Paolo Wins! Paolo Wins! Paolo Wins!

Thank you to everyone who voted for Paolo, who is now the official favorite Dog on Propps.  He would like to thank all the little people, etc., etc., etc. 

Paolo, unimpressed with his win

Stay tuned for the new year when the Dogs on Propps will update their activities from over the break.  In the mean time, have a very very safe New Year's Eve, and much peace, love and happiness to you and your family and friends. Besos from the Dogs on Propps!

Bath Day

Everyone knows that the best place to dry off after a bath is in front of the fire.

Holly and Madden, relaxing

Welcome

Dear Dogs on Propps, 

Please be advised that when we have visitors, the following behaviors have been noted - please read the sections that apply to you. 

Holly -  When people enter, they do not want you to jump on them. Though you are thrilled to meet them, and feel that you've never met a stranger, they do not feel the same way.  In fact, it is upsetting and downright frightening to have a forty pound dog charge at you when you enter someone's home. 

Ella and Madden  - When someone comes in, do not stand and bark at them.  Though it's totally natural for you to want to protect your turf, if we are greeting them, they clearly have been invited and are not axe murderers.  Your continuing to alert us to their presence is really just redundant.  

Koko - Please, please, please pick up your toys prior to people visiting.  No one wants to sit down on a chewed bone when they are seated on our couches.

Paolo - You have come so far in the past few months.  I mean, look at you - you occasionally bark at our guests (a la Madden and Ella), but now you usually sit next to new people and gaze at them with love.  Your ability to immediately fall in love with new people is awesome.  They probably don't like for you to stare at them though. It can be rather offputting.

All dogs - when our guests are enjoying refreshments, please refrain from wagging your tails or wrestling near the tables where their beverages are resting.  It is just bad manners to knock over their drinks.  Also, when they are eating, go sit down.  In fact, lay down.  Take a load off. Rest a little. No one, and I mean no one, enjoys being stared at while they eat.  Even if the guest says a kind word in your direction, that is not an invitation for you to approach, nor to remove food from their plates (I'm looking at you Holly) when they are not looking.  Also, please don't stand on people's shoulders while they attempt to finish their snack. (cough cough Ella cough cough) Terrible form, that. 

A final thought - when people come over, in general, they are not here to visit you. Feel free to hang out around us - lay down, even take a nap. People love to look at napping dogs.  Just behave yourselves.

For the love of God, behave yourselves.

This means you, Holly.

VOTE

There is a dead heat in the current Dogs on Propps poll...and twelve days left to vote! Before you vote, consider these things:

Koko - Currently has the least votes. Though she is a big girl, (she prefers 'husky' - OH I kill me) she also is an exemplary guard dog. For instance, when people visit, she stands at the window barking madly at them. She looks like a tough dog, which makes people think twice about wanting to actually ring the doorbell. Also, she sits on the couch and sheds during the day, anxiously awaiting the return of her family.

Holly - Though Holly is a yarn hater, she is a playful and fun little girl. If you would like assistance in ridding the trash can of excess dog or cat food cans, Holly's your girl. If you would like for someone to rip the covers off of you while you are sleeping in an attempt to get under with you, she's the one for you. Really though - if you want to go for a run, she's the dog you want. She can run like a champ, and prefers trail running to street running. She's an excellent pace dog if you find that you begin going too fast. If there's a rabbit or coyote around, though, all bets are off - she's going after that and leaving you in her dust.

Ella - The Tinkler. Ella is madly in love with her boy, and pretty much doesn't care about anything else when he is around. She believes the sun rises and sets in his eyes. If you approach her, she will piddle on the floor.

Madden - New nickname: Sir Lix-a-lot. Madden continues to adapt well to the Dogs on Propps family, though that means that he is asserting himself a lot more often. This little 9 pound boy believes that if he nips at Holly's heels while dinner is being prepared for them that he will get to eat more, and sooner. His growl is reminiscent of the creatures from 1984's Gremlins. He often will jump in your lap and 'kiss' you when you least expect it. It is an admirable skill, if you like to be licked in the face.

