Ralphie gets a haircut!

It’s time for Ralphie’s in-home haircut!

Here’s the complete task from start to finish! He’s so patient. (Steve is patient too!)

To achieve the best results all you need is a nice pair of clippers, scissors and a brush. Ralphie loves to be brushed! Oh and treats, you must reward the little guy with plenty of Milkbones!

There’s definitely a lot of love throughout the whole process and sometimes a little friendly coaxing is required.

We’ve been doing this ever since we brought Ralphie home. Taking him to a groomer makes him really stressed out, so to keep him happy and stress-free Steve has mastered the art of his

Signature Ralphie haircut!

The tools:

Make sure you get my ears trimmed!

Steve, I am trying to sit still for you.

Please don’t trim my sides too short!

Stop! I think you might not realize how short you’re trimming me…I have an image to uphold. I’m getting outta here!

What, this look is all the rage you say? Well, in that case I’ll let you finish. Thanks, I love you too, Steve!

Make sure you trim around my nose just right!

And make sure you get the top of my head, it’s getting rather long.

Are we almost finished?

How am I looking so far?

The finished look:

Ralphie was happy throughout, as he’s quite used to this routine and was rewarded with plenty of treats afterwards.

Do you think Ralphie is handsome or what? (I’m pretty biased!) This is his pre-summer cut, he’ll shrink a tad more after his summer cut. Stay-tuned.

Thanks for reading today’s entry in The Ralphie Chronicles!

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Wonder dog Wednesday, a little late!

Ralphie is wondering:

“How can I get a pair of those sweet red Adidas running pants for myself? Better yet, how can I get him to wear those pants on our next walk together?”

I know, I know, you are wondering how Ralphie can tell that they are red since dogs are colorblind. Well, these pants are so red that even a colorblind person would know what color they are.

Cheers to a great rest of the week!

Happy Easter Ralphie! You’ve been a good boy.

Upon waking up on Sunday morning I gave Ralphie a new toy for Easter, a little beanie baby named Duckers.

Forget about durable, cold rubber chew toys for this dog, Ralphie absolutely loves getting new plush toys for his in-home entertainment! As expected, he immediately took a liking to Duckers and now they are inseparable!

Whenever Ralphie receives a new toy he promptly forgets about his older toys and holds on to the new one with gusto!

He proudly parades it around the house, showing everyone he can get to pay attention. He actually walks around while holding it in his mouth looking up at anyone who will look down at him and his new toy. Of course we all do, “Awww, that’s a nice toy buddy!”

I’ve tested my theory of his forgetting about his older toys by trying to take his new toy away, handing him an older toy, then hiding it in his new toy basket. You have probably guessed that he just won’t accept any substitutes!

No sir. He refuses the toy in my hand. (Though I end up getting Duckers, after all I’m bigger than he is!) Sure enough he trots back to the toy basket to grab his new toy, in this case Duckers.

I think Ralphie loves Duckers as much as I love Ralphie!

At the end of the day everyone is happy.

Happy Easter and Passover everyone!

Spring has Sprung! Wag that tail and get inspired outside!

Today has been a special day.

Not only has it been beautiful outside, I was able to enjoy the sunshine in person when “my mom” took me out for a nice, long walk at County Farm Park! (I love her special shortened work days this week!) Here is a picture of me taken in front of the park entrance:

So, if you haven’t done so already, get outside and enjoy the sunshine today. It’s quite rejuvenating and refreshing!

My soul is officially inspired! Are you looking for inspiration for your soul? Check out my Mom’s friend’s website Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life, it offers daily quotes that will put a big smile on your face!

Hailing all fellow happy dogs and their parents, get outside and wag your tail in the great outdoors at MY favorite park or one closer to where you live!

Spring has sprung. Get out there and enjoy it while it lasts!

