Sunshine on My Shoulder Makes Me Happy

Today is the kind of day that gives us all Spring Fever. Here it is the last day of February and the temps are in the upper 50's... that's in the Pacific Northwest! Add in the sunshine, cloudless sky and a wind-free day and it's as good as they come.

So today I went to the dog park, sunned my lovely coat and met some friends. I introduced all my dog friends to our new human friend who came with us. His dogs had all crossed the Rainbow Bridge and he was alone so he said hi and petted all the dogs at the park.... big and small.

Here I am enjoying the sunshine at the dog park

I roamed around, ate grass, rolled in some ucky stuff for good measure and played with some big puppies. I had such a good time that when it was time to go, I hip hopped away from the gate and decided to go play with even more dogs. (My owner was not thrilled).

But I was soon caught and rested in the car all the way home.

This afternoon I knew it was close to Spring because the sunbeams came into the front room late in the afternoon to warm me. I dozed as I enjoyed the sunshine. I held my Nylabone tight but almost fell asleep.

Here I am in the glorious late afternoon sunshine.

It was a very, very good day!

10 Most Toxic Foods to Dogs

This is so scary. I would beg for most of these!

Who Says Dogs Don't Feel Guilty!

This is the "no no chair" and the "no no couch"
Notice I am sitting on the dog bed looking out the window.
Nothing to feel guilty about here, right?

I was reading a really good article the other day by Shelly Pfeifer, a dog trainer. I know, sometimes, our owners forget we are dogs and think we are human. Shelly tries to set the record straight in the article, How we Attribute Emotions to Dogs.

So Miss Shelly, tell me this. I, Cinnamon, am a DOG. I don't want to be a human. Humans are on this earth to love and wait on us. Why would I want to do that? I KNOW I FEEL GUILTY. Isn't that an emotion? You say, "Dogs are not capable of feeling guilty. To feel guilt dogs have to understand morality, have language skills, and be able to think about the past."

Miss Shelly, tell me this. When my owner is gone, and she forgets to lock the door to the den, I hop right up on the green chair, curl up and go to sleep. When she returns and the door opens downstairs and I hear her enter, I jump off and pretend I wasn't on the chair. But my body language always gives me away.

Sometimes I even run downstairs to greet her so she won't come upstairs, feel the chair and notice that it is warm. But here is what I feel. I feel like I'm going to get caught. I feel guilty because I know this is a "no no chair." I've been told that over and over.

She always knows when I have been on the chair... JUST BY LOOKING AT ME. I put my ears down and look kind of shy.

Shelly says it is because I am afraid. "If a dog comes across as “guilty” what he is actually showing is fear because he immediately senses your unhappiness, anger and frustration at him. Dogs are amazing at reading human body language and reacting to changes in their owners body language over time. There has been a lot of research on this subject, and everything recent I have seen and read demonstrates that dogs do not feel guilt."

My owner doesn't really get mad at me when I sleep on the chair. She just tells me to get down.. to get off. I'm not afraid. I just like the chair for sleeping and she thinks it should be a people only chair.

So my owner can tell if I have been on the chair by looking at me or.... by feeling the seat of the chair for warmth. I feel guilty because I am a smart dog. I've been told what the rules are and, sometimes, I choose to go against them. And then I get that guilty feeling.

I think Miss Shelly is wrong, WRONG, WRONG!!

Love, Cinnamon

Wordless Wednesday: When You Go Down in the Woods Today

I love the woods... the smells, the intrigue and the potential.

Could I go on a hunt? Please?

I've been looking at pictures of hounds on the Internet. There are Fox Hounds, Plott Hounds, Blood Hounds and Coonhounds, like me.

With the exception of my colors, I think I look a lot like a Fox Hound. In fact, I'd love to ride with the horses as they "ride to the hounds" and chase a fox or two. I think a fox hunt is elegant and befits a "hound of my station in life." In case, you don't guess, I've been watching Downton Abbey and you can figure out with whom I identify.... the titled class, of course.

