Raw Food Diet, Day 458- Will Do Tricks for Treats

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Big Pupi takes us on an outing:
Hey guys! The big beastly brother is reporting. Everything here has been pretty awesome. We've been feasting and playing and fast-hunting and I've been therapy-ing. Sweetness! We have some footage from my last trip to the hospital. No... we're not allowed to take pictures while inside, but I thought I'd share something that's 1/2 of the fun of therapy days: The trip there!

It's a wonderful walk to where the AwesomeMobile lives. I totally dig taking a stroll and getting coo-ed over by tourists and folks about town. It is just about the BEST way to start the day. Here's a little video of me on my merry way. (Yes I walk at the end of my leash but no, I don't pull. I'm just SO PUMPED I can't stand to hang back! There was a time when I pulled and trudged ahead like a savage... not too unlike my stinky brother. But I'm all about Good Boyness now!)

Music: "Free and Easy" by Dierks Bentley

On this particular morning I was feeling an extra bit of snarzle in my bum so I thrashed the heck out of mom's (not-so) dog-proof car seat cover and then sat tall to enjoy the ride. ...That is until she began to stick that flashy box in my face at every red light. I let her know that it was NOT appreciated by making Jowly Stink Face every time she took a photo.I have a great time sniffing sniffs and barking at this dude that's always selling newspapers at this one intersection. He never knocks on our window because I'm such a wild beast!

Therapy was great on this day, especially since this one little girl I had gotten to know over the past few months got to go home. I missed her and her crazy great belly rubs, but I was so happy that she no longer needed to be attached to tubes and a tall beeping machine. There was a fresh set of kids this time and although they were really tired and feeling a little icky, they were still able to gather up all their energy and play with me for a bit. Kids can't resist the mohawk!

On the ride home, I looked a bit more like this:
Actually, that was one of the only photos mom could get with my eyes open. I usually snore like a tractor the whole way home. Then it's another long walk home from the AwesomeMobile. I LOVE IT!

I've got a little bit of news for you folks...
I've been asked to be one of 2 therapy dogs giving a BIG presentation on the work that we do! Tomorrow I get to go to a school and show off my tricks, during 2 sessions, to almost 200 people! I am crazy excited. Mom and I have been working on my Good Boy behavior (heel on a loose leash, and STAY! while she tosses treats all around me - that one's hard!). We've also been tightening up my new tricks, and I've been learning lots!

It's been hard work, but so far I can read Sit, Down and Spin off flash cards, and we're adding Stay and Come. The last 2 are a bit iffy for me still since this is one SERIOUSLY difficult trick for me to pick up, but I'm getting really good at the first group. This trick drives people at therapy wild, especially the kids' parents. We need to entertain them too!

Another trick that's in the works is jumping rope. We haven't worked the rope in just yet, but I've learned to leap into the air whenever I see mom jump. I'm really good at it and stay tucked in pretty close to her. This one's not quite ready yet for the show, but we'll try to get a video of it once I have it down!

Finally, I've mastered my Take and Give (a stuffed toy) and I will Down Stay while balancing my stuffy pencil on my schnozzle. This isn't my favorite trick to do, but what they heck... I'll do just about anything for treats and praise!

Wish me luck tomorrow! I'll try to take photos and let you know how it all goes.

Practice makes perfect,
Big Pupi.

Raw Food Diet, Day 455- Of Songs and Snoozel Spots

Dudes! The blogging machine is back! It's cleaner than ever and mom says that almost all of its guts are brand new. I guess she really missed the thing because it was a very joyful reunion. Why are humans so strange?

Speaking of strange, you've got to hear what my dorky brother did. Mom was running with someone named Errands and she stopped at a shop that had dog beds on sale for only 5 pieces of cheese. With her handsome beastly sons in mind, she grabbed one and brought it home. It was so awesome! Except nerd bomb Big Pupi thought it was a giant stuffy and he spent the day nibbling and thrashing it - not sleeping in it! In fact, he never once climbed in to nap. He just nibbled...And folded and nibbled...
And he was not at all pleased to have me laughing at him and making fun of his loser-ness.
Dude, it's a BED! Not a stuffy! It took most of the day for Big Pupi to grow tired of the new toy, and when he finally left it I flew through the air and curled myself up tight inside the cozy cushioned comfy-ness.
My bum LOVES soft snoozel spots! After my stinkbutt bro saw what it was really used for, he kicked me out and took over the nappies zone. Not fair! For the next few days we brawled over the bed until mom finally got a clue and brought home another. What was she thinking only getting one? Beasts don't share!

