I'm Obnoxious

Yes, we quote Disney movies quite regularly around here! :)

Showbiz "helping" me take pictures in the yard.

Puppy Love

You would not believe how many times a day I have to tell our dogs to stop licking the baby. Oy...at least the feelings are mutual! :) Nothing makes Delaney laugh like our two dogs and cat.

Showbiz: How She Got Her Namesake

We didn't name our pup after a pizza place, oh no, she was a show off from the start. Just look at her hamming it up with my Grandma Wally who came to visit along with my Aunt Linda few weekends ago. What we call her: Showbiz, Showbuzz, Show, Biz-dog, Biz - and the occasional slip-up of Showla (a mix of Showbiz and Lola when we are tired and can't figure out who to yell at for being ornery. :) )

Pouting Pups & Paparrazi

The dogs' latest favorite spot in the house has been the very top step going up to the second story. They can look down and see what is going on in the living room - which is normally just one of us sitting and typing away on the laptop but still be near enough the upstairs window to peek out and keep an eye on the neighborhood. Such pouty faces - but always the happy wagging tail! :)

Preggo at the Pet Carnival

My husband and I have gone to this Annual IVEC Pet Carnival almost every year since we've been in Indy! It is a great opportunity to take the dogs out where they are welcome in public and to have them experience large crowds and lots of other animals (great training and socialization opportunity).

Not mention there's lots of free goodies and fun vendors to meet and pet products/companies to discover! And there's always a free pet caricaturist, discounted or free micro-chipping, free pet psychic and free hot dogs, lemonade and popcorn for the humans!

This year they added a photographer who was doing 5x7 portraits for $7 - a pretty good deal (if we had any cash at all on us that day - we didn't).

WalkyDog Bike Leash Review

We finally got the chance to install our WalkyDog Bike Leash and snap a few shots of it in use one evening here recently. In between all the storms we've been having and our camera battery dying, I wasn't sure when we'd ever get to use it! But, we've actually been able to test out the WalkyDog a few times since it arrived in the mail last week - and I've got to tell you, I am really impressed!

I was honestly a little worried at first, our Showbiz is a puller. She's knocked me down on many occassions after the random squirrel, bird, goose, rabbit, whatever. She's yanked her leash out of both my brother and my dad's hands - tricky, tricky she is. So the idea of harnessing her to a bicycle and then putting my husband on said bicycle to ride around on very hard pavement with a neighborhood full of very tame bunnies, screaming children and random loose dogs - put me in a bit of a panic.

Surprisingly, my husband couldn't wait to try out the WalkyDog until I got home - so he took the first test drive without me on one of his days off. He loved it and raved about it to me on the phone as I drove home. I still wasn't buying it - just had to see it for myself. So we hooked up the bikes again that evening and went out for a ride. And I was more than pleasantly surprised!

Showbiz really loves the WalkDog! I thought she would be scared or, at very least, timid being attached to a bicycle. But, being with us is her (and any good dog's) most favorite thing ever. Walks are a close second. Adding the bike element to the two is apparently heaven for her. She actually takes off running and wagging with a goofy dog grin! My husband, Matt, has to put on the brakes to slow her down so we can all ride together.

The ultimate test for the WalkyDog was the neighorhood rabbits. We have TONS of them. We are talking about rabbits who sit within two feet of the sidewalk and just keep munching away on clover while you walk by. No crouch-n-hide-motionless techniques for these bad boys - they aren't scared of anything! Dogs? Pshhaw, no!

 Let me introduce you to Exhibit A - or in other words - why I was afraid to try the WalkyDog on our pull-happy pup - bunnies! (This picture is actually from our neighbors backyard!)

Well, our Biz-dog saw one of our cotton-tailed pals, of course, on our bike ride while on the WalkyDog and she TRIED to head full force in it's direction - I flinched as I rode next to my hubby - but the WalkyDog's unique design (how does it do it?!) kept my husband in control and on the bike - not face first on the pavement. Showbiz was a little stunned (just as much as I was!) that she couldn't force her way over to the bunny and drag my hubby along with her. The look on her face was like, "Huh, that didn't work the way I planned!" 

Information from the website explains how it works a little better - "The WalkyDog features a patented internal spring system that acts like suspension when your dog pulls." So, the WalkyDog actually absorbs the pulls! Pretty cool!


