Happy Birthday

Baily is one year old today. We made a basic Chocolate cake (because she is a chocolate Weimador) with creamy peanut butter frosting, because licking out the empty peanut butter jar is one of her favorite things.

No, she didn't get any cake, but she did get an extra dog treat.


In the second picture, she is next to the Christmas tree. Let's hope there arn't any incidents between the dog, the cat and the tree.

Leftovers?

Wow my first Thanksgiving. I'm not sure about Pilgrims having side dishes covered with marshmallows, or so many pies, and so many rolls and breads, but that's OK, when you can find things to be thankful for.

Me I'm thankful for leftovers,as long as they give me some. I'm thankful for a warm house and bed.


By the way, if you need a little help with that other half of the turkey, let me know. Until then, I'll keep drooling, I mean guarding it,

I smell something!!!

Today's guest writer, Boss Dude

Before picture (the bird is a bit blurry)

Hey, I smell something here! There was definitely something here!





Really, we enjoy a day's hike. The chance to get some fresh air. It's especially fun when you can watch a very energetic dog work with her innate abilities. Baily did really well, she was quite energetic at first, bounding with every step as the corn was taller than she was. Eventually she settled down and worked through the cover. She stayed close enough, I never worried about her getting lost or running off. She always came when called. So 1/2 Weimaraner and 1/2 Chocolate Lab, you think she's inclined to point or flush? The correct answer is flush. I think if I really worked her a lot, we could get her to point, she is a very intelligent dog, but I have other things I want to work with her on.

Went hunting

We went hunting today. Teen dude had the Over/Under. Boss dude had the camera. I had a really good time, and got lots of exercise outdoors. We ran in corn fields, sorghum and weeds. It was a beautiful day.


I have just one message for the teen dude. I forgive you for missing the birds, but Don't let it happen again! or I'll have to just catch them myself.

Beware of this toy!!

Someone bought a rubber/latex covered toy very similar to the one above. After a pretty short time playing with it, Baily started to get sick. Drooling (lots), loss of appetite and eventually she threw up. An emergency visit with the vet and it appears she had an allergic reaction to the toy. 

For those people that have one of Baily's brothers or sisters, and read this blog, please be careful of similar toys. Also it was made in China.

Fall - Wow!

It's Fall!!! I've never seen fall before, but I guess it's when all the leaves fall from the trees. We went "up North" to Grandma's cottage to close it for the winter. While there, we went for a nice hike through a camp. I got to go off leash almost all day!!! I had a ton of fun in the woods. I can't wait to do it again.

In this picture, I'm looking back to make sure the humanz can keep up.

Getting colder

The days are getting shorter and it is getting colder here in the Northern part of the U.S. - this picture is from last year. If this were a monster movie we'd say some nuclear radiation made the cat grow to a hundred times her normal size, and she is laying waste to the train tracks.

I heard stories about how the cat before this one, used to smack the previous dog on the nose, and run full speed under the Christmas tree, knowing full well the dog couldn't stop in time. You think this cat is as evil as the last one?

Anxious

It's getting closer! Pheasant season is less than one month away, and I'm getting real excited. Time to make sure the gear is in good shape.

• Orange vest to hold lots of birds - check
• Whistle - check
• Ammunition - check
• Shotgun - check, bossdude says the gun is 17 years old, guess he's pretty thorough about keeping it in good condition.
• Birds - um not yet.

Working in the suburbs is a little tricky. We can't discharge a firearm in township limits, but firecrackers can keep me from being "gunshy". It's difficult to keep wild birds to practice on. Instead, we practice with scented dummies. Bossdude has gotten to using the dummy while it's dark, something about forcing me to use my nose to find the bird, like Duh, what did he expect me to use, my tongue?

Soon he says, we will go to a preserve and practice on some live birds. I can hardly wait. He better not miss the birds, or I'll be one disappointed bird dog.

