I love the dog park!

The best thing about summertime is the Dog Park.
My town has a nice big area where all the doggies go to run, roll, and play! There are sometimes as many as 25 dogs there. We go after my mom gets home from work, and in the mornings on the weekend. Those are the best times to go, for maximum doggies! (It's not that much fun without other dogs there.)
I do different things than many of the other doggies there. A lot of doggies just like to sniff around, or chase balls from their humans, or wrestle with other dogs. Not me. I LIKE TO RUN! All I want is for other dogs to chase me. (Ha ha, I'm too fast for them to catch me!) Despite my slight arthritis in my back legs, I am almost back to my pre-surgery top speed.
If no one is running around, I go around and bark at other dogs until they chase me. Not many other dogs at the park bark, which is kind of weird, I think!
Sometimes this barking gets me in trouble. Some doggies misinterpret this as aggression, and will start being aggressive back at me. I will defend myself against ANYBODY if this happens, and my mom sometimes worries that I will get into a big fight and get bitten by a big dog. I'm very nice until I get defensive - but then my mom takes me home if I get like that. Doesn't she understand that I have to show I am the top dog? Once I argued with two Rottweilers at once - that made her a little nervous!

I also get defensive if someone tries to play bitey-face with me. I HATE bitey-face, and puppies just don't understand that. I get crabby with puppies. (Sorry guys! I'm a cranky old dog!)

So I may be a speed demon, but I have a little trouble stopping once I get started because of my knee trouble. I run laps, back and forth, the length of the park. When I get to one end, I put on the brakes and it looks like I am squatting while running. I look like I'm stopping to take a dump, mid-run. And sometimes the humans laugh at me!! Do you see the lady in the pink shirt there snickering? It's embarrassing.

If I am tired, or no one wants to run, that's fine. I roll in yucky stuff in the grass! It feels SOOOOO good! And then I smell great afterwards. Until my mom takes me home and gives me a bath. I hate baths.

What a great time!

Do you have a dog park, or a favorite place to run?

Isn't Summertime Great?

My buddies Agatha and Archie are cooking up in Boston, and it's pretty hot and humid here in Indiana too. The big scary thunderstorms have started happening at night, and it's been too hot to go running with my mom right after she comes home from work.

Oliver's family is coming tomorrow to visit, so it should be a fun weekend! My dad is conducting an outdoor pops concert on Sunday, so we are all going - even me.

Oliver and Summer Camp

My little buddy Oliver, a dog after my own heart. He's very clever at finding sources of snacks. He has three very small, young humans who live with him and they are great at spilling or dropping "people food." Oliver wrote to me for some advice, so I am going to try to help:

Hi Lenny! My humans are going to Indiana this weekend to visit you! But they said they are not bringing me because the car ride is too long. Not nice! I have to go to the kennel - what does that mean? Is that like the vet? I'm scared! I wish I could visit you too.

Thanks for writing, Oliver! I wish you could come too.
I have been to the kennel before - a few different ones. My mom calls it "Camp." I actually really like going to the kennel. It's a lot of fun, because there are lots of other doggies there, and for part of the day you get to play with all of them. And there are different humans that will feed you and let you outside. A lot of the time you might have to be in your own little cage or crate, but you can just snooze then. So it's like your own doggie vacation! Be brave, and you will enjoy it. Let me know how it goes while you're there.

P.S.: My buddy Gus sent a great suggestion: bring something that smells like your humans, so you won't get lonely. Do you have a blankie?

Not to scare Oliver, but I did go to a bad kennel once. Make sure your humans check out the place before they send you to camp. (If they're not taking you on vacation, it's the least they can do!) I used to go to doggie daycare at a certain place which I will not name, and while I was there, I played a little too hard and tore my A-C-L in my knee. I had to have surgery three days later. The daycare did not tell my people I was injured. Later they said the vet there looked at me, and somehow didn't see anything wrong with me. Then they wouldn't give my people a copy of the vet paperwork to give to MY vet!! They were afraid my people would sue them. My people just wanted an apology for not taking care of me properly. The manager was really mean to them and I don't go there anymore. I'd like to bite that guy in the behind!

