Wordless Wednesday: Out with a BANG!

Have a blessed and wonderful new year!

Monday Mischief: Post-Holiday Recap

Hi There!

All this Christmas-ing has worn us out!

So, my apologies for not writing much this past week.  The holidays turned out to be a super busy week, with tons of visitors from out of town.  The good news, however, is that they all came over to visit!  We had people come to visit for 7 days in a row.  Wow!

Isn't Hunter cute?

Hunter and I have been pretty good at holding down the fort (I guess I have to give the kitties some credit, too....I guess).  Not only do we hold down the fort, but we also entertain those who are in the fort!  What a combo.

Flannel sheets and napping go together like....Hunter and I do!....

Hunter, Thor, Allie, and I got some pretty sweet loot for Christmas, too!  Hunter got a football (of which I popped and shredded in 20 minutes...oops), we both got a large Nerf squeaky toy (of which Hunter stores in his mouth), I got a lump of coal dog toy (is this a passive aggressive warning?), and the entire family was treated with a Kurgo backseat car seat protector!  Oh, and Thor/Allie got this cool battery-operated "Twitch" cat toy so they're entertained.  It was wonderful!

Checking out the loot...

"Mom, can I open these yet?  I'm dying to see what's inside!!!"

What did you get for Christmas?  Better yet, what have you been up to while I've been entertaining the flocks of living things around here?

Hunter likes to nap with me.

"Are you done with that camera, yet, Boss?"

Chow!

Monday Mischief: Even MORE Mischief!

Hey, you guys!

Boy, do I have good news for you!  It's a heart-warming puppy story!

Bosses brought me home a foster brother last Friday.  His name is Hunter, and he is ADORABLE.  He is a year old, just like me, and is just a small fry (relatively speaking).  He is technically a mix of 55% Golden, 35% Cocker Spaniel, and 10% toy poodle, but was bred as a "Miniature Golden Retriever".  He's only about 40 pounds- isn't he adorable?

Anywho, my little friend was surrendered to the rescue because he had a biting incident involving a small child (about 4 years old).  We're guessing he didn't plan on biting the little child, but rather wanted the food in her hand, missed, and got her face.  Since I've been romping around with him, he hasn't been one ounce mean!  He is just a doll.

So, for the unforeseen future, Hunter and I will be causing mischief together.  Watch out, world!  We run fast! ;-)

Meet my friend (on the left), Hunter! :)

Sepia Saturday: Baby it's Cold Outside

Boy, Boss, my head sure feels a lot more toasty!

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/2014/12/sepia-saturday-52-its-almost-that-time.html#sthash.QpVrvDX7.dpuf

Thoughtless Thursday: Dog-Friendly Holiday Decorating

Hey Everyone!

As we've been decorating for the holidays (Mom loves making our place look festive), we've had many drawbacks and failures over the past years.  Us furry family members LOVE messing with the decorations.  They're just so exciting!

Mom also told me to just look at the lights, rather than trying to nibble.

With these things in mind, Mom said she's changing her "game plan" for decorating this year- she said she's going to make sure that she prevails in her decorating (aka that we don't rip all her stuff down like last year)!

Things she's doing differently:

• Better ways to hang things up.  The last 2 years have been an enlightening wake-up call that cheap adhesive hooks DO NOT WORK when your cat hangs on the garland (she's looking at you, Thor).  Therefore, Mom will be using more durable hooks (maybe 3M? Or actually drilling in little metal cup hooks?)
• Making the "Christmas Village" cat-proof.  This has been tradition- Mom has a cute little ceramic village that lights up, with little roads, lights, and people.  For the past 2 years though, "Catzilla" has made his appearance.  He terrorizes the village, knocking the people over and sleeping in the middle of the "town square".  When the pieces fall off the table, it's a perfect deal, because then I can eat the pretend hay bales (styrofoam with sawdust-looking stuff glued to the outside of it)!  Sweet!  Mom's going to make sure that everything is secured, wires are hidden under a blanket of white felt, and that everything is closer to the wall so that it won't fall off.  We can't change the "Catzilla" part, though.  He might be here to stay. ;-)
• The Christmas tree will no longer be a "walk-up salad bar".
• Using battery-operated candles in certain holiday candle holders.  

I leave the fake trees/garlands alone.  My kitties, however......

What do you do to keep your furry friends safe?  Discuss!

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/2014/12/thoughtless-thursday-48-petbox-november.html#sthash.QIo1n5TA.dpuf

Wordless Wednesday: Running Free!!!!

Broken tie-out #2: had a great 5 minutes at the neighborhood farm!