I like toys

I like toys, I especially like to see what's inside toys. Well, I made a discovery during my playing, I have figured out how cotton balls are made. Simply rip the head off of a stuffed toy, and pull out the stuffing to get an ample supply of cotton balls.

The humanz just threw the cotton balls away though, it's like they didn't appreciate my discovery and helpfulness. You'd think they would at least use the cotton balls for something useful...

The teen with the shades

I get into so much trouble, but really it's not my fault. You see, this teen boy at the house, the one that wears the mirrored sunglasses because he's "cool", is always playing with me. Sometimes I get a little excited when we play, and then it causes all kinds of problems inside the house. I mean, it's not my fault we were playing fetch in the house, and the cat happened to be near the fetch toy, and I couldn't stop in time. He threw the darn thing, I was just doing what I'm genetically disposed to do... So we got sent outside, which is OK, it was a nice evening.

That's the skinniest Chocolate Lab I've ever seen!

So walking in the evening is in full force now. Sometimes we walk all the way tot he ice cream store, I did say the humanz like their treats. Well, we were going for a walk, and a nice lady on a bike says, "That's the skinniest Chocolate Lab I've ever seen." - I said thanks, I get my svelte figure from my mom.

I'm not allowed in the chair, which makes this all the more fun!

Baily and the dummy

We hide the scented dummy in the yard for Baily to find. Everyone makes fun, but she always finds it. This was the third hide, we usually do only two, but Grandma was over. She looks in the first two spots first, then actually starts looking for it.

But I wasn't broken

Baily is a Weimador, that's half Weimaraner and half Labrador Retriever. When people meet Baily their first question is what kind of dog is she. Their second question is usually, "Was that done on purpose?"

I know in this day and age, a lot of hybred dogs are quite popular (like the Labradoodle), however this was a total accident. You can read the story at Zoey's page.

We were fortunate to get such a well cared for puppy from the Michigan Weimaraner Rescue. However, we certainly don't want to put some rescue organization on the hook for placing more unplanned accidental puppies.

So two things; one, check out the rescues near you, there are a lot of good dogs available. Two, unless you are a professinal breeder whose goal is to improve the breed, remember to have your dogs neutered or spayed.

I like to fetch!

I really like the "Kong on a Rope"

When are the Canadians going to take their Geese back?

We like to walk and hike to different areas. Well let me tell you, there is one area that I can smell from far away and it always get's me excited. The Canada Goose area. These are suburban geese though, and are becoming accustomed to being fed by the humanz. I'm sure the humanz mean well, but I'm the domesticated animal, they should feed me, not the wild geese.

There is an old saying, a fed bear is a dead bear. Basically, as bears get habituated to eating human food, they get closer to humans, and are less fearful of them. Until eventually they are a nuisance and have to be shot.

So, as a public service to the geese, I have taken it as my solemn responsibility to make sure these geese are appropriately fearful of humans and dogs, especially bird dog retrievers.

I is edumacated

Today was the last day of my Puppy Pre-school class. It was a really fun class, and I got to play with and wrestle a lot of other dogs while I was there.

We also learned things like watch, sit, down, leave it, drop it, come and other stuff. I'm still pretty excited when we go for walks, and get distracted easily, but I'm learning and practicing.

We took pictures in class today. Here are the two human children trying to keep me still (which I don't do very often).

Next step, learning how to spells better.

I like Ice Cream!!

I mentioned in a previous blog how the humanz really like their treats. Well, there is one treat that's cold, creamy and oh so good. They don't let me have table scraps or human food, but once in a while I get to lick out an empty ice cream carton. Now I gotta figure out how to get a whole container of ice cream.

Football anyone?

I got to hang out with some Boy Scouts earlier today. They played some football so I thought I'd join the action. This park was so huge, and out of the way, this is the longest I've been "off leash" ever. I didn't go too far though. The boss dude kept practicing commands I already know, like sit and come. You'd think he forgot them already the way he kept going through them.

He put the leash back on when they were eating snacks though, it's not my fault the food smelled so good, I asked everyone for a handout, hey running is hard work.

