I was nominated by Jenny at Cello’s Corner for the Liebster Award – thanks Jenny! Cello’s Corner is a blog about Jenny’s two German Shorthairs, Cello and Hooch. These two lucky pups spend their days camping, hiking, dock diving and hanging out at dog-friendly wineries. Bailey and Cello were dock-diving buddies and hopefully Piper will get to meet both of Jenny’s dogs in the coming year.

As part of accepting the Liebster Award I get to answer 11 questions. I love that these are dog-related questions because (in case you didn’t notice) I LOVE writing about dogs! Without further ado, here we go…

1. Most bloggers have a moment where they say to themselves, “I need to tell the world about this!” What was that moment for you?

Well, the moment that comes to mind actually has nothing to do with dogs. It’s when Matt and I made Shrimp Scampi for the first time. Dinner was SO delicious that I had to share the recipe IMMEDIATELY. Here’s a link to that post if you’re in the mood for a really yummy pasta dish: Shrimp Scampi. We had it again last week!

2. What is the craziest thing you have ever done with your dog(s).

Hmm, does driving 30+ hours from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and back with only 2 hour break count? Because that was pretty crazy! Matt and I did this in order to bring Piper home from her breeder back in October.

3. More and more establishments are starting to become pet-friendly. What are your thoughts on this policy? And do you hope that it becomes more of the “standard” in the future?

I’m all for pet-friendly places but hope that dog owners will use common sense when deciding to bring the dog along. Dogs should be under control and on a leash. Also, owners should always, ALWAYS clean up after their dogs! I am a major dog lover but I still absolutely hate it when I see dog poop on the grass medians in the parking lot outside a pet store or other pet-friendly establishment. Come on, people!

4. Have you have taken your dog to a dog-friendly winery/bar/restaurant/attraction? If so, what was your favorite place, and why?

No, but a dog friendly winery sounds like my kind of place! Grace Winery, the vineyard where Matt and I got married, hosts dog-friendly outdoor tastings on Sunday afternoons so maybe Piper will get to experience that in the Spring.

5. What is your favorite game to play with your dog?

We like to play around with wobble discs, cardboard boxes, and other random objects to encourage Piper’s balance, hind leg awareness and general interaction/attention skills. Here’s a collage of her on wobbly inflated discs when she was 12 weeks old:

6. Does your dog sleep in bed with you?

Nope! Piper sleeps in her crate right now and when she’s old enough she’ll graduate up to a dog bed in our bedroom. Bailey (pictured below) wasn’t allowed to sleep on our bed either, except if we were traveling and staying at a pet-friendly hotel. Then we made a special exception and she got to snuggle on the bed with us. 😊

7. What is the silliest thing you have ever seen your dog do?

Piper is full of quirky, funny, amazing puppy antics! The silliest thing that comes to mind was a few months ago when she accidentally peed on the kitchen floor, then galloped through her pee puddle, slipped on it, and totally wiped out, skidding several feet across the kitchen floor. It was messy but boy was it funny.

8. Does your dog participate in any organized activity, competition, or sport?

For now Piper is just in obedience training mode. She completed puppy class and I really need to call What a Good Dog to schedule her next round of classes. I never remember to do that during business hours though… maybe this post will remind me tomorrow!

9. What type of training [treats] do you use with your dog?

I’m adding “treats” to this question since I already covered some training above. Piper’s favorite training treats are (in order): Bil-Jac’s Gooberlicious peanut treats (aka Little Goobers), string cheese, Zuke’s rabbit-flavored mini-naturals, and Zuke’s jerky.

10. How many dogs total do you have? Have you ever thought about adding another to the pack?

Just one! Maybe we’ll get Piper a friend in the future but we’re good for now.

11. Do you carry a first aid kit with you when traveling with your dog? If so, what do you think are the most important items you have in your kit?

We used to travel with a camping-style human first aid kit that included gauze, aspirin and Benadryl (all things that a dog might need too). We haven’t brought the kit along lately but I figure that we’re usually never more than a short drive away from a pharmacy or some other store where we could buy supplies in an emergency.

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And that’s it! Thank you again to Jenny from Cello’s Corner for nominating me. It’s nice to have an excuse to share more about Piper (not that I need one!).

Rather than nominating specific blogs, I’d like to welcome my readers to answer any one of the questions above in the comments. If you don’t have a dog that’s fine… tell me about your cat, goldfish, (child?) etc. Have your pets done something sillier than wipe out on the kitchen floor in their own pee? 😉