It's A Vizsla Thing

Comfort Vizsla

2012-02-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Another must-share Monday:

Photo from Cara_O on Flickr (again- her Vizsla photos are great!)

Starry Vizsla

2012-02-06T23:19:00.000-08:00

I am in LOVE with this photo.

Photo from Cara_O on Flickr

Look for more "MUST SHARE" photos from Captain on Mondays!

A Pinterest Vizsla Board

2012-01-26T23:56:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you've stumbled upon (ar ar) Pinterest yet, but it's kind of addictively fun in a semi-pointless, highly time-wasting way. But I justify it as an easy way to save cool stuff I come across on the web. I'm just getting started, but you can check out my Dog Board here....ok, yes, it's pretty much only Vizslas- I may post another type of dog when I find one worthy of being next to all those Vizslas ;-)

And if you want more than just dogs, I have started a few other boards as well:

Captain says hi. And that Mommy has been cooking too much and not dropping enough on the floor ;-)

Vizsla Things 6: The Crazy Puppy Run

2012-01-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

You don't need to be a puppy to do the crazy puppy run.... when you're a Vizsla. Here are a few videos that show just what I mean when I say "crazy puppy run" (and actually, they were taken within about 10 seconds of one another, so it's really like one incredibly long crazy puppy run).

What's down there?

2012-01-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

I don't think this post even needs words...

Ahhh, fun with Vizslas ;-)

Captain at Cesar Chavez Park.

Puppy Flashback

2012-01-10T22:25:00.000-08:00

Captain as a puppy! I've been going through some old videos (searching for a few specific things... Vizlsa things) and couldn't help posting this one.

(Pay no attention to the screechy female voice in the background.... I swear that's not what I really sound like!)

And then there's this one, short and sweet:

Ah, old family videos ;-)

Vizsla Things 5: Incredible Flying Ears!

2012-01-07T12:36:00.000-08:00

Yup, the next thing (in no particular order) that makes a Vizsla a Vizsla are those gorgeous ears. Gorgeous, big, flying ears.

I've said before that I think when Captain was a puppy his ears were the biggest part of him. I'm a total sucker for a dog with big ears ;-) Vizsla ears are big, soft, perfect red triangles that fly tremendously in the wind.

(On a more serious note, big floppy ears also means they can be more susceptible to ear infections, so make sure you dry your Vizsla's ears after swimming, bathing, and periodically for cleaning. Captain had an ear infection as a puppy, and let me tell you, putting ear drops in an active puppy's ears was no easy task.)

Cheers, big ears!

Vizsla Things 4: Cuddle Bugs

2012-01-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! What better way to start off the new year than with another Vizsla Thing?

I haven't met a Vizsla yet who doesn't love to cuddle under blankets. And since they're so cute, it's impossible to not let them.

Check out this post for a video of Captain hiding in the sleeping bag! (Second video in the post). Very cute.

Hope you got to cuddle with your cuddle bug over the holidays. Happy New Year!

Captain of Christmas Present!

2011-12-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

I'm slightly embarrassed by how much I love this picture. But it's worth it ;-)

Merry Christmas- or rather, Happy Holidays to everyone! Just a few more Captain Christmas photos before we ring in the new year....

This year, has Captain been...

or...

Definitely nice!

I have no idea what's going on, but I know there's treats in that sparkly green thing.

I like holiday napping best.

Happy Holidays to you and yours from Captain!

Captain of Christmas Future?!

2011-12-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

Time for the next ghost of Captain Christmas...

King Captain is Christmas Future! (?!)

Ok, maybe not. Maybe I went a little nuts dressing up my dog. My husband walked by as I was taking these pictures and just shook his head.

But, since I have them, here are a few more King Captain pictures:

I CAN NOT believe you are doing this to me.

Seriously, I'm not even going to look at you. This is ridiculous. You realize I'm a BOY, right?! And, you know, canine?

Ok, something tells me Captain of Christmases future will look more like this:

And I'm totally ok with that ;-)

I honestly never thought I would be one of those people that dressed up my dog. Sigh. Oh well. I gave him a bunch of treats afterwords, so I don't think he was too traumatized!

Stay tuned for the best Captain Christmas of all!

Captain of Christmas Past

2011-12-20T00:08:00.000-08:00

Time to get in the holiday spirit! Captain does this by staring at me as I bake cookies and pumpkin bread, playing squeaky ball in the house (don't tell!), cuddling on the couch with some warm blankets & whatever human is around while watching Scrooged and the Muppet Christmas Carol, and checking out some photos of Christmases past!

And what's that? The ghost of Captain past?!

Nope! That's Captain at about 5 months, Christmas 2008 -we'd gone to the park after it had rained, so we ended up very dirty! Because instead of snow in San Francisco during the winter, we get rain. Luckily, Captain hadn't heard yet that Vizslas melt in the rain ;-)

And here's one more photo of Captain past... in his old favorite spot, in front of the heater:

You will be visited by TWO MORE ghosts of Captain Christmas! ;-)
(OK, clearly, I've mentally checked out for the week and am already dreaming of the holiday break...)

Project Dog Book!

2011-12-18T16:06:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went to the Project Dog book launch party, and it was a blast! If you didn't see my last post on it, Project Dog is a photography book featuring Bay Area purebred and rescue dogs of all AKC breeds.

The launch party was at Wag hotels, in their spacious new doggie play area, complete with a doggie runway, and treats for 4 and 2 legged guests alike ;-)

I LOVED this dog, Odinn, a beautiful Ibizian Hound:

And this Weim got all dressed up for the occasion!

We were pretty psyched to have Captain featured as the purebred Vizsla in the book. I think his picture came out great:

This is the full Vizsla page, also featuring Jake the rescue Vizsla:

Each page has a little write-up about the dog, the breed, and the dog's arrival. The rescue dogs in particular have really heartwarming- and sometimes sad- stories, but it is so good to know they are all in good homes with loving parents now!! The rescue organizations for Vizslas listed in the book include the Vizsla Club of Northern California Rescue and the Vizsla Rescue Haven. Definitely worth checking into if you have extra room in your house for another wonderful wiggler! And even if you don't, both organizations take donations. 'Tis the season for giving!

Do you think I look good in my picture? I was going for 'Blue Steel.'

Vizsla Things 3: Lap Dogs

2011-12-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

When Captain was a puppy, he used to come over to my desk while I was working, place a paw on my leg... and then another paw.... and heave himself up. The thing is... he still does this sometimes, despite weighing around 65 pounds (yes, he's a big boy.) It's never ceased to amuse us or our friends.

Vizslas may not be small dogs, but they think they are!

The Hungarian Vizsla: consummate lap dog ;-)

I deserve a plate of turkey

2011-11-26T14:35:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Captain was thankful for turkey leftovers, me being clumsy and dropping food in the kitchen, and the smell of good food.

Vizsla Things 2: Jumpin' Jiminy!

2011-11-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

Moving on to more unofficial characteristics of Vizslas, the next "Vizsla Thing" is jumping! These pups are experts at it!

Jumpin Jiminy!

