I've entered the Second Annual Pet Blog Challenge!

And my homework for the blog entry was to answer 8 questions, of which I've done below:

1. When did you begin your blog?

I started the blog in November of 2009, when I brought my pup Riley home – I’d spent weeks visiting him and his siblings and was very excited for him to come home.

2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog?

I started the blog as kindof a goof – but then I started getting fans, and our adventures with a new puppy, training and how the puppy was faring with 2 angry cats were kindof hilarious and working on the blog was fun. . .

3. Is your current purpose the same?

No, and I need to get back to the blog. In 2010, we brought home Riley’s half sister and our adventures continued – taking the pups camping, dealing with both pups having giardia from a stupid birdbath that was in the back yard that they were drinking from. Upcoming in 2012, we have new challenges and adventures to write about. Riley was diagnosed with a heart murmur, so we’ll see where that takes us, and Keira, Riley’s half-sister is going to be bred (not to Riley), so I’ll also have puppy pandemonium to chronicle.

If not, what’s different? – stated above.

If so, how do you feel you’ve met your goals? – I never really had a goal, other than keeping friends and family entertained with our puppy tales, blogging was the most convenient way to keep everyone in the loop on our adventures. So, I guess I could say that my goals were accomplished.

4. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you? – I totally blog as the spirit moves me. With 2 pups, 2 cats and a full camping schedule, I haven’t blogged as often as often as I’d like. This Challenge reminded me of how much I enjoyed the blogging and has renewed my intent to continue our family chronicles.

If the former, how often — and what techniques do you use to stick to it? – Nope.

If the latter, do you worry about… well, whatever you might worry about (e.g. losing traffic, losing momentum)? I don’t worry about it the blog but I do need to regain momentum in the updates – like I said, we’ve got a lot of material coming up in 2012 and I’ll be definitely keeping busy!

5. Are you generating income from your blog? – No, that was never my intent.

If so, how (e.g. sponsor ads, affiliate relationships, spokesperson opportunities)?

If not currently, do you hope to in the future — and how? – Nope, it’s all about the fun for me.

6. What do you like most about blogging in general and your blog in particular (bragging is good!)? – I like the fans! I’ve been told that I’m somewhat amusing in my blog(s) and really, really enjoy the comments/reactions I get to my posts.

7. What do you like least? – The guilt. My husband reminds me often when I’ve been slacking on updating the blog!

8. How do you see your blog changing/growing in 2012? 2012 is going to be an exciting year for my pups and I hope to chronicle it all!

Time to Re-enter the Blog Zone

Riley & Keira have been incredibly busy this year!  I need to make time to catch everyone up to their adventures. . . .

New Year's resolution - enter a pet blog challenge?  We're going to have plenty to write about in 2012 with camping adventures!  And Keira will have puppies in her future. . .


;

Camping Season is off to a great start!

We're halfway through a short camping season here in New England, and Mom & Dad are totally committed to hitting the road every chance they can.  Mom is adamant that we only go to campgrounds that allow us pups and we've had some very interesting adventures so far this season. . .

Keira and I have very few rules, but we are serious about ropes and picnic tables.  That being that we can wrap ourselves around a picnic table in the most creative ways possible and find that we are unable to move.  It's a plus if we can catch some unwitting person sitting at said picnic table and wrap them up as well!

Jeff and some of his friends came camping with us once.  Mom broke out the inflatable mattress as the dinette and couch bed were full.  Keira has decided that anyone who sleeps on the floor is fair game to share. . .

Keira and I had a new adventure, this year.  We went on a Ferry to Block Island!  Mom was seriously concerned about it as we both refuse to do stairs in any form and she had visions of us both balking at the stairways to get to the decks of the ferry and causing a backup of people trying to get on the boat.  She was completely astonished when both Keira and I dragged them UP the stairs and then back down!  Here we are on the top deck. .

Now, when Mom and Dad take us to camping destinations, they make sure to take us on as many places as they can.  Block Island was a great trip (once Mom relaxed about the boat ride) and Mom and Dad had interesting experiences. .

