Our 2011 New Year Resolutions!

This year I plan on following through with all my resolutions and I put some thought into them to make sure I plan only possible things. Lol or should be possible, oh and right at this moment I will most likely be partying it up, so thank goodness for schedules posting! Here are my three resolutions I am making right now, at midnight, in regards to Wilson and the pet world.

1. Wilson has to lose weight. I just weighed him at 20.4 pounds, I'm no vet or breed specialist but thats a lot for a tweenie dachshund. I have my grandma staying with my family right now and she has a bad habit of feeding him (in good grandma fashion I suppose) a little extra from her plate when no one is looking. I will prescribe more walkies I guess.

2. To solve or at least limit his 'fear-aggression' and his over the top house protectiveness. Fear aggression just takes time, training, consistency and patience. My friends say he is already noticeably better then last year which I am thankful for, but I want him to trust more in me and be less afraid of people and other dogs, whether inside the house or out.

3. Next year I want to be able to help out a shelter and be a doggie foster parent (Number 2 resolution has to be mostly complete for this to happen. I want Wilson to be a den dad to any fosters I take and he needs to be able to accept another dog in our home). I already have done my research and have picked out three possible shelters, everything else must come together now.

So Wilson, what about you? What are your New Years resolutions?

_____________________________________


First off, I had no idea what these resolutions are. Second off I'm not fat! OUTRAGE!


Anyways, I asked Mindy the cat what these resolutions are and she in all her catwisdom told me they are a goal that humans set for themselves that they normally break or forget and don't complete by the next month. Very odd, but oh wells. So here I go.

1. I will loose weight.


2. I will not bark at these strangers at the door even when mom tells me to stop.

3. I will stop bothering Mindy.

4. I will loose a large amount of body fat, this will be done by not giving the 'Im starving so feed me' look to everyone that I'm not barking it.

4. I will no longer sneak into the kitchen when no one is looking and try to steal things off the counter or vacuum up any dropped food on the floor.

Yup I already foresee this being a great year

Weiner and Kitty-Cat: Our Chrismas photo's....GrumbleGrumble

I'm shocked to see that mom has yet to post my pictures up. For shame! Although she has been busy with the large amount of family members that suddenly dropped by through out the week. I've been busy too, busy barking at them and making sure they know that this is MY place, that that is MY floor and how dare they touch MY cat?!?! But see heres the thing, I remembered about this post, mom didn't. I win! Now look at my wonderful pictures and some of the gifts I got this season.

Now arn't I just darlin'? Though I disliked having to wear the sweater...I mean I reallllllllly disliked having to wear it.


These are some of the treats I got for x-mas! Ohh trust me when I say they are very yummy. Mom also wants me to tell you that I have hardly put a dent in the megabone! Ohh dog that things bigger then my head! But don't worry I have made it my mission to whittle that thing down to nothing.


Haha! And here is Mindy! Mom decided it would not be fair that I have to wear the ribbon the whole time so Mindy had to walk around with it as well! (Chelsea's Note: I call Mindy a princess, but she handles dressing up better and with more dignity then Wilson does! Fancy that)
Meh, whatever mom.

Bark with you all later

Wilson the Great and Totally Handsome.

Happy Howllidaysss!

Hey all, just thought I'd drop you a line and say happy holidays from Wilson and me! Right now the little fat sausage is sulking in a corner cause he can't open his gifts yet. Well....That may not be the main reason to I suppose. I did dress him up in a green sweater and a red ribbon, that might be why he is giving everyone the sad eyes. Oh look, hes doing it now. BOL!

Me: Buck up Wilson! Just till pictures are done and over with. I promise.

Pupson: *sad eyes times 10*

Me: I promise! Really!

Pupson: *Walks over to Chelsea's Mom and Grandmom and tries the sad eyes on them*

Mom and GrandMom: AWWWWWWWW!!!! He is just darling!

Pupson: *huffs and lays down. Occasionally gets up and give mom the sad eyes then start at the box full of dog x-mas goodies then lays down again*

Yup thats pretty much what just happened, oh what a dog I have! Anyways, we wish you a happy holiday fun time. I'll post pictures on boxing day.
Later Gators!

Hey, A post and a Wilson Video!!

Well I got some good news and great news and even better news for all my blog readers. Firstly our Secret Santa package has been opened and from the looks of it the items are well loved. If your interested in knowing who we bought for, what we got them and how much they loved it then click this link HERE which will take you to their blog. Secondly I AM ON MY WINTER BREAK! I now have a whole lot of time on my hands cause I'm out of school for a bit. No one wants to read about how excited I am about this but I just had to say it. This also means that I have been able to spend more time with my furry wiener dog. He loves it even more then I do!

And for the even better news..I have something to blog about besides all the snow. Heh, its great and all but I bet reading about blah blah snow this and blah blah snow that gets boring. I'm sorry....my bad... As Wilson would say BOL! So here is a mini movie of Wilson and his crazy light chasing, I hope you get some good laughs from it.
Oh and if we all get too busy this upcoming week then I just want you all to know I wish you a happy holiday time. Enjoy your fur babies, doggie pals, cat lap warmers or whatever kind of animal you may have at home!!

