German Shepard 101 - Part I

Xanza here! So, been talkin' to Xavier yesterday while the humans were gone and he thinks I need to be a better dog. He keeps sayin' that I'm a disgrace to my breed. I have no idea what he's talkin' about...I breathe just fine. Sure..sometimes...I get an occasional piece of kibble stuck all up in there...but everything usually turns out ok.


Xavier says that he don't want to hurt my feelings but that I should try and follow his lead. For example, he says that when the Masters feed us that I should politely sit and wait and then the Masters will be happy with me. Well, I tried that and it don't seem to work!! I figured that I'd impress the Masters and sit over and over. (If one sit can impress them...why not more). OMG - and between every sit, I ran around in this cool circle! I musta sat like 50 times but for some reason the Masters didn't look too happy. Xavier musta gave me the wrong info.

Xavier also said that to be a good German Shepard, I gotta be strong, intelligent and a protector. I been thinkin' about this for a very long time (since this morning) and I think I gots what it takes. OMG - I am totally strong! I beat up on the white one so much. Oh, and also I am a lean mean fighting machine when it comes to destroying these weird creatures that the Masters bring home called toys. The ones that look like animals, I completely own! Woot woot!


I think I'm pretty intelligent too, in fact I think I am not just pretty intelligent, I am awesomely intelligent...in fact..."intelligent" happens to be MY middle name. (psst..."Yo Bliz, what does intelligent mean? If you tell me, I won't bite your face today").


Oh, and last but not least, I'm a great protector! Once I get that Xavier's toy, I carry it around in my mouth for hours. I even take it when I go do ma business.

Heck, I'm such a good protector that if someone broke into ma house and tried to distract me with something I like...I'd so be SO on top of it. Woot!

Rain rain go away...

Today is such a gloomy and rainy day. I heard Mommy tell Daddy that it was raining cats and dogs but when I went to go check, I saw no such thing! Hmph - that would have been fun to see!



I was hoping that Mommy could take me to dog park today but the weather is very yucky outside. I don't want to get all muddy and wet because that means Mommy has to put me in the crate for several hours. When I was younger, I use to get dirty and wet all the time...and couldn't play until I was all nice and dry. That was no fun at all :-(


Last night Auntie Molly & Uncle Peter came over after going out to eat something called sushi. I don't exactly know how it is made but I keep hearing Mommy and Daddy say that it is made of raw fish and you eat it with sticks. I couldn't believe it! Humans eating raw?! I am impressed. This sushi stuff sounded quite tasty and I hope that someday I am able to try some.

It was so nice to see Auntie Molly and Uncle Peter again. I love when other humans come and visit and they give me lots of attention. All I have to do is walk up to them, look at them with these adorable brown eyes, give them a sweet smile or a kiss and I get lots and lots of pats on the head and belly rubs. Oooh, belly rubs are my absolute favorite thing.

Oh I almost forgot, Auntie Molly let me smell her wonderful hair again!! If you don't know already, I sorta have an itsy bitsy fetish with hair. I love the smell of all the wonderful scents from the shampoo in human hair. I love it so much that I rub my head all over it and often get too carried away. Sorry Auntie Molly.

The Fifth Day

According to my calculations, today is the fifth day in a row where the masters are gone for approximately eight hours. And, if I look outside at the sun's angle in the sky, I believe that they should be home in a few hours. I simply cannot wait till Master Stan and Master Lors get home. They are always so happy on the fifth day. I believe I have heard them call it, "Friday". I love Fridays! I wish I could give a great big hug to Friday. Friday gives me two wonderful days where I can enjoy my Masters' company.

Where have all the rabbits gone?

Xanza here! Question - do you know where all the rabbits went? The weather is all nice now and I still haven't seen a single one..not one! Makes me mad.

Me want a nice juicy wriggley rabbit.

Last summer was awesome - I caught me a bunch of rabbits. I even took out a raccoon and a opposum in back to back weeks, can you believe it?! Those were a bit rough though. They managed to piss me off so much that they were not worth being in ma belly! So I left 'em for Father to take care of. Mother was a bit freaked out as usual. She don't like dead things at all.

I remember the first rabbit kill like it was yesterday...wait a minute...was it yesterday?...naw I don't think so...anyways...I brought ma juicy bunny up to show Mother at the backdoor but she screamed and didn't want to let me inside. I guess she didn't want me bringin' it in the house and makin' a mess...so I did what was needed..muahahaha....all I can say was..."Mmmm, that was a tasty bunny".



I rock...before it was the white one that would get the kills..now I've passed him up. Mother keeps calling him a "lover" not a "fighter"....yeah sure...if lover means you suck and youra pansy. Stupid white dog. I wanna bite his face. Maybe now the humans will see me as 2nd dog. I still haven't seen Xavier take anything out in the backyard but then again, the animals don't even come in the yard when he's around. I guess he's gotta be pretty strong for them to do that.

Stop and Smell the Daisy

I'm sorry that I haven't had much time to write. Mommy and I have been busy preparing for our Walk for Animals fundraiser sponsered by the Animal Humane Society (AHS). Every year, AHS has this huge walk with lots of animals to raise money for animal causes. Last year, Mommy, Grandma and I walked about 2 miles and raised over $300 for charity. It was so much fun!

I was also able to meet other wonderful doggies, eat lots of ice cream, get my picture taken by lots of people, see a professional football player, listen to bands that played songs about dogs, and visit booths with fun things just for me. I even got a chance for flirt...hehe. I met this beautiful sammy; her name was Daisy and we immediately hit it off. I was so drawn to her that I kept following her, smelling her and cuddling with her. I just couldn't take my eyes away from her. Mommy thought it was SO cute and I could tell that she was thinking grandpuppies! Silly Mommy - I was only flirting!


