DogThunder and Lightning's Blog

I Don't Like Insurance Men

2011-02-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

Today we had a visitor. He was our insurance man. I did not like him. I don't know why, but I stayed in the den while he talked to Dad about our house. No, dere's nothing wrong with the house! We were just looking at getting a quote from him for our house insurance. Anyway, while Dad talked to him in the kitchen, I stayed in the den with Mom. I was scared and barked. He just made me nervous. Usually I am a friendly dog, but maybe it's the insurance thing..... Maybe I thought he had a gecko in his pocket......

I Love Cheese!

2011-01-27T19:16:00.000-08:00

I love cheese! Mom puts my cough pills in cheese and I am feeling much better! When Mom and Dad have cheese and cracker Happy Hour I get a little taste. I love cheese.

This weekend is the #TrooperBowl #Dudefest. I am the opening barktender, so I thought that a cheesehead was appropriate for the big game coming up. Did I tell you I love cheese?

Mom Says I Gots A Virus

2011-01-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

Today Mom came home early from work and took me on a car ride without brudder, which I liked very much. I don't get much special time with Mom, so I was really having fun. We went to this place that had a bunch of kitties walking around and some doggies on leashes who wanted to make friends.

We went in this room that smelled really clean and this person picked up my tail and,,, not sure, but,,, what the heck was that thing?

Then the person, who was really nice said I had a temperature. I was doing this, gag, gag, ack, ack, and Mom asked that I have a heartworm test. The person stuck a needle in my arm and I was a good boy! The heartworm test was negative, which was good I guess because mom was very happy!

The person gave Mom some pills for me and then we drove home. I fell asleep in the car on the way home.

When we got home, brudder came running out to the car, jumping and jumping! He was so happy to see me, which was nice because he usually takes me for granted. Mom put the pills in some good cheese which was nommy. I like attention. It makes me feel special!

How Come Horses Don't Tweet?

2011-01-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

Dese are my horse brudders, Chase on the left, and Cody on the right. They live in the pasture on our little farm in Embarrass, Minnesota. We went outside to play in the beautiful sun and we started wondering, why don't horses Tweet? We see kitties and bunnies and a guinea pig and a duck and a bird, but NO HORSES!

What is it about horses that they don't want to talk on Twitter? Are they snobs? Are they just not interested in talking to furriends? Or don't they know about Twitter? Should we tell them about our furriends and how much fun we have talking to furriends all around da world?

When we try to visit them and go under the fence into their pasture, they chase us out. They have got about 19 acres to themselves. We have about one acre. Maybe if we tell them about Twitter they will try to take over the twitterverse like they took over the farm.....

Humph, we think for now, we will keep Twitter a secret from them. Us dogs gotta have our space somewhere!

My Top Ten New Years 2011 Resolutions!

2011-01-05T19:36:00.001-08:00

Yeah, I know it is well into the New Year! I have been thinking about this for a while and I am finally ready to publish my Top Ten New Years 2011 Resolutions!

Ready?

#10 >> I will not puke up kibbles after I eat them.

#9 >>> I will continue to clean my brother's ears.

#8 >>> I will not puke up dog bones after I eat them.

#7 >>> I will let mom trim my toenails.

#6 >>> I will not let that squirrel drive me crazy.

#5 >>> I will go swimming whenever I can.

#4 >>> I will not chew up mom's pillow when I steal it.

#3 >>> I will be friendly to the UPS and FedEx men.

#2 >>> I will not be afraid to have my picture taken.

and my #1 New Years Resolution for 2011 is:

I WILL CONTINUE TO BE A FOLLOWER, A BETA DOG, MOM'S BEST FRIEND, MY BRUDDER'S BEST FRIEND, AND NEVER, EVER, EVER,,,,

HAVE AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT OF MY OWN. THAT IS MY BRUDDER'S JOB!

The Doggy "Guilty" Look

2010-12-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

Does my brudder, Lightning, look guilty?? Well, according to Alexandra Horowitz at Barnard College, New York, don't be too quick to judge. Lightning read about an experiment that shed some light on the subject:

What Really Prompts The Dog's 'Guilty Look'

Horowitz was able to show that what humans interpret as a 'guilty look' in a dog is really just the human's interpretation of their pet's 'guilty look'. Humans tend to anthropomorphize their pet's behaviors and the interpretation of the 'guilty look' falls into that category. The 'look' exhibited by the pet is a reaction to the owner's actions upon discovering the naughty deed, not a reaction to the actual deed that was done by the dog.