This video (found on YouTube) is actually really similar to what Captain does when a squirrel is up a tree:

At one point I also had the link to an amazing video of a Vizsla jumping up onto her owner's neck/back, but I can't seem to find that one anymore! She was like a little billy goat. I'll post it if I can find it. In the meantime, enjoy your jumpin' jellybeans ;-)

Vizsla Things 1: Pointing

2011-11-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

I'm kicking off a series of posts about just what exactly that Vizsla Thing is with probably one of the most obvious Vizsla things....

Pointing and hunting- what Vizslas were bred for, after all!

Here is a great pointing video from Red Girls in Scotland:

Any guesses on other Vizsla Things? More are coming!

Fellow V-Blog feature

2011-11-13T22:46:00.000-08:00

I must admit, I don't have a ton of Vizsla blogs I'm following at the moment- not for lack of lovin' 'em, that's for sure - I just haven't spent much time surfing for them (and, I might get far too distracted from work! But if you want to share your blog, feel free to leave a comment. I'm all for sharing & finding more great blogs.)

If you are looking for a complete list of Vizsla blogs, Miss Laila and Amanda from Click the Good News have both done amazing jobs of listing all of them (and have awesome blogs of their own!)

But I had to instantly share this one I found- the pictures made me almost squeal instantly.
If you haven't already, check out Urban Bodi.

This picture in particular just killllllled me:

Photo source: Urban Bodi

There are plenty of other pics on the site I recommend checking out too! Ridiculously good-looking dogs. Captain is drooling over this pretty pup. We also loved the sweater pics from this post. Incidentally, speaking of doggie clothing, Captain has outgrown his rain jacket. Yup, my skinny little boy has finally gained some girth (I couldn't help laughing a little- the velco straps pop apart as he walks...!). Welcome to the adult years! Don't worry though, we won't get pudgey ;-)

Other blogs Captain and I stop by include:

Miss Laila- this beautiful Vizsla in Baltimore seems to be absent recently, but is always a source of entertainment!
Red Bird dog- for useful & interesting breed info & more California adventures
Click.The Good News - not an exclusively Vizsla blog, but amazing photography.

For the full V blog lists, see:
This link
or
This one (with an awesome Vizsla photo too!)

PS- I hope the Urban Bodi blogger doesn't mind my borrowing the pic- I couldn't find any photo sharing info on the site. (But of course I will take down any pictures others don't want to share).

As an FYI, I am happy to share my photos if they are referenced as I have done above, and linked back to my blog.

And PPS- Still fooling around with my blog background & style.... tweaking as I go. Still not completely satisfied, so this may take a little more work and time...

Happy blog searching!

Calling all pumpkins

2011-11-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

This photo from wilmthys on Flickr just makes me want to pick this little pumpkin up and cuddle him!

Yup, it's that time of year when I start referring to Vizslas as pumpkins. (Or pumpkin pie - like this one of Captain!) I actually just made a batch of pumpkin muffins, which Captain thinks are for him only. Captain looooooves pumpkin.... I might have dropped a crumb or two on purpose ;-)

PS- Let me know what you think of the new template. I want a more "professional" look (which is hard in Blogger... I wish I'd started in Wordpress...) but I think simpler is better when one has limited time! But maybe it's too dark? I may go back to blue at some point...

Vizsla facts

2011-10-31T21:51:00.000-07:00

A vet friend left a book about Hungarian dogs on my desk at work, so I of course took a look at the Vizsla section.
Here's some information on the breed, for those interested (from Hungarian Dog Breeds, Sarkanay & Ocsag, 2nd edition, 1986).

"Vizslas are not only highly valued as gun dogs, but also, because of their beauty,

clean coats, and pleasant temperament, they are good dogs to have in the house.

They are grateful, loyal animals that heap affection

on their master and bring joy to their surroundings."

Vizslas are noted as an indigenous Hungarian breed, though the breed origin may have been an eastern hound that came with Hungarians from Asia. According to the book, Vizslas- or at least some version of similar hunting dogs- were noted in Hungarian writings as early as the 11-14th Century. Scent hounds used for falconry also popped up in writings during the 15-16th Century. It seems that during the Turkish occupation of Hungary, these hunting dogs were crossed with yellow Turkish quail-hunting dogs. Over the course of the 18th-19th Century (the book seems to forget about the 17th Century-?), the breed developed and was crossed with English pointers, German short-haired pointers, and blood hounds, resulting ultimately in the present-day Vizsla. Apparently, the Vizsla's ability to point comes from the indigenous Pannonian hound, and their color from the Turkish yellow (?) quail hound.

My husband says the book seems to have left out that Vizslas are mooches (as we sit here on the couch and Captain gives us the Jedi stare for more food).

I have read elsewhere that Vizslas are related to Weimaramers, but that appears not to be the case; at least not directly. Weimaramers originate from Germany; however, both Weims and V's do have bloodhounds and pointers in their ancestry line.

In any case, I thought I'd share! Feel free to leave more breed facts in the comments. I'm also planning some posts on what exactly that Vizsla thing is... coming soon to a blog near you :-)

And Happy Halloween!

Dogtoberfest 2011- and BACONCAKE!

2011-10-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again... Halloween around the corner, Oktoberfest celebrations, doggie Halloween parties...
but what trumps them all?

Dogtoberfest! This was our second Dogtoberfest, but it was actually either the 4th or 5th ever.
Every year (for at least the past 4 years, anyway), the dog owners in our
neighborhood get together for a picnic/barbecue and doggie get-together in our local park.

We were blessed with very warm weather (maybe a little too warm for those of us
that have gotten used to temperatures never straying from the 55-65 degree range!),
sun, and plenty of neighborhood dogs & their owners out to enjoy the day.

Arguably the biggest draw to Dogtoberfest? The bacon cake!
Every year a fabulous dog-owning mom whips one up fresh for
the dogs, who absolutely love it.
This year's cake:

Shaped like a cat, so the dogs can finally have their cake and eat it too ;-)

It's a very orderly process, making sure the bacon cake is evenly distributed
and every dog gets his/her piece.

Time to line up!

Waiting.... waiting.....

At last, the dogs' moment of bacon cake bliss arrived ;-)

Captain loves the bacon cake...

But it was gone in 60 seconds. He quickly moved on to looking for leftovers:

Crumbs? Did somebody say crumbs?

Ah-ha! I knew there was more. I'll take some to go, please!

Another Dogtoberfest success!

Lounge Hound

2011-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Somebody around here knows how to pose for the camera...

(By the way, you might have noticed the "Vizsla pictures" label and thought that was a little redundant, given that, well, all my posts have Vizsla pictures. I'm including that label on the posts with pics from Flickr's Vizsla Love, and, more recently, ones of my own that I think might be worthy of being in that group of favorites!)

Ohmydog

2011-10-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

I don't usually put up posts with just words, but I figured other Vizsla owners would get a kick out of this little story:
Working from home today, while making lunch, all of sudden I hear Captain doing his crazy barking in the office. That loud, deep, "wooo-wooo-wooo" barking. I wonder if maybe he is going off at the ceiling fan, which is a little bit of a mystery to him. When I walk into the office, he's barking and looking suspiciously up at the door/mirror area. I follow his gaze, thinking maybe it's a weird bug or shadow, to.... my scarves. Yep. That scary cashmere pashmina is DEFINITELY an intruder. Even though it's been hanging on my scarf rack for the past year and a half. He kept barking at it until my husband (also working from home) put it on the ground to let him sniff it. Some more barking, and then, he grabs it in his mouth and gives it a good shake, while I shriek, "NO! That's cashmere!" So he drops it, does the Vizsla "I'm so sorry I'm guilty" look, but gives it one last sniff as if to say he's told it who's boss, and walks away. Sigh. Ohmylittlevizsla.

