Pet Pride!

JD - For our Pet Pride post today we're going to take part in a game!

Max - We were tagged by our good - and super-cool - cat pal Bruce to list 7 reasons why we're pawsome!

JD - But we thought we'd approach it slightly differently! As Pet Pride is a great meme - that is wonderfully hosted by Bozo - to focus on why people are so proud of their pets we thought we'd hand over to our female human and let HER tell everyone why we're so great!

Max - We thought it would be interesting to see why she thinks we're awesome, he he he!

Female Human - Hi everyone! I'm very honoured to be willingly handed the authorship of today's post - usually I have to sneak on covertly, ha ha! Anyway, I think my boys are simply brilliant so it was hard to narrow the list down to just 7 items. Anyway, after much soul searching here is my final list of why my boys are awesome!

1 - My boys are very social! They are confident and really enjoy meeting and playing with all dogs, both large....

JD excitedly meets Charlie (aged 7) his Great Dane pal! Also in this shot is Ben (aged 8) their Alsatian pal.

Charlie gives JD a friendly sniff whilst Max looks on a little jealously and Ben simply poses for the camera! JD is convinced that this photo shows him to be almost as tall as Charlie (*ahem!*) and that his ambition to grow as tall as a Giant Schnauzer is coming along nicely.....!

....and small!

Stig (age 9 months) - "Wot-chew looking at JD? Eh? Eh? EH?!"

I love watching dogs having a really good game of zoomies or tug....

JD and Max surround Pippa for a good wrestle....

....but she shows she's the wrestle-master and with a lightening-quick maneouvre she fllips JD onto his back!!

....you can't beat that feeling you get when you watch a happy dog having fun! Dogs really do teach us to enjoy the simple things in life and not to focus so much on our troubles!

2 - I have made so many great friends as a result of my boys getting on so nicely with other dogs - they play with their pals and I chat with the owners! What a great and pleasurable way to meet like-minded people!

Lazy Sunday morning dog-and-human-meet at the local park!

3 - My boys get on very well together. We realise that we're probably quite fortunate in this respect but they really do enjoy hanging out with each other....

JD - "What do you think Max? Do you think Pippa has been here yet?" Max - "Oh yes, that's DEFINITELY Pippa's gorgeous scent!!"

....and it's also great to see them snoozing together at the end of an enjoyable walk or training session!

Max - "That was a tiring round on the agility circuit just now wasn't it JD? JD?" JD - "zzzzzZZZZ!""

4 - My boys have great names! Max suits his name down to the ground as he is the more boisterous of the two and likes to push his boundaries 'to the Max!' Because of his extremely cheeky character he has earned a number of nicknames....

'Karate-pup' because one of the most common phrases in the house when he was very little was 'Max! OFF!', which was always followed by a snigger and the phrase 'Max ON! Max OFF!', a play on words from that now rather famous line from the Karate Kid - 'Wax on! Wax off!'.

'Maxidian Order' is his Sci-Fi name - we just like the sound of this! Have a guess where it originates from.....!

'Maximilian' is what he likes to be called at the park in front of Pippa, as he thinks it makes him sound posh!

'DJ Maxy Max!' when he's 'helping' my husband with his music equipment.

DJ Maxy Max (with side-kick DJ-JD!) helps male human with his music mixing equipment!

And then on the opposite end of the scale is our super-placid JD - which stands for 'Just Dog' - who is the most laid back dog I have ever met! He's like a 'surfer-dude-dog' and if he could speak we're sure his favourite word would be 'whatEVER!' He's only ever been called JD because, quite frankly, that's the only name that he needs - and our little guy is perfectly happy with this!

Getting to know your pets as they grow and develop their own personalities is such a wonderful feeling.

5 - They make excellent slippers!!

Schnauzer slippers - cosy snugness!

6 - Because of my boys I enjoy my surroundings more! Trying to find interesting walks for them has meant that I have come across some amazing places that I wasn't even aware of before I got them!

JD and Max try their paw at rock climbing!

JD and Max gaze out over the sea whilst walking through the local nature reserve.

JD and Max enjoy a spot of beach combing!

Max poses impatiently at the top of cliff walkway - he's eager to get down to the beach!

7 - And finally - until you have owned a dog (or a cat!) I reckon you will NEVER understand the concept of unconditional love. It is an amazing thing - my boys loved me and my husband from the day we brought them home. They trusted us immediately and put themselves completely in our hands - that is an incredible feeling!

JD and Max on their first ever walk! Even with all the exciting things happening all around them they still wanted to stay close and happily accepted all cuddles!

They are wonderfully affectionate - even if I simply pop out of the room for a couple of minutes their tails start wagging every time I come back in - it's wonderful to have another living being who is always so pleased and so excited to see you!