Now I go to a great place called Bark'n Buddies. My mom likes it there because I have a pretty big individual area to sleep in, and they have supervised playtime both indoors and outdoors. They gave my people a tour of everything and even tested my behavior around other dogs before I stayed there.

So humans, make sure you check out a place, make sure they're very upfront, and leave all of your emergency contact info - your phone, a local contact person's phone, and your vet's phone. My people have even made a power-of-attorney type of document, so my friend Amanda can authorize medical treatment for me and make decisions in case my people can't be reached. You can't be too careful when it comes to taking care of your precious poochie!

Dog News

Congratulations to the new "World's Ugliest Dog," Elwood! He is a Chinese-crested/Chihuahua mix. If you have to be ugly, you might as well win prizes for it! I am happy for Elwood.

In other dog news, I think my mom has found her new calling in life. We've all heard of a dog walker, but how about a dog RUNNER!? The New York Times had an article about this growing profession. Right now my mom and I can only run about 3 miles, so we'll have to get our endurance up. I love running with my mom! When she starts putting her running shoes on, I know where we're going, so I stretch and get a drink from my water bowl. She is trying to train for a half-marathon in the fall. A few months ago, she couldn't even run a half mile, but I have been a good trainer.

Maggie asked to see a video of me saying cheese. I don't have a video, so I hope this picture is alright. This was me on Christmas Day - one happy, comfy dog!

Stuff about me!

OK, the WEIRDEST thing I've ever eaten is a cigarette butt. But cigarettes are supposed to be bad for you, so I won't do that anymore. I've eaten a LOT of different things that I wasn't supposed to - I'm pretty good at getting things off of counters, out of bags, just about anything. I've opened zippers and jumped up completely on the countertop from the floor to get some tasty snacks. The trick is, you have to wait for your humans to leave the house before you go on a snack hunt so they can't stop you.

My new Airedale friend Maggie posted a fun game on her blog, and I thought I'd give it a try. If you want to play too, just copy and paste the questions, with your own answers, into your blog.

1. Your age? I'll be 9 in about 3 weeks
2. Your age when came to live with your people? 5 years old
3. What color is the collar you’re wearing right now? Black

4. Who is your favorite person other than the people you live with? My mom’s friend Amanda
5. How much do you weigh? 23 pounds - big for a WFT, but I'm all legs!
6. Most expensive thing you’ve ever chewed up? A cell phone. No, wait – a digital camera.
7. Do you like other Dogs? If we’re not running and chasing, only for a few minutes.
8. Who is your best non-human friend? My lab neighbors, Tobey and Stoney
9. Squeaky Toys or Tennis Balls? Squeaky toys
10. Do you like to be brushed? It feels good if I’m itchy!
11. Peanut Butter or Cheese? Cheeeeese!
12. Do your people cut your toenails? My people have other people do it, because I am a drama queen when it comes to my toenails.
13. Any formal education? I flunked out of obedience class with my first humans.
14. Couch potato or Energizer Bunny? Both!
15. Five nicknames your people call you. Lenox (my “full” name), Lenster, Pups, Dog, and my grandpa calls me Knucklehead

16. What is your best trick? I have two - I say cheese, and I turn out the lights!
17. Do you like kitties? I’ve never eaten one. I like my cousin Smitty the Kitty.
18. What did you have for breakfast? Doggie kibble – veggie flavor
19. Can you hunt (aka have you ever killed anything living)? If so, what? I’ve gotten a few big crickets.
20. When & why was the last time you went to the V.E.T.? About three weeks ago – my allergies again!
21. Where do you sleep at night? On my bed next to my humans’ bed
22. Do you like to swim? NO!
23. Can you make puppies? No
24. Do you give kisses? Yes – just ask me! Once I start I can't stop!
25. Can you potty on command? If I feel like it. I won’t if it’s raining.

26. To Cuz or not to Cuz? Big Bad red cuz!

My peeps

I am so excited to make so many cool new doggie friends around the world, now that I have my blog. Thank you for introducing yourselves to me! I have submitted my blog to Dogs With Blogs, and I hope to meet many more furry friends.

Let me introduce you to my furry family!


