Dog of the Day: Samoyed

An old friend, who I’m pretty sure has shown up on here before. Nevertheless, with this amount of foofliness and ridiculositude, I predict that this will not be the last time, either.

Also, what on earth is that thing? It’s like an oblong tennis ball!

Samoyed

One of those dogs that you just want to walk up, bury your face in the fur for 30 seconds, and then continue on your way. 'Fuzz Therapy', a la Calvin and Hobbes.

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Dog of the Day: Mr. White the Chinese Crested Dog

Every once in a while, I find a dog whose pictures speak for themselves. I’m going to try not to get in the way, except to say that before I met Mr. White, my ideas about Chinese crested dogs were formed largely by the ‘world’s ugliest dog’ competition. After I met Mr. White, for the rest of my life, my ideas about Chinese crested dogs will have been formed by Mr. White. Needless to say, that marks a huge improvement.

Chinese Crested Dog (Hairless Variety)

My 'dogs with clothes' attitude does not apply to these guys. We don't want ANY dogs freezing to death in San Francisco.

Chinese Crested Dog (Hairless Variety)

Aww... love the hairflop over the eye. Don't be sad, emo puppy! We love you.

Chinese Crested Dog (Hairless Variety)

I wonder how many dogs have cow spots like that, but you can't see them because they're under the fur?

Chinese Crested Dog (Hairless Variety)

What an expression.

Chinese Crested Dog (Hairless Variety)

The plouf on the end of the tail is really something.

Chinese Crested Dog (Hairless Variety)

Their fur is super-soft, too. And the skin, is, well, skin. Nothing exciting.

Chinese Crested Dog (Hairless Variety)

Another thing this guy made me wonder: do all black-nosed dogs have a splotch of black under the fur near the nose, and around that, pink skin? Weird!

Chinese Crested Dog (Hairless Variety)

Goodbye, Mr. White. I see a lot of dogs, but I'll remember you. And next time I see you, I'll have a treat for you.

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Quintuple Dog Day! Australian Shepherd and Four Australian Shepherd/Golden Retriever Mixes

Ran into these guys on lunch a couple of weeks ago, and then saw them again today, and was reminded just how awesome the pups were. The Aussie is the mom, and the other four are still growing. They look quite similar to flat-coat retrievers, and have a lot of the same energy and goofy nature, too.

Australian Shepherd and Four Australian Shepherd/Golden Retriever Mixes

This is about as close as they managed to get to 'family portrait'. Hey, more than half of them are facing the camera, and all o them are in the frame. That's not bad.

Australian Shepherd and Three Golden Retriever/Australian Shepherd Mixes

That's a better pic, but missing one. Such pretty dogs. The one on the right looks a little derpy though.

Australian Shepherd and Two Golden Retriever/Australian Shepherd Mixes

Mom has a bit more of an attention span than her pups, huh?

Two Golden Retriever/Australian Shepherd Mixes

TWO-HEADED DOG MONSTER! They noticed that I was holding my lunch in my non-camera hand and suddenly became a lot more attentive.

Australian Shepherd and Four Golden Retriever/Australian Shepherd Mixes

Okay, I lied, I did get one more family photo. I like to think the guy in the back is intentionally making a face at me.

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Dog of the Day: American Pit Bull Terrier Puppy

There really are a lot of pit bulls in San Francisco. And you know what? I don’t mind a bit.

Pit Bull Puppy

So cute. Gorgeous grey eyes. Goofy soft semi-floppy ears. Yay!

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Dog of the Day: Young Doberman Pinscher (and Betty)

Betty was shy around people, but liked dogs just fine. This is a young doberman she made friends with.

Doberman Pinscher and Australian Cattle Dog/German Shepherd Mix

Doberman tails are so goofy!

Doberman Pinscher and Blue Heeler/German Shepherd Mix

No idea who the ball actually belonged to, but these two shared it surprisingly well.

Doberman Pinscher and Australian Cattle Dog/German Shepherd Mix

You can tell they're moving fast by the ridiculous ear floppage.

Doberman Pinscher and Australian Cattle Dog/German Shepherd Mix

Aww. Puppy hugs!

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Dog of the Day: Betty the Blue Heeler/German Shepherd

Another Australian cattle dog mix, this time with German shepherd. What an unexpectedly gorgeous combination.

Australian Cattle Dog/German Shepherd Mix

Betty is a rescue dog, and pretty skittish around new people. Poor pup.

Blue Heeler/German Shepherd Mix

When I got within five feet, she didn't take her eyes off me. And eventually went and hid behind dad.

German Shepherd/Australian Cattle Dog Mix

On the other hand, she would obviously do anything for her dad.

Australian Cattle Dog/German Shepherd Mix

See? Very attentive. Even moreso when food or a b-a-l-l is involved, I bet.

Australian Cattle Dog/German Shepherd Mix

What a gorgeous dog. Someone ought to paint her.

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Dog of the Day: Hayden the Double Aussie Surprise!

(Pronounced ‘Hay Den’.) Half Australian Cattle Dog, half Australian Shepherd. So he likes sheep, cows, balls, his own tail, and everybody.

Australian Cattle Dog/Australian Shepherd Mix

The blue merle pattern on the fluffy coat? Gorgeous.

Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler Mix

The fur is super-soft, too. This guy would make a good dog to bring with you when winter camping.

Australian Shepherd/Australian Cattle Dog Mix

The camera took a little collateral 'lick' damage here, always a hazard when photographing dogs.

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Dog of the Day: Bernese Mountain Dog

Sorry for the short post: having some technical difficulties. Trying out an EyeFi card, which is a SD card that offloads its photos via WiFi, and can also do geolocation on them based on the WiFi networks that are nearby.

The card itself is a marvel of engineering. It works flawlessly, and I’m really impressed.

The software that interfaces with it appears to be written in Adobe Flash, believe it or not. And is completely, comprehensively awful. I could write something more useful to me in about six or eight hours, if I had documentation. I could write something more useful to everybody in six to eight weeks.

On the other hand, I could go six centuries and I could still not write a program that was as useful (and adorable!) as this dog.

Bernese Mountain Dog

He looks like he's always up for cuddles, wrestling, or a quick nap.

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Double Dog Day: Two French Bulldogs

Poor pups, tied up outside a yummy-smelling restaurant.

Two French Bulldogs

They were tied up right at the door, where they could nuzzle the ankles of everyone going in or out.

Two French Bulldogs

That might just be the expression they call 'the hairy eyeball'.

Two French Bulldogs

Just after I finished taking their pictures, these two swapped places, and resumed their guard duty, one looking in, the other looking out.

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Dog of the Day: Verna the German Shepherd Mix Puppy

They don’t come much more adorable and fluffy than this gal right here.

German Shepherd Mix Puppy

Any day where this comes bounding into your life can't be all bad.

German Shepherd Mix Puppy

Fifty pounds of happy in a twenty-pound bag. And growing.

German Shepherd Mix Puppy

Super-fluffy? Check. Adoring beyond reason? Check. Smart as a whip? Check. (Well, I'm extrapolating there.)

German Shepherd Mix Puppy

In short, the dog to have with you if you're marooned on a desert island. Especially one where the nights are cold.

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