Lately

Hi friends!

This week has been very strange. I guess I should start with Saturday. On Saturday, my people betrayed me. They left me all by my lonesome and went to the house of friends and petted on their two puppy dogs! The nerve! I'm thinking about sticking my people in jail the crate just so they can learn a lesson. Anyway, the puppy dogs are named Macy and Boo. They are very friendly, so I did like sniffing my people when they finally got home. Macy and Boo's mommy is having a human puppy very soon, so this was the last chance for my people to see their new to them house. There's a giant yard, so I'm a little jealous their house isn't my house. Mommy says Macy and Boo play too rambunctiously for me though, so maybe I'll keep my yard.

Anyway, on Sunday, my pal Luna's daddy came to play! Really he was here to "defend his dissertation." I don't know what that means but it sounds a lot like "rub my belly and give me treats," so I was very nice to him. Like, very nice. I normally don't like men, especially ones I don't know, but I escorted him in and let him pet me immediately.

Yesterday, my people woke up very early and took a suitcase. I was nervous I was being left all alone, but my mommy came home. Daddy hasn't been here and Luna's daddy is gone now, too. I'm OK with that. Mommy's my favorite. I do kinda miss Dad's belly rubs though. I hope he comes home soon.

Or maybe not, since I get to share the big bed with Mommy!

Secret Sisters

Hi friends!

My daddy's work is doing this cool thing called "secret sisters." They all filled out a paper (must be nice to have thumbs) and were given the paper of someone else to do nice things for. No one is allowed to know who their sister is (even though my daddy's a boy. Weird). Yesterday, my daddy's secret sister left some presents on his desk. He assumed since it was a stuffed squeaky bone and dog treats that the presents were for ME!

Here's me playing tug with the stuffed squeaky bone. I'm not big on toys, so my people were excited to get a picture of me actually playing with it.

I also got some delicious treats. I may not really play with toys, but I go BANANAS for treats!

The best part of the story was right after my daddy quit torturing me gave me a treat. It was a long chew treat, so I was off chomping away and my people decided to pick up dinner. I love car rides as much as I love food, so I wanted to go, too. Problem. I wasn't finished with my bone. And if I left it at home, it might get stolen. What's a puppy dog to do? I went back and forth for a bit and finally decided to take my bone on the car ride, too! My indecision made my people laugh a LOT. Whatever. I got a bone treat and a car ride. Greatest day EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

I would totally get a sister if she does nice things for me and I don't have to know anything about her.

Potty Bells Review

Hi friends,

You won't believe this. Did you know Valentine's Day dinners DON'T include puppy dogs?!?!?! I know! Daddy took Mommy to a nice restaurant and they didn't take me. The nerve! But they let me sleep in the big bed when they got home. And I totally got them back. They were both sitting up for a little bit in bed, so I made myself at home right across both of their pillows so they couldn't lie down. Serves them right.

Anyway, I promised a review and today's the day! A long time ago, I was contacted by Ms. Sally at PoochieBells asking if I'd like to try out one of their products and they'd even send a free bonus item. Sweet! Mommy's been wanting to train me with potty bells since Christmas. Normally when I want to go out, I just stand by the door, but Mom realized the tree blocked her view to the door. Plus, from where she sits on the couch, she can't really see to the door anyway. This has never been a problem, but something she'd like to fix before it is. Cue PoochieBells!

The process is simple enough: hang the bells around the doorknob and the human rings them each time he or she opens the door to let you potty. You're supposed to catch on and ring them yourself eventually. One small problem. I'm a little lot bit of a scaredy-dog. I didn't NOT like the jingle the bells made at all. I accidentally rang them a couple of times myself, but otherwise backed away when Mom rang them. Mom thinks she should have introduced them a little differently, so we're taking a potty bell break for a bit and regroup. Mom still really likes the idea and my experience should in no way influence you or your human. I'm just a little goofy.

PoochieBells also has hooks you can buy (for your bells or just cause). They also have this cool towel thingy, which was my bonus gift.  From their site: 

The reusable, disposable to-go Pet Towel is a 100% biodegradable drying sheet for your 

pet.  It offers drying without dirtying bath towels.  Soft, compact in size, yet absorbent and 
trouble-free to store and use.  Great for foul weather, after swim or bath.  Wring out, hang 
dry and reuse again and again!  Each towel measures 17"x 31.5", great for all breeds.

