So Serious

Yummm!

Charlie's little wading pool blew over and the rain that collected at the bottom froze, so now Charlie has a nice big cake of ice to eat.

At least it's probably better for him than sticks...

Running with Toys

We've finally started to get some clear days, so Gabbie's been coming over again. This elicits a big "Yippeee!" from Yippee Boy Charlie.

Last Wednesday was the first time in a long time, and Charlie was so excited that he not only chased her around when she ran with the orange Cuz, but he took the blue Dino Cuz in his own mouth to do so.

It's Raining Treats!

Woo hooooo.... mom's forkin' over the treats now!!

First, my good good kitty friend Baby Mao (who, by the way smells of poo, which I think you'll agree, pups, is a very good thing) gave me this Extraordinary Gold Star Special award! I'm his not-of-my-species special friend and he thinks I'm cute. So there, Jessie, Pouncer, and Scampy!


The Extraordinary Gold Star Award was created by - Storm, The Furry Fighter - and is for Bloggers who have achieved or done something special. The award celebrates beyond what is ordinary or usual. Here's how it works:

1. Post the explanation and rules of the award and link back to the blogger who presented you with the award and repeat the reason why you received it.
2. Pass the Award on to two other Bloggers who you think deserve it and explain why!

I want to pass this on to Big Charlie and Opy, who created and embody Dogs with Blogs, the best and most extraordinarily special community out there!



And if that weren't enough, then my very good friend in Australia, Hammer, awarded me a Thinking Blogger 'cause I write about peace sometimes! Hammer's real litter brother, Beau, was stolen, and we're all on a mission to find Beau and bring some peace to him and his mom.

The rules for the Thinking Award are...

1. You must write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Acknowledge this post.
3. Optional: Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote.
4. Go tell your humans to fork over the treats!

You should especially note item #4. Forking over treats is not optional.

I'm going to pass this one on to:

1. Butchy and Snickers, who helped me realize that it's ok to pass awards & tags on; in fact it helps to keep them moving around to everyone.
2. Freda, who always barks about 1 2 1 2 so many interesting things.
3. Queen Meeshka, who's got serious 'tude and ambitions of husky domination.
4. Kubrin. Dude, we love your plns. Don't let anyone tell you you're not a great thinker.
5. Pippa, who thinks about toast and his girlfriends a lot.

Now tell your humans to fork 'em over. Great thoughts demand great treats!

My Stick!

Gardening with Charlie is always a challenge, but more so now because the winds have knocked down a million little branches into the yard and Charlie wants to eat them ALL!

"Pssst, Charlie..."

"Let me in on that!"

Thanks, Guys!

Hammer, Lorenza, and Thor gave Charlie this great "You Make My Day" award.

This award is presented to bloggers whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about Blogland.

We're supposed to pass it on to 10 blogs that make our day, but it's so so hard... we love reading every blog and think you ALL deserve it. So usually we resist this aspect, and this time is no different. Except for this one thing... check out The Daily Coyote. It's not strictly a dog blog, but it's awesome, totally addictive, and sure to make your day.

Thanks, Hammer, Thor, & Lorenza!
-------------------------------------
Well, in retrospect, and after reading Butchy and Snickers, we decided that the award should not just die here. So here, in addition to The Daily Coyote, are nine more blogs that we think haven't yet received this accolade and also make our day:

Kubrin
Sophie
Big Charlie
Pacco
Lenny
Freda
Lab Tails
Pappy
Haley

Now you guys get out there and pass it along too.

Aw, Dang...

Why do we have to take the Christmas tree down?

Trooper Charlie, reporting for duty...

Our Australian friend, Hammer's, brother Beau was stolen from his home on the Gold Coast 4 years ago, and Supreme Commander Stormy is organizing Operation "Find Beau" to get him back. So Charlie's joining up to help.

If YOU live in or near Australia and see an English Setter that looks like Beau,
please contact his mom right away! Even if you don't, please consider joining up to help all of us make 2008 the year that Beau gets to come home!
And remember what Stormy says -- failure is NOT AN OPTION!

Happy New Year!

Party animal

Nothin' says Lovin'

... like something from the oven!

White Christmas?

It only snows here in Portland once or twice a year, so the odds of this happening are miniscule, but we looked out the window and...

IT'S SNOWING!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, everypup and hammie and kitty and human, too!


Hope Santa Paws brings you lots of walks and belly rubs and good things to eat.

A Little Project

What'cha doin' Mom?

Can I help?

Hey, those are my cards.

And this one's definitely mine!

Oh... now I get it!! Coooool!

Thanks everypup!

