Hunny Labradoodle's Helping Hand

It's Monday. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. How is it in your neck of the woods? In my neck of Australia it's heating right up. I'm sitting here in a sleeveless top with the fans on thinking about Christmas approaching. It's always hot here on Christmas Day.

But I'm wandering.

My post today is about a compilation of Winnie and Hunny's 4 books and it will be called "Hunny Labradoodle's Helping Hand". In essence, because Hunny is more Arty than Winnie, she gets the credit for helping me put the series together in one volume, hence the title. All I need is a cover and it will be online.

You may have noticed :), that the "Winnie and Hunny Speak" covers are "homemade". They are photos I snapped with my phone in the back yard and in the house. I did this intentionally instead of doing up fancy covers because I wanted readers to see Winnie and Hunny themselves, in their environment.

But Hunny is a little shy, and prefers not to have her photo taken, so I haven't managed to get the "right" shot yet. But I'm patient, and she's a good girl and will oblige today or tomorrow.

In the meantime, I've also been thinking of putting some posts together on Labradoodles generally. How they came to be originally. There was a plan, not just a designer dog plan either. I'll enlighten you next time. In the meantime, here are some of the photos I took yesterday of Hunny. See you tomorrow.

PS: I'm actually thinking the top photo might do the job. I was very lucky to get this one because Hunny usually turns her head before I capture her image. Anyone game to leave a comment? Please :)

Another Blogger

Another blogger I really like is Laurie Metzger. Here blog, Dog Foster Mom is beautiful and heartwarming. Here's here blog:   http://www.dogfostermom.com/ .

Before Laurie married, she was not a dog person AT ALL, but her husband tried extremely hard to convince her that they should adopt a rescue dog, a big dog, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Ever since, Laurie has been fostering dogs, helping them to rehabilitate from sometimes terrible past situations. She helps them find new forever homes. How wonderful is that?

Laurie had to go back to school to become qualified to do this. She had to move house to help out her new friends. She now lives out of town and drives into her other full-time job in the city. That's right. She has two full-time jobs!

Dog Foster Mom tells the stories of the dogs Laurie fosters and finds new homes for. There are photos of the dogs as well. Sometimes Laurie has a few, often many.

I absolutely love this blog. I know there are other wonderful people out there who do the same; people who care for our deserted, lost, injured pets and wildlife. They have the most generous and compassionate hearts and I think they do a very special job indeed.

Wooof for now, have a grrreat weekend. See you all monday,

Leonie, Hunny and Winnie

Other Bloggers

I've been reading and following some other dog blogs lately and wanted to share some with you. I've also wanted to say thanks to everyone who has viewed my posts. I'm still new to this game and finding my way around, so it's encouraging to see that I'm getting some views. If anyone feels like commenting on how I could improve my blog, please feel free to do so.

Okay, I said I'd been following some other dog blogs. My fabulous writing coach Angela Booth directed me to 2012's 25 Top Dog Bloggers  http://belrea.edu/blog/the-top-25-dog-bloggers-of-2012/  and I did a little research into the ones I liked best.

My favourite is All Things Dog Blog  http://www.allthingsdogblog.com/ It's No 3 on the list but I like it the best because it covers EVERYTHING dog.

The Blog is written by Carrie Boyko and covers strategies for happy dogs and happy families such as pet solutions. If you or your dog needs a problem solved, or you have multiple dogs in your household with issues, Carrie talks about some solutions. She uses green and organic foods and remedies, which I like a lot.

The blog reviews products, has giveaways, events, parties and competitions. Like I said, it covers everything dog. And you can follow the blog on Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. There's loads of information on anything you'd want to know, so check it out.

After I viewed the list of 25, which covers mostly USA bloggers, I thought I might see what Aussie dog bloggers were up to. I found this site, which is quite similar to Carrie's above, but of course tailored to us Aussies. http://puppytales.com.au/2013/10/11/australian-pet-bloggers-unite/  And guess what else I found? If you have a look at the site you'll find that Four Paws PR are introducing the Inaugural Australian Pet Blogger Awards!!

