My First Sleepover

Wow, what a day! First Mom took me for a walk and I found this huge pile of poop, and boy did I have a good roll in it. Mom is so stupid, she thought it was a bit of mud, but when we came home, the PONG struck! I was promptly dunked in the tub and doused in shampoo.

Then Mom and Dad left and 5 minutes later, came back - with Dozer, Gracie's new Shephard mix puppy brother! I did an instant jig. I LOVE having friends over. Mom told me that Dozer is spending the night becos his Mom had to go away. Dozer has my old crate -- he can enjoy it, I don't want it back thank you! So I was told he would sleep in there tonite and I would sleep, as usual, in the bed with Mom and Dad. I am so excited that I can't eat. I just want to play and play - I have more energy than Dozer. Boy, does he pee and poop a lot. Minute he drinks...pssss...out it comes. Minutes he eats...psfft...out it comes. Mom and Dad are rather amazed - they say I didn't do that as a pup. Poor Dozer - must be exhausting.

So friends, meet Dozer (enjoying my rubber chicken):



Here are some pictures of me and Dozer having fun:

I think you can take ONE look at my face to know how HAPPY I am to have my friend over for the night! I was standing on the couch watching him chew my chicken when this was taken:



AGC

Dalton's Birthday Party

Yesterday all my pals gathered at Fairmount Park to celebrate our friend Dalton's birthday. Dalton is a very hadsome English Setter of champion stock (Geez, hope I got the breed right). What a rollicking good time was had by all!

Here is Dalton with him Mommy Barb:


Dalton was very keen to eat his special birthday cake - and who wouldn't be, it looked delish.


Dalton nearly lost his cake in one BIG gulp, when Gracie tried to make a grab for it! That Gracie - ain't she something! Check out my Dad (right) laughing his head off!



Speaking of Gracie, as you all know by now, she is my bestest friend in the neighborhood. Yesterday I heard that her Mom finally sold her house and they will be moving away in May to some place called Massachewsetts. (I hope for Gracie's sake that means it is full of things to chew!). I am very sad to think of Gracie a million miles away, but Mom and Dad promised that we would make a trip up there to visit over the summer. Gracie is very lucky, she is going to have 2 acres to play on and live in the countryside. Gracie is also getting a new brother today - a Bermese Mountain Dog!

Anyway, so back to the party!

There were lots of snacks about, and you all know how much I love snacks! Here I am straining to get into the pretzel jar:



Alas, I didn't get very far, but throughout the party I did get plenty of snacks including birthday cake and cookies in a treat bag! I buried a few of them in the wood chips but when I went to retrieve them, they were GONE! Dad is always telling me how silly I am to bury treats when my pals are in the vicinity. Oh well.

Here are some photos of my friends:

Me and Gracie (poor Gracie had to wear a silly party hat. I would have none of it!) Gracie was chewing her chew from her treat bag and unwilling to share:



This is the newest friend in our neighborhood and it was hard to take a photo of him because he was so well camoflaged by the wood chips. His name is Basil and he's a puppy Cairn terrier:



Here I am (notice my party bandana) with Pippin the black and white dog, and Rocket the lab:



And finally - me with my buds (from left) Lilo, Dalton and Maggie. I love Maggie, she likes to run at top speed and I chase her! There has to be some Greyhound in her somewhere!



After two hours with my pals, we came home and I collapsed with exhaustion from all the running, playing and excitement! I hope come May that I too will have a party in the park!

AGC

Mr. Hospitality - that's MOI!

I sure am a happy chap! And I have a lot to be happy about. My parents dote on me, I have some brilliant dog pals, I get two walks/play sessions a day with my parents outdoors and one with my beloved dogwalker every day. I have a box of toys, eat delish Natural Balance food (well since that horrid recall) and I get treats - well not that often anymore, since I am a bit gezunt (as my Yiddishe grandma - if I had one - would tell me - it means healthily overweight I believe - maybe I should ask Koobuss Shiksa Petrowsky as her middle name is Yiddish. By the way, I helped her create her own blog - click on her name to visit).

Do I not look radiantly happy? Yes, I know, I may also need a haircut!