Female human catches a quick snooze on the sofa - and JD and Max happily join her! JD has cleverly worked out that when the humans are asleep they won't notice him breaking the 'no dogs on the furniture' rule!

They love to be near us - their favourite place is always asleep by our feet. Sometimes I even end up with a Schnauzer sitting on my feet when I'm in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil!

JD - Aw, thanks female human! That was quite good....

Max - Yup - not bad at all! We might even let you post again at some point, he he he!

JD - We can now tag some of our pals to play this game too! We know a lot of you have already played, so we tag ALL of our blog pals who haven't, he he he!

Max - Yeah! We think all our pals are pawsome, but we'd like to know why YOU think you're pawsome too!

JD - Happy Pet Pride everyone! Don't forget to play too - it's great fun!

Join in the fun at Pet Pride....

Camera Critters!

JD - Hello everyone! For Camera Critters today we thought we'd post a couple of photos of some of the other critters we met on last night's walk!

Max - Here's a rather cocky seagull - he just stayed where he was and stared out to sea no matter how sternly I barked at him!!

Seagull - "Where's all that woofing coming from? All I can see is the sea.....!"

JD - And then a little bit further down the beach our female human was rather startled to come face to face with this chap....!

Fish - ".....!"

Max - He didn't say much because he was rather - erm - dead!

JD - A fisherman a bit further on explained to our human that these fish were caught via fishing lines that were left out overnight, trapping the fish when the tide went out. But the larger fish would be left behind because apparently they are not as tasty...

Max - Yikes! Poor fish! But we couldn't leave you without a photo of us too! He he he - here's us having a slight dispute over stick ownership.....

"Give it! It's mine!" "No, I think you'll find it's MINE!" "No, s'mine, I saw it first....!"

JD - Before we sign out we'd just like to say that we're really excited as - being such wonderful puppies! - we've been tagged in a game AND we've won a couple of awards! Wowie! We'll do a post for all of this soon!!

Max - Have a happy weekend everyone!

Find out what all the critters are up to at....

Wordless Wednesday

We're back! Plus Bertie's visit to Edinburgh!!

JD - Hi everyone - we're back!

Max - Yup! After all, our humans only went on what is generally called a 'long weekend', so we didn't actually get THAT much time away from them....sigh!

JD - We really enjoyed the kennels though. When our humans turned up earlier today to collect us we were playing in the yard with one of the kennel hands - such a GREAT game of tug that we didn't even notice them....

Max - ....and then we thought it was the kennel owner ONLY who had appeared, so we went running excitedly to her for a cuddle....

JD - ....and it was only after she had fussed us that we suddenly became aware of our humans, so we thought we'd better go over and say hello to them too!

Max - So basically our humans are now very assured that we had a good time and had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! It IS good to be back home mind you....

JD - ....even though we are now very, very tired from the excitement of our short sabbatical....!

Max and JD enjoy a welcome home snooze!

Max - As soon as we got back home we went to check that our toys, our beds and our treat jar were still all present and correct....

JD - ....and were relieved to discover they all are!

Max - So now - just before we settle down for a full-length snooze in our OWN bed we would like to introduce you to Bertie....

Bertie poses in the hotel room!

JD - ....isn't he cute?! He's a tiny miniature schnauzer toy and we named him after Bertie from Bertie and Oliver fame, as his distinguished countenance reminds us a little bit of him - he he he!

Max - Our humans got Bertie because they thought it would be fun to take him with them to places that we can't visit. That way, Bertie can appear in photos instead of us!!

JD - So, whilst we enjoy our first comfy sleep back home we hope you enjoy a few photos that our humans took of Bertie in Edinburgh, Scotland....

Bertie in front of the Political Martyrs' Monument.

Bertie takes a stroll in front of the Scott Monument!

Bertie just about makes the picture of Arthur's Seat....

....so he asks for a second photo to get his good side!

Bertie looks over the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland....

....and then takes a step back to accommodate a lovely panoramic view of one of Edinburgh's skyline!

Bertie poses in front of Edinburgh Castle - such a amazing building!

Max - ....um, we apologise for some of the photos being a bit fuzzy - the camera focused on Bertie and blurred the background, he he he!!

We're not gonna be around for a while....

JD - Hi everyone! Our humans must REALLY love things to do with hair because right now they're up in Edinburgh, Scotland, participating in something called a Fringe Festival....

Max - .... on our request they've cued this post to publish whilst they're away. As you read this we'll be having fun at a place called 'kennels'. We're pretty sure we're going to enjoy it as we'll get three walks a day and we know the owner personally goes round every evening to give each doggie a cuddle and a treat!

JD - Our female human is really fretting about being away from us - sheesh, humans eh?!

Max - Yeah! It's like she thinks we're still babies or something! I mean, doesn't she realise we're nearly ELEVEN months old?!

JD - We're big boys now! Which means we're ready to go on holiday all on our own...

