Dear Twinkie

Dog Advice

Madi and Mom asked...

Dear Twinkie Marie Conchita Espenoza Cucaracha Doodle-bug Chupa Cabra Twinkerson,
'How did(heck it took so long to type your name I forgot my question).oh yeah.. you get such a long name, and if you get married will you be required to say all of it during your vows?'

TVT: For the memory, I recommend fish oil supplements. As for the marriage vows, I'll just have to make sure I marry someone who is good at memorizing, since I'll be adding my married name to my maiden one. I can also provide cheat sheets. OMD I'm only four, I can't think so far ahead!

The OP Pack asked...

Great job, Twinkie - you nailed every question. We wonder if there will be any payback from the RH.

TVT: So far, so god. (Phew) He's been busy rehydrating himself. 

Tucker asked...
Why is it I can't spell?

TVT: I did a research that reviled that 50% of Americans kent spel. Blaim it on aour edukasion sistemm.

Fiona, as typed by Dr. Liz asked...

Since you are now in the advice business, can you tell me how to deal with an upstart puppy who is likely going to be much bigger than me when she is full grown? She needs to know her place, but I'm a bit worried she might come back and kick my butt when she's older.

TVT: I am dealing with the same problem myself. It's really simple. Oppression. Size is irrelevant. You must use your wits. For example: You don't have to fight over treats. As soon as Abby gets the treat you want, distract her and then steal it as fast as you can. This won't work so well unless you practice your most innocent look (this one's for the parents). 

Stella asked...
We here are all interested in starting a campaign to allow dogs in libraries and restaurants. Where should we start?

TVT: There's nothing cuter and more educational than dogs in libraries. We must teach people that in today's  computerized world having a child read to a dog is beneficial. To do that, we need volunteer dogs that will behave at all times. That's why M never takes me to the library. Here's a cool LINK (http://www.librarydogs.com) for you. 

Restaurants are a totally separate issue when we have to deal with the annal bozos of the FDA who have decided that humans are more sanitary than dogs. It's not going to happen any time soon, therefore, I recommend that meanwhile we all visit dog-friendly restaurants. You can check out more info by clicking on this LINK (http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/travel/guides/rest/rest.shtml) to United States and Canada's guide for dogs of all sizes.

Martine asked...

The kiddlets want to know, will mom still love us once the baby comes?!?!?! Will be still have a bloggie?!?!

TVT: You can rest assured, you are loved. As for the bloggie, I heard something about hospital wi-fi, so, as you can see for yourselves, mommy has taken every precaution to keep your bloggie going. What I would focus on, if I was in your paws, is trying to get some pizzle past your dad. And don't forget, human peanuts are the best!

3 doxies said...

Twink, you make a great advice lady. You have da most bestest advice. I loooves what Mayzie calls you. I go gets my thinking cap on so I cans come back with a question.

TVT asks: Did you ever find that thinking cap? I'm wai-ting...

JackDaddy said...

You are just a regular Abby Landers! (Ask your mom!)

TVT: I answer the questions, not my mom. Ann Landers, aka Ruth Crowley, is passé and so is Dear Abby, plus they both deal with "human" issues whereas I, Twinkie Van Twinkerson, offer fresh and furiendly contemporary advice.

Sallie asked...

Alien's girlfriend, Ruth The Biker Frog, invited me to ride on her Harley. Is that safe? Do they make doggie helmets? 

TVT: Aha, most excellent question. Safety first! Don't forget to brush up on your skills by attending a Safe Rider Course and always wear a helmet. You can find fashionable helmets HERE.

Remember to always secure your safety gear

K9friend asked...

Brilliant job, Twink! Now if you can only tell me how to win the lottery...

TVT: Open multiple email accounts and start surfing the internet. Everywhere they offer something for free, leave your email addresses. Sit back and wait. You'll be a lucky winner in no time! Even if you don't see the big bucks, you'll at least get paid in Viagra.

kissa-bull asked...

the WHOLE pack wants to know if you thinks its rude to toot in front of guests in the house. mommish thinks that its not vewy nice but we do it caush its our way of welcoming guests to our house

TVT: Tooting is a sign of love and/or welcome is proper canine etiquette. I think it's your guests who are being rude by not tooting. 

Chester asked...

Mom and I have both been enjoyin' our newfound friendships we've formed over the last 16 months since we started bloggin'. What we'd like to know is how can we get a snooter to snooter meetin' with everybody-like a big DWB partay? I think it would be the funnest thing ever. Could you maybe arrange it, Oh Wise One?

TVT: I have not met the folks over at DWB yet, but I'll see what I can do. For now, you can visit this year's Global Animal Blogging Event links, and there's always Global Animal Blogging Event 2011 to look forward to!

