saturday park date

McKenzie has decided that although she doesn't perhaps like to run and catch the frizbee out of mid air as Cooper does...

she does like to chase after him just to help him carry it back to us, because she's just that thoughtful...

she also likes to lay out like a cat and pounce as he gets close

Cooper makes friends but tries to play it so cool - so McKenzie, being the thoughtful one humours this little guy by chasing him around and around and around
and then she gets le tired...
and Cooper is the happy chappy :)

awww

who else do you know with a perfectly heart shaped bottom :)

park days

now that daylight savings has ended it gets dark round here at about 6:30pm which totally sucks, and Cooper and McKenzie could not agree more - they miss their park evenings... so we now have park mornings which Cooper is not too thrilled about (being a non-morning person myself, I'm on his side) but once we're all up and at it with frisbee and coffee in hand it's a great way to start the day...

here are some shots I took of them a few weeks ago when we still had park evenings...

awww

We were very excited that our little buddy Jackson was voted Cover Dog of the Year for Ginger Snacks - totally based on his cuteness of course... hey, use what ya got is what I say Jackson! his parents Steve and Ami are so proud :)

Charlie Dax Video Special

Our new baby

Cody, Gino and I made a trip up to Sebastapol today and got to meet Charlie Dax for the first time. When the kennel manager carried her out in her arms and then handed her over to me I burst into tears and didn't want to let go. Our new puppy is so sweet, cuddly and just plain gorgeous I just love, love, love her. She still has her natural ears and is just about the cutest pup ever invented. We played with her for about 45 minutes while her mom, Freedom, unwaveringly watched us from her kennel. As soon as Charlie was returned Freedom checked her out completely and gave her a few kisses just to make sure everything was ok. What a great mom! We also got to meet Gatsby, Charlie's dad, who was so beautiful and what a sweet temperament. He was super cuddly and surprisingly young - he's about a year old, but pretty much full grown. We'll be back to visit Charlie and family next weekend and are counting the days until we get to bring her home.

Can your face handle the cuteness?

Well, we finally did it (sort of) and are getting a new dog. After months of arguing, debating, and lots of indecision I caved in and agreed to get a puppy from a breeder. I had wanted to adopt any one of many beautiful dogs, but for one reason after another none of the animals I found were suitable. Cody's heart was completly broken when Ezree died this February and he hasn't been able to get past his desire to have another Giant Schnauzer. Making the decison to get a puppy required a lot of compromise on my end, but to be truthful, I have always loved the Giants and never really feel complete at home without my little devils, so I called Skansen Kennel two days ago and found out that there are two litters that will be available by the beginning of December. I actually got to speak to Sylvia, who has been my aunt's breeder for about 20 years and she sent me some pictures of the 5 week old puppies along with picture of the sire. I sent a deposit in and now we just have to suffer through about 3 months of puplessness before we can bring her home.

Cooper's new hair cut

boyfriends sometimes suck, but my dog is always awesome

Ezree in her purple chair
Daisy and Teen

Cheena smiling as usual

Gino at 11 months

Teen, Cheena, Lise, and Daisy

No matter what has happened in my life my dogs have always been the one of the best parts of being me. From Cheena, Daisy, Ezree Dax, and now Gino I would be useless with their sweet, furry faces and beautiful spirits. I love my doggies :)

Rocket Dog Rescue

Here is a link to the Rocket Dog Rescue who were at the roller derby bout on Saturday. This is a great organization with lots of lovable dogs ready to find their new families! Below is a picture of Bear who Cody and I had the pleasure of meeting this weekend. He's super sweet and was good around other dogs and crowds of people. Click here to visit their site to find out more about Bear and to take a look at their available dogs gallery.

So fun!

Here are some pictures and video from our night out at the roller derby. First we sat on a dock and had a quick dinner while watching the sun set over yachts in the harbor.

Then we got our tickets and went inside the Herbst Pavillion.

There were several dogs from a local rescue organization at the event just waiting to meet their new families.

For $5 we got shots of Maker's Mark and a cup of PBR (this is where the majority of our yard sale money went).

We got our seats and met a guy whose girlfriend is on the SF team. He explained the rules to us so we could follow along. Roller derby was very fun to watch and we'll definitely be back.

Updated w/raw chicken video!! BARF

After all of the years of issues I've had with my dogs and cancer we decided to switch Gino to the BARF diet a few months ago to see if we could make sure he's just as healthy as he can possibly be. My aunt's breeder has advocated this raw food diet for years, but it always seemed too complicated and like it would be tons of work so we never really tried it and have always fed the girls high-quality commercial dog food. Once our last Giant Schnauzer, Ezree, died at the age of 6 from intestinal cancer we made the decision to have all our future dogs on as natural a diet as possible. And while I'm not saying the commercial dog food caused her cancer, I am saying that losing a dog like that is a sad and terrible thing to experience and I want to do everything in my power to promote my pet's health.

I have some familiarity about how the BARF diet works and what types of food to feed the dog. My friends Kelly and Fernando have had their Giant on the diet ever since they got her and they were a great source of information. They even belong to a raw food co-op. I also read several articles about how to transition a dog from commercial food to the BARF diet and noticed there was a lot of debate about weaning slowly versus going cold turkey. For Gino we tried cold turkey and after a day of some confusion on his part about what this gigantic turkey wing and chicken gizzards were doing in his bowl, he took to it without any problems.

As for the cost and convenience factors we haven't really noticed any major changes in our routine other than I stop at the grocery store more frequently to pick up his dinners. I spend a little bit more each month on food, but it's not really noticible. I try to shop for a variety of raw meaty bones and other meats. When we first started the diet I noticed that the cheapest meat was pork ribs, but they are so super fatty I don't like to buy them anymore. Now we buy pork neck bones, lots of chicken, and whatever other stuff is on sale. We also had some questions about exactly how much to feed him, but it's mostly been by trial and error and I think we've got a good idea of how much he should eat. This week we've also introduced vegetables to his diet and he LOVES eating his carrots for breakfast. Changing to the BARF diet has made me feel really good about taking care of my dog - he literally flies down the hall at dinner time and is so excited to eat. If you're interested in doing this for your own dog feel free to send me an email with any questions you have. I'm not an expert on the diet, but I should be able to answer any questions, or point you in the right direction.

*6/3 - post updated w/a picture of his raw chicken dinner and extreme bone-crunching, close up video of him eating it. Enjoy!!

so Stella!

just one of the characters we met yesterday in the city - she was such a cutie

The Girls

These are my two beautiful Giant Schnauzers spending a day at our favorite beach.