Monday Mischief: Drumroll Please....

We have a winner!

Congrats to my furry friend, Spencer the Goldendoodle, and his family!  He has won the pack of chews from BestBullySticks.com.

It was complete coincidence, but Spencer and I actually have a lot in common.  Not only are we both from Minne"snow"ta, we were fostered by the SAME rescue!  Pretty cool!  He is biological siblings with one of my foster sisters.

(Sidenote: it's been so warm here- there's no SNOW left.  What the?!)

Best wishes to our friend, Spencer, and hope he has as fun as I did with his new loot!

A big thank you to you for reading, subscribing, and entering.  Where would I be without you? (Answer: a very bored pooch with less friends!!!)

Until tomorrow, keep causing mischief! :)

Mom says I have an awkwardly adorable doggie smile.

Pampered Pooch!

Hello there, Everyone!

Today, I was a wee bit curious about just how much fluffy friends were splurged on over the holiday season.  Turns out, I was pretty surprised!  Take a look at this handy infographic and see just how festive the pets can get!  See, we can be jolly, too!



Bosses are guilty of putting the kitties in silly holiday attire, ranging from Santa hats, reindeer antlers, you name it.  I have a Santa hat, but I haven't been convinced thusfar.

Do you splurge on your pets during the holidays?  Do your humans splurge on you?

Wordless Wednesday: A Friendly Reminder

Don't forget!

Enter my Giveaway HERE!

Monday Mischief: Framed

Happy Monday, Pals!

Well, this weekend has been really warm, so all my white fluffy snow has been melting away :( I'm not too happy about that. 

Since our Christmas tree has been in our basement once again, my kitty sibs Thor and Allie have been up to quite the mischief lately.  

First off, they sleep IN the tree (or at least Allie does).  While she's in it, Thor will scale behind the tree and find his favorite ornaments to nab and take back to his "lair".  The ornaments have now traveled up to 5 feet away from the tree in a little "nest".  Hmmmm. Mom's up to his games.....she framed me at first, but now she finally understand that Thor likes to frame me.  Ugh!

Do your siblings frame you? What rebellion!  What deviance!  What betrayal!

That Allie is up to no good....

Sepia Saturday: A Review Outtake :)

Per the usual, I'm a pretty silly dog.  So, naturally, I like to play the "blinking game" with Boss- she clicks the camera, I shut my eyes.  The gullet ring was just THAT good!  He he he!

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/2014/12/sepia-saturday-50-american-eskimo-ala.html#sthash.BPtmErTs.dpuf

Thoughtless Thursday: Trimming the Tree!

It's official!

Our tree has been put up!

The tree, all trimmed!

This was me next to the tree last year:

Mischief at 11 weeks old.

And this is this year's picture of me next to the tree! :D

However, my little kitty siblings have been up to no good already.  They sleep IN the tree.  More pictures to follow!  Do you behave around the humans' holiday decorations?

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/2014/12/thoughtless-thursday-46-craycray-in.html#sthash.0PVdlbJJ.dpuf

Wordless Wednesday: Bed Pirate

Adventure Dog Tuesday: What do we Look for in a Good Campground?

Bosses have been to many different campgrounds, at least in Minnesota.  So, after all these trips that we've blogged about, what do we do to find a great spot?

Bosses took their first foster dog, Cody, with them camping last fall.  He loved it!

1. Location.  Our personal preference is traveling to places that aren't terribly far away from our house, and have beautiful scenery.  Our favorite place to go in Minnesota is anywhere along the North Shore, but the Mississippi river bluffs on the Southeastern border are pretty cool, too.  It's nice, because these are 2-5 hours away, making it easy to drive there for either a weekend or extended weekend.

Camping is even better when you can find fall colors, too!

2. The campground amenities.  While we're not terribly picky about this, we like to look at what the campground has before we book a spot.  Is it a drive-in campsite, a walk-in, cart-in, kayak-in, backpacking?  Definitely something to consider depending on how light you want to pack.  Most of the Minnesota state parks have showers, bathroom/shower rooms with hot water and everything, running water, the whole kit and kaboodle.

Easy access to trails from the campground makes finding beautiful scenery convenient and fun!

