Last weekend on the farm we had some lingering snow, the kind of snow that was perfect for snowballs! Trooper and I wasted no time in having a little game out of who could catch the most.
After a few failed attempts on my part to catch said snowballs (it would probably help if I opened my eyes when trying to catch them), it was evident that Trooper was going to come out on top with this one.
What can I say, my best friend is a natural!
You know as much as we all want to complain about the winter with all the snow and the cold, there is just something magical about running through the snow, catching snowballs, and bundling up until you can hardly move!
Even our farm neighbor, Bella the Bernese Mountain Dog decided to stop by for some wintertime fun!
Unfortunately despite all my winter gear, I still lack the natural winter protection that my friend Bella is so blessed with. So I was off to the car to warm up for a bit!
Sorry Bella, our winter fun will have to wait until I thaw out some!
The Christmas festivities have come and gone, but I’m still reminiscing about all the fun I had with friends and family.
I kicked off the festivities on Christmas eve with a trip to Trooper’s house!
Trooper and I had a blast opening gifts with our family, and I even gifted Trooper a new reflective vest and collar to wear during hunting season on the farm.
Between the both of us we opened up some fun new toys like this Pickle for Trooper and a new Kong toy for me. Needless to say I confiscated both of them….for testing purposes of course!
Christmas eve of course wasn’t complete until we got a little snow! Just what I needed before I put on my pj’s and dreamed of elves and the jolly old fat man!
Before I could see what Santa brought me on Christmas morning I headed out to the farm to take care of my ponies, and I had fun watching them open their new toy from Santa!
Then it was back home to open my own presents under the tree!
Santa must have thought I was a really good boy this year (and don’t you tell him otherwise), because I got so many goodies I hardly knew what to play with first!
But before I had a chance to play with much of anything it was off to my mom-mom and pop-pop’s house to have Christmas with my cousins!
My cousins were very nice to share most of their toys with me, although I was much more excited to get home to my own toys than playing Skylanders.
Although my cousins did gift me this fun new duck toy, which I had a blast tearing into!
I bet you are wondering just what I got for Christmas right?
Well one of my very favorite toys was a stuffed cup of hot chocolate that my mom and dad picked up for a couple bucks from goodwill….
It doesn’t take much to make this dog happy!
I also got the new Planet Dog Snoop Toy (one of my current favorite toys, and thus far indestructible!), KONG Starpod (I already broke a hole in this one!), a Bumble Ball (which I must admit I’m a little scared of as it vibrates!), a Ruffwear Lunker Toy (which I can’t wait to try out it’s floating capabilities at the lake this summer) and several bags of cookies!
Dad also got me a new stand for my photo backdrops, yippee!
By the end of the day I was pretty exhausted! But I had a wonderful Christmas with the people (and animals) I love!
Yesterday I shared my adventures in the Isle of Palms, frolicking on the beach with my best pal Trooper, and having a grand time! But being a beach bum wasn’t the only thing I did on my Thanksgiving vacation.
There was some turkey involved too as I celebrated Thanksgiving with a traditional turkey feast with my family. Trooper and I begged mercifully for some turkey, and even though we didn’t get any, we had fun chowing down on the turkey sausage chews for dogs that mom brought along for us.
After our day of feasting Trooper and I headed into downtown Charleston, South Carolina to check out some of the local scenery.
Before strolling through town we practiced being southern gentleman on a front porch stoop, because I hear that’s what you do when you’re down south!
I even wore my fancy bow tie and poured on the charm, because you never know when a southern lady might be watching!
After my front porch adventure I realized I was getting quite sleepy in the warm southern sun.
I was also quite hungry too! So we decided to take a walk into town to grab something to eat. We ended up at Tabbuli, which had a great little enclosed outdoor dining area that was completely dog friendly!
After some good food it was off to explore Charleston, and I was excited to see that I was sharing the streets with some horses too! These carriage rides around town were pet friendly too, as I saw a couple of small dogs riding in them.
After exploring some of the shops I headed over to Waterfront Park, where I fit right in with my sailor jacket!
I even met some new friends while checking out some of the fountain displays in the park.
Then it was off to Battery Park where I watched the sunset before it was time to head back to my beach rental.
The next day Trooper and I took the short walk from our rental to the beach to say goodbye to the ocean one last time.
Then we packed it into the car and settled in for the long ride back to Pennsylvania.
