Happy New Year!

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Ammo

Wow, I can’t believe it’s 2012 already! This year I decided to celebrate the incoming new year with a bang. And what better way to do that than with a PARTY!

happy new year from ammo the dachshund

I was the best dressed of course, but aren’t I always?

happy new year from ammo the dachshund

I’m excited you’re here to celebrate the new year with me, having friends like you makes blogging so much fun!

happy new year from ammo the dachshund

I can’t see into the future (despite my super cool specs) but I do think 2012 is going to be a great year!

happy new year from ammo the dachshund

I’m going to try even harder this year to make each and every one of you giggle with delight when you see my happy little face on the blog.

happy new year from ammo the dachshund

Happy New Year Friends!

Friday Fetch: New Year Addition

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Ammo

Tomorrow is New Years Eve! Which means, it’s out with the old….

old shoe dog toy

Canvas Old Shoe Dog Toy from ORE Pet

….and in with the new!

high heel dog toy

Lost Soles Dog Toy from Vo-Toys [you can purchase this item from Amazon]

How will you be celebrating this New Years Eve?

2012 New Year Goals

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Ammo

Last year I made my list of New Year Goals, so I thought it would be fun to check back and see how far I got with them – and also come up with a few new ones for 2012!

ammo the dachshund new year party

P.S. this may look like my Birthday hat, but right now it’s doubling as my new years party hat!

LAST YEARS GOALS:

1. Take another agility class or maybe even COMPETE in agility. Sadly since my last agility class at the Dog Training Club of Chester County I haven’t been able to attend any new classes. Not because I didn’t want to, but because the training center hasn’t been offering any new agility classes that fit my busy schedule, so mom’s been looking into finding a new place for me to test out my agility skills this year, like this place. But I did try my hand at an agility course while I was at the Dog Days of Summer Event and I even tested out some moves at the dog park this year.

Ammo jumping through hoop

2. Actually win a race at the Dachshund Races this year. I did even better than win just one race this year, I won 3! and I even qualified for the Championship race, bringing home a respectable reserve champ ribbon! Go me!

3. Make MORE artwork. This year I created and shipped all over the World nearly 20 original pieces of art. Not bad for my first full year of being a real life artist!

4. Visit some nursing homes. I made several trips this year to visit the nursing home – HERE, HERE, and HERE. I even made some undocumented trips too! It’s great when I can make someone’s day a little bit happier with my happy wagging tail.

ammo the dachshund nursing home

5. Perform more with the Trick Ponies. I added lots of new performances with the Trick Ponies to my calendar this year. I visited a school and made appearances at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show and The Dog Days of Summer event to name a few.

6. Learn at least 10 new tricks. Ok well I might not have accomplished this “10 new tricks” goal, but I did add a few new ones to my repertoire. Which reminds me….I never shared them with you guys! So that will definitely have to be a future post.

7. Dress up more often. This one I have totally accomplished. I was a dressing up fool this year with my 12 days of Christmas, my rocket dog costume and even my Valentines Day outfit to name a few.

ammo the dachshund rocket dog

8. Go on vacation. Admittedly I don’t really go on vacation much, it’s hard to get a way when you have such a busy working calendar like me! But I did get to take a special trip this year to Assateague Island to visit the sand and surf (and some new friends) with my pony pals.

assateague island

9. Try something new. This year I took my first trip on a motor boat at the Marsh Creek State park, I built a super fort while mom was away in Chincoteague, and I even did some relaxing by the pool for the first time. Oh yeah, and I watched a movie in the park this summer!

10. Giggle more. I giggle everyday, what about you?

2012 Goals:

1. Learn a new trick with my favorite pony, Minnow.

2. Compete in my first agility trial or take an agility class with a new club.

3. Make more home movies, featuring me!

4. Get more creative with my costumes.

5. Master some new tricks and share them on the blog.

6. Take pictures every month for my 2013 Calendar!

7. Make more DIY projects.

8. Paint more.

9. Dig more holes in the backyard.

10. Smile everyday!

So what about you? What are your goals for 2012? Do you think I can accomplish everything on my list by this time next year?

P.S. Don’t forget there is still time to enter my giveaway to win my 2012 Calendar!

Santa’s Secret Workshop

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Ammo

ammo the dachshund merry christmas

Last week I was busy working away on a secret project for the Holidays. I made Christmas Cards! Yay!

ammo the dachshund christmas cards

Mom fashioned a beard for me out of some cotton and a string and I happily posed for portraits in a cheerful little Santa hat we got at the dollar store last year.

ammo the dachshund christmas cards

Picture taking always proves to be the easy part, it’s coming up with the inside greetings that takes a little more effort.

ammo the dachshund christmas cards

But this year I came up with my very own version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas….

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And left tiny paw prints all covered in soot.
The beard of his chin was white as the snow,
His twinkling eyes gave off a warm glow.

He spoke not a word, but gave out a sigh,
As he gobbled the milk & cookies in the blink of an eye.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,
“I like peanut butter cookies, next time get it right!”

You can fetch your very own set of my Holiday Greeting Cards HERE. Send a little Christmas Cheer to everyone you know! And because I love you all oh so much, enter the code AMMOPAL at checkout to get 10% off your order. Yipee!