8 More

In response to Lennie's tag, here are 8 more Charlie facts:

1. Charlie likes the kitties, but he likes them best when they run, so he can pursue. Vigorously. Very vigorously. Pouncer and Jessie seem to like him back, but they do creep around slowly when Charlie's near.

C'mon... run!

2. Charlie insists on holding paws with his favorite humans and paws them until they comply.

Test of wills

3. Charlie rarely gives kisses, but in the right mood will snuzzle and smoosh. And to be brutally honest, sometimes teeth get involved too.
4. When Charlie's extremely happy to see someone he loves, he gets all squinty. The corners of his mouth go up, his eyes close, and his tail wags in high gear.

Squinty-dog

5. Sometimes we use treats to lure Charlie back inside. I've come to suspect that Charlie, on the flip side, sometimes uses going outside to score treats.
6. Charlie drools. A lot. I once planned to do a post (with Hammer's help) called "Gundogs DROOL!" but was told that it would be too oogy.

Mr. Drooly-head

7. Although Charlie is afraid of the babygate, he has no such fear of the car dog barrier. Its bars are bent and it's had to be seriously reinforced and, despite all my efforts, Charlie finds a way through it. Just call him Houdini.
8. Charlie was born in Elletsville, Indiana -- about 5 miles from Bloomington, where Lennie and Charlie's sister Sophie (and Aunt Karen) live.

Now you pups tell us about yourselves!

The Blue Cuz

Gabbie favors the orange cuz (I think because its squeaker still works), but Charlie loves the blue dino cuz from Big Charlie.

Get Her, Charlie!

Now that Charlie's best friend, Gabbie, has grown bigger and stronger than he, she is the Alpha. But they still have fun, and Charlie still manages to get a few good licks in. And of course a little encouragement never hurts!

8 Amazing Facts

Having been tagged by new friend, Techie, here are 8 Charlie factoids:

1. Charlie loves to eat. No, make that "LIVES to eat".


2. When I brush Charlie, he puts his jaws around my other wrist. And as long as I don't pull at his fur, he doesn't clamp down very hard. But the more it hurts him... the more it hurts me...

3. Charlie's favorite game in the house is "Chase Charlie" with the ball. I know it's time when he gets his ball and gives me "the look".


4. Even though he's 3, Charlie still gets the tucked-tail zoomies outside.


5. Charlie acts ferocious when he's inside and others are outside. The UPS delivery man, for example, is terrified of him.


6. Charlie can sing and insists that we do it together every night.

7. When he wants to go somewhere, Charlie never barks; instead, he paws at the door.

8. Charlie is afraid of the babygate. You can just lean it against a door and not worry about his coming through or over.

Now, tag, you're it! And go visit Techie and his cute new little sister, Izzy!

My Bro

Meet my brother, Jake!! Isn't he handsome?!


I'd kinda forgotten I even had a brother, and then he left a comment on my blog... and sent a picture... and... there he IS! That's HIM! THAT'S MY BRO!!

The last time I saw him, we called him Chief and me Bailey, and he looked like this:

He's in the blue collar; I'm snoozing next to him in red. We did a lot of snoozing in those days.

Sometimes we'd hang with our sister Sophie (in the pink collar on the left). She was always a real live wire --
No, seriously, no one could mix it up like Sophie! That's her chewing on... I think it's Jake!
Thanks for stopping by, Bro, and come back again. We may be older, but we're still two wild and crazy guys!


"Speaking of which... let's go bug Sophie!"

Charlieball - The Finer Points

Gabbie has become so much bigger and stronger than Charlie, that she easily strips the ball from him. Right out of his mouth. Consequently, he is having to learn to play smarter. And, seeing as how Indiana is the "Land of Basketball" and is where Charlie was born, he seems to have adopted some basketball moves - namely dribbling, picks, and spins.


The dribble is Charlie's tease -- he takes the "ball" (usually a Cuz) near Gabbie and briefly drops it and retrieves it. If he's lucky, it bounces and he catches it. In any case, it causes Gabbie to lunge for it.

Then there is the pick. A basketball "pick" is a screen -- one player plants himself in place and his teammate with the ball cuts past him so closely that a pursuer has to break off chase to avoid running into the (planted) player. I don't set a pick intentionally, Charlie just treats me as a permanent one. He grabs the ball and whooshes right past me, Gabbie hurtling after. To avoid running into me (which, fortunately, she does), she has to veer off. This gives him a little breathing room... for a little bit.

But, by far, Charlie's best go-to move is the spin. Ball in mouth, he pivots around her, blocking Gabbie with his body. This is almost always successful, almost always good for keeping Gabbie at bay awhile... at least until he gets dizzy.
The spin
Staving off
The inevitable