Party Time!

by Tanner

I'm four years old today. Seems like just yesterday I was born. We're having a big party today and doing ALL my favorite things. You can see my picture with my girl, Toni, if you go to All Things Dog Blog. We look so cute in our matching party hats.


I gotta go now. Mom's bringing out some of the yummies we made for the party. I don't want Oliver and Xena beating me to the yummies. First up are Pupsicles. Then we get ground beef medallions.


I played fetch and went swimming earlier. Oh, and don't forget the dog park. It was fun playing with Midas, Marmaduke, Bear, and lots of my other buddies. I'm gonna sleep good tonight. Ahhhh.

Exercising Us Dogs Appropriately for Our Age and Health

by Xena

It didn't get past me that today's post at All Things Dog Blog was all about exercising the younger crowd. That's right, Mom. I noticed. More Exercise Options for Your Dog was geared to the young and the energetic--sounds like a soap opera, huh?

Well, I need to get my two cents in. I may be a senior citizen but I need my exercise too. And lucky for me, you walk me regularly--always have. Thanks for doing that Mom. Thank the rest of the family too. They helped a lot.

I'm in my golden years now and taking a long walk with Tanner and Oliver is sometimes a bit more than I can handle. I'm glad Mom has realized that she can swing by the house and drop me off halfway through the walk. That works for me.

If you have a a senior dog, or one with health issues that interfere with exercise, you might want to read a couple of helpful posts:

Too Much Exercise?
ASK THE DOG TRAINER: Managing the Exercise Needs of Your Older and Younger Dogs, by Judith Joseph

If You Can't Swim with the Big Dogs, Get out of the Pool

by Tanner

You guys probably think I'm kidding, or maybe just not being very nice. But I'm actually serious. Here's my point. Sometimes when us Big Dogs get to fetching and splashing and fun stuff like that, a little dog in the pool might get splashed under. This could be scary for some little doggies like Oliver.

Once my mom took Oliver and me into the pool together. I made a lot of splash and Oliver put his ears back like a frightened kitten. Mom got him out and decided we would take our swimming sessions separately.

Now Oliver plays on the pool deck while I swim, so I don't splash him too much. Sometimes he runs around the pool barking orders like "Go get that toy" or "Get out of the pool" or other silly stuff like that. I pretty much ignore him.

Oliver's really not a big fan of my Big Boy pool. He likes the kiddie pool better. You can read Mom's article about little dogs and kiddie pools at All Things Dog Blog. Juliet is the cover dog for the day.  She's Oliver's girly-friend--a Yorkie. Okay, I'll admit she's cute. Just remember that Mom says I'm cute too--knobby head and all. More importantly though, I'm much better at launching into the pool than Oliver.

How Could we Live without our Dog Park?

by Xena

Being the eldest of the All Things Dog Blog crew, I get today's commentary. Mom's Dog Trainer columnist is helping out Gilly with some dog park problems. I guess dog park visits just don't come naturally to all dogs.

Tanner, Oliver and I are pretty friendly, and well, I guess we're confident too. We like meeting the people at the park and catching up with the dogs. Tanner plays tag and fetch and has races with some of them. Oliver mostly uses his nose. He looks like a miniature, 9 lb. hound dog when he's at the park--funny!

I just mosey around, saying hello to everyone and getting lots of good sniffs of all the visitors. Seems like a no-brainer to me, but apparently Gilly needs some help. We'd like to help Gilly sometime at our park. We're almost always there on Sunday mornings to see our regular gang--Midas, Marmaduke, Sherman, Seven, and a whole bunch more friends we see most every week. What d'ya say, Gilly, want to join us?

Dog Jealousy?

by Tanner

All right. I get the whole 'cute little dog in a car seat thing.' Really I do. But did anyone think about us bigger dogs? I'd like to sit up front too. Whenever I'm not in a crate, I like to lay my head on the console between the front seats or on top of mom's shoulder. But Oliver, he gets to sit right up there with her. The little brat! (Don'g get me wong; he's my brother and I love him, but sometimes.....)

Mom reminded me that she's not playing favorites. It's just that Oliver is the only one that doesn't trigger the air bag, and that's mostly because he's not really sitting on the seat. His car seat, that he got from the nice lady at Pet Auto Safety, hangs from the headrest and is strapped tightly to the seat, while he is hooked into it by his harness. It's a pretty safe set up for him, I guess.

