Pup-arazzi!

Step aside Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber - there's a new top dog in town!!

Having donated to The Milo Foundation, mummy and daddy were entered in a raffle to win a photo shoot for their pet (me!) and guess what? 

They won!!! 

So now I join the ranks of other highly paid super models like Tyra Banks, Gisele Bundchen and Naomi Campbell. Only I get paid in kibble (or maybe they do too...?).

The photographer, Mark Rogers, was great. You can check out his work at http://markrogersphotography.com/ He really knows how to get the best out of a model. He knows all the tricks. Lighting, location, lenses, apertures and of course, the critical accessories: tennis balls and treats!

Now there are important rules to follow when going on a shoot. 

1. The most important is not to show up to a photo shoot unless you are clean, have a clean face, and clean fur. Mummy and daddy gave me a bath beforehand so my coat was super shiny. I was also appropriately accessorized with my fancy leather Paco collar. 

Now it's important to turn up looking your best because modeling is a dog-eat-dog world and first impressions last. Well actually they don't. Pretty soon after I began working it, I was covered in grass, dirt and slobber.

2. Do not play it safe and stay in the same pose. Mix it up with innovative poses. Your wildest pose could be the one that’s picked. Photographer Mark, mummy and daddy really took this top tip to heart. They had me running all over the place, leaping after tennis balls. Over and over again so that Mark could capture my best action shots!

3. Do not stare aimlessly when posing. Create intensity for the camera through your eyes. Smize (smile with your eyes)! This is easy for me. There's a reason my nickname is SMILO!

4. Do not be a limp noodle. Always pose with tension in your body completely from head to toe. No slouching on the runway, even if it is made of grass!

5. Absolutely do not be forgettable. Make an impression by showing your distinctive personality. This of course, was the easiest rule for me. I am always sassy and memorable!

In 2-3 weeks, Mark and I will meet to review the proofs and discuss the best one to display at my local Pet Food Express store in Mill Valley. 

I doubt my proofs will need retouching. You can't improve on canine perfection.....

Happy Howl-O-Ween!!!

Give a dog a bone.....or two, three, four......! 

 I made a lot of people smile today with my canine skeleton costume.
I wore it while shopping and then playing at the marshes.
It didn't stop me chasing tennis balls but I definitely wasn't
allowed to go swimming in the bay in it!

HAPPY HOWL-O-WEEN MEMO FANS!!

Dog Days Of Summer 2013 - Smokin'!!

Where did summer go???!!!

A few days into our holiday and the sky darkened with thick smoke from wildfires that are miles away in Yosemite. I don't even know where that is but the smoke is so bad here in Tahoe that I can smell it everywhere - indoors and out. Even mummy and daddy, whose noses are nowhere nearly as sophisticated as mine, have been complaining about the smell!

This picture shows you how smokey it was as this is in the middle of a summer day. It looks like it is dusk or about to rain. 

Nonetheless, Daddy still wanted to go swimming at the lake each morning. The smoke made it difficult to breath and I was so worried that we might not see if daddy got into trouble while he was swimming that I swam out to keep an eye on him. 

Mind you, Daddy likes to swim a long way, back and forth, from shore to shore. I find that a little boring especially as he doesn't even bring a stick or tennis ball along for fun! In the end, I got so bored. He seemed to be doing fine on his own ... so I left him to it!!

Dog Days of Summer 2013 - Walking Daddy

Mummy went for a long bike ride today as she is training for a big ride. While she was gone, daddy took me for a walk along Alder Creek and we found a great swimming hole. Well I did. I stood on the side to encourage daddy to join me but he was not interested. He said something about bugs and mud....

So I went in on my own and checked it out. Like all water, it was GREAT!! I just love to snuffle around in the water, blowing bubbles out of my nose. 

I found a bridge to use as a diving platform. if there is one thing better than swimming, its diving. The bridge was a little rickety and some of the boards were missing so it wasn't a very stable diving platform. It made it really difficult to jump into the water...instead of my usual flamboyant dives, I did a few less than graceful belly flops. 

I realised that the only way to address the problem was to fix the bridge. Luckily the missing boards were easily found in the bushes, so I decided to bring them back to daddy so he could fix the bridge. 

I am such a good canine citizen!!!

Dog Days of Summer 2013 - The Right Start

WOW! WOW! WOW! It's the summer holidays and I get to come too!! Best of all, we are in Tahoe for ten days. This is one of my favourite places as there is hiking, water, tennis balls, water, sometimes snow, water, lakes, tennis balls, great smells, water and sniffs!!!

Today is our first full day and we are getting things off to the right start with a morning swim....in the LAKE!! Here's daddy showing perfect form in the lake. He swims a long way out!

Here's me. I swim close to shore to fetch the tennis balls that mummy throws out into the lake for me to fetch. I too exhibit perfect form like daddy.

Here are some dogs who are just plain showing off!! Paddle boarding canines indeed!

Here I am trying to teach daddy the basics of 'fetch'. He really isn't grasping the concept. I sat on the beach for a very long time, waiting for him to swim to the ball and bring it to me. 

In the end, it was easier to just swim out there and get it myself!!

No worries. We can practice again tomorrow!!

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

Tahitian vanilla bean gelato. 

I have no idea what that all means but I do know that I like it A LOT! Unfortunately, daddy likes it A LOT too..... He has an advantage over me because he knows how to open the freezer drawer. Mummy doesn't buy gelato often. She says daddy and I have no "Will Power". I have no idea who he is but I am really glad we don't have him as that would mean having to share, and daddy and I don't do that very well. In fact, I have had to perfect the art of silent persuasion in order to get some gelato. Here's my technique:

Step 1

Start with 'sit'. It's a 'good boy' behaviour and shows that I am patient. it also looks nonchalant, as if I am not really begging at all!

Step 2

When 'sit' fails, stand up and draw closer. I make it a little more obvious that I am there and that maybe I would like some gelato too. Sometimes daddy teases me with the gelato and that is just plain mean, so I move on to Step 3.

Step 3

Extreme close-up 'sit'. This move is hard to ignore. I get really close so that I can almost touch the pot with my nose. I stare directly at daddy and do not blink. Ever.

Step 4

Success! It only ever takes three steps before my cuteness is overwhelming and daddy offers me what is left in the gelato pot. I have to lie down to get into the best position to lick every last bit of gelato, even if the pot is only just large enough for my nose. 

And that's pretty much how I get everything that I want. Cuteness and persistence. 

It's the Tao of Dog.

Pedigree Genes

Today daddy decided that mummy and I could help him look for new genes. I know a thing or two about good genes. After all, I am a pedigree! 

The fact is, you can't find good genes, you are born with them. 

That didn't stop daddy from going to a shop to find some. I did try to tell him that you don't get good genes from trying on lots of clothes but that didn't stop him. He just kept looking and looking and looking. It was so tiring that I had to have a nap in the fitting room. 

Good genes give rise to good behaviour. Now let me tell you, daddy needed some new genes because today he was so badly behaved that he threw all the clothes he didn't like on top of me!! I am not a clothes horse....nor am I am clothes dog!

The good news is that daddy did find new genes. Or at least some new clothes.....and his behaviour did improve. He has been walking around like a newly brushed alpha dog ever since!!