Bolt!

Guy and I saw Bolt in Disney Digital 3-D yesterday evening in the theater. Though we were disappointed that the 3-D tickets cost extra (and we were given no prior warning of this fact), I absolutely loved the movie and think it was worth the 9 bucks apiece that we paid to see it.

Bolt has all the elements of a classic Disney animated movie -- humor for both adults and children, a few "surprise" twists, and, well, great animation. If you don't know the story, Bolt is about a dog that stars in a tv show, but he doesn't know that he is on TV, so he thinks all of his powers are the real thing. It's very similar to the "Buzz Lightyear thinking he was a real astronaut rather than a toy" situation in Toy Story. Bolt escapes from the TV set because he thinks his person, as he says in the movie, is in danger. He travels across the country and meets a few regional-dialect-speaking pigeons, a hamster who worships the ground he walks on, and a rough-on-the-exterior-but-warm-hearted kitty cat along the way. The reason I think I liked Bolt more than I like typical Disney movies is because of the way they so accurately portrayed the mannerisms of a dog through a cartoon voiced by John Travolta. One of my favorite scenes in the movie was when Mittens (the cat) was teaching Bolt how to behave like a real pet instead of a superhero. There's a shot of her showing him the toilet and he just says, "Out of that???"

Bolt is short -- an hour and 36 minutes -- so if you have the time, I would definitely recommend seeing it in the theaters, especially if you're a dog person and you enjoy other Disney movies. I don't know if it will be nominated for any Oscars this year, but Bolt certainly provides a lot of laughs and that warm fuzzy feeling we all love.

Lola's Murder-Suicide Attempt

I got home from a long day of errand-running today, and when I came upstairs, I saw Lola happily tossing a small black object to herself. I went over to investigate, since Lily and Lola were playing with a penny earlier in the day and I didn't want Lola to eat any other toxic items in the same 24 hours, and I found out she was chewing on the remote starter for my car. Sure enough, I went down into the garage to find my car running.

I think Lola is having a hard time around the holidays and was trying to put an end to her misery. Thank goodness I caught her before she could do herself or us any harm!

Review of "Marley & Me" -- Guest Blog

I have a friend named Jerod who, if you happen to read the comments section of this blog, you'll know is quite a wiseacre. He recently finished reading Marley & Me in anticipation of the movie coming out on Christmas day, so I asked him to do a review for a guest blog entry. What follows are his words, not mine, but I think you will enjoy hearing what he has to say about the book.

Preface: My awesome, hot, good looking, funny, handsome friend Jerod finished reading the book “Marley and Me” and would like to share his thoughts on the book. He is the only one who reads this site and the only one who comments on my ramblings. He’s totally awesome. And hot.

***Did I mention Jerod is also a bit egotistical? ;) Moving on... ***

“Marley and Me” was the perfect mix of smiles, sighs, and sniffles. As a dog owner, I found myself intrigued by the bad-dog-story of Marley as depicted in the movie trailers showing on TV. I told Laura, my fiancé, that I was going to buy the book and read it. She surprised me by telling me her mother already had the book and enjoyed it. So, I received the book and dived right into it.

The first few chapters included a lot of the laughs that are shown in the movie trailer. I also found myself comparing my life and situation with that of the author and his wife when they were deciding on bringing a puppy into the house. It’s amazing how one little puppy will grow, test, and strengthen a family. As the book continued on, the focus was less on raising Marley and all of the memories a puppy will give a family. Instead, the author directs the reader to life lessons raising the family and how a dog becomes part of the family, not the focus.

As usual, all good things must come to an end. The book includes the full life of Marley up to and including his death. The author explains the grieving process of a pet and I found myself comparing the book with situations in my own life. It definitely got very dusty in the room as I read the chapters related to the end of Marley’s life.

“Marley and Me” is a great book to read if you are thinking of getting a puppy and / or starting a family. It’s easy reading and a short 280+ pages. I don’t want to give a lot away, but the lessons learned by the author are clear and shared by anyone in his same situation. Give a dog your heart, and they’ll give you theirs.

Picky Pottier

Lily, unlike Lola who treats the whole world as her toilet, is a very discriminating pottier. Of course we had our housebreaking issues with her when she was a puppy, but she has not had an accident in the house for months...until yesterday. The thing about Lily is she is very picky about where she goes #2. When the weather is bad, she hates even walking on the wet grass in the backyard, let alone going to the bathroom there. What I can't understand, though, is that even when she clearly has the urge to go, she holds back...for no other reason that I can tell aside from the wet ground. She whines and whines, and we take her outside over and over again, but she simply won't go. It's really frustrating for us, and probably for her, too. Since the past few days have been very precipitous, our backyard is now a swamp, and Lily has not been a happy camper. Yesterday she was doing her normal routine all day, and even though I took her down the street and got her to go a little bit, it apparently wasn't enough because we found a large amount of excrement, shall I say, on the floor in the entry. It obviously wasn't Lola's, but it was surprising because Lily hasn't gone in the house in such a long time. She must have really been desperate. I feel bad for her, but I wish I could figure out a way to get her to go when it's wet outside. Any suggestions from you faithful reader(s) out there?

