BLOG

Lets put a little joy back in the blogging...       A couple of days ago, I came across what is probably one of the most useful things ever invented--an automated tennis ball launcher that a dog can load.       You can watch in the video below as this really cute, old little dachshund keeps running back and forth, reloading the thing to fetch the ball. But, don't think less of the owner. He claims that the dog has only used it three times when he's not been around, although it appears in one shot that the thing has launched the ball 10,000 times. The video is a tad long-winded, but still enjoyable and hey, it's a dachshund. One could be biting off my toe and I'd still think it was the cutest thing to ever attack my foot.

A day or two after posting my very informative and inspirational article about how to bathe a dachshund, I got a funny comment on it. It was from a dog, from a dachshund mini at that.       It appears that the little fellow has a blog written from his perspective, here. The title says it all, "Archie - long body, short legs". He talks about many subjects, not just to the ones relating to his life as a dachshund but other items is regards to dogs at large. It's a funny site and given my like of dachshunds, I enjoyed it a bit. I think they're in England somewhere. So, if you like dogs and reading about things from their point of view, this is your blog.

Many dog owners know that the trials in bathing their animal and when one owns a dachshund, these problems are compounded by the silly and often eccentric attitude of this breed.       I was privy to the washing of a dachshund and for those who find the washing process difficult with these guys, I offer the photo montage below for guidance as well as some key points:              1. Cage the dachshund. The animal is smart and tricky. It knows a bath is imminent. Do not let it escape.              2. Place the dachshund. Make sure the water is warm or the dachshund will whine and make you feel bad. But whatever you do, do not feel bad. The dachshund requires bathing and you must force it to accept this.              3. Wash the dachshund. Ignore the eyes. The eyes will betray pain that is not there. If you look at the eyes, you will stop, but do not, for the dachshund is crafty and just trying to get you end your bathing torture.              4. Rinse the dachshund. The animal should be complacent by now, knowing that the end is near. You can use two hands for the rinsing process to get this over with as fast as possible.              5. Dry the dachshund. While not cold blooded by nature, the dachshund is convinced that it is part reptile and will require thorough drying less the dachshund will lead itself to believe it has hypothermia.              Once the shock clears in 3-5 minutes your dachshund will be back up to full weirdo again, sans super stinky dachshund funk. Always, have no fear, obey the dachshund.

I was just flat-out shocked at the number of tourists on holiday I saw running around Europe with their dogs in tow. I can understand if you think the guys need some company and I'm a dog fan myself, but if I were cruising around the Med, I sure wouldn't have my dog with me. It would just be all sun with no fetch.       Regardless, there were many a dog to be found and I'd like to say that there was one place where the doggie population was greater, but in reality, it was the same everywhere. The most amazing place that I saw dogs was throughout Venice. That place is pretty packed and I have no idea why anyone would want to drag their dog through there. But once again, this is just the mouth of a dog fan and not a dog owner speaking up. A guy I used to work with goes in to the whole neurosis about dogs, travel, and what to do with them.       All in all, I was just thankful that I saw no cats on leashes during my trip. Whenever I see someone walking a cat like that, it disturbs the hell out of me.

I was pointed to a very cool site one day that's called, Obey the Pure Breed. It's a fun collection of t-shirts and other bits all focused around the glory that is the dog. While they'll often repeat a theme throughout the various shirts, they're done in a very clever and amusing way, such that you don't really mind. I mean, everyone has got their favorite dog(s) and so you're going to zero in on the breed you claim as yours, thus making the repetition moot.       Seeing as how I don't have a dog, I'm a fan of several that I'd enjoy having someday. That being the case, I'm now the proud owner of Obey the Dachshund (pictured up above of course), as well as Obey the Vizsla. I'm not an overly huge fan of the Vizsla, but I love that shirt. Just to round out the set, I got my woman, the ever so tasteful, Whippets of Mass Destruction.       All of these are cool and you can even find some that were Made in the USA which is a rare thing these days and a reason that I'm tagging this as Better Buying. But even more cool than all of this and something that which is not an example of Better Buying, seeing as how it's completely wasteful, yet amazingly cool is the T-Qualizer. Every raver, or better yet, Welsh Lad out for a birthday tipple should have one. Regardless of your needs, you should check out Think Geek for all your t-shirt needs if you happen to be a geek and if you're reading this, there's a good chance you are.

So, as I mentioned earlier, I was strolling around with Dinko last Sunday. Turned out to be an awesome day which was lucky because we went out with the sole intention of taking photos since he has the Canon 20D and I have the Canon 30D. Lens swapping fun be there.       Initially, we just hit up Duboce Park to see what doggies were out running around. Naturally, there were a great many and we took a great deal of pictures. Then, walking around and making a line for the top of Corona Heights Park, we came across the Chihuahua Cha Cha on the other side. This was totally unintentional since I had forgotten that it's every first Sunday of the month. Once again, a great many photos followed as well as exposure to such names as 'binky', 'teacup', 'bullet', and my personal favorite, 'peso'.       All of the canine fun has been captured for posterity in the Dogs Gallery and I'm sure that Dinko will post a great many shots of his own when he gets around to it as well.