Eventually our new Beds of Awesome Bum Snugglies migrated onto the sofa and Pupi and I would log in all of our snoozel hours in them. Curling up inside one would make my eyelids heavy and it was never long before my face would make snoring sounds.
Like most beasts of great intelligence, after a few days with the new delight I began to grow bored of just snoozeling in it, and wondered what else it might be good for. I certainly didn't want to weeble in it, and mom wouldn't let me bring a raw chicken wing in it to feast (I tried!), so what's a brilliant boy to do?

I know! I'll sing! I tested my vocal cords on a little ditty, and let out a few bars of a Puccini aria.
Big Pupi must not appreciate my fine vocal stylings, because he immediately began to bury his head and cover his ears. This guy wouldn't know talent if it sniffed his bum!
Figuring that the stinkbutt could use a little culture, I let the melody come blazing from the depths of my beastliness.
I guess Pupi finally came to his senses and surrendered to the music.
Finally feeling relaxed and tired, I rested my finely-tuned screaming... er... singing pipes and dreamt of my refined beastly self taking the lead in "O mio feastado squirrelo." I would be crazy awesome! The audience would stand, clap, cheer and throw cheese and small animals!
And now speaking of small animals, my nerdy sweater was finished 2 weeks ago. I look like a preppy nerd-bomb! And here I thought it would be a sweater covered in squirrel meat. NO! Not so. It wasn't nearly as cool or delicious. Mom made me pose for so many pictures I almost couldn't take it. My chin was just so tired.
Thank goodness it's too warm outside to wear that thing. I don't know what I would do if my bark park friends saw me in it. I'd have some major explaining to do.

Well, there's a lot more to say and show, but I guess mom's behind on some work and needs to take over the blogging machine for a while. We'll continue with the updates soon! Hope all of our feasting friends are well.

Squirrel sweaters are NOT tasty.
Word to the wise, yo.
Stanislaw

Shocking Fruitables

Heya Feaster Dudes. 

Mom's computer needed a wee part replaced and the folks at the fruit store accidentally crossed some electrical wires during the repair.  When they plugged it back in to test it....

WOAH!

You can imagine it didn't do good things for my blogging machine.  This means that the Silver Fox, as mom calls it, is being sent away to the Mother Ship for more extensive repairs (read: replacing everything but the hard drive).  At least the repairs won't cost mom any cheese money because the fruit store is responsible for frying the Fox, but it also means that he won't be coming home for another week or two - if he makes it home at all.  Is this what will finally send the Silver Fox to the big fruit stand in the sky?  Oh that poor, poor old guy. 

So we'll be taking lots of photos and getting ready to WOW you with our adventures when we're up and running again!

Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 443- The Feaster Party Continues

Hey bloggerini dudes! Ready for my (F)Easter Extravaganza part deux? I totally am. Let's rock.

Dad rolled out of bed at the crack of noon and I greeted him in my usual mom- and dad-greeting way~~which, according to Niamh's human, means I'm being a polite little man. Heck yeah! Although I don't know why humans think I'm being so nice. I'm just hoisting my little bum into the air for some butt-scritches. It works every time! I have my folks SO well trained.

Notice my summer shaved belly? It feels SO GOOD! I even helped mom get the clippers into my leg pits to remove all that knotty fuzz. I feel like a beast and can run like the wind! Everything was taken down on us except for our legs because dad says we have chicken legs without that fur on them and he doesn't like the way that it looks. NO WAY dad. I don't have bird legs! And you KNOW what I do to bird parts! This is 100%, Grade-A Beast!