LOL me

Feel free to go to IHASAHOTDOG and make your own funny title to this picture.

I'm getting BIGGER!

Had a visit with the fun vet lady last week. She always says good things about me, listens with the stethoscope, looks at my ears, nose and teeth. She often gives me a shot, but I don't feel it. I get a treat afterwords, and lots of scritches behind the ears.

I was 33.5 pounds. Here are two pictures, one from February 5, and the other from April 7th. I think the cat's flower bed has shrunk, what do you think?

Action

Spring is finally here, and it's about time. I've been practicing my retrieving. The humanz throw the 'kong-on-a-rope' and I run and bring it back. Sometimes I go so fast, I'm back before they can take a picture. This was my favorite action shot.

Light Reading

We've been doing so much, learning so much. Today we went to puppy school again. I was in a playful mood. I did really well on walking without pulling on the leash.

Later, I decided to do some light reading, learn what I need to get the humanz to do to for bird hunting. The humanz took the previous dog (pictures of her coming up later) to the author of this book for some bird dog training. I think it'll be a lot of fun, I already retrieve all sorts of things (socks, slippers, shoes, hats, gloves, dog toys, cat toys...) it's all so much fun.

Baily goes to School

Well, all the humanz packed up the car, and we went to puppy school. It was OK, as they brought a bunch of little treats in a bag in their pocket. I got to meet some other cool dogs, and play with a few that were about my size.

In this picture, we were getting used to being handled and snuggled. I guess I'm advanced, as I was already pretty used to snuggling...

12 weeks (happened last week)

This post is a little late, but the picture was taken when I was 12 weeks old. Being the smart dog that I am, I knew they would use a spoon of peanut butter to get me to sit still for the picture. The ruler in the background is 6 inches off the floor, to measure height, but I'm making it hard for them to check it out, as every time they turn around, I grow a little bit more. I was a little over 24 pounds and full of energy. Now if I can just get them to put the peanut butter on some bacon...

What's that white powder on your nose?

So, the humanz really really like treats. They don't get theirs hard and crunchy from a box though, they are always making them in the great room, that's the room they call kitchen.

So once again they were making cookies. Being a connoisseur of cookies, I thought I'd help out. I could lend my not so discriminating palate to help taste test. I can also measure and mix the ingredients. However, best of all, I can get right between your legs and sit there for a better view and supervise.

The way the humanz reacted, you'd almost think they didn't appreciate all my help. It's not my fault they walk on only two legs and are more prone to vertical stability issues. They said it looked like I had my nose in a bag of smack. I don't know if that's good or bad, but I'll wag my tail and look happy, as long as they give me a cookie.

Unemployment and the Recession

Since we are talking about unemployment, and since the cat has never worked a day in her life, Baily chose to lead today's blog entry with a picture of the cat.

How does the unemployment of the current recession compare to previous recessions? Once again, Baily gets her data from Clear View Economics.

• 1973-1975 recession, unemployment went to 9.0%
• 1981-1982 recession, unemployment went to 10.8%
• 1990-1991 mild recession, unemployment went to 7.8%
• After the very mild 2001 weakening of the economy, unemployment went to 6.3%
• Current, Jan 2009, unemployment was at 7.6%

Will it go higher? Probably, is it the worst of all times, hey, I'm a puppy, we are optimistic by nature, the bowl is always half full (well, actually, I eat it right away). It's an opportunity to become leaner, invest at bargains and come out stronger.

Baily Talks Stimulus Plan

Baily recently was investigating the newly signed stimulus package online.

So the stimulus plan is like almost 800 billion dollars. You can sure buy a lot of dog biscuits for that kind of money. Baily was wondering what else you could buy for 800 billion. The following information is provided from Clearview economics and are cost adjusted for 2009 dollars.

