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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Pooches: Starring Miss M and Mr. B as The Truman Show

At first the pooches were always happy to pose for photos.
But then they started coming a bit suspicious....

Suspicious about how people they didn't know knew who they were:

Suspicious about why we were always sneaking around with our cameras taking unflattering photos of them.

And suspicious about what we might be doing with the photos.
Until the day Miss M decided to investigate:

And was shocked to find their life is out there for everyone to see:

Including some for-home-only poses.

Also:
Breaking through the 4th Wall
As The Silver Balloon
My favorite part of this video is at 1:08 where one of Miss M's fans spots her and Miss M acts like she's known her her whole life.
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DoggyStyle: How We Changed Things Inside to Forget How Terrible it was Outside

Back when I was running marathons, I used to have a trick to get me through it all: I would lie to myself.
I would use terrible math during a 20 mile training run to tell myself I just had to get to this destination, this destination, then I only had to go home (yes, a mere 10 miles home).
I've since used this type of deception to help get me through other terrible things: like this winter.
These are some of the things we've been doing inside to keep us from the misery outside:

Pretend we Live in a Beach House:

 For the longest time our home had the khaki walls and red paint around the fireplace that came with the place. Remember this?

During the winter I always lamented the dark days made it look olive-green and made me feel closed in. E spent the summer painting our entire home (I had a foot injury so I just did the lower parts) with a variety of sea-like blues. When it's dark--which is all the time during the winter--it reflects the light so much better and we don't feel as enclosed.
And we pretend a little bit with our white couch and bright pillows.

Finding Light:

During the winter I always feel like a vampire because when I leave in the morning and come back at night it's always dark.
We are always trying to take advantage of all of the light we can, but at the same time, living in the city it can be a bad idea if people can easily see into your home.
We bought some top-down/bottom up shades so we have the option of lowering the part where people can see in when it gets dark, but keeping the top open so we can still get that last bit of sunlight and even when it's dark we can leave the top open so we can see the city lights and not feel as closed in.
The blinds were hard to photograph full-on, but you can see them in the background.

Bring in Living Things:

 With everything dead and snow-covered outside, it makes things that much nicer to have something colorful and alive inside. We try to pick up fresh flowers at the supermarket when we can, though these cacti have been bright and holding up well this winter.

Bundle Up:

And to keep it extra cozy inside, the pups love getting bundled up and watching some Netflix. Though usually here.
Has anyone else been using deception to get through this winter?

Also:
Scented!
Watching.
What Miss M picks out
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Winter Walks: "The Family that Walks"

Whenever we're out walking without our dogs, I always remember a story a friend told me.
Every day after dinner, their family would take a walk around their neighborhood in the suburbs.
Since they didn't have a dog, which apparently would give them a purpose for walking, everyone thought they were weird.
They were called the "The Family that Walks".

Even though it's a necessity, we look forward to our walks and we've made them a family event that we can all do together.

And without realizing it, there may have been a bit of matching going on.

Also:
How we made their hoodies
Our family photoshoot!

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Pooches: On Scuffed and Worn Collars

Probably the most ridiculous thing I stressed out about after adopting Miss M was finding her the perfect collar. I think it was ingrained in me that once I chose a collar, there was no going back. 

See, growing up our dogs always owned the same collar. They were simple, brown leather collars, but I felt that was the one thing that they ever really owned. It became symbolic that this collar, a gift we gave them when they came to live with us, was something they wore their entire lives. And it was the one thing they gave back to us after they passed away.

And much like making the perfect mix tape, I felt the pressure to find the perfect statement-making collar that she could wear for the rest of her life. It would not only show Miss M's personality, but also get people to stop calling her "dude".
So, I went for a pink collar with skulls. I thought this matched her stubborn, independent personality while letting everyone know she's a girl--though people still call her a "handsome dude".

Getting Mr. B a collar was easier; he would get a matching blue collar and they would become the 'hipster pirate dog duo'.

In the years since we've had our pups, their collars have become a bit scuffed, the leather breaking through the coloring. I have been tempted to just buy new collars.

Or possibly buy new versions of the same skull collars?

But, I think there's something to be said about the authenticity of something we gave them since they first came to live with us. Even if they do break down to bare, scuffed straps, I think it's significant because everything they've done in their lives made them that way. 

Or maybe I'm just being too sentimental.

Is there a sentimentality to collars? Or is it all about the fashion?

Also:

We do have this addiction.

Naked!

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SociaBulls: Using SociaBulls for 'Spring Training'

With all of the walking obstacles we find in the city, we all know how important it is to be consistent on our daily walks so our pups always understand what we expect.

Unfortunately, this can be beyond difficult in the winter.
With narrow, snow-covered sidewalks, on our personal daily walks we are finding ourselves allowing our pups to walk in front of us leading the way, forgoing sitting at the corner, and bypassing our check-in's  just so we can all go inside more quickly.
We are also finding that even in our crowded city with weather like this we are much less likely to see as many other people and dogs which becomes even more difficult in spring when the sidewalks are flooded with other pups all excited and out of practice.

We feel lucky that we do have our Chicago SociaBulls group where we have been walking all winter with our dog-friends so it won't be a big surprise when they see all the dogs out again in the spring.

