Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

Gracie here:

technically it's Snap, Snap, Snap. As in, "Snap's a good dog", "Snap stays when I tell her to", "Snap comes when she's called", blah....blah...blah.

Snap's my Boxer sister. She's 6 years old, and is just about the perfect dog, according to mom. She can be off leash anywhere. She stays where mom tells her to for loooong periods of time, and realllllly far distances. She doesn't fight with other dogs, never causes a ruckus, and most of all - she doesn't attack me when I jump up and bite her on the lips or tail.

So today, when mom took her new camera to take some pictures down by the river, she took Snap as her subject.

After Snap had her pictures taken, and got TONS of treats, mom let her cut loose. First she chased a stick in the river. Snap's usually pretty laid back, but she goes nuts when there's a stick near the water. She doesn't swim after it, or actually pick it up. She just punches it. She is a Boxer after all.

Then she got to run around on the grass. Mom tells her to "go, go, go" and she runs around like crazy. I do that too, but Snap's more impressive to watch, with her rippling muscles and CRAZY face and ears.

I hope mom takes me tomorrow to the river. I've been practicing my stays, but it's really hard for me to maintain. Maybe I can just skip the staying part, and go straight to the playing part.

Howdeeeee

Gracie here -

That's the way I'm going to have to say hello from now on, because......

WE'RE MOVING TO TEXAS!!!!

Life has been crazy around here lately. Mom says we've been living a country music song. She lost her job, lost her house (well, technically she sold it), living in a trailer (again, it's a motorhome. And she's not really living in it, just sleeping in it). At least she didn't lose her dog(s) LOL

In case you haven't heard, the economy has hit California pretty hard. Mom and dad have been thinking about moving somewhere with a better economy. They decided that if either of them lost their job, they would move to Texas, where the economy is much better. So they sold the house, just in case. And sure enough, mom got laid off in July. So it was on to plan B. They packed all their stuff into my grandma's giant shop, and parked the motorhome on her front lawn:

But like I said, mom and dad only sleep there. We "live" in the house part, and us little dogs sleep there, too.

Right now, dad's doing some work around grandma's house, then we hit the road. I'll be doing the writing for awhile, since Arnie's pretty upset about leaving. He says he'll miss his friends in our agility class, his friends at shows, and all the people he's met since he came to live with mom. I keep telling him that he'll make lots of new friends, but he's not buying it.

Wildlife Adventure

Arnie here: sorry we've been so hit or miss lately, but summer is busy, busy, busy around here. The other day, mom AND dad left us alone the whole day. Dad's on vacation, and they planned an adventure with his sister and his nephew, and we weren't invited! There was a very good reason for that, though. They went to Safari West, and there are WILD ANIMALS there.

They got up at 3:30 in the morning, because of traffic. The park is in Napa, and it takes a long time to get there. They got there with time to spare, so they went to breakfast. They STILL had time to spare, so they walked around Safari West looking at the animals before their tour started.

First, they checked out the birds that just hang out, greeting visitors.


Then, before they knew it, they had to get on their "ride". These are the jeeps that took them around the park.


Mom, dad, sister and nephew got to ride on top first, and the first animals they saw were the giraffes. It worked out perfect, since the giraffes are the tallest animals there! These two boys were "neck-fighting". Mom and dad's jeep was in the enclosure, so they were really close to the


Uh oh......they've been spotted. Get it? Spotted? This guy eyeballed them as they drove past.


Just as they left the enclosure, they saw this little 4-month-old baby, just hanging out.


Next up - the Rhinos. In the wild, these guys would spend their days eating. But since they get room service at Safari West, they mostly sleep. Mom says these guys are crate trained.....and said something about "Arnie and Gracie learning a little something from them".


A little further along, they got to see the Zebras. Their guide said it had been days since a tour had seen them so close, so Mom and dad felt very lucky.


And, another baby, just as they were leaving the area.


For some reason, Mom loves Wildebeast. Here they are in the distance. Which I guess is a good thing, since they're pretty big. And wild.


The tour took about 2 hours, then they ate lunch overlooking the giraffe enclosure. Before they left, they said goodbye to the newest exhibit, the Flamingos. If you look behind the fence, you'll notice the big building. Those are the tents that you can stay in overnight. Mom and dad did that a few years ago, and had a good time then, too.



If you want to learn more about Safari West, or see more of the animals, check out their website:

www.safariwest.com

The art of fish

Arnie here: I'm taking a break from the "dog" thing here, and want to tell you about mom's "other" passion. For as long as she can remember, she's been drawing. Pad after pad was filled with her artwork. Although she drew all sorts of things, animals were what she drew most. In school, she concentrated on art. In college, she studied Fine Art, but realized quickly that she wasn't a painter, but rather a graphic artist. Around that time, the first Mac came out, and mom got one. That started on a 25 year obsession with combining art and technology. Even though mom sucks at math (her words, not mine), she "gets" computers, and does virtually all of her drawing now on the computer.

Recently, she discovered a type of digital photo processing that creates paint-like effects to photos. She's started practicing the technique, and here's her first "real" result:

I think it's kind of cool, but I'm not sure if it's because I like the result, or the fact that I REALLY want to jump in and get the Koi.

I'll be showing you her artwork here and there, so you can enjoy it too.