Mom would want to go into stores and Dad would be holding us dawgs - Mom would be both exasperated and amused when she'd come out and find Dad surrounded by women of all ages, yeah we can be quite the chick magnets!!

Dad would go into stores and Mom would stay outside with us?  She'd end up with weird old guys or gay guys - she was fine with the gays (they are good people, she says) but she could've lived without the weird old guys. . .

And guess what?  While we were at Block Island, we ran into ANOTHER British Cream Golden from Ohio - go figure!!



Left to Right - Ohio dude, me in the center, Keira on the right.

July 4th weekend, we went up to Wells, ME.  Whenever we go to a new area, Mom researches pet-friendly locations by using a really good website GoPetFriendly.com .  She found what looked to be a really nice walking path along York Harbor, so we went to check it out.  We had trouble finding the beginning of the trail (it had GPS coordinates, we didn't have the GPS with us) but we eventually found it as it crosses several roads.  Dad pulled into a permit parking only area on the side of the road so we could go down to see the sign that had all the posted rules.  Yup, it looked like dogs were allowed but while we were there, we ran into a lady and her 2 kids (who just lost their chocolate lab recently) who knew the trail in its entirety.  While her daughters hugged and kissed me and Keira, she clued us in on the trail - it weaved in and out of pet friendly, it was all good intel as far as Mom was concerned.  We walked a little ways down the trail to check it out so we could come back, here's what it looked like. .



 As we were leaving the path, we ran into a York, ME bicycle cop and we greeted him cordially.  Turns out parking, however temporarily, in a Permit only zone is a $50 fine if paid within 7 days, otherwise it doubles to $100.  Mom's probably NEVER, EVER going to return to York, ME again!



Mom and Dale (Mom of yellow lab Murphy and black lab Liam) also had the Kennebunk Dog Park as a destination to visit over the weekend and we all went.  It was probably the most stellar dog park Mom and Dale have ever seen - it was at the entrance of the Kennebunk dump but clearly the people who designed/built it knew and loved their dogs!  It was huge, had a nice run area for tossing tennis balls, a wading pool, a working hose and water bowls EVERYWHERE!  There was also a nicely wooded area. . .  Here we are, having fun in that Dog Park and we recommend it to everyone!

Keira doging a beagle. . .

Me and Keira hanging under a bench at the Kennebunk Dog Park!



I'll keep you posted, we're having a great season, us campin' dawgs! 

~ CHOW, BABY ~

So I showed Keira the ropes for going camping. . .

Now that Spring is pretty much here, Keira and I have seen the 3+ feet of snow in the backyard dissipate and while we are enjoying rolling around in the mud, Keira's having some adjustment issues because she can't pee or poop unless it's on a snowbank.  Mom finds this both entertaining and exasperating as snowbanks are kinda hard to find around here right now. . .

So, we took the camper out for a shakedown run.  Those of you that followed me in the early days may recall that last year at this time, Mom and Dad went to Normandy Farms Campground to (1) evict the mice from the motorhome, and (2) see how the puppy travels in the motorhome before hitting the road for a 17 hour trip south to Myrtle Beach.  I did fine with the motorhome until we got to the campground and almost face-planted Mom in the gravel when we got there but I'm a cool campin' dog now and a seasoned veteran.

Not so much little Keira, however. . .  I tried to show her it was OK but she cried and cried. . .

Mom says we lucked out - although Keira cries, she doesn't upchuck or otherwise release anything nasty in the camper and she didn't try to take Mom on a face-plant flight, which was good.  Keira pretty much looked to me to see what to do and she did well with going in and out of the camper and stuck to me like glue.

Mom was VERY pleasantly surprised - she brought corrals but not the crate, worrying that Keira would have the awful housebreaking issues that she has at home and maybe it's because we were camping and spent a majority of our time outdoors (either at the bark park or around the campfire), there were no accidents in the camper!  Unfortunately, the heater, which is right where the dog dishes are, must've kicked in when Keira was eating and she was afraid to eat so we had to move the dishes to another spot for her.  Mom's confident she'll do fine once she gets used to the noises that the camper makes. . .

