Strictly for our BELOVED friends and furiends

I, Twinkie, my dogs and humans, miss you! Time has become quite the luxury and we interrupted our blog abruptly. Even though things haven't changed much, I decided to take matters into my own paws. I hopped on M's computer to give you a quick update. First however, I want to make sure you can see our quickie posts on Facebook from the sidebar.  Look at the right column, other right!

THE UPDATE

With the exception of one of our kittens, Gigi Smudge, we're all doing great. Miss Gigi packed her bags and left us in the middle of the night. She was never happy here. She had been nicknamed, The Shadow, because that's all we got to see of her.

One of Gigi's last photos

M wants to think that The Shadow lives at our barn and comes home at night to eat. We all humor her and agree. Now that that's out of the way and the cat is out of the bag, the good news! And it's all good from here.

We have two half brothers! M met Mr. M who had two doggies, aka The Boyz:

Bubba, aka Cujo

Rocket, aka Smiley

M says they're the sweetest doggies, but the truth is that I've never met them. They keep us separated, but I can tell you that I'm in no hurry! I did overhear something about: The Boyz blah blah blah... Twinkie... SNACK...blah blah, Cujo blah blah...Twinkie, appetizer etc. I think you get the point.

As for the rest of the gang: All kittehs, young and old, rule at night. 

All of us doggies, just rule!

Senior Dog Linguini, the spotted girl, is turning 15 on November 1st. As an old geezer, she enjoys special privileges. She pretty much does whatever she wants. She also owns prime real estate, at the foot of M's bed. She is completely senile and happy all the time. I hope we all get old like that! It's pawesome, really.

Linguini

Ziggy, the oversized Great Dufus, we all love, has Wobbler's. Six months ago, he could barely move. Two days ago, he reached his personal goal. He was able to jump on M's bed! He was so shocked that he fell off the other side. He got back on and started doing the zoomies! We hope he'll be with us as long as possible.

Ziggy

Sasha, Ziggy's Great Dane sister, is M's little project. Sasha was suffering from major Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, food aggression, skin sensitivities, Pounce on small doggies Syndrome, and you can keep adding to the list. All of her conditions are improving every day, as are our lives and hers too.

Sasha

Pedro, the Terrorista, the self-appointed Great Dane guardian (and a wannabe Great Dane too), is . . .

...surviving 

BOL. This little dog is the cause of lots of laughter at my household

Frankie, our brindle Chiweenie, the Canine Good Citizen, is having a great time. She's happy, healthy, loves everyone, especially food, and she listens well.


Last, but certainly not least, there's ME. The Twink! I'm still tiny, but only when compared to the Danes. I personally feel as mighty as ever. A couple of months ago, I suffered a stroke, which made it appear as if I were d-e-d. I was just checking to see how much I was loved. When I was satisfied, I came to. I got to milk the situation for quite a while. I am a diva. I too now share prime real estate in M's bedroom; not just one but two small dog beds! I am Twinkie Tiny Dog, HEAR ME ROAR!!!

If you would pardon me now

it's my turn to do the dishes

Love you all....

Twink!

PS: We're turning comments off, because it's unclear when we'll have the time to respond next. I hope to resume blogging . . . as soon as possible!

The LEAVE IT command | Dog Training

Recently, Frankie, the chiweenie, the Canine Good Citizen, won a free training session at Petco with our favorite Dog Trainer, the fabulous Ms Cyndy Wood. It was obvious who was in need of the dog training session the most out of our pack: Pedrito, the chihuahua puppy. Rambunctious Pedro, joined our menagerie a few short months ago, but he's already left his mark on all of us. He's IMPOSSIBLE, INCORRIGIBLE, OBNOXIOUS, UNDISCIPLINED, OUT OF CONTROL REALLY. So, when the trainer asked M, "What should we work on," it took her one second to come up with:

the LEAVE IT command
 

The decision was based on both safety considerations aaand our (the rest of the pack's) well-being and sanity. M thought of a Utopian world in which Pedro would be messing with me, and she could say "LEAVE IT" and he'd let me be.

