Dogs On The Trail | Book Review

While I’ve always enjoyed reading, I don’t get a lot of time to read books any more. Stupid adulting keeps getting in the way. But I did get some time to sit down and read Dogs on the Trail by Blair Braverman and Quince Mountain.

Blair Braverman and Quince Mountain are a married couple that participates in dog mushing. With their pack of dogs, they have competed in many events, including the infamous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Dogs on the Trail not only tells us what they do in a year (by season) but it gives us a mini-biography on each of the dogs. C’mon, we all know we’re really just here for the dogs.

I do follow Blair on Twitter so I was already familiar with the dogs. However, I wasn’t very familiar with the sport of dog mushing. Twitter isn’t exactly the best place to try to teach someone about a sport as difficult as dog mushing. Thankfully, Blair’s book has a lot of pictures to go along with the text. Even though I understood her explanations, having the pictures there to reference made it a lot easier.

For anyone that doesn’t like reading but is interested in possibly buying this book, it is fairly short. All four seasons are covered in 143 pages. That does include a ton of pictures of the dogs, the gear, and some of the other humans that help Blair and Quince. It is laid out a little like a children’s book (more pictures than text) but it is chock full of information. To be honest, I appreciated that. Whenever I thought I might get a little overwhelmed with what Blair was explaining, there was a dog picture right there to give my brain a little break.

Dogs on the Trail is a perfect book for anyone who loves dogs. I don’t think you have to love mushing or the cold or even Blair and Quince as people. (Though I’m not sure how you couldn’t love them.) It is just really awesome to see a dog about amazing dogs doing amazing things that they obviously love. And the love the Blair and Quince have for their pack radiates through each word and picture. This book makes me think that I might love mushing…if I didn’t absolutely hate the cold so much.

February Favorite #11: Dog Twitter

Last Monday, I gave you my favorite dog Instagram accounts. Since Mondays usually suck, I’m going to give you my favorite dog Twitter accounts today! After all, dogs make everything better!

Bunsen Berner, BMD - Bunsen is a Bernese Mountain dog. He’s also a scientist! OK, his dad is a scientist. I believe he’s a high school chemistry teacher. Bunsen frequently hands out science facts and debunks the science fiction on his Twitter. And he’s freaking adorable when he does it. The world needs more dogs like Bunsen.

Theo-sophy - Theo is a philosophy doggo. Every day, he gives a super positive pup tip of the day. He is also freaking adorable. (OK, spoiler alert, all of the dogs are freaking adorable. That is why they are on my list.) Theo is always good for a Monday morning pick-me-up.

The Golden Ratio - Yes, these golden retrievers were on my Instagram list. However, GR Mom Jen also has a Twitter account for them. (Each of the girls has their own Twitter account but I don’t think they are updated very often.) They also have a Snapchat and YouTube channel (where they upload the snaps).

Oh My Corgi! - While the other accounts have a specific dog (or dog family) behind them, this one is all adorable corgis. It posts both pictures and videos of corgis being cute.

Lincoln the Dachshund - I started following Lincoln fairly recently. From what I can tell so far, he doesn’t necessarily post every day but when he does post, watch out for the cuteness! It just might kill you!

These are my very favorite dog Twitterers. But I always have room in my feed for more! Leave a comment with your favorite dog Twitter accounts.

February Favorite #4: Dog Instagram!

I heard something about it warming up this weekend? Probs means more baths. You see, when you're a low rider like me, when it warms up with snow on the ground, your tummy gets messy and gross. Lucky for me, I have that yummy peanut butter dispenser when I get baths. 😎

6,419 Likes, 8 Comments - Charles A. VanGogh the tripawd (@charlesavocado) on Instagram: "I heard something about it warming up this weekend? Probs means more baths. You see, when you're a..."

I don’t think it’s any secret that I love dogs. Of course, that means I follow a LOT of dogs on social media. Today’s February Favorite will be the dogs I follow on Instagram. These are the dogs that always bring a smile to my face, no matter how awful my day has been. I hope they will bring you some happiness as well.

The dog above is Charles A. VanGogh. He is a 7-year old corgi with quite a few health problems. But that doesn’t stop him from being awesome. He’s probably most well known as the winner of season two of the Try Guy’s Barkchsler series. My daughter and I were ecstatic that he won. And now you can love him too.

🔊Corgi Politics

32.2k Likes, 604 Comments - Maple and Morty (@mapleandmortycorgi) on Instagram: "🔊Corgi Politics"

This is Maple and Morty. They are corgis and who doesn’t freaking love corgis? They tend to post more videos than pictures, which makes me very happy. Corgis have GIANT personalities that need sound to really get the point across. I love them a lot.