Normandy Farms has the BEST bark park ever!  Keira and I, Murphy, Liam and Cinder DOMINATED that bark park and spent a lot of time there . . .

We met a chocolate lab from Georgia, BJ, he was cool.

This is me (Riley) - I get the tennis ball and lie on it!

This is Keira (she hid from the bigs dogs a lot)...

And here's Mom's favorite part of camping with Keira and I. . .

Next trip - Myrtle Beach!  Better go pack my sunscreen. . .

~ CHOW BABY ~



Oh, man, I've got a SISTER?

I wondered why Mom and Dad were gone and coming back smelling like strange dogs, then got suspicious when Mom set up my old nursery.  Well, here's why - Keira, my half-sister, daughter of my Dad Logan and Lady G of Maine. 

Sure, she's cute.  But tell you what - she's really a punk.  She jumps on my head when I'm sleeping, barks at me all the time and eats my food. 

I like it better when Mom puts her "away". . ..

Keira's been here about a month and what a month it's been!  I'm pretty sure it's a month Mom will NEVER forget - it was the timeframe she likes to call the ERA OF THE PARASITE. . .  (insert dramatic drumroll here. . . .)

Friends of mine on facebook may recall that I used to like to drink from the birdbath in the back yard?  Well, I exhibited absolutely no symptoms of anything other than some seriously soft stool and Mom decided to get me checked out.  Guess what, my friends, squirrels poop in and around birdbaths and they can spread something called Giardia, which of course I tested positive for.  Now, Giardia is a very persistent and nasty little gut bug that makes dogs poop soft serve ice cream, which is a real treat for Mom (who is a responsible pet owner that picks up after her critters)!   Mom would double-bag when we went for walks and even Heather, who is a very tolerant friend, would wrinkle her nose when it came to cleaning up after me!!

Then along came Keira.  Rhea advised Mom that Keira had been tested for various parasites as a matter of course (all results are negative) and while she had some stool softness, it should clear up pretty quick as she was being treated with Panacur and some chicken and rice added to her diet should take care of that. 

So - Mom's got two dogs, both pooping a smelly, nightmare-like version of soft serve ice cream and a countertop of powers, pills and liquid syringes.  Don't know about Keira, but I can eat the cheese off of a pill and spit it right back out, which makes giving me meds a wee bit of a challenge!  And, due to the contagious nature of Giardia (which can be transmitted if a dog steps in Giardia infected poop and then licks their paws - or in the case of Keira, who early on was exhibiting an interest in CONSUMING poop), Mom was a ninja in the back yard with a toy shovel from the Christmas Tree Shop and it was oftentimes frightening how quickly she'd swoop in and remove our droppings!

The above picture is us in the back yard, which is fenced in, and a largely poop-free zone.  Just have to be careful where you toss the shovel full - there's a couple of trees back there that try to throw it back!

The good news - Mom got us both tested, we're both now Giardia negative.  We've also been systematically decimating Mom's forsythia bushes in the back yard and are clearly getting enough fiber!   I bust off the big branches and Keira's taking care of the small stuff. 

I think we're past the rough stuff now.  Keira and I are having a blast with all the snow - Mom can't get us back into the house half the time and while I sink in the 3' of snow in the back yard, Keira just walks across the top! 

Ok, not all is perfect - we fight over every single toy!  Mom says the living room floor hasn't been this cluttered since Steph and Jeff were toddlers . . .

Stay tuned - and ~ CHOW, BABY ~

Uh, Oh, wonder what this means. . . .

Sorry, fans - I have been sooo incredibly busy.  Camping season zipped by and me and my buddies swam in oceans, lakes and rivers, dug in mud and sand and the coolest thing are fire pits!  I especially like to dig and roll around in them. . .

I'll have to post pictures later of all our adventures.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season!

