Who is that dog I see staring straight back at me?

Who is that dog I see
Staring straight
Back at me?
Why is my reflection someone
I don't know?
(Adapted from Mulan)

Does your dog match their reflection? Or do they think they're a cat/small dog/big dog etc.  We joke that Mr. N thinks he's a big black dog like the Giant Schnauzer that taught him to be a dog and helped "raise" him at his foster home. 

One Must Suffer For Their Art

I asked Mr. N to pose on this log but it meant getting wet. He does not believe in getting wet any more than he absolutely has to. However, he is a cooperative model (mostly) and waded out to the log and posed. He took the long way on the way back and walked to the other end which was close to shore and jumped the last few inches. 

Does your dog suffer for art (photos)? Or is it a chore getting them to pose at all?

The Pursuit of Canine Happyness

Things that make Mr. N happy:

• Walks. Especially if they have new smells.
• Running wild and free. 
• Treats and food that meet his exacting standards. 
• Admiration and adoration.
• Showing off tricks to an audience.
• Being right.
• Squirrels. Rabbits. Horses. Mice. Hamsters.
• Being petted just the right way. Preferably by multiple people.
• Playing with his squeaky toys and his bear.
• Dog wrestling with a worthy opponent.
• Outsmarting people and other dogs.
• Naps in the sun.
• Sleeping on layers of down.
• Rolling in the grass.
• Human companionship. Ones that understand his high maintenance lifestyle. 

What makes your dog(s) happy?

He's Mine. Not Yours. Get Your Hands Off Him!

Maybe it's because we live in Portland where the unofficial city slogan is "Keep Portland Weird," but we've had our fair share of encounters with crazy people. Specifically regarding Mr. N. Usually it's just men who bark at Mr. N and try to rile him up (how old are you, five?) but we've had a couple of run-ins with really creepy people. 

One time this man (he was drunk or high or both) came up to us and said, "Oh my God! You found my dog!" I grabbed Mr. N and we ran home. There is zero chance Mr. N could have belonged to him at any point. We know his pre-adoption history back to puppyhood and have paperwork backing it up. He also has distinctive markings, it's not like he's a purebred where he could easily be mistaken for another dog. 

Another time, we were waiting our turn at a nosework class at a dog daycare and this woman kept asking me if she could have Mr. N. Umm... no? What earthly reason could I have to hand over my beloved dog to a perfect stranger? 

And then an older teenager leaned out of an open car window and yelled, "That's going to be my next dog. I'll kidnap him! My only working theory is that Mr. N's fluffy stuffed teddy bear looks make people revert to being a toddler when it was much more acceptable to steal another kid's toy because you wanted it.  

Occasionally we get asked if he's up for adoption. More so when we had our foster dog but also at events. After all the time and money and effort that has gone into this dog, I don't think you could afford his fee. 

We take the normal precautions: tag and collar, microchip, supervised play in yards and off-leash. But at this rate, I think he's going to need a tracking chip! 

Has anyone else had weird encounters like this?

Only a Pawn in Their Game

Pretty sure Mr. N thinks he should be the Queen.

Walking on the Wild Side

Mr. N has a penchant for the precarious. He adores walking on steep ledges and peering over. Being part mountain goat, he has never yet taken a tumble but he wears a sturdy harness and leash so that I can pull him up if need be.

I've never had to save him from falling but being able to haul him up by his harness and leash has come in handy a number of times when I've had to rescue him from aggressive dogs and bikes about to run him over.

Isn't he ALL legs?

He decided it would be an excellent idea to walk on the rocks outlining the ledge instead of the path. Past the rocks? Probably a hundred-foot drop to the water. We made sure to hang onto his leash very tightly. He loves peering down at the water and scrambling onto rocks so we let him have his fun as long as we have a safeguard in place.

When we were hiking Beacon Rock which is all switchbacks with Sage, we had to keep admonishing Sage not to get too close to the edge because we certainly couldn't haul her back up if she fell (size + equipment + lack of strength). Mr. N took a certain glee in being able to explore where she couldn't.

Which precautions do you take to save your dog from themselves?

When Pigs Fly

A flying pig! This means I finally get a squirrel for a pet right?

What is your dog's flying pig wish?

Rub-a-dub-dub, Three dogs in a tub

Mr. N and Sage need a third volunteer to go sailing off into the sea with them. Any volunteers?

Such Great Heights

Which view do you like better?

How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Mr. N

The Grinch came to town and recruited Mr. N to pull his sleigh. Mr. N was not thrilled with the prospect. He thinks the Grinch is evil and must be stopped!

We went to a reading of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and Mr. N found the Grinch to be an extremely suspicious character and did not approve of the way Max was treated. He was quiet for the rest of the reading but when the part about Max having to pull the sleigh was being narrated, he let out a bark.

Just in case the Grinch stops by your house and steals all your presents this Christmas, you should enter our Huge Holiday Giveaway for $250 Paypal Cash if you haven't already entered. Last day to enter!

Little Boxes Portland Raffle Winner

Little Boxes is a small business shopping event in Portland on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. Businesses offer discounts and there's a raffle for various prizes.  I'm pretty sure Mr. N worked some canine magic because we won the only (out of several dozen) dog-related prize from the raffle. Mr. N considers it just compensation for suffering through dental surgery that same weekend!

Have you entered our giveaway for $250 Paypal Cash?

Portland Horse Project and Mr. N

If you look closely, you'll spot metal rings on the sidewalks of Portland. They date back to the early 1900's when people would tie up their horses and carts to the rings. Portland continues the tradition by adding rings when new sidewalks are built. Scott Wayne Indiana came up with the idea of adding toy horses to the rings as a public art project (Portland Horse Project) and it became popular with Portlanders. 