Dedicated to Jake, a dog who loved his family and the great outdoors. You will be missed. 3/27/12

Ralphie in the City

Ralphie wants to go to a big city. He decided on Chicago, which I thought was a good choice, as it’s only a 4 hour drive! He looked at me and said, “I want to go to Chicago and stay downtown.” I said okay.

After all, how can you say “no” to that sweet face?

I asked where he wanted to stay for the weekend. After he researched online, Ralphie picked out the W Hotel in Chicago. Check out the lobby! He was thrilled by all the couches he was able to choose from! You know how much he loves a couch, and now he had twelve!

When we arrived, he said he was hungry so we ordered a cheese plate.

Once we got into our room, he fell in love with the cozy space. There was even a small couch! He was in heaven.

He liked the big bed, but thought the bathroom was too small.

I reminded him that not every dog gets to stay in such a nice place. “Some dogs have to stay at a Petco hotel, or kennel.” I mean look at the beautiful vintage tile floors you get to walk on!

Ralphie realized that he was one lucky dog.

The next day we went shopping along the famous Magnificent Mile! We stopped at Room & Board, only the best for Ralphie! He liked this bed:

Then we stopped by Saks. Ralphie loved the architecture of the building.

After a morning of shopping, we went to the Billy Goat Tavern for lunch. Remember the SNL episode with Jim Belushi: “Cheesborger, Cheeseborger, Cheesborger!” That’s the place!

Ralphie liked how the restrooms were labeled “Nanny” and “Billy”.

Later after a long day of walking, Ralphie made a healthy food decision and ordered a veggie plate! What a smart dog.

The day was a complete success! On our walk home we saw pretty blue lights on a line of trees.

It was a great day in the Windy City!

Ralphie wants to know, what’s your favorite city to visit?

Ralphie helps with the microwave!

Ralphie noticed that our microwave, which was usually secured on the wall above the stove, was laying on the kitchen floor today.

Ralphie noticed this immediately since it was taking up prime floor space for lounging. He offered his assistance with hanging it back up.

I told Ralphie that it was too difficult a job for a little dog.

Unable to take no for an answer, he proudly walked over to Steve’s tools and brought back this:

However, Ralphie didn’t realize that a caulking gun wasn’t needed. He just thought it looked important.

I asked him to return it and mentioned that we needed a drill for this job. He grabbed one, but Ralphie knew in his heart that he would not be able to use this tool:

Upon seeing this I laughed. I explained to Ralphie that he would only be able to use that tool if he had opposable thumbs!

“Bummer,” exclaimed Ralphie. However, he was determined to help in any way he could. In fact, he realized that if he was to help out, then he better wear protective eyewear.

Needless, Ralphie is quite smart.

I thanked him for his power tool safety astuteness and offered him a treat if he indeed got the job done.

He went into the kitchen and came out after about an hour.

“Well, after much trial an error, I got the job done,” Ralphie said proudly.

So, I walked into the kitchen and to my dismay I saw this:

I had no idea how he accomplished such a huge task. I asked, but he refused to share his secret. So, it was looking like I needed pay up.

Here you go, little guy!

Thank you, Ralphie!

You are quite welcome, Sanna.

Ralphie the little helper

Lil’ Ralphie was quite upset this morning when he found me working on my laptop and not paying attention to him. I was creating the Facebook page called, Scarves + Gloves + Wraps, which I made to showcase my mom’s hand-made knit wears. (Feel free to check out all of the one-of-a-kind pieces that will last a lifetime!)

Getting back to Ralphie, he was obviously feeling left out. He sat in front of me and looked up with such woeful eyes, “Look at me, darnit!”

I told him politely that I needed to get this project done before we left for a Superbowl Party. You’ll see our serious conversation below:

He refused to take no for an answer. He huffed away, came back with this hat and demanded that I take a picture of him. So I obliged:

“Hey, one more please!” he said. So, I did:

He felt victorious. “See, that was painless.”

Clearly being the main subject of so many photos has gone to his head.