fluffy

#FluffiesGoneFamous

Guys, I am so excited about this. I’ve been searching for a way to get everyone more involved in the It’s Dog or Nothing community. While I love talking about Mauja and Atka, I wouldn’t have anyone to talk to if it wasn’t for all of you!

In order to express my gratitude, I want to feature YOUR DOGS on It’s Dog or Nothing! Submitting a photo is easy – just use #FluffiesGoneFamous on Instagram and Twitter or send me an email using the hashtag as the subject line.

Each Friday I will share a few photos right here on It’s Dog or Nothing. Even though we focus primarily on Great Pyrenees and giant breeds, all dogs are welcome to join in the fun. We will launch our first #FluffiesGoneFamous post on Friday, September 23rd!

Think your fluffy has what it takes to be famous?

Fluffy Dog Mom Problems

Fluffy Weekend Adventure

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As much as I hate to admit it, summer is coming to a close here in Montana. We’ve had weather barely reaching 70 degrees accompanied by a cool breeze. I’m not a fan of fall coming, but the fluffies are itching for some cooler weather.

With the cooler weather this past weekend, I figured it would be the perfect time to take Mauja and Atka to the farmer’s market. The market here in town isn’t dog friendly, but there is one just over an hour away that is and is even bigger. So, we packed up the dogs, tons of water, and made a quick stop at Starbucks for coffee and puppaccinos before hitting the road.

I had forgotten that there’s a huge fire in the area and other parts of the state are dealing with horrible smoke. As we continued to drive, the smell of smoke got stronger and stronger. I did a quick search and found that the air quality where we were going was labeled “good”, so we decided to continue on our way. Thankfully, we arrived to find that the smoky smell wasn’t really apparent in town.

However, it wasn’t all good from there. What’s a trip without some issues anyway? 😉 Not too long after parking the car, Mauja threw up and I got stung by a bee. It was a great start to our day… Thankfully, Mauja seemed fine so we decided to peruse the market.

We all had a great time looking through the stands of delicious produce and unique goods. The fluffies were most interested in the stand with homemade dog treats and pupcakes, Yes, we left with pupcakes. Look how cute they are! Well, were. They’re long gone by now!

Mauja and Atka were show-stoppers through the entire market making it impossible to walk more than a few steps without stopping to chat with people. I love talking to people about the breed, but this was the most frustrated I had been while out with them in a long time.

Conversation after conversation went like this:

Person: Oh my gosh what gorgeous dogs! What breed are they?

Me: Thanks! They’re Great Pyrenees.

Person: Are you going to have puppies? I would love to have a puppy from you.

Me: No, we don’t breed – they’re both fixed.

Person: Too bad. Seems like they’d make cute, sweet puppies.

Aaaand, this is why there are so many pyrs in shelters. These people never asked about the breed and I had several people simply ask how much they cost (one of the many things to never say to someone with a Great Pyrenees). No one cared about their traits. All they saw were well-behaved, sweet, beautiful dogs. Beautiful dogs that require a lot of work and a lot of patience. A breed that not many should have.

Anyway – after I vented to Nick about these people we left and went to the walking mall downtown. There’s several cute shops, fun sculptures, and art pieces where we stopped to get several pictures.

Finally, we went to PetSmart for a fun shopping trip where I could show off my new Tote Tails bag. (which we will have more on in a few days). We let Mauja and Atka pick out a new toy, grabbed some treats, and headed back home.

The fluffies slept the rest of the day and I may have taken a nap myself 😉 I always love getting them out on adventures for socialization and training. Plus, it’s great bonding for us to get out together as a family 🙂

Did you do anything this past weekend with your dogs? Do you have a favorite place to go with them?

Fluffy Easter Egg Hunt

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Last week we posted about how to throw an Easter egg hunt for your dog on Victoria Stilwell’s Positively. Well, on Easter Sunday we decided to try it out with the fluffies.

I had absolutely no idea how this was going to go. We planned on doing the hunt outside, but the weather was not conducive for being outdoors. Mauja and Atka have never done any nose work and Atka doesn’t like to put in effort for treats. Seriously. I can barely get him to enjoy a treat out of a Kong. Lazy pants. Nick and I let them watch us put some smelly treats in the eggs, had them sniff the stuffed eggs, and then we put them in a stay while we placed the eggs.

It was time for the moment of truth. We gave them the release and waited to see how they would respond. Not surprisingly, Atka didn’t even get up. Mauja got up, but wasn’t quite sure what to do. Nick helped her find her first egg and then she did what she always does with her finds; walked to the back door. She wanted to take her treat outside to enjoy it!

After we convinced her to open the egg inside, the game clicked for her. She started searching around the house for eggs, easily finding them and cracking them open to enjoy the treats. Atka had no interest in participating and continued to relax on the floor. After Mauja found her third egg, we convinced Atka to get up. He meandered over to us with an “I’m only doing this to please you” expression. But then, this happened.

He opened his first egg! After that he was a bit more interested in participating and Mauja was really getting into it. With her nose sniffing the air, she quickly made it from egg to egg. She’d immediately crack the egg and move on, while Atka would find an egg and lie down to enjoy it. Much less efficient method 😉

Ready for picture overload? And…. go!

Mauja got really into the hunt - even crawling under my desk to find an egg. — Mauja got really into the hunt – even crawling under my desk to find an egg.

Atka kept knocking the egg away. Yes, I had to move it back to him ;) — Atka kept knocking the egg away. Yes, I had to move it back to him 😉

Loving Atka's squishy face! — Loving Atka’s squishy face!

I really debated doing the egg hunt because I didn’t know if Mauja and Atka would get into it. I’m so glad we did it and it’s definitely going to become an Easter tradition! I’ve said before that I wished we had nose work in our area because I thought Mauja would enjoy it. Now I know I’m right!

Did you do an egg hunt with your dog?

Polar Bear Day

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Every time we’re out someone yells, “Wow, look at those polar bears!” I never knew the fluffies were taking that to heart until I was browsing the internet and came across this page…

The fluffies were very excited and wondered why I didn’t have party hats, treats, and a special dinner for them today. After all, they are polar bears!

We all had to sit down for a long, heartfelt conversation. Feelings were hurt as the fluffies faced a little bit of an identity crisis.