Thanksgiving! or as I now call it, "No Gizmo!" Day

Oh man! Thursday started off as a great day! Grandma and Grandpa (Mom's p's) were at our house. They came up from Florida to have Thanksgiving with us. My uncle Scott (Mom's brother) was there, my sister Lindsey, and brother Adam, were all there! All at our house. Man I never had so many people to play with.


Grandpa, Uncle Scott, Grandma, and mom (of course)

I was really excited, and started doing lots of barking. I wanted to make sure everyone saw me and knew I was ready to play. I barked at everyone, often, and loud. I'm not sure they were really paying attention to me. So, I kept it up until I got some attention. Sometimes I would get petted for a while. Sometimes they would throw a toy around. Good stuff. I like all of that kind of attention. But, after a little while they would forget I was there or something. So, I had to start barking more to remind them.


C'mon you lazy guys, lets play some squeaky toy!

After a while everyone kept saying "No Gizmo". "Quiet"... "No Gizmo". I did not like the way this was starting to go. In the kitchen there was starting to be a lot of food getting put on the counters. Surely they must have known that I would check that out. But, as soon as I would get up on the counter, everyone would start going "No Gizmo! Down!". What surely they aren't serious.

But, then they would put me outside...

Hey, I've been out here for like a minute, it is time to come back in!

Each time they would let me out, I would start to play, and then there would be a bunch of "No Gizmo!" being shouted by everyone before they kicked me out into a new place... alone... by myself... I just wanted to play. Surely these people want to play with me.

C'mon lets play!

You have to be kidding me...

Locked away... again.


Oh wait... is there food in there?

You have to be kidding me...

locked in a room... I was just checking out stuff on the counter. Seems like you guys already have a lot of food.

But, what about the stupid cat.

Oh I guess everyone loves the cat now.

No one says no to the cat. Oh, I guess she is allowed to run around everyone loves her... stupid cat. When no one is looking she jumps on the counters and sticks in her head in all of the bowls and cups.


Oh boy! Time to eat!! This is what I was waiting for! Lindsey, you are holding on too tight.

You have to be kidding me...

Now I'm put in my cage. I was just trying to enjoy dinner with the family!

Well, now that dinner is over,

Maybe I can help clean up a little bit. Surely I can do that!

You have to be kidding me!

Adam please put me down so I can help clean up!

My people really seem to look forward to Thanksgiving. But, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Seems like it is a "no playing", "no Gizmo", "someone put the dog up", kind of day.

Tug-o-War

Mom said that Sandy sent out an email saying she was going to be at the bark park today at 2:00. That Sandy is OK! I told mom I would be ready to go at any time.


When time finally came to leave, I was really excited! I knew where we were going, and I sat up front to help dad drive.



I'm still getting away with out having a seat belt, for now, but mom really grabs on. I wish she would scoot over a little, she takes up almost the whole seat. I have to have my back legs on the floor, and front ones on mom's lap, just so I can help dad find his way there.




There was a good crowd at the park, some old friends, and some new pups too. It was great! In this pic I'm up near the tree, about to help Chloe do some exploratory digging.

One of my most fun things to do is to have the dogs chase me while I have a stick or a ball. But, right up there on my list of fun things is to play some tug-o-war. Abby and I each went after the same stick.


I think Abby is really pretty, but I don't tell anyone that. But, she can really play a good game of tug-o-war. We tugged...


... and tugged ...


... and tugged!!! But we were pretty evenly matched.

Then Blake decided he could out tug us both...

So, then we did a three way tug-o-war.


Man, that Blake is pretty good at tug-o-war too!

Well, I don't like to brag... much, but I did end up winning! I got the stick!! Yea! Gizmo!! But, after I won, and Blake and Abby didn't want the stick anymore, then I discovered I didn't really want the stick that much either. But, it was fun while it lasted!

Later on Eddie came in. Eddie had been at the kennel for the weekend, and had just gotten out. Boy was he happy to be there. It was good to see him again.

Unfortunately, a dog came in latter that has a reputation for picking fights. This dog almost never plays with other dogs, it just runs around trying to start fights, at least that is what it seems like to me. Poor Laney, one of my good buddies, ended up with a scratch on her pretty little face (I wouldn't ever tell anyone I think she is pretty, I don't want to be teased), it was bad enough to draw blood. Laney seems to get more than her share of scratches. I hope she is OK.

But, good day at the park... good tug-o-war game! Good time. I hope it stays warm a little longer!

Snow and Hot Chocolate

Mom heard that Laney and Fergie were going to be at the park at 2:00 today. When she told me I was so excited that I couldn't stay still. I just kept following Mom around saying "Is it 2:00 yet? is it? is it? what about now?"

Finally one time she waid it was! Whew!!! Dad heated up some water and grabbed some cups and packages and came along. I was glad he came. I was really hoping that there was bone cake in those packages.

The park was great. Laney, Fergie, were there, just like Mom said, but also Bronco, Bridget, and Eddie. Sam came in a little bit latter. A good turn out considering how cold it was. The people were all huddled up next to the fence looking really cold. They were all bundled up in their big coats, and gloves. They looked funny.