Hmmph, I could of told Mom that! Being naughty is fun!

Do Pessimistic Dogs Have More Anxiety?

2010-12-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

My brudder, Lightning, has been doing some reading and he found an interesting article on separation anxiety that he wanted to share.

Dogs showing separation-related behavior exhibit a 'pessimistic mood' according to an article published in the October 12, 2010, issue of Current Biology.

The article suggests that dogs that demostrate 'pessimistic' behavior are more likely to show separation anxiety than dogs that exhibit 'optimistic' behavior. The author, Mike Mendl of the University of Bristol, notes that most owners believe that anxious pets are 'fine' and do not seek treatment for their pet, however, pets may actually benefit from treatment for anxiety. Mendl believes that treatment is very important to ensuring good dog welfare.

The link above describes how Mendl tested dogs for 'pessimistic' versus 'optimistic' behavior.

Backyard Romp in Da Snow

2010-12-26T13:46:00.000-08:00

My hooman brudder finally got his present in Japan, exactly one month after Mom sent it. He said it went to Sydney, Australia first for some reason before showing up in Japan. Now that is some well traveled Goodie bars!

Well, anyway, we were bored today so Mom took us outside to play. She shot the video and we romped. We love the snow. Yeah, we are black labs. Yeah, we are water dogs, but we were born in Minnesota! We do not know that there's no duck hunting in the snow. We just like it! It is fun to run and roll in the snow with brudder,,, crazy brudder! ps, we got a little carried away at the end and Mom had to tell us to behave! We just boy dogs for goodnes sake!

Lost in Da Mail!

2010-12-21T09:06:00.000-08:00

...My hooman brudder lives in Japan. He is a teacher at a high school in Osaka, Japan, employed by the JET (Japanese English Teaching Program). Last month, Mom sent him a package Priority Mail (USPS) on November 26. In da package were several items that he had asked for that he misses from the US: toothpaste, deoderant, undies, a face mask for his hockey helmet, and ten Nut Goodies that he was craving!

The package never arrived! It usually only takes one week for a Priority Mail package to travel from Northern Minnesota to Osaka, but not this time! Mom was not really intending for this to be his Christmas present. She was going to send something else, but now she is wondering if she should send another package. Where did the Nut Goodie package go? Should she use the USPS again?

She called the post office and registered that the package was lost. They said it will take at least three weeks to trace the package and they had no info in their database except that she had dropped it off on November 26!

Poor brudder! Not only is he not home for Christmas, but his package is lost in da mail. Send him a Twitter greeting at @bennyjpn and wish the poor guy a Merry Christmas. Hopefully it will cheer him up!

Poo Gun Store for Serious Shoppers

2010-12-12T15:28:00.000-08:00

We were thinking, why not put poo guns up for sale for the serious poo gun player that likes to #pawpawty all day and night? So, here is da store! If you need one, just click on da link below and make a donation. Your new weapon will pack a wallop for da animals!

The Citrus Shooter: Orange you glad this ain't pointed at you?

Eco Friendly Flinger: Made of all natural materials for shooting all natural materials

Doody Dart Gun: Accurate and powerful, for farty fun or fast blasting

High Powered Shooter: For shooting sloshy stuff a long ways!

The Little Lady: For packing heat under that pretty outfit

Make My Day: For the serious player that needs rapid fire and lots of ammo

Serious Doody Shooter: For Wild Pawpawties only!!! Don't use this at home!

The Slosher: Small but accurate, for watery shots dat sting with odiferous ammo

Snub Nosed Shooter: for the James Cagney personalities

Space Aged Shooter: for the 21st century ammo that is out of this world!

Zig Zag Zinger: for the player that has papers (if you know what we mean!)

Zippy Zonker: for the player that likes to put a spin on their sin!

Long Time No Write

2010-12-05T12:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been a long time since we wrote on our blog, but our friend, BearBearD, inspired us. Mom went to England to Shannon and Rob's wedding in October, and it has been hectic here ever since. We wanted to share a picture that Mom took of our brudder, Chase, on Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful sunny day. We went outside snuffling snow mice while Mom took pictures.

SUKA WAKIYA HOTOPI!

2010-09-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a very long time since we have posted an entry in our blog, so it is about time.

We were looking at our friend, @BearBearD's blog http://lovealwaysbear.blogspot.com/ where he was wearing a beautiful Indian headdress, and it got us thinking, "What would my name DogThunder be in Cherokee, or Lakota, or Chippewa?" Well, mom has a friend at work, (Dr. Fred Ness) who speaks Lakota, so she asked him! Dr. Ness said that many Native Americans have names with 'dog' in it, like 'Red Dog'.

