National Dog Day!

I was not even aware that national dog day was a thing, so when I went online this morning and saw it was National Dog Day, I thought I should probably celebrate it!

First off I should probably talk about how this whole day came about... Here is what the website (www.nationaldogday.com) says about it:

'National Dog Day serves to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year, and acknowledges family dogs and dogs that work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort. Dogs put their lives on the line every day - for their law enforcement partner, for their blind companion, for a child who is disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and pulling victims of tragedy from wreckage.

National Dog Day is against any kind of "breed ban". Dogs should not have to lose their lives because of the atrocities they have been forced to endure at the hands of man. And while we feel that American's have the constitutional right to purchase a pure breed dog, we strongly discourage buying dogs from pet stores supplied by puppy mills, backyard breeders, the internet and newspaper ads. Rather, we encourage those seeking new canine companions, to consider choosing adoption first and if you'd like a pure breed dog, look into a pure breed rescue to see if they might have just the dog you're looking for.'

The website also has plenty of suggestions for ways that you can celebrate National Dog Day...

1. Adopt a dog from your local shelter or pure breed rescue organization. Volunteer at your local shelter and offer to walk a dog or play with a dog, clean cages or anything else they need help with.

2. Have a safety check of your home to make sure it's safe for your dog and others.  

3. Donate blankets, food and toys to animal welfare organizations.  

4. Organize a peaceful demonstration in front of your community pet store that sells puppies.  

5. Write your Congressman and ask that he/she support the ban of Puppy Mills and Gas Chambers in your state.  

6. Order an adorable dog shaped flower arrangement from 1-800-Flowers.com and enjoy a 10% discount by using code GOODLIVING when placing your order!  

7. Have a National Dog Day party and invite all your friends and their dogs!  

8. Spend the day taking photos of your dog and then enter our photo contest!  

9. Buy an official National Dog Day Tee here and sport it proudly!  

10. Assist an ill or elderly neighbor by walking their dog.  

11. Have a portrait painted of your dog to suspend the fleeting magic of dogdom.  

12. Buy your dog a fun new dog toy....or two...or five.  

13. Give your dog some fun exercise by taking him or her to a doggy play resort.  

14. Say "BECAUSE DOGS" all day, every time someone says hello!

15. Brush your dog to eliminate excess fur.  

16. Give your dog a massage or holistic spa treatment.  

17. Teach your dog a new trick.  

18. Buy your dog a fashionable collar and leash.  

19. Hire a professional pet photographer for a fun photo shoot.  

20. Take your dog to the beach.




I will be celebrating National Dog Day in the best way I can think of, spending time with my dog, Maizey. Unfortunately I will not have time to do this today, and as I don't live with her it makes it harder, but tomorrow, my little doggy is going to be seriously spoilt! She deserves to be shown as much love as she shows me every single time I see her... She always goes crazy when I visit, and makes sure she cuddles up on my lap for as long as she possibly can.

So here's what I have in store for her:

1. A bath and a brushing - She hates the bath part, but loves the brushing!
2. A new football - She LOVES fetching footballs that you kick for her, it's a shame she doesn't have the, and my brother hates her chewing his footballs. She also doesn't care for any other toys...
3. A long walk - Maizey LOVES walks, even more so when she gets to go somewhere she has never been before, the excitement in her eyes just fills my heart with joy.
4. A Special Dinner - I'm going to make her a proper dinner, chicken and vegetables and gravy... something like that anyway. I've NEVER done that for her and I know she's going to love it.

Do you have a special doggy that you are going to be spending time with for National Dog Day?

Nintendogs Diary #1: Meet Chief!

I got my 3DS a few weeks ago and I'm ashamed to say that I haven't played it as much as I would have liked! Anyway I like that it's a crime if you own a DS and don't own a copy of Nintendogs. Yeah it can get a bit boring, but who can say they genuinely don't think the little dogs and cats are cute! I bought my copy preowned so when I first loaded it there was a rather neglected looking dachshund on the screen, a quick erase of the data and I was ready to go!

The problem I always have with this game is that I never know what breed to choose. I love all breeds of dogs, if it's a dog you can guarantee that I will squeal in joy when I see it! The best thing about this game is they've really worked on the way the dogs look, obviously they are never going to look 100% realistic, but they are much cuter than in the original Nintendogs! Anyway... after half an hour of agonising over all the breeds I settled on a Shiba Inu, which just happens to be one of my favourite breeds!

Ladies and gentlemen... meet Chief! My little (virtual) Shiba Inu puppy! I may not be able to get one of these little beauties in real life, but for now I'll be satisfied with this little guy! Isn't he just the cutest?

He even looks fuzzy, unlike the original nintendogs, which were kind of flat, he looks cute and fuzzy and soft and you just want to cuddle him! Right? I also like that the flooring looks a lot more realistic than it did in the other games. I think the new overall design is so much better!

This is him giving me his 'right paw'. Instead of the original 'Shake' command they now have 'right paw' and 'left paw'. I'm not really sure why, I always thought one paw was sufficient!

I really like this picture, I bought him this collar pretty much as soon as I got him, and I think it makes him look so cute!

I've only been playing with him for a little while, but I'm already in love. Please tell me I'm not the only adult that likes playing Nintendogs? I think it's a good way for me to satisfy my insane craving to own a basically one of every breed of dog! I've only taught him a couple of tricks so far, but I'm hoping that come tomorrow he'll be ready for his first obedience competition!

Please let me know if you enjoyed this post and want to see more posts like these? I am waiting on a delivery of Animal Crossing and already have 4 other bloggers to play that with! I'm thinking of doing an Animal Crossing diary and other general gaming diaries of whatever I play. It's much easier with 3DS games because you can take screen shots pretty much anytime! So watch this space for lots more gaming things!