Tonite Mom's friend Lynne popped over with her friend and her friends pup. A 3 month old spaniel named Toby. Being the friendliest dude on the face of the earth, I welcomed the new visitor:



Some of my four-legged pals might just remark, that I am a bit too welcoming! Toby ran straight to my dinner bowl - I had eaten some but not all of my dinner - and helped herself. Generous boy that I am, I just stood by and let him... he ate it all up...hmm, I might regret this later - but like my great ancestor Abraham - I believe in being hospitable!



After he finished my food, all I could do was smile - little Toby looked very happy and satisfied. That made me pleased:



So as I was saying, yeah, I think it's time for a haircut. Spring is here and it's time to get this thick, curly, partly-matted in some areas coat - off! Did I tell you that Dad also grew more hair over the winter -- Mom calls it a goatee - can't say I've ever met a goat...so I can't comment on this new phenomenon. Mom loves it. Dad finds it rather itchy - but he tolerates it to make Mom happy. See, me and Dad are so alike - we aim to please!

Yesterday was my first love Miss Amelia's 9th birthday - so happy birthday darling! Many happy returns of the day! And shout out to Miss Amelia's bro BigFoot Fletch who also shares this special day. Here is Miss Amelia looking most ravishing with her birthday toy:



And good, rather bizarro news -- remember my former toy Mr Balloon man that I ripped to shreds? He is resurrected! Mom came home a few days ago and while she wasn't looking, Mr. Balloon man jumped out and hid in my toy box. I was shocked to find him there - completely whole again, with squeaker in tact. It's a miracle!!! I plan to kill him again though...he's a very obnoxious cretin! Below is proof that he LIVES!



AGC

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

My Mommy went to New York for some conference and I miss her!!!!

AGC

Is my food making me sick? Let's ask Trader Joes!

UPDATE - 3/21
Mom just called Trader Joes and now understands what is going on. It seems the ingredient in Menu Food pet food that caused the recall is NOT present in the food the company makes for Trader Joes. But to be extra careful, TJ's has still removed the food from their shelves and told Mom not to feed me TJ's food until they have fully tested the food. They will post updates on their website. Phew, that's quite a relief. Until further notice, no more lamb and rice for me. Tonite I get real chicken! yay!

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I'm sure you all heard about the pet food recall issued by Menu Foods who manufacture most of the dog and cat food in the northern hemisphere. Mom got a fright when she saw the news as she started wondering whether my dog food had made me so sick last week, plus I'm still vomiting now and again...

Mom feeds me Trader Joes canned lamb and rice. Mom looked on the can and just saw that it was manufactured by "Trader Joes". That wasn't enough for my Mom, she called her store and asked who really manufactures their food. Their guy Jacob told Mom it was a secret that he couldn't divulge but assured her their food was not involved in the recall as far as he knew. Mom emailed the main email on their website and on Monday got this reply:
"Please be assured that none of Trader Joe's Pet Foods or Pet Treats are involved in the Menu Food recall."

Mom emailed other foxie friends and they urged her to still find out who makes the food! So Mom used an alternate email and name, and emailed them again.
And would you believe, tonite she got another response - a response that MAKES NO SENSE, even to me, a lowly semi-literate dog. A response that made my Mom sick inside:

"Thank you for contacting us with your concerns regarding Trader Joe’s dog food. According to the FDA, Trader Joe’s pet food products are NOT the same pet foods that are currently being recalled by Menu Foods. However, since safety is of the utmost importance to us, as an extra precaution we have voluntarily pulled all canned pet food items manufactured by Menu Foods from our shelves until we can test the products and be 100 percent sure they are safe for your pets. The products voluntarily pulled are: Dog Food Chunky Chicken 22 oz., Dog Food Lamb & Rice 22 oz., Cat Food Turkey & Giblets, Cat Food Premium Fish/Salmon/Rice and Cat Food Premium Chicken/Turkey/Rice.

So let me get this straight. THEIR FOOD IS SAFE, BUT PET FOOD ON THEIR SHELVES MADE BY MENU FOODS HAS BEEN PULLED SUCH AS LAMB AND RICE - which IS A PRODUCT THAT PURPORTS TO BE MADE BY TRADER JOES. In one breath they say their food is not made by Menu Foods, and in the next breath they say they are pulling food in their store made by Menu Foods. Mom will call Trader Joes tomorrow to find out what is going on!