Apparently Dad brought something called hot chocolate which everyone told me that I would not like, but I was really very positive that I would like. I talked it over with the other pups and we were all in agreement that we all liked hot chocolate. But, no matter how I tried to explain this to Dad I didn't ever get any.

After a lot of playing, and even some "Betcha can't catch me while I have the stick" (I love that game), it actually started snowing enough that it was pretty steady for a while. Not a long time, but, I would say it definitely happened. I can't wait to play in the snow!

After we got home, Mom went out and bought some warmer clothes. I think that I a good sign that Mom is planning on bringing me back. I'm not sure about Dad he gets kind of whinney when he is cold. It wasn't really that cold. It was just right for lots of playing!

Note from Gizmo's Dad

I would like to mention, that while Gizmo has many fine qualities, he is not the most compassionate dog in the world when it comes to caring for the sick and needy. Seems he is willing to be man's best friend, as long as man is willing to get up and play. And, don't expect him to bring you a cold drink out of the 'fridge or some chips to snack on. That doesn't work at all.

-Gizmo's Dad

Great Day at the Bark Park

Whoa man was I excited to go to the dog park on Thursday. I haven't been going much lately, and I was starting to wonder if I would ever get back there.

Dad came home and he went right to laying on the couch moaning. He was curled up in blankets, it didn't really look like that much fun. Not sure what he was trying to do. I kept trying to play with him, bring him toys, jump on his head, you know just so he would know I was there and was ready to play. I almost got his blanket off once. That might have been a fun game, if he would have chased me to get the blanket back, but he snatched it back before I got away with it. No fair...

But, finally Mom came home. Whooo wheee thank goodness for mom. She asked if I wanted to go to the "Bark Park" and I said boy do I ever! Mom is funny when she asks me if I want to go, she looks at me and talks in a little high cartoon voice. Haha... fun... I would have been ready to go no matter how she said it!

So, we left Dad, like it was a bump on the log (well he was a bump on the couch), and we headed for the park. Man what a good day it was. Even though it is getting dark so soon now, there was a good crowd there. And, we played on the small dog side. It isn't as big as the main park. But you don't have to walk as far to get there, and you can start playing sooner. There is still lots of room to run.

Blake was there. I hadn't seen him in quite a while. I liked playing with him. But, he got into a couple of tussels. His Dad said he didn't know if he would bring him back. But, I hope he does. Blake is a good pup. Cooper was there! I love playing with Cooper. We were just about the two last ones to leave.

I found a stick and luckily it was a stick that lots of dogs wanted. Those are the best sticks to have, and they aren't always easy to find. But, I did it this time. I had the whole gang practically chasing me from one end of the park to other. That was a good time... good time.

Another good day at the park!

When we got home Dad was there on the couch still, kind of whinney... still didn't want to play. Laney's Mom gave my Mom some tickets to see a movie. Not sure why anyone would want to go see a movie, when you can watch them on TV at home with your dog. And, you don't take your dog out to see movies. Seems like just hanging out with your dog would be the way to watch a movie... but, anyway. Dad said he would have loved to have gone... WHAT!!! did I heard That right, would have loved to have gone and left me at home alone... with the cat. But, that is what he said, strange. But, anyway he said he was going to stay home and keep playing his game of acting like a big lump on the couch because he didn't feel good. Strange Dad! But, I'm glad you stayed home.

Lazy old Sunday

Yesterday, Saturday, we had a great time at the bark park. A lot of the cool dogs were there; Sandy, Laney, Eddie, and Sam. The people were all playing the way that people play... huddled up close together laughing and stuff. hiding over by the fence trying to stay out of the wind.

They kept saying they were cold. But, they should have just ran around and tried to get the stick away from me. That would of kept them warm. Sandy's Dad tried for a little while... I even ran extra slow to give him a chance. But, eventually he went back over by the fence to try and get out of the wind.



So, today Dad said he heard Sandy was going to be at the bark park again. So, I was getting all ready to go, and then Dad said it was colder today than yesterday. Mom told Dad, "Take him, you know he wants to go." Dad said "Hmmmm maybe you could take him, and I'll, you know, do some stuff around the house." Then they both looked at each other, and looked at the temperature again. Then they both sat back down on the couch. And, here I am staring at them waiting for them to take me to see Sandy.

I have a feeling it is going to be a long winter.

Dad's new blog

Dad asked to use my blog again to write about some other trip he took recently. I told him to take a hike. I think I might have lost some of my readership with his last boring post. Who wants to read about anything besides me? I mean it is the "Gizmo the Wonder Pup" blog... Duh!

So, Dad has a new blog just for him, so he won't bore us anymore. http://grumpyolderic.blogspot.com/

Another Birthday at the Bark Park

Just when you think the Bark Park couldn't possibly be any better, "Boom goes the dynamite", and it gets better!

One of the Bark Park regulars, Sam, had a birthday party at the Bark Park last Saturday. Unfortunately my Dad didn't bring his camera, so we didn't get any pictures.