Now. . .  On to the reason for my revisiting the blog and adding a long overdue update.  Something's happening - Mom & Steph are all excited, Dad keeps telling me "life as you know it is over, poor buddy".  Me and the cats have noticed the changes - the breakfast nook is no longer a breakfast nook.  It's set up just like . . .  uh, oh. . . just like when I came to Grafton. . .

What does this mean, I wonder?  Lucy the angry cat thinks I'm about to be punished and crated for swiping all her cat toys and chewing them into oblivion.  Max the warrior cat is excited at the prospect that I may be locked up from now on so I can't chase him around the house and chew on him anymore.

Quite frankly, I'm worried.  This can't be good. 

Stay tuned, my friends - I'm sure we haven't reached the end of this story quite yet. . .

~ CHOW, BABY ~

CAMPING, RILEY STYLE. . . .

So, I'm starting to get the hang of this campin' thing.  I like it!  If you are new to camping like I was, here's some words to live by.  It's Camping, Riley Style!!

Rules for optimum fun. . .

#1  - Take over the bark park, you and your homies must stay there and scare away all the competition.  Once thing I've noticed is that most people that camp with dogs have those yippy little things - REAL campers have us big dawgs.

#2 Best place to hang out at your site - directly under the stairs.  If you are lucky, you can trip Mom coming out of the camper with a plate full of raw meat for the grill - SCORE!!

#3 If you must have a small dog camping with you, make sure it's a really cool dog like my cousin Chloe - she can kick my butt most times.  Don't let her size fool you, not for a minute. . .

#4 Stake your claim.  There are spots in the camper that you must own.  Make them your own - who knows, maybe Dad will let you drive?

Ok, if Dad won't let you drive - at least pick out your barking spots.  These would be the places to bark out of that gives you the maximum amount of noise to leave the camper.  Here's a couple of my favorites. .

Make sure you have a spot on each side of the camper - then you can bark at people as they are walking towards your rig and then again when they are walking away from your rig. . .  You want to make sure they know you are there!

Since Myrtle Beach, Mom and Dad have made it a point to introduce me to various bodies of water and as you can see by the expression on my face, I'm not too interested in the ocean.

And go figure - here I am, sitting in the water.  Notice by the expression on my face that I'm not interested in swimming. . .  Mom - I'm sitting, not swimming.  There's a BIG difference.

And unbeknownst to me, one step forward is a dropoff in the water - aswimming, I go!!

Stay tuned - I'll be coming up with lots more camping rules for all you newbies.  Until then -

CHOW, BABY!

Just another friendly public service announcement. . .

Hi, Friends of Riley - this particular note is from Aud (AKA Riley's Mom).  As you may recall, I posted a public service announcement long ago about the dangers of Mexican blankets and 3 year old cats that eat them and land themselves in Tufts University Animal Hospital to the tune of thousands of dollars.

What prompts me to write this public service announcement isn't as dire as the warning about cats and Mexican blankets but I can personally attest to it being equally as IMPORTANT!

As you saw by Riley's previous entry, he's taken a shine to shredding my wall to wall carpet (which encompasses a hallway and three bedrooms) and whilst I agree the carpeting must go, I know the hardwood floor underneath it is junk and I'm not particularly inclined to replace the carpeting quite yet.  So, I went to Petsmart and perused the training aisle while Riley was getting his nails done to find a spray that might discourage Riley from pulling up the carpet. . .

So I ended up with a product called "Bitter Yuck", it's a water based no chew spray (I liked that thinking it wouldn't stain anything I sprayed it on) and it's good to use on the pet (for hot spots and such), furniture, wood - just about anything.  For those unfamiliar with it, the website is Bitter Yuck .

So today I used about a quarter of the spray bottle - did the trim/perimeter of the hallway and the exposed edges of the carpet in Jeff's room.  Also sprayed the kitchen sink throw rug that I'm going to throw away but wanted to keep it in place (before I replace it) to see if this stuff works.