Our Tips for Beating the Winter Blues

Wilson and Chelseas Tips for Beating the Winter Blues
aka some fun examples of what we do during the boring winter months where outside playtime is limited to us)

1. We do a lot of running in the house, like insane running. I chase him, he chases me, sometimes a few object like to fall off tables etc. It surprising how much navigating a house and running at full speed tires one self and ones dog. Do house marathons.

2. Curl up on the couch and read a good book together, this way we share each others warmth and get to spend time together. Hurray!

3. The cat, both a source of warmth (when she allows it) and entertainment.

4. Outside walks have become limited to when its not windy and really cold out, but indoor walkies at petstores have increased. So have the amount of dog toys and treats. Straaaannnge. New toys also helps beat down the boring winter blues.

5. Winter seems to be turning into the time where Wilson learns more tricks. Some we teach him like circle, ignore food, jump between my legs and roll. Others he learns himself like, lets remove things from moms purse and bring it to her (papers, wallet, or sometimes feminine products which is embarrassing and funny when companies over), or nosing the leash hanging from the wall means walkies (though I think that is Wilson training me =/ mhmmm). Winter time is the best time for indoor doggie learning.

(taken from my comment on one of Corgi Butts posts)

Wilson the Dashing Dachshund Dashing Through the Snow...

Here's the video that I blogged about earlier, the one from last year that inspired the name for the blog, perfect for winter might I add! And the lovely songstress is my mother, isn't she great? I'm in the background snorting as I try to not laugh when Wilson jumped and went in over his head in the snow. And he did this a few times during our walk that day! What an interesting pup I have.

Wilson, Winter and Snow, Snow, Snow!

Thanks to you guys that commented on my previous post, you made me and Wilson's week much better!

So as I have said before we live up here in Canada where the winters are very cold, now this never bothered me before. I just bundle up, make sure the reptiles heat lamps are keeping them warm and happy and then go along with my day, wither it be outside or inside. Well since having a dog, and a short legged one at that, I've had to re-think this whole winter thing.

He needed a jacket last year for when it got cold, but not cold enough that he couldn't go for a walk. Having a doxie makes this a very hard item to find unless I ordered one from the Internet which I didn't want to do. I wanted to be able to touch and feel his jacket to make sure it was warm enough for him. Well my mother and I finally found something for my little boy. Yes! ...... This year Wilson has gotten a bit bigger then what he was last winter, both in size and weight (hahaha..my bad..)and the jacket doesn't cover his back well and fits rather snug. Sigh..... If anyone knows a great place to order a coat online for dachshunds feel free to suggest it to me please.

The next hurtle that I had to deal with is the amount of snow we get. Most times it gets over his head, which makes bathroom breaks a fun adventure for him. Winter is the only time both Wilson and me wished that he was taught to use pee pads. Siiggh. So now my shoving duties include the sidewalk and a large area of the yard so my poochie can pick the perfect spot to do his thing and not get stuck and lost in the snow.

Next problem was some kind of protection for his feet. Some days when I let him out to go its really cold and I worry about how his feet feel. One time I sat there and watch him searching around for the best spot to go, too stubborn in that dachshund fashion to let the cold stop his hunt. I got to watch as he started to feel the cold and would lift one paw off the ground as high as he could, then the other then he would try to lift as many paws off the ground as he could, he then gave up and went to the bathroom on that spot. He didn't look very please about it as I came out to rescue him. My fears were confirmed, I had to get him booties. Now all those readers out there with dachshunds know that finding booties is a little bit hard. See doxies have large front paws made to shovel as much dirt out of the way as possible and their back paws are smaller then their front. All the boots I have found to this day come in sets of four... Two would fit his front paws and be to big for his back or vise versa. So now on the colder days I stick two pairs of baby socks on his paws and hope he doesn't try to take them off before he can get inside. He hates them but seems to understand that they keep his feet warmer.

As much as I may gripe about winter and all the problems it causes us, winter still happens to be mine and Wilsons favorite holiday. He gets so much joy running through the snow (I have a video of him somewhere 'dashing' through snow drifts with my mom singing 'Dashing through the snow..' haha and yes this video IS the reason why his blog is called a Dashing Dachshund blog), snow is something he can roll all over, or he can make sure that almost every where in the backyard has his foot prints on it, and to Wilson snow is one of the best gifts ever! To him snow is an endless material that he can dig in and not get in trouble. What more can a dachshund want? Well besides food. Winter means more cuddling time with everyone in the family, just sitting around watching TV or reading: adsorbing each others heat. Wilson makes winter even more special to me.

A few days before I went outside to do some shovelling, I bundled both me and Wilson up and went out since it was one of the warmers days. As I'm tossing snow about Wilson seemed to think he should help and jumped right in my way to dig the snow away from the sidewalk. Of course this didn't help much, in-fact he was kind of making more work for me so I thanked him and tossed my scarf off to the side and told him to find it so I could continue. He did so and I got to finish and then snap some great winter pictures of him sitting on my scarf waiting for me to get done.