Mr. N says he is not a horse and he finds being tied to the ring  very insulting. 

Giant Bubbles in the Park

During our afternoon walk, Mr. N and I meandered down to the river and were greeted with the sight of dozens of bubbles floating in the air. 

Occasionally, the bubble performers bring their giant bubble wands and create enormous bubbles during sunny afternoons. We've always missed their performances before so we paused to watch the bubbles float and melt away in the Indian Summer air. 

A toddler came running over, waving her hands in excitement and paused in front of a stream of iridescent bubbles. Entranced. It wasn't just the children who delighted in the spectacle. Just about everyone who walked by paused for a glimpse and the reminder of pure joy and childhood.

Mr. N was briefly intrigued but then decided there were more other interesting things in the park like the geese and the Aussie that was illicitly playing fetch behind us twenty feet away off-leash. Little Dog was very good and held his sit stay despite bubbles popping by his head and the Aussie.

Piano Concert

You Never Know Who You Might Run Into (or in this case what)

Mr. N and I have seen lots and lots of weird things on our walks. Living in Portland, it's part of the territory. We've run into people from the Easter Bunny crawl (people dress up as bunnies and bar hop), a couple that regularly walks around with giant puppets, and giant beer bottle mascots napping in the grass.

A few days ago, we were walking in a park that we haven't been to in a while and stumbled across a piano. What is a lone piano doing in a park by itself you may ask.

The piano is part of Piano! Push Play!, an organization that rescues old pianos, teams up with artists to decorate them and puts them in public spaces during the summer for people to play. After the summer, the pianos get donated to community centers and schools.

This particular piano is in Cathedral Park and dubbed the Scarlatti. It was decorated by Mette Hornung Rankin. Definitely one of the coolest things we've seen on one of our walks.

Have you run into any cool or weird or interesting things while out on a walk?

BW Sunday #83 - Forest Park Portrait

FitDog Friday #69 - Pittock Mansion and Forest Park

If you're looking for a lovely hike within city limits, I'd recommend the Pittock Mansion hike. It can be crowded on weekends and sunny days but that's pretty much standard. Portlanders swarm outside at any hint of sun. 

Pittock Mansion was originally the private residence of The Oregonian Publisher, Henry Pittock and his wife, Georgiana but is now owned by the city. Dogs are allowed on the grounds but not inside. 

The window behind Mr. N leads to the music room. You can see the harp through the window.

The mansion is also known for its spectacular view of Portland's skyline and Mt. Hood.

Mr. N and Sage are wondering when photo time is over and hiking time begins.

We did the hike backwards because there's more parking available at the mansion than the trailhead. All the green things are blooming early in Portland due to the mild weather including the trilliums.

My phone died mid-way through the hike and we got drenched in a sudden downpour so I didn't get any photos of the Stone House which was built as a rest station as a WPA project. I'd do the hike again but in better weather!

What makes for a good hike?

Monday Mischief #55 - Rose City Classic Dog Show 2015

There was still a torrential downpour on Saturday so I packed Mr. N up and we headed to the Rose City Classic. One of my friends from Mr. N's therapy group came with me and we meandered through the hall. She really wanted to see an Irish Water Spaniel but we didn't spot any. We missed the Yorkies too, they were showing earlier that morning. 

 There was a booth selling FitPaws and Mr. N played with some of the equipment. I meant to ask if he could try the treadmill but didn't get around to it. 

Mr. N on the Fitbone with Paw Pods underneath for extra difficulty

We also watched some agility. The particular course we were watching was an international one and very difficult. Most of the dogs we watched didn't qualify. Mr. N watched very intently, I think he was attracted to all the movement. Either that or he was trying to learn agility through osmosis. 

Miraculously, I managed to walk out without buying anything for Mr. N. I had another friend's shopping list with me and we bought some toys for her dog and a thirty-pound bag of kibble. Someone thought I was feeding Mr. N with that and I was like nope, that would take him a couple of years to finish! 

I did want to buy him a fur tug toy that you can stuff food in but I couldn't find any small enough for his mouth. The smallest one I could find was about his size in length. One of the booth people directed me to the small dog toy aisle but they didn't have any fur tugs. Small dogs tug too! Maybe I'll find one at ClickerExpo this upcoming weekend. 

What did you do with your dogs last weekend? Also watch for our giveaway/review later this week.

*GCH CH BUGABOO'S PICTURE PERFECT (Old English Sheepdog) won best in show. 

FitDog Friday #56 - Tryon Creek State Park

We had been meaning to visit Tryon Creek State Park which holds the distinction of being Oregon's only state park within a major metropolitan area for quite a while. We finally visited a few days ago. The parking lot was full but we barely ran into anyone on our hike. Despite the map, we made a few bad turns so we just meandered. 

Mr. N enjoyed being the tallest in the group and getting a squirrel's eye view. 

We didn't actually see any squirrels but there were a few places that the dogs sniffed intently.

The trails are mostly flat so it wasn't particularly strenuous. Sage desperately wanted to jump into the creek but it's forbidden to protect the steelhead trout. So we told her to climb a tree instead. Mr. N made it up halfway and then I had to give him a boost. 

He was not impressed with the lack of squirrels. 

The park is known for trilliums so we're planning on going back in the spring when they bloom. 

BW Sunday #67 - Grimm Filming

We walked by while they were filming Grimm (TV show based and filmed in Portland) and took a photo of the filming location afterwards.