Greater Swiss Mountain Dog

It’s time for the 2012 Rescue Fundraiser Calendar!

Monday, November 14th, 2011 | GSMD Rescue Fundraiser | No Comments

If you are one of the people that haven’t bought one of these fantastic calendars yet, you should!

They make fantastic holiday presents, birthday presents, and even better – a present just because!

You can buy them on my CafePress store – here. A full $5 from each calendar will be donated to the GSMD Rescue Foundation after the totals are tabulated in January.

We’ve already sold more than 30 copies – make sure to get your copy today!

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Rescue, Swissy

A first

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011 | Dogs, Ozzy | No Comments

The gorgeous weather here over the past few days has meant lots of walks for the dogs. On Saturday, we experienced a first.

Not only did we have to stop every 15 feet for the “what type of dog is that” questions, but we had three separate instances of stalking. Well, sort of stalking. Cars pulled over and parked, people jumped out and called after us. They’d yell something along the lines of “OMG, is that a Swissy??”! And then we’d proceed to answer questions for 15 minutes.

This is a good thing. I’m glad to see that people are more interested in Swissies. And they seem to be coming prepared with the right questions. And yes, they seem to be doing their research. I just need to remember to bring my business cards with me so it’s easier to keep track of them.

And it’s a good thing that this always happens with Ozzy.

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 | Litter Mates and Swissy Friends | 1 Comment

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Swissy

There’s nothing better…

Sunday, September 18th, 2011 | Indigo, Ozzy | No Comments

You may have guessed, or not, that I was traveling last week. It was not fun at all. It was work. The only good thing about the week was getting home on Friday night.

I will admit that I was worried the dogs had forgotten me. Or maybe they just didn’t miss me that much at all. But I was greeted at the door (I almost sneaked in because my ride was a hybrid and super quiet) by a very happy Indy and Ozzy. OK, so it was mainly Indy that was overjoyed to see me. Ozzy was happy in his normal chilled out sort of way. But the joy Indy displayed melted the ice from my heart.

(Hanging out with sales reps will make your heart ice over. It’s the only way to survive.)

TTFN!

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

And the winner is…

Thursday, September 8th, 2011 | Litter Mates and Swissy Friends | No Comments

Congrats to Sara and her Swissy, Thea, for winning our anniversary contest! There were a number of people who got the same number of answers (hmm, all of them) correct, so we drew randomly from those people.

Thea (and Sara) will receive the K9 Cube plus Indy’s favorite today (the magic mushroom) and Ozzy’s favorite toy (Indy? Wait, no. It’s a squeaky…) for Thea to enjoy.

Congrats! We expect playtime pictures.

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Swissy

Walkies!

Sunday, September 4th, 2011 | Dogs, Indigo, Ozzy | 2 Comments

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. Since Saturday was a bit too hot for either dog to take a decent hike, (and since walking was about all I could do since I hadn’t had any delicious carbs in 6 days) my walking companion was my camera. And you.

We have a few different routes we’ll take. I try not to take the dogs on the same route each time we go for a walk. I think it’s important for them to experience different smells, sounds and people. The one you are joining me for is one of the prettier walks that takes us through the woods and the downtown area of Downers Grove. It’s a good walk for Ozzy when it’s 60 to 80 degrees with no humidity. If it’s cooler, we’ll add at least a mile to it to make it the same as Indy’s standard walk.

Let’s get going.

Here’s a look down our street as we near our first park. The brick road makes it prettier than our block.

There tend to be lots of shady spots for Swissies at this time of year. It’s a good thing.

One of my favorite things about this walk.

It’s called Prince Pond.

Downers Grove has lots of parks and areas like this. This is probably the best one in the village, in my opinion.

OK, time to move on.

It was actually a lot of fun to walk around this way. I noticed so many things that I don’t normally when I’m walking the dogs. This was one of them.

This is an area outside an assisted living center. We’ve stopped here before because some of the residents like to pet Ozzy. (Indy, notsomuch.)

Even the bank area is pretty.

We have a train that runs from the western Chicago suburbs (that’s us!) into the the city. Of course, there are freight trains too. We got lucky and didn’t get stuck on this walk.

Townhomes – city living in the suburbs. About a block from the train.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m in the south. Not sure why.

I know where most of these are on our routes. This one happens to be a great family with a golden retriever. The fence is in the front yard too, but the dog never charges us when we walk by. And it doesn’t go all the way up to the sidewalk.

Ahh, another favorite part of this walk. This is the one area in my town that I’d love to move to. If I could afford it. And if I could take my neighborhood with me.

And yes, it’s the woods. Not just an area with a few extra trees.

Look – a creek! Or is that pronounced “crick”?

Never underestimate shade.

These people have the most gorgeous front yard. They love gardening. I do not.

A trail to the forest preserve. Too long for Ozzy at this time of year.

One of the exit routes from the woods (pedestrian only for this one) leads us to my mom’s church.

One of the best things is to walk by on a Sunday when there’s a service. If the weather is right and the windows are open, you can hear the congregation singing hymns. It’s one of the most peaceful and pleasant things. Otherwise, if we time it just right, we may go in and visit grandma. She is out of town now, but we ran into some of her friends and their kids outside today and they had fun with a very well behaved Ozzy.

I find it cool that people with students at Downers Grove North High School in athletics will frequently display these in their front yards.

It’s sad that the village actually has to post this.

The new band shelter.

There’s been a band shelter here as long as I can remember. This one was built over the last year to replace one that was about 30 years old. On Tuesday nights in the summer (weather permitting), they hold free concerts.

HA!

Downtown.