Ina in Alaska asked...

We would like to know where we should address our question for next week?? 

TVT: Oh, boy! And it isn't even Champagne Thursday... BOL Here. Right HERE will do just fine.

Life With Dogs asked...

Where can I get a cold drink around here? :)

TVT: Ask and you shall receive! 

KB challenged...

We over here at Romp and Roll aren't sure that you have enough wisdom for this job Twinkie. You seem to do some silly things yourself. Do you think that you have the wisdom needed?

TVT: I sense that I am being provoked. I may only be four, but I'm an old soul. Do not confuse silliness with stupidity. A wise tea cup chihuahua resorts to doing silly things to get her point across. I sense you're still skeptical, well, shoot me a real question then. Bring it on you rompers and rollers! (can I still come to you for animal track related questions or do I need to tough it out after this exchange? BOL)

Cocorue asked...

how do i get to visit you guys WITHOUT being fedex/put in the cargo hold where i would freeze to death/or whatever! i want to have a playdate with you and all my furends and don't tell me to do that in my dreams!!!

TVT: Well, I would never tell you to do that in your dreams because I am trying to give out constructive advice. However, I did check your location on your blog and it's listed as WaWaLand. I will need your coordinates to answer this question better. 

ocmist asked...

YOU were the one doing GABE... How could you not know about it?!? The CC Pups

P.S. Or was that a joke... We are still young and might have missed it if it was?

TVT: I had a temporary memory toot. Okay, I was joking. As KB stated, I tend to get a bit silly sometimes. It's a powerful urge and I can't fight it. I did organize the first Global Animal Blogging Event. 

The Two Country Poodles asked...

I am super talented with my head twists, twirls, and following directions...Do you know of any good talent agencies that could get me in a movie or at least a magazine. You are in Hollywood...and that is where all the good actress and actors live right?

TVT: I do live near Hollywood; that is absolutely correct. No, that is not where all the good actresses and actors live; that is incorrect. Drop the "good".  If you're in a hurry to move out here, let me find you a good job waitressing (which is what the rest of the actors do).

Twix asked...

What would we do without you?

TVT: You would probably improve the overall quality of your blog-reading.

*Don't forget, Global Animal Blogging Event still in progress*
And lovely free giveaways to check out

Now go take on the day!

Twinkie

Designer Dogs

I while ago, I posted a story about a lady claiming that Frankie was A. her dog, and B. an Italian Greyhound-Chihuahua mix, an Italian Greyhuahua. Until that day, we assumed Frankie was a Chihuahua-Wiener Dog mix, which made her a Chiweenie, which is how she got her name. She's part hot-dog, as in frankfurter, a sausage. Add to this the fact that she's American and a brat...bratwurst and there she was! Frankie the Bratwurst was born, um, named.

This isn't Frankie but this is exactly how she was named

Ketchup please! And don't forget the bratwurst!

After the run in with the lady, I started making silly jokes about Designer dogs. First off, I wanted to know if designer dogs can only wear designer dog collars and sleep on designer dog beds.  Then I pondered, if a Wiener dog and a Chihuahua make a Chiweenie, wouldn't it be safe to assume that an Italian Greyhound and a Chihuahua make a Chitalian Greyhound? Not! Apparently there's a list of designer dogs' names, and on that list I found out that Frankie, according to the American Canine Hybrid Club is an Italian Greyhuahua. I thought it was hilarious until I kept reading. My experience was similar to that of reading a mix-and-match book.

Here are some of my favorite designer dogs BOL

Affenpinscher x Poodle = Affenpoo, who wants to be named after poo?
American Rat Terrier x Boston Terrier = Brat Hmm, no comment here
Chihuahua x Dalmatian  = Chimation This isn't the funniest of names, but I get to laugh over the details. A ladder comes to mind
Chihuahua x Jack Russell Terrier = Jack Chi This one makes me think of the possibilities if my furiend Jack and I were to have a pup together
Chihuahua x Pug = Chug Chug, chug, chug...
Chihuahua x Toy Fox Terrier  = Taco Terrier Is this a result of the Taco Bell commercial?

Collie x Golden Retriever  = Gollie, those make excellent soccer players
Dachshund x Pembroke Welsh Corgi  = Dorgi, which rhymes with "dorky"

Dachshund x Pomeranian  = Damerenian, again, fetch the ladder por favor

Jack Russell Terrier x Poodle  = Jack-A-Poo, sorry again, Jack. 

And a few desirable names for a few select designer dogs

Beagle x Chinese Shar Pei = Sharp Eagle

Cocker Spaniel x Lab = Spanador, ole!


You can read more about the new designer dogs at The American Canine Hybrid Club's website. 
Meanwhile, my imagination is running wild thinking that the possibilities are endless...

