Things to do in Chicago with Dogs: Dog Trick-or-Treating with Be Fido's Friend

Mr. B is alarmed actually seeing Miss M smile.

As a city that takes its celebrations very seriously, this past weekend was already filled with Halloween revelers out in full-costume.
Miss M and Mr B (okay...and us!) always look forward to dog trick-or-treating with local rescue Be Fido's Friend.
We think this is the perfect event where groups of pups walk through the West Town neighborhood, stopping at local businesses to collect treats.

Miss M and Mr. B dressed in character as Thing 1 and Thing 2 as they made their way around the stores collecting treats.
Miss M had the uncanny sense of knowing which of the stores were participating and beelined her way right to them.
While weeks after we attend this walk, Mr. B still assumes that every store is still giving out treats and tries to go into every door that we see.

In a rare turn of events, E took 'camera-duty' for this walk and captured some photos of me walking with Miss M. While we weren't sure if people would notice, our Instagram/Facebook followers were quick to pick up that Miss M and Mr. B will be expecting their own baby human (this February!). Thanks so much for all of the kind words!

Also:
Deja vu!
Costumes for large dogs.
Costumes for dogs who hate costumes
How we keep our pups safe and comfortable in costumes

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Things to Do with Dogs in Chicago: "Must-Eat" Dog-Friendly Restaurants

Lately we've been noticing how many more tourists are branching out from downtown and coming to visit our neighborhood.
And we always joke that as everyone is so excited to see everything, Miss M walks by and in her blasé voice saying how she's shopped there or eaten there "so many times".

We think that one of the best parts of our neighborhood is that we do have great food, and so many places are so welcoming to all types of dogs.
As we're having this final wave of amazing weather this fall (we're trying to make the most of these October 70 degree temps!) here are some of the restaurants that seem to make the must-see list and are extra accommodating for dogs, and just happen to be steps from our favorite Bloomingdale Trail.

Small Cheval

We were so excited to see this casual burger-and-shake spot open based on Au Cheval's "best burger in America". They make it simple only offering burgers, fries, shakes, and beers. They also make their own sauce. It's a really small space, where you order inside (E usually waits outside with the pups) and you can eat in the outdoor space. We usually come in the morning when they first open, as part of our daily walk, and we are able to get our food right away. Though we have made the mistake of coming mid-day where there are hour-long waits. The patio is nice because it's tucked away from the sidewalk traffic of dogs walking back-and-forth and there is a lot of space for the dogs; we only saw one other set of dogs when we were there. The staff is so nice, and without us asking they were outside with a water dish keeping it filled to Miss M's expectations (notice her actually smiling!).

Parson's Chicken & Fish

This has become a must-visit destination for so many people heading out to Logan Square. Because their food really is that good, they have a huge outdoor dining space, and really good Negroni slushes. It gets really crowded with waits during peak times, so we usually come early. It is a neighborhood dog destination with so many pups dining with their families and a staff that loves
dogs and is really accommodating. We usually bring a mat for the pups to lay on since they have a gravel ground and the pups usually get dusty.

Bang Bang Pie Shop

When we moved we were really excited to be so close to another amazing pie shop. This one does have huge lines on the weekends, so we usually go on the off hours. They have a large outdoor space with communal seating, and we've seen so many other pups here accompanying their people for the biscuits and pie.

Anyone else have favorite city dining with dogs? 

Also:
How we set our dogs for success at outdoor patios 
Or dining with dogs who are uncomfortable around other dogs
Being a tourist in Chicago with dogs!
Going European!

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Things to do With Dogs in Chicago: Watching the Chicago Marathon

One of the best parts about living with pups in the city is that we can combine our dog walks with events that are fun for both us and the pups.
I spent 6 years running the Chicago Marathon, and since I've stopped running I always thought it was important to still go and support the runners.
And this will also be the 6th year that the pups have gotten up in the wee hours of Sunday morning to go out and watch the marathon:

We love that the marathon is an event for the whole city. An estimated 1 million spectators (plus Miss M and Mr. B!) line the 26.2 miles across the city with mariachi bands, dancing dragons, singing Elvi and plenty of costumes and crazy signs.
The pups have come prepared in full gear (even that time we let them pick their outfits themselves!) to bring cheer to the marathon runners.
We usually stand at Mile 14, which can be a tough one, so it's fun to see the runners smile when they see the pups. We had a lot of people who recognized them (thanks for saying hi!), jumped out of the race to meet the pups, and we even met a woman who met them during the race last year, so she decided to run the race for pitbulls this year (!!). She had it written on the back of her shirt.
The pups gave out smooches, and normally grumpy Miss M was flashing her smile.

