Ray's Snowy Day

Our little yeti of the Ozarks ran herself silly today playing in the snow. Of course it's better when Magi joins in, but Ray's happy to play on her own. The Rosendogs didn't get their walk today but at least they still got plenty of exercise.

I came home early with a headache and the intention of napping. Sweet baby Ray would have none of it. She not only refused to nap with me but took every opportunity to accost my face with her barracuda teeth and claws. Such a sweet girl.

The Art of Kissing With Your Teeth

Sweet Baby Ray made her first kill this week. Jason let the Rosendogs in and she ran up and dropped a black bird/starling at his feet. She was most proud of herself and I'm sure will spend her life giving the birds a run for their money.

Raylene continues to be a lively spirit, or holy terror, whichever you prefer. She and Magi chase and wrestle off and on all day. Poor Magnolia takes a lot of abuse but it's kind of fitting given the hell she used to give Betty.

Ray also seems to think I'm a chew toy. Whether its my hands, face or ankles, most kisses start with the tongue and quickly turn to nips. And then there's the sneak attacks on my ankles. Guess what SuperDogMom will be reading about and working on with Ray this weekend? Haven't had much luck so far.

Friday night with the Rosendogs. 

Speaking of training, Ray's getting pretty good at sit but stay is challenging for her. We're still working hard on come but she's gotten much better!

"Puppy Love" Melts the Heart

If you haven't yet seen Budweiser's "Puppy Love" commercial for this year's Super Bowl, then just stop right now and watch it below. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

I really like Budweiser's Clydesdale commercials. The one featuring the baby was fantastic - and genius marketing! It won't surprise any of you to learn that I absolutely adore "Puppy Love"! How can I not with the adorable puppy and his whole story with the horses? 

I'm not a commercial aficionado, I don't even drink beer and I don't care for football, but even I enjoy the commercials in the Super Bowl. What's not to like? Advertisers bring their A game, or at least try, and it takes a lot of work to come up with something that's going to impress us, especially in this day and age. Budweiser's team knocked it out of the park this year, as evidenced by its almost instant virality. And I'm writing about it, so it must be incredible! 

But seriously, I know, it's a commercial. In the big scheme of things it doesn't really matter one iota. But if it makes us smile and makes our hearts warmer for a couple of minutes, isn't that worth something? In this world where we hear about shootings and animal abuse on a daily basis, I'll take any bit of random happiness that I can get, even if it's from a commercial. 

Sillybutt on Ice

If I haven't expressed how much Raylene likes the cold, let me just cover that now - my dog is a yeti. Ray LOVES cold weather, it seems like the colder the better. She wants to stay out and play long after everyone else has come in. It doesn't matter if the wind's blowing, it's dark or snowing, Ray's out there entertaining herself, or if she's lucky, playing with Magi.

The top of our backyard pond has frozen more than usual this winter due to the unseasonably cold weather we've been experiencing. Raylene can't get enough of the ice! We've given up trying to keep her off of it. She lays on it, leaps onto it and digs at it.

But her favorite thing is to frolic with sweet gum balls - yes, the pointy, brown, pain in the butt castoffs from my neighbor's sweet gum trees. Lieu loves to chew on them as well, but never have I seen him prance and dance with them the way Ray does, especially across the ice! It's absolutely magical to watch at night under the lights, but of course I couldn't get any video of that. Too bad the Olympic figure skating trials are already over, Ray would definitely take the gold!

I have visions of her falling through the ice and having to scoop her out or worse, but it's worth the worry to watch her have so much fun. Jason assures me that she's safe, the ice is plenty solid. And when it does start melting, he breaks it up to discourage Puppy Shackleton from exploring. Then she has a grand time trying to grab chunks of ice from the pond and running around the yard with it.

The pack and their people enjoyed a beautiful day in the backyard yesterday,  taking advantage of the 60 degree day among all of the bitterly cold ones. There was plenty of chase, wrestling and stick chewing to be had. Ray also worked on her tunnel to China in the digging pit and found her way to the top of the compost bin to bark at the neighborhood dogs. Such a busy, busy girl. I took advantage of the warm weather by giving the yard a thorough poop scooping. Such is the glamorous life of a super dog mom.

Lieu Teaches Ray About the Digging Pit

Lieu introduced Raylene to the joys of the digging pit. She took to it very quickly and seems to get a big kick out of it!

The dogs do actually dig in this space we've set aside for them. We have to remind them occasionally but the whole pack loves their pit. In case you were wondering how we made it, we churned up the dirt about 1 foot down, cleaned out the larger rocks and mixed a few bags of sand into the dirt.  It hardens but breaks up quite easily and makes for great digging.

Random Dog Book Review: Devoted

I can't resist many nonfiction dog or animal books, especially short stories about dogs and their people like the ones that make up Devoted. I found it so touching that I wanted to share.

From stories about service dogs and the children and adults they help everyday, to servicemen and women and suicidal people who would have trouble thriving and may not survive without their dogs, these are stories about incredible dogs who have inspired, saved and loved their people in awe inspiring ways.

Every story had me in tears,  laughing out loud or both. They all epitomized a fact I've known for years,  having the companionship of a dog can change a person's life for the better, forever. Dogs bring a ray of light into the lives of those who are drawn to love them. I know first hand the transforming power of their unconditional love.

Raylene's Great Escape

Poor Jason! Raylene got out of the backyard yesterday and took Jason on a wild goose chase around the neighborhood. He was fixing the gate when the air compressor turned on and startled Ray who bolted through the gate. She explored the neighbor's yard then took off across the street and down the block. She chased a rabbit for awhile and generally enjoyed herself while Jason tried for an hour to round her up. I felt so bad that Jason had to deal with Ray alone but so glad that she didn't head the other direction towards Campbell.

We've noticed that Ray is terrified of a few things

and we're working to try and
alleviate those fears along with training her on commands (especially come!), so hopefully it doesn't happen again. I'd already planned to get Ray microchipped and her escape prompted Jason to get her "jewelry" when he was getting dog food. Guess she's official now!

Bonus for me: Ray let me snuggle with her for more than five minutes last night.