This winter our fellow SociaBulls friends have sacrificed sleeping in, drove to somewhat obscure locations, and endured ice, cold and wind to stay consistent and give their pups the opportunity to socialize through the pack walks. So when we all see all the other dogs out and about on our daily walks, it won't come as a big surprise.
Has the winter deterred you from your walking? Or have you found ways to remain consistent?

Also:
These good things about walking in bad weather
How long we walked.

To learn more about our group, join our Chicago SociaBulls Facebook page for more photos and updates

Miss M's Conundrum

We all know Miss M is a diva.
Oftentimes, it feels like this is Miss M's world and we just live in it.
To this truth, she proposes challenges and it is up to us to rise up and accept those challenges.

The current conundrum that she poses should be known as the Urine-try Conundrum. Miss M is very particular about her urination in terms of who may see, what may happen, where it will happen and when it will happen.

Miss M enjoys roaming around her kingdom when her servants are present and even more so when they are away gathering funds to support her extravagant lifestyle.
While roaming her kingdom, she enjoys the finer things in life: laying in supabed, laying on her pillow: Mr. B, scrounging for crumbs and urinating wherever she pleases (but only under specific circumstances).

If her servants leave by a certain time, then it is the perfect opportunity to urinate around her kingdom.
If her servants leave later, then she cannot grace the carpet garden, even if her servants are away several hours longer than usual.

On her afternoon and evening diva walks, she cannot perform her business if a stranger is around. In addition, she must be able to find a corner of grass or hide behind a tree to complete her business.

To make it more interesting, she will not perform her business if she can see that her servant is observing her do her business. If any of these conditions are not to her liking, she will choose to head back into her kingdom, because at night when her servants and pillow are asleep, it is the perfect time to skip to her loo.

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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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DoggyStyle: Saving Money with Human Gear for Dogs

I always love seeing that preparedness estimator saying that you should be prepared to spend $1,000 a year to own a pup. Though after some unexpected illnesses, food, and training classes, we found the cost can be much, much more, especially when you have a short-haired, cold-prone pup in the middle of Chiberia.
We are always looking for ways to save money, thought it seems like so many of the dog-specific items can cost more than our own clothes. Here are some ways we've learned to save money using human products for our pups. 

If You Can't Find a Dog Sweater:

get an inexpensive human sweater and modify it for your pup.

Our Sociabulls friend Buddha got this argyle sweater from a thrift store for only $3. You can have the option of having more coverage in the arms, or removing all of the arms for the sweater-vest look. The only other modification would be to sew it so it fits  closer to the body and leaving an area to pee.  It's so inexpensive that it wouldn't matter if it gets torn when playing, and you probably wouldn't find another pup with the same sweater.

If You Need to Keep Your Pup's Neck Warm:

use a human scarf.
We have been using snoods to cover the space between our pups' coats, especially where the metal from their collars can get really cold, but human scarves would work just as well.
You could use a kids' scarf if you need something shorter, or an adult scarf that you would just wrap around a few more times.
Doesn't our friend Sprocket look so stylish?

If You're Looking for a Less Expensive Coat Option:

use a kid's puffy vest.
We had been looking for a dog coat with a hood and fuzzy collar for a long time, and when we saw this kids' vest on super-sale we thought we would test it out. It turns out, kids' size 10/12 fits our Mr. B perfectly. We made a slit in the armholes for extra movement. The biggest modification it needs is to hold up the stomach area so the pups don't pee on the gear. When we first tried it we pinned it up with a binder clip (making sure it didn't rub against his skin) and later we were able to sew that section up.

If you can't find a dog costume in your pups' sizes:

check the kids' section.
We know a lot of pups participate in Pride Parades or dress up for Halloween, though it can be difficult to find gear for larger dogs. Plus, it can get expensive to find things they will only wear once. We search the kids' section for the pups' hats and costumes. We wrote more about it, here.

Does anyone else have ways you save money using human-geared products for your pups?

Also:
Other ways we save money using human products for our pups.
Macguyver with dogs.
Walkable Halloween costumes.

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CSI: Two Pitties in the City

 

Since we have two mischievous pooches, some days we find ourselves coming back to a type of mysterious "crime scene".

Requiring us to become unintentional Crime Scene Investigators (CSI's).
Though my PhD is in neuroscience, one of the first things I did after leaving academia to become a high school teacher in the city, was to develop a Forensic Science elective.
The same observational, analytical thinking and reasoning skills that I teach my students are the ones A and I use to determine 'house crimes' committed by our pooches.

When we come home, we often walk around looking for places that are warm to the touch identifying where the pooches were laying right before we entered the door. 

My blood spatter unit comes in handy when we are trying to identify who made the accident on our living room rug.
We examine to see if the pee pattern is consistent with the passive drop peeing created by Miss M's accidents or does the pee exhibit evidence of medium velocity impact spatter that is more consistent with Mr. B's accidents.

Lately the crime of choice has been the old sleep on the sofa gig.
Taking a magnifying glass, we collect hair evidence with transparent tape and examine the cuticles of individual hairs with a modified iPhone camera microscope. 

Since Miss M has some massive paws, we measure the width of the paw prints left on the couch. Sometimes we are lucky to find drool marks and we use this to determine the length of jowl.  

One time we even found this...

Any guesses of who it was?

Also:
That other experiment
Framed!
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