Making sure to stop for dinner of course!
I hope you enjoyed my Thanksgiving adventures, what kind of fun did you have?Â
As you know last week I left for a fun Thanksgiving road trip with my family. With over 1500 miles of driving this would be one of my longest road trips to date!
Not to worry though, because Trooper and I are excellent travelers and we can nap in the car for hours and hours.
Trooper even snores!
Despite our excellent traveling skills, we did make a few pitstops for dinner and a couple bathroom breaks.
And then finally after about 14 hours of driving from Pennsylvania to South Carolina we reached our destination. When we awoke the next day I wasted no time in hitting up the beach on Isle of Palms. This time of year the beaches are open all day long to dogs.
Trooper and I had a lot of energy to expel so we ran and ran to our hearts content.
I even made friends with a few dachshund mixes that were staying right next door to my beach house!
Even though we were a bit farther south, it was still chilly enough in the morning that I preferred the extra warmth of my coats.
The cool weather didn’t stop me from venturing into the cold water though!
One of my favorite things to do on the beach is to “rescue” crabs from the ocean. I drag them ashore from the sea and then I’m off in search of my next crab that needs saving.
My new favorite thing on the beach though…..bird watching!
Well ok, maybe more like bird chasing.
Seriously, bird chasing = the most fun ever!
With a close second being wrestling with my best buddy Trooper on the beach!
By the end of our trip I was becoming such a beach loving dog that I’ve decided when I’m rich and famous I’ll be purchasing a vacation house right on the beach.
I miss it already!
Check back tomorrow when I recap my adventures in the town of Charleston!Â
Last year for Thanksgiving I headed south to North Carolina to visit family. My road trip was so much fun that I’ve decided it was time for another adventure this Thanksgiving. So today I’m on my way (with Trooper too) to Charleston, South Carolina for a couple of days of fun with my family!
I’m sure my days will be filled with lots of adventure, I’m especially looking forward to playing on the beach with Trooper! Don’t worry, when I return I’ll be sure to fill you in on all the fun I’ve had, but in the meantime I’ll be sure to post pictures of my road trip on Facebook and Instagram as I travel.
And if anyone knows any fun dog-friendly adventures in and around the Charleston, South Carolina area post them in the comments section!
I’ve meticulously packed my bag with everything I might need for my trip. You can check out what I typically pack for a road-trip, and I always make sure to store the phone numbers for emergency vets in mom’s phone as well as bringing along my DIY Pet First Aid Kit.
I was also super excited when just in time for my trip my November Barkbox showed up at my door.
Packed full of goodies perfect for a Thanksgiving feast of my own I could hardly wait to dig right in!
Mom even set aside these Turkey chews for Trooper and I to have on Thanksgiving day!
Of course she let me have a little goodie before the trip to wet my whistle – even the dental chews were mighty tasty.
So if you want to pick a little goodie from Barkbox for your furry friend, you can get $5 off any new BarkBox subscription with code AMMO5
Disclosure: I received a Barkbox in exchange for my review. But all opinions are my own and I really think they’re great!Â
It’s been a little while since I’ve done a Throwback Thursday on the blog, so I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane today!
Back when I was just a wee pup my pal Trooper used to come to the shop to “babysit” me everyday. While I did get in my fair share of puppy antics, Trooper and I also did a whole lot of napping together……
You gotta love a best friend that will let you use him as a pillow!Â
Over the weekend the temperatures rose to a comfortable 65 degrees on the farm, which meant I found myself soaking up all the sun I could before it inevitably turns cold once again.
I ran and ran and celebrated being free!
I kept on running until Trooper came to get me to help with the farm chores. What a buzz kill!
Digging holes for fencing requires all hands paws on deck, and as the digging expert I’m always involved with it comes to holes on the farm.
Trooper on the other hand just likes to nap in the sun. To each his own. Happy warm fall day to all!Â
Yesterday I shared my homemade Halloween costume for this year, and today I thought it would be fun to share some of the details from my annual Halloween Party!
One year during our annual Halloween party I happened to escape out the front door, but thankfully I was wearing my Glowdoggie, so I wasn’t lost in the dark for long. So now every time we have a party my Glowdoggie is a necessary accessory!
I was so excited to show off my costume to all my friends, but of course everyone was fashionably late!
My dad dressed as Mr. Clean, even going as far as to shave his head! Now that’s Halloween dedication.
