Well folks, it’s been two weeks since we announced our “Show Us How You Chow Down” photo contest with Arrfscarf, and boy have you kept us entertained with amazing photos of your dogs! I wanted to submit this photo of myself expertly doing cleanings to the whipped-cream-makers, but mama said I was disqualified because I live with her. Lame!

Check out all these entries that were NOT disqualified:

Originally, my brother and I were going to put our big brainiac brains together with the good folks at Arrfscarf and pick a winner. But then I realized something. I said to myself: “Self, you know many of these dogs in real life or through the interwebs, so you would not make a very fair judge.” And so I disqualified myself from the judgings!

I left the pickings all to the nice people at Arrfscarf, and they picked a winner — and because they liked the other photos so much — TWO runners up!

So without further ado, the second runner up is . . . . .  Our dear friend Luna! Luna wins one large bag of Arrfscarf hand-crafted dog treats and a mini variety pack of treats.

The first runner up is . . . . the lovely Arabella!  Arabella wins her choice of two large bags of treats and a mini variety pack.

And I am most jealous excited our big winner, who wins the whole package — a large back of EACH of Arrfscarf’s handmade dog treats, two doggie ice creams, and an Arrfscarf custom engraved dog tag — Delilah!

Congrats to our very deserving winners. My brother Doodlebug and I hope you get blissfully fat from eating so many treats (in a good way)!

And — as a sweet little bonus — I have convinced Arrfscarf to award a FOURTH winner, picked randomly by me via Random.org (did you even know that I know how to use the internets? I am damn smart!).

So congratulations to Peyton for winning our last prize — two mini variety packs of Arrfscarf treats!

Thanks to everybody for playing. We can’t wait to play another contest with you sometime soon!

***Winners, please contact us via email at info (at) loveandaleash (dot) org, or via Facebook messaging***

The other day my mama, my grandma, and Puppy E went to the Farmer’s Market. We didn’t get to go, and we pouted half the time they were gone. We were so mad — until they got home, that is.

They walked in, and mama had a big grin on her face.

I asked myself: “Self, why does mama have a big grin on her face?”

And Self said to me “She must have brought you a most bodacious yummable.”

And I was right. So for the rest of the afternoon, my Doodlebrother and I feasted like kings on the most righteous of organic, free/strange, fresh marrow bones.

And then all evening long, we dreamt of our most bodacious, righteous of marrow bones:

Life is good in Austin, Texas.

Many of you remember my last foster before Doodlebug, America’s sweetheart Dora the Explorer. How could you forget? She might have been the most gorgeous dog we’ve ever laid eyes on (other than yours truly of course!), and with that silky grey fur, that sweet underbite, and those amazing ears, it’s no wonder she broke hearts wherever she went.

She broke all our hearts again — in a sad way — when she got loose on a walk with her mama several months back and disappeared, never to be found again. To this day, she still hasn’t come home. We like to imagine that she was found by some kind family who just didn’t know how to locate her rightful owners. They fell in love, made her their own, and lived happily ever after. That’s how the story should end in our heads, anyway.

Dora-bull has been on our minds lately because we’ve just received our Yellow Brick Home Pet Shop tiny portrait of her, and we are in love all over again!

Dora’s portrait is our fourth 4×4 inch foster dog painting, on top of the two 6×6 inch paintings Kim has done of me and my silly brother the ‘Bug.

Since Kim’s art has become such a major presence in our home, mama asked her to document the process for us this time. We’ve been dying to know: what do these amazing mini works of art look like along the way? So today we’re thrilled to share a few insider looks!

Amazing, right?

And just for this week, as a special treat to all our readers, the Pet Shop is offering 10% off ALL products with the code DEARDORA!  This includes custom work, ready-to-go original paintings, prints, and gift certificates. Jump on it, the coupon expires at midnight on Monday, April 15!

As though that wasn’t enough of a treat for you already, we have another sweet announcement for Dora-lovers. Only the most dedicated fans will remember that when Dora was rescued, she was living in a back yard with one of her puppies, Boots. Well, Boots is now available for adoption through Love-A-Bull! He has all of her underbite, personality, and charms — plus a beautiful subtle, brindle coat.

If you are still regretting not snatching up Dora when she was available, check out Boots on Love-A-Bull’s adoption page. Mama and dad have met him in person and can tell you with confidence: You will adore him!

