Tag Archives: kol’s notes

Senior dogs rock: Maturity is totally underrated

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It’s time for your weekly linkage. I’ve chosen today’s theme for one simple reason. Senior dogs rock.

  1. First up, your punny pet names: Lickey Rooney and Ben Catlock.
  2. This month, I’m doing a series of posts about senior pets on the Grouchy Puppy blog. Head on over and check out my first post to find out how an old dog can teach you some new tricks.
  3. These dogs with old man faces are awesome, as are the accompanying Sanka and Matlock references.
  4. I’m loving these photos of senior dogs across America from Nancy LeVine.
  5. This is slightly off topic, but I don’t care. History is old. This Animals From History ebook looks amazing. (There are puns!) I want to hang prints of the illustrations around my house. It would totally class up the joint.
  6. These vintage art dogs are also pretty great.

Finally, I give you today’s video. This mature dog is pretty charming, don’t you think?

In case you missed it, here’s what else we were up to on the blog this week:

Oh, and don’t forget to swing by Kol’s Notes to enter to win a cool custom pet portrait from AJ Emm!

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Honest movie summaries: Dog edition

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Movie summaries intrigue me. It’s a challenge to condense two hours of action into one or two sentences. I admire those who can cut through the fluff and do it with a bit of flair. (Case in point: once I read this blurb, I was never able to look at the Wizard of Oz the same way again. Even Siri has gotten into the act.)

Hence, today’s post. I’ve taken a stab at a few of my own, inspired by some cinematic canines (and one adorably corrupt feline). Some of these movies I love, some I don’t… but they’re all getting the business today. Continue reading →

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#K9Kamp: The little engine that did

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k9kamp canine fitness blog challenge

This… this was a month. A busy one.

You may recall that October’s K9 Kamp challenge was to do more – specifically, to get active with your dog for an extra 30 minutes a few times per week. You may also recall that I found this challenge a bit daunting, given how busy my month was shaping up to be.

So, how did it go? Well, I did not meet my own personal fitness goals, given that I haven’t seen the inside of my gym since September. (Here’s hoping that November will be better.) I ate pretty poorly this month. I had no motivation. I got off to a really slow start with K9 Kamp, having a lot of trouble squeezing in those extra minutes. I wasn’t sure how I would explain it all to you here on the blog.

via giphy.com

(That GIF, by the way, is from the show Being Erica. If you have not seen it, you are totally missing out. Thank you, Canada. I was lucky that a friend turned me on to this show so that I could catch it when it aired on SOAPnet, but I believe you can still buy or download it. Anyone else a fan?)

Anyway, it turns out that doing more with the dogs is easier than getting myself to the gym. It’s also easier than resisting a delicious cookie. Thank goodness!

Once I realized that I didn’t have to do all of those minutes at once (thanks, Kol’s Notes!), the challenge seemed more achievable. A game of tug here, a game of fetch (or my dogs’ version of it, which is not really fetch at all) there, and the minutes added up before I knew it. So, I guess the lesson from this round of K9 Kamp is that even when you’re busy, it can be done!

With that, another session of K9 Kamp has come to a close. Would I do it again?

via giphy.com

The llama has spoken. I’ll see you next time, fellow Kampers. How did you get active with your dog this month?

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I’ve got 99 problems, but #K9Kamp ain’t one

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You have no idea how much I’m dying to change that “ain’t” to an “isn’t” – I’m feeling twitchy about it. Really twitchy. Anyway…

So, as you may have noticed, posts have slowed a bit around these parts. September and October have teamed up to kick my ass, but not in a useful, personal trainer way. Instead, they’ve just conspired to keep me from relaxing and having any free time to recharge and work on the blog. (Don’t get me wrong – some of the busy is fun or fun-adjacent. Some of it, however, is the opposite of that.)

In addition to September and October refusing to pack in a few more days so I can get things done, other forces have conspired to keep me from my gym, which is currently closed for the foreseeable future. I was finally in a routine, too. Le sigh. So, I’m basically a hot mess right now on all fronts.

k9kamp canine fitness blog challenge

Enter K9 Kamp.

This month’s challenge? Do more.

Um…

I’ll admit – my first instinct upon learning this month’s challenge was to turn off my laptop, put it in a box, put that box in the closet, secure that closet with a padlock, and swallow the key. (My second instinct was to return the padlock and key and purchase a combination lock instead. Why swallow a key – a key, people – when I could just tear up the paper with the combination?) The idea of somehow doing “more” this month seemed… daunting. (Heck, even this post is late.)

However, my crippling Internet addiction weighed against placing my laptop in quarantine, so here I am. Also, considering the gym embargo, I most certainly do need to be doing more. This month, K9 Kamp is encouraging its campers (kampers?) to get active with your dog, 30 to 40 minutes extra, three to four times per week. The theme is fitness fun and games. Bella was excited when tug appeared on that list, so I guess I have no choice but to go for it. I’m working on a plan to get moving…

Will you be joining us at Kamp? Head on over to Kol’s Notes and Peggy’s Pet Place to find out more about this session and to find out how you can win some great prizes, including some fabulous handmade jewelry from For Love of a Dog.

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Hold on to August a little longer with these 14 blog posts…

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It’s time for another monthly roundup, so set aside some time to catch up on your reading. Here are a few posts that made me smile in the month of August: Continue reading →

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Forget MasterChef… how about HamsterChef?

