Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

I was promised a recession.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

This blog will pay for itself.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

Let there be snark.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

The revolution will be supervised.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

“But what about the lurkers?”

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Afternoon Open Thread: Puppy Update

Afternoon Open Thread: Puppy Update

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Official 12-week portrait

I’m not sure what I did to get such a good puppy. She’s sweet as can be and training has been a breeze so far. Which is great, because I’m not sure how I would have kept up with a pup who was challenging me at every turn (I’m looking up to heaven at you Bixby).

She always looks so serious in photos – I think it’s the black-rimmed eyes. She’s really not that serious. Mostly she’s bouncing around like Tigger, looking for someone to play with her.

More photos of her and Scout here (can’t bore the non-respite folks, LOL).

I’m trying to use this week between the holidays to finish up my latest book, but work keeps getting in the way. I usually take this week off from my “real” job, didn’t work out this year.

How is everyone else spending their last week of 2021? And may I say, from my personal experience this year, hurry the fuck out the door and good riddance.

In other personal news, I used my first (state-issued) at-home covid test – negative, thank dog! – yesterday. I was feeling a bit under the weather and didn’t want to go out and infect everyone. Only slightly more nerve-wracking than an at-home pregnancy test.

Open thread

Reader Interactions

80Comments

  3. 3.

    Raoul Paste

    Quite a luxury to have a giant stuffed playmate for the pooch.  But I suppose if you totalled up the volume of all the miniature dog toys in our house, they would occupy as much space

    It’s a joy to have a dog with a nice personality

  5. 5.

    Miss Bianca

    Thought I would go into the office this week, as it seemed an ideal time to get everything filed and organized for the new year, but with the way that the winds have been shrieking around the house the past few days, staying home and feeding the fire, along with writing articles, reading scripts, cooking, and killing time on the Internet seems to be the way to go. Also, of course, serving as Doggie Doorman to Wolf-Girl Roxy, who can’t seem to get it through her feathery noggin that I can’t, in fact, control the weather, and that she might as well go camp out on the bed or the couch like Watson is sensibly doing.

  11. 11.

    raven

    Our rental renovation has ground to a halt. Not a surprise with the holiday’s and our tenant isn’t due until the 15th so there should be time to finish the floors and trim. I borrowed a fence post jack and removed eight t style “t”posts. Seven came out easily and one took an hour!

     

    We both got tested today after a couple of rapid tests in Virginia. I don’t feel so hot but the boss lady allowed that I usually don’t when we travel.

  12. 12.

    Heidi Mom

    Beautiful pup!

    Two minor notes of good cheer from south-central PA:  The local Rite Aid had been operating with one pharmacist and one helper, lines of 7 or 8 customers not uncommon, prescriptions never ready despite the automated phone calls saying they were, so I was not looking forward to today’s visit, but lo and behold they now have a second pharmacist and I was in and out in no time.  And on to the nearby supermarket, where an old white man in an Air Force cap urged a young black woman wearing hijab to go ahead of him in line.  Not earth-shaking events, but they certainly brightened my day.

  13. 13.

    Heidi Mom

    Beautiful pup!

    Two minor notes of good cheer from south-central PA:  The local Rite Aid had been operating with one pharmacist and one helper, lines of 7 or 8 customers not uncommon, prescriptions never ready despite the automated phone calls saying they were, so I was not looking forward to today’s visit, but lo and behold they now have a second pharmacist and I was in and out in no time.  And on to the nearby supermarket, where an old white man in an Air Force cap urged a young black woman wearing hijab to go ahead of him in line.  Not earth-shaking events, but they certainly brightened my day.

  14. 14.

    Old School

    And may I say, from my personal experience this year, hurry the fuck out the door and good riddance.

    But I had a feeling ’21 was going to be a good year.

  17. 17.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    She is adorable! As is Pete. And I say that as a non-puppy-prone cat lady. But I need more duckteen photos too. Thanks!

  18. 18.