Ok, I’ll admit. I’ve always been a scaredy-dog when it comes to thunderstorms. One rumble of thunder and I’m looking for the nearest armpit to wedge my face under. There’s just something downright unsafe about thunderstorms.

And this is one of the Very Best Things about having a brother who has, inexplicably, no fear of the thunders. The yoga ball, yes, he fears. The sound that a cork makes as it’s coming out of a bourbon bottle, scary. Yes. But thunderstorms? He doesn’t think so.

And this is great news for me, because his snuggly fearlessness makes me feel cozy and safe. Thanks, little Doodlebug. I guess you’re not so bad after all.

Want to know what’s even cuter than a bunny rabbit in a patch of bluebunnies?

image snatched from Google

A Chick in a patch of bluebunnies! Some people call them “bluebonnets,” their official name, but that’s not the important thing. The important thing is that they’re the official state flower of Texas, they are blue, and they are blooming right now!

We have some in our neighbor’s yard down the street, and I love to pause there during our walks to pose wistfully.

My brother always tries to pee on them, which mama does not allow — I just like to stick my nose in them and give them some good sniffs. After all — you never know where the Easter Bunny might be hiding!

Hope everbunny has a delightful weekend!

Every morning while mama is still sleeping, dad gets quietly up out of bed to start his day, and Doodlebug gets up with him. This daily tradition started a while back, when mama and dad decided that Doodlebug and dad needed to build a stronger bond (and that Doodlebug could use more walkings). So morningtime comes, and dad and my ‘Bug tip-toe out of bed to start their day, with this:

Sometimes it takes a slight rattle of a leash in the metal leash-bucket and sometimes it just takes the sight of dad getting up, but for Doodlebug, the morning adventure walk-or-run is a no-brainer. Doodlebug always chooses this adventure:

Some days I get inspired and join him, so the start of our adventure looks more like this:

But other days, I choose a different adventure while they go for their run-or-walk. One that looks more like this:Mama and dad joke that I’m a lazy-bones, but really, I’m just trying to do the right thing — after all, somebody’s gotta keep mama company while the men-folk are out adventuring in the world!

We hope everybody has a nice weekend full of adventuresome walks and nice cozy nappings!

As some of you who follow our Facebooks may have seen yesterday, Doodlebug had a scary little incident on his morning walk with dad. They were walking along, minding their own business, when suddenly a fluffydog came barreling across the street directly at them, barking and carrying on, causing a big threatening stink.

photo credit: http://www.bcxfour.com

Now, some of you know that Doodlebug is a recovering reactive dog (so am I). Around dogs he doesn’t know, he can be nervous and uncertain how to act. So for Dad and the ‘Bug, this incident was NOT welcome! But in the moment, their instincts kicked in — they took one look at each other and started running away, top speed. They BOTH wanted to get outta there! After a minute, the dog stopped chasing and Dad and the ‘Bug gave each other a high-five for making such good choices.

Us dogs run into these kinds of situations all the time — where we are confronted with something we are not too comfortable with, and asked to be polite. Sometimes you humans are able to get us out of the situation — like dad did with the ‘Bug yesterday morning — but sometimes us dogs have to try to just tolerate.

And sometimes, it’s you humans who put us in the uncomfortable situation to begin with!

Our pal Jess over at Dogs In Need of Space has put together some tremendous PSAs about dog etiquette, understanding dogs who need space, and all kinds of other wonders. Thanks to her — and many other advocates, trainers, writers, and dog lovers — the message is starting to get out: ALL dogs have preferences. ALL dogs are picky about something — often something that the average bystander wouldn’t realize.

So here’s us spilling the beans. We, too, need space. We’d love for you to spill the beans too — what would YOUR dog’s personal PSA say?

Happy Texas Independence Day, y’all!

I bet you didn’t even know that on tomorrow in 1836, Texas officially broke loose of Mexico and became an independent republic? And it wasn’t for another ten years that we joined the US? Yup, it explains a lot, right? It’s why us Texans are such badasses!

All you other-state dwellers must be very jealous, not having the rich heritage full of badassery like we in Texas have. Even our flag rubs it in your faces reminds us. A single star — a Lone Star, if you will — flying proud in a sky of loyal blue. And the flag looks great on us, don’t it?