Speaking of bird parts, Big Pupi and I got an Easter package in the mail from our grandhumans. It included a massive dark chocolate bunny which my people put way up high on a shelf in the pantry. Hey folks... how am I supposed to get it there? That package was for BEASTS, not for you! Anyway, I forgot all about that feasting bunny when these 2 squeaky stuffies appeared:
Dangly stuffiness! I LOVE dangly stuffies! They're perfect for tuggin' with dad~
And they offer awesome grabbage opportunities for stealing them from my brother. But if I manage to pull that off, he always thrashes me and takes the toy back. For the most part I've learned my lesson and don't usually try to steal stuffies from him anymore, but sometimes when I've got an extra snarzle in my bum I can get a little wild. I pooble on Consequence!

(Notice my dad's FABULOUS stinky sock in the background? I STOLE it from the hamper!)

My dorkus bro got a sweater from mom on Easter, and despite the fact that it was 50 degrees outside she made him try it on. HA! What a nerd-bomb!
Mom liked the way Paisley's sweater turned out so much, that she made a dude version for my bro. It fits him like a glove, which means that he can never get it dirty because it'll probably shrink a little when it's washed. Bad planning mom! We're ALWAYS dirty! She also forgot to put any collar or harness holes in it so it's pretty much useless for any outdoor, leash-required activities. Maybe he can wear it to a party or something. AS IF people would invite that nerd to a party! Ha! Everyone knows that I'm the party animal in this house. I mean, just look at the depth of his dweebiness~
There's another sweater in the works for me that has a squirrel and acorn pattern going on. I think it sounds delicious. Then mom might make ANOTHER one for Big Pupi that will be a bit more useful (read: looser in the body with a harness hole). Right! She ALWAYS finds a way to screw these things up!

Does anyone have any pattern ideas for Big Pupi's next sweater? Right now we're thinking of another black number with white lightening bolts on it. But we're excited to see what you think!

Feast hard, fellas.
Stanislaw

A funny faux-article for all you dog bloggers!

Raw Food Diet, Day 442- How to Eat an Easter Chicken

Take your time and chew those wings carefully. Savor the birdy flavor. Awww man. Crazy crunchy tasty! I really like chicken wings and I really LOVE being a bird dog.

Music: "Bird Dog" by The Everly Brothers

Raw Food Diet, Day 440- Bunny Bum-Biting Day

Raw Food Diet, Day 433- Revenge! Mutiny!

We're in the new place and mom's all like "Stanislaw, stop licking the walls!" and I'm all wondering why that smeary smelly stuff they used on them tastes just like paint. What gives? Aside from that major let-down, the digs are good and oddly enough, almost exactly like our old place.

I guess we were in an apartment that was ADA accessible, which meant that my folks got a break on the rent but we had no cabinets under the sink, lots of bars on the bathroom walls and the counters were at perfect-o cocker spaniel surfing height. (For me anyway, my Short Team bro couldn't hack it.) Thanks to the Economy Monster and lack of folks renting apartments, the building let my parents swap for a "regular" unit. Now I have to stand on the sofa to watch feasts being prepared, and I no longer have hideouts under the sinks where I get to do Naughty Boy and chew on the pipe bumpers. Hmmph.

The stinkbutt bro and I were all doing Good Boy and chillin, snoozeling on the clean carpet in the new place when mom finally got around to setting up her computer and loaded up some photos from her flashy box machine. There were lots of pictures from her trip to see our grandhumans and Big Pupi and I crowded around to take a look.

