Adventure Dog Blog

Anna, my big lab/sheperd cross, does well in the snowy Canadian winter because she has a thick luxurious double layered coat of hair. It also helps that she’s got quite a layer of fat lately!

Then there’s Mr. Meaty. He only has a short single coat of hair and he’s a pretty small boy (shhhhh don’t let him hear anyone say that!). He gets pretty darn cold in the winter.

And so, I was thrilled when I saw this coat in the local Old Navy. He’s been wearing it on colder days for walks, and he’s been doing great outside. I haven’t seen him shivering yet, and when we come in the house and remove the coat, his body feels nice and warm underneath.

I think what I liked about this coat the most was that it’s made out of material much like a human winter coat.

Anyway, I thought I’d tell you guys about it in case you’re looking for good coats for your active dogs!

I dressed Mr. Meaty up as a bat for Halloween. As I snapped pictures, it became obvious that Anna was jealous of all the attention he was getting. She went and laid down, grunting and kind of pouting. I decided to make her feel better by dressing her up in a huge orange shirt and snapping pics of her too. As you can see in the pic, it made her much happier!

This has to be the funniest dog toy I’ve ever seen. Or maybe this is! hehehe!

Considering I have a little black pug, I thought the following page of funny dog costumes was pretty hilarious!

I’ve got to get to work thinking up some good costumes for the dogs this year! If anyone would like to share photos, please send them in and I’ll post them!

In the meantime, here’s a pic of Anna’s costume last year:

In my travels across the world wide web, I came across the following amazing fact:

“A dog’s naked behind leaves absolutely no bacteria when pressed against carpet.”

Something about the phrase “dog’s naked behind” makes me giggle uncontrollably.

More fun facts!

Anna and Mr. Meaty are pretty excited to hear that there are Scout Troops for dogs! Dog Scouts of America has troops all over the U.S and a few in Canada. They are a non-profit organization “dedicated to educating the public about responsible dog ownership and the important role of the human/canine bond.”

On their website you’ll find a LOT of information about dogs, with subjects ranging from activities, sports, training, behavior issues, responsible ownership, containment, puppies, and more. There are articles on various dog sports, activities, and fun things to do with your dogs.

If you are interested, there is a map of existing troops, or you can find information on starting your own Dog Scout Troop. Find out about Dog Scout camps and register for a lot of fun!

Visit Dog Scouts of America today.

I’ve always loved dogs, and as a child I noticed which yards had dogs and which didn’t. At the time, I didn’t think it was odd that many dog owners in our neighborhood kept their dogs tied in the backyard or had outdoor pens in which the dogs lived. Now that I’m older, I’m horrified to think someone might never allow their dog in the house.

This page offers some good facts and information about dogs and how much harm can be caused by keeping them locked out in the backyard or tied up all the time.

If you love dogs but believe they should be left outdoors, please visit the link above and read.

I was surfing the web today and found this webpage that sells an “Automatic Outdoor Pet Fountain” for dogs.

Basically it’s this device you attach to your garden hose that has a sensor so it can tell if your dog is within a certain radius. When your dog gets close enough, it automatically turns on and allows your dog to drink water.

Considering how thirsty my dogs are in the summer and how often I have to refill a bowl outdoors, this could be a pretty handy device.

Check out the Automatic Outdoor Pet Fountain here.

Tag! You’re it.

Here are the rules:

List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people. Don’t forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!

1) Anna doesn’t stay in one spot when she poops, she walks forward, pooping across the whole park as she goes.
2) Mr. Meaty is a pitbull at the park and a Mama’s boy at home.
3) The first time Anna ever farted, she looked surprised and sniffed curiously at her bum.
4) Anna loves it when you sniff loudly at her ears.
5) Anna eats every kind of poop except dog poop.

I’m tagging:

* Woody & Chigger

Sorry, those are the only other dogs that haven’t been tagged online that we know!

We can’t always trot about the globe, adventuring with our canine friends. Luckily, adventure isn’t always too far from home. Lots of cities across North America now offer off leash parks for dogs.

An off leash park is a green space in the city designated as being off leash, meaning you can let your dog run free! These parks are great places for your dog to get better exercise than they could ever hope for from a regular walk, and they can meet other dogs to play with. Over time, if you regularly attend an off leash park with your dog, you’ll probably make some of your own friends too!

To find offleash parks in your city, you can usually visit your city’s webpage and find a listing of the parks.

You can also look up off leash parks online in Canada here and dog parks in the U.S.A here.

You can also find a nice little article about starting your own dog park here.