Now, the bottle doesn't say to wear gloves when spraying.  IT SHOULD.  You know when you are using a push spray trigger that you usually end up with some liquid on your trigger finger?  Well, I washed my hands several times after spraying (with antibacterial soap, no less!) and while I was rolling the enchiladas I was making for dinner, I learned that BITTER YUCK doesn't wash off!  I got some cheese sauce on my finger, I licked it off - OH MY GOODNESS, the back of my throat and my sinuses were instantly filled with a horrific bitter taste. . .  So I'm thinking I must not have washed that fingertip quite so well and scrubbed it, thought I was OK until I went and ended up licking that finger again!  Aaaack! 

So I smartened up.  I stopped licking that finger and that's when I was unpleasantly reminded that I had used my OTHER hand to spray when my spray finger got tired from pumping - whoa, can't lick those fingers either! 

Riley has sniffed the areas I sprayed but hasn't really tried to gnaw on anything, I'm pretty sure he won't.  And you know what?  I'm not likely to chew on the carpeting any time soon either!

Anybody have some grain alcohol that I can gargle with?  Oh, the taste of this stuff is horrible! 

Hopefully this PSA will prevent anyone else from wanting to gargle with grain alcohol - wear gloves!!  And, if I end up growing a third eye or some other strange appendage from my exposure to this stuff, I'll be sure to post that too.  Although, as a parent, a third eye in the back of the head would be a welcome accessory. . .

I'm done now, I'll turn the blog back to Riley and more fun entries!  :)

Home Improvement, Anyone?

Now that I'm weighing in at 70+ lbs., it's time for me to start helping out around the house.  Dad was laid off for about 3 months and spent that time busily attending to what Mom called the "honey-do" list - re-tiling the bathroom floor, painting projects and various carpentry projects.  Since he and I were home 24-7, I spent a lot of time watching and learning and now that he's back to work, I decided to work on my own "puppy-do" list. . .

I started with the carpeting in the hallway and have focused much of my efforts on Jeff's room.  It's a tough job, but I am persisting in my attempts to remove the 20+ year old carpet. . .  Mom doesn't really care about the carpet as it's junk but she wants it left because she says the floors underneath are far worse. . .

Mom's very happy that duct tape comes in a variety of colors as she's been using it to repair my handiwork in the corners of each doorway!  (Like I said, I'm persistent. . .)  I think I heard her say once that if it wasn't for duct tape, I'd be a lovely throw rug in front of the fireplace!!

I took a break from working on the carpeting as I noticed that the trim in the hallway needed repainting.  Since I don't have thumbs, using a claw hammer to remove it was pretty much out of the question but I didn't let that STOP me. . .

So Dad took down the 12 year old pool out of the back yard to give me more room to romp (and nobody was using the pool anyways) and aside from the FUN of having a sandy area to DIG in (I'm transported back to Myrtle Beach every time I see that sand - ahhhh. . .), Dad's expanding the deck and will be building a patio area where the pool used to be.  And I'm being quite helpful - see all those new footings?  Yup, I dug 'em!

I gotta run - I have a LOT of work here to do!

Stay tuned - I'm in round two of puppy obedience class, there's sure to be more tales to get from that!  So far only the long haired German Shepherd is looking to get a chomp outta me and I'm keeping an eye on that Aussie mix, he's kindof a spaz. . .

CHOW, BABY!

Went South for Vacation, Hit the Beach to Work on my Tan. . .

Been a while since I updated the blog - just got back from a 10 day excursion south - to Myrtle Beach (Mom calls it the happiest place on earth - especially after she's had a couple of jello shots!). .  We jumped in the motorhome and began our 17 hour trek south, it was the longest car ride I had ever been on.  I did pretty good considering I wouldn't sleep the entire time and when I wasn't trying to sit on Mom's lap, I was trying to get under Dad's feet!  So I consoled myself by gnawing a hole in the carpet when Mom and Dad weren't looking, figured I could always get myself an escape hatch going!  We broke the trip down and back by travelling over the course of two days and let me tell you - Mom HATES Connecticut, she wishes and earthquake would just come and suck it deep into the bowels of the earth.  Construction sites with no workers - just barrels and random lane closures, what is WRONG with that state?  But that's her beef, not mine. . .   Oh, and speaking of beef?  When I went on my little hunger strike, Mom attempted to make my food more attractive by putting some watered down beef broth in it - it worked for her and against her. . .  I ate my food but the diahrea just wasn't worth it!  Whoops, sorry Mom. . .

