On the 8th day of Christmas my true dog gave to me…
eight paws-a-prancing,
seven melting snowmen,
six trees-a-decorated,
five tasty treats!
four reindeer antlers,
three outside cats,
two tired dogs,
and a climbing cat in a pear(less) tree!
Tag Archives: pitbulls
7th Day of Christmas 2019
On the 7th day of Christmas my true dog gave to me…
seven melting snowmen,
six trees-a-decorated,
five tasty treats!
four reindeer antler,
three outside cats,
two tired dogs,
and a climbing cat in a pear(less) tree!
Day 6 of 13 Days of Halloween 2019
Halloween is only one week away. Did you hear that? One week away! And so, to make sure weâre all prepared for the big day, we thought we would do some trick-or-treating prep today with Simon and Rosee.
Their skills needed to be sharp. I mean, were they really ready? How was their sniffing ability (because they sniff out the treats of course)? Were their eyes on the prizes (or treats in this case)? Were they committed enough? In it to win it?
Their costumes needed to be on point. Were they easy to move in? Did they impede their vision and sniffing ability? Durable enough to withstand their movements? Were they cute enough to get all the treats?
These were all important points to consider, and so we decided to do a trick-or-treating test run in the backyard in order to prepare for the big day.
We laid down some tricks (obstacles), so Simon and Rosee would really have to work for their treats.
But in the end both pups proved their Halloween skills, and quickly found each and every treat hiding in the grass.
Halloween night better watch out because Simon and Rosee are ready and their mighty hungry for treats!
Day 4 of 13 Days of Halloween 2019
Iâm sure itâs no secret or surprise by now that we love taking pictures of our pets. I mean, really, with adorable faces, penetrating eyes, and silly antics, how am I supposed to resist capturing the moment?
It is fun to create specific moments with our pets. I mean, just check out this picture from Easter earlier this year:
However, sometimes the more candid photos are the most memorable. Today I thought I would share some things that Iâve learned in the pursuit of capturing my petsâ cutest moments, especially for the Fall season.
- Embrace the spontaneous
- First and foremost, embrace the spontaneous, unplanned, and impromptu moments. The unexpected happens when itâs least expected. Therefore, the cutest and most picturesque moments of our pets will most likely happen at any given time. Maybe itâll be a shot of Socks helping to decorate the front yard, Simon trying to sneak a piece of candy out of the candy bowl (which was unsuccessful, by the way)- check out last years 13 days of Halloween, or Rosee playing in a pile of leaves while visiting the park down the street during one of our daily walks. Any moment can be capture-worthy. So even if youâre trying to stage the perfect photo shoot, when it comes to photographing our pets, sometimes following their lead and direction is really the best course of action.
- Use natural surroundings
- One of the great things about the Halloween and Fall season is the beautiful natural surroundings that can provide the perfect backdrop to any photo. Of course, the other seasons can do the same, but thereâs something about the Fall that I personally favor. Maybe itâs the changing colors of the leaves, the copious amounts of pumpkins (at least at our house there is), or the giant leaf piles that are just to inviting to ignoreâĤthereâs always a good background perfect for any photo. Take advantage of the season and go outside and exploreâĤbefore you know it you may have the cutest photo of you and your pet.
Repeat of our banner photo, but these are two of my all time favotires.
- One of the great things about the Halloween and Fall season is the beautiful natural surroundings that can provide the perfect backdrop to any photo. Of course, the other seasons can do the same, but thereâs something about the Fall that I personally favor. Maybe itâs the changing colors of the leaves, the copious amounts of pumpkins (at least at our house there is), or the giant leaf piles that are just to inviting to ignoreâĤthereâs always a good background perfect for any photo. Take advantage of the season and go outside and exploreâĤbefore you know it you may have the cutest photo of you and your pet.
- Always have phone/camera at the ready
- Naturally, coming off of the first two points, it is always important to have a camera ready, even if itâs the camera on your phone. Although, letâs face it, most cameras on phones are better than actual cameras these days anyways, and even better, theyâre always convenient. I always seems to find myself reaching for my phone to capture one of the cats doing something utterly adorable, or one of the pups in a unique position.
- Editing is our friend
- Editing our photos can definitely be helpful when weâre trying to capture the pawrfect moments, but certain elements (such as lighting) arenât quite working in our favor. The lighting can be adjusted (usually to help make things brighter), not-so-important elements can be cut or cropped out, and the main figure (in this case cat or dog) can be better aligned so theyâre sure to be the center of attention. Play around with what you can do, even if itâs just a few small adjustments, an adorabull picture is sure to be achieved.
If you havenât already, make sure to check out the past 3 days of Halloween fun so far!
5th Day of Christmas 2018
On the 5th day of Christmas my true dog gave to me…
five tasty treats,
3rd Day of Christmas 2018
On the 3rd day of Christmas my true dog gave to me…
three christmas trees,
Day 3 of 13 Days of Halloween 2018
One of my favorite parts of Halloween is all the costumes. Specifically, I love the dog costumes. From Weiner dog costumes, taco costumes, or the dogs dressed up as cats I enjoy seeing all the different characters and things dogs can be transformed into.