If any of you are Aussie pet bloggers, hop onto the site via the link and enter your blog. You'll have to be quick though because it ends on the 15th of this month. I'm wondering if I should enter! What do you think?

"Till tomorrow,

Leonie

Seating Arrangements

Exerpt from "Chalk and Cheese" Book 4 in the "Winnie and Hunny Speak" short ebook series

Winnie speaks:

...sometimes when we're bored or we want a hug, or for no reason at all, we jump up onto the two-seater where mum sits on the back veranda. That's where she does most of her writing. It faces the garden and it's peaceful.

Usually just one of us jumps up at a time, because it's a TWO-seater, but every now and then, in winter when it can be chilly, we like to snuggle up together.

Some of you may have seen a cartoon which circulated on Facebook which illustrated this perfectly. Erica our eldest spotted it first and sent it to mum. She thought it was hilarious, so did mum. Mum showed us the cartoon on her tablet, and then began explaining it to us.

There's a lady relaxing in an armchair with a glass of wine, her faithful and ever-loving big fur-baby was at her feet. he was thinking that if he was VERY careful, he could ease up onto the armchair and join her without disturbing her. He proceeds to climb up; she queries his intentions with a look. She moves over a little; he carefully climbs completely aboard. She is aghast, entirely squashes into the tiniest space, limbs pointing in all directions, wine long spilled. He is happy saying..."See, she hardly noticed"...

See, this is us. Hunny is on the left, then me, then mum. I think I'm the most squashed. I had to hang my head and front paws over the edge of the seat. It wasn't very comfy and I didn't stay there for very long.

Leonie speaks:

Actually, I was the most squashed. I only had half a cushion to sit on, AND, I don't know how I managed it, but I also took the photo.

And not to be outdone, Hunny wants to post this photo of herself to show off her beautiful colouring and styling too. Isn't she gorgeous! And she's sitting in my spot.

Chalk and Cheese

Today is Melbourne Cup day in Australia, the biggest racing event of the year when punters bet millions, and lose millions on their favourite horse. I bet $2 with my mum, and lost, but that was no great loss, and we had fun. That's what counts.

So here it is, the final ebook in the "Winnie and Hunny Speak" series, and .....ta da..... it's called "Chalk and Cheese" because that's what Hunny and Winnie are. Even their coats are different.

Hunny is VERY cool, calm, collected, and patient. You either have to be around Winnie, or everyone would go crazy. It's because Winnie has such a BIG personality. That's not to say Hunny doesn't, she is such a character herself, but so different. You couldn't have two Labradoodles that are so different.

Hunny loves the laid-back lifestyle, the peace, the quiet, the dignity of living a country-type life you could say. But we live at the beach. It must be because we have a large yard. She is never in a hurry to do anything, except eat, and to tell Winnie when she's had enough of whatever high spirits she's dishing out.

Hunny doesn't care about going out in the rain or getting her paws wet. See, she's a country girl at heart. Winnie hates that kind of stuff. She's a bit more precious about icky things. Winnie is sometimes so boisterous it seems she has enough energy for both of them anyway. so you see, they are perfectly balanced.

At the moment they are both nagging me to serve them dinner. It's bordering on pestering, and it is that time of day.

Just to conclude, I have a photo of trendy Winnie. Here is her ear hair. See how it is layered and coloured? And she hasn't even been to the stylist. Isn't she a lucky girl?

Tomorrow, an excerpt.

Winnie and Hunny's Top Tips for Parentcare

Today we finished our fourth and last ebook in the Winnie and Hunny Speak series. It's called "Chalk and Cheese." Mum uploaded it to Amazon for us but it's not online yet, it will be tomorrow. Then we'll tell you a little about it.

