Dough Dogs

Did you see that Pillsbury is having this event of making dogs out of their dough? Seriously! Like you could create me in dough (although Mum is going to give it a shot). Instructions are here and here are some example of what they expect we can produce.

Now how are we to be expected to capture this look in dough?

I love a challenge! Check back next Monday for what we have produced!

French PONS

Every morning Mum makes us sit down and read one of her favorite dog blogs "Bob and Sophie's French Adventure". They are Polish Lowland Sheepdog pups and very, very funny. I think Mum likes reading about life in France where these two, Bob and Sophie, live. Sophie knows she is not allowed on the furniture in the house and she is not supposed to climb on the furniture in the garden. Her parents have decided one out of two is not a bad score to live with. See video below.

 

 

Recycling is art in itself!

Out here in Oregon we try and be as green as possible and recycle anything that is not nailed down. I have tried to recycle my brother Cooper endless times with little success. Mum continues to check the recycling bin and pulls him out and returns him to the house. It is an endless cycle that I cannot win. But! I found these creative recycling ideas that you might enjoy.

There is no price for my love

As if you didn't know how much animals add to our lives, here you can read it.

How Family Pets Yield High ROI in Financial and Health Benefits

By Vera Gibbons | Cost of living – 8 hours ago

There’s no limit to the love we feel for our pets, but have you ever considered their impact on our health and well-being? While caring for a medium-sized dog will cost you about $700 a year, these and other animals could bring you savings of hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, over the long-term. “Having a pet in the household makes you feel better about your life, and makes it less likely that you’ll go out and spend money on things you don’t need,” says Dr. Stephen Zawistowski, Science Advisor, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). “When the going gets tough, you walk your dog; you may not need to go out to the bars or restaurants.”

But if you get a dog, you will need to go out, and walk, or run it, every day. That exercise could save you big bucks on a gym. The average monthly gym membership is about $43, or more than $500 each year, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.
And while the IHRSA estimates that one in five people who sign up for gyms tend to drop out, when you get a dog, you’ve signed up for the equivalent of a 15-year membership. And that includes the morning alarm!

The American Heart Association recently linked pet ownership with a reduced risk for heart disease. And while pets are no substitute for good medical care, it’s worth noting that without insurance, a month of heart medication like Lipitor can cost up to $200/month, according to Consumer Reports. A five-night stay in the hospital for a heart attack? About $20,000, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research.

Pets can also boost your immunity. A 2012 study showed that children with early exposure to dogs had fewer respiratory and ear infections.

Related: 10 Health Benefits of Owning a Pet

Even with insurance, co-payments for five trips to the pediatrician will run you about $100. A few rounds of Penicillin? Another $100 or so.Dogs are also proven mood-boosters, says Zawistowski. “Even if you had a bad day at work, you lost an account or something, your dog is going to like you anyway.”On the other hand, the costs of anti-depressants can really add up. Prozac can run you more than $200/month, or nearly 3,000 dollars a year, according to Consumer Reports.
Finally, dogs can be great social instigators. You never know who you’ll meet through your dog -- your next customer? Customer? Or maybe even your next boss!

How is your pet saving you money? Find me on Twitter @veragibbons, and use the hashtag, #costofliving.

A Baked Potato with Legs

I know, I know. Where have we been? Thereis only one excuse. Our Mother. Mum claims she has been busy with work, looking after her 90 year old Mum (who lives in assisted living near us), Church, knitting, life, etc with total disregard to our needs. Well isn't that just ducky!

 

Enough with Mum's many crosses she has to bear, let's dwell on me for a bit, shall we?

 

As you may remember, I have had two knee surgeries and an extensive plumbing repair. Because of the plumbing surgery I had to go on this special kibble to keep crystals from forming in my wee wee. What they do not put on the package is that one of the side effects of this food is massive weight gain. Seriously. We're not talking a pound or two, we are talking ten or fifteen, overnight. My vet refers to me as a baked potato with stick legs. This does nothing for my self-image issues. But Mum and Dad weighed the alternative (excuse the pun) and decided weight would be better than the horrendous surgery they put me through to remove the bladder crystals/stones. However, now we are dealing with me stumpers (see diagram above) and my knees who are having a tough time holding all this weight up. Mum is researching these issues and trying to find a happy medium. In the meantime I am being starved and am not allowed to play tug-of-war, fetch or any of my favorite games in order not hurt my knees.

 

Cooper, my brother who is now 15.5 years old, is fine. A couple of you were worried that maybe he was ill or better yet, dead. No such luck. He carries on and has entered a second puppyhood. He is almost totally deaf now and half way blind but he runs around like someone shot him full of happy drugs. His constantly happy attitude really grates on my nerves but I know if I sold him to a passing stranger Mum and Dad would spend scads of money finding him and I would be blamed.