This is my beagle cousin, Oliver. He's a little bigger now - he's just a puppy in this picture, but he's about a year old now. He lives with my dad's sister's family.


This is my Uncle Walter the weiner dog. Very handsome - it runs in the family. He lives with my mom's mom and dad. Walter is 4 years old.


I do have one kitty cousin - Mr. Smitty Snoofers. He lives with my mom's sister. He's a funny feline. Sometimes he and Walter and I hang out, and he likes to spank Walter. Meanwhile, I sneak off and eat his cat food - delicious!


I just found out I have a new relative - a colt! It must live near me because I think Colts live in Indianapolis. This is baby Zaivian, who is going to live with my mom's aunt.



My mom's aunt also has two dogs - big Luke the German shepherd and little Bailey.

My mom works with a lady who has lots of doggies. One of them, Drake, is in the hospital for the second time. The first time, it was because he ate a rock. Now, it's because he ate a garden hose!! Please send him good doggie thoughts! What's the weirdest thing YOU ever ate? I'll tell you mine tomorrow.

Hot time at my house!

We had a big scary night on Monday. My dad woke me and my mom up because there was smoke in our apartment! Big noisy trucks came (you can see it a little bit in the picture) and a lot of big men came inside our house trying to find where the smoke came from. We had to stand outside with our neighbors (everyone was in their pajamas!) until they found the fire - it was in our neighbor's apartment upstairs.

I am really scared of the noise that the smoke detector makes, but doggie friends - make sure your humans check yours! The beeping is loud but it will be worth it to make sure you are safe.

Luckily, nothing in our apartment got damaged, and all of my toys and my humans are still intact. What more could a doggie ask for?

Snooze on the Couch

My dad caught a picture of me snoozing with my mom and my stuffed buddy Ike.

Ike is a really fun toy - and so handsome! He's a wire fox terrier, and the star of two children's books by Mark Teague, "Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School," and "Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation." My humans had the books already, but they are selling them at Kohl's stores, along with more stuffed Ikes. I like chewing on Ike's fuzzy beard. Good thing he doesn't chew on mine!

I want to say welcome home from the hospital to my British buddy Jackson! Glad you're starting to feel better!

Running with your humans on trails

I think we doggies have a lot we can teach our humans. There are a lot of things our humans should do to be polite, responsible dog companions, and to make us look good in the process. :)

My doggie etiquette tip of the day is about running. My mom takes me jogging with her on some nice trails in the woods in our city park. The trail has a sign that says dogs are permitted, but only on-leash.

Doggie friends - the better we follow the posted rules, the more non-dog people see how well-behaved we are, and the more human places we will be allowed to go! So my mom leaves me on the leash. (N.B.: This picture was taken on a different trail - no leash!)

• If you're on a trail with limited room, it's nice for your human to have you walk to the side when you are passing by other people. Some humans are scared of dogs (even cute ones like terriers), so they have more room to pass without feeling threatened.
• If you're on a trail where you are allowed to be off your leash, it is a nice courtesy if your human leashes you for a moment when people are passing, for the same reason. This is also true when passing another dog on a trail, until you know it's okay with the other human for you to go meet their dog.
• And humans - don't forget water for your doggie! It was 90 degrees when we went running this afternoon (too hot!) and my mom had to give me her Gatorade. Heh heh! I really like running, but mostly I like to go pee on the trees. Which leads me to another point...
• Humans - pick up the poo! We can't! And you don't want to step in it.

Well, I'll get off my doggie soapbox now. Does anyone else have other tips about running with humans? I hope everyone got to have a fun weekend - I sure did! I'm going to sleep all week.

Welcome to my blog

Every day, I read blogs by my doggie friends around the world. I love learning about all their adventures and fun. Today, I join you pups in Bloggerland!

On my blog, I'm going to tell you about my terrier-izing, and some of my wiry wisdom and opinions. I'm turning 9 years old in a month, so I've got experience that I hope to share for the good of doggies everywhere. I'm a terrier, so of course I'm a genuine know-it-all! If you have questions for a wise wiry guy, send them my way!

Here's a nice article about dogs that your humans might enjoy.
Op-Ed NY Times Article

Thanks for visiting! Come back soon!