• Drive-in campsites: Ever see that commercial from Staples with the "Easy" button?  You could press it in this instance.  Drive-in campsites are fun, easy, and you can bring anything that will fit in your car!  Mom and Dad "car camp" frequently, since it's easier to do with a young puppy- plus, when you're done cooking, you just throw the cooler/dishes/campsite into your trunk.  That way, you don't have to worry about little critters (and bigger ones, like bears...) getting into your stuff!
• Cart-in campsites: A little more work than a drive-in, since you have to pack all your belongings into a plywood cart to bring to your campsite.  You have to pack a little more efficiently (like...putting your sleeping bags into compression sacks), but we love them.
• Walk-in campsites: Mom and Dad tried this a few months back, and had no problems.  No cart provided, but the campsite is pretty close to the parking lot, and you have to carry all your things in.  Not too hard, but again, the efficiency factor is there- you have to pack everything lightly and in as few bags as possible to prevent yourself from going back to the car multiple times.  But...the car is there, and it's not a huge deal.
• Backpack Sites: Our family hasn't tried this yet!!!  Mom and Dad tried to go on a backpacking trip in the fall, but weddings/family/work/etc got in the way :( So, we're working on a backpacking trip for next summer. We'll report back when we experience it!

All I ask for in a campsite?  Lots of water nearby.  Boy, do I love water.

3. Timing.  The time of year in each place we go to is another thing Bosses like to think about.  For example: planning a trip that isn't scorching hot or freezing cold.  They like to plan trips in early June or July, September, and even October (as long as it isn't on the North Shore).  October gets to be pretty chilly "Up North", and some of us don't have warm insulation like us fluffy friends!  A lot of Northern Minnesota parks also have fresh raspberries on the trails, so they miiiight also plan trips to be able to pick those, too.  But it's not the end of the world. ;-)

4. Who we're going with.  Let's face it- everyone is busy!  If we go with our friends, it's tough to find a weekend when no one is working or doing other things that prevent them from camping (how dare they?!).  Also, their whereabouts affect which park we camp at.  Our friends whom we camp with a lot live about an hour and a half away from us (and in the complete opposite direction of the North Shore), so we try to pick campsites that are within reasonable driving distances of both of us.  Not only does it affect where we camp, it also depends on what kind of campsite we get- a roomy campsite with the capability of multiple tents is also nice.  Minnesota's DNR website is great, because they give you all the specifications of each campsite, and most times will give you an actual picture of the site.  Now that is convenience!

Just getting out of the river...The rocks up by the North Shore are pretty "intents", wouldn't you say? ;-)

What kinds of things do you look for in a campsite?  I'd love to get more input so we can find more amazing places to explore!

Chow!

Monday Mischief: Last Week in Review

I'm baaaaaaack!

And so are the Bosses!  Hip hip, Hooray!  (Don't worry, I really did like Gran"dog"ma's house!)

We're back into the old routine here, and I thought I'd share a little bit of just what kind of mischief our entire family's been up to the past 7-9 days or so, seeing that I've been off the keyboard for a while.

My Bosses, as you might know, took a trip to visit some family and friends on the East Coast.  I wish I could say that I've been the chief mischief-maker, but I think the Bosses took the cake for last week.  Look at all the fun things they did!

First, they stopped for 2 days in Arlington, VA/Washington, D.C. to visit and sight-see.  They like history, so all the places to visit were stunning.

For the remainder of their time on the East Coast, Bosses were in the Philadelphia area.  They went out there 3 years ago for Thanksgiving, too, so they tried to go places that they haven't seen before.  This time, they went to Eastern State Penitentiary (no pictures, sorry), Ridley Creek State Park, and Longwood Gardens for a beautiful light and holiday display.  They said it was breathtaking and wonderful!

Now, I'm sure you're thinking "enough with those crazy Bosses of yours, what have YOU been up to the past week?!"

My stay at Gran"dog"ma's house was great!  I got so much attention, and got to run around in the backyard a lot, and got lots of snuggles, and even now have my new best friend pinned behind the bed.....CHLOE!  

She has officially worn me out.

Still knocked out.

Because....I'm a Golden Retriever magnet!

My new neighborhood Golden buddy, Bailey!

My other new neighborhood Golden buddy, Bear!

Yep, I'm officially a Golden Retriever magnet!  Apparently my Gran"dog"ma's neighborhood is sprinkled with Golden Retrievers, only to be discovered once I stayed there for a week.  Better yet, Gran"dog"ma's backyard neighbor's Golden, Bear, decided to break out of his yard to trot into mine- for playtime!  What a silly, clever, and mischievous dog! :) But, we had SO much fun, and Bear's parents really don't mind when he wanders over, and neither does Gran"dog"ma.  When the neighbors saw us having all the fun, they brought over their dog, Bailey, ANOTHER Golden!  So, we all wore each other out, creating another "success" in my book.

What sorts of mischief have you been up to this week?  Discuss!

(Oh, and if you haven't entered the giveaway yet, you have a little less than two weeks to get your entries in!) 

Chow!