Mommy is working so hard trying to get me in shape for the walk this year. I guess, this year it will be at a different place and we have to walk 5 miles. Oh my gosh - I hope my paws can handle it. She is also busy trying to get those few last minute donations. So, if you know anyone who might be interested in donating, please go to this place:

http://events.animalhumanesociety.org/site/TR/Walk/General?px=1147541&pg=personal&fr_id=1080&et=Dj_JoN_IITarXkmqUijbGg..&s_tafId=10251

I can't wait for the walk. I love Mommy so much and love spending time with her. She's my everything.

Sometimes it's fun to pretend...

I know that there are some who think that I cannot differentiate between being human and being a dog. I feel as though that I am judged for turning my back on my species because I enjoy the simple pleasures of human life.

For example, when I was a young pup, Master Stan would take me for car rides in his sports car. On some occasions, he would make a quick stop into a store and I would wait for him in the car. When he would return, he would catch me in the driver's seat. Now, I know that this looks quite bad but that was not my intention. All I wanted was to feel what it was like to drive...like Master Stan. I would put my paws up and wish I had opposable thumbs to grasp the steering wheel. I would imagine the cool summer air in my fur and the sweet smells of delectable food as they slowly linger near my nose. Is that so terribly wrong?

I must admit that all things that the humans do intrigue me. So, I take it upon myself to pretend when I am given the opportunity. Like when the Masters are at work, I hop into their bed and pretend to be lazy and sleep in. Or when people come over to visit, I sometimes greet them with a handshake. On one occasion I was given the chance to try real beer! Master Stan poured some cheap beer for me in my bowl but I did not like it very much and had to politely refuse. He then got the idea of pouring some Optimator, a German brew, in hopes that I would like it better. Surely enough, that was quite tasty and refeshing. I licked it all up!

What's in a Name?

The Masters call me Xavier. They both had liked the name prior me joining the family. I did some research and found out the origin of my name:

XAVIER
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, French, Portuguese, Catalan
Derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in eastern Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.

My name is Blizzard. I'm half Samoyed and half Husky, thus my all white exterior. When I was a little puppy, Mommy and Daddy had to drive through some icky weather in the dead of winter to come and get me from my biological Mommy. It was snowing a lot that night. It was Daddy who thought of the name, Blizzard. I think it suits me pawfectly. Mommy had some crazy ideas for names like Merlin and Cyclone...I love her to death but I'm sure thankful for Daddy's creative mind.






Xanza is my name! I am not sure I fully understand it but Mom and Dad says I was named after a fictional anime character. The show is called Rurouri Kenshin. Has to do with samurais. OMG! How cool is that!! The character used a big weapon called a zanbato and when he used it, he called himself Zanza. Mom and Dad replaced the "Z" with an "X" (it's a German Shepard thing - woot!).

Shout Out to Xane!!

Givin' a shout out to my cuz, Xane from S.T.L. I keep hearin' we have a lot in common. Can't wait to meet up and cause some mischief together. Luv ya, bro! Say "Yo!" to your 'rents, Mandy & Marcus for me. Peace!

Canine Hierarchy

Xanza here! Oh my God -- this is SO cool! Me famous! I see me on Mother's glowy thingy that she types on while sitting on the couch. She is on that thingy a lot. Father has one too. It must be their favorite toys or something. My favorite toy is this red rubber ball. It is fun to carry it around in my mouth. The big shepard likes it too but I try my best to steal it from him. OMG - I tried SO many times to get my ball from him but he growls at me when I get close to him. Oh well! I will get it sometime - he is a lot bigger than me and I don't want to mess with him. He is too strong but one day I will take him. And that day, I will be the alpha dog in this house! Woot woot! Muahahahaha.....


The white one, on the other hand, is such a puss...a big puss...a gigantic puss. Anytime he hears something loud - he goes and runs under the kitchen table OR when we are outside he goes and hides under the stairs.



OMG - how wimpy is that?! He has no place being 2nd dog in the house! Sometimes, I mess with him. I like to beat up on him. I don't mean to hurt him (cause Mother would kill me!) but it's SO much fun. I can't help myself. He is such a wimp -- did I tell you that already?!? Well, got to go - I sleep now.

Lovin' Spring!

Today was so much fun. I absolutely adore what the humans call, Spring. While Master Stan was cleaning the grill outside, he was throwing my favorite red kong ball to me. I love my ball! I am so extatic that the weather is warm and the masters can take me outside.

Last week, Master Lors took me to the dog park. Unfortunately, when we arrived, there was a grumpy old man there and he said that I was not allowed into the fenced-in facility area. He said that big dogs like me were not allowed in that area between 6pm-7pm. I was so disappointed that we would have to go home. I wanted to play! It was my first outing from the long Minnesota winter. I could tell that Master Lors was a bit sad that I could not play with the other dogs. She wants me to socialize with other dogs besides my brothers. But, she ended up taking me to the larger open non-fenced area with the pond. She did not mind me going in that area because I stick close to her and do not wander off like Blizzard. Master Lors threw the tennis balls for me for over an hour! Although there were no other dogs in that area, I loved spending time with Master Lors, aka Mom. I must admit that towards the end, I was getting a bit tired and purposely hid three of the tennis balls so that she would not see them. I am very out of shape and that needs to change. All in all, my first dog park outing for the Spring was spectacular. I cannot wait to go again and hopefully I will be able to show off how well-behaved I am to the other dogs.