Freebie – Holiday Desktop Wallpaper

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Ammo

Countdown to Christmas….woohoo! And lucky for you I’m here with some early Holiday Cheer. Free for you to download for personal use is my Christmas Desktop Wallpaper. My cute little face will be sure to put you in the Holiday Spirit, you’ll be singing Christmas songs in no time.

free holiday desktop wallpaper

Just click the links below to download the appropriate wallpaper for your desktop.

1920 x 1080
1680 x 1050
1440 x 900
1366 x 768
1280 x 1024
1280 x 800
1024 x 768
ipad
iphone

Ammo’s Cyber Monday Sale

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Ammo

ammo the dachshund in santa's hat

Cyber Monday is here, and if you’re looking for Holiday deals online – then today is the day to do your shopping! And because I’ve gotten into the holiday spirit (evident by my Santa hat)……I decided to offer up a special deal to all my friends!

Today only you can shop in my ONLINE SHOP and save 20% with coupon code CYBERSALE11!

Here’s a sampling of some of the super cool items you can find in my shop….

2012 ammo the dachshund calendar

My 2012 Calendar

ammo the dachshund watercolor painting

Original Watercolor Paintings by me

holiday cards featuring ammo the dachshund

Holiday Cards featuring me! And coming next week I’ll have a brand-new Holiday Card design for 2011! Yipee!

original scratch art by ammo the dachshund

One-of-a-kind Scratch Art by me

And if you’re looking for something extra unique, you can also see some of the amazing paintings in my shop done by the famous Painting Ponies…

originial painting by a pony

“Chincoteague Waves” painted by Blitz

My Cyber Monday sale ends Monday, November 28th at 12pm midnight EST, so make sure you don’t delay! You can visit my online shop HERE and make sure you use the code CYBERSALE11 at checkout to receive 20% off.

Tuesday Night Lights

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Ammo

Last night I attended my very first men’s college soccer game at the University of Delaware.

ammo the dachshund university of delaware

As fascinating as it was to watch the Blue Hens play Lafayette, I actually didn’t attend the game specifically to watch the men’s soccer team play. (sorry boys).

Nope, I actually had my eye on the sidelines for a good part of the time.

athletic training university of delaware

See the girl on the end there? That’s my Aunt Laurel – and she’s a senior in the Athletic Training Program at the University of Delaware. So while the boys were busy trying to score goals, Laurel was tending to bloody noses, helping hobbling players off the field and icing legs. Pretty cool right?

ammo the dachshund university of delaware

In fact I was so excited to come support the team that I even wore my blue and gold winter coat (you know, in Delaware colors).

ammo the dachshund university of delaware

Everyone thought I was the BIGGEST fan ever…..I didn’t argue, because no one has to know it was my very first game. hehe.

You can check out the game day recap here (sadly UD lost) but it’s still fun to look at the senior appreciation photo up top where my Aunt Laurel is pictured second to last on the right.

Halloween Weekend Adventure

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Ammo

Over the Halloween weekend I went on nearly a 400 mile excursion to visit a place that is very special to my pony friends, Assateague Island, Virginia.

See my pal Minnow was born wild on Assateague 18 years ago, and every year he returns to neighboring Chincoteague Island to perform for a week during their annual pony penning. I never get to go because the island isn’t very dog friendly and sitting in the car is not a good idea in the summer heat.

ammo the dachshund rest stop

Even dogs need to take advantage of the rest stop!

But this time as all the ponies loaded up for a special trip to Assateague to ride on the beach in the cool fall weather, I was allowed to come! Yipee!

The even better news was that I got to leave behind a rare October snowstorm in PA for the still cold but way less snowy weather in Virginia. Score.

Upon arriving Saturday evening I got to attend a special picnic where mom got to meet up with her Chincoteague Pony Friends from all across the country. I even got to meet a bunch of my facebook fans in person for the very first time, and I wasted no time showing off some of my favorite tricks so that everyone could have a good laugh.

assateague island

The next day we were up early and headed across the bridge and onto Assateague Island with all my pony friends in tow.

Dogs aren’t allowed on Assateague (seriously?) so I spent my morning snuggled in a pile of blankets. Honestly I can’t complain, from what the ponies tell me it would of been too cold for me anyway.

riding ponies on assateague

Meanwhile mom got to live out her dream of riding the ponies on the beach. Boomerang and Blitz were excited to visit the island where their parents were born years earlier. It was a very special trip for everyone.

minnow on assateague island

Naturally mom spent hours on the beach taking pictures of the ponies. She promised me she’d show me all the cool photos once she has time to filter through the nearly 1,000 photos she took (and I thought she took a lot of photos of me!)

But here are a few she showed me last night that I thought were extra special.

chesapeake boomerang

chincoteague minnow

chesapeake lightning

I taught those ponies everything they know. Don’t forget that! 🙂

After our beach adventure we headed back to the mainland so the ponies could participate in a fun show. They won me lots of ribbons – but I won the most special one of them all…

The costume contest! Well, ok, Minnow might have helped some.

Then on Halloween morning we made one last drive out to Assateague so the ponies could say goodbye to the ocean before heading home to PA. I told them I had to be back home in time to hand out candy to all the trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood!

So how about that for a Halloween weekend adventure? Pretty exciting, right? I just might have to spend the rest of the week catching up on my sleep after this weekend fun!

P.S. More fun photos from our amazing adventure will be popping up on the Painting Pony Blog & Facebook page as soon as my mom has a chance to filter through them all! So make sure you check back soon!