As a people, the Lakota prefer the term, "Lakota Natives."
Lakota is a dialect of the Siouan Languages. "Lakota" means "Alliance of friends." We found a really terrific website as a reference, http://language.nativeweb.org/ and we downloaded the dictionary.

Dog / SUKA/ shue - kah

Thunder(clap)/WAKIYA HOTOPI/wah-kee-yahn hoh-dohn-pee

So, DogThunder would be SUKA WAKIYA HOTOPI!

We also found brudder's name, Lightning!

Thunder(lightning)/WAKIYA TUWAPI/wah-kee-yahn duen-wahn-pee

Wow, that is so cool!

Thank you to http://thegreasygrass.com/ for the beautiful graphic!

Dis Week's Pawty Announcement

2010-04-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

APRIL THIRD NYC LOFT PAWTY!

2010-04-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

We's were supposed to wear black to da NYC Loft Pawty, but when we's put on da black tux, you couldn't see us. We's might of well been in our birfday suit, so mom bought us a white suit.

Tag! You're It!

2010-03-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Dolly (http://thelittledogspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/03/tag-your-it.html) tagged me in this photo game. Here is how it works:

Go to your blog and scroll down to your tenth photo
Post your tenth photo in a new blog entry and tell a story about it
Pass it on to five other bloggers

So I followed the directions, and here is what I got. Dis is me and brudder outside dis winter. We were playing in da snow! We are so dark black dat you can't even see our faces! BOL!

I am sending this link to five other bloggers to carry dis on! Sorry if you have already been tagged! Can't wait to see the pics!

@informedferret
@AylaLab
@mattiedog
@dogstories
@SidtheCatahoula

Sign My Guestbook

2010-02-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

2010-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody!

My dear furriend @BrutustheDane honored me with this award. I am so please he would think of me. He is very special and furiendly. Here is the link to his so you can learn more about him. Here is the award he gave me!

So I am supposed to say 10 things about myself that no one knows and then give the award to another 10 furriends. So here we go!

10 Things About Myself
1. I love to take snow baths.
2. I think my brudder is pretty special.
3. Squirrels are actually my furriends and playmates.
4. I love to sleep on mom's bed when she isn't home. (shhhhh, don't tell anybody)
5. I hate having my nails trimmed.
6. I am very obedient and never venture outside of da yard.
7. I am very verbal and talk to mom a lot.
8. I have a very deep voice.
9. I love to chew on my brudder's ears.
10. Mom likes me da best (she told me you know).

10 Furriends Who I've Given the Award To
@AylaLab
@BearBearD
@JaspertheLab
@Trailerparkdogs
@buddybentley
@thebrindledog
@BaronVonOdem
@JinJinDoggy
@flicka47
@Mariodacat

Our Pawpawty Hit the News

2010-01-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

Our Viva Wags Vegas pawpawty for anipals in Haiti hit the news this week. Here is the link: http://www.peoplepets.com/news/charities/pawpawty-raises-nearly-2-000-for-haitian-animal-relief/1#

Pawpawty for Haitian Animals

2010-01-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB7sY-nK6_I

This weekend we pawpawtied for animal shelters in Haiti and raised over $1000!

Sometimes My Brother Bugs Me When

2010-01-20T00:24:00.000-08:00

We's started our own Twitter Hashtag #sometimesmybrotherbugsmewhen so that we's can get some things off our chest! Now, that brudder of mine, Lightning, he thinks he is so smart. He always has the ideas. He pushes me away to get pets. He never returns the favor when we's grooms him. Mom throws da ball and he just sits and looks at it! He stands on da porch and tells me where to hunt for da squirrels. So we's need some blog therapy and dis is it! It is free ya know and well worth the typin' time. He never wears any costumes for #dudefests or #pawpawtys. Who does he think he is? Yeah, yeah, I know. Da alpha dog. da leader of da pack (of two). Da idea man. Da primo dogo. Da numero uno peto. Oh, who cares? I am happier bein' da follower. Much less think time then. Look at all da calories I am conservin' by not thinkin' so hard! Besides, mom likes me best. (whispers softly) 'She told me you know'.

2010-01-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

Another great #Dudefest this weekend, celebrating Hank's 10th birthday. We's had to post a picture of da cake when Bait jumped out of it! Too funny! Dis cake has got to be placed in da #Dudefest Hall of Fame!