Can't you see me, Cinnamon, in this pack of hounds? I can!

If I were in a fox hunt, I would only track the fox. I wouldn't hurt the fox, really. By the way, what does a fox look like? Some sort of squirrel?

Love, Cinnamon, the aristocrat

Busy Social Life Here...

Hi everyone! I haven't been blogging lately because I've been overwhelmed with social obligations and trips to the dog park. What's a Coonie to do? Well, I didn't blog!

Here's Tom walking ME by the boats. Don't I look cute?

It was an exciting day when my human relative, Tom, rolled into town. I was lying on the living room carpet when there was a knock at the door. It was TOM! You know, the man from my Country Cousins' house north of here. He had driven all the way to The 'Couve to see ME!

But the dogs weren't with him. I was sorry to hear that Indy and Remi didn't want to come visit me. They must be getting old!

So I got all excited and went BONKERS greeting him. I have greetings for people and dogs and SPECIAL BONKERS greetings for family!

We decided to go down to the yacht harbor and look at a sailboat. Now, since I am a salty old sea dog, I was right at home. I trotted down the slotted steel gangplank to the docks and went around sniffing at the water hoping for some dead fish or something. But this was river water. It just didn't smell as good as salt water.

Soon we saw the yellow striped sail boat. It was really big. All of a sudden I got nervous. I was afraid I was going to have to go out on the sailboat. And my experience with boats has been that once you are out, you are out for a very long time. I thought I'd rather stay on land, thank you!

Well, we didn't go aboard, none of us. So that was OK. We had fun walking around looking at the boats and, since I got cold, we came home.

It was a great day with Tom and just the start of a fun visit.

Love, Cinnamon

Wordless Wednesday: River Dog

I love living in Vancouver, Washington. I can go explore the Columbia River any time I want.

Here I am watching a barge come under the I-5 Bridge.
I'm a salty old "River Dog."

Tracking.... What's in the Woods?

The sun came out between rainstorms and I begged to go to the dog park. And, it worked. We were headed out the door in a flash so that we could take advantage of the sunny weather. In the Pacific Northwest they say, "If you don't like the weather, wait an hour. It will change." And I didn't want it to change back to rain too soon.

Here I am tracking some scent in the Dog Park

This is an artistic look at that lone
Douglas Fir tree in the pasture.

When we head northeast, I know the day will be good. I love the huge dog park in Brush Prairie. It is a fenced farmer's field. I can run and see all the dogs as I trot around the bark dusted path. In the next field there was a lone Douglas Fir tree. When the farmers settled, they cut down the trees to make fields. But they left one!

Once I checked out the dog park I was ready to go to the forest preserve next door. I always head for the gate and wait expectantly for my owner to open it so we can go into the "Magic Woods!"

In those woods, there are the Douglas Fir trees that the farmers did not cut. But there are also amazing smells and things to see.

Here I am being hyper alert in the woods.

The trail is soft and the water is held by the green moss and ferns. There are places for burrows and dens. I spend my time being aware of what might be in those places.

When I am in the Forest Preserve, I am hyper-alert. A bear? A deer? A coyote? No one knows what could be lurking there.... not even my owner!

You never know what you will find in the woods... big or small.

I had a fantastic time in the woods but now the dark clouds are gathering for yet another bout of rain. I think I'll go take a nap!

Love, Cinnamon

Walking with a Celeb

Here's Colibri at her feeder.

Now that should get your attention. I, Cinnamon, got to go walking with a real celebrity. I thought today was going to be another boring day because of the weather. In fact, it was raining cats and coon hounds when I woke up this morning. It was kind of scary.

But by early afternoon the sun came out! I was so excited. I went out in back, jumped up on my blue bench and warmed myself. Colibri, the hummingbird, was buzzing around her feeder and seemed to enjoy my company.

I was just getting really warmed up when the doorbell rang. It was my friend Walking Wendy. Now usually she comes to visit my owner but today she was decked out in her walking gear and I WAS GOING TO GO FOR A WALK TOO!

