Hip Hip Hurray!

Jaz turned 2 today!

Quilchena Park
“Let’s do it!”

To celebrate this milestone in Jaz’s life, we started the day off with a little adventure. We decided to check out some place new; Quilchena Park. We’ve driven past this park numerous times, and said to each other “We should take Jaz here one day.” Turns out that day was today.

At the park we soaked up the sun, ran circles like crazy people dogs, rolled around in the grass, and played Jaz’s favourite game: TUG!

Quilchena Park
 All grace goes out the window when Jaz finds a fresh, cool patch of grass (click here for video evidence from last year)!

Quilchena Park
“Tug Jaz, tuuuuuug!” She doesn’t mind us resting for a bit. As long as someone is willing to hold on to the other end of her favourite toy, Jaz will do the rest. And as you can see, she always keeps an eye on the surroundings, like any good terrier would 😉

Back home, it was time to make some preparations for Jaz’s ‘party’ at daycare tomorrow. I baked treats for all her furry friends!


They’re dog-cookies, but they looked and smelled so good that even I was tempted…!


… which is not that strange; just look at those yummy ingredients! Banana and peanut butter for flavour, and parsley for fresh breath. (I used an altered version of this recipe.)

Now that we were all set for tomorrow, dinnertime was approaching fast. And because Jaz had been such a good girl all day, patiently sitting through all the yummy smells coming from the kitchen without being allowed to have any of it –Okay. I lied. She may have had a piece or two. I mean… I had to make sure the cookies were good, right?!–, we decided Jaz could have her birthday (cup)cake for dinner:

Yes, really. A true birthday (cup)cake!

Don’t worry; it’s meant for dogs. You’ve gotta love North America; they make the craziest things here! You think it, someone makes it. You don’t think it, someone makes that as well. Awesomeness!

It’s a PUPcake! Lamb liver, oats, eggs, peanut butter and yoghurt…? Not your usual cupcake!


“Happy Birthday, Jaz! Make a wish!”

***Disclaimer: Do not try this at home. Professional stunt-Lakelands were used. No Lakelands got harmed during the presenting and feeding of the pupcake. The candles were blown out before beards could go up in flames, and the candles were completely removed prior to the consuming of the cake. To prevent tummy aches, only part of the cake was fed.***

Guest post

“Oh, hi there! Don’t mind me as I skip across your screen. I had the most fabulous time last weekend with my mom and dad. The weather was just perfect, and the view wasn’t too shabby either, as you may be able to tell from this picture:”

“Mom’s really busy with school at the moment, so I’m doing what any good Lakeland terrier would do; I’m pitching in. My ancestors were real working terriers, you know. And if you ask me, it’s about time I took matters into my own hands. This blog is supposed to be all about me, and now you finally get to hear things from the horse’s mouth. –Er, dog’s mouth!–“

“…where to begin? Mom and dad got me these new treats that taste like rabbit, and I love them! We have a cool new game called the ‘ready’-game where I stand and wait, all fours on the mat at the front door, looking up at my dad. Dad will say “rrrrrrrready?” and send a treat flying across the living-room floor, after which I get to chase it. Sometimes I can’t find the treat, in which case dad will help me out. But mostly I just pretend to be unable to find them because I like to watch him crawl around on all fours–those are true bonding moments for the two of us!”

“Oh, and how do you like my new custom collar? It’s my ‘big-girl-collar’ as mom likes to call it. I’m more than 18 months old now, which means I’m full-grown. But really it means I get to have all sorts of fancy stuff. I asked mom and dad for pink rhinestones, but they decided on plain white stones and steel studs. –I know, I know… we need to work on that!– We got the collar with a matching leash (which I’ll have to model for you later) at this cool place downtown. It’s one of my favorite places to shop, as I get to run around off-leash and harass the doggies that work there.”

“Pfew. I never knew this typing-stuff was so difficult and tiring. Mom and dad do it all day. Their paws must be so sore! Anyway. I gotta go chase the cats now. Take care!
Yours truly,
Jaz”

It’s a dog’s life

Jaz sees another dog at a distance...
Chesterman beach, Tofino, BC… aka: Jaz’s beach!

Sometimes you just need to get out of the city. Sometimes, it’s time to trade your high heels for some sneakers, swap you reading glasses for sunglasses, tie your hair up into a ponytail, and go on a little adventure. (Or, if you’re a dog: you just get up and go already!) And this is exactly what we did last week. We packed our car full of supplies, changed into our comfy clothes, and took Jaz to Tofino for some care-free fun on the beach.

"Waaahaaaa!" I'm being silly!
“I’m on top of the world!” – Jaz acting silly during one of our hikes.

With it’s remote location, untouched nature reserves, and wide-stretched beaches, Tofino truly is a dog’s paradise. We meandered the beach for hours, while Jaz sniffed dead crabs, played with ginormous seaweeds, and chased sandpipers until her paws could carry her no more. We enjoyed lunch on patios (Jaz especially appreciated the genoa salami foccacia), toasted the sunset with champagne (well, just water for Jaz), and ate ‘breakfast’ at noon.

Chompin' on some seaweed
“Nom, nom, nom…” chompin’ on some seaweed.

The best of all was that we didn’t really ‘do’ anything. We just were. We slept, we ate, we walked, and we played. No agenda. No deadline. No expectations. Just a dog and its owners, enjoying each other’s company. There truly is no better way to be.

Jaz has a couch all to herself
Exhausted after playing on the beach all day…

Knock, knock…

"Peekaboo!"

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Annie.
Annie who?
Annie-body home?

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Ketchup.
Ketchup who?
Ketchup with me and it’ll become clear!

It’s been a while. But sometimes life gets in the way. It’s not just Jaz that wants an education, but also her mommy!
And although it may have been quiet around here, we’ve not been idle whatsoever. I may not have had time to write about grooming, training, or playing, but we’ve been doing all of it in real life… Let me catch you up on a few highlights:

– I wrote a piece for the UK Lakeland Terrier Club Yearbook, which I just found out has been published and the yearbook is available on their website! Very exciting! I will upload a copy of the article onto the blog soon, so you can read it if you don’t have access to the UKLTC Yearbook.

– We took Jaz out to the snow and to the beach in the same week:
Snow dogLooking sharp! Cypress Mountain, BC

Long beach, Tofino, BCWatching the sunset. Tofino, BC

– We’ve been taking more training classes at DOGSmart, doing all sorts of exercises: from not rushing through doors before mom and dad, to ignoring edible items that happen to lie on the ground, to cavaletti walking. Jaz has no idea what to expect next, nor do we; the trainers have kept us on our toes!

I really want to start agility of rally-o this year; we’ll have so much fun together!

How have you all been? Let’s talk Lakeland!

Enjoy the view…

…while I get my blog post on furnishings ready…
(Sorry for the delay; things have been busy around here!)

These pictures were taken last week by Spider Lake (Vancouver Island) during a trip to visit Jaz’s grandpa!

Where are you going with that camera?!
“Look at me! I’m up real high!”

The setting sun brings out my colouring
“The sun is nice and warm…”

I wonder if the water's real cold or not...
“I wonder whether the water is cold or not…?!”

Look, the sun is going down!
Mesmerized by the setting sun…

Sunset over Spider Lake
…perfect time to take a profile shot! (Look at that bum; can you tell she’s in heat?!)