Collie bottoms + A bit of bragging

A couple of Collie butts.


And one just so happens to be stalking the other. ;)

As for bragging, I feel I should do some bragging about Petal. I figure since I'm always willing to share her mischief, I should share her shining moments too.

First of all, you should know that Petal loves little kids. She'll sing her best song for them, jump, pounce, bounce and pull out all of her greatest Collie moves, but to her dismay they always run away.
(Gee, I wonder why).
This week two of my cousins have been staying with us. Both of them girls, one of them 13 and one of them 8. And, you guessed it, she's much more interested in the 8 year old, who happens to dislike having her space invaded by a long, moist snout. Petal's not sure why. Lassie is a little more understanding, but he can't always resist giving her a good poke with his nose. Ella, however, has always appreciated having her own space and thus she completely understands.
But Petal must have this girl's attention. And admiration. All the time. So she barks, licks, jumps and dances.
The jumping is the biggest concern, of course. Petal is a big dog and easily knocks kids over with her excitement. So she's been living life on a harness and leash this week.

The first day and a half I had to have constant hold on the leash, but now I can let go of her leash and let her wander free at certain times of the day (when she's tired and mellow, when the kids are in the other room, when the kids are just kicking back watching TV, etc).
But I have to say, I'm shocked at how quickly she's adapted to having two extra people in the house. It's almost as if they've been here for months, rather than a week.
The jumping has been brought down to a minimum throughout this week and now it's practically nonexistent. She's still on the harness and leash, just incase, plus it seems to remind her to be on her best behavior.

Then yesterday (Wednesday) we went to the park and Petal tagged along with us for some training.
And she was excellent.
A little barking here and there, but less than expected. She walked nicely with me and had a great time sniffing around without getting overly excited and hyped up (due to me taking her for a nice long walk before hand, I'm sure). Me and two of my sisters played with her, calling her back and forth between us and she did so well with staying focused on us and going to whomever called her.
But, before that, the most impressive thing she did at the park was letting two little (and nervous) girls walk past her without barking, straining on her leash, or *dramatic pause*
breaking her sit.
That I didn't even put her in.
She was calmly sitting there, in front of me, my Mom, and sisters when these two little girls came to walk by. There really wasn't much room to pass by, they easily could've reached out and touched Petal and Petal easily could've reached out to touch them, but neither of them did. Petal turned her head and watched them walk by without a peep or any more movement than it took to turn and look at them.
She's never done anything like this before. Children have always been a great target for Petal's jumping and licking and barking, but Wednesday she just let them pass by without even straining or breaking her sit to sniff them. I was so proud! And Petal was, of course, rewarded with yummy treats and lots of praise and petting. ;)

She really is growing up so fast. I don't realize that often enough and sometimes I wonder if I've done something wrong by her, but then a moment like the one at the park comes along and I realize I've done pretty well with her. She's a good dog. Especially for her age. Lassie, at Petal's age, was much more difficult in certain ways. He was much more trouble and took longer to mature.
(But isn't that how it goes with boys? They don't mature as fast, or as well, as us girls ;P)
(Sorry to any and all guys who might read this)
(But it's true)

Wordless Wednesday: I smell something...

Monday Mischief: Skunked

Last week I signed my Monday Mischief post with the words: Hope your dogs cause much avoid mischief today! ;)

I shouldn't have done this.

Why?

Because right after that I loaded up the car with three eager-for-a-run dogs and took them to the trail with my Mom and someone found a dead skunk. And someone decided to roll in this dead skunk, to ensure that our Monday was filled with plenty of mischief.

This is the mischief maker and skunk-perfume wearer:

Yup. Ella decided that simply sniffing the dead skunk as Petal was doing was not enough. Oh no. Rolling in it would be much, much better. Then the humans can get a good sniff of it, too!