Pedrito was welcomed by Petco with open arms

* * *

Here's how his real dog training session went . . .
 Dog obedience training 101: Leave it!

Oops, that was before they got started.

The student arrived in a rather impressive state of mind: Ready to please
(this may have had something to do with the fact that he got lots of exercise, and a smaller than usual amount of food, until class was over)

First, M "CHARGED" the toy that Pedrito was supposed to learn how to "LEAVE IT", by playing with him.

Then, he hit his trainer on the nose
That's before he tricked her into thinking it was "a good thing he was food motivated" BOL
Is it . . . a good thing? How good is it?
(check out yesterday's post to find the answer)

Ultimately, Pedrito decided that instead of LEAVE it, he'd rather play FETCH and DROP IT. Oh, well. That's something, isn't it?

I hoped you learned something, you lazy dawgs!

xo

Twink!

Chiweenie Canine Good Citizen Strikes Again

This past Saturday, Frankie, the chiweenie, the canine good citizen made us proud!

Petco hosted a huge reunion to celebrate with old dog training graduates. The event was beautifully organized by trainer extraordinaire Ms. Cyndy Wood. There were tons of games and prizes and even a raffle for a free dog training session.

My chiweenie sissy was amazing! She won the first three games before we decided to leave and give other doggies a chance. Frankie came home with a huge back of dog treats, a stuffy, and some Pill Pockets

A couple of hours later, our phone rang. Frankie also won the raffle!!!

Guess who's going to get the dog training session!

Twinkie

Chiweenie Exposé

I Can't Help It If The Chiweenie Provokes Me

Dear friends and furiends, my pack and I stand united because of a certain, ehem, pending cat-astrophe, and I've laid off my chiweenie sister for a while now. My intentions were noble, but the chiweenie is incorrigible, therefore, without apologies, allow me to demonstrate her latest shenanigans and the reason I can't stop making fun of her no matter how hard I try.

You probably know by now that our horse barn is a bit of an insane asylum.

Horses, humans, and an abundance of rescue dogs can't wait for their next horse barn visit. 

It's no wonder this goat wanted to join us.

Nathan the horse was perplexed. Apparently, he did not grow up in a farm.

He did enjoy the entertainment though.

Heck! Almost all of us rescue dogs were entertained.

Even our senior dog set her dog arthritis aside for a few minutes and enjoyed playing the game: Get that goat!

Murray, the doxie, the latest dog adoption loved the goat game too.

I decided to join in.

Tigger, the other chiweenie, had a blast!

WARNING:

The following incriminating photos may be disturbing to our brindle chiweenie's fans.

Uh-oh

I think you get the picture.

I realize M has made a valiant effort to socialize our chiweenie. I saw the pictures and the certification and I know that our chiweenie is indeed a Canine Good Citizen. The ol' brindle has grown on me and I love her to pieces, BUT there's something seriously wrong with this dog! I believe a dog behaviorist is in order. 

Twinkie

AKC Canine Good Citizen Exam

The moment you've all been waiting for! Roxie's Canine Good Citizen exam was this past Monday and the verdict is in! But first, I would personally like to thank you for all the encouraging, funny, and warm comments you all left for Roxie on my last post. I printed them out and handed them to Roxie's mom (handler) right before they were to take the exam, just around the time Roxie's mom mentioned that she felt she was about to take her SAT.

We kept up the tradition of the last Canine Good Citizen helping out with the next dog's exam. Frankie had to work not just with Roxie, but with three dogs. 

She was a trooper. Brave chiweenie!

Molly passed the canine good citizen test with flying colors.

She's a rescue dog. She wondered off the streets on her own into her new forever home.

Congratulations Molly, on your certification and your choice in homes.

This is Pete. Another rescue dog.

He was awesome. His least favorite part was "supervised separation". He missed his handler, but he behaved, therefore he too passed.

Maybe the chiweenie brings good luck.

Our beloved Roxie.

Notice the star on her pretty brindle boston terrier face.

She sure passed, no doubts about it. She was on her best behavior ever!

We're really proud of our Roxie. 