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I’m so ready for this three-day weekend. Bring it on!

  1. Up first, your punny pet names for this week: Nigella Pawson, Meowrio Batali, and Gordon Hamsay.
  2. Any other Top Chef Masters fans out there? I’m pulling for Chef (and certified dog trainer) Douglas Keane – how could I not? He’s competing for puppies! In particular, he’s donating any winnings to the Green Dog Rescue Project. (It’s an interesting model – any thoughts?)
  3. Sorry, other chefs… Dog Chef is still the cutest chef. (I know I shared it before, but it’s totally worth revisiting.)
  4. Dinner is great, but dinner and a show is even better.
  5. Speaking of shows, if you’re suffering from Game of Thrones withdrawal, soothe your sadness with these direwolf cake pops.
  6. If that’s not your thing, you could always order one of these dog cakes instead.
  7. Whatever you’re digging, I bet you can find it at the barkery.
  8. I’m going to need something to wash down all of that cake. What could it be? Oh, yeah. OH. YEAH. (I’m obsessed.)
  9. Don’t forget to provide some tasty options for your pups too – the family that dines together, doesn’t whine together. (Or something.)

Finally, today’s video is about enjoying your meals to the fullest:

Darn. Now I’m hungry. Thank goodness I already know what’s great for a snack.

If you missed it, here’s what was cooking on the blog this week:

(If you’re feeling so inclined, there’s still time to spice up the Dogs of Blogville calendar contest. You can vote for Ms. Bella until noon EST on Sunday.)

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Fifteen posts to beat the Monday blues: No Dogs Allowed edition

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It’s always hard to go back to work after a long weekend. Why not ease in with a few fantastic posts? For June’s monthly roundup, I thought I’d try a different theme…

No Dogs Allowed: I Still Want More Puppies

Cue the Snoopy Come Home music…

Just kidding. Today, I’m sharing fifteen posts that made me smile last month. Get to clicking and find some post-holiday cheer!  Continue reading →

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#K9Kamp: Turn that frown upside down by not sitting around

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Today is the last day of this session of K9 Kamp. It’s been fun, so I thought I’d send it off with an appropriate farewell. That’s right, today’s links are fit to be read…

  1. Up first, your punny pet names: Richard Simbones and Dane Fonda. (Alternatives for that last one: Jane Fawnda or Mane Fonda.)
  2. We did a lot of walking this time around. For the next session of K9 Kamp, I hope to step it up a bit. I’ll be taking a cue from some of my fellow Kampers, who came up with great ways to stay fit. Among them? Hiking, skateboarding, weightlifting, superhero training, kayaking, and geocaching.
  3. It’s not just about working out though. Being healthy involves eating right too, which would be much easier if I had a chef like this one helping me out.
  4. I’m feeling nostalgic for Kamp already. Can’t we have a few more days of campfire songs and s’mores (in appropriately-sized portions, of course)? Time to pull out the photos and reminisce.
  5. Even though Kamp is over for now, there will still be mini-challenges each month courtesy of our newest coach. I can’t wait (and I know my squishy core can still use some more work).
  6. I’d still like to put in a formal request that Koly engage in some (videotaped) Prancercise, with or without a John Mayer soundtrack. (Pretty please? I’ll even try to see if I can figure out how Tavish can do the Flo in return.)
  7. On a tangentially related note, today happens to be Take Your Dog to Work Day. I wonder if you could bring your dog to the office gym. (Probably not.)

Finally, I leave you with today’s video. I’m kind of in love with it – it makes me want to finally learn how to edit a decent video and come up with something amazing for the next session of K9 Kamp.

Even though this session of Kamp has come to an end, you can still enter to win an awesome grand prize package until Tuesday, June 25. Go check it out!

Finally, here’s what we were up to on the blog this week:

Will you be working out with your dog this weekend?

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20 posts you should read right now (instead of doing that whole job thing)

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It’s time for another monthly roundup! May was full of fantastic posts. I’ve pulled together a list of twenty that I really enjoyed, but I easily could have kept going. Stop being so awesome, pet bloggers.

Anyway, here are some posts that will likely prove more fun than doing your job, unless your job happens to involve lying in the grass while being licked by puppies.

(If that is your job, please contact me. I would like to send you my resume. Said resume will just include a video of me getting licked by Tavish and a portfolio of dog photos. The video portion will kind of look like this:

Sort of a slo-mo Tavish: I Still Want More Puppies

via giphy.com

However, Tavish is nowhere near this calm about it, reinforcing the entry on my resume that says I have advanced skills in dog licking acceptance.)

Moving on… let’s get back to those blog posts I mentioned. Continue reading →

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If you could read your dog’s diary, what would it say?

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Jodi from Kol’s Notes shared this video earlier today. I may have watched it multiple times since then. I can’t stop.

Confessions:

  • I have definitely sniffed both dogs’ backsides. How else am I going to figure out what’s going on in that mysterious digestive system?
  • Last night, I found myself sniffing the grass to try to determine what exactly had gone awry in Bella’s tummy. I lead a glamorous life.
  • This video finally explains why Scotti used to hump all of those teddy bears. I blame the cat.
  • I pretty much lost it when I got to the one about shaking. If you need me, I’ll be over here giggling about it for the next few hours. Dog Lawyer (note to self: do something with that) always advises his clients to carefully review the terms of the deal first.

Did any of the dog diaries hit home for you? If your dog had a diary, what would he or she write in it?

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