Biker Chick

Gracie here: Everywhere I go, people comment on how "cute" I am. They call me "sweet", and "adorable". They go on and on about how soft my fur is, and how well-behaved I am. When I'm in public, I act that way, to make mom happy. But her and I know the deep, dark truth:

I'm really a Biker Chick!

When I'm away from my adoring crowd, I act like anything but a little lady. I belch, fart, drink beer, and beat up my doggy brothers and sister. I'm always on the lookout for my next victim. And when things don't go my way, I have a horrible temper.

This weekend I was able to channel my true self, and got to sit on a real motorcycle. I didn't get to ride on it because I didn't have a helmet, but I pretended to while I sat on the seat. In honor of being able to see a real, live motorcycle, mom got me a cute outfit. It's a patriotic number, with a bikini top and mini skirt. I look totally stylin' in it. Here's me on the bike, in my new outfit:


I don't have a picture showing off my outfit because I won't sit still with my back to mom for the picture. So that will have to wait until she gets someone to help her. But it will be worth the wait, I promise you.

Now I'm off to teach Arnie a lesson - he looked at me.

Product Review

Laurie here: I'm taking a little departure from agility for this post. I'm also writing this myself, instead of handing the keyboard over to Arnie or Gracie.

I have a confession to make: I am a vacuum-aholic. I obsess over them, research them, and buy a new one every few years, trying to find the perfect product. That includes handheld vacuums, too. When you have pugs, it goes without saying that there is fur EVERYWHERE. I'm constantly brushing, wiping, sweeping and vacuuming, in an attempt to keep the fur level down to a manageable level. I have hardwood floors, so my vacuum purchasing doesn't need to deal with carpet. But I want suction - LOTS of it.

About 20 years ago, I bought an electric broom (Hoover Runabout) that is still the best hair picker-upper I've ever used. No vacuum has ever come close to it. (My dream vacuum is the Dyson Animal. I drool over it every time I see it in a store. I think it might do the job. But I just can't bring myself to pay the price.) For handheld vacuums, I've used a Dustbuster for 20 year, but it's obsolete - I can't find bags for it anymore. I replaced it a few years ago, but the newer model didn't work at all.

About 6 months ago, I decided to find the perfect handheld. I wanted one with a cord (the cordless just don't have enough power), and it had to be bagless. I stumbled upon the Bissell Pet Eraser, and since the price was right, I bought it.

IT IS THE BEST HANDHELD VACUUM I'VE EVER USED. There, I said it. And here it is:

http://www.bissell.com/pet-hair-eraser-corded-hand-vacuum/

If you're looking for an easy-to-use, effective, powerful, reliable and lightweight handheld vacuum, this is it. Five paws out of five, for sure.

I am NOT happy

Arnie here: and I'm mad as heck.

First, some background. My mom LOVES fairs. She grew up near the New York State Fair, where she attended every year. She even worked there one year, serving the carnies at a restaurant. Now we live near the California State Fair, and while she doesn't go every year, she's gone about 10 times.

This year, Sacramento Dog Training Club held an Agility Trial at the State Fair. AND I DIDN'T GET TO GO! Worse, Gracie went...........argh.

The Premium List came, and it explained that the Trial was being held in the Livestock Building. That was all mom needed to know. She figured if there were cows anywhere near the ring, I would be way more interested in them than in her. It also said that there may be cattle showing in the agility ring prior to the Trial. OK, I admit it. It would have been a disaster. I'm getting better about paying attention, but the cows would have been way too much to ignore.

That morning, she loaded Gracie up with all of OUR gear, and drove away. Gracie was dancing and prancing about, and I was in my crate. The rest of the story was what Gracie told me:

They got to CalExpo, and had to park in a field a loooong way from the ring. Mom remembered to pack her cart, so they wheeled up a big hill, then down another big hill. Then they went into a huge building. And this what they found:



Yup, not a cow in sight. Or goat. Or horse. Or ANYTHING. I could have gone after all. OK, maybe not. I guess even though there weren't any animals, there was plenty of animal poop around. Everywhere. In large quantities. And I confess - I would have tried to eat it all. Apparently Gracie tried to eat it all. And succeeded in eating a whole lot of junk. Not just poop, but popcorn, corn dog crumbs, candy. It sounded like heaven.

Mom got Gracie settled in. The club had an area set aside just for the exhibitors, away from the crowds. Mom brought her fans, and sprayer and cool coat. But the building was air conditioned, and stayed nice and cool all day long. Here's where Gracie hung out at the Fair:




She ran 3 runs, and qualified in one. She got a red ribbon in Open Jumpers with Weaves. I guess her runs were really good, with a few minor things that went wrong. Mom was most excited about Gracie doing her weave poles perfectly every time.

Here's her Jumpers with Weaves course:



There were a lot of people watching the dogs run. It was Kids Day at the Fair, so lots of kids came by to see the dogs. Gracie visited a lot of people, and was petted and petted and petted. They all thought she was cute, and that her fur was very soft. After her last run, the crowd cheered, and there was a line of kids wanting to pet her as she left the ring. She said she felt like a Rock Star! I can't believe I didn't get to act like a Rock Star.

They both got home really late. Mom said something about "rush hour traffic". And it must have been a tiring day, because Gracie was exhausted. She curled up into a ball, and went right to sleep.

Maybe next year, if I learn to control myself better, mom will let me go.