Ella had to sit in the trunk on the way home and we rolled all the windows down. Lassie and Petal went straight into the house while Ella went straight into the dog run outside.
I hoped on the computer and found this recipe for de-skunking your dog:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1 tsp liquid dish soap
• 1 qt. 3% hydrogen peroxide solution

(found here)
I was skeptical, but desperate, so I tried it.



I mixed everything up, grabbed some gloves and an old towel and set to work.


Scrub-a-dub-dub!



Ella hates to be cold and I felt like such a monster for bathing her with the cold water of the hose, but thankfully it was a hot day and she warmed back up and dried quickly.




All clean and de-skunked!
That recipe actually worked!

I would also like to sing praises to Dublin Dog for their All Style No Stink collars (the collar Ella wears and the only collar I will ever buy for Miss Destructive). Ella's collar was the only thing that didn't smell horribly on this dead skunk loving dog. Any other collar would've been tossed in the trash after this little adventure.

P.S. Ella's Dublin Dog collar is over two years old and has been through all sorts of crazy dog antics and it's still going strong! This is a dog that would go through collars every two months or less.
And no, I was not asked nor paid to say these things about Dublin Dog. I just love their collars and enjoy sharing products that I've found useful. ;)

21

Today I am 21 (I know, so old) and for the occasion I thought I would post 21 pictures that I love.
So get ready for lots of cuteness and a lot of scrolling. ;)




Happy Saturday!
I hope everyone has a lovely Memorial Weekend.
♥

And Now a Word from Our Mutt...

"Please please PLEASE, shut. UP!"


;)

In the Mind of a Dog (but not really)

"Get out of the car? But I don't want to get out of the car."

"I had such a good time today, I don't want it to be over yet!"

"I'm gonna close my eyes and daydream back on my day."

And with a blurry wave and thoughtful music Petal's dream sequence comes into focus...

"Freeeedom!"

"Yaaahoooo!!"

"Now, let's see here, if I can find just the right place I can have a wonderfully Disney moment... "

"Oh! Here we go!"

"All da colors ooooof daaaaa wiiiinnnnddd!"

"Lassie, are you sure you don't want to come up here and play John Smith? Pleaaase?"
"And risk getting pokey things in my fur? Never."
"Whatever!"


"Today has been a great day! Right Mr. I-won't-reenact-a-scene-from-Pocahontas-with-my-beyond-gorgeous-sister?"


"Absolutely right!"

Wordless Wednesday: Petal and mountains

Monday Mischief: Another way the table comes in handy...

The kitchen table, as we all know, comes in handy when it comes time for a snack.

But it also comes in handy when you see this guy:

Out in the yard, guarding the humans while they water plants, while you're still stuck in the house!


"HEY! YOU FORGOT ME!"


When simply standing in the window does not attract enough attention to you, that's when the table comes in...


"Aha! Bet you noticed me now, didn't ya?!"


Petal wasn't the only one up to mischief over the weekend, our internet has been too, deciding to work only when it wants to. Which was every couple of hours or so and only for five-ten seconds at a time.
Whatever, internet. It's not as though we rely on you or anything.

Hope your dogs cause much avoid mischief today! ;)

Instagram + A Wonderland Table

First of all, I was asked to share pictures of the table mentioned and pictured here and I said I would once it was completed and it is, so, here it is! Well, after a few progress shots, anyway. ;)

Coming up with a plan.


Glueing down tiles.
Then of course the grouting happened here.
Now for the finished table...


Table top.


Edges.


Legs.

Super cute, right? My Mom and sister are so talented.
I was pretty much no help at all, haha, even though I do enjoy doing these kinds of things! But this time around all I did was help paint the table legs, and I took pictures of it. I also nodded and said, "Yeah Mom, that looks great!" whenever she asked. ;P

Anyway, enough about the table, I have something even cuter to share.



Instagram pics of my crew of completely insane silly dogs!
Who else thinks Intagram is the cutest and best app ever?
Who else steals burrows their little sister's iPod Touch just so they can use Instagram?
Probably just me, but it's so fun!
I'm marquielynn if you wanna follow me! :]