Walking Wendy is a well known walking expert. I thought I'd win her over by jumping on her and greeting her but that didn't work.

As soon as we took off walking through the neighborhood I did another thing to ruin my image. I got so excited about seeing the neighbor cat, that I pulled and bayed. Know what the cat did? He went over to his front porch and laid down and just stared at me.

So at that point, since I was walking with a nationally known walking expert, I decided to be really good. I didn't stop to sniff. I didn't stop to use the potty and I kept up the walking pace. Now, I have to admit that I got tired walking with two walking enthusiasts, but I didn't let on (I suppose having my tongue hanging out of my mouth showed that I was getting just a tad tired).

Here I am resting at home after going on a walk with
walking expert, Walking Wendy. See, there she is in MY HOUSE!

I was so glad to be finished with the walk and to get home. I downed a bowl of water and then settled on the carpet to enjoy my Nylabone. Walking Wendy rested too.

Now that I have told you about my afternoon with a REAL CELEBRITY, I'm going to take a nap!

Love, Cinnamon

Another Gorgeous Hound is a PetBox Winner!

Now before you say anything.... there is no favoritism here. The winners of my contests are fairly chosen. I don't get to pick the winner at all!

Believe it or not a very cute Black and Tan Coonie won the PetBox from my contest. His name is Charlie and he looks a lot like me. He might be a distant cousin or something. (NO! I DIDN'T CHEAT AND GIVE HIM THE BOX!).

Here's Charlie opening the PetBox (lucky dog!)

You never know what is going to be in a PetBox. I just love the duck toy that was in mine. I tore it up a bit and I am waiting for it to be repaired. It might be a long wait!

Here's Charlie looking to find the best thing in the box.

Here's what Charlie's family wrote:

"We got the PetBox last Thursday!  Charlie loved it and we loved it because it had a furminator for short haired dogs!  I have attached some pictures of him with the box.  The second one is him chewing on the water buffalo ear that was in it.  Thank you so much for your giveaways and we love following Cinnamon and her adventures!"

Rachel, Michael and Charlie

Here's Charlie with that gourmet Water Buffalo Ear. He really likes it!

I'm jealous of Charlie. I didn't get a Water Buffalo Ear in MY box!

Love, Cinnamon

 

Brush Prairie Dog Park: Meeting a "Party Poodle"

It was party time at the Brush Prairie Dog Park. She was only 6 months old and really wanted to play. She didn't have a lot of smarts because she would go up to aggressive dogs and bounce around. And, she had unusual coloring. She was spotted! Imagine a spotted poodle. She was cute, but annoying. I just wanted to sniff around.

This is an older version of the "Party Poodle" I met.

But I kept thinking about this "Party Girl." What were Party Poodles, anyway? Well, this one acted like a Party Girl but, as I learned,  the term was actually Parti. The Canine Horizons website explained: 

Historically the parti color was common in Poodles. It wasn't until around the turn of the Twentith Century that for some unknown reason Poodle clubs disqualified the parti color.  However, multi-colored Poodles are currently experiencing a strong comeback in the U.S. and can be shown in conformation classes in the United Kennel Club.  Partis can also be registered with the American Kennel Club and shown in all classes *except* conformation.    

Then I went to Pinterest and saw all sorts of Parti Poodles! They look like regular dogs except they have poodle fur, conformation and bounce around like poodles. They seem to be full sized. I read more and found that they breed these colors on purpose.

Anyway, the Parti Poodle I met was a cutie for sure. I didn't have my camera with me or I would have taken a photo. So I'll have to rely on the Internet to show you what I saw.

Meanwhile... Let's Party On... at the Dog Park!

Love, Cinnamon

Snow storm is replaced quickly with balmy walking weather in Vancouver, WA

Yesterday I was crunching around in the snow at the dog park. Today, as it inched over 50 degrees, I lazily walked the Columbia River Waterfront Trail. 

