Tucson for the weekend

Have you ever been a dog sitter?  I actually love having another dog around for Whiskey to play with and we are lucky enough to have a great friend, Gabe, who we exchange the favor with.  If we go out of town he takes Whiskey and when he goes away we take Indy... it works out very nicely. Plus our dogs our best friends and love to play together so selfishly we love that Whiskey gets worn out! 

This past memorial weekend we were "dog sitting" Indy as her owner was hiking the Grand Canyon (I know, I am jealous too).  We decided to make a quick trip to Tucson to visit some family and it was a grand ol time!  Tucson is pretty dog friendly and we ended up taking the dogs (along with the rest of the fam) to a park.  We had fun playing fetch with the dogs as the nieces and nephews flew kites.  Please enjoy the pictures...

Camping with your mutt

Now camping is an activity that 90% of the time your furry friend can attend.... and they usually LOVE it!  If you are Whiskey, you spend most of your day inside.   You pretty much sleep ALL day from 8am - 5pm until we get home from work.  Then you go CRAZY when we get home, eat dinner and maybe play outside for an hour by running around and playing fetch..... sound familiar???

But camping the mutt gets to be outside ALL of the time!  This was our first time camping with Whiskey and it was an adventure.  Rene and I found a nice secluded campsite NE of Payson at Tonto Creek campgrounds.  There was a nice creek that ran throughout.

We set up camp and then went for a hike.... Whiskey LOVES hikes, especially if it involves water! We could hardly keep up with him.

When we got back it was time to make a fire and start cooking dinner.  I have to say I loved having Whiskey with us there but one thing did get on my nerves a little..... every time Whiskey heard the slightest noise he would prick up his ears and look into the forrest.  Now that was getting me paranoid that something was out there coming to get us (more than usual), whether a bear, cougar, coyote, crazy forrest people.... heck even a turkey would have scared the beejeezes out of me!  So that was really the only downfall of the situation.  I would hope to think if we do it enough he will get used to the "forrest noises".

If you are looking for something fun and adventurous to do with you mutt, go camping!!!

Scottsdale Arabian Horse show.... Not just for horses

Over this past week I have been working at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse show at West World. It has been 10 days of talking with horse people about nutrition and feed BUT also surprisingly with a lot of dog people.





This show was a great destination for an outing with your mutt. You can take him anywhere. He can accompany you while you shop in the two vendor tents filled with clothing, tack, art, jewelry, books, etc... and there even are a few "pet boutique" vendors so even your pup can pick up something nice.


After you have shopped your little heart out you can sit and rest your feet & paws in the stands of the Equidome and watch the beautiful Arabian horses "do their thang" in the many classes including Mounted Native Costume, Saddle Seat English Pleasure, Carriage Driving, and Liberty.





You smell the wonderful array of food carried by the wind and so you and your mutt decide it is time for lunch. There is so much to choose from (think fair food)... Mexican, Chinese, Italian, burgers, smoked salmon, ice cream, Greek, turkey legs, corn on the cob, funnel cake, etc!!! Take your pick, and then maybe take come more :-)


After full bellies, you can go for a stroll through the wonderfully decorated barns and see the Arabians resting in the barns. You might even be so lucky to stumble upon a stallion or sale offering presentation where they take out the horses to show them off to the crowd.




You can find dogs of every size and breed here at the show (from mastiffs to mini pins and everything in between). I bet one in five attendees bring their dog with them whether they are "horse people" or not. You do not have to know about horses to attend, it is just an all around fun event.

The show happens every year in February, so if you haven't already, check it out next year and BRING YOUR MUTT!!

Wish Arizona had a dog beach

Over the holidays we got to visit the California coast and man did we have a great time! Whiskey got to play in the ocean for the very first time and he LOVED IT!  He had such a great time at the beach with his new girlfriend, Dolce (a very cute Boston Terrier).  They chased each other all over and running into the waves... Whiskey was in heaven.  And having such a wonderful time it would have been so convenient to have a professional photographer document the event..... OH WAIT, WE DID!!!!  Thanks to my best friend, Michelle Warren (www.mwfoto.com) we got awesome pictures of the mutts at the beach! 

 

I really wish we could have a fun beach in Arizona (at let alone ANY beach).  I love the ocean!  Maybe it is because I am a water sign (Aquarius).    So, if you have never taken your mutt to a beach and he/she loves the water, I HIGHLY recommend it!

(pictures are not permitted to be printed)