• Louisiana Purchase - 261 million (in 2009 dollars)
• Panama Canal - 7 billion
• The entire NEW DEAL - 500 billion (and that supposedly brought us out of the great depression)
• 35 years of the Interstate highway system - 800 billion (at least we have roads to show for it)
• WWII - 4 Trillion (in 2009 dollars)

So for a plan that's costing double the NEW DEAL, and equal to 35 years of highway construction. Some improvements in the electrical grid is about all the infrastructure improvements we may see from this.

"Business Trip", yeah sure.

One of the humanz went away for a couple days on a business trip. I heard him say it was warm and sunny there. Well this all sounds a bit fishy, so while he's sleeping in, I'm going to take a little peek at his camera.


California Quail! Roadrunners! Hello, I'm half Weimaraner and half Labrador Retreiver, that makes me 100% bird dog. I'm suppose to be there. What's this other thing? A rabbit, come on, it would be so much fun to chase a rabbit. Business trip my tail.

Guess what I found!

Well, we knew my nose worked, and I found out that a rabbit had been hopping through the back yard. I wanted to eat the little jellybeans, but the humanz wouldn't let me.

Baily and Bird Training

The humanz started to use the "special" retrieving dummy. It was pretty easy to find, as it smelled like a bird. I had a lot of fun chasing the dummy and bringing it back. Hey, wait a minute, that sounds an awful lot like work. Oh well, it was still fun.

LOLDOG

Too funny!!! Stolen from www.ihasahotdog.com

Runnnnnnin!!!!!

The faster I go, the harder it is for them to get a clear picture.
The faster I go, the harder it is for them to get a clear picture.
The faster I go, the harder it is for them to get a clear picture.

We had some fun outside, I really like action shots, they sure do get you some exercise in the process.

Sophia, the cat

The humanz were complaining that there was no picture of the cat in the Blog. Well, this cat is incredibly easy to LOL. She always looks grumpy, no matter how excited I get around her, or how much I try and play with her.

Warming up

So, the little girl that never wears socks in the morning, she would stand on this hole in the floor that was covered by the metal grate. How comfortable can that be? Sure can't see why you'd want to do that.

Let me give it a try... Wow, that's toasty warm, I think maybe I'll hang out here for a little bit. The humanz say their old dog never did that. I guess I'm full of surprises.

Snuggled up, watching glowing phosphurs

My new home has a little girl, who is one of my favorite humans, mostly because she never wears socks, and I like to play with her wiggly toes. It's a fun game, and she plays keep away with them, making it even more fun.

Here, we are both watching PBS on TV, some show on drawing nature, maybe she'll draw me some day. :)

LOLDOG - all the chocolate treats

Baily copied this picture from the interwebs at ZoeyandherChocolateTreats then we put the captions on it.

You can vote for other pictures Baily and her humanz helped make by visiting the humans page at icanhascheezburger

LOLCAT, LOLDOG

The humans are always laughing and giggling at pictures on the computer. It seems humans place phrases of bad grammar on pictures of cats or dogs for amusement. These are affectionately called LOL (for laugh out loud) CAT pictures, or LOLDOG.

Two of the web sites that are the funniest sites of LOL's are LOLCAT and LOLDOG.

Here are some recent funny ones. Maybe tomorrow we'll post some LOL's the humanz made.

Cat Beds

Baily's cat friend, Sophia, got a pretty little flower bed for Christmas. Baily can not understand why the cat prefers laying on the furniture to this really cool bed. I mean, it has lots of edges for grabbing, can be moved easily and ... yawn... seems comfortable. Baily will give it more thought or as we humans say, "She'll sleep on it."

Baily AKA Kisses

This blog is spun from another zoeyandherchocolatetreats.blogspot.com

We decided to call our puppy Baily, as we thought it would be kind of funny to be out in the field, hunting birds, and then saying, "Kisses, fetch me the dead bird!"

Baily went to the vet today for her 8 week shots. Naturally everyone commented on what a good looking puppy she was. She gained over two pounds since last week's posted weight. She really likes to eat!

She got her first pheasant already :)