I also love how the WalkyDog disassembles, making it easy to store the bikes and easy to take off when you're not going out for a ride with your poochie pal and just as easy to put back on again. The construction is sturdy and the design is excellent! It passed the Showbiz-puller-dog test with flying colors! I never thought it would be such smooth sailing to take her on a bike ride with us. She's the type of dog who has to wear a gentle lead color to stop pulling - and this stands up to the test! I realize I am getting a little on the raving side here - but it rocked our socks off! You can't say that about many products these days.


And to top it all off - the WalkyDog is on sale right now from The Dog Outdoors!

Become a Fan of The Dog Outdoors on Facebook
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Or shop for the WalkyDog, and other fabulous dog accessories, from TheDogOutdoors.com!
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This post was written as a review of my experience with the WalkyDog Bike Leash. The Dog Outdoors kindly provided a WalkyDog leash for my personal use. No other monies were exchanged and no review or editing of this post were done by The Dog Outdoors. I always give my readers my honest opinion in any review post.

Upcoming Review: WalkyDog Bike Leash!

Just wanted to let all my amazing readers know about the great review I will have coming up! I am sure you all remember our recent garage sale find? The cutesy, matching bicycles of fabulousness! Well, one thing about bike riding is that we have to leave our poor pooches all cooped up in the house while we go out and have fun. This always makes me feel so terrible - because they see us lace up our shoes and immediately both start hopping around and getting excited thinking we are going on a W-A-L-K. (We don't say that word in this house - unless you want some antsy dogs)

Well, the wonderful people over at The Dog Outdoors are coming to the rescue and are hooking us up with their WalkyDog® dog bike leash! Now, don't fret everyone, my daring husband will be the true tester-outer here - not 24 week pregnant me over here - so calm down!

And yes, we do have TWO dogs - but I cannot imagine that my pampered Lola-love is going to get a kick out of the WalkyDog®. Being the chihuahua she is, she would much rather ride along in a basket I am sure. And the website says the WalkyDog isn't recommended for dogs under 20 lbs. She might be right on the edge of the weight limit being on the more hefty end as far as chihuahuas go.

But our medium sized pup, Showbiz, is going to love it I think! She's loves going on walks and being wherever we are - so having the capability to take her with us on our bike rides would be awesome!

Here's a little blurb from The Dog Outdoors website:

"Pull Absorbing - Easy to Use - Fun!" The WalkyDog® dog bike leash lets you safely take your dog with you on bike rides. Now you can bring your best buddy along for a bike ride and maintain control. A bicycle dog leash is a great way to exercise your dog and release energy - especially for active dogs. The WalkyDog features a patented internal spring system that acts like suspension when your dog pulls - biking your dog has never been easier. It puts you in control - not your dog. 

Check back in soon for the full review!

Lazy Days

With the crummy, cool temps and drizzly rain we've been having AND with my recent round of growing-a-baby tiredness - there's been a whole lot of this going on in our house...

Dogsitting for Duke

Our good friends added a new family member a few weeks ago - a great dog named Duke! They picked him up from a local humane society and he is just such a doll! So well behaved, mild mannered and potty trained!

We had the pleasure of dogsitting Duke while his parents are away for the weekend. He gets along great with our dog Showbiz - in fact they look a lot alike! They had quite the romping session in our backyard!

Ours has the pink heart collar and Duke has the blue harness. Don't they look like they're having a great time? :) They were so worn out afterwards!

Ay Chihuahua!

Been seeing some really cute photography work out there involving my favorite kind of dog - chihuahuas!!

These little dogs steal your heart -- so much personality packed into a tiny little body!

 

First there's the post I read on Layers of Meaning about someone who started a daily project taking pictures of her handsome chi.

And earlier I had stumbled across this etsy find in my Google Reader - and my good friend from hooray reminded me about it as well - thanks Alli!

A Walk In the Park

Taking our dogs for a good long walk through the park is one of our favorite pastimes. It gets us out of the house and always leaves us with such great memories! Fall is a fun time to bring our pups on these adventures as there's plenty of leaves to sniff through and roll in.



Not to mention plenty of people to watch and to perchance bark at! :)



And lots of photo ops for me! It's Fall in Indiana!

