it might have lasted longer if dogmom didn't reach in and grab us by the necks and pick us up off the ground and pretend like she was flying like an airplane... even though she was really standing still. But, you know how humans raise their arms straight out? Yeah, she was doing that.)

Anyways, Opie kind of got me in the eye. It was bleeding a little bit, but not too bad. See?

This morning it was a little puffy, but it wasn't oozing any gunk or anything like that. Dogmom seemed to think it will be ok... I kinda hoped I'd get some more attention from it so I tried to milk it some more...

Anyways... as if the robins and the fight weren't enough... Here's what we found when we looked outside the patio door this morning:

Doesn't the sky realize that it's APRIL and it's SPRING? Geesh... we really gotta work on convincing dogmom to move back to Arizona!

Wuf Ya!

Meet Daffy-Cat

Hi. We didn't actually get to meet Daffy-cat yet... but Dogmom did and she said we would like her a lot. (I'm not so sure... cats kind of give me the willies... but Opie seems to like them. 'Course, we know he's not quite 100% dog.)

Anyways, Daffodil (aka Daffy) owns our cousin Kristin. You met Kristen before. She came over one day when Uncle Matt came. Remember? They ate dinner with dogmom and then Kristin stayed and watched a movie with us. We like Kristin.

Oops... got off track there again. Happens when I get excited, you know? Anyways, Daffy is Kristin's cat. Or, is it that Kristin is Daffy's human? I don't remember. In any case, isn't she almost as pretty as a cat would be if that cat were a dog?

See, she even drinks out of strange receptacles... so, maybe she's not such a bad cat after all and we could make her an honorary dog. Whatcha think?

Dogmom said that's not a strange receptacle... she said it's a vase that she made in pottery class and gave to cousin Kristin!

Wuf Ya!

More Barkday Prezzants!

DogMom said she didn't forget our barkdays. She said she ordered us each a special prezzant. But, we were beginning to wonder, 'cuz we didn't see any packages arrive besides the one that Butchy and Snickers sent us. So, we thought she forgot and that now she owes us big time, ya know?

I mean, we should get more than one extra-big-liver-filled-retriever-roll and Haleigh treats and peanut butter and apples and carrots, too, doncha think? Huh, dogs?

Well, there was a package in the mail again yesterday. And, it smelled like Butchy and Snickers again. And, it looked like it had our name on it instead of dogmom's. So, we were really planning to milk this, ya know? Cuz Butchy and Snickers remembered our barkday TWO times and dogmom obviously forgot. I mean, come on.

Anyways, Dogmom said that her prezzant was here. Turns out, she ordered us each a shirt from Butchy and Snickers mom. Hmmmph. We're not sure we believe that story. But, anyways, we like our new shirts! Especially when we're sitting on the sofa and watching "Survivor."

See, they have really cool fabric! It says "Canine Survival" and has pictures of dogs goofing off in the woods... hanging off vines and wagging their tongues when they run and stuff. Dogmom thinks it looks like Opie and me on the fabric.

Anyways, we each got a new shirt that Butchy and Snickers mom made for us out of this cool fabric. Dogmom said that now we can be dressed up for Easter.

Opie likes to wear his, cuz it keeps him warmer (it's freezing outside still in MN). I like to wear mine because he's wearing his and he shouldn't get all the fun!

Wuf Ya! Happy Easter!

Still Waiting For DNA Results...

If you've been reading our blog for a while, you already know that Opie and I aren't very good at waiting. Dogmom keeps trying to get us to "Wait" and sit still while she walks away or goes outside or opens the door or whatever else she thinks up to do to torment us.

But, we're not very good at it. Sometimes, I just lay down and look at her 'cuz I know she's gonna do one of her misguided "I'll pretend to do something else" things while we sit there and wonder if she realizes just how ridiculous she looks and sounds. With the "uhnt" and the "hmmm" and the "sssssss" and the "uh-uh" noises.

Anyways... we're still waiting to find out what breeds are in the Dopester. Geesh. Four weeks is like a lifetime in dog years, isn't it?

You can still vote for the contest. Click the button at the top left of our blog to see pictures and the other button to go to the survey .

Oh, yeah, forgot to tell ya... Dogmom has figured out the prize will be a gift basket of treats and toys (not ours, of course) and stuff. We'll try to sneak a picture of it this weekend... but she has it hiding in the closet so we don't dig in it.

Did I mention I hate waiting for stuff?
Wuf Ya!

April Snow?