    Miss Bianca

    @Betty Cracker: 

    btw – with all due apologies to TaMara, whose Great Dane pups have all been adorable – I am thinking that Pete is officially Cutest Puppy I Have Possibly Ever Seen.

    Did you say he was a Boston Terrier-Frenchie cross? Is that a thing now? Do you mind my asking how you and the mister found him?

  22. 22.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jerzy Russian: Discussions are ongoing. I think it’s safe to say it will include “La Boeuf,” but there are outstanding disagreements about additional appellations.

    @Miss Bianca: Yep, a Froston or Frenchton or something like that. We weren’t looking for a pup but heard about him through a friend a few towns over.

  24. 24.

    dlwchico

    My girl Maya.  She’s just over 10 months old now.  Australian Shepherd/Poodle mix.

    My last two dogs have both been adult rescues that had baggage that made them tough to live with.   I got Maya at about 10 weeks old and she’s been a doll.  She loves everybody and pretty much everybody loves her.

    I just need to work on her recall and pulling on the leash.

    https://i.imgur.com/aGOiK4M.jpg?

  25. 25.

    VeniceRiley

    Have an at home test from our clinic supply. Saving it for if symptomatic or going somewhere where there are people.
    Wife is back to work at the prison today. Her coworkers are bugging her for wedding photos.
    Not until I have a go at them with cropping and photoshop or whatever, lady! I should get a pro to do it. Make myself thinner! Make my teeth whiter! Give me hair in the back where it was tucked in my collar and no one told me! Arrrrrrgh!
    Otherwise returned to office and thanking FSM I am alone in this room

    PS: Cute AF dogs.

  27. 27.

    Miss Bianca

    @Betty Cracker: I just Googled it, and it’s a thing! The Frenchton! Awww!!

    (I have been thinking about scaling down my dog size expectations in anticipation of being too old and crotchety when it’s time for a new puppy to want one as large and high-maintenance as, say, a Siberian Husky pup, which has been most of my puppy-raising experience hitherto.)

  28. 28.

    mrmoshpotato

    There is snow on the ground in Chicago!  I repeat, there is snow on the ground in Chicago!

    And look at that adorable pup!

  29. 29.

    Brachiator

    What a cool little puppy!

    I hustled to get to a doctor’s appointment this morning, only to find that the doc called in sick. To be fair, she called and left a message, but I was in the shower and didn’t check before I left.

    Fortunately, the main reason for my visit was to get a tetanus shot and I got that done with a nurse.

    Today is a non rainy day in Southern California so I may try to do lunch at an outdoor cafe and try to run a few errands.

  30. 30.

    CaseyL

    TaMara – I love seeing Trixie passed out next to Scout. “Doin’ what my sis does; doin’ like my big sister.”

    @Betty Cracker: He sounds like a squeaky toy – too adorable!

    Small good things: Between Omicron and the snow/bitter cold weather, my office is all WFH this week. So I get to stay snuggled with the kitties, and love the snowy landscape from a (warm) distance.  (The kitties, OTOH, are not happy because it’s much too cold for me to leave the door  to the deck open for them.)

  35. 35.

    Jerzy Russian

    Upon hearing all of these stories about the work involved with new puppies, I have a potentially good money making idea:  Develop a breed of dog that is born as a kitten.  You just pair two such animals together, and they play with each other and keep themselves occupied all day.  They don’t need to be potty trained either.  Then, after a year or so, they revert back to their dog form leaving their owners with trained, well-adjusted pets.

  36. 36.

    Miss Bianca

    @WereBear: I adopted a stray lab/pitbull/?/GodKnowsWhat mix puppy who was found in our ‘hood two days after my big girl Stella (German Shepherd/Rottie mix) died. He’s smaller than a Husky but chonky, so he feels like a bigger dog than he is. That’s what I like about Pete – he seems like a big dog in a TEENY TINY body, and that makes him irresistible.