Perfect for trips to the dog park, sloppy weather days, poolside, after bath, etc.

Available in on the go single pack pouches or six towel boxed  sets.

Mom keeps an old towel by the door for rainy and snowy days, so I don't track mud all over. It works fine, but is a pain to keep clean and dry. I liked the towel much better than I liked the potty bells. And I don't like getting toweled off at all. I maybe stayed a little bit damper, but only if we had a downpour. For just plain walks through wet grass, the towel worked great. The best part is once it gets dirty, you can just toss it! The Ziploc pouch helps you transport it in case you walk at the park and your human won't let you back in the car with wet paws.

Bell Pros: Great training method, lots of colors and patterns of bell ribbons, adjustable for your dog (snaps allow you to relatively adjust the bells to be lower or higher), Mom kind of already wants a hook to hang my leash and walking stuff just because they're nice.

Towel Pros: Easier to use than regular bath towel, lighter, disposable

Bell Cons: Scary, but only if you're a scaredy-dog like me. Maybe have different sizes of bells, so smaller bells have a lighter sound?

Towel Cons: Redundant (that's a Mommy word) since a regular towel works fine

Overall, I give PoochieBells three (of four) paws up.

Disclaimer: I was given a set of PoochieBells bells and Pet Towel for free in exchange for my review. All opinions are 100% my own.

From Mister's Mom: I really do want a hook. Hint to anyone wanting to buy us a present :)

More Sickies

Yikes, friends!

Just when Mommy thought things were calming down, everything went crazy again! First, she took her big Praxis test (she thanks you for all the well wishes. She thinks it went well,b ut will find out in a couple of days). Then she got sick. Lots of coughing and sniffling and stuff. Don't worry. I took good care of her.

Then, Grandpaw got really sick. The human V-E-Ts in Daddy's hometown thought he may of had a stroke, so they sent him to the bigger hospital here. I didn't like being left all alone that evening, but I wanted Grandpaw to feel better. Daddy didn't do too good when they came to steal Grandpaw's blood, so the hospital almost had another patient!

Finally, my people came home and brought my great-grandparents home for a slumber party! We had lots of fun and I even got on Great Grandma's lap and let her pet on me. She bragged on me the next day.

Daddy went to the human V-E-T (not the one at the hospital) because he thought he was sick and the V-E-T said he had "strep" and now he has the cold Mommy had last week. These humans! Grandpaw had a test done Monday that said he didn't have a stroke (yay!) so he got to go home earlier this week and Grandma's making sure he rests. Don't mess with Grandma or she won't give you treats!

In the middle of all that madness, Mom realized she had a big project due for school, so she's been working really hard on that.

Now, here we are! Daddy's still snuffly and Mommy still has a little bit, too, so I'm helping get them better. Sleeping on the couch helps, right?

Anyway, I promise to get my PoochieBells review up. Hopefully tonight, but there's rumblings of a "Valentine's dinner" tonight. I hope it's hamburger. Or chicken. Or icing. Or pretzels. Those are my favorites.

In the mean time, here's what else has been going on:

I won a prize from my pals, Benny and Lily, and that came in the mail. I got two coupons to try Frosty Paws, which I definitely will once it warms up! They also sent a stuffie...

Hi Stuffie!

 ...which I decided was too fuzzy

No Mom, this is mine!

 And I watched the Puppy Bowl. We were rooting for Cash, but super excited for Marta to get MVP.

We accidentally slept through the kitten half-time.

Whew! Told you it's been crazy. How about you, pals? Have you had a hard time keeping your humans healthy?

Snow

Hi friends,

Sorry for the complete silence lately. I warned you that Mommy was starting back with her classes. Tomorrow (Thursday) she has to take a really big test for her to be able to graduate and she's kinda nervous (Please leave her some good wishes). Plus she's getting sick, so I've been nursing her with lots of Mister kisses and letting her rub my belly. Once her test is over, I have some important stuff to catch up on, including a product review for Poochie-Pets! For now, enjoy this adorable picture of yours truly in the snow. It's good stuff.