As if being a dog wasn't tough enough, it seems that designer dogs carry an extra burden: their name!!!

Twinkie

Sunday's Prisoners | Large Dog Bed Destroyed

We were at a horse show again this weekend, in between water polo games. My kind of day. I become the center of attention and everybody who cares about M and her two peanuts is compelled to shower my pack with affection and human treats (youngsters never stop snacking!) My sissies and I were really enjoying ourselves unlike our furiends, the barn pack. I could turn this post into another dog product review, but instead I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

What's wrong with this photo?

Hmm, I see some stuffing!

Trixie, the chihuahua Chimeanie herself, the reason I don't have to be locked up in there

My pack used to spend time in this dreaded, yet sophisticated and unique set up, until Trixie started attacking Frankie. Thanks Trix!

Even Holly, the blue heeler, gets locked up

No vacancy at the top floor

"Wasn't me!" said Holly, with her mouth full

To prove it, the blue heeler pretended she was resting

Look at this angelic face, you disbelievers!

Do you believe her now?

In the short time Holly's joined us, I have become rather fond of her. Sure, she's a bit, a lot, ADHD, and she mostly looks like a blur in our photos, but she's also kind to me and my family. Trust me, she's innocent!

Twinkie

Udders | Dog Products | A Review

I noticed on several blogs that many of my furiends had discovered a new type of dog chews. I'm referring to the Udders, the latest dog chews. When I first heard of them, I thought, what a brilliant concept. I couldn't imagine anything going wrong. My furiends were raving about them, so, after an investment of $25.00, we got two hoping they would last my pack a long time. We are all big on dog chews. M got ours from Helping Udders. Once she got to their web site, shopping around for a better price stopped being an option. Helping Udders claims they donate 25% on all udder tug sales and even up to 50% on other stuff. M had arrived! She was going to make a significant purchase of a product pretty much advertised by my furiends, and pick the rescue of o choice to donate to. Brilliant, so far.
The udders finally arrived. They were wrapped neatly and each had a tag hanging from it.

Mom removed the tags, putting them aside, and handed Frankie and me the latest dog chews. I thought they smelled delicious, yet I was not that interested. 

Frankie loves and needs to chew

Frankie loved them

To make this more interesting and to get a more rounded view, M invited Bob to check out the udder, so far nobody we knew had tested them with a cat! Dog product review and cat product review are very useful when one lives in a mixed menagerie household. On to the cat products' review then.

Success

As promised by the website

"The power of eau de bovine was unleashed"

In Bob's nose

So, day one was a success, but M was holding off on Linguini, since she's by far the biggest pack member and has the strongest jaws therefore she demolishes all dog chews so far. 

It is day three now. Linguini has yet to experience them and M is really skeptical of whether any of us will be allowed to hold on to the udders.

Ta-da!

Having recently read about Lily's recent Nylabone mishap, M is not feeling like living on the edge. Where is the missing rubber? Luckily, Frankie decided to spit it out and M got rid of it. M is planning of cutting off the skinny part of the udder chew toy and watch us like a hawk again until she declares the chew toy "safe". 

Purposefully, M pulled out the tags to reexamine.

Aha! Nothing is 100% safe

Dog chews wrap up: Udders are neat, udders are cool, but always under supervision!!! Dogs like them, cats like them, but only under supervision. It saddens me to say but our best find in cheweys is still the pizzle, aka bully sticks. It may be costly and we go through it at a fast pace, but it's safer than anything we've ever sampled, rawhide dog chews included. This is my dog product review and you now have all my information to assist you in making a more calculated decision.

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Global Animal Blogging Event

Last day to enter the event as an active participant with a G.A.B.E. post. As of tomorrow, we just mingle and continue to have fun. Winners of the free giveaways will be announced on April 18 on the active participants' blogs. 

Twinkie

Chiweenie Friday (13) - Dog Training Tips part deux

Hello! Frankie here, again! I'm here to share more dog training tips. As you all know I'm enrolled in the AKC Canine Good Citizen (GCG) Program every Wednesday and on Mondays I go to dog training class.
This past week, I was determined to make mommy happy. I put on my brave thoughts and off we went to visit the horses and the other rescue dogs. On the car ride there, I made up my mind to be the bestest student there ever was.

After all, I am used to being around many other doggies

I, Frankie, the brindle chiweenie, always get along

With both large

And small

I'm even getting better when the Chimeanie is around

(there's somebody who needs dog training badly)

My dear furiends, I'm going to need another week before I impress you all. 

When we arrived at my last dog obedience training class, it was packeded!

We didn't get any good shots of anybody but me. Can you guess why?

Everybody else was having a ball, while I...

... remained cautious, as usual

Hear me ROAR!!!