AGC alias Puky

Me and my pals

Today my favorite dogwalker P took me to her house so I could play with her dogs Elvis and Gia and chase her cats! P is also a budding animal photographer so she got us all to sit and stay and took our pictures - check out the cat, it looks like he's about to dive bomb me!

It's a bit warmer today so it was a pleasure being out at the park playing with my friends in the muddy field.

Well, that's all I have to report today -- I'm off to steal something worth chewing!

AGC

Spring is almost here!

Tomorrow is officially spring so I thought I'd help Mom and do some cleaning. I thought I'd start by going through the bathroom trash...



Of course my work is never appreciated...Mom had a titty fit.

We had another ice storm on Friday - it was raining ice, it was very weird! Dad has been on sole dog walking duty since Mom is too scared of walking on the ice since her fall a few weeks ago. Poor Mom, or should I say, poor Dad?

Sorry this is quite dull, not much goes on here in winter - just playing with toys, eating the odd dingo or bone and lots of sleep. Me and Dad tend to fall asleep in front of the TV, together, at night.



Spring it tomorrow! Yippee, enough of this snow and cold!!

AGC

Back to My Old Self

Thanks everyone for the nice messages left on my blog wishing me well. Boy, I was pretty sick for 48 hours. I think I threw up about 15 times over the course of Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. It was awful, Mom and Dad didn't sleep, and by dawn I was so weak I was just dry heaving where I lay, exhausted. Dad took me off to the vet first thing Wednesday and to be honest, I was happy to go, I felt that bad. The vet took xrays of my belly in case I'd swallowed something nasty that was stuck; and took blood from my neck. I didn't even cry. In the end, he couldn't find anything obviously wrong, and thought I must have eaten something bad in the park or something. I got two shots and some pills, and went home and slept for hours. By evening, I felt much better, ate some chicken and slept some more. By Thursday morning I was ready to go back out to play with my pals!

Here is a pic of me and my pal Elvis with Dad in the snow (photo courtesty Elvis's Mom P). Yep, it snowed again this week - actually Dad drove me to the vet in whiteout conditions!


Those Airedale people are at it again - sewing magnificent Airedale themed quilts and giving it away as a fundraiser. Mom will be sending off her entries for sure - she would like nothing more than to win that quilt! Click to
http://www.airedale rescue.net/wota/index.htm to see the quilt. Please support Airedale rescue!

Speaking of Airedales, I would like to introduce two new cyber pals - TobyWFT and Foster Granny'dale TommiGirl who belong to their Hooman, Rita. What a sweet looking pair. I hope one day to have an Airedale brother or sister too!



Finally, Miss Amelia's daddy Phillip sent me this awesome link - click here and you will see images of the cutest Wire Fox Terrier hand puppet you ever saw. It is about 50 years old. If I had it, I would give puppet shows to all my friends in the park - I would call it
The Adventures of "Axel G Chocholoza - The Greatest Show on Earth!"

AGC

A Few of My Favorite Friends

This is my dogwalker extraordinaire P's animal family -- Elvis and Gia are the dogs, they are my good buddies. I like the cats too, but I can't remember their names. I like to chase they all over P's big house.



Elvis likes sleeping with the enemy, tee hee...just look at him and his feline sibling...wish I had a soft kitty to rest my kepi on:



I haven't been feeling well, so sorry this is so short.

AGC

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

A big box arrived yesterday from Petsmart. I recognized the logo instantly and started to hop around the living room! Mom opened the box and out came a very strange looking yellow-tool like thing called a Furminator. It didn't look tasty or chewable. Mom ripped the package open and started to brush my back vigorously. I must admit, it felt really nice - like a massage - but I got scared when I saw my hair starting to pile up on the coffee table! When Mom was done (for now she says), a half hour later, this is what you could see:



In the picture on the left you can see the FURMINATOR - boy, can you believe all that hair, and to look at me after, I still look, well, a MESS!

I definitely need my face stripped - Mom is not brave enough to attempt that.