That doesn't mean I'm not jealous though. I am! But I understand that mom doesn't want me up front because of my safety.  So I'll just continue riding in the back behind my 'pack leader' and her cute little sidekick. I don't have to be happy about it, though, do I?

CGC Thank Yous

by Oliver

Thanks to Mike, at Bark Busters, I got to become a Canine Good Citizen. Mike's a nice tester guy, as tester guys go. There's just one problem with this CGC Certification. Now, everywhere I go with my mom, she expects me to be perfectly behaved. Doesn't she know that's not always much fun? I need to get into a little mischief occasionally, don't I?

Well, Mike, there's no turning back now. We did it and I'll have to live with it. I probably shouldn't tell Tanner there are consequences, huh? Mums the word.

To learn more about Bark Busters' training concepts, you can read my mom's post over at All Things Dog Blog. Get along, now, before she starts making me do tricks for you.......

Did You Meet Our New Vet?

by Oliver

Today's a big day over at All Things Dog Blog--huge! Mom just introduced our new ASK the Vet Columnist, Dr. Pat.  Mom says she's a holistic vet, something that means she will look out for our minds too.

I'm not sure I get that, but hopefully you do. Anyway, I guess that means that we'll be having Ask the Vet columns from Dr. Pat now. She seems like a nice lady, so I'm cool with that.

Her first answer to a reader will be coming up real soon--something about sun protection for us pups. I guess there's a dog planning a trip to the beach. Sounds interesting. I'd like to go back to the beach too. What do ya think? Have I got my body surfing position down?  Mom..........

Dog Necessities: Add these to Mom's List

by Tanner

I'm just a little peeved with mom right now. How could All Things Dog Blog publish a list of dog necessities  for a day outing  and leave off food and toys. Duh! She was yammering about emergency stuff and left food off the list. Really!

Almost as bad is that there were not any toys on that list of hers. If we're going to the beach, she better have the Chucker in the car, loaded with a tennis ball. She can't throw without it, and I can't miss out on a fetch game.

Or maybe we could work on our Frisbee skills; I need a lot of work there. Mom's friend Chris, who does lots of Disc dogging, wrote some guest posts for All Things Dog Blog a while back. You can read them at Chris Engel's Frisbee 101 Series; the links are about halfway down the page.

Floating toys for the water are great too. Mom didn't have these on her list either. That's it! I'm going to go have a talk with her. Things have got to change. See ya at the beach!

Water Safety for Us Pups

by Oliver

I can totally understand why this little guy was having trouble getting out of the pool. I'm just a diminutive, 9 1/2 pound Papillon. When I learned to swim, my first lessons were right by the shallow step. Mom wanted me to know where to go to get out.

Now, whenever she takes me swimming, she makes sure I practice swimming to the shallow step from a different place in the pool. My mom; she's a good water safety instructor. If you guys have a pup that likes to swim, be sure he knows where the steps are. Practice, practice, practice.

Mom blogged about my swimming lessons over at All Things Dog Blog. There are lots of cool pictures of me, Dad and Tanner. It's called Swimming Isn't Just for Lab Lovers. Go see!

It's a good thing. I don't think I would want Tanner to pull me out like the dog in the video. Well, maybe I do. Whatever it takes; don't let me drown guys. Thanks. 

My Solution for Dog Poop Stains

by Oliver

As usual, Mom's talking about embarrassing stuff over at All Things Dog Blog. Today it's stains from what she calls "doggie indiscretions". That's just a nice way of saying dog poop and throw up. Well, certainly, I never do those things in the house. Neither does Tanner or Xena.

Mom says that sometimes senior dogs start to have accidents. So far, so good, with Xena. She's a very well-mannered old lady. But I guess the time could come.

Your dog, whether it's a puppy or an old girl like Xena, may have an accident in the house from time to time. I guess it's okay to keep a little club soda and peroxide around for clean up. Let's just make one thing clear; whenever mom finds anything naughty around the house:

"I didn't do it!"

Senior Dog Stuff and CGC Mulligans

by Tanner

I hope you saw Xena's interview over at All Things Dog Blog. It's kinda cool that an old girl like her can get an interview, even if it is just at my mom's blog.

Just between you and me, Oliver and I kinda like it when we drop Xena off at the house half way through our walks. The old girl really slows us youngsters down. We like a faster pace so we get to see more fun stuff. You know, cats, squirrels, other dogs, and even the occasional possum or raccoon.