Those were not exactly dog training tips, but perhaps if you do the opposite of what I did, they are. Tee hee. 

Have a lovely Friday!

Frankie

* * * GLOBAL ANIMAL BLOGGING EVENT update: don't forget to check out the new links. I am stunned at all the great free giveaways. 

Dog Training tips - Not for the Dog Whisperer

I was reading on Cesar's Way today an article about dog training and obedience. The title was "Will Beg for Food," and I got to thinking, I can't live like that! The article clearly states the following "rules": Do not give food, ignore, don't feel sorry for your dog, and, to make matter worse, be consistent. Yikes! I know M watches the Dog Whisperer's television show, because we all watch it together, but luckily when it comes to raising us, M listens to dog advice but in the end she just follows her instinct.

Exhibit A:

Notice the drool dangling from the corner of my sissy's mouth? 

Why prolong the torture?

What did Cesar Milan mean, but saying Do Not Give Food? Did you guys notice our wide eyes, our pleasure and anticipation? What kind of dog training is that? I beg to differ.

Exhibit B:

Add to the equation our soft pink curled tongues and intensity.

Milan's article tells humans to Ignore. If that's dog training, I want to have none of it. I prefer people training and I believe I am good at it.

Exhibit C:

Ignore this, if you can!

As for the idea of Not Feeling Sorry For Your Dog, another silly dog training tip, I disagree with that strongly. No matter how well-fed we are, and we are thanks to our rescuers and dotting parents, we can always eat more, especially if it comes from the table. Scraps off the table is what Linguini and I live for--Frankie's still learning.

But she's a fast learner!

Dog training tips can be dangerous for us. We need to unite our forces and protest. No more living by the book. Human training is much more fun and relaxing and we have proved it with our blogs. Let's continue on with our tradition and let Mr Milan convert the others. Dog training my... Milan!

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Wonderful new furiends and free giveaways ...

Twinkie

Global Animal Blogging Event - Free Giveaways

Speaking of animal or even just dog events, G.A.B.E. is one of my favorites so far. I know what you're thinking. Yeah, sure, I organized this one so what else would I say? Well, check out what others are saying about this animal, critter, cat, dog events, and don't forget to check all the free giveaways too.

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I just want to thank you for getting me involved with GABE and 

encouraging me to do it even when I felt burnt out. I'm really 

enjoying it - much more than the ***, and I've gotten more followers 

from this smaller event than ***, too! Everyone is so nice and fun, 

and I'm having fun reading these doggy bloggies. Thank you!!!

I've been visiting the GABE links meeting losta new friends. Thank you for all your efforts.

GABE is soo much fun, thank you SO much for doing it!!

Lots of great people are participating, and I am loving all the great pics of furry family members!!

[My furiend] reminded me about GABE and that's how I ended up here in a round-about way! I am glad to meet you and so many other new friends thanks to Twinkie organizing such a fun event.

By the way, thanks for hosting such a wonderful event. We have been busy visiting blogs. Though we are not active participants, we are still spreading the word about this event. We have been enjoying ourselves and we want all our friends to join us too! 

Great event, Twinkie!

Great job getting this up and going! I love dog events!!

Anywho, I'm having lots of fun meeting new people! Thanks again for hosting this great event!

Who is GABE?

I has not had too much time for blogging so I think this would be a great way for me to get back in touch with some furiends and maybe make some new ones.

What a cool idea!

GABE is a hit, great job! 

We haven't met yet, but we heard about GABE and decided to join in the fun!

I am just blown away that you organized this really fun event!

Here's to an incredible event!

Thanks so much for organizing this! I'm looking forward to checking out all the pet blogs!

We'll look forward to following all those participating.

Thanks for hosting such a fantastic event! We'd never heard of anything like GABE before and we can't wait to meet more bloggers.

Can't wait to start exploring the other blogs!

We thanks you again for hosting this most glorious event

This is fun for all even if not everyone gets a prize.

What a great idea to meet new bloggers! 

And coming up with GABE, that was totally cool!

You are so incredible to come up with this wonderful way of meeting other bloggers! 

We are loving GABE... all the emails are too cute!!! 

So very exciting!!!!!!

We're having a great time meeting new furfriends - thanks for hosting such a great event!

Thanks so much for making GABE possible, we enjoy participating!

This is so very cool!!

I think this is a great idea, by the way ... I love how the animal blogging community is growing, and I think we can all relate to one another in a very special way.

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GLOBAL ANIMAL BLOGGING EVENT still in process. Links accepted up to and including Saturday, April 10th. Comments close on the 18th. Your links stay up...and they can be revisited for months to come. 

Thank you Mabel (she said she loves free giveaways too) for your brilliant idea to share with our furiends the GABE scoop!

Twinkie