Anyway, just in case you were wondering if that was the only thing in the Petsmart box...NOPE, leave it to Mom, she found me ANOTHER great rubber toy!! I think it's called a "good buddy" and you get one with horns called a "bad buddy". It's hardier than Mr. Balloon (May his soul rest in peace), bounces like a rugby ball and also has a good squeak. Check it out - and that's me eyeing it in the background:



I want to wish a very happy, slightly belated birthday to my idol Colby Russel who turned 2 yesterday. If it wasn't for handsome Colby, I don't think Mom would have been so quick to get me. She fell in love with Colby's mug when she joined a Wire email list - and decided the time was right to find her a wire of her own. Three months later (it's not so easy to find a wire of my superlative breeding!), I came into their life. Pictured left is the handsome dude Colby and right is a picture of his brother Randy - they both live in Canada I believe. Someday I wish I grow up to look like Colby....Happy 2nd Birthday Guys! Save me a slice Randy!

Poor Dad is sick in bed and moaning and feeling very sorry for himself. He is coughing a lot so Mom grabbed her pillow and headed down to the livingroom couch to make a bed for the night. I am very torn now where to sleep. Dad may need me during the night being sick and all - but truthfully all that thrashing around and sputtering is not conducive to a good night's sleep. I guess to be fair to them, I'll either sleep on the landing where I can keep an eye on them both, or divide my time...

AGC

Snow Hound

My favorite dog walker P took this cute pic of me in the snow today - we got another few inches overnight but not too much ice this time. Do I not look the epitomy of cuteness?

What? huh? oh no...I'm being forced off my computer...arghhhhhhhhh!

Hello. This is the rubber balloon toy speaking. You'll remember me from yesterday's post. Well, I am but a shadow of my former self. If you saw me now you would notice that I am without my string and I have two huge holes in my side courtesy of that horrid little wiry creature, the author of this erstwhile blog. He all but ripped me to pieces, silenced my voice forever. I fear you will not hear from me again as he is not done yet. He is intent on killing me outright. So it is goodbye for now fleeting friends...gaze upon my complete visage of yesterday and remember me fondly.

Oh God, I see big teeth coming my way...oh no!!!!

It's me Axel, I'm back. That stupid balloon toy tricked me. I'll show him! He's a goner now!!!!!!!!

AGC

The Best Toy Ever!

In an effort to cut down on my snack intake, Mom has this bright idea of replacing snacks/chews with toys! She spent a good hour in the petstore yesterday agonizing over which toys she thought I would enjoy. She bought me one of those fancy AKC lifelike animals - a flying duck and then she spotted a really cheap ($2.99) weird looking rubber balloon type toy on a string (pictured left). Mom knows that I love to eat rubber (condoms in the park are my fave...) - so she thought, why not? It also lets out a god awful squeak when it is suppressed. And she got me a nylabone.

When she got home, she gave me the rubber balloon toy and I went beserk. It was love at first sight for me. I threw it up in the air and hopped around the livingroom. I played for a long time. Man, I love this toy! Mom and Dad were amazed that something so small and silly would capture my attention so much. It's great to chew - I love the squeak - it's great for tug-o-war -- it's just all round great!! Here are some photos - notice my very shaggy winter appearance, especially my tail and eyelashes. I keep telling the parents that I am not FAT - it's all my wiry hair that just makes me look that way. So stop depriving me of my treats and chews!



The nylabone did not interest me at all, and the duck is okay. But the rubber balloon just rocks!
When Mom and Dad were in the bath together last night (eek, should I be divulging that publically - they are both little enough to fit in the bath together and do it almost every night), I kept jumping up and throwing my balloon toy in the bath - much to their annoyance. Of course what I really wanted was to join them in the bath - but Dad would not hear of it. So I bugged them the whole time until they threw up their hands and said, "this is not relaxing - let's get out!" Heh heh, I'm evil.

It's about to snow again..let's hope it's enough to keep Mom and Dad home tomorrow. We were supposed to go to gran and gramps for dinner tonite, but it got cancelled due to the coming storm. I just hope I still get my evening walk!

AGC

Dogs on Ice (and a horror story)

Wow, the soft white stuff has turned hard and really cold. Today I went to the park and I wish I would have been wearing two pairs of ice skates - it was so cold and slippery! I met up with my buddy Bruno who is a bulldog. We get along so-so - I like latching on to his floppy face and he is obsessed with nipping my ankles. At first it was just the two of us with his dad and my mom and we were having fun, but then he bit my ankle a bit too hard, I screamed and launched a retaliation attack. Because it was so slippery, Mom couldn't get a grip on me, and finally grabbed me and just sat down on the ice. Poor Mom, she had a wet butt! This is my favorite photo of me and Bruno - it looks like we are gay lovers! Heh heh.