We know how much harder it is for the last runners to be out there so long, especially when all of the spectators are packing up or have left already.
So we always make sure the stay to the very end to support the runners that might be just ahead of the Sanitation Truck.
After all of their cheering, Mr. B felt like he had run his very own marathon.

Also:
Superheros!
Dapper Mr. B and "Grumpy Butterfly"
The time they gave us these.

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Things to Do in Chicago with Dogs: Miss M and Mr. B Explore the Bloomingdale Trail

It was nearly 10 years ago that I first heard the rumor about the Bloomingdale Trail.
While buying a bench on Craigslist (from a loft at the old Schwinn Bicycle Factory!) the owner told me he bought his place because they would be building an amazing park on the old Bloomingdale rail line...in the next "few" years.

Flash forward to over a decade of several starts, stops, and a false-alarm opening last year, and the trail finally opened this past weekend. The Bloomingdale trail stretches 2.7 miles above the city creating a continuous walking path between Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Wicker Park, and Bucktown.
Since it's mere blocks from our home, we were excited to check it out this past weekend with the pooches:

They had several huge events for the opening weekend, and this is likely the most crowded the trail will ever be. Somehow it was able to accommodate the mix of walkers, bikers, dogs and strollers.

There are a lot of homes built right next to the trail, but it was interesting seeing all the rooftop decks, and a lot of the homes were having parties and waving to the people walking along the trail.
We ran into a lot of friends, neighbors, and a neighbor out on his rooftop deck.
Our favorite part was being able to walk continuously without needing to stop for traffic.

Of course, Mr. B brought his camera and he made this video showing the trail from the dog's view.

Also:
The trail makes it even easier to do things like this to and this!
One of my favorite videos by Mr. B.
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Things to do with Dogs in Chicago: Miss M and Mr B go Dog Trick-or-Treating (with Be Fido's Friend!)

You would think from all of our Halloween posts that we are Halloween fanatics, but it's really quite the opposite.
The only Halloween decoration we have around the house are carved pumpkins with fake vampire fangs. And that's just new this year.
Though when it comes to our pooches and Halloween, we cannot contain our Halloween spirit. Well actually it's A who cannot contain her Halloween spirit.

To me, it seems like A spends all year planning for her favorite event of the Halloween season: Be Fido's Friend Trick or Treat Walk.
A was so excited for the pooches to go as Thing 1 and Thing 2 and even modified their wigs a month ago so it was all set for the walk. However, the weather was too warm for the pooches to wear their sweatshirts, so Miss M chose to be 'ironic' and go as an angel and Mr. B went as Dapper B.

Though the pooch costumes were a last day substitution, Mr. B's top hat was such a hit that he even won the best costume crazy frosted cookie at G&O bar. However, he only got to eat half of the cookie, because Miss M swept in with her angelic paws and grasped the half of the cookie he dropped as crumbs.

It is safe to say that this is the pups' dream come true come to life. During our walks, the pups always dream of being able to go into stores, get petted, and get a treat.
Which is exactly what happens with this trick-or-treat walk. They have an outdoor halloween party at the bank, then you get a bag and go to over 30 businesses that welcome the pups, let them in their stores, and give them treats.
Though now the pups are expecting to be able to go into all of the stores on our walks and have people give them treats.
This was such a fun and well-organized event (thanks Be Fido's Friend!).

Anyone else going trick-or-treating with your pup?