Max - ....um, as long as our humans come back soon though!

JD - Obviously we're not going to be able to update or visit your blogs for a while, so we thought we'd leave you with a picture to remind you of us until we get back....

Max - Bye bye - see you all soon!

JD - "I call this position 'sofa salutation'!"
Max - "He he, JD - your paws are a bit wiffy!!"

Wordless Wednesday

JD and Max try agility for Pet Pride!

JD - Pet Pride is a great meme that is wonderfully hosted by Bozo from Kuala Lumpur.

Max - It's a fun place for proud owners to show off their pets - and if you own a pet why wouldn't you be proud of that fact?!

JD - So, for today's Pet Pride post our female human asked us to post some photos of our very first try at doggie agility as she said she was SO proud of how we did!

Max - Our humans went to 'Pets at Home' (a fabulous pet superstore) on Friday evening - we love it when they go there as they always bring really fun things back for us.

JD - This time they came in with lots of items - female human especially seemed to be extra excited and started babbling on to us about 'jumping' and 'running' and 'tunnels' ....

Max - ....she does get herself quite worked up sometimes. We tried to distract her by asking for a tummy tickles and then we had to step it up a bit and ask for a biscuit because she really was getting quite squeaky, but in the end we had to give her a 'time out' on the sofa until she was calm enough to interact with us again.

JD - So, when she had finally calmed down we were able to inspect what had been brought back for us.

Max - It was exciting! There was a pop-up tunnel....

JD - ....some weaving poles....

Max - and a lovely hurdle jump!

JD - Our humans want us to get used to agility training in a place we feel comfortable as they really want us to have fun with it.

Max - So yesterday they set it all up in the garden - and we were off!

JD - Some of these photos are not the best we're afraid - I was SO fast over the hurdle that I became a schnauzer blur!! Max had a bit of trouble with the hurdle....

Max - Humph - show off! It was HIGH - unlike you I'm only short!

JD - Anyway, here are a few photos of how it all went....

"You want us to do WHAT for that treat? Are you SERIOUS??!!"

"Oh, come on human! We thought you were joking about having to jump....!"

JD - "Oh, go on then, if it's the ONLY way I'm going to get that treat....!"
Max - "Look at me! Look at me! Have you ever before seen such great 'run-around-the-jump' agility and skill....?!!"

JD - "Hey - I like this! Did you see how happy our human looked in the last photo when I jumped over? I want her to look at me like that again......!
Max - "Wow - you're just a blur JD!"


"Okay - we're bored of the hurdle now, what's next? You want us to do WHAT NOW for a treat? Again we ask - are you SERIOUS?!!"


JD - "Sigh - okay human, if it keeps you amused I'll give it a go. Now, where's my treat?!"


JD and female human encourage Max to come down the tunnel too....!


Max looks really proud whilst JD runs hopefully at the photographer for a pat on the head....


Close up of Max looking pleased with himself after completing his first tunnel run!


Not one of us managed to completely master the weave poles!! Oh well, it was our first try....!

JD - We really enjoyed the training session. After all, I'm really good at jumping so hey - if my humans want me to jump on a more formal basis and then give me a treat for doing this I'm not complaining!

Max - And I LOVED the tunnel! In fact, I was sooooo good at the tunnel that I managed to go both ways down it!

JD - Um, Max - I don't think that was really the point of the tunnel....

Max - Eh? Whassat?

Female Human - Hi! I just wanted to add a little post here myself. We don't seem to have any dog agility training classes close to where I live so I thought I'd try it out myself - I was therefore delighted to find a 'cheap and cheerful' set at the pet store. The boys loved it! I was pretty rubbish as showing them what to do so was amazed and delighted at how quickly they picked it up. I'm pretty sure they tell each other to "take it slow so that the dumb human gets it....!" We were all rather bad at the weave poles, but Max excelled at the tunnel and JD couldn't get enough of the hurdle!

Even though it was a home lesson I was thrilled at how this sort of training quickly builds a bond between human and dog - it's great to watch them figuring it all out and you can actually see the moment it 'clicks' into place for them! The photos above were taken when they were being introduced to the circuit - they feel more comfortable checking out new things when they're together. They did complete the course several times on their own as it's obviously easier to train them on an individual basis, but I think we had more fun when we were all doing it together!! We're definitely going to continue with it. I don't want to overdo it as I really want the boys to continue to find it fun, but it's certainly going to help with their obedience training and I'm hoping to add a few more items to our circuit - ooh, you know what, a see-saw would be fun.....!

JD and Max - Oh dear - female human is getting over-excited again! Sigh.....! Bye for now dear readers, we have to leave now to try to calm her down again - you know how these humans can get if you're not consistent with their training.....! Don't forget to join in with all the fun at Pet Pride - we've made some great friends there!

Join in the fun at Pet Pride....