Itchy and Scratchy

Over the past few days, I've been quite itchy. Tall Human is concerned that I might be host to a few fleas, but she hasn't been able to find any. Luckily, I get Frontline Plus applied every month, which should kill any fleas that dare nibble on my precious skin.

In the meantime, I got to go to Splash Hound USA tonight to visit my friend (the owner), Tony. Catching up with him was worth being subjected to a bath. Tony had some flea and tick shampoo, so Tall washed me with that. As usual, I left Splash Hound clean and smelling good.

Tall has read that some foods, like garlic, are natural parasite repellants. I imagine she will do some research to see what things she can add to my diet, etc. to complement my parasite prevention routine. I'd be curious to hear how your humans keep you parasite flea.

Currently, Tall is washing all of my bedding just to make sure no fleas are hiding out in there. Keep your paws crossed that my itching goes away soon!

Pack Animal

Yeah, yeah . . . I know that dogs are pack animals by nature, but do all dogs carry packs? Apparently, I do.

A while back, Tall bought me a Ruff Wear Approach Pack II (size small). She read somewhere that having me wear it would tire me out on walks, plus she thought it would be good to have when we go camping. Personally, I'd rather have the humans carry my stuff, but whatever.

So yesterday was the big day, and it was apparently time for me to carry my own stuff to the park. Because it was my first time wearing it outside, Tall didn't load it up completely. On one side, I carried my ball, my Chuckit! Pocket Ball Launcher, and a collapsible water bowl. On the other side, I carried poop bags, my business cards, and Tall's keys, money, and iPhone.

I forgot about it after a while and it didn't bother me. The secret to a happy pack dog is not overloading the pack, distributing the weight evenly, making sure it fits properly, and dispensing lots of treats along the way.

Interesting Facts From "Speaking for Spot"

Tall Human has been reading a new book, Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life, which she tells me is quite interesting. I'm sure she'll want me to review the book here once she's finished reading it, but in the meantime, here are some interesting, fun facts from the book (my notes are in italics):

• 39 percent of U.S. households have at least one dog. (Okay, so I am one of these dogs.)
  
• More than 75 percent of people say their dog's health is as important to them as their own. (I believe this; my humans always discuss my health,and Tall practically obsesses over even the smallest of abrasions.)
  
• 58 percent of people report they visit their pet's veterinarian more than they do their own physician. (Oh yeah; I know I visited my veterinarian in the last year more than the humans visited their own doctor.)
  
• 75 percent of owned dogs are spayed are neutered. (I'm spayed!)
  
• 74 percent of people consider their pup a "child" or family member. (You've read my blog; I don't think I need to elaborate on this.)
  
• 57 percent of people would prefer their dog as their only companion if they were stranded on a desert island. (Well, in this case, I know that I'd be second choice; the humans would choose each other.)
  
• There are more than 74 million pet dogs in the U.S. (When will we outnumber you humans?)
  
• More than 13 million Americans celebrate their dog's birthday. (I've only had one birthday, but gifts, treats, and a special meal was definitely involved. Maybe one year I'll get a party.)

If you like these fun facts, I'll share more as Tall reads along. In the meantime, Tall encourages all of you to order this book; she said the 20 pages she's read have already helped her immensely.

Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde

Tall Human managed to capture a pretty cool photo of us today, which I'm captioning: Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde." I suppose I'm Mrs. Hyde.

Happy July Fourth!

So, my humans and I have lived in California for a year and a day today. Yippee! This weekend, we are celebrating the holiday with my friend, Charly, at her house. Her humans are in Chicago, and I'm more than willing to help take her mind off missing them. I really like Charly's back yard, as you will notice from the photo below.

I hope all of you have a safe, fun holiday! Make sure to protect your furry pals from those annoying fireworks.

MIA

It's been a crazy week around here, which is why I've been behind on my blogging. First, Tall Human has been grumpier than all get-out and Short Human had to travel for work twice this week.

On a brighter note, I spent two days playing at Wag. I got the chance to play with old and new friends, which is always fun. I'm also playing at Wag all day tomorrow and even get to spend the night because the humans are heading to Berkeley for a concert.

I'm totally okay with spending the day indoors at Wag tomorrow because it's going to be hot outside — like 106 degrees! Ouch!

Sacramento Pride Festival

Yesterday, I joined the humans and Auntie Trish for the Sacramento Pride parade and festival. We started out by watching the parade, which included lots of flamboyant, colorful people; I appreciated that. Next, we walked (forever) to where the parade ended, which was a cozy little park. Between you and me, I am certain that I've never seen as many rainbow-colored items as I did yesterday. I even ended up wearing a rainbow bandanna that Tall bought me to show my "pride."


I was a bit uneasy around all the balloons, but soon got over that when people practically fell over me with their coos of how cute I was. This was not surprising to me, but the humans ate it up.

We also got to hang out with some new humans — Karen and Laure — whom I like very much. They petted me all day and I loved that. I also got to meet lots of dogs, some of which I didn't care for, but I did enjoying romping around with a miniature poodle named Luther Vandross who looked just like me. Here he is with his human:


At the end of the day, I rode home in a VW convertible. Where was this car at the beginning of the day? It could have driven me through the parade as the new "Face of Wag Hotels."

All in all, I really enjoyed myself and will look forward to hanging out at Pride next year.