On a related note, Captain has also been convinced that alpaca sweaters are the devil. It took a while, but I finally convinced him that the small alpaca tapestry in our kitchen is not actually a scary animal. It's amazing and funny all in one, what they can smell, and what they think of those smells!

Endless laughter, having a Vizsla around ;-)

Topsy turvy

2011-10-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

It kills me when he does this.

                               Although, looking at that upside-down picture makes me feel a little funny.
                               This is the right-side up view:

I can't handle the cuteness. This leads to what we call "smother mother" behavior in our house - hugs and cuddles galore from Mommy ;-)

One of my favorite Vizsla videos...

2011-10-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

Reading the title, you might think this is going to be some wonderful video of a beautiful Vizsla running through open fields, or on perfect point.
Nope. It's this:

Gets me every time. I love it.

(And yes, I've posted it before. But I figured it deserved it's own spotlight, with the new 'funny' tag too- I've been updating the labels on the blog a bit!)

My other favorite V vid is, of course, of Captain as a puppy: here. I have to admit, my husband and I still sing "little baby puppies, there they are" every now and then (just watch the video) ;-)

Your kiss for the day

2011-10-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

You can see why I *sometimes* get distracted when I'm working from home, with a face like this by my lap.

Somewhere along the way I've become a "dog person." We had a fairly unfriendly cat growing up, but for a while I thought I was a "cat person." But there's just something about dogs- their unique personalities, their loyalty, their excitement when you come home. While I still don't want to be licked, and I still can't stand slobber, or crazy shedding furriness (ok, maybe I'm just a "Vizsla person"), I love everything about Captain- even, yes, how he smells. You know, that dog smell. Recently we had a friend over (a self-proclaimed cat person), and when he commented "How do people stand it? Dogs smell!" I couldn't help but think to myself... I like the way he smells. I don't mean dirty wet dog smell; but it reminds me of growing up, when I used to spend days by the lake, wrapped in a towel with our family friend's black lab Rosie; or on the Cape with my grandfather's black lab Molly, who always pushed herself between my legs so I'd scratch her butt, even when I was too little for my toes to touch the ground when she tried to go through; or with our neighbor's Irish Setter Kerry, who would without fail come running over to our back deck to whine for food every summer night we ate outside. When they say dogs are man's best friend, they aren't kidding; these dogs bring back such strong, happy memories for me. Despite their shorter lifespan (I can't think about that!), dogs make such impacts on our lives. Captain is so much more than a pet for us, and while they say ("they" say a lot ;-) ) not to anthropomorphize your dog, I can't help but think of him as my first baby. Well, that's your sentimentalism for the day...Now go hug your dog ;-)

And ps- we give Captain a bath about every 2 weeks, so if anyone's thinking I've got a dirty, smelly dog, I don't ;-)

Stanislaus National Forest

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

We're finishing up the Yosemite weekend trip posts (I really stretched that out, huh?) with Stanislaus National Forest. As I might have mentioned, while Yosemite is very strict about pets, has plenty of dog-restricted areas, and doesn't have any off-leash spots, Stanislaus Forest to the North stands in stark contrast to all those rules. Three cheers for off-leash roaming, wild forests, lakes, and trails-a-plenty!

Elevation: 9,628 ft!

We didn't really have a plan, other than to follow the road and enjoy the day.

Not a bad road to follow, I might add. We were traveling along highway 108, which is to the North of the Tioga pass/highway 120 road we came in on a few days earlier, through Yosemite. It makes for a quite a driving loop! There were plenty of spots to pull off, for a little rock climbing, hiking, or even swimming.

We stopped at pretty much every spot that caught my interest... so we were stopping a lot.

Captain wasn't too happy about this.

Captain enjoyed exploring, although he didn't follow my lead when I took a dip to cool off (he's not much for swimming).

We also stopped in at Pinecrest Lake- a pretty spot, but one of the few places in the forest that is specified as on-leash. But they do have a coffee shop and little store that might come in handy after all that driving! For more information and links, check my guest post on Fido Factor (towards the end of the post, under Stanislaus).

That's all, folks! What a weekend trip! I highly recommend checking out this part of the country- beautiful, and fun for Vizslas too ;-)

Back on the road home

Mono Lake

2011-09-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Our Yosemite trip continues with Mono Lake, located in the the Lee Vining area. Never heard of it? Neither had I. But, it has some interesting history and features, and some good walks too. Basically, the lake is a shallow lake with no outlet, which makes it highly saline, and creates a unique ecosystem with plenty of birds, brine shrimp, alkaline flies, and something called toufa. (Toufa are weird structures that look a little like giant ant hills, but are formed from the salt depositions- cool, right?) Captain liked exploring the area- especially for the views of the birds!

Captain sniffing the alkali flies

Toufa

More toufa!

Despite Mark Twain once describing Mono Lake as a "lifeless, treeless, hideous desert... the lonliest place on earth" (according to Wikipedia), I ended up taking a ton of pictures here, and found it to be anything but lifeless & hideous!

For more Mono Lake information, see their website.

Next up: the grand finale of our Yosemite trip: Stanislaus National Forest!

June Lake

2011-09-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

Leaving Mammoth Lakes, we took a short drive to the June Lake Loop - for gorgeous views and a little exploration.

The water in June Lake was the prettiest blue/green shade!

We enjoyed the views

And cooled off a little bit too!

On to more driving....

Continue the "Yosemite & More" tour with Captain to our next spot: Mono Lake!

Mammoth Fun

2011-09-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of our long weekend continues with Mammoth Lakes and Mammoth Mountain- an absolutely gorgeous part of the country.

We reached Mammoth Mountain Friday evening of our trip (after a long day exploring Yosemite), and stayed at the Mammoth Mountain Inn. My husband and I actually ran a fun 6K mud run Saturday morning... it was tough and dirty! Captain enjoyed napping in the room (we wore him out a little running around Mammoth Mountain in the morning; and we always bring his comfy kennel when we travel to make him feel at home), while we ran up a ski slope, under logs, and through pits of mud with other crazy runners ;-). Afterwords, we all enjoyed an awesome festival in the very cute Mammoth Village, with live music, beer, wine, food, plenty of sun, and lots of other dogs too! Mammoth loves dogs!

For Mammoth dog information, see the "Paws In Mammoth" webpage- here are a few things you can do with your dog in Mammoth:

Ride the Gondola to the top of the mountain
Hike the trails around the lakes
Enjoy time in Mammoth Village
Explore the Inyo National Forest
Ride the shuttle to the National Monument Devil's Postpile, and other sights like Rainbow Falls

Here's a bit of what we did:

Checking out the view on top of Mammoth Mountain:

Later in the day, we explored the Mammoth Lakes... (specifically, we were in the Mammoth Lakes Basin, and saw Twin Lakes, Lake Mary, Lake George, and Horseshoe Lake.... that's a lot of lakes!)