  37. 37.

    sab

    Plumber came to the door. I yelled ” Wait! I’m getting the leash.” Husband went to open the door anyway. ” I yelled “Stay away from the fucking door until I catch the dog!” Husband yells “I am an intelligent adult!” while opening the screen door slightly to talk to the plumber while the pitbull barked like a maniac. ” I yelled ” You could have fooled me!”

    Pitbull is a very friendly dog but very barky. She is now locked in the bedroom with me.

    Who was in the right here?

  38. 38.

    Jerzy Russian

    @sab:

     

    Who was in the right here?

    Being a dude myself, I have to stick with the fellow dude and say he was in the right.

  39. 39.

    MazeDancer

    TaMara, you totally deserve to have “such a good puppy”.  And as many more as you desire.

    Pete defines that Southern saying: “Cutest thing I ever saw!”

    Well, tied with Trixie: Cutest things I ever saw.

  40. 40.

    trollhattan

    At around Trixie’s age our Rocco began to discover the joy of theft, which only accelerated for the rest of his first year and ended costing us a lot of shoes, wool clothing and socks. So many socks.

    Grew out of it he did, but the imprint of hunting dog runs deep in, well, hunting dogs.

    Trixie would be a welcome playpal, I can say that for sure. Rocco loves doggies of any size and age. Never experienced that before.

  41. 41.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    I’ve decided to view the entire plot of “Don’t Look Up” as a summary on the Presidency of Marjorie Taylor Greene.

  42. 42.

    trollhattan

    Our home is officially teen-free, and by that I mean exactly twenty years ago on an extremely rainy day, we brought home our tiny, nearly bald baby girl. Jeez, did that ever go by fast.

  44. 44.

    JML

    finished cleaning off the snow from the driveway left over from the previous day. started snowing again ten minutes later. There’s a message in there somewhere…

  45. 45.

    trollhattan

    @Miss Bianca: @Betty Cracker:

    Something I learned because Lady Gaga (after her French bulldogs were stolen at gunpoint) is that most are the product of in vitro fertilization because the whole “birds, bees, educated fleas” thing is very difficult for them. So I wonder if a cross is a way around that problem?

  46. 46.

    narya

    @mrmoshpotato: Yeah, I am a half a block from the lake and it’s pouring snow. I expect it will be gone by the time it’s time for tomorrow’s exercise, given the rising temps and wetness of the snow.

  47. 47.

    trollhattan

    @mrmoshpotato: Nobody has yet uttered “drought-buster” but we’re getting hella snow in the Sierra Nevada. Which is a good thing, indeed.

    California’s central Sierra Nevada mountain range has already seen more snow this month than any December in recorded history. And it isn’t particularly close. After receiving more than 3 feet in 24 hours, the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab on Monday morning reported a new record of 193.7 inches for the month — more than 16 feet.

    That “smashed” the previous record for the snowiest December in the central Sierra, when 179 inches fell in 1970, the lab said in a tweet. And the month isn’t over yet.

    The UC Berkeley lab, located at Donner Pass at an elevation of about 6,900 feet, will likely crack 200 inches, if not by Tuesday morning’s update then before the end of the year. Several more inches of snow are expected in another system coming to Northern California late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

    https://www.sacbee.com/news/weather-news/article256889137.html#storylink=cpy

    Some reservoirs are filling quickly, others have a LOT of catching up ahead.

  49. 49.

    mali muso

    So after more than a year of the kiddo being back in pre-school with no classroom shutdowns, we got the message on Christmas Eve that one of her classmates tested positive for COVID.  Then another one tested positive the next day.  So we’ve been chilling at home (her classroom will be closed for 2 weeks due to the exposure) and waiting to see how she does.  She’s had cold-like symptoms for one day so we’re off to the pediatrician for a Covid test in a few minutes.   She’d had the first of her Pfizer shots and was due for the second one yesterday but of course that’s on hold now.  blech.  At least she seems to be in good spirits.

