Monday Mischief: Vacuum
Hi guys! Mom is super tired so I thought that for once I would put my paw to the keyboard and say hi to all of you!
Hope every furry had a great weekend!
Now for my Monday Mischief! No words needed other than that isn’t Mom in the video! It ‘s her dear friend Cheryl! Cheryl agreed to vacuum while Mom shot the video so that you could see how nuts I am when the vacuum comes out!
Barks and licks and love,
Dakota
#VIDEO-Mama’s Home! #BlogPaws 2013
Hi guys!! It’s Dakota’s Mom and I wanted to show you the enthusiastic “welcome home” that I received from
Dakota when I returned home from the BlogPaws conference this past Sunday.
Dakota has a tradition of grabbing his red, white and blue ball when Lenny and I return home from anywhere! Whether we are gone 5 minutes, 5 hours or days, Dakota grabs that ball and I have to sing “Hooray for the red, white and blue!!”
I kept the camera running, in an attempt to capture Dakota’s jubilation to have me back home. I wanted this to be real, raw and unedited! It sure is! I apologize for the poor video quality and my saying “Mama’s Home” a ridiculous number of times. Please realize that I was pretty darned excited to see Dakota (and Cody) too!
A special birthday wish!!
Today is our Uncle Bills’ Birthday!
Uncle Bill is one of the BIGGEST
Doggy Lovers that we know!
He is also super kind to kitties too!
Uncle Bill and his doggy “Brewster” blowing out candles on his birthday cake!
Oh and Mom and Dad wish you the HAPPIEST of birthdays too!!!
They are looking forward to
celebrating with you SOON!
Barks, licks, kitty kisses and LOVE!
Dakota, Cody, Caren & Lenny
What do gentlemen do?
Back on February 21st I were reading one of my favorite blogs: Something Wagging This Way Comes, and the post that I was reading that day was:
11 Insanely Useful Weird Dog Commands
Pam had compiled a list of commands that she uses for her dog, Honey, that cover a lot more ground than your basic, “sit”, “stay” or “wait”. If you haven’t read this fun and informative post, click on the above link!
At the end of the post, Pam asked: What are some of the strange cues you use to tell your dog what you need from her? (in our case it would be a “he”, but I digress…)
Here is the comment that I left on Pam’s blog post that day:
caren gittleman says:
“What do gentlemen do?” I stumbled upon it a couple of weeks ago when Dakota was having a barking fit wanting a bone.
I never thought he would understand a complete sentence when I used it. In frustration I said “What do gentlemen do?” He promptly SAT. I have used it since to make sure it wasn’t a fluke and he sits EVERY time. My husband calls him a “gentleman” when he takes him to the bathroom but never uses it for sitting.
I must try to get it on video.
Then Jan Keefe of Wag ‘N Woof Pets (another favorite blog of mine) said on:
I would love to see that, you will have to get it on video! 
Guess what? I did JUST THAT! Yesterday I went and to Sprint to take advantage of the upgrade I had available to me to trade in my old Android phone for the new iPhone4 , and was playing with the video function. I decided to ask Dakota the infamous question: “What do gentlemen do?” See for yourself!
It is MUCH funnier when Dakota is in the middle of vocalizing about how much he wants his Rachael Ray Nutrish® Soup Bones™.
Just to show you the “gentleman” routine is NOT a fluke, witness it again!
I’d say he deserves a BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Award nomination, don’t you agree? Now is YOUR chance to nominate ALL of the pet blogs/bloggers that you love!
From BlogPaws: The “Nose-to-Nose” Awards is the only awards program in which pet bloggers and microbloggers are judged on their expertise, creativity, and performance in one or more of 12 categories by a panel of distinguished professionals. The BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Awards are not a popularity contest!
Nominations open at 12:00 PM EST on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 – and close at 3:00 PM EST on Friday, March 8th.
Yep, that’s right! You don’t have to experience angst wondering who you are going to nominate, you can nominate ALL of your favorites in as many categories as you would like!
As an example, Dakota and I have already begun nominating blogs in the categories of:
Best Wiggle Blog (for animals other than cats or dogs)
and you know what? There are a number of blogs that we feel are deserving in EACH category and we aren’t going to just nominate one per category, we are going to nominate ALL of our faves for EACH category! That way, EVERY FURRY will be considered! How cool is that?
One thing that we love about the Nose-to-Nose awards is that even if you are just nominated ONCE, you are in the running, AND, you CAN NOMINATE YOURSELF!
Every blog that is nominated will be reviewed by the judges panel, but just once.
Please, please nominate ALL of the blogs/bloggers that you love for whatever category!