We're thinking we need to tell Dogmom to move back to Arizona... we didn't have this stuff outside... well, once we did... but we definitely didn't have it in April!

Wuf Ya!

Barkday Prezzants!

Dogmom was so excited when she came home last night. I mean, moreso than usual, ya know? She's usually happy to see us and all; but sometimes she's looking to see if we were good boyz or not and doesn't share our enthusiasm. Know what we mean?

Anyways, DogMom dropped one of her paper things when she came in the door last night. Opie went to look at it... I told him he better stay away cuz he was going to get in trouble...

Of course, Opie doesn't listen... 'specially to me ... and he just stood there and looked at dogmom.

Dogmom didn't seem upset and said it was ok, so I went to check it out, too. She said it has our name on it so she's not supposed to open it. See how I don't really believe her?

Anyways, we opened it. There was a plastic bag in it, so dogmom took it away from us, but only for a minute. She let us smell the paper. And then she opened the plastic bag.

TREATS! WE THINK IT SOUNDS LIKE TREATS!

Dogmom said it wasn't treats to eat. She called it Prezzants. Prezzants from Butchy and Snickers and their dogmom. We sat and waited patiently, cuz we didn't have any idea whatsoever what she was talking about...

Then, she showed us! We got new bandannas! She put them on us and we were very excited... We smelled them.

I tried to show mine off to the neighbor dogs, but alas, nobody was outside.

We both posed for this picture so that we could show Butchy and Snickers and their dogmom how very handsome we look in our new bandannas!

Then dogmom said we were dressed for dinner... so we chowed!
Thanks, Butchy and Snickers for our cool new bandannas! We can't wait to show them to Randi when she comes to take us for a walk today. Then the whole neighborhood will see them too!

(If you'd like one of these cool bandannas, email Butchy and Snickers dogmom by clicking here! Or, you could go directly to their auction site and see if you can find something else you'd like...SnitchyBug Dog Designs!)

Wuf Ya!

We're Seniors!

Dogmom says since our birthdays were yesterday that we're officially seniors. We're seven years old.

We're not sure what that means, cuz we feel the same... we even had a "tear-about-the-house-like-crazy-dogs" moment or two yesterday.

Dogmom just gets out of the way when we do that... cuz last time she didn't we hurt her knee. Anyways... we go full-speed-ahead-and-sideways for about thirty seconds at a time... then we stop and look at each other and at dogmom and do it again ... and again... and again...

Then we lay down and take a nap.

Dogmom says we're weirdogs. Do you guys do this?

Wuf Ya!

Don't forget to vote what breed you think Opie is! Click the survey at the upper left corner of our blog!

It MUST Be Spring!

Look what we found in our backyard!
Dogmom wouldn't let us catch it, though. Opie tried.
Wuf Ya!

It's Willie! (We Think!)

Hi Dawgs!

You remember Willie, dontcha? I'm sure you do, but your humans probably forgot. You can remind them about Willie and Bella... 'member, they had puppies in August. Willie and Bella's mom works with our dogmom at the paper. If you don't remember, here are some links to their puppy posts on our blog...

Puppies, Puppies Everywhere! (Aug 3, 2006): http://dogsayeview.blogspot.com/2006/08/puppies-puppies-everywhere_115461502466470010.html

Bella's Puppies (Sept 5, 2006): http://dogsayeview.blogspot.com/2006/09/bellas-puppies.html

Go ahead, you can go look. We'll wait...

dum-de-dum-de-dee-dee-dum...

Oh, you're back already? Ok... so... the snow is all melty and gone now and it's kinda rainy this week here so it's getting kind of... dogmom says not kind of, but very... muddy outside. She's constantly wanting to wipe our paws and Gomer's belly when we come inside. It really...

Um. Sorry. Lost my train of thought there... I am almost seven, you know.

Anyways... back to Willie. He lost his ball in the snow a couple of months ago or something. Well... we're glad to report...

HE FOUND IT!

Um... or maybe he went to the spa for a mud mask and didn't tell us!

Wuf Ya!

(Don't forget to vote what breed you think Opie is... click the links for pictures and the survey at the top of our blog.)

Texas, Tennesee, Travel-For-Me Dog

Did you hear about the Siberian Husky that took a road trip? He left home in Texas on a run and ended up in Tennessee!

http://usatoday.feedroom.com/ifr_main.jsp?nsid=d5b9b6dc4:11194311de9:-70f3&fr_story=FEEDROOM186128&st=1175013115203&mp=WMP&cpf=true&fvn=9&fr=032707_122955_5b9b6dc4x11194311de9xw7265&rdm=491383.82291555235

Thank goodness his owner had him microchipped so that he could be reconnected!