  50. 50.

    frosty

    And may I say, from my personal experience this year, [2021 can] hurry the fuck out the door and good riddance.

    And if you happen to hear 2022 say “Hold my beer”, for the love of God, DON’T DO IT!!!!!!!

  52. 52.

    Dan B

    @CaseyL: Ditto on view snowy from inside although recycle and garbage must go out tomorrow.  My job.  Also veggies are seriously depleted.

    Our kitties have finally decided that it is possible to go out the cat door into the suspicious white stuff.  Yay!  But the little gray one doesn’t like the available cat food.  Not one bit!!  Some flavors, as others have reported, are not available and haven’t been for weeks.  ???

    Who’s investigating?

    P.S. Finished Schiff’s book.  Getting into the mind of an ethical attorney when the status quo believes the law is for keeping the ‘lessers’ in their place.  In other words, crumbs of justice for most Americans, and plenty of punishment and despair.

  53. 53.

    Evap

    On the positive side, I am in Hawaii where everything is fabulous.  Everyone wears a mask, even outside in Honolulu.  You have to show your vaccine card to get into a restaurant.   They seem to be doing things right here.

    On the negative side, I’ve been informed that all classes will be remote/online for the start of the spring semester.  I understand why they are doing it and the plan is to go back to in person after a few weeks, but it is depressing. But since I am on vacation right now, I won’t think about it.

  54. 54.

    The Dangerman

    Bring on 2022.

    Got notified by work this morning that there was a positive in the building. Actually, I’m fairly sure there was two, but I digress. Belated Christmas gift.

    What else this week?

    HBTM

    HBTM

    HBDD

    HBTM

  55. 55.

    Dan B

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Saw Never Look Up last night.  It seemed very uneven but got better.  There was more play-serious-then-ham-it-up-rinse-repeat plus weird storylines, than I care for.  But there were lots of memorable scenes – so many! And I loved the analogies to this crazy time and the fact it’s number one on Netflix.

  57. 57.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    DH this evening said how much he misses New York Pizzaria   https://www.nypizzajaxnc.com/ our old home area.  To be honest so do I(pasta,pizza,calzone,cheesesteaks, salads)  However the Englishization of DH (Nick) has continued a pace.  (apologies to the movie “The Americanization of Emily”)

    1) He loathes french fries and absolutely loves chips, and I mean proper chips from the chip shop, if he gets himself something from the chicken shop that serves fries with his meal he will go next door to the chip shop to get proper chips

    2) He goes to the Pub every evening and has a pint.  This is a very English thing for men to do, most do it on their way home from work, Nick used to do it on the way home from the gym, but now he does it just because.  Him:  “Is it okay if I go to the Pub for a pint?” Me: “Absolutely, if I said no I would be drummed out of the English women’s Union”.

    3) Public transport.  He loves public transport. We have a car can drive anywhere we want to but he loves public transport, trains, buses, trams.  When we go to Blackpool (love it) the first thing he does is get us a Tram Pass.  We can wander around Blackpool on the tram all over and every day.  It is perfect.

    4) English deserts, toasted teacakes, sticky toffee pudding, English foods Cornish pasties, steak and ale pie,  chips!

    5) The NHS, the first time he went to pick up his numerous prescriptions and asked them how much it was and they said “nothing” he just about fell over.  His prescriptions in the US cost us about $300 a month and this was a revelation to him.  As was no co-pays, no insurance, no payment requirement to go to the doctors.  Brilliant.

    I am just waiting to convince him to eat a Lancashire Hot Pot and we will be set :)

  58. 58.

    Betty Cracker

    @trollhattan: Could be! I’ve been meaning to look up the Lady Gaga dog saga to find out where the case stands. Last I heard, the lady who alerted the cops that she’d found the dogs was discovered to be part of the plot!

    As for Pete, both of his parents are themselves Frenchtons (rather than a Boston and a Frenchy). In the part of Florida he’s from, I’m not sure people know in vitro fertilization is a possibility for humans, let alone dogs, so I suspect he came into the world without medical intervention!

