Ammo the Dachshund

Pet Blog – Adventures in the Life of a Super Dog

The Hunt for My Missing Collar

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Ammo

It’s true, on Monday night I lost my collar somewhere on the farm. My pretty one from the Polka Dog Line at Target, complete with my new Blanket ID tag, and my new Cropscotch tag, and even my two new Rubit Clips. Sigh, I was sort of in the dog house when I told mom I had lost all of those things at once. And the worst part was, I couldn’t even remember where I lost it.

So the next day mom and I set out to search the farm for my collar. WE LOOKED EVERYWHERE! Needless to say with 20 acres to search it didn’t turn up.

Then, in a sudden turn of events that day, I accidentally lost my back-up collar! I must have been so engrossed in digging out some local groundhogs that it slipped off my neck. This time we were able to find my collar nearby one of the holes, which made us come to the conclusion that my other collar must be down one of the holes too!

So the very next day we set out on a digging mission (oh happy day) to find my collar.

Armed with shovels and the super strength of my digging paws the mission was simple – dig up groundhog holes!

The whole time I just kept thinking those pesky groundhogs were parading around down there with my prized collar (I am sort of a fashion icon).

I worked myself up into a frenzy over them wearing my collar and ended up doing most of the digging, surprise surprise.

But despite my best digging efforts I was unable to locate my lost collar. Tear. I can’t bear the thought of those groundhogs with something of mine!

But the very worst part was, when we were all done, mom filled in all of my holes!!!! This is just horrible, I’m going to have to pull double digging duty tomorrow to un-dig them all. Sigh.

Stand up Paddleboarding with your Dog

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Ammo

Last week I took a short stay-cation in my hometown of Downingtown, Pennsylvania. While I didn’t actually travel anywhere exotic or new I did get to have a whole bunch of brand-new adventures. I hope you’ll come along for the ride with me this week, as I have lots to share!

One of the first things I did on my vacation was to go stand up paddleboarding (also called SUP or stand up paddle surfing) at the Marsh Creek Boat Rental.

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

Visiting the lake isn’t new to me, as I’ve been known to zip around on a motorized row boat with my mom and dad, but SUP was something I have never done before.

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

I was so excited when I saw the paddleboard come out that I couldn’t wait to hit the water, especially on this super hot day.

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

I did end up swimming A LOT while I was on the water, sometimes by accident because I was standing too close to the edge while some turbulent water knocked me in, and sometimes because I wanted to take a trip over to visit dad in his canoe.

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

Luckily I do know how to swim, and my new life vest kept me even more afloat – and made it easy for mom and dad to scoop me back onto the board.

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

I’m pretty sure I was the talk of the lake that day and I enjoyed waving at all the other people out enjoying the cool water.

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

This may have been my first time paddleboarding, but it certainly won’t be my last! Especially if this heat wave in Pennsylvania keeps up!

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

Tips for Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog

Before visiting a lake rental spot make sure that they allow dogs on their rental boats and boards
Make sure your dog has a properly fitted life vest – keep a leash attached to it so you can quickly grab your dog should they go overboard accidentally
If you have never been on a paddleboard yourself, practice paddling on the lake without your dog first, it will be much harder to maneuver the board with a dog on it too
Allow your dog to get used to the board near the shore first with you standing in the water
Be prepared to get wet – very wet (but that is the point isn’t it?)
Don’t bring a dog paddleboarding that doesn’t know how to swim, it is pretty likely that at some point they will go overboard especially if it is windy out
If your dog has a strong herding instinct it is best to have only one “member of the pack” out on the lake at a time, otherwise your dog will be upset when his “pack” isn’t close together, causing him to jump overboard or panic
Have as much fun as possible!

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

And the icing on my cupcake…..according to Shape Magazine I burned 500 – 700 calories every hour I was out paddleboarding (although mom says she’s pretty sure they mean it’s her that’s burning those calories), but regardless it’s also apparently the new “celebrity trend” – with paddleboarders like Jennifer Aniston and Kate Hudson testing them out too.

Stand Up Paddleboarding with your Dog - via Ammo the Dachshund

So considering I’m probably just as famous as those big celebs (right?) then it must be the super cool new thing to do! Not to mention I look awfully sexy doing it! *wink*

So what do you think? Is your next big adventure going to be paddleboarding with your dog? Or do you just enjoy living vicariously through me? Or better yet – have any suggestions of new adventures I should try?

Make sure you stop by the blog tomorrow to hear all about my adventures on my very first airplane ride!