This last picture is Wilson showing me that, yup, fun was had but he was doooonnneee. Time to go back in~!
Anyways, thats his jacket from last year, I'm thinking I'll donate it to one of the local rescue since he hardly ever used it last winter. And notice how puffy his fur is? Wilson seems to do this thing with his fur around winter where his under coat grows in and gets longer then his top coat making him look a lighter color then he is and a lot more poofie. This summer he took a Furminator to him so he wouldn't over heat and he went back to being a darker shade of red. Even his old trainer is surprised by how much his coat seems to change due to the sessions.
Anyways, hope your winters are going fun!
Later Anipals!

The "What is your dog crossed with?" question

Or "what kind of dog is he/she?"

[Taken from Wilson's twitter]

Because Wilson is a long haired dachshund I seem to get this question a lot. They all think he is cute and they sometimes know that he must have dachshund in him but because of the long fur they are thrown off. Which is completely ok, I know I do it a lot with other breeds of dogs that I don't know much about.

Its the people that fight with you about it that kinda peeve me off, but more about that later.

This kind of question happens often to me at the dog parks or when out for walkies. I always know its coming when I see that confused look cross their face. I usually stand there and let them ask, I mean they are standing as my little terror barks like crazy at them. (because i love dogs and dog people) I always answer with a smile and chuckle even on a bad day.

Now I understand why the few people with wirehair dachshunds were always so excited when I'm like "OOMMG WIRE HAIR DOXIE <3~~"

....

You don't see the wire hairs all that often in Alberta so its a special treat. But anyways.

So I was at Petsmart looking for healthy dog treats and some lady walks up to Wilson. I sure didn't see her (I do try to keep an eye out to make sure I'm aware where strangers, other pets and little kids are in adjacent to my pup like a good owner. But I'm human) and Wilson didn't notice her either untill she had reached down to pet him. In good old Wilson-dachshund fashion he flipped. Flipped meaning backing up, fur spiked, barking his sweet head off. May I also mention he has a loud and deep bark? Even when I'm used to it sometimes I'm still shocked. I almost jumped out of my socks; and clearly this lady felt the same. And here's the kicker. She GIVES ME the stink eye. As if its MY fault that she thought it was a good idea to try and touch my dog without asking(extremely impolite), scare my dog by sneaking up to him as he is trying to sniff out yummy treats and invaid my dog's personal space. Most dog owners ask, most adults don't sneak up on a dog. It's impolite.

I said sorry to her anyways, and got back to what I was doing. This distracts Wilson enough that he stops barking. (oh food, the power you hold). She sticks around and then asks me the normal question.

Me: Oh, he's not crossed with anything! He's a long haired Dachshund.

Woman: I know he is a dachshund, but do you know what else he is crossed with?

Me: He's not a cross -

Woman:(rudely cuts in) Yes he is, he's clearly a mutt.

Me: Uhh, no. He's a long haired -

Woman: I've had dachshunds before, they only have short hair. If you don't know, then you don't know. There's no point in lying about him. (sniffs and then walks off)

Huh?
She didn't even let me go into my speel about the three different types of dachshund coats.

And she called Wilson a mutt. Very rude! She even made the word mutt sound like a bad thing. Mutts are cute!

Mutt also means that the parenthood is completely unknown.

Silly woman.

I know that another great blogger that has had something like this happen with her long haired doxie - Alven. This is the link to the post here for those interested in reading what happened to another long hair dachshund owner.

Tehehe, sorry. Done my rant and feel ten times better!

Edmonton Humane Society Pawdcast- Another way rescues and shelters can advertise, inform and connect!

Hey guys, I'm really excited about this bit of new that I had to post it(even if I'm in class, hehe oops!). One of the Rescue/Humane groups that I check out often (I look at their website and follow their twitter, donate...etc) have started a Pawdcast, the first to do so in Canada! What a way to advertise, connect, inform and get the populations interest!

Its great that they are 'thinking out of the box' and using web 2.0 technologies to connect to more people and get them aware of just what they do and why!

If you have time please take a look, even if you are from the states.

Thanks!
(It does repeat about a minute in the leah training section, thats due to the pawdcast being recorded live. Stuff happens =D )

EHS Pawdcast - Episode 1 from fusedlogic TV on Vimeo.

Anipal Photo Hunt #14: MOM!

So for this weeks Anipal Photo Hunt we have to post pictures of ourselves, or a self portrait. I attempted to find a picture with me and a bunch of dogs or a picture of me with most of my pets at home. Well for the first idea I found a picture from when we were camping....NOOOOOOOO, camping chelsea looks bad. X that idea and for the second....Bahhh, you try asking a cat to sit still when she she can't 'bare' being seen with a dog.

So here you go!

Alright, alright. I cheated.

Here's a better one. And before someone asks, that hat is fake fur not real! I don't wear fur, leather etc, I don't use anything if its tested on animals either. =)

(Thats right, I'm doing the duck lips. My face just goes that way when a camera comes out. I don't like people taking pictures of me! Its a natural defense I think. ;D )

Pssssssss! By the way check out http://www.maxthequiltcat.com/ , our dear Max and his human have started a lot of great fun for their book launch! Don't miss out!