Here's the I-5 Bridge. It goes between Vancouver and Portland

The sun came out and we stopped to look at some geese. I'll bet those geese were considering flying south a few days ago!

Here's the geese on the beach. I was too lazy to chase them.

Then we walked along enjoying the barges and fishing boats on the Columbia River. When we got to the Red Lion at the Quay, I jumped up on the wall and just stood there soaking in the sun. (After all, I am a solar collection device!).

Here I am basking in the sun. I didn't want to leave!

When we walked past Husong and Larry's I smelled the food being cooked and got pretty hungry. But we didn't stop. We kept walking until we were back to the car.

I was tired. I think I got over-heated! 

So I slept in the back all the way home!

Love, Cinnamon

How I rescued my owner and ended up in a loving home #sayitwithmilkbone

Before I was adopted, my owner worked too hard
and didn't get out much. She didn't have a dog to love her.

Before I was adopted, I just know my owner was lonely. She had friends, for sure, but no special someone to share her everyday life with. Most of her friends had dogs but she didn't. She worked too hard to make ends meet. She needed to improve her quality of life (and, if you've read my adoption story, you know I needed to improve MY quality of life!)

So when she decided to volunteer at the shelter to walk dogs, I took it upon myself to steal her heart. And, being an active coon hound, I figured I'd keep her very, very busy. Busy people don't get lonely, do they?

One day she came through the shelter and I pushed my long lean legs and coonie paws under the gate to my kennel (to be truthful, it was more like a jail cell). She noticed. She started to feel sorry for me. But that was part of the ploy. 

She went to the desk and asked about me. They said they didn't know much and that I had just gotten to the adoption center from surgery. They said if she was careful, she could take me to the play yard. I heard them talking and perked up my ears. I promised to be careful and to avoid running and jumping. I wanted to get well and I wanted to be adopted!

Once I was adopted we went walking in the arroyo
almost every day.

Once we got out there, I was very loving and leaned against her legs so she'd pet me. I was so well-behaved that she took notice of me and came back two more times before she adopted me! It was going to work. I was going to save this lady from her dog-deficient, lonely life.

Once I settled in, I could tell that I made her happy. We walked in the arroyo together (she rarely did that alone). We went to the pet supply store together (she now had a reason to buy toys and things like Milk-Bone® brand dog snacks). She even took me for rides in the countryside. I was great company and never got car sick!

Here we are in the mountains on a hot day. I'm taking loving care of her!

She went hiking with her friends and their little dogs and took me too! Everyone on the trail commented on how well-behaved I was. (How could you not love a dog like me?)

When it was hot in town, I took her up to a little creek in the mountains to cool off.

I sure do keep her busy. I am so self-sacrificing. I let her keep me stocked up with Milk-Bone biscuits. I keep her busy opening and closing the back door. I help her get exercise at the dog park (they should call it the people-park because that is where we bring our people!). 

I even let her give me a bath once in awhile. I work hard to help her with cooking her meals (well, I help by offering to take care of any leftovers) and bring her toys to play with. She thinks she's keeping me busy, but actually it's the other way around!

I have to admit we are both better off for having found each other. Our lives are filled with routine chores, activities, play and loving companionship. For me, every day is Valentine's Day. I am one lucky dog.

Here's information on the contest. You can enter here.

We dogs love to feel loved and making us feel loved helps our people feel useful!  Try this... When you go to the store, make your owner happy. You should ask them to grab a box of Milk-Bone dog biscuits.  You can also enter a contest for a year's supply of Milk-Bone dog snacks and $1,000 cash prize!  No purchase necessary. That should make you both feel loved!

Love, Cinnamon


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This post is sponsored by Milk-Bone on behalf of the BlogPaws Blogger Network . I, Cinnamon,  am being compensated for helping spread the word about The Say It with Milk-Bone Campaign, but Coonhound Tales only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Milk-Bone is not responsible for the content of this article.