Wordless Wednesday December 24 2014

Okay, almost wordless.

We had a Christmas party at work after hours, and I went home to get Elka so she could see the library and mingle. She was good (mostly) and had a blast! We also did Secret Santas, and my Santa, in addition to my gifts, gave Elka some tennis balls!

A new Elka-ism

Every once in awhile, the quirks of this dog just amuse me to no end. To some degree, I'm sure I'm "that" dog owner, you know, the one who thinks her dog is the only one ever to do such a thing. But, this is why I blog, so there (or dlog [portmanteau of dog + blog], as my fiancé would have me say). I have a new one to share.

I'm going to do NaNoWriMo again (I know you're not surprised)

October is almost done, and the website has rebooted, so it's NaNoWriMo time again. I know you're excited. (Well, maybe you are. Maybe you should participate?)

Wordless Wednesday July 30 2014

(she chewed the ball until it broke and then lay like this)

What is this "Frisbee" of which you speak?

So lately, I've been working to teach Elka how to play Frisbee.

Oh, she'll run and retrieve something very well. But run, catch something in the air, and bring it back? Well, that needed some work. See, her typical M.O. is to wait until something hits the ground, then pounce on it, then pick it up and shake it, and then bring it back. Then maybe she wants to tug it for a little while (which I discourage with tennis balls, as you may imagine. I've had to discourage it with frisbees as well).

But, I think we're actually making some progress!

Island of Misfit Toys? No, we have a toy graveyard.

With Elka, we have toys that are "supervised" and ones that she can just have all the time. For the most part, the "supervised" toys are ones that we've gotten to review (like from Zippypaws or a PetsLoveToys box.) Or they're squeaky toys, which are not awesome when people in the house are sleeping. Or they're ropes, which a certain miss has apparently now decided must return to their original thready forms. Or, or or. You get the idea.

So, the "supervised" toys go on top of the refrigerator when she may not have them. This has resulted in a rather sad and desperate collection of things that I haven't yet thrown out because seriously, that's dog blog gold, and also because I feel bad throwing things away. But I also don't feel like I can give them to her most of the time.

Product review: The Kong Air

After our success and Elka's enjoyment of the Kong Squeezz, I thought we'd give another of the Kong line a try.

The Kong Air squeaks in much the same manner as the Kong Squeezz, which is far less abrasive than some squeaky toys. That's a definite bonus! It also has a fuzzy "skin" on it like a tennis ball, a clear plus in Elka's eyes.

Elka's Balls

At the beginning of this blog, I had many many tennis ball posts. I just could not believe how easily tennis balls designed for dogs were destroyed by Elka. Don't these people know? Is it just a cash grab? I still have no answer.

(in her lovely studded collar, from The Punky Pup, which closed its Internet doors)

Wordless Wednesday January 30 2013

Dreams of Summer (Happy New Year)

I confess, in December and January and February, I think of June and July and August an awful lot.

Maybe it's because, back in high school, we had a February break, and on that break, we took a trip to warmer climes a couple of times? Key West one year, Cancun another.

There are times when it's icy and cold and winter seems like it's going to last a million more years. I don't have Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I do get bluesy and irritable in the winter. I do think about green grass and blue skies and fireflies.

Elka gets cold, certainly. She rarely, if ever, seems to mind the summer heat. It can be ninety degrees out, with heat shimmers hanging over the pavement, and she wants me to throw a tennis ball, wants to go for a walk, wants a squeaky toy. She doesn't ask for walks in the winter; she asks for her hoodie. She asks to be under the blanket. 

But, wintry grousing aside, Happy New Year to my readers and bloggy friends. May your toes be warm enough and your houses draft free, and dreams of summer sun-kiss your face until it's again a reality.

Search Terms I've Seen Lately

I kind of have a cold which is making me somewhat miserable an unfocused. The good news is I've watched all of Supernatural on Netflix (well, up to season 7's end. Season 8 just started on television last week). My public, though! So, I've fallen back on an ever interesting topic: some search terms that brought people to my blog recently.