The other night Xena saw our neighborhood bear outside, but I missed it. No fair! Mom said she barked at the bear and the bear ignored her. I bet I could get that bear's attention.

I have to admit that Xena has been a good role model for me to grow up with. Now I guess it's my turn to teach Oliver a thing or two. Ooops! I guess since he just earned his CGC  (Canine Good Citizen) Certificate, it will have to be the other way around.

All my friends say that I should get a "Mulligan" (a do-over or retake) because of all those ducks showing up at a Retriever's good behavior test is just not fair. Really!  :(  Do you think you guys could all write to the AKC and ask them for a Mulligan for me?

Neighbor Troubles: Tanner, Did You Read That?

by Xena

Judy, the All Things Dog Blog's ASK THE DOG TRAINER Columnist, is trying to help some lady keep her neighbors happy. We really don't understand what's not to like about a dog, especially a friendly one. Maybe we're just a little prejudiced.

Tanner may be sometimes a bit too friendly, when pups walk by with their owners. I have to remind him to hush up so he doesn't wake everyone from their afternoon naps on Saturdays. He's such a juvenile...can't stand anyone to walk by without coming over to visit with him. You'd think he was a celebrity or something. Geez!

The good news is that we stay in our yard. We sorta have to, cuz we have an underground fence, and WE KNOW IT. Our house is just off a main road, so my mom says it was necessary to keep us safe. My favorite kitty, Corey Lou, got hit on the road when we moved here. That was that; we got a fence. No visiting the neighbors for us, except when we're on a walk. That's my favorite thing to do, right behind riding in the car. You?

A Proud Project for Us Rescue Dogs

by Xena

I'm proud to say that I'm a rescue dog, and a mixed breed too. My momma was a Golden Retriever and my daddy was a Lab/Chow. I'm a fluffy, black Retriever-looking dog; some folks say I looked like a Flat-Coated Retriever in my younger days. Now I'm a senior citizen, and that's probly why I'm a little off track here--senior moment; sorry!


I really wanted to tell you that there's a cool lady named Annamarie in South Carolina who is painting the portraits of rescued dogs from all over the country. As she paints them, she publishes their stories, along with their paintings, on her blog at Dogs for the PAWS. She tells everyone to be sure to bring their Kleenex when they visit. LOL


My mom got to interview her for her Rescuing Rover series. You can read it over at All Things Dog Blog. Best of all, there are lots of photos of the paintings. Wow! This lady is a great painter. I bet she could paint me like a princess. Oh wait....I am a princess already: Xena, Warrior-Princess. Got it covered! 

CGC Bragging Rights....Who?

by Oliver

It's my turn to be the big Kahuna today. I passed the CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test last night. Yeah! My mom is very proud; she's talking about maybe becoming a therapy dog. I'd like that; I love visiting all sorts of people. She wrote a post about my test over at All Things Dog Blog.

Funny thing is she's mad at herself for being stressed when she was working with Tanner. I got the 'calm mommy'; she says she thought I would pop up and wiggle when we did the friendly greeting stuff, but I was a good boy. She gave me treats when we came home. I sat nicely and took them when she gave me permission. After all, I have this big title now; I have to walk the walk.

What's Not to Like about a Cushy Dog Bed?

by Tanner

I love my corduroy dog bed in our family room. It's big enough for Oliver and me to share sometimes. But best of all, I love it when I have a toy and treat, like this chewy strip mom got at our vet's office. 


She says it's treated with an enzyme that's good for my teeth and makes sure it will digest completely.  All I know is that it tastes good.


Right now mom is busy trying to get Xena to nap on a dog bed, instead of the hard floor. Mom says Xena is getting older and should have padding under her hips.


Dr. Jacki suggested she take medicine for her arthritis over at All Things Dog Blog. I sure hope Xena feels better. You can follow her progress by reading our updates. Don't worry; I won't leave you out of the loop. Oliver and I are good reporters. Come back to visit us soon, here at 5 Minutes for Fido, where the dogs do the blogging. We hope you have a Bow Wow Day!

Our Dog Blog: Photo Fun and Subscription Silliness

by Oliver

Here I sit in my dog blog office having a talk with my mom. You see, she wants a job working for OUR blog. I tried to tell her that this dog blog belongs to me, Xena and Tanner. She's still trying to coerce me.