More interesting stuff for you. Downers Grove is one of the few cities in the US that has a cemetary on the main street.

We walk by, but never through with dogs. I don’t think it’s respectful. You know Ozzy would pee on every one of those graves.

The wine store. Ozzy got drunk here (kidding!), as a puppy.

A cool store.

One of my favorite places.

And every dog in Downers Grove’s favorite store.

The Barkery was having an adoption event for the West Suburban Humane Society on Saturday. So we spent a few minutes there. Polly, a Border Collie/Sneaky Neighbor Dog puppy was there and available. She was quite calm.

Inside, there was a gorgeous puppy (Beth, one of the Barkery’s owners is fostering). I am bad and cannot remember the pup’s name.

This is Shiloh. We actually met him last year at a dog park when he was a wee little puppy.

There were a few kittens available for adoption as well. Too bad I’m allergic.

Moving on…

I love that Downers Grove still has a book store.

And we have a gorgeous movie theater. Second run.

Everyone’s favorite vet. We love that they are walking distance – just about 4 blocks away.

Check out the wildlife!

And Dobby, the adorable dog around the corner.

Which means we’re home! Are you tired?

Thanks for reading!

Tags: Downers Grove, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

Happy Anniversary? Birthday?

Friday, September 2nd, 2011 | Alex, Beowulf, Dogs, Gryffindor, Indigo, Ozzy | 3 Comments

Or maybe it’s Happy Blogiversary?

Either way, Indy, Ozzy and I (plus Alex, Gryffin and Beowulf) have been doing this for three whole years. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, as I have definitely enjoyed writing.

To celebrate, we’re doing a giveaway. It’s not the same as the past two years – it will not be based on comments. I haven’t been blogging enough to do that, methinks, and I want it to be different. So, we’re doing a trivia contest! Which means one lucky person will receive some gifts from Indy and Ozzy!

I’ll bet you’re wondering what gifts Indy and Ozzy could possible give you that aren’t bio hazards, right? But never fear, I monitored their online shopping, and I think we’re good. The winner will receive a couple of things, but some are not determined yet. I will wait to see the size of the winner’s dog so they don’t end up with something bigger than their dog. Suffice it to say that those prizes will be Indy’s and Ozzy’s “favorite things”. (Ozzy is a HUGE Oprah fan…)

The one prize I know for sure is a Mountain Smith K-9 Cube, valued at $60.

It’s quite neat. It includes:

Drop down food tray
Collapsible water bowl with PEVA waterproof liner
Collapsible food bowl with cinch cord
Removable PEVA lined Food container for overnight stays
Removable interior divider
Unique top pocket access to plastic baggies
Two side mesh pockets for tennis ball carry
Soft sided Frisbee

Hmm, maybe I should keep it for myself. But the dogs really want one of YOU to get it, so I guess not.

So, on to that trivia contest thing. Here are your questions.

Why are we called “Swiss Lick” Swissies?
What particularly gross thing of Indy’s did Gryffin eat? (Yes, it made him sick.)
Who won our first anniversary giveaway? What did they win?
Who was visiting on Indy’s second birthday?
Name one thing I learned from Gryffin?
What did Beowulf receive for the Christmas of 2010?
Where did Ozzy take his “Puppy 2″ class?
What did the 2010 anniversary contest winners receive?
Name one thing I wish breeders did with puppies before they go to their new homes.
When did Indy get fixed?

Submit your answers to me via email at contests@swisslickswissies.com. All entries must be received by 10am central time on Wednesday, September 7th. In there is a tie, the winner will be chosen at random from the group of those with the same number of correct entries. All the answers can be found in blog posts over the past 3 years.

Good luck, and thanks for reading!

Tags: Alex the Beagle, Beowulf the Basset, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Gryffin the Swissy, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

We’re getting close to that time again!

Friday, August 26th, 2011 | Dogs, Indigo, Obedience Training, Ozzy, Random Stuff | 6 Comments

Yup, we’re almost 3 years old! Which means there will be some give away. I just haven’t decided exactly what yet. Although I do have one thing already.

I’ve been thinking about the last year of blogging recently. It’s definitely become harder to keep up the pace, especially since I haven’t really been doing much in the way of dog events. I hate to say it, but there are a few things that have happened in the Swissy community since a little before we got Ozzy that have kind of put me off of being involved. So we’ve been hanging on our own, doing stuff with friends and not clubs. I’m not sure if that will change or not.

One of the great things that has happened in the last year (other than Ozzy in general) is finding an obedience school (Wiggles-n-Wags) that we can call home. I’ve taken Ozzy through 3 separate classes there, and Indy has 1 week left of her first class. It’s been difficult over the last several years trying to find a place that I was comfortable. Someplace that didn’t use methods I wasn’t comfy with (correction only), and with trainers that could actually teach me something. And it’s nice not to feel judged for my choices or my shy dog. It’s such a great thing for all of us.

So there you have it – my babblings for the day. Please check back next week for the announcement about our anniversary giveaway!

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Ozzy the Swissy, Swissy

Puppy!

Monday, August 22nd, 2011 | Indigo, Litter Mates and Swissy Friends, Ozzy | 1 Comment

We had a visit from a cute little puppy named Hobbes on Sunday. And his sister Juli. And her humans. And Vasey and one of her humans.

Hobbes is 9 weeks old, and reminds me a lot of Ozzy as a puppy. He’s confident, but not arrogant. Friendly, but not pushy. I think he will turn out to be a fantastic boy. I will probably steal him once he’s house trained. OK, maybe we’ll just visit with him.

This little bugger is Hobbes.