Resident Evil Dog breed: this doesn't get you to The Elka Almanac 'til page 5. In my eyes, it's a dedicated searcher that goes to page 5 of a Google search. An image search of "Devil dogs" also goes to that particular post.



Sleeping Doberman:

August 26 2012: National Dog Day

So, for National Dog Day, I'd intended to take Elka to the Feed and Seed, to pick out a new squeaky (!) toy and get a fresh bag of food, as she is almost out. However, the Feed and Seed is not open on Sundays, and I'm wrestling with an unfortunate cold thing. Who gets a cold in August, seriously?

(flashback to our beaching in May)

Of course, since I did not turn to Elka and say the magical "Do you want to go in the car??" words, she doesn't know that our trip has been postponed. That's the thing about dogs, in a way; their anticipation is very immediate. Kids, they know their birthday (or Christmas or Halloween or whatever) is coming, and they get anticipatory and excited, so much so that the actual event becomes a letdown. Dogs, though they have a memory, live in the moment, and encourage us to
do so as well.

Wordless Wednesday July 11, 2012

Tennis ball time!

Product Review: The Unbreakoball

What's that you say? A ball guaranteed against destruction by your dog's tender mercies?  Yes, my friends, that is the Unbreakoball!

Considering all of the tennis balls we've gone through, I was more than willing to try something that was also a portmanteau.  That it's made in the USA is another definite bonus.

Monday Mischief: April 30 2012

The park that Elka and I visit the most often also boasts some tennis courts.

Elka finds this fascinating, of course, to see an object of her acute interest to be used in such a different manner from the one to which she is accustomed. It's especially amusing for me when summer is in full swing, as there are apparently group tennis lessons for children, so not only are there lots of tennis balls, but also lots of kids, some of whom are using comically large tennis balls, at least until they get the hang of it, I guess.

So, at the park, Elka stared like a creeper at a Japanese couple, who (to my relief) seemed amused by her, not intimidated or upset. In hindsight, it might have been cute if I had her "bow". Or maybe it would not have been and it's good I didn't. The world may never know. We also sometimes see a pair of Indian ladies who are literally swathed in white cloth and always walking. While they never want to pet Elka or actually interact with her, we've seen them enough that they smile and gesture hello, and this last time, one of them blew Elka a kiss and said hello to her too.

But, international relations aside, that wasn't the little bit of mischief. Or perhaps shenanigans? It was innocuous, certainly, just a bit of fun!

Tasty (Tennis ball) Tuesday: March 20 2012

So, remember how last year, I had the Tennis Ball posts and then ran out of different brands to try? I only got up to like, eleven I think. Twelve, if you do count the tennis ball bone. While I never made a post declaring the clear winner, I do think the Chuck It ball was way ahead of the curve in durability.

I did see another one, though. And I thought "Maybe. Maybe this is the one."

Wordless Wednesday, February 8 2012

Tennis Balls: (dark horse) Contestant Number 13

I've come to realize that I've pretty much exhausted my available tennis ball variety.  I don't go out of town much, and don't much want to pay shipping that's 1. beyond what a single tennis ball is worth to me and 2. for something that Elka is inevitably going to destroy. There's waste, and then there's exorbitant waste, and we don't want that.

So,  I branched out a tiny bit.

This is the Everpet brand, same as Contestant Number 8, but while I so far haven't been able to find a regular sized EverPet tennis ball (they've only got itty bitt ones at Dollar General, and the Tennis Bones), this time they had a big one!

Tennis Balls: Contestant Number Twelve

For this session of tennis ball destruction--I mean testing--we have an overseas contender.  At the end of July, a friend of ours went to Europe, and I asked if she could snag us a doggie tennis ball, to see how the ones from across the pond measured up.  So, this tennis ball came from Prague!  Elka was very excited at the foreign nature of this tennis ball, and could hardly contain herself.

Tennis Balls: Contestant Number Eleven (well, sort of)

I mentioned in Tennis Balls: Contestant Number Ten that I would be doing something a little different for this next installment.

You see, I didn't find a tennis ball for this next one (though there is one on deck).  I found a tennis bone.