Yes, It's a Yawning Dog (vs a Whooping Party Animal) - Wherein I Debunk 5 Outrageous Photo Memes

Let me preface with my motivation for this post (something I tweeted during a BlogPaws "party"):

Ayeeeeee! Ack ack ack! (Not to be outdone by his party animal brother.) #Dewi'sGettinLoud #blogpawty pic.twitter.com/GA1uSsRVPn
— Elizabeth Keene (@ChroniclesCardi) February 16, 2014

Followed by a legitimate question from a reader, regarding the photo (and its context)...

Shhhhhh!!! Blowin' my schtick, gurl! (Of course it's a yawn. But he is loud.) @kgoak201
— Elizabeth Keene (@ChroniclesCardi) February 16, 2014

But--in my defense--he DOES look like he could be whooping it up at a party, doesn't he? ;)

Seriously, though, y'all know Jon Farleigh and Dewi are just "regular" dogs, right? I mean, for instance, this:

It's obvious that Jon Farleigh's not really constipated, but instead, having some sort of euphoric daydream*, isn't it?

Or, here:

Dewi can't be dreaming of roast turkey (I hardly ever make it), so he's got to be dreaming of bacon! Duh.

Or, this:

[In the vet's parking lot.]
Dewi to Jon: "Hey, dude, how's my drivin?"
Jon to Dewi: "I think we're parked, man."

You know they're not really channeling Cheech and Chong, don't you?!

And, what about this?:

It would be preposterous to think Dewi could be that excited about a pile of fresh kitty "brownies" in the mulch**. Besides, my cats don't even go outside!

And, here, this last one:

Jon Farleigh, upon seeing the human bring out the beer keg. 

What human in his right mind would bring out a kegger at a dog's birthday party?! No, no, no! It was BACON***! DUH!

So, there you go! No more pretending! My dogs are just plain old boring, okay? (And, if you believe that, I've got a no-bake, gluten-free "brownie" recipe I'll sell you for real cheap.☺)

* Euphoric = Bacon

** It wasn't brownies; someone probably brought a BLT outside.

*** Let's get real; all dog memes--when broken down--are probably about bacon. ahem.

WAIT! DON'T LEAVE YET!

Gotta tell you about the GIVEAWAY during this Sunday's  #CARDICOMEDY:

BOTH delightful novels**** by bestselling author Jackie Bouchard:

Yep, one lucky participant is going to win both (in her choice of medium)! I hope it's YOU!

Put it on your calendar (THIS SUNDAY, 2/23)...

**** I've read them both; I KNOW! 

Look for other #CardiComedy giveaways in upcoming weeks, straight off this guide I published in Decmeber:

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In Which I Explain How Twitter Chats Work, Because You've Gotta Join Mine! #CardiComedy #Dogs

But first, a real-live conversation from last week, in my kitchen:

Eldest Child: So, which day this week can you take me to a hiring session for my summer job?

Me: [Thinks aloud.] Well, Tuesday's out, and Wednesday? Wednesday I've got a Twitter chat at 8 p.m., so no.

Husband and Eldest Child: [Cut off mother, mid-thought, snickering.] A Twitter chat?? Are you serious?? What the heck is a Twitter chat??

Me: [Decides not to expend energy answering patronizing questions.] I'll drive you on Thursday. Remind me, okay?

Okay, so first of all, my family members are dorks. ;) Second, Twitter chats are fun! Third, I'm gonna start hosting one - called #CardiComedy - on Sundays from 7:30-8:30 p.m. EST, and I hope you'll attend!

What is #CardiComedy?

Essentially, it'll be an hour of me, making dumb jokes about my own pet experiences, and throwing crazy, dog-related questions out for attendees to answer, in real time. I envision a canine-centric, interactive comedy hour, where we all get to know each other better over a few well-deserved laughs!

Why should I attend #CardiComedy? I have other stuff I could be doing at that time.

• Because it's free fun!
• Jon Farleigh and Dewi will be there. Have I mentioned we'll be sharing silly pet photos, too?
• You'll get to know other dog people and expand your horizons on Twitter (and maybe beyond).
• There will be prizes. Yes, I said PRIZES! Stuff for your dog, maybe a gift card for you - I have plans to give away some of both, on occasion, and you must be present to be eligible. More on this later...
• (Celebrity) special guests. Laurie Eno of The Daily Corgi, anyone? (I always tell her she's the "Oprah Winfrey of Corgi Nation [which technically spans the globe]." So, yeah, I'd say she has some celebrity!) I'm thrilled to announce Laurie will be a VIP guest at the first chat. Yay!
• You don't have to get dressed up. In fact, you could wear a paper bag and we wouldn't care!
• You'll have stuff to talk about at work on Monday. (Or not. But you could, in theory.☺)

How the heck do I attend #CardiComedy on Twitter? What if I don't even have a Twitter account?

To attend (Twitter user):

1. Log into Twitter.
2. Locate the #CardiComedy chat.
• Enter #CardiComedy in the Search field (magnifying glass icon at top of page).

• On the Results for #CardiComedy page, click All to see everyone's tweets.
  