Here are some more of us playing just before it got nasty!

Later one of my favorite playmates, Maggie (not sure breed - but she must have some greyhound in her) arrived with her brother Tommy - a daschund. Maggie is the fastest runner you ever met and I love to chase her becos I can NEVER catch her. Put poor Magster...she couldn't run very well on the ice and kept sliding about on her butt, so we just hung out by the bench. Poor Mags, the second photo is not very ladylike, is it? She has a cute bum.

Anyway, we were all shivering after half an hour, so Dad came by in his truck and took us home!
Here in Phila, we only got 3 inches of snow and now it's all ice; but where my friend Pippin lives, Upstate New York, they got LOTS of snow. Here are two shots of Pip - I wonder what he was digging for - frozen rodents? And look at his face!!



And now, a detour from the snow - I present to you, a picture from the annals of WFT horror! This innocent young Wire Fox Terrier pictured below was subjected to the most hideous of grooming abuses -- a poodle haircut!! I joke not loyal readers. It is truly an affront to the Wire heritage and breed. It seems the groomer was asked to shave down the Wire, but before doing so, she decided to have a lark and cut him like a poodle. Brother and Sister Wires, if this fate (worse than death I'm sure you will agree) ever befalls you -- you MUST resist. Bite, fart, throw up - do whatever it takes to avoid such humiliation! Do not succumb! Poodle haircuts be damned!



Finally, big shout out to my good pal Gussie in Arizona -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER!

AGC

Snow and Pizza

Well the snow arrived as promised but with it came sleet and rain and wind. And it wasn't enough to keep Mom from work - but she did get to go in late and come home early. It was so horrible out this morning - 3 inches of snow, lots of icy and cold rain, that I pooped right outside the house (as poor neighbor George was shovelling our sidewalk) and dragged Dad back inside (he was not upset!).

Here is me taking a leak in our back yard. The snow is so icy that my paws barely left any imprints. Man it's no fun balancing on 3 legs on ice taking a pee!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL MY GIRLFRIENDS! Especially the delightful Miss Amelia and wee Miss Koobuss. Mom and Dad exchanged chocolate gifts which pissed me off because I can't eat chocolate and I never got a thing (well I did eat a dingo, a pigsear and lots of Milkbones today). And instead of a romantic dinner out - they stayed in and ordered PIZZA. I got to share in that little feast...

Last night we watched the Westminister Dog Show and it was quite a snore. The winning terrier was called Harry and he was a Dandie Diamont Terrier. If you ask me he looked like a freakish daschund with a poof on his head, although he did look like he had oodles of personality and as they say, "personality can go a long way." {Source: Pulp Fiction} The winning dog was an English Springer Spaniel named James and he was rather breathtaking. I was just relieved neither of the poodles won - another ridiculous looking breed if you ask me - with pom poms on their bum! And they were male dogs! I don't know how they go around in public, I would rather die! It's a good thing I've never seen one groomed like that in the flesh, I would feel compelled to remove those pom-poms!

I forgot to tell you that I have a new passion for taking hot baths with Mom! I always accompany Mom in the bathroom when she bathes, but last week I decided instead of just snoozing on the bathmat, it might be nice to join Mom. So there she was, reading her book, when she got the surprise of her life - I jumped in! She let out a scream of shock and jumped out the bath - I suppose because she didn't want to share the warm water with a rather dirty dog. I just stood in the warm water, had a drink (tasted funny cos it had oil in it) and waded about. Mom was laughing her head off and thought well, while Ax is in the bath, I might as well shampoo him. So she did, and I didn't mind. I was enjoying the warm water. When she was done, I jumped out and ran up and down the passage like a loony. Mom towel dried me and then I dived onto Mom and Dad's bed and mom blowdried me. I love that machine. I was almost dry when I thought, wouldn't it be fun to have another swim, so I jumped off the bed and back into the tub! Mom screamed and Dad came running! Dad wasn't so amused, but Mom was. I dived out again and ran up and down and back on the damp bed -- and then....uh oh...I peed! Drinking warm water does that to me...Mom knew but there was no time to let me out...she was about to when I jumped back in the tub!


So tonite, when Mom was in the bath, I snuck in and tried to join her again. Dad would have none of it...after snapping these pictures - I was forcibly removed from the bathroom. Humpff!





AGC