Here I am in the motorhome. . .

Me and my homies - Chloe, Levi, Rusty & Benji had a pretty great time together - Heather and Aud combined their corrals and made a fenced in area inside Heather's tiki hut.  We didn't spend a lot of time there because we were usually riding around in golf carts and going to the beach but it was a great place for me and Levi to dig, dig, dig and nap, nap, nap!

One thing I did for sport all week was to dig out from under Dad's chaise lounge when he was snoozing.  What a hoot it'll be when he tips over!

Then there were the golf car races - what fun!  I would sit between Mom and Dad and if Dad wasn't going fast enough, I'd sit on his foot on the gas pedal.  Mom thought that was a riot but Dad found braking difficult under those circumstances!  It was OK - our golf cart wasn't the fastest one in the bunch, so no harm no foul.

My absolute favorite part of the week was the BEACH!  Great sand to dig in and I was quite the handsome fella and got lots of attention from people.  Every other person on the beach had a dog, they were all over the place!

Playtime on the beach was awesome, too.  Me and Levi would roll around in the sand until we were both completely covered.  Levi went into the water but Rusty and I weren't too sure about the foamy stuff crashing up on the beach. .

One warning - to those of you who haven't been to the beach?  It's fun to chase birds and dodge the tide coming in but DON'T drink the water!  Had myself a little pukefest after drinking some salt water and even though I didn't drink much, Mom made sure to keep me from drinking the water the rest of the week!

I'm likin' this thing they call VACATION - when are we doin' it again?  I'll keep ya posted - until then, CHOW, BABY!!

Spring has Sprung and it's now time to commence DIGGING!

Wow, what's not to love about New England? It's Spring and the month of March was, according to Mom, RIDICULOUS with the rain! I don't get it, what's the problem? Is there such a thing as being too well trained? Just because the back yard was a swamp, and Mom didn't want to go back there because, well, I'm all WHITE and I just suck up the mud by osmosis and also because when she walked back there with me, depending on what shoes she wore, she'd come close to losing them in the quicksand mud we had back there. WHY did she have to keep going back there with me? Because, and most of you guys will understand this, the back yard is where I poop. I don't go in the front yard, I go in the back yard. I don't care if the back yard doesn't drain well, that's where I'm going. Period. And I can be pretty darn stubborn. . .

Good news - the back yard dried up some, maybe because the water was rushing into the basement and Dad was out on fire calls pumping out everyone else's basement?! The consistency of the back yard was just FINE for digging. . . You all remember my butt pic that was featured on the Fans of Key West page on Facebook? See any resemblance here with my then and now picture?

Yeah, Key West - I'm still working on it - it's much easier now that I'm 6 months old rather than 3 months old and trying to dig through frozen turf. . . And before you ask - yup, that's the same hole I'm working on.

Just in case you are curious - I've got three excavation projects, I could end up in Key West, the molten center of the earth (in which case, the lava spew will pretty much cover up any tundra damage I'm doing in Grafton) or, as the old wive's tale is - end up in China! Chow Mein, anyone?

Mom's usually out with me and discourages me at every turn whenever I start workin' on one of my projects as she's kindof concerned about either turning an ankle in one of these pits or me hitting a hidden spring somewhere and turning the basement into an indoor pool! I put on my cuteness when she tries to stop me from digging. . . Can you believe it? It's not working as well as it used to! Curses, it's tough to get old (at least that's what Mom and Dad say all the time)!

Oh - and you know what? When I finally get to Key West/China/Molten Center of Earth - I'm taking my squeaky tennis ball toy thingy with me! Yeah. . . (Mom's OK with the squeaky tennis ball thingy getting scorched by the molten center of the Earth - then she doesn't have to worry about me sneaking it into the house!)

