Wordless Wednesday - Monty likes to stay grounded...

A Spoonful of Floof

Recently, Khyra's Mom sent us a care package of horse magazines for me.  In between was a letter addressed to Monty and Harlow...

We opened it carefully and found a card inside stuffed with a little something... extra...

Khyra Floof!

I presented it to Monty:

He assumed it was broccoli...

Iz not touching it...

Once we convinced both Monty and Harlow that it was indeed safe for them to snooter, the fluff-fest began!

Shnorf, shnoof, shnoof....

shnoof, shnoof, shnoof, shnorf...

Someone managed to get some floof in her mouth...

Bleh, bleh, bleh...

...and there was a lot of disappointment when I had to take it away...

Dat was our fluff, Momma.

Thank you, Khyra!  Our pups enjoyed their floof very much!

Wordless Wednesday - Harlow Edition

July Chewy Review

We are excited to do this months Chewy review!  We opted to try a toy instead of a treat - something we haven't done before.  Of course, the pups knew it was for them the second the box arrived.

The magical mystery box...

We rate toys on four criteria in our house - chewability, durability, loonability (how crazy are they about the toy?) and longevity.  Harlow and Monty have the ability to destroy toys marked indestructable.  We tend to monitor their interactions with toys very closely - it doesn't take them long (usually 15 minutes) to turn one toy into two.

I promise not to destroy dis toy...

I plead the 5th...

Well, I don't believe them, but...

The toy we chose was a Planet Dog Glow for Good Ball.  It promised to be durable (5 out of 5 chompers), buoyant, minty and bouncy.  It'll take some time to test the durable part of their promise, but so far so good.  It does have a minty smell and it is extremely bouncy.  It is also designed to fit into their Wood Chuck ball thrower.

I couldn't get any photos of them playing with the ball, because I didn't think ahead and realize we probably needed two.  Monty and Harlow were quick to point that out.

Check your glasses, Momma.  We iz twins.

After quite a bit of scuffling Monty managed to win the ball.  He immediately took it to the couch.

My precious...  Nasty Harlowses...

After which Harlow took it to her hobbit den fortress and chewed on it for a while.

Nom nom nom

So what do we think of the Planet Dog Glow for Good ball?  Well, on our rating scale:

Chewability:  So far, it has survived 20 minutes of very vigoruous chewing without any damage.  That's a record in our house.

Loonability:  The dogs were crazy over this toy.  Huge bonus!

Durability and Longevity:  We will have to see how long it lasts!

Updated 7/21/2014 - I put this blog post together on Friday.  So far, the ball has survived well with no punctures, gouges or missing pieces.  The pups are still playing vigorously with it.  I would caution if you play with it indoors, it is extremely bouncy - we've had a few minor knick-knacks taken down through the weekend.

Thank you, Chewy, for sending us this great toy to review.  Monty and Harlow are both enjoying it!

More on Planet Dog:

Since incorporating in 1997, we have been known as the industry's leading socially responsible, values-based design house, bringing people and dogs together for fun and mutual support.

The fire in our belly is to concept, innovate and develop premium products "made for dogs, by dog lovers" all while being fully dedicated to satisfying both you and your best friend's needs.

Our mission is to amuse, explore, support, innovate, create, educate, celebrate and philanthropate... all in the name of the dog. We "romp the romp" by providing financial resources to those in need, educating consumers about canine-related issues, creating an array of non-toxic and recyclable products, and keeping the tails of "our pack" wagging.

Planet Dog’s flagship initiative is the Planet Dog Foundation. Since 2012, PDF has donated more than $800,000 in cash and product donations. Our internal mantra of "think globally, act doggedly," keeps us focused on the higher cause of why we entered this industry...wagging, drooling, sniffing, snuggling, howling, romping dogs.

In which we receive an award...

Our good friend Hawk over at BrownDogCBR has shared something exciting with us - the Shine On award!  There are some rules we have to follow for this award:

1.) Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you 
2.) Acknowledge that blogger on your blog, and link back
3.) Share 7 random things about yourself…
4.) Nominate up to 15 bloggers for the Shine On award, provide a link to their blog in your post, and notify them on their blog.

So let's see...  7 random things about us...