  59. 59.

    Betty Cracker

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Sounds like a pleasant adjustment! I know what most of those foods are thanks to the Great British Baking Show, but I haven’t heard of a Lancashire Hot Pot.

  63. 63.

    trollhattan

    In which I’m agreeing with [rubs eyes and double-checks] George Effing Will.

    Seven U.S. circuit courts recognize a damages remedy for the kind of injuries Mohamud and Byrd suffered. But 60 million Americans live in the states covered by the two circuit courts that have turned a federal officer’s badge into a license for lawlessness: In those states, it confers almost absolute immunity from being sued for violations of constitutional rights for which nonfederal law enforcement officers can be sued. But suing even state and local officers can be maddeningly difficult, even when the violations are egregious. And even when they did not result from split-second decisions in dangerous situations, the occasions for which qualified immunity can be appropriate.

    The Supreme Court has been reluctant to clarify the different but parallel qualified immunity doctrine in nonfederal cases. On Jan. 7, the Supreme Court will decide if it will hear the argument of Mohamud and Byrd – represented by the Institute for Justice’s libertarian litigators – for ending the anti-constitutional anomaly of almost impregnable immunity for federal officials who commit constitutional violations. The court should hear their case because, for 50 years, it has been shielding government officials from accountability through doctrines such as qualified immunity, which virtually nullifies accountability for all (not just federal) law enforcement and other government officials.

    The Fourth Amendment guarantees, inter alia, the right of the people to be secure in their “persons” from unreasonable “seizures.” The Mohamud and Byrd cases, however, show that a circuit court can decide, without rhyme or reason, that if a person violating that guarantee possesses a federal badge, the person whose rights are violated has no right to a remedy.

  66. 66.

    CaseyL

    @Dan B: There may or may not be trash pickup tomorrow.  The Seattle Times has a list of things delayed or shut down due to the weather:

    If conditions allow, Tuesday customers will be serviced Wednesday, and Wednesday and Thursday customers will see collections Thursday and Friday.

     

    … so hopefully your trash will get picked up, just a day later then usual.

  70. 70.

    J R in WV

    @mrmoshpotato:

    It was weird walking into the local saloon and buying beer for the first time.

    At the time when I was a teenager, the age at which one could buy beer kin WV was 18. My facial hair came in strong V early, so I could go the the drive-in and have a beer with my hotdogs by the time I was 16 or 17. It was 3.2% — not like the IPA etc they sell now, but still.

  71. 71.

    trollhattan

    @J R in WV:

    When Idaho’s drinking age was 19 the highway between university towns Moscow, ID and Pullman, WA was evidently pretty bloody. HS buddy went to Washington State during that era.

    I recall visiting friends in the Boise area and thinking “wow, this crowd looks young” when we’d go out.

  77. 77.

    Dan B

    @CaseyL: Our pickup day I Thursday when snow is forecast.  Just three houses north our street drops off so steep you cannot see oncoming traffic.  If we get minor thawing, refreshing, and fresh snow…..  We’ll see.

    Also we do not get plowed.

  78. 78.

    trollhattan

    Race to the bottom has a potential new leader.

    December 28, 2021 at 2:48 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
    Oklahoma state Sen. Rob Standridge (R) has introduced a bill that would give any parent the power to ban books in school districts, the McAlester News-Capital reports.
    Under the bill, if just one parent objects to a book it must be removed within 30 days. Parents can also collect at least $10,000 per day if the book is not removed as requested.

    All fun and games until parents challenge the Bible and all Donald Trump books.

  79. 79.

    CarolPW

    @dlwchico: She is insanely cute – I love a dog with a beard! Lucky you, she sounds a treat, but with that mix of smarts and attitude her recall issues and leash pulling probably need to be considered features and not bugs (although they always know when you really Really REALLY mean COME because they recognize the panic). Had similar mixes, and they were difficult in some ways but a joy always.

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