 

And finally these are Mum's knitting projects. The first one is a Special Olympics scarf that my Aunt Emely organizes each year. Mum and a bunch of like-minded knitters knit each Special Olympian in our County who participates in the Winter Olympics a scarf to keep and wear. Each year the colors change. This year it is multi-colored. They are knitting 30 of these wooly wonders so Mum should be totally sick of the yarn by the time she hits her fourth or fifth scarf.

 

The bottom project is the start of a baby blanket for a cousin's baby that will be in college by the time Mum finishes the blankie. (Honestly, the woman has more projects on needles than Planters has peanuts!). I like the colors and have already pulled the project off the needles once and chewed on a skein of yarn. No need to thank me, I am happy to help Mum on these little projects.

 

Have a good weekend pals,

 

Love, Dozer

 

Spring is Coming

In the land of the Dutch they have let their cows out from a long winter inside and look at these bovines go! We know how they feel - our daffodils are up, the crocus' are blooming and Dad cut the grass for the first time in 2013! Whoo hoo! Let's all do that happy dance!

A Rose by any other Name...



This is my 'Hollywood glance" photo.

So Mum, being Mum, has been thinking about our names. When she adopted me, lo' those eight years ago, I already was named Dozer by my previous family. I was named Dozer because I slept all the way home from the breeder's home. Not a name Mum might have picked out for me but she decided to keep it since I was a bit pre-occupied with bulldozing down everything in the house.

This is Cooper with his dragon
stuffie he got for Christmas.
He loves licking it
and cuddling it.
 I think Coop has gender issues.

Now when Cooper was adopted his name was Copper because of the color of his hair. He did not even make it out of the door at Greenhill Animal Shelter with that name. Mum and Dad had already decided on "Cooper" because it sounded so great rolling off their tongues and Mum loves Gary Cooper the actor.

 

Each year Mum likes to see what the most popular dog names are - not that she would change ours - I mean Cooper is 15 years old now - what else would he answer to? (Fatso comes to mind).

 

This year the most popular (according to Yahoo)

 

No.1 - Female: Bella, Male: Max

No. 2 - Female: Daisy, Male: Buddy

No. 3 - Female: Lucy, Male: Charlie
No. 4 - Female: Molly, Male: Rocky
No. 5 - Female: Lola, Male: Cooper
Lola: This cute name made the biggest chart hop of all the monikers on the top 10 list, moving up three spots from last year.
Cooper: A decade ago, Cooper was far from being considered a trendy dog name. But as celebrities like Anderson Cooper and Bradley Cooper gained popularity, so did the name Cooper for pets.

 I cannot believe my name did not make the list. I will be emailing Yahoo post haste!

I will preparing my New Year's resolutions later this week and shall get them on the blog so that we can discuss them in detail. Cooper says he has none, so I shall draw up some for him because he has some serious need for self-reflection.

Love, Dozer

Merry Christmas to All~

I wants a deer too

If a Great Dane can have a fawn, then I should get to have at least a herd of sheep or something! This is part of the PBS show on tonight (Wednesday) of Animal Odd Couples. Funny enough, they did not shoot any video of Cooper and me - the original Odd Couple.

Dogs Explained

Click on pictureto see in detail. No explanations needed or given. ~ Dozer Edwards

 

 

 

Good-Bye Barney Boots

 

Our pal Barney Boots passed away in Wisconsin today. He injured his back and his paralysis was too extensive so his parents helped him to the Rainbow Bridge so he could run free. This is always a fear with corgis with our long, low backs. My Mum worries a lot about me and my back but what will be, will be. But we miss our pal Barney, as do all our corgi friends on Facebook.

 

Good night, Love, Dozer

Get Your Hankie Out

This video has made Mum cry numerous times over the years because 1) She loved James Stewart (still does), 2) She loves dogs (like me) and 3) She cries whenever a dog dies (ask her about Old Yeller)

And we leave you with that. We miss you too Beau. And Jimmy.

Love, Dozer and Cooper

This isn't going to help corgi publicity at all!

By Andrew Hough

12:00PM BST 19 Aug 2012

They may be among the Queen's favourite subjects but her corgis are in the doghouse after getting into a fight with one of Princess Beatrice's pets. Max, an 11–year–old Norfolk terrier, is said to have been badly injured after a "nasty" encounter at Balmoral castle last week. The Princess's pet nearly lost an ear and suffered several bloody bite injuries that had to be treated by a vet, in the latest in a series of scraps between royal dogs. It came days after the death from natural causes of another dog belonging to the Duke of York's elder daughter. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were said to be "very upset" about the incident, thought to have occurred last Sunday. The Queen was elsewhere in her Scottish castle when the fight erupted between six corgis and three Norfolk terriers.

"The Queen's dog boy was taking the corgis for a walk and they were joined by the Norfolk terriers, which came with Prince Andrew," one insider told a Sunday newspaper. "They were being taken along the long corridor leading to the Tower Door before being let into the grounds for a walk, and they all became overexcited. They began fighting among themselves and unfortunately the dog boy lost control. "The next thing we knew there were horrific yelps and screams and it seems the corgis picked on Max. "He was very badly injured and had to be taken to the local vet. There was blood everywhere.

