I’ve been doing a little ‘nose work’ sniffing around the internet in search of great dog blogs that I hadn’t ever stumbled upon before. Jackpot! Here’s this Friday’s Fab 4 lineup. All of these bloggers express unrestrained love for their dogs. Or, maybe I was just in a susceptible sentimental mood. Anyway, these blogs speak to my heart.
I happened upon Timid Dog Design today over at Never Shock a Puppy. She, I’m assuming the blogger is a she although ‘she’ doesn’t really say, added her blog to today’s blog hop by linking to her post “Too Boring for Prime Time.” After reading that clever and pointed
Misha in her repurposed gentle leader.
critique of made-for TV dog training I was hooked. I gobbled up her other posts like so many bon bons. In “I am not a dog.” she coins a new noun, ‘caninification’, and it companion verb, to ‘caninify.’ You’ll have to read it. “Collar Evolution” is also not to be missed if for no other reason, and there are lots of other reasons, I’m sure you’ll enjoy discovering how the magnificent Misha, the timid dog in the title of the blog, came to be modeling her re-purposed gentle leader. NEWS FLASH: Laura is the name of the blogger! I just now read a new comment to today’s post, “How Do You Help a Reactive Dog?” and it was from Laura of Timid Dog Blog. Laura is also an artist, you can see her work here.
If you’re crazy for pit bulls then you probably already know about 
BADRAP.org: Securing the future of the American Pit Bull Terrier as a cherished family companion. BADRAP Blog is the related blog. To tell you the truth, when I started blogging a year and a half ago I suffered from Pit Bull prejudice. But, with the help of excellent sites and blogs like BADRAP and learning from my Twitter and Facebook pals I am being rehabilitated. My old prejudice against Pit Bulls is morphing into a bias for them. I want to mention a couple of the blog posts here, but be sure to check out the BADRAP website. You can spend hours sniffing around and your efforts will be rewarded with a wealth of useful information about Pitties and opportunities to help BADRAP help Pit Bulls in need. Tim Racer, one of the founders of BADRAP wrote a fine review of Jim Gorant’s book, The Lost Dogs.He says:
This is a book for those who want to know more details about the (Michael Vick) case, for those who want to know about the present status of the dogs, and for those who want to learn more about Vick’s true role in Bad Newz Kennels as some still believe he merely bankrolled the operation.
BADRAP is also publishing a 2011 My Dog Is Family calendar with twelve winning photographs that visitors to the BADRAP site voted for. The photos entered into the contest were sent in by Pit Bull loving people. Check out this post for the calendar cover shot. And, don’t forget, you can ‘like’ BADRAP on Facebook.
Meet the ‘back dogs’ and ‘front dogs’ of the blog 24 Paws of Love. Front Dogs? Back Dogs? Huh? Yep. Six dogs. Twenty-four paws. Four 
‘back dogs.’ Two ‘front dogs.’ Read about how this unique family came to be in the inaugural post published in June of this year, “Woo-Woo (Welcome!)” Once again, it’s unclear who’s writing these heart-felt blog posts, except that they sometimes refer to themselves as Mommy and Daddy. In any case I’m pretty sure the dogs have not taken paws to keyboard, but I could be wrong. Oh. Wait. Yes, I am wrong. Here’s Chance writing a short introduction to a”A Special Guest Speaker: Daddy.” In today’s post Mommy and Daddy send out a plea for help with the two ‘front dogs,’ Chance and Blaze, in “Anxious car ride.”
Eva is a gorgeous Sheltie and The Life of Eva the Sheltie, written by Priscilla is, well, all about Eva and her step-sibling, Mika. And, it’s a
Eva
memorial to two beloved dogs Hana, and Laura. If lovely photographs of dogs draw you in you’ll get swept away by this blog. Yes, I read the posts, and I tell you about a couple of my favorites in a moment. But, kinda like heading for the cartoons in the New Yorker before reading the articles, one look at the header photo of Eva and I was all over The Life of Eva the Sheltie looking for more photographs.
Two works-in-progress about which Priscilla keeps her readers up-to-date is Eva’s obsession with the vacuum and Mika’s hip troubles. “How We Dealt with the Hover” chronicles Eva’s early encounters. Unfortunately when I clicked on the video in that post I got a 404 error message rather than a movie. I had somewhat better luck with Priscilla’s latest update about Eva’s progress, “Improvement!” Unfortunately clicking on the video of Eva negotiating the Hover in the post itself still gave me a 404, but I did find it on YouTube. Click here for
Mika
“Vacuum Practice.” Poor Mika has hip problems. In “Bad News” Priscilla explains that a surgical procedure to help Mika went wrong and she’ll have to go through it all over again. I’m so sorry. Many years ago I had a dog with hip dysplasia and she had the very same surgery Mika did. Removal of the femoral head. A new ‘hip joint’ forms as scar tissue develops. It worked pretty well for my dog. Mika’s second surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, October 9. “Mika, sweetie, Sadie and I wish you all the best and as speedy a recovery as possible.” Just one more thing before I sign off. Be sure to read the poem by anonymous in the right side-bar of Eva’s blog. It’s called “My Dog Lives Here.” Exactly.
See you all next week and have fun with your dogs with weekend.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ahimsa Dog Training, Rod Burkert and Kim Clune, Hilary Lane. Hilary Lane said: Deborah always finds the best dog bloggers for her Fab Four Fridays! Enjoy! http://fb.me/BEZVupXi […]
Thank you for the recommendations! Also love “24 Paws”, it is a great blog.
You did it: Found four blogs that I’d never read (and three I never heard of; I do know Bad Rap and I’m reading Jim Gorant’s book). Thank you — I think! Now I have even more excuse not to get any work done…
Yeah! I had you in mind wondering if I possibly could find blogs new to you. I know. Not exactly a favor.
Every week I look forward to the Friday Fab 4. I sure never expected to open your page and see Misha’s Mohawk! Thank you, I am truly honored. And it looks like I’m featured with a great batch ‘o blogs, now to explore the other three!
Hey Laura. I’m so glad to have found your blog at NSAP! Misha is a sweetheart.
Excellent choices. We already follow 2 of them and will check out the other 2.
We’ll have to go check them out!
Guess what? My mom person & I have created a new blog at http://www.PetBlogsUnited.com.
We’d love it if you would come over and check it out & become a member. It’s a great new place for pet bloggers to find each other, and get an opportunity to be a featured blog!
Nubbin wiggles,
Oskar