In the meantime, we'll give you our top 5 tips for parentcare. We noticed that mum's a bit exhausted after her effort of helping us get the books out so we thought it would be a good idea to give others a few tips on how to look after their mum or dad.

Tip #1 Diet. Always make sure they are well fed and watered. Provide wholesome and healthy food, not junk, and never give them too many treats. One a day max. Always remain close at paw when they eat in case of crumbs or crusts which may fall to the ground. These may need vacuuming, if you know what we mean. Be helpful and offer to clean up any leftovers after meals. Green inside is clean inside.

Tip #2 Exercise. Exercise is a must and is as important as a good diet. It is appropriate to exercise daily, 20 minutes as a rule, more is preferable. Parents usually like walking, so if your leash is accessible, make sure you sit by it, bring it to them, or give hints with that certain look or gentle nudge. If that fails to get their attention, do whatever you have to to get them off their butts. Fit is well.

Tip #3 Helping. Ensure that home is cosy and comfortable for them. Sometimes they may need a cushion fluffed up, or a bed made. Sweeping, vacuuming and mopping aren't beyond your abilities, nor is window cleaning, or gardening. Many paws make light work.

Tip #4 Be Happy. There's nothing better for a fur-baby than a happy parent. The way to keep your parents happy is to be happy yourself. Do funny stuff like tricks and getting the "sillies", or being cute, even if you're having a bad day. Soon enough you'll have them laughing and patting you, and you'll be feeling better yourself. What goes around comes around.

Tip #5 Love. This is the most important tip of all. You can do without all the other tips but you can't do without love. You can show your love in so many ways, including the above, but here are some special ones. Give your parents lots of hugs and kisses. Sit/lie next to them, near them, on them. Make eye contact often. Bring them toys and other stuff to play with. Always be super enthusiastic when they come home from work/shopping, get up in the morning. Love is all you need.

These basic 5 tips should keep any parent well cared for. By following these simple tips you will have a loving and faithful companion for many years. If you have trained them well, bonus.

What more could a fur-baby want.

Bye for now,your pals Hunny and Winnie

Yeppoon is where I live...

Just a slight diversion...I thought I'd tell you about where I live.

The background photo you see looks east from Yeppoon towards the "Supermoon" rising over Keppel Bay on the evening of June 23rd this year. I took it with my phone, so the moon doesn't look so big, but hey, I like it.

Yeppoon lies about 50km north of the Tropic of Capricorn on the Capricorn Coast, and that particular full moon was a Capricorn Full Moon. I like such things also.

My home doesn't have a view of the ocean, but I'm about 500m, as the crow flies, from it, with a hill in between. I do have a great backyard though, and that's where I mostly sit and write, Winnie and Hunny never far away. That's where we all are now. It's about 30 degrees, with a warm easterly blowing. Quite humid.

Yeppoon is a small regional town with a VERY laid-back lifestyle. Imagine shorts and t-shirts almost all year round. We have a dry-tropical/subtropical coastal climate with offshore Keppel Islands which make Keppel Bay very shallow and sheltered.

Twenty minutes up the coast are rainforest and pristine beaches, some only accessible by 4WD, they are spectacular! You can go camping, hiking, fishing, snorkelling, diving. The Great Barrier Reef is close by as well.

I don't do any of those (anymore)! If you've read my earlier blogs, you'll know why. But I do love my garden, which is about a hectare, (roughly half an acre I think) and gardening. I manage a little every now and then. Australia has some amazing and interesting native plants, and I used them as much as possible when I started the garden. I now have one that's fairy maintenance free, except for some weeding, re-mulching and fur-baby-disturbance maintenance!

Winters are dry here in Yeppoon, and the garden has to look after itself, so I plant low water-requiring plants. Summer is the wet season, which officially started on the 1st. If you'd like to check out my garden, have a look at my Pinterest Board: My Garden:Dry Tropics. http://www.pinterest.com/leonievdvorle/boards/

Next post, more on progress with the "Winnie and Hunny Speak" series.

Bye for now

Leonie