So it’s in honor of this very special Texas holiday that we are THRILLED to debut a brand new Sirius Republic collar — the Lone Star! The new Lone Star collar comes in red or blue with complementary, patriotic stars throughout. It was dreamt up especially for Texans, but we won’t tell anybody if you choose to get yours for other patriotic holidays — it happens to match the American flag, too! And how convenient, with Memorial day and July 4th just around the corner.

So go on, you know you want to. Get yourself a Lone Star collar and celebrate whatever it is that you love most about Texas — whether it be our famous cowdog style:

Or our famous Texas beer:

And through this weekend — because they love Texas so much — Sirius Republic is offering 10% off ALL orders (not just the Lone Star collar), if you use the secret code CHICKERDOODLE at checkout. Also consider using the rescue code for Love-A-Bull, RPLB57, at checkout: if you do, 20% of proceeds for your order will be donated to Doodlebug’s very own — and very Texan — rescue group!

So hurry along, and while you’re at it, tell us: what is YOUR favorite thing about Texas, and what are YOU doing to celebrate?

If you have spent much time reading our blog or following us on the Facebooks, you know that we don’t mind being close:

Sometimes REAL close:

But even though there are a bazillion photos of us sharing one bed:

Did you know that we don’t ALWAYS want to snuggle?

Here’s how it goes: For about three weeks, we will always go to our room and curl up in the same bed together. Usually I settle in first, then my brother squooshes himself into position to share:

But here’s where I have to admit something. If my brother is in a bed first, I will usually go to the other one (unless it’s ultra chilly, like less than 65 degrees outside), and then he usually gets up out of his and moves over to mine. To share.

So anyhow, this is how we sleep. For weeks and weeks. And then all of a sudden, something changes, and we decide that everydog deserves his own bed, and we are not going to share anymore:

We sleep happily in two separate spots in our room:

And then a couple more weeks go by without sharing, and we’re back to sharing again:

And a few more weeks of sharing, and we’re sleeping separately again:

Right now we’re sharing:

But it’s only a matter of weeks before we’re back to sleeping solo.

Even I will admit it: we are some pretty strange birds dogs. Does anybody else have strange sleeping habits they want to tell us about?

Hi Friends,

Sorry I missed our regular date last week — I was so very busy preparing for and entertaining my many many family persons from out of town! You see, Aunt Kareaux was in town, as was Aunt Sara, and also ALL of my grandparents and my Uncle Jefe. As you can imagine, I was a very busy Sir!

But boy do I have something special in store for you, and it involves a secret discount code! I’ve been saving up this eye candy for you for a couple of weeks now, waiting for a seasonably chilly day in Texas. I’ve been storing my eye candy (and my brother’s) with my local, sustainably-harvested firewood, my organic, vegan hot cocoa, and my antique oil lamp — where I keep my most special things for winter-type days.

Now, what those of you who are not from Texas do not know (but I DO know because I am from Texas) is that we Austinites don’t have very seasonable days if the season in question is winter. In fact for the past few weeks, it’s been the kind of warm and sunny that makes the trees and bulbs get confused and start to bud and flower all up. Silly, right?

So I have been waiting and waiting until FINALLY it got below 60 degrees once, and in fact at night time it got downright chilly– down to the 40s! So what did my brother the ‘Bug and I do to celebrate? We donned our gorgeous, custom, hand-knit sweaters from Tiennot Knits Sweaters!

It sure is nice and cozy wearing these sweaters — we get all kinds of complements when we go out on the town — not only are the sweaters gorgeous, soft, and non-itchy on their own, but they also make us look even more handsome than we already were (if that’s even possible). Just check out these sophisticated grey stripes and coordinating Chick and Doodlebug color bands:

The one thing that we may have thought was even more fun than wearing the sweaters was picking out all the features. We got to custom pick our colors (red for me and blue for the ‘Bug, obviously), our patterns, our exact measurements, and then we got to add buttons for easy on-and-off and turtlenecks to really show off our most beautiful faces!

How fun is that?

You can order your own custom Tiennot Knits sweater via our friends Turk and Rufus’ blog or their sweatermaker’s facebook page. And if you mention the code CHICKERDOODLE with your order between now and Monday (February 18), you will get 10% off your order — sweet!!

And once you’ve done that, hurry back here and leave us a comment to settle our debate once and for all — who is the best sweater-model of us all? My brother the ‘Bug:

or Yours Truly?