Mom was Inspector Gadget, and I was just really bummed that her go go gadget helicopter didn’t actually work!
We were all decked out and ready as the first party guests started to arrive.
I was excited to see my pal Trooper showed up dressed as a soccer player, but I really couldn’t figure out why he kept screaming GOOOOOAAAALLL all night long when the soccer ball was tied to his own back!
Trooper loved my costume and was convinced I had pizza hiding under my turtle shell, so all night long he kept checking!
As more and more guests started to arrive I was excited to see that we even had a horse guest! Now the party was really getting started!
We partied and partied and then partied some more, but wouldn’t you know, my pal Trooper was the first one to hit the floor. He just can’t hang like I can!
As my guests headed home for the night the spooky figures in the front windows of my house waved goodbye….I’m pretty sure some of the party goers had nightmares!
I’m sad that the Halloween season is coming to an end, but I’ll have one last hurrah tonight as I bark at all the trick-or-treaters!
Happy Halloweenie!
Make sure you check out what my pals, the Painting Ponies, dressed up as this Halloween!Â
Over the weekend I took my very first trip to the Fair Hill International Event, one of the most prestigious international three day events in the world, this is the ultimate test of a horse and rider. Through tests in dressage, endurance, and stadium jumping the horse and rider teams work together to show that they can compete in the most demanding and highest levels of equestrian sports.
But before I could attend the event, I had to go on my very first school bus ride!
Trooper tagged along with me on this adventure, and we were both pretty excited about taking the bus to the event grounds from the parking lot.
I can only imagine how exciting it must be to take the bus everyday to school! Those lucky kids! I even sang the wheels on the bus during the ride just to make it even more fun.
Once in the park I quickly made my way to the arena, because the real reason I came to the Fair Hill International was to cheer on my friends from the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team!
Made up entirely of Chincoteague Ponies (and the only one in the world), the drill team performs at events to choreographed music. It was great to see my friends again, as I had not seen them since I went to Chincoteague a few years ago so that my pony friends could frolic on the beach.
After I said goodbye to my friends I was ready to check out the other events at the Fair Hill International. (Above is me pictured with Misty’s Icicle, the only cremello colored pony in the Misty family line of ponies)
Of course my number one mission was to RIDE A PONY! But since most of them were busy competing I settled for this cardboard cutout of one instead.
And here’s what I would look like if I was a world class eventer like the riders that were competing at Fair Hill! Dashing right?
Next up I hit up the Dog Agility area, where they very nicely let me try a practice course – which was the first time I tried a course outside of my weekly classes at the Dog Training Center. I was a little distracted by all the smells on the course (and the fact that some of the obstacles seemed a bit different than what I was used to), but I did complete all the obstacles!
You may have heard my pal Trooper crying in the background of the video – he was utterly convinced that the course was going to eat me up if he wasn’t out there to protect me – or better yet, herd me around the scary obstacles. Oh Trooper, such a silly boy.
Next I headed over to watch some of the show jumping on the hill with the other dogs. You might not be able to tell from this photo, but almost every person came to the event with a dog. Great Danes, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Greyhounds, Jack Russells, Labradors, and I even spotted a few Dachshunds among them.
Watching the show jumping was quite spectacular as the horses soared through the air, but I have to admit, the Fair Hill International really wore me out!
I’m already counting down the days until next years event though!
Make sure you check out some more photos and video of the Chincoteague Pony Drill Team at the Painting Pony Blog.
You may have already heard, but it’s official, my 2014 wall calendar has hit the shelves!
Packed with lots of photos from my adventures this past year, it’s sure to put a smile on your face each new month.
The perfect size to hang above your desk, next to your kitchen sink, or on the wall next to your bed – it even includes a bulldog clip for easy hanging.
So tell your friends, tell your mom, tell everyone you know! You can purchase one of my 2014 Calendars in my Etsy Shop! Soon I will be coming out with some Holiday cards and several new products as well, so stay tuned. And if you need even more smiles every month, make sure you check out the Painting Ponies’ 2014 Calendar too!
for Trooper and a new Kong toy for me. Needless to say I confiscated both of them….for testing purposes of course!
Toy (one of my current favorite toys, and thus far indestructible!), 
 (I already broke a hole in this one!), a 
(which I must admit I’m a little scared of as it vibrates!), a 
(which I can’t wait to try out it’s floating capabilities at the lake this summer) and several bags of cookies!