SPF Chihuahua

Tried out my new swim suit for our upcoming cruise and tried to catch some rays last weekend, but the chihuahua would have none of it! She's isn't a good outside dog - she always wants to be right on your lap if you're outside even if it is super hot out. Silly pup!

Lola Looking Back

My Loves

Matthew and Lola - two of my loves! :)

Paw Prints on My Heart

Lola has this cute thing where she sticks out her tongue just so and then looks at you with absolute adoration. See it?

Oh yeah and she has a little buzz cut if you can't tell. Have to get her in the groomer so they can undo the damage we did - so she may be sporting an even shorter look here soon!

A Little Lola In My Life

This little chihuahua is the best pup ever!

Cat

Need I say more?

I had thrown a roll of paper towel down the stairs for my husband to put in the kitchen but apparently Little Kitty got to it first. I ended up grabbing another roll and using it instead since we were having people over. But now we are down to our last roll - so shredded sheets it is! I am not sure how she managed to do it in such a small amount of time - we are talking 2 minutes people. And the damage goes down almost to the middle of the roll!

Squinty McSquintytins

Now I know these aren't the most flattering images of my precious pup - but my Lola has an eye problem! :(

I am crossing my fingers that is just allergies or a minor irritation. She's been squinting and pawing at her eye and it has just developed in the last 24 hours. And it's watering a lot.

We did go for two long walks in the last couple of warm weather days - so hopefully I can chaulk it up to something like allergies. I don't think there is anything in it because she lets me poke around at it and she never uttered a peep - and she is my baby-dog so if it did hurt she would let me know - believe me. I can hardly pull burrs out of her fur without her yelping like I am poking her with a red hot iron or something. Silly dog.

When she woke up this morning it seemed to be a lot better - no more pawing and just the hint of a squint and a lot less watering.

But if it isn't better by tonight - she's going in for a looksy at the vet.



My poor squinty pup!

Winter Walk

Finally made it out of doors for the first time in what seems like forever with the frigid winter air we've been having here in Central Indiana. Sunday rolled around sunny and bright, the snow was melting and the cabin fever was running high. So, I roped up the pups, grabbed some poo bags and my camera and marched out into open air.



Walked the dogs on one of their favorite routes - out in front of our community we have a little "nature preserve". I would have never guessed that the line of brush leading to one of the man-made ponds we have was, in all actuality, a nature preserve if it wasn't for the signs posted every 20 ft. Perhaps my neighbor shouldn't have announced at our last HOA meeting that he eagerly shoots any muskrat he sees - seems like that would be against any sort of "nature preserve" code. Though they do reside mainly in our man-made ponds and not out in the brush.



I do know that bunnies abound in this area which equals out to LOTS of fun sniff time for the pup dogs. They might even catch a glimpse of one if they're quick enough - that is rare though because we sound like a herd of elephants coming through the weeds. Two tethered dogs, constantly getting tangled in each others leashes and a human stumbling and mumbling along behind the bounding mutts doesn't exactly spell out stealthy.


(Was that a bunny?!)

Pretty sure we found some deer poo - not certain that was it though - but was definitely too big for bunny poo. There was also clump of grey/brown hair nearby - maybe coyote? Anyhoo it was fab fun for the dogs - and good exercise for me.



Even got to snap lots of pretty pics of weeds in the snow - I'm sure the neighbors get a kick of out me. LOL. I'll spare you all the pics and just show you this one - though if you want to see more they are all on Facebook. :)

A Bed for Biz

Showbiz, though a tad bit bigger than Lola our Chihuahua, is just as much of a snuggle bug. Turn your back for one second and she's trying to curl up on the bed or ottoman. If there's a blanket or pillow on the floor - she's on it or under it. If our space heater is on - she will park herself 1 inch away from the blast of heat.

With the holidays over and my Christmas crafts put to rest my sewing machine and knitting needles are going cold. Sometimes you just get the urge to craft and Friday night was one of those nights, so I whipped up a snuggly-soft dog bed for her using my sewing machine, a fleece remnant and stuffing from an old body pillow we've had forever. And wallah! Pillow of perfect - it has all the smells of an old pillow (she prefers OUR pillows over anything we buy her) but is actually for her. Tricky tricky. As you can see she's taken right to it! :)