OH MY FEASTING. Looks of horror, disbelief, and nausea spread across our schozzles. WHAT THE BEEF WAS THIS?? It started out all cool with images of the mangrove swamps in Sarasota Bay~ I got a little jealous when I saw blurry images of these totally awesome crab people that skitter about the mangrove roots like a million cockroaches. I totally would have bitten them in the teeny crabby bums!
As mom filed away the photos, I began to see something that I thought was Big Pupi. But wait... no... it was my cousin Paisley! She's the one that had surgery on her knee in January, and I was thrilled to see that she's 100% healed and even better than she was before. But that happiness soon faded when I realized that she had been having a totally AWESOME time without me!! My mom and grandpa took Paisley kayaking~
They went out to a sand bar that's right in the middle of the bay and she got to splash about, run and swim in the warm FL water. WHAT?! Where was I during this??? I would have totally gone bonkers and drank lots of that salty water and projectile puked it up later and it would have been GREAT! Big Pupi and I have life preservers just waiting for a kayak trip and we had to miss out? Where is this Florida place and why didn't I GO? Paisley had a crazy great time and now her nickname is "Salty Dog." She and my grandpa explored the sand bar~
She hunted for leaves floating in the water and fat juicy pelicans flying in the air~
And she fearlessly took the waves face-on~
Big Pupi and I couldn't believe what we were seeing. We used to go canoeing with our folks in Texas and LOVED IT and we've been doing so many Good Boy things and we STILL weren't invited! Pupi and I got so frazzly mad that our gums turned red and I think I saw smoke come out of my bro's floppies. This was wrong. So wrong! To teach mom a lesson we jumped on the human crate and did Naughty Boy thrashing until all of our loose fur matted to the sheets and all my eye boogies were lost somewhere on her pillow. HA! We came back to the computer feeling that we had made our point but then we saw this:
Mom was doing snugs with Paisley on a sofa and Big Pupi and beastmaster Stanislaw were NO WHERE IN SIGHT! What's the deal?! Does mom just go around playing with other dogs all day and doing awesome things while I'm stuck at home with my farty brother? I bet that she's out playing with canines every time she leaves home!!!

Thats IT! I'm SO MAD! So mad I could... yes, most definitely could... perhaps... yes...

I'M SO MAD I'M GONNA POOBLE!

It's a bum attack!
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 431- Moveable Feast

Big Pupi and I have been working our little bums to the bone for this move.I have no idea what my folks are complaining about because moving isn't actually all that hard. It requires a lot of snoozeling, and then some howling when my parents leave me alone in the old, almost empty apartment- which happens like a zillion times per day as they snag all my stuff and take it out the front door. I've checked out the new digs. Not bad. And since my brand shiny new home-sweet-home is only 5 floors up from where we are now, I get to keep all of my building buddies. Sweetness!

I could hardly contain my excitement:
Amidst the heavy lifting, my mom got a phone call from the Place of Tile and Steel. My bro and I got our titer test results back, and for the second year in a row we've tested positive for Distemper and Parvovirus immunity. Woohoo! That means that we can skip those injections AGAIN! Our Leptospirosis test came back negative for the both of us, which was expected on Big Pupi because his was negative last year and he wasn't vaccinated again for it (he has been vaccinated 2-3 times since rescued). I was given the vaccine last year but it doesn't hold for very long. Our folks have decided NOT to vaccinate us for Lepto because:

1. Coverage for the bacteria-caused illness is only proven to be effective for 6 months - similar to the Bordatella vaccine, but unlike the Bordatella vaccine which is given biannually, the Lepto vaccine is only given once per year;

2. Lepto is a bacteria and can mutate, leaving the current vaccines unable to protect against new strains;

3. The vaccine has the highest rate of side effects, which are most often severe and require immediate medical attention. Given that Big Pupi and I are immune sensitive (lots of allergies), we are at a high risk for adverse reactions; and

4. Lepto can be treated if caught early, and you bet your buttons my humans did their research on the symptoms.

So that leaves us with only our Bordatella boosters in a few months, and Big Pupi with his rabies vaccine at the same time. The last time he got his rabies vaccine he had a lump that lasted almost 2 years! Nice Doctor wants to stop vaccinating my bro for the rest of his life because he is so sensitive, but unfortunately he cannot go to camp or continue therapy work without an up to date rabies tag. There is a rabies titer available, but it's very expensive and not very reliable. Even so, my folks are looking into it. But what they're really interested in is the 5 and 7-year rabies vaccines which, thanks to the Rabies Challenge Fund, is in clinical trials. My dewclaws are crossed that it's available soon!

Despite the rabies stuff, we're thrilled that we get to skip the rest of our shots for the rest of the year. We've maintained immunity for 2 years now, and it really makes us think that receiving a full round of shots every single year is way too much for a canine immune system. I know that my immune system is full of little beasts and they sure as meatiness know what they're doing. I've got professionals on my side!