Also:
Deja vu!
Just some Halloween dogs walking down the street
Dogs view of Chicago Halloween
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Things to Do in Chicago with Dogs: Miss M & Mr. B Spectate at the Chicago Marathon

While I've "retired" from my Chicago Marathon running days, every year I look forward to heading out with the pups to cheer on the runners.
The race has over 40,000 runners weaving their way throughout the Chicago neighborhoods. For 26.2 miles it's a huge party in the streets with everyone banding together with costumes, high fives, and plenty of water to cheer the marathoners on.
Our pups chose their own costumes dressing as "Dapper Mr. B" and "Grumpy Butterfly".

Each year I would remember the huge rush of excitement from the crowds in the first 12 miles, then rounding a corner and hitting that spectator lull. So we like to cheer at this spectator dead-zone where seeing a huge grumpy butterfly and dapper pit bull might just give the runners that extra push they need.

It was fun cheering on the runners, and many of them told us the pups were the best-dressed pooches on the course!
And even with Miss M's pouty mug, they were able to lure some runners off the course for some pets and photo opps. Hopefully giving that extra push of motivation they needed past the half-way point.

We know how hard running a marathon can be overall, but especially if you didn't have the race you thought you would have or you find yourself at the end as everyone is packing up and you're just trying to stay ahead of the sanitation truck. It's these back-of-the-pack runners that can be the most inspiring seeing how dedicated they are to keep on going even if they don't have the crowds and fanfare.
So we make sure to stay until the end. And Mr. B watched until the end to make sure he could cheer for each and every runner.

Congratulations to everyone who ran, and thanks for stopping to say hi!

Also:
That other time we let them pick.
Superheros!
Miss M's personal marathon.
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Things to Do in Chicago with Dogs: Miss M Explores Dog-Friendly Logan Square (with her boyfriend Vegas)

During one of our last trips we made the revelation that we spend a lot of money to traveling far away just to spend our time walking around and eating.

So now we just try to do this around our neighborhood, and we're able to include our pups.

Since we've moved we're still learning about our area, and it's only now that I realize how centrally located our home is. We are pretty much right on the border of 3 great neighborhoods.

We now live really close to one of Miss' M's favorite boyfriends, Vegas, and we were excited to join Vegas and his person to explore the Logan Square neighborhood on a typical Sunday afternoon.

Walking the Square and an Outdoor Brunch 

I've heard that Logan Square is one of the neighborhoods with the fewest actual parks, which is hard to believe because everything is so green. They have a huge boulevard system running straight through the streets. We love that it has that real-neighborhood vibe with so many locally owned shops and galleries. Many of them are even dog-friendly. They have plenty of outdoor dog-friendly dining, and we stopped at Reno's for some brunch (savory bread pudding!). The pups spent the time lounging on the ground next to a huge water bowl. They got lots of pets, and Miss M even met one of her fans (thanks for saying hi!).

Logan Square Farmer's Market

Every Sunday morning Logan Square has a big farmer's market where the highlight is actually the prepared food. Even for Miss M. A kind woman offered them both part of her sausage. The market itself can get really crowded and there are always a lot of dogs.

Miko's Italian Ice

I've always loved Miko's which is literally a walk-up window so you can order without leaving your pup unattended. And can you tell how much the owner loved seeing the dogs?
You can get two flavors in a cup. My favorite has also been half coconut, half chocolate so Miss M is just looking on without being able to eat any.

While Miss M was out on her date, any guesses what E and Mr. B were doing on a Sunday afternoon?

Also:
Hint here.
Our other favorite Staycations here and here. 
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Things to Do in Chicago with Dogs: That Time the Pups Tried to Crash Riot Fest

While Chicago has a lot of really big music festivals, one thing that was unique about last weekend's Riot Fest was that it was a huge festival held in a park smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood.
Our neighborhood.
The festival brought tens of thousands of people streaming into our neighborhood, and Friday night we rushed home to hunker down knowing it might be hard to leave all weekend. We heard with the traffic and road closures it took some of our neighbors two hours to get home (normally a 40 minute drive) and they had to park as far as a mile from their home. It brought so many people to the area that cell phone service was spotty all weekend.
Though it did have a really, really good line up with Weezer, The Cure, Jane's Addiction, Slayer, The Flaming Lips, Wu-Tang Clan, just to name a few.

The pups were not so excited their favorite stomping grounds were blocked off, but they were excited to see so many people in their neighborhood.
Mr. B even tried to score some tickets.