To read more about the criteria that the judges will be taking into consideration for each category, click here
We are HONORED and FLATTERED that so many of you visit us on a regular basis, or even that you visit us at all! That being said, if there was a post that made you smile, a photo that you loved, a book review that inspired you to buy/read a book, a contest that you won, a product that you learned about here or anything else that you loved, that we work painstakingly and with all of our heart to share with you, we would be HONORED if you wish to nominate us for whatever category you see fit. Well, except best meow blog since this isn’t a cat blog! BOL! Our chances of being a finalist or even of gasp, WINNING...are next to none, but it would mean the world to us if we were even to be considered.
Should you wish to nominate us, and we THANK YOU if you do, you can click on each category that we mentioned above and it will take you right to the nomination pages.
Here is our info that you will need:
Blog Home Page: http://dakotasden.wordpress.com/
Contact Name for Blog Owner: Caren Gittleman
Email for Blog Owner: cgittleman at mi dot rr dot com
Twitter Page for Dakota: https://twitter.com/dakotasheltie
Dakota’s Den on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dakotas-Den-Daily-Doings-of-a-Dog-Named-Dakota-Let-the-Barking-Begin/212764172068608?ref=ts&fref=ts
Now, Dakota and I are off to do some more nominating of other deserving blogs/bloggers ourselves!!
Good luck to all!!
Barks and licks and love,
Dakota and Mom
A Birthday Letter to My “Boy”
Dear Dakota,
Today is your birthday. YOU ARE NOW SIX YEARS OLD!
It is hard for me to wrap my head around that number.
This is the first of your birthdays that I am sad. I am trying with all of my might to be in a celebratory mood, and I will accomplish that, I just can’t at this moment.
Where has the time gone?
this was the first photo we were given of Dakota from his breeder, Shelia Ellis, before we had met him
It seems as if it was only yesterday that after an INTENSE and most DEDICATED search by your Dad to fulfill a childhood wish of mine of presenting me with a Sheltie for my birthday, that SIX YEARS HAVE PASSED.
When you joined our family you were only 8 months old. A mere pup. I remember when we had picked you up and were bringing you “home”, sitting with you in the back seat of the car, you were in your crate, I was next to you petting you and talking to you because we were told that you and cars did NOT get along. I did my best to soothe and reassure you.
You instantly became friends with your kitty brother, a huge blessing for your Dad and I.
My biggest frustration in those early days was that I thought you would NEVER be housebroken!! I remember a relentless parade of going up and down 12 stairs with you, you were housebroken in your previous home, you just had to learn the lay of the land with us.
It is hard for me to believe that the first two weeks that you lived with us you were QUIET! I honestly thought you did NOT know how to bark! To think, that ever worried me with the multitude of times every day that you show us that YES INDEED YOU CAN BARK, and quite well I might add!
I often feel guilty that you live on the second floor of a condo. I often feel that we are doing you a disservice. I see other dogs with fenced yards that are able to romp freely during the day, you? I think you are part cat, or maybe it is because you live with a cat, you don’t enjoy walks and prefer to stay inside. I never was one to force you to do what you don’t wish to do, so maybe our situation isn’t that bad after all.
You never cease to amaze me. You hated obedience classes but are an apt pupil for learning EVERYTHING that we DON’T want you to learn! You seem to have a grasp of language far better than many humans that I know. You know just what you want and let us know, you know just what your Dad and I need, and give it to us unselfishly.
Your Dad and I survived indoor “accidents”, chewed cell phones, CD’s, paper, and enough wood to light a fire, it is a miracle you are still with us!
This was particularly delicious. The green color gave it a “Minty Fresh” taste. I was stopped from my fine dining experience before I could get to the delicious licorice flavored battery
But, with the blessings of God, you ARE still with us! Your sixth birthday has made me face the brutal fact that you are no longer a pup, even though you still act like one, you are approaching your gasp, Senior years. I am having trouble accepting this.
Dearest Dakota, you have brought so much laughter, joy, love, craziness, and devotion to your Dad’s and my world that I cannot even fathom what life would be like without you.
So, rather than be melancholy and reflective, I am going to switch to celebratory mode.
I celebrate your birth, I celebrate our good fortune when your human sister told us about you, I celebrate your smile, your warm and lavish fur, I celebrate your loving licks, your gentle eyes, they way you hold my hand with your paw when you lick me, the way you pick up your red, white and blue ball when your Dad and I return home, even if we were gone for only 5 seconds.
“Hooray for the red, white & blue!!!”
YES, I even celebrate your BARKING (remind me please that I said this)
My precious Sheltie boy, I vow to make your remaining years with us, and I hope there are MANY, ones full of continued learning, NEW adventures, MORE walks, tons of snuggles, oodles of kisses, tasty food and never-ending love.
YOU, Dakota, were the answer to my childhood dream of one day having a Sheltie of my own.
Happy, Happy Birthday my silly and sensitive boy,
I love you more than all of your cherished bones being piled to the “moon and back”
Mom
