Buddha Chai

Well, unrelated to the Brown Dogs (or Addy), but I thought I would share this with you. This weekend I had some free time and decided to devote it to making a felt portrait of my friend, Flo's dog, Chai as a little Buddha. I am really happy with the way it came out. Flo thinks that the likeness is dead on, which was the goal.


I think I will definitely make more in the future. This was a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

Epic Biteyface

No dogs were harmed during the events portrayed in these pictures. Addy and Wrigley are great friends, they just both like to play rough.

Farewell

Rest in Peace, Sweet Jasmine.

The Little Sister

While we were outside playing yesterday, I also took some pictures of my cute friend, Addy Mae! She is helpfully resurrecting all of the old toys that the brown pups had gotten bored of in recent years and giving them renewed purpose.

We Act Fast

By popular demand (or rather, by the consistent demand of Wrigley's biggest fan), here are some pictures of Wrigley Beans. I am posting them in sequential order as I took them so that you can see what his normal behavior is. He is not the kind of dog that lounges around outside, oh no! For danger lurks in all directions, he must remain ever vigilant. He is only sitting because I required it of him and he was feeling like being obedient today, apparently.


Now was that a variety of emotions or what?! Worried to alarmed to concerned to suspicious... you have to admit that the guy's got some range!

Well Hello!

Wow, we have been slacking on updating this past weeks! Sorry about that. I saw that some people asked how Probert is doing in his new crate and the answer is "pretty good"! There have been a few incidents where we've come home and the crate is moved (and a little bent), but overall, things in crate land seem to be better than they were. **Knock on wood.**

Nothing of particular interest has been going on. The pups have been playing, biteyfacing, walking, running, tugging, and chasing more than ever now that the weather has cooled down a little bit. In fact, Maizy was outside helping me in the garden the other day and I took this picture.

"Nope, not done yet!"

Addy has been doing well in advanced obedience classes. There is only one other dog in class this time around, which has been fantastic. Lots of space and attention for both dogs. We are still working on some of her barking, but everything seems to be going well! Last week on our way home from school, Addy and I saw a huge rainbow that went right over the Chicago Loop. I could only get a picture of half of it, but managed to get the passing El train as well as the Sears Tower.

Addy enjoyed it, too:

And since Wrigley is the only one I haven't mentioned in this entry, I should mention that Wrigley is doing good, too. He and Addy have been wrestling and biteyfacing and generally creating chaos every free second that they have together. It is both adorable and a constant tripping hazard!

Probert's New Crate

Well, Probert, sweet dog that he is, finally earned himself a new crate! How, you ask? He determinedly tore open a hole in the door of the old crate big enough that he escaped through it, that's how! (He also ripped up yet another comforter. Aaaack.)

Seriously.

Sorry, the pictures are a little dark. I took them in the hall after we'd set up the new crate.

Hilariously, the new crate came with a tag on it that had a picture of a Good Dog sitting calmly in the crate. Shawn handed Probert the tag to study for proper instruction on how to be in a crate. Probert made quick work of ripping it up. RIP, Good Dog.

Now Probert and Addy both have the same crate. It seems a little sturdier than some of the others and it's a little smaller than the previous crates Probert's had. Let's hope this one holds out.

Join us!

We had so much fun at last year's PAWS Chicago Run/Walk for Their Lives that we are doing it again! This year, I decided to sign up early and create our own fundraising team for Pinups for Pitbulls. So, we'll be out there representing the bullies and raising money for a great cause! If you are in the area and plan on doing the walk this year, we would LOVE it if you joined our team. You do not need to own a pit bull or anything, just be a friend, supporter, or fan! We are open to any and all members. When you go to sign up, there is an option to join an already existing team and it is easy.

If you are not in the area and would like to make a donation to help benefit Chicago's largest no-kill shelter, that would be awesome, too!

Dog Days

On Sunday, Addy and I attended the Dog Day on the Green event on the lawn of Soldier Field hosted by the Chicago City Clerk's office. The event seemed to be a way to promote spay/neuter, rabies vaccinations, and overall responsible pet ownership. I was excited to see the list of rules on the event's website, as they required that dogs ben friendly, on-leash (no retractables), old enough to have all of their shots, altered, etc. Unfortunately, the rules were NOT enforced at all and there were many dogs too young to have been vaccinated, dogs off-leash (harassing other dogs, trying to steal people's food as they ate on the grass), dogs on retractable leashes (these are the worst ever unless you are walking in a field or something), unaltered dogs, obviously aggressive dogs... You name it. Overall, I'd say the experience was a fun and positive one, but I was disappointed with some of my fellow attendees.

At any rate, Addy and I had a great time. There were a lot of booths set up for local organizations as well as local pet businesses. There was an agility course that Addy tried out (and did GREAT at once she realized that CHEESE was at the end of each obsticle). We met up with one of Addy's friends, Michele, who drove Addy on her road to rescue from Iowa to Illinois. There were so many free giveaways at the event that I was glad I'd brought a backpack and when I went home, I put all of the free treats into a giant mixing bowl!


After a few hours, Addy was tired. Her one widdle front leg has to do double duty, so it gets tired easily. I carried her for a little bit and eventually she started climbing under the vendors' tablecloths to try to take a nap out of view. :) So,we said goodbye to Michele and her family and headed home. Overall, a great day!

On Monday, Addy started advanced obedience back with Rendy at Anything is Pawsible. There is only one other dog in class this round, so we get to work a little more quickly through some of the things that both dogs already know. Addy was acting up and biting at her leash and me and generally not wanting to work until Rendy got out the bitter apple spray. The look on Addy's face was priceless the first time she smelled it and the first time she forgot herself and bit the leash she couldn't spit it out fast enough. Hahahaha. Sorry, lady. No messing around allowed!