#occupykitchen

7,608 Likes, 35 Comments - The Golden Ratio (@thegoldenratio4) on Instagram: "#occupykitchen"

It’s The Golden Ratio! Yes, there are FIVE golden retrievers in this house. We have Venkman (Team Chaos), Jasmine (the nihilist), Queso (who has the best face-o), Hopper T Dog (in love with GR Dad and a rock), and Maggie (the schmiegy one). The Golden Ratio mom is very active on all of the social media platforms so you will see the gang pop up again later this month. If you are looking for some dog accounts to follow, you can’t go wrong with them.

To hit on the pool boy, #shewaits

4,952 Likes, 32 Comments - Blanche Shlesinger (@blanchewaits) on Instagram: "To hit on the pool boy, #shewaits"

The last one I want to share with you is Blanche Shlesinger. Her owner is Iliza Schlesinger, a super funny comedian. (We saw her - and Blanche! - when she came to Philly.) Iliza has a separate Instagram account for herself where Blanche will appear occasionally, but Blanche’s Instagram is the place to be. I mean, she is literally waiting for you…to feed her chickies but she’s still waiting. Get on that.

OK. Because they are all good dogs, I’m going to throw some more links at you:
Peppers The Corgi
Atlas
Teddy

The Diagram of Dogs by Pop Chart Lab

Pop Chart Lab is a merchant that sells all sorts of kitchy posters. There are posters about guitars, posters about wine, posters about eyewear....if you can name it, they probably have it. They send me one of their dog posters to review. 

This particular poster shows every breed of dog in their specific category. For example, if you look at the toy breeds, you will find a pomeranian or a pug but then that category branches off into sub-categories, like poodles. I have three dogs, myself, and it was pretty cool to look up each of their breeds to see how they fit into the world of dogs. 

Everyone in my family loves dogs. This poster is an absolutely perfect piece to hang on our wall. Personally, I would probably choose to frame it but it isn't absolutely necessary. The poster paper is thick enough that you could hang it on your wall as is without any problems. I highly recommend picking up one of their posters if you can. Not only are they well-made, they are cute to boot. 

I received this poster for free in exchange for this review. All opinions contained within are solely my own. 

Game review: Pets Fun House

Yet another pet-themed time management game! Sadly, Pets Fun House isn't nearly as much fun as Pet Shop Hop was. In this game, you own a pet shop of sorts. You not only sell pets but you also sell pet food and other items. However, it is the pet part that is annoying. Instead of selling already-grown pets to customers, you must raise each pet from a puppy/kitten. You also must decide which breeds will be popular (based on "market information" they give you) so you will have the correct breeds at the correct age when a customer wants them. This is impossible. If the game tells you that dalmations are popular and you stock with mostly dalmations, customers will demand cats. And you can't change the breed on the fly since you have to raise them to an appropriate age.

I'm sure the developers were looking to mix a Sims game with a time management game. It just doesn't work here. Unless you have enough slots to have at least one of each breed on hand at all times (and you don't), it's impossible to keep your customers happy. They should choose which type of game they wish to make and stick with it. Mixing genres doesn't always work and this game is proof.

Game review: Pet Shop Hop

Lately, a lot of pet-themed time management games have relied on grooming pets. You wash a dog, cut its hair then give it back to the owner. Pet Shop Hop is a pet-themed time management game but it is completely different from the others. Instead of grooming a pet, you are trying to sell them. However, you still need to feed each type of animal and clean their cages/tanks/pens. At the same time, you need to make sure you find the right pet for each customer. It sounds like there is a lot of work involved in playing this game. There isn't really. Your character doesn't move for the feeding and cleaning actions so there isn't time being wasted with her just wandering around the store. She only moves when she is preparing an animal for a customer. While this may seem like it's not a big deal, it is. Most games force the player's character to wander around the "game board" for every single action. This usually ends up making the player aggravated because the character doesn't move fast enough to fit everything in within the alloted time. Customers get angry because your character is busy in the corner feeding the fish or something. By allowing the feeding and cleaning to be done by the player without the character moving, the player can accomplish those tasks while the character is moving to a tank or cage to prepare an animal for the customer. We don't have to wait for the character to do something.

I did enjoy playing this game a lot. It's a slightly different take on the time management type of game but it makes all the right changes to keep it interesting and fun instead of aggravating.