Paolo - He's Italian. Why the hell would you not vote for him? Pshaw. He doesn't need your vote anyway. Who do you think you are?

There you go...hopefully this information has helped you make a more informed decision when you cast your ballot for your favorite Dog on Propps!

Bless You

My name is Madden, and I have a tissue problem.
When I first came to live with the Dogs on Propps, my people complimented me on my good manners. Though I licked a lot (ok, a LOT), they told me that I was good. Occasionally I had accidents, but I never, never chewed anything.
Until the first time.

My human mama was walking into the room when she found me. I had her brand new phone in my paws, and was, well, chewing it. I don't know why she was so upset - it still worked and all, but she couldn't use the zero key, which I guess was pretty inconvenient for her. Whatever.
After that, it was like a whole new world had opened up for me. I began finding things all over the place that were chewable. There were pieces of fuzz here, plastic sections there, you know, the normal stuff on the floor. But then the day came when the boy went to throw a tissue into the trash can and missed.

It was a whole new ball game.
I got that tissue, and I shredded it up into little tiny pieces. I spread them around the floor, and then went back and ate each individual piece. I was in heaven.

As time has gone on, I have discovered that these people have whole boxes of brand new tissues
all over our house. Initially, I tried to hide my problem from them. When they would walk out of the room, I would snatch a tissue surreptitiously from the box. They often found me on the couch, eating a brand new tissue, and then they had the nerve to take it away from me! I mean, if they're sitting out, aren't they meant to eat?

I guess the problem really got bad this last week. The human mama was sick...soooooo sick, as she kept saying, and she had to blow her nose a lot. She had her new tissue box and her old tissues scattered about, and I guess I got a little out of hand. I kept pulling them out and trotting across the floor victoriously, thinking about the feast I was about to engage in. Sometimes she would catch me, but most times she didn't.
The last few times, though, she has told me I'm a...how did she say it? Oh yeah, I'm a "bad dog" for eating tissues.

You know, I'm not bad. Sometimes I can't help myself. It's not like it's a problem or anything. I can totally stop anytime I want.

Madden leaves destruction in his wake

There comes a point in a pet owner's life where they find themselves questioning the value of pet ownership.

Last night was my night.

To begin, let me point out that I am not complaining about the number of pets we own. I knew what I was getting into from the beginning, and have happily accepted responsibility for these animals. We just happen to be a family who loves animals.

When Mike and I first met, it was quaint that Paolo slept under the blankets. He (Paolo) is bathed often, so it isn't a terrible thing, and sometimes it's fun to have a warm dog on your feet.

When Madden moved in, because he was so small, and also bathed regularly, and in need of bonding with his new family, we also let him sleep under the blankets, because, hey...everyone likes a warm dog on their feet.

The problem, however, is that the bigger dogs have begun to believe that they are also able to sleep under the covers, which leads us to some problems. Holly, who is around 40 pounds, has developed an urge to scratch at the blankets and nose them out of the way in order to get under the covers rightnexttome while I am sleeping. She whines and scratches until she has some measure of success, which usually means her hip is covered, or her head, though usually not her whole body. Koko (at a svelte 65 pounds) believes firmly that she belongs on anyone's feet, or tangled up in their blankets. As long as she renders us immobile, she's fine.

As I slept last night, suffering cold symptoms, Holly and Koko both decided simultaneously (you know what we should do, Holly?) that they should attempt to get under the blankets and/or rearrange the creature balance on the bed. To be fair, they did take turns, Holly scratching and whimpering, and Koko flopping as hard as she could right next to my head and breathing in my ear. At approximately 2:24 this morning, I decided it was time to make some different sleeping arrangements. After cajoling and yelling and getting not very much rest at all, I have made an official decision.

From now on, I will sleep on the floor.


The dogs can have the bed.