While I decided to dip my feet in the (ice cold!) water, Captain had more important things to do... there were squirrels to hunt!

You definitely would not run out of things to do in Mammoth (more info on sights here). My husband and I joked (while sipping a Mai Tai in Mammoth Village after our mud run, enjoying the sun, music, and dog-friendly outdoor dining) that we should move there. Captain sure liked it! We even met 2 new Vizsla pals (Amber and Bella!)

Next up in the adventures of Captain: find out where this leads to...

For dog-friendly locations and reviews for the area, see the Fido Factor Mammoth Page.
For dog-friendly travel information for Yosemite, Mammoth, and Stanislaus area, click here.

Weekend Warrior

2011-09-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Ready, set, National Park time! We took our long weekend a little before Labor Day Weekend this year, and headed East to explore Yosemite National Park, Mammoth Lakes, and Stanislaus National Forest for the first time. We packed as much as possible into our 3-day trip!

Here's the first part of it: Yosemite National Park. Hold on to your Vizslas, this page has more photos than I've ever put in one post!

For more information on dog-friendliness of the park and surrounding areas, check out my guest post on the Fido blog.

We were so excited to head out!

Once we entered Yosemite (yippeee!), we did the Yosemite Valley Loop, and there certainly was a lot to see!

Yosemite Valley View

I'm no Ansel Adams, but the views everywhere you looked were astounding. The entire place was just amazing. Note that for National Parks, dogs aren't allowed on hiking trails... a sad fact, but it was so hot, and our time was limited, so we weren't too upset. For pet information in Yosemite, see their pet page (or my post!)

Half Dome

Half Dome is so impressive! And can be seen from many places throughout the park. I think we *might* have enjoyed this part of our trip more than Captain. Although, he did get a lot of attention from other visitors to the park- especially people who were missing their dogs at home!

Mule Deer

I was pretty excited to see Mule Deer many times, and got about 10 ft away from this one. Captain stayed in the car for this part - I'm pretty sure he would have "disturbed the wild life" if he saw this guy!

It was a HOT day, and Captain's tongue was out for most of it ;-)

There was a lot of driving. Time to stretch out the legs at Olmsted Point . . .

. . . and then pose for some pictures . . .

. . . and enjoy the views.

We'll finish off Yosemite with the amazing Toulumne Meadows:

Have we overwhelmed you with pictures???

As you can tell, there are too many pictures from this trip to fit into one post, so we'll do one for each spot. Next up: Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Hope everyone has a fabulous Labor Day Weekend! ... And, sorry if we made you jealous ;-) Captain says he likes the next part better anyway, since he got to do more running.

Yosemite trip preview

2011-08-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

Captain all packed up in the car and ready for exploration action!

Blog posts of Yosemite, Mammoth Lakes, and Stanislaus National Forest coming soon! (Once I catch up with work and sort through the hundreds of photos I took!)

In the meantime, here's a teaser photo: Captain taking time to read the signage with Daddy in Yosemite Valley (on one of the paved, dog-friendly trails).

Three's a Charm!

2011-08-23T17:45:00.001-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday, Captain!!

I am willing the candle to blow out with my Vizsla mind tricks,
so I can eat the frosty peanut butter goodness.

Captain proves turning three means he's just hitting his prime...

This morning we went to coffee bar. I LOVE that place, because they always give me a treat. I mean, ALWAYS. I think the girl who works there loves me. I *might* have been a little excited, and put my front paws on the counter (I know that's not very 3-year-old of me, but I just couldn't contain myself). Luckily they always think that is cute, even when Mommy tells me no.

THEN at lunch I went to the park with Daddy. I am frustrated to say, there have been no new developments with the elusive chirping squirrel. He just sat on the branch, chirping and looking at me again. He is soooo annoying. Stupid squirrel. But I keep jumping and clawing at the tree, I know I'll get him one day. One day....

After some good napping in the sun at home, Mommy took me on short run #1. Do you know where we ended up? Holistic Hound, to buy me birthday gifts! The woman who works there really loves me too. She gave me a chicken treat. Mmmm, chicken.

Look what Mommy got me! This ball is awesome, because it is so squeaky.

I love to squeak, and squeak, and squeak, and squeak it. Especially when Mommy & Daddy are working and it's time to play.

AND, look at all the treats I got.
Please can I have some??

Fine, I'm just not looking then.

Thank goodness she gave me one. YUM.Then it was time for another run, and then some park time playing with my friends. (I eat runs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I love to run, run, run. That's how come I can eat whatever I want and still maintain my rock-hard abs).

Then...

What is that?

Ooo, I think it's a birthday Frosty Paws.

Maybe if I sit, I'll get it.

Not yet? How about a down?

Finally! Birthday Frosty Paws Zen.
Mmm, that's a good day.

Next up: Road trip to Mammoth Mountain and Yosemite National Park!

What's that you say?

2011-08-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

Did somebody say we're going on a road trip?? To somewhere new?? To somewhere OUTDOORSY NEW??? How long do I have to wait???

That's right! We're back to adventuring around California! Woohooo! NEXT weekend we'll be heading through Yosemite National Park to Mammoth Mountain/Mammoth Lakes. We're pretty psyched to be doing the Mammoth Mud Run (a down'n'dirty 6K), to explore a new place we've never been, and see some beautiful scenery along the way.

Being an East-coaster (yes, I still consider myself one, even if I've been here 3 years), I've never been to Yosemite, so can you tell I'm just a little excited?! I'm hoping we can track down some dog-friendly spots that are still representative of what this amazing national park has to offer. I'll be doing my research on Fido Factor, Dog Friendly, and the park websites to find the best spots for our trip. And of course, if anyone has some suggestions for either Yosemite, Mammoth, or spots in between the Bay Area and there, feel free to chime in!

Can't wait to come back with some great pictures!

August VLove

2011-08-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

(Aka, I'm sharing some Vizsla Love photos again because I haven't been taking any of my own

recently!)

What a great photo from VeruBeru on Flickr!

Steph-o-Rama also has some great pics on Flickr:

And a little bit of relaxation sweetness from Lbaker94:

Captain says hi! Hope you are enjoying your August!

Another me?!

2011-08-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Look, we found another Captain the Vizsla! This guy lives in Seattle and is so adorable! I thought he was our Captain at first.

A while back I posted about a photo shoot we had with a local photographer... well, no pics from that yet, but Kira is planning on having her photo book, including pictures of Captain and other Bay-area dogs, published! Check out the Project Dog pledge website to help her reach her goals. Imagine Captain (along with ~169 other breeds) in a coffee table book!

Park picnickin'

2011-07-30T18:17:00.001-07:00

Just chillin' in our local neighborhood park! Captain loves lounging in the sun. And we don't mind it too much either ;-)

Cooling down

2011-07-20T14:20:00.001-07:00

Happy national icecream day! (Didn't know it was icecream day? Neither did I til I saw someone post it on Facebook.... but I'm running with it).

