Weekend Pack Update, plus Bloggers & Brands Working Together

What a week this has been with the pack!  First, they had a play date with none other than their new little friend, Red.  I read a headline today (didn't read the full article) from one of these trainers who doesn't believe in pack hierarchy (alpha dog or whatever you want to call it).  Well, he ought to come to our house when Red visits.  Charlie Brown, who is normally "Mr. Big Boss-Dude" around here, takes a complete back seat when Red shows up.  Red completely takes over.  He walks in, his tail high, his ears on high alert, and he is totally and completely in charge.  I LOVE it, because it makes Charlie back off.  It is actually kind of hilarious (to me) how "automatic" it is.  Red shows up, and Charlie says, "OK, I'm not the boss, I get it.  It's ok, I needed a break anyhow."  It's amazing watching these dogs interact naturally with no intervention from the humans.

Red showing Charlie who's boss!
"You may be huge, but I'm in charge."

Newman, high up on the kitty counter, is NOT a fan of little Red.

Alpha dog, Red, taking over the living room/studio! LOL!

At one point, I was so busy taking photos (ok, I took 159 that morning, but don't worry I won't post all of them here), I realized I hadn't seen Hobie in a while.  I had walked Hobie down the new ramp attached to the living room steps, and then brought him into the back yard so he could be part of the play date.  He and Red get along great!  [I should mention that, before Charlie came along, Hobie was "alpha dog" if that's what you want to call it.  He was in charge of the household.  He still is, in a senior-dog-with-special-needs way -- he's the one I lose sleep over, he's the one for whom I jump to attention if he needs something, anything.]  I digress!  So, I looked around and said "Oh, no, where did Hobie go?"  I assumed he left via an open gate.  But one of my landscapers hollered over to me:  "He's up there, on the deck."  I asked, "How did he get up there!?" and the dude said "He walked up the stairs.  I watched him.  It was difficult, but he did it."

Hobie 'n' Red, such good friends!

   

"Pack Leader" Red, escorting Hobie down the stairs!
Hobie hadn't used the stairs in 3 weeks!

Ever since Red's visit, Hobie has used the stairs in BOTH directions about half a dozen times.  Roughly 50% of the time.  The other 50% he either uses the deck as his bathroom, or I walk him down the new ramp in front of the house.  


Later that day, Cali gave Hobie a 5-minute massage!! Hobie actually fell asleep and SNORED!  I've never seen anything like it, these animals truly amaze me on a daily basis.

The next day, I was a little worried because I think Cooper had over-done it on the play date.  We have to be careful of that one front leg, his shoulder and ankle area can get achy from being constantly slammed into the ground.  I decided to take the twins for a R.I.D.E. when I ran errands in the morning.  But they had other plans and took off down the dirt road.  I opened the back of the car and yelled, "Let's go for a RIIIIIDE!" and Charlie hopped in.  I was so busy making sure I didn't close the hatchback onto Charlie's tail, that I didn't notice Cooper had sauntered up beside me and his head was poking into the back of the car.  I closed the hatchback... on his head!!!  I was horrified because our dearly departed Hector died of a head injury (from falling down a flight of stairs and crashing into a bookcase at the bottom), so I was freaked out for an entire day.  But Cooper was perfectly fine.  I think he probably "saw stars" right when it happened, but then he was fine for the rest of the day.  I even asked my pet sitter/cleaning lady to check on him and give me a report halfway through my workday. She said I was just "being a mom" and he is perfectly fine. Phew!

Cooper says, I love play dates, but I need to lie down and rest my leg!

Cooper, exhausted from the play date.

Other than that, we members of the BlogPaws Influencer Group received a nifty new infographic from BlogPaws which I"m sharing here.  I'm bummed that I couldn't go to the BlogPaws Conference in Las Vegas, which is happening right NOW!  They just announced that next year's conference is a little bit later in May 2015 and it'll be in Nashville.  It's still a bit far, and May is SO busy at the travel company, but maybe I can make it work.  I won't be able to bring any dogs to Nashville with me, though, because I won't fly a pet in cargo.  I would consider driving to Nashville, but I think Gil would have my head!  I digress AGAIN... here is the infographic which depicts the results of some surveys we bloggers participated in, back in March.  It shows that bloggers and brands definitely like working together.  I've only worked with a handful of brands since I started becoming more serious about my blog, and every time it's been a great experience.  You can see by the large percentage numbers that most of us pet bloggers not only like working with brands, but actually use the product we worked with in the first place, or start using it after working with the brand.  There's also some great data on how us bloggers purchase goods, how much we spend, and where we shop.  Check it out!!  I'm so thrilled to e part of the BlogPaws Influencer Group, and sure hope I can attend the 2015 conference!