Max disappeared in 2008 from the family home in Windsor Great Park, and a search party, including the Queen, the Duchess of York and Princess Eugenie, was formed. Three weeks later he was found bedraggled and hungry. The royal source added: "It's ironic that the Queen was very worried about Max and helped in the search for him, but now her own dogs have attacked him."

The Queen owns three Pembroke Welsh corgis called Monty, Willow and Holly, which are all descended from a dog she was given for her 18th birthday, which was called Susan.

Some corgis were mated with dachshunds, most notably Pipkin, which belonged to the late Princess Margaret, to create "Dorgis". Her three Dorgis are called Cider, Candy and Vulcan.

This sort of news just depresses me.

I Wants a Loris

Mum is super busy right now because our Grandmother is moving to Oregon and will be almost right next door to us! How fun is that?! In the meantime, Cooper and I care camped out in front of the 'puter watching videos and we have decided since Mum is ignoring us that we should get a pet of our own and we wants a Loris. They are very zen-like and eat rice very gently. We promise to walk it, clean it and love it. Please let Mum know we should get to have one.

Allergies Are Not Our Friend

See the big, black mark by my mouth? I have been rug surfing with my face because my allergies are in high gear. I have been going under the bed and chewing on my feet and shaking my head because my ears itch. All in all, not a happy time for me.

Mum took me to the vet and now I am taking 1 1/2 tablets of Benadryl twice a day (per the vet) and I don't itch any more. I do get a little spacey which Cooper thinks is funny.

Mum says my allergies will get better as summer ends but until then I have to take my Benadryl and antibiotics (to heal my face). I hope my rug burn turns into a scar. I will tell the ladies I am a pirate and it is an injury from a sword fight. Why is Mum laughing hysterically?

Love, dozer

Pool is open, everyone come in!

Mum finally got my pool out of shed and filled it with water utilizing the evil water hose which must be attacked at all costs! I do not know what the evil water hose does when it is not on but it must hide in some dark, dusty, evil place. For that and many more reasons, I always go slightly ballistic when Mum turns on the hose. Cooper, he doesn't care for water so he ignores the evil water hose. He has no idea how many times I have saved his life. Ungrateful wretch!

Checking out the evil water hose

I took a brief break to catch my breath.



Keeping an eye on the hose, it seems to move on its own.

Always keep a firm grip on the hose lest it get away.

Never take your eyes off of the hose, it cannot be trusted.

Nice action shot eh? Mum does have her uses.

Take that you evil hose! Nice teeth yes?

I feel barking adds to the experience. Mum unfortunately does not agree. Go figure.

Today the evil water hose, tomorrow the lawn mower!

Love, Dozer and his brother, Cooper

Mum is Home!

Look! Mum has come home and everything is right with the world again! See the smile on my face? It isn't there just because she bought a 25 pound bag of dog food in the door with her! BOL! Pig pile on the bed tonight!

Love, Dozer

The Ocean!

Mum sent me a video of the ocean in North Carolina. There is a windsurfer out in those waves somewhere. There has been terrific wind and lots of people with kits and boards. As my readers may know, I am an ocean dog - give me the waves, the sand and the people with picnic kit! Oh yes!

I am checking to see how much it costs to fly to North Carolina as I would like to windsurf. Cooper said he doesn't want to go along unless he can sit on the beach with Mum. He doesn't like water quite as much as I do.

Love, Dozer

We're Bachelors and It's Cool!

Mum in in North Carolina so Dad is making the house into a bachelor pad and we are loving it! Dad sends Mom notes on Facebook to let her know we are not taking our pills, having fattening snacks and staying up all night. He told her we were having chicken fried steak and french fries last night and he sent pictures showing us fishing and checking out the tundra and turf. Mum doesn't believe a word of what Daddy sends but she knows we are having fun being 'just the guys'.

The good news is that Mum is with her family and there are no dogs there and all she can do is miss us! BOL!

This is me fishing during our walk at the Park. I don't actually fish, I was really drinking water because it was a bit warm.

This is evidence that Coop and I really do get along. Here we are conferring on some pee-mail. Cooper relies on my expert discerning sense of smell.

Post 4th News

Mum(right) and our Aunt Emely(left)
Copyright Gazette Times

Once again our Mum has embarrassed us to no end by dressing up for her 5k Walk Race and then standing by the parade route looking like a red, white and blue candle. She made the front page of the paper (with Aunt Emely above) but thankfully we live in such a small town that perhaps no one will notice.

The drugs Mum got for me to make the fireworks less stressful made me a stumbling fool so after a test dose, those drugs were put away and not used again. I got kind of loopy and very sad looking. I made it through the holiday with minimal stress and barking.

How was your 4th? Let me know!

Love, Dozer