Anyway, this healthy dude-man is ready for the final day of moving. And I thought I'd get a head start on the morning by offering a belly for my people to rub. Anyone? It'll warm up those lifting muscles!

Enjoy the weekend,
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 429- Double Feasting Points and a Triple Beast Score

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Big Pupi is catching y'all up on the goings-on:

Heya dudes! Lots has been going on here and I'm a bit behind on my blogging. Or shall I say that my wacky, ill-trained humans are behind on typing out my dictations. I wonder if Naimh teaches a brush-up obedience class for humans?

Anyway... it's time for some PetExpo news! On March 21, my mom and I drove all the way out to Arlington Park racetrack. I was in the TakeMeToFunPlacesMobile for over an hour which was TOTALLY awesome and I got to protect my vehicle from some dangerous looking joggers as we made our way through the suburbs. We arrived at the beautiful grounds on a perfectly sunny Saturday.
Inside the pavilion there were oodles of bipeds milling about and 2 floors of non-stop animal action. There were sections of toys, treats, and lots and lots of booths filled with dogs, cats, ferrets and birds all up for adoption. Needless to say, each and every one of the humans from Cocker Spaniel Rescue came and oogled over yours truly. I found the ferret folks to smell the MOST interesting. I could pick them out of the crowd with my specialty ferret-sniffing schnozzle.
This was our booth. I saw lots of my good therapy buddies and met a couple new ones, including a gigando 140 lb great dane. I practically had to stand on my nails to get a whiff of that bum. It smelled really laid back.
I had to wear my uniform with these fancy pockets that humans used to slip me a dollar or two and make donations. I was super good at wiggling my way across the floor and earning those bills. It was a tad confusing, however, because money is NOT tasty and I was certainly NOT allowed to shred it.

Because my excitement level was at 1,000%, I got to make frequent trips to the potty zone outside which was just COATED in good smells from other Expo critters.
Whenever we'd go outside I was allowed to be all crazy-bum, but as soon as we walked through those doors it was all "Heel" and "be Have" and "Don't eat that human puppy's cookie." Whatever! I'm cute and that kid totally wanted to give me that chocolate cookie.
I was scheduled to work with my buddy Mike and together we had a really good gimmick going on. Lots of folks thought that Mike was my mom and I was his wee springer spaniel puppy. It got us some serious attention and pets which was totally sweet, but c'mon guys... we all know that Mike is MY doppelgänger. Big Pupi is an original!
Mike and I were scheduled to work for almost 4 hours, and let me tell you~
I am either at full speed or I'm asleep when it comes to these kinds of situations and I was not able to survive so many hours of that stimulation and attention. The last hour of the event was spent in mommy's arms with my legs hanging all dangly-like. Only my head was still mobile and I'd stick out the ol' mohawk for some scritches whenever some nice human folk made eye contact. I don't even remember the car ride home but I'm sure that was pretty awesome too. I'm surprised we made it back in one piece without me guarding the vehicle from bi-ped trespassers! I guess mom barked and thrashed the scary ones away so that I could get some nappies.

In the days after the event, Stanislaw and I have heard mumblings about us moving and little by little all of the silly stuff our folks crowd our apartment with is disappearing. It's great! Lots of room for games of chase and I can REALLY get into a good post-feast stuffy thrashing now. The downside is that our people are either coming and going all day long, or they're missing for hours. From what I gather, they've been spending their time smearing this stinky colored stuff on the walls. This new territory sounds GREAT! Stinky stuff on the walls?! I hope it's tasty!

To keep ourselves occupied in all this down time, Stanislaw and I have been exercising our noggins and playing some rousing games of Scrabble.
I totally kicked his bum. I had like a gazillion feasting points if I added correctly (and I always do).
Stan did well for a first time Scrabbler, but it took a while for it to sink into his head that "FEAST" is not spelled with a "Q" or a "W." And I guess when I first invited him to play the game he thought we were eating scrabbled eggs, not playing a board game. Dude needs to get out more.

We should be all done and moved by this Saturday and we'll be catching up with all our blogging beastly buddies soon!

Happy fWeastQing!
Big Pupi