Captain was treated to some 'icecream' today too. It's been pretty warm in Berkeley this week, so after our run today he got some homemade Frosty Paws. (It's very easy to make! Just put ~ 16oz of plain low-sugar yogurt in a blender along with ~ 1/2 cup of low-sugar, unsalted peanut butter, blend, and store in little containers in the freezer).

Captain seems to get in a zen-like state every time he has one of these. The cutest is when he finishes one he'll bring us the empty container, his mouth a perfect 'o' around it, and his body all wiggly, as if to say, "thanks mom, I'll have another."

Hello!

2011-07-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

Don't do work, mom! Let's go for a run.

My distracting office-mate.

Summer Daze

2011-07-10T17:33:00.001-07:00

I've been slacking a little bit on my blogging recently! We've been enjoying some good weekend running and just mellow weekends at our dog park. But we'll get back to exploring more exciting new places soon!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T18:44:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July! We enjoyed some beautiful weather here in the East Bay, and took a walk down to the Berkeley marina. There was a festival going on, so we stopped and soaked in some sun by the boats.

Captain's favorite part? Watching the squirrels of course!

Hope you had an active, fun holiday as well!

Photo shoot

2011-06-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

This Saturday we met up with Kira of Nuena Photography. She's a local photographer who is working on Project Dog- a really cool venture to find each of the AKC's recognized dog breeds, and photograph 1 purebred and 1 rescue of each breed. The goal is to not only create an awesome book with all the photos, but to also serve as a resource and promote responsible dog ownership. And guess who is going to be the purebred Vizsla?

Yup, our Captain! We met up at the nearby Cesar Chavez Park to take the pics.
It was a fun photo shoot filled with treats, running, and posing. I didn't take too many pictures since I knew Kira would get great ones, but couldn't resist snapping a few shots of some of the kites- there are always tons of them flying on the weekends, and these were just too unique to pass by:

Luckily Captain doesn't get freaked out by kites anymore!

I'll post the link with the pictures Kira shot once I get them, so check back for those. I can't wait to see them! (Oh, and in the meantime, definitely check out Kira's dog photos- they are 100% "awwww-worthy"!)

Boots

2011-05-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I got the Ruff Wear hiking boots for Captain, mainly because they were on a major sale, and our friends have them. The last time we went hiking in Tahoe, the terrain was covered in lots of small sharp rocks, so we thought the paw protection might come in handy at some point. After putting the boots on Captain for the first time though, I'm not really sure we'll ever use them... but who knows.

The first try he seemed afraid to put any weight at all on his paws. He was totally bewildered.

I felt a little bad laughing... but it was pretty funny. Poor Captain.

Not quite ready to run up mountains in them, but I had him walk around the apartment in them, jump up and down from the couch, and run to me. He did get a little better, and treats were helpful, but he still seemed pretty uncomfortable. It's one of those things that I'm sure he'd get more used to the more he wore them, but it just seems so unnatural to me (and him)!

Hopefully we'll get to do some hiking soon (boots or not)!

Around the world

2011-05-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

When I was traveling in Prague and Germany 2 years ago, I was absolutely psyched to see Vizslas while I was there. I ran up to the owners and tried to convey in as few words as possible that I too, had a Vizsla, back at home. They may have been slightly bewildered ;-) Here are some Flickr pics from our favorite dogs around the world.

I'm assuming this one is in the UK ;-)

Photo from LED Eddie on Flickr

From Germany:

Photo from madiestan on Flickr

Italy:

Photo from madiestan on Flickr

And back to California:

Photo from kentdavis123 on Flickr

Black and whites

2011-05-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

While one of the best things about our Vizslas is their gorgeous color, sometimes black and white photos just (to quote the movie Sixteen Candles) "really capture the moment"...

Photo from Bgrax on Flickr

Photos from wakethesun on Flickr:

More great black & whites from Bgrax on Flickr:

Thanks again to the Vizsla Love picture group on Flickr. There are some great photographers on there, so check it out!

Who let that happen?

2011-05-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

One of the dangers of having such a ridiculously cute dog is letting him do anything he wants.
Or inviting him in to bed. He's just so darn cute! I couldn't help myself.
Usually we don't let Captain in bed.... but, maybe just on special occasions....
like Saturday mornings ;-)

Seriously sleepy

2011-04-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Maybe I've watched too much South Park, but somehow this picture just makes me hear Cartman's voice... : "You guys, seriously.... I'm so sleeeepy. Ehhhh."

Workin' dog

2011-04-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

Sigh. So much to do, so little time.

Recycling

2011-04-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

It's very important to recycle. I like to help Mom make sure there isn't any leftover food in the plastic containers. So I help by licking, and licking, and licking...

I can't believe it's all gone. Isn't there anything else to recycle Mom?

Jedi mind tricks

2011-04-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

Captain has a habit of staring at me whenever there is people food around. No whining, no barking, no wiggling. Just perfectly still, staring directly and intensely at me. Sitting on the couch eating dinner? Staring. Sitting at the table eating lunch? Staring. Baking? Staring. He's willing me to drop something, or, more likely, to give in to the power of his Jedi mind tricks and give him the food he wants. I usually cave.

Check out the drool in this one:

I may be a sucker, but the force is strong with this one ;-)

PS- In case you were wondering, they are pumpkin-ginger scones.

Mud Run

2011-03-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

I guess it may not have been the smartest idea to go trail running after a week of rain. But I just couldn't help myself. It's the first time Captain has ever followed me on a run- usually he's blazing the path. He gave me more than a few "Mom, are we REALLY going down this mud trail?" looks. I think he knew a clean-up was coming once we got home...

We did about 12.5 miles all told -Captain's longest run so far! I think we will be making trail runs to and around Tilden park a more regular weekend event- it is a great place to run. And, nothing makes you feel like a kid (or a happy go lucky Vizsla) than just running around in the mud and loving it!

Updating the blog

2011-03-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

(AKA, procrastinating/not writing manuscripts or doing reading because it's the weekend).

As you can tell I'm playing around with the blog design... but it's still the same blog! I'm still tweaking around with some elements but will either settle on all the features soon or will just need to get back to work. I'm hoping the design changes will allow for greater emphasis on the pictures. Guess that means I need to up my photography skills!

Captain and I will do our best!

Sweetness

2011-03-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

From imoca11 on Flickr

Photo from C. Love on Flickr

So much expression in their little faces!

Lala land

2011-03-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

This is what we call totally passed out. Or a successful job wearing out the Vizsla. Either one.

An amazing invention

2011-03-13T11:35:00.001-07:00

The other day I brought home a new treat from Trader Joe's...

What's that Mom?? Does that say....

Peanut butter....wait for it....cream cheese??? You mean they make cream cheese that tastes like peanut butter? Peanut butter that tastes like cream cheese? This calls for the Vizsla-happy-wiggle-butt-oh-my-gosh-I'm-so-excited-dance.

Two of Captain's favorite treats, combined= new favorite treat.

Ahhhh-mazing.
Who is this Trader Joe? I must meet him and give him a wiggle-butt thank you.

(I have to admit, the checkout guy told me he loved this stuff, and then gave me a funny look when I told him I was actually buying it just for my dog, but... what can I say, I knew Captain would love it, I don't like peanut butter, and I'm a sucker for my cute dog).