E and I ended up going for a bit just to check it out.  Somehow they crammed 7 stages, a carnival and non-stop rows of the best-of carnival food (funnel cakes! cheese on a stick! poutine!) into our park. We saw The Nationals, Flaming Lips, and Wu-Tang Clan. We saw part of The Cure and the beginning of Weezer which was playing the Blue Album in its entirety! Though the crowds were so bad, jostling, and completely drunk by that time that we just decided to run home where we could hear everything clearly, sans crowds, from our deck.
It was kind of fun to hear everything clearly, sans crowds, on our deck.
This is what Miss M thought about the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones.

Though they weren't too impressed by Slayer.

Also:
At least the pups were able to legally do this.
Our favorite non-dog activity that allowed dogs!
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Things to do in Chicago with Dogs: Best Summer Activities with Dogs

While we have been a bit quiet on the blog lately, along with our whirlwind of a summer selling, buying a home,  and moving, we really were out there with our pups taking advantage of everything summer has to offer.
We've been way behind on posting and sharing our photos, but as we were sorting through everything  we found these 5 highlights of our favorite dog-friendly summer activities.

Gay Pride Parade

Chicago's Gay Pride Parade has always been the highlight of our summer. We love that the entire community comes out to celebrate ideas of equality and gay rights with a multi-mile parade and celebration complete with thumping music, beads and feathers.
The pups join the crowds bedecked in rainbow beads, tiaras (Miss M!) and cowboy hats (Mr. B!) and also make quite the impression showing how pit bull-type dogs are just like any other dog.
One of our favorite videos ever was showing all the people the pups met from their view in this first video in the post here. 
And Miss M's tiara debut.

Taste of Latin America

While a lot of people seem to think Taste of Chicago is one of the best events in the city (though once you live here you realize it really isn't) we think Taste of Latin America is the best food festival we've been to yet. This is a new-to-the-city festival that we first found out two years ago, and I was beyond disappointed when it was cancelled last year. This year we were excited to go with all 3 pups who had an amazing time meeting people, and staring at the food we ate. We even had our Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel cut in front of us at one of the booths and he only turned to ask "Are the dogs enjoying this festival?" (huh?)
Though I think they enjoyed the tasting a bit more here.

Shakespeare in the Park

We were able to make it out to this year's Shakespeare in the Park at our very own brand new neighborhood park. This year they brought out A Midsummer Night's Dream and though we came late and were a bit further from the stage it was nice to be able to sit outside with so many other people enjoying the play. I think it was Foster Dog Feeney's first cultural experience.
And Mr. B was still laughing about how he unexpectedly got to be part of the play last year.

Renegade Craft Fair

We know summer has really come to an end when it's Renegade Craft Fair (which annually coincides with the first Bears game of the season!). It's the weekend when a slew of Etsy-vendors converge on our city stretching out for a half-mile (on both sides!). We ran into a series of SociaBulls members, a couple of people who knew the pups from the Internet (thanks for saying hi!), and we got to see the booth of the talented and creative La Familia Green who uses her own pups as inspiration to create clever cards for your favorite pet-lover.
And in case you were ever wondering, here Miss M shares what Renegade looks like from a dog's view.

Ubiquitous Neighborhood Street Fest 

I'm not really sure which of the neighborhood festivals this was at, but it seems to have everything Chicagoans have come to expect from most street festivals.
Mr B as one of the bros? Check.
Our dogs participating in a random hook-up? Check.
Pigs in strollers? Check.
And drinking a beer? Just kidding...our pups only eat dog ice-cream.

So these were all the things we were doing when we weren't here at the computer.
Anyone else have any summer highlights with your pups?

Also:
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Things to Do in Chicago with Dogs: "Secret" Chicago Air & Water Show

The one summer event the entire city is involved in, whether we like it or not, is Chicago's Air & Water show. We can hear (and feel!) the planes arriving as early as Thursday, with glimpses of them flying over our deck.
The show is held on Saturday and Sunday featuring stunt pilots and military planes with an estimated 2 million people will flocking to the lakefront. People come complete with coolers, lawn chairs and even tents setting up as early as 6am just to claim a piece of lawn. (This was always the hardest weekend of Marathon Training with an extra long long-run and tons of people to run around).
We would never take our pups to anything so crowded.
I would never take myself to anything this crowded.
So we go on the "secret" day.