So, this year I have gathered four costume ideas that can easily be put together. I’m going to share the first two costumes today because they are individual, standalone costumes and couldn’t be simpler (cheaper) to put together. They are more DIY rather than store-bought because I have two big dogs. Simon and Rosee weigh about 70-75 lbs each and with wide necks and more muscular builds, courtesy of their pit bullish natures, it can be difficult to find store-bought costumes that fit, ones that donât have to be ordered online or ones that donât cost a small fortune. I mean really, it’s only going to be for one night. No matter the size of the dog though, I think these costume ideas can be made to work for any size dog and will only take a few minutes to put together.
Before we start I have to say that as much as I love dressing Simon and Rosee up, costumes are not for every dog. If your dog is not into being dressed up, then just don’t make them. You can try to encourage their acquiescence by the use of treats (preferably high value treats) so they learn to associate dressing up in costumes with a positive association. However, don’t force your dog to do something they really don’t want to do. Otherwise, maybe they’ll allow you a few minutes in costume at least to take cute picture!
Costume #1: Ghost Dog
This costume idea is pretty simple. All you need is a white sheet/cloth(I used a pillowcase I bought at the local Dollar Tree), a pair of scissors, and a marker.
First take the white cloth and using the marker mark where the eye holes as well as a nose/mouth hole will be. Next, carefully cut the three holes out (you can also cut out ear holes if you want). If the cloth you use is a little too long, now is the time to figure out where to cut it so it fits your dog the way you want it to. Also, I did end up cutting slits in each side of the pillowcase as it allowed Simon more ease of movement.
Extra tip: To help keep the cloth from moving around too much it can be helpful to cut small slits around the part that will sit at your dogâs neck. Then, take some decorative yarn/ribbon and weave it through the holes and tie a small bow at the front of the costume. This will help the costume stay on your dog and not move around too much.
Finally, fit the cloth over your dog. Arrange the eye, ears, and neck areas appropriately. Voila, you have yourself a Ghostly dog!
Costume #2: Beauty Queen
As the only female of the house (at least of the pet variety), Rosee is definitely the ruling Queen Bee. Therefore, itâs only natural that for Halloween she should be a Beauty Queen. All you need is a crown (I chose a Halloween-inspired spider crown), a long strip of white fabric (or even paper could work), a marker, a piece of string, and some fake flowers.
First take the long strip of white fabric and make sure that it can fit your dog appropriately. Ensure that it can wrap around your dog like a sash without being too long. After fitting the sash, take a marker and write âQueen Beeâ (or whatever you choose) on the sash. Next, fit the sash around your dog and tie the two ends together with the piece of string. Then, place your desired crown on your dog’s head.
Extra tip:Â If you want to help ensure that the crown stays on your dogâs head, take apiece of string and cut it in half. Tie one end of one of the pieces of string to one side of the crown and do the same thing with the other piece of the string to the other side of the crown. Then, when you place it on your dogâs head you can take both pieces of string to tie it underneath your dogâs head. This way the crown is more likely to stay on your dogâs headâĤat least for a little while.
Finally, give your dog a bouquet of beautiful (fake) flowers, and they are definitely ready for their close ups!
Make sure to check back tomorrow for two more DIY costume ideas that everyone can take part in.
Come on a Walk with Us!
Lately, the weather in California has been hot, hot, hot! On our daily walks with Simon and Rosee we haven’t been able to walk for very long or go very far. Yet, this morning the weather was warm, but pleasant enough that we could go on one of our favorite walking routes. So, come on our walk with us today and definitely don’t forget your sunscreen!
We started off by going out our front door and down our street. Simon and Rosee were especially excited and couldn’t wait to go…
We walked down, down, down past the local high school, a bunch of bushes that Simon particularly likes to rub against as we walk by, and even a yard sale sign that kind of freaked Rosee out (she wouldn’t walk by it)…
We ended up at a local park about a mile away from home and spans across two blocks and has tons of trees which offer lots of shade from the California sun along with numerous spots for the pups to leave their marks…
We continued through the second block of the park (technically a different park), which is where Simon decided he needed a break in the grass (it was still wet from the early morning sprinkler), but it did put us a little behind Monica and Rosee who was eagerly sniffing her way down the grass–Rosee, not Monica, by the way…
Then, we started to make our way back home and decided to continue down the side street (instead of back through the two parks) that runs along the west end of town since it’s still pretty shady from the many trees planted along the sidewalk and that just means so much more to sniff…
As we made our way home Simon started to slow down a little, but Rosee kept her pace (she’s much better at conserving her energy and maintaining her pace unlike Simon)…
Ultimately, we had a wonderful morning walk and ended up with two tired pups who were happy to indulge in afternoon naps!
Thanks for joining us on our Saturday morning walk and you can totally tell people you went on a 3 mile walk this morning (we won’t tell anyone)!
10th Day of Christmas 2017
On the 10th day of Christmas my true dog gave to me…
…ten cookies baking
and a Georgie in a pear(less) tree!
Play Hard, Bark Often 