Sam, is a cool dog, one of the first ones that I met when I started going to the Bark Park. So, I've known him for a pretty long time. But, Sam is part border collie, and he likes to work more than he likes to play. He is usually busy keeping the rest of us in line, and some times he keeps the people in line too. Every once in a while he will play a little, but he usually says he is busy working.

But, last Saturday, he came in with a a great cake. I love cake! It was similar to the one I had on my Birthday, but Sam's cake was even bigger. At first I tried my trick of running up and snatching cake pieces when no one was looking. But, Ugh! Sometimes parents can be so uncool. Mom and Dad were both watching and wouldn't let me jump the line, or snatch extra pieces or anything.

I finally got my piece (it seemed like it took forever), and it was delicious. I thought I should eat it slowly and enjoy it, but instead I just gobbled it down. MMMMM... that was great...

But, then I was out of cake. That really didn't seem right. How could I be out of cake, when other dogs were still getting theirs... Then I saw that Sandy's mom had some cake for Sandy. It didn't seem fair that Sandy was about to get cake, and I was already out. So, I went over and tried to steal the cake from Sandy's mom. Darn! She saw me and held the cake up high... Ugh! uncool... I tried jumping. I think my vertical leap improved a little that day, but eventually Mom and Dad grabbed me, and let Sandy's Mom get away from me... still doesn't really seem fair. I was already out of cake.

I'm not sure what is in the cake, but I don't think it would be possible to ever get too much of it. But, Blake's dad tried some of it, and he didn't seemed impressed with it at all. Guess he isn't going to be asking for it for his birthday. I think my Dad was wishing I had shared some of my cake with him... but... guess again, that wasn't going to happen. If I had seen him start to eat some of my cake, he might of lost a nose... hee-hee... just kidding... kind of.

Oh well... it was delicious. I'm looking forward to the next birthday.

The GeoCaching Wonder Pup

Back when I was little, and before Mom, Dad and I found the Bark Park, we had to go on a lot of walks. I mean A LOT OF WALKS! If we didn't get out on at least one good long walk a day it seemed to make Mom and Dad kind of cranky. Do your P's get cranky if they don't get their daily walk?

One day the P's ("the P's" is short for my parents, just a little Gizmo slang) stumbled across this world wide game called GeoCaching. You can find out how the game is played at The GeoCaching web site. This game seemed to be a good way to combine walks and a game. Before we joined the Bark Park (I love the Bark Park), the P's and I would spend several hours each week GeoCaching.

But, the short description is that people hide things (caches) all over the world. Then they post a description of where they hid their cache on the GeoCaching web site. So, to play the game, all you have to do is go to the website, get the description where a cache is hidden, and then go out and try to find it. We were really surprised to find that there were a bunch of caches hidden near our house. They recommend that you have a GPS receiver and that you find the caches by their coordinates. But, there are a bunch that you can find just by looking at the map on the web site, and reading the description. We have found a bunch with out ever using the GPS.


When I'm GeoCaching, I have a uniform I like to wear. So, if you ever see me, and I have my GeoCaching uniform on, I'm playing the game.

One of the reasons I like GeoCaching is that a lot of times it involves a short car ride, which I love, and some walking with the P's, which I also love.



In this picture we were out on a walk to a cache site, when I decide to plop down and chew on a stick for a while. This was back when I was little and still had some puppy teeth. The P's had to get me a leash made of chain because I had chewed through my first two leashes... hee-hee... sometimes I miss my puppy teeth.


Sometimes caches are hidden deep in the woods (which I love), or in a city park, or sometimes they are hidden close to businesses. Dad and I were going after one in a park in this picture, when we ran in to these two dogs that didn't seem to like me. I'll bet if I could have played with them for a while they would have liked me.


GeoCaching has a few rules. The main rule is to be sneaky. You aren't supposed to let anyone see you find a cache. I have a hard time being sneaky, but Mom and Dad are pretty good at it. In the above picture, if you look right at the tip of my nose, you can see the cache we just found. It was a small film canister hidden next to the tree. When you find a cache you just open it up, sign the log sheet inside, and then go back to the web site and record that you found it. Some of the caches have "Swag", Swag is little toys you can take. But, if you take one... you have to leave one.

Another rule is that you have to have a dog with you. At least I think that is a rule. Because, Mom and Dad (the P's) said they don't go GeoCaching without me. Although, a couple of times we have run into other GeoCachers, and they didn't have dogs with them. I guess they don't know the rules.


A fun side game is to find trackable items. Trackable items are a special kind of swag that you can log on the website as you move it from one cache to the next. In this picture I am hanging out with two trackable race cars. They both started in Germany and were racing to Indianapolis. We found one of them before it made it to Indy, but the other one was already there. So, we got both of them and took a picture so we could post the picture to show the guys that started the race the cars ended up together.


In this picture, Mom is putting both cars in a cache in Indianapolis. This cache already had a lot of neat swag in it.



Here is Dad finding a cache in the woods. But, I was helping quite a bit, usually by running on the opposite side of trees that Dad was on, so that my leash would get wrapped around the tree. I think if we pass 50 trees in the woods, I can get my leash wrapped around each one on the way into the woods, and then again on the way back out.