DogMom said that's why Opie and me have microchips... she's afraid we'll follow our noses and wander off one day...

Wuf Ya!
(Don't forget to guess Opie's breed if you haven't already... click the link at the top of our blog on the left!)

Four-Legged Love Stories

Yo - Dawgs!

DogMom found this droolerrific site and wanted us to tell ya all about it. We've already sent in our love story to be included and hope that you will, too. It's really a feel-good, fun and totally loveable thing to do. I mean, we all got doggie love stories to tell, right?

Ok. Ok. I'm sorry. I just get so excited when I think about it that I run around in circles and forget to tell you what it is that I'm excited about. I'm mostly labrador, remember?

Here it is... it's a relatively new web site called... are you ready? 'Course you are...

It's a web site completely devoted to letting our people share their "love" for their pets! Yup... you can send in your story and they'll post it. They posted Floppy's story (DogMom's dog before us) and we just sent ours in.

DogMom asked 'StinkyPaw,' the lady who started the site, why she's doing this... like she needed an explanation, 'cuz she thinks it's a great idea... but she thought all you dogs might want to know in case you need to convince your humans... Here's what 'StinkyPaw' said:

"I decided to create "Love is a Four-Legged Word" (link: fourleggedlove.wordpress.com) after the death of our beloved pooch, when I realised that even if I did post about her and our cat on a fairly regular base on my blog ("Stories 2 Tell" -- link: stories-2-tell.blogspot.com), I had never really truly expressed all that she meant to me. So, I decided that I wanted to offer a place where all could share their love, that unconditional love affair that animal lovers have with their furry friends.

Love is a four-legged word and I do believe that it comes in all shapes and sizes. Whoever is interested is telling me (and the world!) why love is a four legged word, they simply have to send me, Stinkypaw, a picture (jpg or gif format) of their pet with a caption to fourleggedlove@gmail.com and I will gladly post it."

Isn't that droolerrific? Bet your humans love you enough to let you share your story!

(Oh yeah, don't forget to vote in the survey and guess what breed Opie is! Just click the link at the top of our blog!)

Wuf Ya!

What Breed Is Opie Contest!

Yo... Opie here. So, we're having this silly contest to see if anybody in dogblogland can guess what breed I am before my DNA test results come back. To quote Tosca, "Harrummmppphhh!" Like it matters what breed I am. I'm cute and I'm smart and dogmom loves me.

But, anyways... dogmom says I should appease the human. So, here are many pictures of me that she took. I weigh about 53 pounds. Click the link below to enter your guess...



Here's the link to the survey: http://www.surveymethods.com/EndUser.aspx?80A4C8D788C3D1. You can guess multiple times, but have to leave your email each time, so we know who won. The contest runs until we get the results. Prize to be determined.

Good luck, I guess. Wuf Ya! - Opie

Doggie DNA Test

Ok, so we promised to give you more information about the doggie DNA test that dogmom is getting for us for our birthdays that are coming up. Lazy dogmom hasn't done our tests yet, but she promises we will do it and send it in this weekend. Something about us not having food just before the test and that we seem to be eating all the time.

Ok... so here's the poop scoop. The official name is the Canine Heritage Breed Test. It's done by a company called MMI Genomics.





Probably, some of the humans that you purebreeds own have already heard of this company, 'cuz they've been doing parentage testing for a long time to prove your purity, per se.

Anyways, this test is just like the one on that show that dogmom watches on the big grey box in the cabinet in the living room. You know, the one where they're always trying to figure out how somebody got dead?

Dogmom says it's really simple and even lowly humans without veterinary degrees can do it. If your human can brush your teeth without you freaking out and biting them, then they can do this test. 'Cuz it's about the same... she's going to stick a little brush in our mouth and rub it on our cheek (instead of our teeth, so I guess it's not exactly the same) for 30 seconds. Then, she scribbles on some paper and puts the brush and the paper in the tube and drops it in the mailbox. Then we wait for results... and that's the hard part.

Anyway, there are some limitations... they've got 38 breeds that are verified that they can test against. If you're not one of those, then you might get a false reading - they might pick up some breed that is way back in your ancestry and the only evidence of that breed in you is the single white hair between your toes on your left front foot or something. No, not really, but they say in the materials that it might happen that your results show some breeds that your human won't think are right. But they also say that they will be adding more breeds in the future... but that they believe the 38 verified breeds will account for the majority of mixed breed dogs.