I'm the subscription and photo manager for this operation, so I'm thinking to myself, "What can I give my mom to do that will make her feel a part of this new pet blog?" Suddenly it hit me. I don't have opposable thumbs, so taking photos is not something I'll be able to do. She's hired!


And then there's the little matter of seeing to it that every subscriber gets our 5 Minutes for Fido posts. "What? You say you haven't subscribed yet? Oh my! Here's how; I got these instructions from my mom, so they're sure to work. She also told me that you can do the same thing over at her blog: All Things Dog Blog. You'll like her pet blog too; I'm in a lot of the articles there, so it's VERY interesting."


If you like using RSS, just click the orange link at the top left of the blog and go for it. You can read all about RSS at this link. If you're like me, it will be like trying to understand my cat--impossible. Then you can pick the email subscription. That box is just below the "What is RSS?" link.


All you have to do is:

1. Type your email address into the little box.
2. Click "Subscribe"
3. Go to your email inbox and open the confirmation email.
4. Click the confirmation link inside the email and you're good to go.

If you have any trouble, my mom's in charge of the dog blog subscription stuff, so send her an email at LetsAdoptaDogPark@gmail.com. "Wait a minute; I think I just gave both of my jobs away to my mom. Houston. We have a problem."

The "Goodest Dog" is in Trouble!

by Oliver

Tanner is in trouble...haha! Between you and me, it's no big deal. So, he chewed up a cardboard hanger and plastic snappy gadget--big deal!


Me? I was being a perfect angel, napping in my crate until I heard the ruckus and woke up.


Dad and Mom had a pow wow about why Tanner chewed a hanger, when he hadn't done that since he was a puppy. Maybe he just missed doing it....duh! You can read all about mom's big revelation at The Hardest Lesson for a Dog Owner. She was mumbling stuff to herself about "I should have known" all the while she was writing it. She's so funny!


Well, her conclusion was that we need more walks, and I'm all for that. I can never get out too much. I love meeting the neighbors and the dogs, cats and other critters we see when we go hiking. Let the walking begin!

"Managing" Three Dogs? Who's She Kidding?

by Xena

My mom is so funny. She's spouting about writing a guest post at our friend, Kelly Denz's site, Critter Minute. But really, how much trouble can we be?


Look at us. We're the picture of well-behaved dogs, right? Of course!


And I take full responsibility for that. I'm the matron, the 13 1/2 year old 'mother' to these two juvenile boys that get a little rambunctious occasionally. I keep them in line when they don't listen to mom, although most of time they do. I'll admit that. Oh well, you might enjoy reading Managing Your Multiple Dog Household anyway. We really like the stuff about busy bones, treat balls, boredom busters and other fun stuff. Your dogs will like these ideas, so be sure to take notes. See you next time.....Xena

Dogs Swimming: How Much is Too Much?

by Xena

Summer days and summer nights. Sometimes we get in the pool too many times and....oopsie.....someone gets the 'runs.' When mommy took us to the doctor we figured out that we were swimming too much--especially Tanner. He drinks half the pool when he goes in it, silly boy.

Dr. M. told Mom that Tanner could swim once a day as long as she rinses him well, dries his ears out, and sprays him with a moisturizer. He thinks it smells girly, but I like it. We both like to be dried off with a towel. It's sorta like a massage. Ahhhh!

Oh well, Tanner. We can play Fetch at the dog park too. That boy can't live without a Fetch game every day. Does your dog play Fetch? My mom likes teaching Fetch. You can read her instructions at Teaching Your Dog to Fetch. It's Tanner approved.

Happy and Safe July 4th Celebrations for Your Dogs

by Xena, Warrior-Princess
© photo copyright Carrie Boyko
Tanner and Xena Cool Off in the Pool

Over at All Things Dog Blog, my mom (a.k.a. "The Pack Leader"), has been writing about keeping cool on hot, summer days like today. Tanner and I already know the best way to do that--the pool.

Tonight, however, I'll be hunkering down in my crate during the firestorm of sparklers and booms overhead. I'm not real big on fireworks, so I'd prefer a dark, quiet place like my crate to stay safe. Cover it up with a dark blanket, turn on some tunes--nice and loud--and I'll be able to calm myself down. See ya tomorrow, when the world is quieter place.

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