1)  Harlow is such a small Golden Retriever that she can run underneath the pool table without ducking.
2)  Monty has a collection of blankets - he now owns 9 of them.  His favorite, of course, is Wendella.
3)  Momma had a garden until Harlow came.  She and Monty decided it would be fun to eat all the plants and tip all the pots over.
4)  Harlow is a grooming junky.  She lives to be brushed.  Monty?  Not so much...
5)  Many of you know that Monty likes to chase sunbeams.  What many of you may not know is that he will actually move things with his nose to get the light to reflect.  This includes blinds, toys, vases on the windowsill...  He really knows how to make light sparkle!
6)  Harlow doesn't know how to growl.  She says "grrrr" instead.  We are thinking of sending her for help.
7)  All of our male Golden's have been dark red, all of our females light like Harlow - although it isn't intentional.  This goes back all the way to Momma's first Golden as a kid, Daisy.   

...and the blogs we nominate...

Miley's Daily Scoop - a wonderful blog about three adventuresome pups!  Check out their Monday Mischief post.  They have the prettiest flowers and Miley gives you a personal tour! 

Big Stinky Dog - Mason is a fun-loving boy!  They also supply information on raw feeding! 

It's Chewy Time! - Follow the adventures of a pup named Chewy! 

The beautiful Miss Lee - Another Golden - I'm detecting a theme here...

Raising the Reuf - Monty's long lost brother. 

Stella and  Rory from Down Under  - a Cocker Spaniel and Great Dane from Australia!

Thank you, Hawk!

  

Wordless Wednesday - Monty Edition

Our weekend - a summary...

The Arizona heat has pretty much kept us indoors all weekend and we've had to come up with creative ways to keep ourselves entertained and busy...

Harlow, of course, has her bird watching:

Command Post 1

Command Post 2

Command Post...  wait a minute!

Monty spends his day adoring the sun beams:

You iz interrupting my sunbeam, Momma.

We did some house cleaning, in which Harlow helped...

I iz ready to work!

...and got them both out for a walk...

As far as the pups are concerned, winter can't come quick enough!

Anyone in Alaska need a couple of Golden sled dogs?

Wordless Wednesday - Harlow Edition

Saturday Drive

Aaron and I decided to take a drive yesterday.  I wanted to get out of the valley and see something green, and it's been a while since we had a chance to do something like that.  We didn't have much of a destination in mind, we just headed north...

We stopped at Green Valley Park in Payson to let the pups stretch their legs.  The park is so green - something that is nice to see after seeing nothing but hot, dry desert...

Disclaimer:  There are no pups in this picture...  (Just a trio of ducks!)

I think both pups were happy to feel some cool grass under their paws.  Or in Monty's case, under his butt feathers.

Hehe...  I'm sitting in duck poop...

Harlow couldn't get enough of snootering the grass, and we were constantly falling behind Aaron and Monty.

Dad!  Wait for me!

Of course, I did a bunch of stops to take "artistic" pictures...  BOL!

I call this "Grackles at High Noon".

Harlow also spent some of her time watching ducks...

Ducks, Momma!

Both of our pups think they should be allowed in every building - as they should be!  While waiting for Aaron in the shade, they both stared intently at this door waiting for me to open it for them.

Mom, door?  Open?

Have a great Sunday!

The Montyman Recovered

When we first adopted Monty from AZGRC his first action in our house was to claim the ottoman as his.  We didn't mind - it was the perfect size for our Monty to take his afternoon snooze on.  Somewhere along the way (and most likely while chasing sunbeams...) Monty decide the ottoman needed a little "altering" and he did a little digging...  Hence, the Montyman was born!

It's a good thing we love the boy!

Returning to the scene of the crime...

Since his digging caused the leather to become very thin, we decided that instead of repairing the leather we would try to cover the ottoman. 

We selected material we thought Monty would like.  (Harlow wanted pink...)

 ...and yes, Harlow helped her Momma out during the whole process...

So soft!

After some serious measuring, pinning and cutting, the new cover was ready to be sewed.

Someone was upset he couldn't take his nap.

There was also some minor clean-up of the scrap material...

I can has dis stuff?

All in all, we think the new cover came out looking okay.  It definitely helps to hide Monty's alterations.

Our next project is to recover the rest of the cushions - also victims of Monty's decorating whims.

The last step was to see if Monty liked his new ottoman cover...

Dis is nice.

We think he does!

Another PSA from Harlow...

She is taking her campaign very seriously...

(Just FYI... the cherry was pitted, and it was only a sliver about the size of a dime)

We hope you all have a happy and safe 4th of July weekend!