Here's the link directly to their web site for information: http://www.metamorphixinc.com/products2a.html

And, here's a link to frequently asked questions about the test:
http://www.metamorphixinc.com/faqcanher.html

And, here's a link to a video of how easy it is to do the test yourself:
http://www.metamorphixinc.com/k9sample.mov

Anyways... the test costs $65 per dog, which dogmom says doesn't compare to what she's going to spend in a couple of weeks at the vet office to update our vaccinations and everything.

Oh, yeah, Tosca suggested that we have a contest to guess what breeds are in Opie. So, dogmom's gonna do that!

We'll post some pictures of him tomorrow from different angles and let you enter guesses.
Wuf Ya!

Hope Nobody's Sick!

We haven't heard that any of our dogblogging pals have gotten sick from the contaminated wet food. We sure hope not.

We thought for a while that dogmom might have eaten some... cuz she was spewing food from her mouth into the big water bowl for a couple of days.

But, then, we thought that couldn't have been it. Cuz if it was, then we would have gotten some of the special food, too. And we didn't. And we heard that it was wet food that was causing the problems and we eat dry food.

Anyways... we hope you didn't get sick. And that nobody you know got sick.

We know that Teddy (who owns Randi, who we walk a couple of days a week) got sick. Anyways, that's what dogmom said was the reason that Randi didn't come yesterday. Um, no, he didn't get sick from eating the food. Sorry to make that insinuation.

He got sick because Opie and me have been rubbing off on him... even though we never actually met him yet. See, Teddy decided to eat his bark collar yesterday morning. He didn't eat the hard parts... he left those in the kitchen for Randi to find... the citronella container and the buckle part... he only ate the webbing part. Or, at least Randi thinks he did because she couldn't find it anywhere. We hope he's ok. We're waiting for Randi to call dogmom.

Anyways... we hope you're all feeling better! Tomorrow, we're going to share some more information about the doggie DNA test. We got it in the mail yesterday. She explained it to us a little bit, but we didn't understand 'cuz she didn't actually "swab" us yet. We'll tell you all about it tomorrow, OK?

Wuf Ya!

Hey Dogs!

We've got lots to catch up on and write about...

• we've got lots of information about the DNA test to share
• we think dogmom ate some of that bad food
• we love all our dogblogging buddies who listened to us rant about being mixed breeds and made us feel better...

But first... we have to apologize for missing Perfect Puppy Tosca's Birthday!!!!

See... Tosca was our first ever dogblog pal! Opy from Dogs With Blogs left our first comment... but Tosca was our first repeat reader. And, we were instant friends even with out smelling her butt.

Anyways... we were offline for a few days and we missed her birthday. We can't apologize enough and we're thinking up really creative ways to make it up to her. Only dogmom says we can't do some of the things we thought up... so we're being censured!

Anyways... Tosca... here's a link to a card for you http://www.sloppykisscards.com/v1gznk3c

Wuf Ya!

Are You a Mixed Breed?

Hmmmm? Ok, so we know that some of our dogblogging buds are purebreds... like Tosca and Butchy and Snickers and probably even FuFu the hamsterrier honorary dog is a purebred.

We're not, ok? I mean, we were puppy rejects... litter-ally thrown out like garbage (me, Gomer) and Opie was dumped off in the park and expected to fend for himself. It doesn't bother us, really. I mean, dogmom loves us and that's all that's important, right?

I mean... well, nothing against all you dogs with pedigrees who know your mom and dad and grandparents and brothers and sisters and cousins and the whole doggone dog family. We're really glad that you even speak to mixed breeds like us. Really.

But, sometimes, especially this time of year, we kinda wonder what our real family was like. You know... we're glad we live with dogmom... but there's like something missing, ya know? Not that we'd ever be able to find our family or anything, I mean, there isn't exactly a web site to unite abandoned and stray dogs with their canine counterparts.

Anyways... Opie and me both have birthdays coming up soon. Mine is April 1 so dogmom sometimes calls me her April Fool. I was found in the dumpster a couple of weeks later. (You remember the story... or, if you didn't read it, you can go back to day 1 of our blog and read it.... http://dogsayeview.blogspot.com/2006/06/dont-tell-mom-weve-got-dog-blog.html... and Opie's story is here: http://dogsayeview.blogspot.com/2006/07/im-dopey-opie.html) We don't really know when Opie's birthday is... or exactly how old he is... so we both celebrate our birthday on the same day.