  Note: Anyone who tweets about the chat (before, during or after) must include #CardiComedy in the body of their tweet. That's how we all keep up with who's attending and what they're saying. This is the hardest thing to remember in a chat. If you forget the hashtag (and you will), you'll be like, "why isn't anyone replying to my tweet?" And then, you'll remember that you DIDN'T use the hashtag, and be all, "crap! who's looking at my tweet?!" And (if you're like me), you'll waste a pile of time deleting the first one and doing it over. (So, my point is, when you mess up, just know you're not the only one who's ever messed up, okay?)
3. Get comfortable (remember to bring your camera, if your pets will be nearby) and enjoy the conversation!

Non-Twitter users: Just skip #1. You don't need an account to find and follow Twitter chats, silently. You DO, however, need an account if you want to actively participate, or enter contests.

How the heck do I follow the conversation? It's happening so FAST!

The Hard Way

You know that "refresh" (circular arrow) icon at the top of your browser window? Well, you'd need to click it every 30 seconds or so (depending on how many people are tweeting using the hashtag #CardiComedy) to refresh the feed. It can be done (I've done it, more than once), but there's a much easier way...

Using TweetDeck (Easy!)

Note: TweetDeck is a tool built by, and located within Twitter itself. You must have a Twitter account to use TweetDeck.

1. Go to tweetdeck.twitter.com.
   Note: You'll see your Twitter "home" page, and also, split into columns, your messages, notifications and activity (refer to the image above).
2. On the left menu, click the search (magnifying glass) icon.
   
3. On the "Choose column type" page, select Search.
   
4. Search for #CardiComedy.
5. Click "Add Column" at the bottom of the box.
   Result: You should see a new "#CardiComedy" column at the far right of your existing columns.
   
6. Sit back and watch the tweets update in real time. (Really, you don't have to refresh or do anything!)
   

How do I interact in the chat from TweetDeck?

To compose a NEW tweet: Click the compose (quill and paper) icon in the upper left corner of your screen.

To interact (reply, retweet, favorite) with an existing tweet: Simply hover over or click the tweet in your #CardiComedy column and VOILA! All the action icons appear at the bottom of the tweet!

What if TweetDeck breaks down?

If this happens, which is rarely, but it can, I suggest using HootSuite.com as an alternative. If you need help getting that program up and running (it's not nearly as intuitive as TweetDeck), I can try to help. Just send me an email.

Okay, I'd love to attend #CardiComedy; when's the first chat?

Sunday, January 26, 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST (4:30 PST)

Will you come?! I hope so!

So, you think they'll come? Can we get down now? Is the mic off?

Does a Dog's Name Shape Your Perception of the Dog?

I saw the below tweet* in my Twitter feed this morning and had to stop and think.

What's in a name? Would Bruno the mastiff be less imposing if called Tinker? Changes in naming pets> huff.to/zNjr8k

— NCState Vet Medicine (@NCStateVetMed) March 5, 2012

I'm not sure a Mastiff named Tinker would be less imposing than a Mastiff named Bruno - to me. It would wholly depend on the dog's behavior (and this goes for any breed/mix of dog, not just those with a more imposing physique). In fact, I know a very sweet Mastiff named Romulus, whose name I find kind of endearing despite its gladiator-esque ring. :)

On the other hand, however, I most definitely think that hard-to-adopt breeds in shelters (i.e. pit bulls, boxers, big black dogs) should never be named something that could potentially turn an adopter off...even if the dog is a complete marshmallow.

Remember Batman, Buckwheat and Yukon Cornelius, three (among other) "less-adoptable" dogs who were featured on the blog several weeks ago? (They are all in forever homes, by the way.) Do you think adopters would have shied away from them had they been named, for example, Spike, Bruiser and Big Boy?

It's hard to say (but let's hope there are no shelters out there taking that chance). 

Okay, so now that you know where I stand on that issue (and I'm sure have opinions of your own), what do you think about the reverse scenario? 

Let's say, for example, that my two unimposing clowns were named something completely different...like decidedly more ridiculous tough-sounding? 

Well, like this?

Holy villain, Batman!

Or this?

????????? (Words escape me.)

Would you avoid them at the dog park?

(I think I would avoid *me* - the doofus who picked out these names - at the dog park. :)

P.S. My husband just passed by and told me that I should change "The Terminator" to "The Turd-inator." I think I'll just stick with Dewi.

P.P.S. I still have the head crud, and therefore, should not be held responsible for the absurd (and intended to be funny) portions of this post. ;)

*The link in the quoted tweet goes to an interesting article about popular trends in dog and cat names.

Bye.

Random Stuff about Coffee, Dogs on Caffeine, Twitter, etc.

Did you know today is National Coffee Day (USA)? Yes, it's true.

This is what Dewi would look like after drinking a cup of liquid caffeine coffee.

I'z gonna come over this couch and lick your eyelids!

Thankfully, though, Dewi doesn't need coffee to get his day going. :)

On a slightly different note: Did you know the blog is on Twitter, now?
It's true (the "follow" button is in the sidebar).
A self-professed Twitter-phobe, I had a moment of weakness (when the pig flew) and signed up.

I'll be "tweeting" all my posts there (plus sharing other cool stuff - once I figure out what I'm doing - don't hold your breath), so if you tweet, it's okay if you go ahead and follow. :)

By the way, this morning, The Pioneer Woman tweeted that she "wanted to marry coffee." I like her.

One more thing, I also signed up for Google+ (but I only have one friend there and I don't know how to use my account), but I'm there, just in case. 

Have a wonderful almost Friday!