Happy Vizsla

2011-03-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

Captain at Cesar Chavez park in Berkeley

Nothing like stalking squirrels at the local park! Captain LOVES coming here because there are always sooooo many little squirrels to chase, point at, sniff for, and stare down. It's a recipe for contentment. That, and mommy giving him lots of treats while we're there.

Snowpocalypse 2011

2011-02-28T22:59:00.000-08:00

Captain got his first snowperience of 2011 this weekend in Tahoe, and what a lot of snow it was...

We almost didn't make it! The roads were awful- the highway was even closed for most of the day after a small avalanche and 2 feet of snow. Once the roads opened, it was a loooooong car ride (far too long for a Vizsla), but we were all on cloud nine once we finally got there! Captain made himself at home immediately by taking over the dog bed in front of the fireplace.

The next morning, Captain and his buddy Trax were all too happy to tear up the completely snow-filled yard.

And check out the killer view!
This was our first trip to North Lake Tahoe- seems like we might need to come back!

Kong heaven

2011-02-25T18:12:00.000-08:00

Good things always come in red :-)

Daddy=Chair

2011-02-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

What? You think this is wrong? 60lbs is the perfect size to be a lap dog. Maybe I'll go sit on Mommy next...

Cupcakes shouldn't be for babies (says Captain)

2011-02-17T17:19:00.000-08:00

Captain thinks all cupcakes should be for him, always. Too bad I've had a few baby showers to go to recently, and my go-to baby shower bring-along is a batch of cupcakes.

He watches and waits....

I blend and bake....He looks at me with giant eyes.....and then resorts to sulking.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING???!!!! I LOVE CREAM CHEESE!!!I caught him staring at the tray but didn't catch it on camera! Poor Captain.... one day, I'll make him his very own pupcakes. But alas, these weren't them.

(He did look so cute looking so longingly at the cupcakes that I did sneak him a bit of that cream cheese icing! Don't tell!)

You gotta have blankets

2011-02-07T19:52:00.001-08:00

As any good Vizsla knows, it's very important to have lots of blankets to cuddle under.

It is NOT, however, important to keep one's head up and one's eyes open when pictures are being taken.

Thank you

2011-02-05T20:23:00.000-08:00

After a particularly hard day, the one thing that can bring me back in an instant is Captain. No matter what, he makes me smile, laugh uncontrollably, and feel nothing but love. So here's to our dogs for being best friends, wiggly butts, laugh-generators, and awesome affection-givers. Thanks, Captain ;-)

Breakfast in Tiburon

2011-01-29T17:01:00.001-08:00

It was overcast, but we still had fun in Tiburon because of all the birds and boats! Tiburon is a beautiful little town in Marin. Captain enjoyed sniffing around and, of course, watching the hundreds of birds.

I'm overwhelmed, Mom. I don't know which one to point at.

Tilden Trails

2011-01-23T12:47:00.001-08:00

I approve of the views here, Mom.

Captain and I love a good hike! Yesterday we explored more of Tilden - a great regional park in the Berkeley Hills with tons of trails. We went with some of our friends and their 9 month old lab, Max for a good 4 hours of hiking.

The last time we went to Tilden park, it was completely foggy and we couldn't enjoy any of the views. This time we were rewarded! I love the way the clouds looked, like a sheet leading right above the GG bridge in the distance.

Captain loves to be in pictures.

You were going to take a picture without me, Mom??

And like a good lab, Max enjoyed running through the mud.

They were both pretty excited to chase a field mouse they found in the bushes around. The poor little thing was reeeaaaallly slow, so I was happy Captain was content to just sniff and chase it.

Good views all around:Seemingly endless trails in Tilden! Can't wait to try out more of them, maybe on a long run one day. Next weekend we may stop in at the Golden Gate Kennel Club dog show, and might try out another East Bay park- Sibley... so many good things to do when you're a Vizsla :-)

Ca-li-for-nia boys!

2011-01-19T22:37:00.000-08:00

Captain had an awesome time last weekend at our favorite city beach, Chrissy Field. What's better than sun, sand, surf, and serious play time? Plus a great view of Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin headlands to boot...

There was digging, running, and splashing. It was 'stick your bum in the air' fun. That doesn't sound quite right, but you get the idea...

We ran into a bunch of friends from the old neighborhood, and Captain was royally tuckered out after all that good old beach time. Much as I'm an East Coaster at heart, I sometimes wonder if I'd ever be able to take the boy out of California-he loves his regular beach visits! Guess I'm not complaining either though...

Top 10 list for the Vizsla

2011-01-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

Pointing at birds/hunting 'em. I was bred for it, after all.
Running around at full sprint in circles/doing anything active outside. You don't get to be this lean by lounging on the couch alllll day. (just part of it).
Wiggling when mom/dad gets home. And I mean full body wiggle, with a solid dose of butt wiggle.
Snuggling under a blanket or laying in the sun. Preferably with mom/dad.
Using good looks to get treats. (Good looks may sometimes be accompanied by whining and stamping feet if treat is exciting enough/if I think mom will cave and give me some of her dinner.)
Leaning against legs for a good butt scratch.
Flopping ears around as I'm running, because I look so cute doing it.
Giving kisses!
Doing anything with mom/dad. They don't call me a velcro dog for nothing!
Looking really, really, ridiculously good looking, and a little goofy, all at the same time.

The Joy of Peanut Butter

2011-01-13T22:03:00.000-08:00

... and the sadness when it is gone.

Face Brace

2011-01-07T19:25:00.001-08:00

Whenever Captain is in a car, he shoves his head in between the back seat and the window, looking attentively at the driver and any passengers. Our friends call this the "face brace." Seems he likes to do it on pillows too...

I don't need a bath!

2011-01-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

This is Captain's post-mud-run position, his attempt to get out of being cleaned. But he's resigned to my habit of washing his feet off in the bath when it's muddy-which has been happening a lot lately with all the wet weather we've had here. Luckily the sun is coming out this week though!

Ringing in the New Year

2011-01-02T22:06:00.001-08:00

Captain on the Sonoma Coast

We had a great New Year's Eve weekend - we rented a house on the Russian River with some friends. Captain and his buddy Trax were so excited to explore the new spot.

I think I approve, Mom. But I better go run around that back yard.

Yup, plenty of room to run. And get muddy.

This is NOT what I had in mind. Mom, can I move already?

Later, it was lots of sleeping by the fireplace:
The next morning, someone forgot to tell Captain people stay up late on New Year's Eve. He was ready to go exploring bright and early. Oh well, it wasn't a bad view to wake up to and to go out for a run in!
After our run, Captain was happy to sit in the kitchen...

I'm pretty sure I should test that bacon out.

New Year's day we went to Blind Beach, one of the many nearby Sonoma State Park beaches. It was cold but lots of fun!

At the end of the weekend on the way home we decided to take the scenic route along Highway 1 and check out more of the beautiful California Sonoma coastline! The first pic of this post is from one of the 3 beaches we stopped at. For more on that drive, check out the Fido Factor post on Sonoma Coast beaches.

Highway 1 never ceases to impress me with its beautiful coastline. It seems like there's an amazing beach every 2 minutes! Captain is DEFINITELY a beach boy. I think he likes running in the sand more than anything... although cuddling under a blanket AFTER a good run may take a close second. Or maybe peanut butter is second... hard to say. Best to have all three. :-)
Happy New Year!