Non-Marley Dog Movies

Marley & Me is coming out on Christmas Day, as I'm sure you know from the trailers crowding the airwaves, but there are two other dog-related movies that I would like to see. The first is Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I'm probably going to have to wait for this one to come out on DVD, but ever since Guy and I saw the preview for it when we saw Wall-E, I thought it looked really cute. Plus, what a hilarious theme song! I did download the theme song from iTunes the other day, and Guy, Lily, Lola and I had a grand old time dancing to it.

The other dog movie I'd like to see is Bolt. I think it's coming out in 3D this Friday, but I'd rather just see the normal version. I've heard it isn't that great, but I would like to try it for myself if I can.

Has anyone see either of these two movies and have the desire to give a review on them? Any other dog movies out there that I've forgotten about? After all, now that the cold weather is setting in, I know I'll be staying inside and watching a lot of flicks.

Have one puppy, you've had 'em all

Now that Lola is approaching the age that Lily was when we adopted her, I'm beginning to realize that there are so many similarities in her behaviors to the funny things Lily did when she was "young." For instance, Lola has recently discovered tiny foam balls that are actually meant for cats, but we used to give them to Lily to play with because she absolutely loved them. She would throw them to herself and chase them for hours -- okay, minutes. It was hilarious. Lola is now doing the exact same thing. Sure, she doesn't throw her head back and send the ball flying backwards like Lily did, but she sure enjoys her foam-ball playtime. That's just one of the similarities between the two goons, but it's somewhat sad and also enlightening to realize that puppy Lily may not have been as unique and special as I thought she was.

I also feel somewhat guilty because Lily is no longer the center of our universe. Lola naturally steals the limelight because she does stupid puppy things. Lily is still goofy, but Lola is more noticeably so. I still try to give Lily all of the attention she deserves, but I hope she doesn't feel left out.

I told my mom about these feelings, and she said, "That's what it was like for your brother when you came along." Everyone used to come up to the stroller and say, "oooh, what a beautiful baby" while my brother just stood there. My mom would say, "Yes, and this is her brother Christopher." She then ended the story by saying, "And that's why he hated you for 18 years." When I said, "Mom!!" she only replied, "Okay, 21 years."

So, that explains my self-esteem issues and while Lily will probably grow up to be a bitter old hag.

Brrrrr!

Now that the temperature is dropping below freezing on a regular basis, pet owners with no yards for their dogs to frolic in (me) are forced to suffer through long walks in the cold to get their pups some exercise. Even so, I feel like I'm cheating the dogs out of the longer walks they'd normally get in warmer weather. Lola is too young to go to Camp Bow Wow, and I can only afford for Lily to go every once in a while, so I decided to investigate what other indoor activities there might be for dogs in the Pittsburgh area.

The first one I found is K9 Kingdom. They have an indoor dog park that requires no reservations, just prove of vaccinations. They are open M-F from 5-7 pm and Saturdays from 10-3. Though that doesn't allow for a ton of playtime, it's still better than nothing. Even better, than have free Wi-Fi for doggy parents, and it only costs $6 per dog! K9 Kingdom is located in Wexford, so if you live in the South Hills, it's a long haul, but it may be worth it if you've got hyper pups.

Another more local option is Doglogic, located on Saw Mill Run Boulevard. They too have an indoor dog park available for $6 and proof of vaccination. Their hours are more open than K9 Kingdom's, but there's no free Wi-Fi and you must stay with your dog at all times.

Lastly, if the roads are too icy for you to make it to an indoor dog park, or you just don't have the time, try a little game we learned in Lily's first (and last) obedience class -- puppy ping-pong! It's a simple game, but if your dog plays along, it's great exercise. You need two people and at least one dog to play. Stand a good distance apart from the other human playing the game, and start your dog at one end. Tell them to sit and stay. The person on the other end calls the dog and has them sit when they get there. Then the other person calls the dog back. It's basically just a back-and-forth between you and your dog. You can make it even more tiring by having the dog go up and down stairs or all around the house to find you, and it's also a good way to practice your dog's recall.

Hopefully at least one of these ideas will help you to stay warm while still getting your dog the exercise he deserves!