Every year they hold their practice session on Friday afternoons including the full-line up, announcer, and even food trucks.
We get all of the benefits of the full show, with plenty of lawn space to ourselves.

None of the pups are bothered by loud noises, and we were lucky it was a mild (but beautifully blue!) day. Dogs aren't allowed on the human beaches, so we just walked a bit past to the grass area with a perfect view of the planes and the Chicago skyline. The exact bend of the lakeshore path Jennifer Aniston runs along in the movie The Break-up.
The pups were all smiles enjoyed relaxing on the lawn and meeting lots of people.
Even Miss M was especially smiley.

Also:
Skyline exploration.
Feeling like Copenhagen.
And Deja Vu
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Things to do in the City with Dogs: Strolling Down Michigan Avenue

Almost every time I go on vacation I marvel at the people who are lucky enough to be residents of that city. I imagine that if I lived there I would spend every weekend having pier picnics or lounging in famous gardens.

The funny thing is, we live in a pretty amazing city also. And a lot of people spend a lot of money to experience the things we take for granted. 

We spend a lot of our time just out with the pups walking, and even though we live a mere 2 miles from the heart of downtown, we rarely go. So we went. 

I don't think people are used to seeing large dogs downtown because a lot of people would look at us like we were walking camels. They also asked what kinds of dogs they were.

As our dogs are older its not as easy to do the 2 miles there and back, so we found 2 other easy ways to get downtown with our pups.

We discovered the app Spothero which has helped us find cheaper downtown parking. We used this to get downtown for the St Patrick's Day festivities where we found parking for only $10, which is amazing since downtown parking is normally $20-40.

We have also learned how to take taxi's with our pups and we wrote more about it here. 

Has anyone else been venturing on any new walks lately?

Also:

Vacation-like.

Our picks.

Deja vu.

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Pooches: Miss M and Mr B Bring Happiness to the 2014 Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade

Before I adopted Miss M, I really didn't want a pit bull-type dog.  

But the truth is, I had such strong feelings when I had never even met a pit bull before. 

It was only after meeting my first pit bull-type dog at an adoption event--then my second, then my third-- that I realized they really are just like any other type of dog (though I now think even more amazing!).

Once in costume, Mr. B falls into character

Part of the fun of our adventures around the city is letting other people meet pit bull-type dog for the first time. This weekend we hit up Chicago's Downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade, which is such a huge event, the city even dyes the river green. The parade draws people from around the country, and even from other countries. A lot of people who met the pups wanted to know what kinds of dogs they were, and a couple of people even reveled in their own 'first time they met a pit bull' experience.

As one man from another country said "This is Pitbull? Pitbull is good!".

Mr. B brought along his camera to document the experience from his point-of-view. My favorite part is the paparazzi on the bridge.

Here are the pups bringing happiness to St. Patrick's Day revelers,with appropriate accompanying music.

Also:

Did you know it has been proven watching cute pet videos really does make people happier and increase productivity at work? Feel free to check out this one (the one on Vimeo), this one, and this one too.

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Things to do in Chicago with Dogs: Watching CHIditarod

One of the best parts of living in the city is you really never know what you might run into.

During some of our walks we have run into such unlikely events as a Snuggie pub crawl, a Zombie flashmob, and our latest: CHIditarod shopping cart race.

Part food drive, part costume contest, part drinking event, this annual race has been held in the Wicker Park area for the past 9 years. Teams dress in themes and pull decorated shopping carts, filled with food to donate stopping at several bar checkpoints. The race route is about 4 miles and it is held regardless of the weather.

After being cooped up this winter, we were excited to get out in this "tropical" 20 degree weather. Seeing CHIditarod as an added bonus.

The pups were excited to have so many people out that they could meet. One of the carts even had a grill on it, and they were nice enough to give the pups a taste.

Though Mr. B was a bit confused by some of the costumes.

Also:

We're counting down the days until we can do this again.

Walking like a city dog

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