Welcome home treats

2010-12-29T11:50:00.001-08:00

So glad to be back home with our Captain! He enjoyed his time with his daycare family while we were away for Christmas, but was all wiggles to see us yesterday.

Next up, a NYE trip to Russian River area!

Vizsla Wonderland

2010-12-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! We are on the East Coast, sadly away from our Captain (who is staying with his wiggle-worthy friend!).

Grab your Vizsla for a snuggle and enjoy some awesome V pics I found on Flickr!

Photo from CarstenHS

Photo from bh5688

Another great picture from CarstenHS

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! We are looking forward to coming back to Captain and going away for a doggie-fun-filled NYE weekend.... more on that to come!

Christmas pressies

2010-12-23T06:25:00.001-08:00

Captain sporting some new outerwear. He'll be all warm for Tahoe this year!

Tickle me Captain

2010-12-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

It's blurry, but you get the idea...

Muddy buddy

2010-12-12T16:40:00.001-08:00

We've had a fair share of rain here lately, which means lots of mud, which means one muddy dog when playtime is over, which means ... Bath time!

I still don't see why you think I needed a bath, Mom.

Take a look at that bath water! Now he's one clean Vizsla. Who's ready to get muddy all over again...

Awwwwwwseome pics

2010-12-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

It's just too easy to find good Vizsla pictures :-)

Black & white photos from Jaker83 on Flickr

Photo from Hanbury on Flickr

Sleepin' in

2010-12-05T17:08:00.001-08:00

Nothing wrong with a little Sunday lazin' around. Since college my husband has loved to pull out the same sleeping bag and just lie on the couch on a Sunday. Captain has wholeheartedly adopted this tradition.

Little elves

2010-12-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

Anyone else always surprised when the Christmas trees go up immediately after Thanksgiving?? Well, I have to say I do love the decorations. Captain always likes to sniff the tree, try and take a bite, and then, luckily, leaves it alone for the rest of the month.

Speaking of upcoming holidays, I could NOT resist posting these pictures...

Photo from Jaker83 on Flickr

Photo from Redheadhines on Flickr

That should help get things in the holiday spirit!

Leftovers?

2010-11-28T12:44:00.001-08:00

Captain had a hard time believing ALL that pumpkin bread was going to be eaten by others....

Where's my pumpkin bread mom??

Is it just me or is my dog the same color as my bread? Clearly it's my favorite color -makes for the sweetest dogs, breads, and treats :-)

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

From my 'pumpkin pie' to yours....

Napa weekend

2010-11-21T20:58:00.000-08:00

This weekend we were very excited to take a little mini-vacation for a belated anniversary trip. Unfortunately, it was pretty rainy when we arrived in Napa (but at least it was only a short 30 min drive away!). We did squeeze in a quick playtime at the nearby Alston dog park before relaxing in our room though. Captain was a little disappointed a trip to wine country meant more relaxing than running. What's up with that? Relaxing?

We stayed at the (of course) dog-friendly Napa River Inn,

Captain even got to enjoy some live jazz music at Silo's while we sipped some wine!

This is an excellent year for rawhide, mom.

Later, we snuck out to dinner at the restaurant in our hotel, keeping careful watch on Captain with our icam app. He seemed happy enough to be left with a peanut-butter kong, but somewhere in between ordering our cocktails and getting some bread, we noticed Captain seemed to be chewing on a pink item. What was that? It looked square and not at all like his RED kong... oh no! Cupcake bandit strikes again!!

Captain had found the Kara's cupcake box in the trash. (A treat for my husband earlier in the day). Luckily, my husband had polished off nearly all of the 2 cupcakes we'd gotten, and neither one of us is a big chocolate fan, so all Captain was gnawing on was the wrappers and some leftover icing from the pumpkin pie cupcake and a bit of fondant from the decoration on the banana caramel cupcake.... but I still sprinted back up to our room.

Unfortunately I didn't take a picture, but I'm sure you can imagine it.... bits of the pink box scattered around the floor, and a very guilty looking Vizsla curled up on his back, tail wagging vigorously, paws curled up, eyes begging for forgiveness. I'm sorry! But you left cupcake leftovers in an open trashcan on the floor!! I'm only canine!!! Cupcakes, mommy, cupcakes!! You know they're my weakness!!

Needless to say, he was very good the rest of the night and stayed right on his bed sleeping, despite the increased sugar intake. Vizlsas know when they're wrong! But they are impossible to stay cross at :-)

The next morning we awoke to lots of sun, so we went out for a run and then a walk around Napa.

Captain was happy to see sun, but even happier to see birds!

But this is what he was happiest about- finally, he got some REAL playtime!

It was fun in Napa, we'll be back!

What's that?

2010-11-15T23:42:00.000-08:00

Captain meets the bike pump...

(As with most times, it was better just before we decided to take a video- he kept sticking his nose in the air hole as I was trying to fill up my tires- but you can't get everything on tape!)

Funston reunion

2010-11-14T17:54:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since Captain has seen his BFF from our old neighborhood, Keoni. So this weekend we met up at the always fun Fort Funston!

I remember you! I missed you!

Funny, didn't seem to matter that they hadn't seen each other in about 2 months. It was best pals playtime as usual. In addition to good company, we were also blessed with perfect weather. A great beach day and no wind at all! Nice.

There was running....
and wading...
and stalking....

and a little bit of cheating on Keoni with this beautiful Weim....

But then back to Keoni...

and some taking in of the beautiful views at Funston:

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Your Vizsla "Awwww" moment for the day

2010-11-12T08:14:00.000-08:00

In case you needed your fix of cute...

Photo of 12 week old Rhylee, from Flickr

Tilden

2010-11-07T18:49:00.000-08:00

This weekend we explored Tilden Regional Park, a wonderful local park in the East Bay with plenty of miles of hills for running and exploring. Captain was a pretty happy hiker! We went with some friends and their dog Lucy, who kept running off into the trees... at one point she came back with what looked like a broken stick from far away... she was REALLY proud of herself, and as she got closer we realized it wasn't a stick at all- she had found a deer leg! Ick... I was glad Captain stayed away. I did NOT take a picture of that find! But here are a few pics of the area.

Tilden is a beautiful park that's great for a day hike. We had quite a bit of fog this Saturday, but the sun peaked through a little bit!

Looking forward to coming back to this near-by park when it's sunnier so we can take in the view even more!

Under cover

2010-11-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

Captain loves bundling up under a warm cozy blanket! He likes to be completely under the covers... but sometimes I peak in on him :-)

Dogtoberfest & Halloween

2010-10-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

He's actually my little angel, but I couldn't find a halo :-)

Yesterday at our neighborhood park it was "Dogtoberfest!" One doggie mom made a "bacon cake" to share with all the dogs, and it was pretty impressive...

At first Captain thought he should bark at it. Then, upon further inspection, he decided he really, really, really wanted it...

It was really hard to wait for the slices! We all lined up...