Get Out Yer Poo Guns, Boys!

2010-01-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

Clean and oil up da poo guns boys, we are having a Dudefest this weekend, Jan 16-17, honoring HankTheDoggy's 10th birthday! We's can't wait! We's going to check out our costume trunk to see what duds we have to wear. Here's da link if yous want to join us! http://dudefestteam.blogspot.com/2009/12/dudefest-jan-16-17-details.html

Snowy Weekend Piktures of Me and Brudder

2009-12-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a bunch of piktures from dis weekend. Brudder and I went outside to play in da snow, and he stayed on da porch to tell me where to hunt; a pikture of our little tree with our stockings under it; and some doggy bones hanging under da Christmas wreath. Mom won't let us open these until Christmas and we are very curious about why dey smell so good!

Give a Goat for Christmas!

2009-12-11T14:50:00.001-08:00

Howliday Pawpawty Dis Weekend!

2009-12-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

This month’s #pawpawty theme is the howlidays and the charity is Catering to Cats & Dogs in Cornelius, NC.

To learn all about what iz #pawpawty, check out the pawpawty website.

A pikture of my howliday costume is at the right of this blog>>>>

Thank you very much to all our new furriends that have sent us Christmas cards!

We's gonna try to take a pikture of me and my brudder, Lightning, if we's can. It's just that we's are BLACK labs and it is hard to get the lighting just right so that you can see our faces.

Snuggles,
Thunder Barnes

Santa Paws Pawty in Honor of @PepiSmartDog

2009-11-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

This week's pawpawty is in honor of @pepismartdog who crossed the rainbow bridge in September, 2009. He was a great supporter of pawpawtys for shelter anipals throughout da worlds. The theme is 'glam' so we's not sure what boy dogs are s'posed to wear for dat. We's just gonna have to check da closet.

^^^ See pic above. We's met a really nice puppy, named Ayla and we's danced and danced! She had a beautiful pink scarf on and we's had so much fun! Sigh...

Here's da link for da pawpawty: http://www.santapawsdrive.com/santapawsdrive/pepipawty.html

We's hope to see yous dere!

This Weekends' Wedding of Hansee and Poppy

2009-11-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

Skinny Paws Caught the Garter!

We attended the #pawpawty wedding of Poppy Dog and HanseeBundee dis weekend and raised funds for the Sunny Harbour Cat and Kitten Rescue. It was a global 24 hour celebration of all furriends and family. We's had a great time dancing and drinking champagne (at least until someone revealed that the champagne was made out of sparkling toilet water!)

Happy Birfday to Dad (hooman dat is)

2009-11-20T21:38:00.000-08:00

Dis is a picture of my human dad. It's his birfday today. Da horses are really his mostly. He thinks he is a cowboy. BOL!!!

Some Pics of My Family

2009-11-20T21:25:00.001-08:00

Dese are pictures of our hooman sister, Shannon. She is an artist and draws really good anipals! She was living in Leeds, England, but now is returning to the US with her fiance, Rob. Welcome home to Shannon and looking forward to meeting Rob and da big wedding!

Dese are some pictures of our hooman brudder, Paul's purriends. Paul is a big Ohio State fan and dats why Neva has da OSU jersey on!

Here are some pictures of our hooman brudder, Ben, in Thailand. He likes to travel a lot. We's don't. Dere's not enough squirrels for us to chase!

Dis is pictures of my horse brudders, Cody and Chase. Cody has da big white nose. BOL. Dey loves dere home on da farm and da treats dat dey get from mom and dad.

Dis is a picture of me and my brudder when we first came to live with mom and dad on da farm. We were just puppies den and were silly. We were from a litter of 12 puppies born in Ely, Minnesota. Our doggy mom and dad were registered black labs, but we's don't care about dat stuff. We are just glad our human mom and dad love us so much!

Ok, We Be Bloggin' Now

2009-11-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

So, dis is our first blog. My brudder, Lightning and me, DogThunder dat is. We's live in Northern Minnesota on a small hobby farm with our horse brudder's, Cody and Chase.

My brudder, Lightning is the Alpha, which means he eats first, gets the pick of where to sit, and I grooms him, especially his ears. Don't ask me why, dats just how it is and it is FINE with me, because I am da Beta dog, da follower.

I have neber had an original thought in my life! In fact, mom had to write dis because it would neber occur to me to do dis.

Anywho, I like attending #Pawpawtys to raise money for animal shelters all over da world. We may talk funny and we may be silly, but me and my friends do good stuff for anipals around da world.