Oh, I have more tales to tell ~ so stay tuned and ~ CHOW, BABY!

Camping Season has started!

So, Aud and Bob kicked off camping season - we went to Normandy Farms in Foxboro to take the puppy (ME) and the motorhome on a shakedown run to ensure no mechanical (or puppy) malfunctions for our 17 hour run down to Myrtle Beach. Will Riley get carsick? How will he handle the motorhome? Only time will tell. . . So, we hit the road. I tried to help Bob out by trying to crawl under his feet to help him out with the gas and brake pedals but got turned away at every attempt. Go figure. . . But as you can see by this picture, I appear to be OK with riding in the motorhome. When I wasn't trying to snuggle up with Dad, Mom was Ok with snuggling up with me. . . It was a short ride, less than an hour and after my initial trepidation, I settled right down and claimed my spot in between the front seats of the rig. Mom's thinking this was pretty easy and things are looking good for our travel plans this summer! Guess what, Mom? I appear to be pretty mellow but don't let that fool you! As we arrived at the campground, I appeared to be pretty calm. Mom leashed me up and I was sitting quite nicely when she opened the door to the motorhome and didn't I take off like a shot? Mom got taken by surprise and since she had the leash firmly wrapped around her wrist, I took her airborne from the motorhome, neither of us ever hit the steps. Mom managed to land on her feet (although she describes the feeling that she was going to get a gravel facial) and I proceeded to drag her a couple more feet before I stopped. And stood there shaking like a leaf. I have peed next to this rig my entire life but suddenly it was a frightening entity and I'm not taking this well. This was a weekend of LOTS of new experiences for me. I did fairly well with the minor exceptions of almost faceplanting Mom in the gravel and there was the unfortunate incident where I pooped on my dish. But then my homies arrived. First, Liam (black lab) and his little brother Murphy (yellow lab puppy) arrived. Normandy Farms has the most amazing bark park and we had ourselves a wild rumpus every chance we could!

I really, really liked the bark park - Mom spent her time with me at the bark park and walking the frisbee golf course rather than the hot tubs - although she and Dale (Liam and Murphy's Mom) discussed how they could sneak us dawgs into the hot tub for a quick bath!

Here I am, wearing my peace sign kerchief (that everybody kept making fun of) - I can run and run and run pretty much forever! And you know what? The best spots to stop and roll around in is under the benches where the mulch bark isn't and the mud is nice and slimy! Me and Murphy spent a fair amount of time rolling around under there. . .

By the time everybody arrived at the campground (we were also celebrating Liam and Murphy's Dad's 50th birthday with a surprise party) - we owned that bark park! Mom wishes we could've gotten a picture of the "Smores Dawgs" walking down the street with all our peoples and the crossing of leashes and random poops and pees and needs to sniff that interesting WHATEVER! Cars and any other traffic got out of our way and we set off every dog we went by. . . LOL

Smores Dawg count - Riley (white golden retriever), Liam (black labrador retriever), Murphy (yellow labrador retriever), Hunter (golden retriever), Levi (black labrador retriever), Rusty (golden retriever), Chloe (cocker spaniel that can kick big dawgs butts!).

Watch out campin' world! I'm gonna get the hang of getting in and out of the camper and, with luck, will master being able to walk with the Smores pack of dogs without either clotheslining a kid with my leash, tripping an adult or creating chaos by crossing several leashes (especially with the folks that are working so hard to keep their two pups from crossing the beams)!

GREAT news since we got back? My half-brother Windsor has been united with Christy and she's got some awesome tales to tell as well!

I mellowed out during our camping trip enough that Mom and Dad didn't need to break out the crate, or even the corral. Mom and Dad were OK with the random checks I did on them (OK, panting in their faces was kindof a wakeup call). The end result is that Mom got her breakfast nook back since they broke down the "nursery" and I now have the run of the house. If you end up being a guest here, I don't recommend leaving socks or shoes on the floor. . .

Next trip - Myrtle Beach! We'll keep you posted and ~ CHOW, BABY ~