... and didn't even care that it was raining. Captain wolfed down his piece of cake pretty quickly:

He probably could have eaten most of the cake if left to his own devices. Luckily we got a slice to take home for later. FYI, the 'cake' was made out of rice (pre-cooked), ground turkey, and eggs, shaped into a bone and baked, and covered with "bacon frosting" - slices of bacon covering the top of the cake. What a treat!

Please more bacon cake mom!

Happy Halloween!

Playing tour guide

2010-10-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had some out-of-town friends come visit, so we showed them all around SF and the Bay area. It always bothers me a little bit that State Parks aren't dog-friendly, but I understand that not everyone is a responsible dog owner, so I guess I get it! In any case, Captain and I waited patiently outside the entrance to Muir Woods, which wasn't soooo bad b/c we got so much attention. ("What kind of dog is that?" "Oh he's soooo cute!" "Can I pet him?") To which Captain was quite pleased to wiggle, roll over, and accept all the butt-scratching he could get.

We stopped in many of the usual SF tourist spots (Painted Ladies, Golden Gate Bridge, Cliff House, Haight-Ashbury), but this is one of my favorites:

The Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina area of SF. It's a perfect backdrop for a picnic. And Captain likes to stare at the view too :-) (well, actually, he mostly likes to stare at the birds in the pond. But it makes for a good picture).

Things we do when it's raining...

2010-10-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

A rare event for California, it's rained BOTH days this weekend. We did manage to get outside for a run, but since it's so much harder to find other dogs to play with when it's rainy, we have to resort to playing ball inside the house... I must admit I've come a little close to breaking some things, so don't try this at home :-)

Add about 20 or 30 minutes of that, and you MIGHT just tire out your Vizsla a little bit.

Luckily Captain does like to nap a lot. Especially under the covers...

Hope you had better weather this weekend than we did! If not, at least it's an opportunity for lots of good Vizsla cuddling.

Point Isabel and Berkeley updates

2010-10-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

I've had a bunch of posts in the past from Point Isabel, another doggie wonderland in the SF Bay area. It's such a great spot because there are always tons of friendly dogs around to play with, it's a beautiful location, it's huge, fenced, and has a little bit of everything- some beach, some fields, some trails, and even a food stand and doggie store. And what's even better- we now live about 5-10 minutes away from it!

Captain's new thing, not surprisingly given his recently adopted obsession, is looking for squirrels in the rocks.

In addition to being close to Point Isabel in our new home, we frequently go to Aquatic Park and Cesar Chavez- two other great dog spots along the water that we can run to. We even ran into Captain's half brother at Aquatic Park- Guinness- they share a father (Tacoma of Red Dog Ranch), as well as meeting a new Vizsla friend at CC.

Recently I also finally tried out biking with Captain, and he did great! I had always been worried he'd pull me over, but he stayed right by my side. Good way to get around with him if I don't feel like running. I've decided though, it's a rare thing when both a Vizsla AND its owner aren't in the mood to exercise... :-)

Cozy time

2010-10-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Clean, cozy, comfortable, and inCredibly cute Captain.

Sigh. To be a Vizsla...

Mommy made it, Captain approved

2010-10-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

Last night we blended and froze the frosty paws, and tonight....

we licked ...
and licked....
and liked them :-)
Too bad my husband can't get homemade frozen treats made for him. But we can't all be the Captain.

What's Mommy making?

2010-10-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

I decided to make Captain some more Frosty Paws this evening. He was pretty interested in what I was up to...

I always let him lick the container of yogurt (low sugar) when I'm done, and this is what we end up with:

Doesn't look like much now, but after a few hours in the freezer, makes for a great doggie treat!

Is it ready yet??

Daily musing

2010-10-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

"If only I could climb trees."
The squirrel-obsession continues...

Sweet Potato

2010-10-05T23:30:00.001-07:00

Captain awaits a "sweet potato lollipop" treat. Num num! Is it just mine, or do all Vizslas like to eat orange things? ;-)

Bed-bye

2010-09-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

Found this video of a very cute Vizsla puppy getting VERY cuddly (and mouthy).
Why do I have the very distinct feeling that this bed is going to be toast very soon?

Reminds me of Captain's "snow in California" bed shredding session, (as one reader put it)! Luckily Captain prefers to sleep in his beds now. Speaking of which... my favorite red dog is doing that right now. Better go join him :-)

Echo Lake Hiking

2010-09-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the last of the Tahoe pictures! Sunday of Labor Day weekend we went hiking at Echo Lake, a beautiful lake and trail region near South Lake Tahoe. It was absolutely gorgeous- and a great way to exercise the dogs!

Come on guys!!

I LOVE this one of Trax, in his "kitten mittens" - aka Ruff Wear hiking shoes:

We started to think maybe we needed some of those booties for Captain- the terrain was pretty rocky for part of the hike... next time maybe Captain will have shoes too!

Not a bad place for a swim:

Typical- Captain waits for the Labradors to do their retrieving...

... and then makes his move!

Some of the beautiful scenery along the way:

Great hiking and a great end to our Labor Day weekend 2010!

Regan Beach 3: Vizsla Action Shots

2010-09-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here's the last Labor Day Tahoe beach posting (then on to hiking next!)- just the V action shots!

Flying ears everywhere!

Looking fierce!

We couldn't help laughing at this one- my little Kangaroo!

And some good 'ole tug with a new friend to top it off:
Labor Day Weekend 2010- South Lake Tahoe
Want more Tahoe? Click here for all Vizsla Thing Tahoe posts.

Regan Beach 2: Action Jacksons

2010-09-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

These pictures don't need much explanation. At Regan Beach in South Lake Tahoe, the boys were tearing it up...

Nothing like a good run with your mate :-)

Labor Day Weekend 2010 Pictures - Captain & his buddy Trax in Tahoe.

Still more Tahoe pics!

Regan Beach 1: Vizsla studmuffin

2010-09-14T08:34:00.001-07:00

Remember how I kept saying I'd post Tahoe pics soon? Well, the wait is over...

We went to South Lake Tahoe for Labor Day, and our friend took over 500 pictures. From that, he whittled it down to 295, which he just sent to us, and I downloaded a select 55 (yes, mainly those of Captain). But even that is too many for one blog post, so I'm splitting them into a number of posts. First up: Regan Beach, one of Tahoe's dog-friendly beaches that is just in a killer setting. It's nice and shallow which makes for good Vizsla water play.

Ok, these pics make me think that Captain is, like that line from Zoolander, "really really really ridiculously good looking" :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SKrGSW_zqU (line is right at beginning of clip, which is too long but the first thing I found on you tube).

Captain wasn't sure about those floating things in the water. He had to run over to them and check them out. And then he decided he needed to bark at the buoys. Then Daddy showed him they weren't really such bad things...
And what's beach time without some digging?
Even studmuffins need their moms...

I love this profile picture. Thanks to Jason for pictures of my beauty! More to come...

September weekend

2010-09-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

Captain at Echo Lake in South Lake Tahoe

I promise, the rest of the pics from Tahoe are coming! Hopefully soon...

In the meantime, we went over to Point Isabel this weekend (it's even closer now that we moved!) and ran into this ADORABLE Rhodesian puppy named Kima:

And also two other V's, Hans and Sam. Great to see Sam again! We need to get to another Vizsla Walk soon.