Happy Belated Election Day!

As you all know, I work in politics, and I acquired Hush during the three busiest days of my political career. I am so slow posting these pictures from election night, but it is fun to look back and see how much she has grown. We had a wonderful office celebration with great food (BBQ, ribs, delicious sides, desserts, and plenty of beer and wine) while we watched the election results come in. We really put in insane hours leading up to the elections, and this celebration was a very special way to reconnect with one another, and our friends and loved ones (who were also included in our celebration). So without further ado, HAPPY belated ELECTION DAY!!!

She was such a tiny little cuddly ball of love when I got her. She is now much, much, much bigger!

My boss left me in charge of decorating for our party. Our firm is non-partisan, and he wanted me to decorate with both Democrat and Republican accessories. As you can tell, I decided to use my creative license and editorialize our decor a bit. Here I am with my Weepuplican!

Isn't this a great picture? I was inspired by this photo of Am-Can. CH Nitro's Boy Wonder carrying American flags in a parade.

But, trying to get Hush to hold an American Flag in a photo was a bit of a failure.

This is one of my favorite photos from the evening. When I bought my puppy supplies, I purposely bought a blue collar and red leash knowing that Hush would be spending her first three days with me in the office.

I know, I know, there is no dog in this photo, and this is a dog blog, but because politics are such a huge part of my life, I thought I'd share this photo of me watching the returns come in. I look so serious!

One very important trait in the the Golden Retriever breed standard is jet black pigment. I love this photo because it captures Hush's coal black nose, and the dark pigment around her eyes. Her eyes look black here, they are really a dark brown.

The first 3 months of a puppy's life are the make or break months for socialization. My goal was to introduce Hush to 100 different people before she turned 12 weeks. By bringing her to work, she was able to meet over 50 different people in only 3 days!

Hush was very interested in the receipt in my co-worker Leah's hand.

One of the great things about my office is it is all carpeted! The carpeted hallways are perfect for playing fetch with a puppy, because they provide plenty of traction during retrieves.

While I was between places to live, my dear friends Frank and Annie rented me (and my two dogs!) their guest bedroom. I look terrible in this photo, but I am so grateful to have two incredible friends in my life that I'll post it anyways.

That party was so much fun! Goodnight, readers!

Balls, of the tennis variey...

I know many of us have ball obsessed dogs. When you think of many dogs, especially retrievers, throwing a tennis ball with your faithful fur friend probably is one of the most common images to pop into your mind. But, did you know, the classic tennis ball is actually dangerous, and for reasons beyond choking hazards.

Tennis balls, a classic amongst us dog lovers, are coated in a yellow fuzzy coating that is actually quite abrasive. While for some dogs, this won't ever be a problem, for the truly tennis ball obsessed the abrasive coating can quickly wear down teeth, and wreak havoc on your dog's teeth and gums! Scary.

Of course, I would never say get rid of the tennis balls, because, after all, so many of our dogs love them, I know my Milly loves hers. Instead, I offer you an alternative. Kong is now producing "tennis balls" they are manufactured in the same factory as the balls made for tennis playing, but the yellow outer layer is softer and less abrasive, because it is made of felt. This truly will save your dogs teeth. But, at about 3x the cost of a tennis ball, these are not balls you want to lose.


For dogs like Milly, that enjoy squeaky things, they even make a tennis ball with a squeaker inside. Are you worried about the choking hazards associated with tennis balls? They make tennis ball material toys in all different shapes and sizes - I buy the over sized round tennis balls, with squeaker, for Milly.

Water Buffalo Toy

A few days ago I stepped into a dog bakery, and decided to pick up yet another toy for Milly. I've been kind of bummed lately, because I have no idea when I will be getting a puppy, and I'm just so ready. To help with my sadness about not having a puppy, I've been going overboard on spoiling Milly.

Milly has every toy imaginable, but she did not have any suede toys made from water buffalo hide... until now! I know water buffalo is a great type of leather, strong and durable, yet smooth. There were many toys to pick from, but I settled on "The Suede Big-O Donut Toss," made by Advance Pet Products. I like that the toy is round, and mine came with a rope on it, so it's easy to throw.

Water buffalo toys are very durable, but like all toys, they are not completely indestructible. The toy I got Milly is a Water Buffalo Suede leather, and the toy is colored with natural vegetable dyes and a non-chemical tanning process. These durable toys are a natural by-product of Domesticated Water Buffalo processing, constructed of hide with ultra suede leather finish. Milly absolutely loves to chase and fetch this stuffed leather tossing ring, and thinks it's great fun! I selected this particular toy, because I'm confident it will be durable enough for my future puppy to play with, too.



There are tons of water buffalo toys to chose from. With so many great shapes and sizes there is something for every pup! You can find your own water buffalo toy on Amazon.com, at your local pet store, or from Leerburg.com. I do not profit in anyway from promoting this product, I simply am a pet owner who liked this toy.

Chuck It

I love playing fetch with Milly, but I've never been talented when it comes to throwing balls. If Milly could talk she'd let you know that there is no rhyme or reason to where the ball goes when I throw it, sometimes it goes far, sometimes it gets stuck in the Azalea bushes, sometimes it goes sideways, and sometimes it practically lands at my feet. Milly is a good sport about my terrible hand-eye-coordination, but it gets annoying that I'm just that bad at throwing balls and frisbies! I have terrible joints, and I'm sure that contributes to my terrible throwing abilities.



I picked up a Chuck-It at Petsmart a few months ago, and have to say this plastic ball launcher has turned me into a great fetch partner! I can now throw a ball more than 15 feet, and it actually goes in the direction I throw it! I can throw the ball with a Chuck-It about the distance of a small field, but I've seen people with much better hand-eye-coordination throw it much, much, much further than I can. Milly is able to get more excercise playing fetch, because the ball goes much further than it did before. I'm able to throw the ball for much longer with the Chuck-It, because my shoulder does not start throbbing. For anyone with bad shoulders, like me, the Chuck-It will help you out tremendously.

The Chuck-It is a simply, but brilliant design. It is made from plastic, and in a long sloping stick with a handle, the shaft of the Chuck-It flows into a tennis ball sized cup. The cup holds a ball while you are going through the throwing motion, but gravity is able to pull the ball out at the end of the throw. Much like throwing a ball with a lacrosse stick would catapult it threw the air, the Chuck-It does the same.

I give this product 4 Paws!!! It's great. At under $14 it is not too expensive, either. They now make them in a variety of sizes. With all toys and balls, make sure to use it with an appropriate sized ball for your particular dog.