Anyways... here's why I ask... for our birthday this year, dogmom is getting us a special present. Something that is brand new. It was only made available this past week. And, she is interested in scientific stuff... so she's doing it. Wanna know what it is?

It's a DNA breed test for dogs. Not a parentage test that proves that your dam and your sire are really your dam and your sire. Those have been around a while. This is a breed test that tells what breeds are in your background. Yup... we'll finally know why Opie's such a weirdog.

See, we know that I'm half beagle and half lab with a pretty high degree of certainty already. My mom was in the dumpster with me and she was definitely a beagle. And, you only have to look at me to see that my dad was a yellow lab.

But Opie? That's a whole 'nuther story. Everybody guesses something different and nobody seems to know.

Anyways, supposedly this test will help us find out. Dogmom said it won't hurt and doesn't involve blood or nothing. She sent for the test and we're waiting to get the kit. After that, she sends it somewhere and in 4-6 weeks we should get the results.

I can't wait! (Um... how long is 4-6 weeks in dogtime?)
Wuf Ya!

We're Celebrating ! ! !

Yippee! We're havin' a party!

No, silly, it's not for St. Patrick's Day... we're not Irish Wolfhounds...
(though dogmom says we should say "Happy St. Paddy's Day!" to everybody since that's her patron saint... whatever that is...)

Anyways, we're havin' a party... wanna know why? Huh, do ya, huh?
It's 'cuz... cuz... are you ready?

THE CREEPY KID IS GONE!

Yea! We got our yard back!

Wuf Ya!

More Haleigh Treats!

Thanks to our dogblogging friends who ordered some Haleigh treats! Haleigh really appreciates it and is working really hard on the weekends and after school to fulfill the orders. See?
<---------- She's working on the peanut butter ones in the picture - MY FAVORITE!

If you'd like to order some (or some more, like us), just send her an email at haleighk3@juno.com... the treats are $5.00 per bag plus postage to send them to you. She's also making fleece blankets... if you're interested in those, send her an email... cuz dogmom forgot to get the info on those.

Part of the money raised also goes to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Wuf Ya!

Fur for Fu Fu Drive

Hey! Look! We can help!

Fu Fu is the honorary dog on Dogs with Blogs. (http://fubearbear.blogspot.com/) He lives in Singapore. We read that he feels kinda sad cuz he's not blowing his fur like some of us dogs.

(Don't feel bad, Fu Fu, neither is Opie!)

Anyways... dogmom brushed us and gave us baths last night so she would maybe stop sneezing at us. She forgot to collect and save the pre-bath fur, Fu Fu -- after all she is only human -- but we reminded her on the after-bath brushing... Here you go!

See, it even already matches your fur, sort of!

Wuf Ya! - Gomer & Opie

Fur*Frenzy

So, I was just reading Tosca puppy's blog (www.mypuppytosca.blogspot.com) and we're gonna send Fu some fur...

It's funny, 'cuz dogmom's been talkin' about the Fur*Frenzy that's coming up. Think it's related, huh, dawgs? Dogmom says not exactly.

Fur*Frenzy is the annual fundraiser for Southwest Metro Animal Rescue. They're home-based right here in Chaska, where we live. But, they service the whole metro area. All the money goes directly to the animals, cuz they don't have a shelter house or anything. Everybody that gets rescued goes to a foster home... like I did when Keiko in AZ took me to live with her before dogmom adopted me. Foster homes are great... cuz you get to learn all the ins-and-outs of living with a family.

Anyways... I digress. Fur*Frenzy is coming up in a couple of weeks. You can get all the important information here: http://www.swmetroanimalrescue.org/events.html... but here are some of the basics:
It is on Saturday, March 24th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. It will be held at the Hopkins Activity Center in Hopkins, MN. They're located at 33 14th Ave N in Hopkins.

Dogmom says it will be lots of fun. There is an animal fashion show at 7:30 p.m. and a silent auction and FOOD and all kinds of stuff. If you live anywhere near Hopkins... like in Minneapolis area or the southwest metro or even Maple Grove or Burnsville or Saint Paul... we hope you'll consider going to the event. And, maybe even bid on stuff and take something home.

Dogmom gave them some stuff for the auction... knowing her, she'll bid on her own stuff and bring it back home... Maybe instead we can talk her into bringing us a pet!

Wuf Ya!