Despite the fact that her's is considered a "hyper" breed, and despite the fact that she's one of the youngest canines to pass the test, at 8 months, she was awesome!

Wait a minute! What's this about?

After she passed, Roxie tried to make friends with Frankie, once again.

While Frankie wasn't too pleased about it, she wasn't too upset either. 

Frankie and Roxie have a play-date scheduled in the near future. (BOL)

The GRAND FINALE

Roxie's mommy brought the chiweenie the best dog treat the brindle spaz had ever seen.

She didn't complain. She chose instead to delicately lick it.

Thank you Roxie and mommy. I had some too, and so did Linguini, and we still have some left. We're painfully aware of the dangers associated with dog obesity.

Roxie and Frankie had the same trainer. I have to tell you, both of them were not easy cases. Both were on the young side, particularly Roxie, and both had some difficult issues to work on. Neither would have made it without the help of one caring troubleshooting trainer. Our trainer is the best. She didn't just help with Roxie and Frankie, she helped with their handlers too, and only using positive reinforcement. Thank you Cyndy!

Congratulations Class of July 2010!

Twinkie

AKC Canine Good Citizen Atrocities

Monday was Roxie's (the brindle boston terrier's) dress rehearsal, the last class before the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. Last week, M forgot to show up for the class, meaning, there was no chiweenie to practice step #8, Reaction to Another Dog, and there was no post about Roxie's improvement either. Let me tell you, if that dog does not pass the CGC next week, I'll eat catnip! Roxie, as hyper and unruly as she started out, is now unofficially a canine great citizen. This intro serves as a warning, so you don't get shocked by the outtakes and the chiweenie's take on Roxie's last class.

Class started out the usual way.

"You want me to do what? And for no treats?"

I just love opinionated terriers!

A hug from mom made it all better.

Well, almost.

On your marks, get set . . . wait a minute!

Class disruption, a welcome one.

The chiweenie loves children, as for Roxie, she was on her best behavior.

As for the child's mom, too cool for words, so her child is already dog savvy and an animal lover. 

ATROCITY!

The chiweenie got locked in the pet store's grooming area, so everybody could focus on Roxie.

The chiweenie is not very happy away from M, but you can see that. 

From that point on, Roxie's training went smoothly-ish.

Roxie remained skeptical but compliant.

The crowd went wild with joy as our future canine good citizen got her graduation star and a large baggie of dog treats (for her trouble).

But this, we did not expect!

Brindle-bum got a star too, aaand a baggie of dog treats to bring, ehem, home.

Roxie's mom is reading my blog, well, at least the posts about Roxie. Feel free to wish her good luck (not that she'll need any). And if the dog trainer ends up reading this post: three cheers for trainer extraordinaire. You managed the impossible! By believing in us and our dogs and by using only positive discipline, you've given us the opportunity to turn them around and make them safe and enjoyable for us the owners/handlers/parents and everybody they come in contact. 

Next week, I will be proud to announce that Roxie has sealed the deal and earned her dog treats. 

Twinkie

Who Wants Homemade dog Treats?

I was at a horse show the other day and I wanted to share with you what my friends Boomer, the teacup chihuahua, and Tigger, the chiweenie, did! Tsk, tsk.

Let me share with you what I observed

Tigger and Boomer scheming

Boomer looking for the dog treat jar

Boomer: "There is always a dog treat jar!"

"I just know it."

"No, not the Canine Carry Outs! We want the homemade dog treats."

"Fine, we'll settle for Canine Carry Outs Beef Flavor Chewy Treats for Dogs"

"These dog treats don't taste homemade to me, but they will have to do."

"Now that I think about it, they don't even look like homemade dog treats."

Even Trixie, the chimeanie, made fun of them.

"You two are doofuses."

Please don't mistake me for those two bozos. I'm a well trained Canine Good Citizen and I don't behave like a moron. At this stage in my dog training, I'm proud to tell you that my dog potty training days are behind me and I hardly ever use a leash even at busy horse shows. I heel and proudly accompany my mommy everywhere she goes. I am a brave chiweenie.

Have the bestest longest holiday weekend!

Frankie