rambo's big film debut!

i've got some exciting news to share!

are you ready?

ok, i’ll wait.

...hmmm…maybe you should sit down for this.

‘cus this is BIG.

all right, here it is...

I JUST MADE MY BIG FILM DEBUT!

yes, me, lil’ ole’ rambo is now a movie star.

…well, sort of. let me explain.

a few weeks ago, someone from this big company called SHOP.COM contacted my human to ask if i would like to be in a company video. they said that the second they saw my pictures on my facebook page, they knew that i was the pup they’ve been looking for.

you're joking, right?...no?...really?! THIS IS AWESOME!

the human immediately said, “yes!” but i had a few questions before agreeing to take on my first acting gig. would i get paid in bacon? would belly rubs be involved? would they make sure to get my “good side?” these were all very important things i needed answers to before i made my decision.

once the SHOP.COM people said “yes” to all my questions, it was time to start learning my lines.

well, just one line, which was “bark, bark!” i practiced for DAYS. i had to make sure i got it just right.

of course i've been practicing. i just need a break. you know, from practicing so much. and stuff.

then, it was finally time to head to the studio to begin filming!

on the first day, we had a photo shoot. 

hey guys, i'm ready for my close up!

i spent hours and hours posing in front of a big green sheet for the camera. 

giving the camera my biggest, best puppy-dog smile (which kind of hurts your face if you do it for too long).

which, as you can imagine, is a tiring task for a little pup like me. 

if you're not going to photoshop a baconrita into this picture, do you think one of your humans could get one for me at least? i'm parched!

the photographer explained that they shoot in front of a “green screen” so they can edit me into pictures with cool backgrounds.

like this one...

i've never been to mexico before...olé!

...and this one...

oh hello there, happy couple, hope it's cool if i crash your wedding with my friend here.

...and this one.

i literally have no idea what i'm doing in this picture.

but to be honest, all i really cared about was how many more bacon treats i was going to weasel out of the crew before the end of the day.

the next morning, we met to “shoot on location,” which sounded so important and exciting and fancy that i almost couldn’t eat my breakfast. almost.

who, me? nervous? *gulp* um. no, never!

when we arrived, there were all these other actors and crew members there. everyone was really nice, gave me a lot of pats, and told me not to be nervous.

what exactly is that thing you're holding over my head?
...and does it taste like bacon?

i had four different scenes, which meant four different costume changes.

in the first scene, the main actor and i wore matching checkered shirts and fancy bowties.

i've got my serious face on because i'm concentrating on getting my lines right.

i was really nervous, because this was the scene where i had to say my lines.

…but i nailed it after 2 takes! #LikeABoss

then, we had a scene where i had to wear a bathrobe and lounge on the couch.

i’m very good at lounging, so this was a piece of cake.

i think i could get used to this acting thing.

the third scene was out by the pool, which i wasn’t looking forward to (since i don’t like wet that much). 

luckily, all i had to do was sit on the pool deck, wear sunglasses and look suave. easy peasy!

just chillin' like a villain.
...whatever that means.

for the fourth scene, i had to wear these ugly pajamas the human bought me a few years ago and pretend like i was sleeping on the bed. 

the belly rubs are making up for having to wear these humiliating pj's. 

i HATE those pajamas. but pretending like i was asleep wasn’t so bad, so you know, i dealt with it like a champ.

finally, after a long day of filming, they said, “that’s a wrap!” and all i had to do was wait for the video to officially debut.

…which, i found out, was going to happen at one of SHOP.COM’s biggest corporate events, in front of 20,000 people!

look, there i am, on the big screen in front of 20,000 people!

so, would you like to see the video?

here it is! 

psst, fast forward to minutes 00:01:57, 00:03:04, 00:03:50, and 00:04:44 to see me in action!

*if you can't view the video for some reason, click HERE to watch it on youtube! 

next stop, hollywood!

hey, look, that's me! on the tv! i'm FAMOUS!

…hey, a pup can dream, right?

ruv,
rambo

my new whistle activity monitor

i just got a package in the mail!

i love getting mail.

especially when it's for me.

when we (well, the human) opened the package, i found out it was a whistle activity monitor!

well? what is it?

the human told me that a whistle activity monitor attaches to my collar to track how many minutes per day i'm active...and how many minutes per day i'm resting. 

which made me a little concerned...i don't want her to know how much i sleep during the day while she's working hard at the office. she might end up putting me to work!

uh-oh. i don't want the human to know that i'm getting my beauty sleep while she's working like no tomorrow at the office...

...well, anyways...i'll deal with that later.

once we opened it and i got to see what it looked like, i started getting really excited. 

can we try it out now? how about now?!

but the human said we needed to set up the whistle app on her phone first.

that's not an activity monitor...that's a cookie!

i tried to help, but i guess in the end i wasn't very helpful.

i can do one of two things: lick it, or eat it. your choice.

finally, we secured the activity monitor on my collar and set up the app with all my personal data. now we're ready to go!

stay tuned! i'll be updating my progress and share my activity with you all in a blog post next month :)

- rambo

watch me play with my ifetch!

a few weeks ago, i got an iFetch in the mail.

i had no idea what it was, but boy was i excited!

i wasn't sure how to use it, but that didn't make me any less excited.

not really sure what to do with this yet, but it looks fun to me!

after we opened the box and took the iFetch out, the human realized that i needed to learn how to drop the ball into the mouth of the iFetch first. 

we watched some of their how-to videos, and then we practiced...and practiced...and practiced...and practiced...

well, you get the idea.

but finally, i learned how to drop the ball in the iFetch and make it shoot out the other end! 

holy smokes, i think i did it! 

i've still got a ways to go (i get bored easily so we can only practice for a few minutes at a time) but i'm doing pretty well! 

check out my progress:

- rambo

the 5 stages of getting a barkbox in the mail

sooo...i've been a little grumpy lately.

giving my human the stink eye...'cus i CAN. hmph.

i wasn't too happy about leaving the grandhumans and flying back home. 

...to BORING-VILLE. hmph (again).

i mean, no one likes vacation to end, but this is a little ridiculous.

so today, when the mail-lady delivered a package for ME (yes, me!!!), it couldn't have come at a better time. 

i mean, i was kind of starting to become a grumpy gills. 

and no one likes a grumpy gills.

so, anyways...

the human picked up the package and said it was my june barkbox!!!

stage 1 of getting a barkbox in the mail:
i don't know how to read, but i'm pretty sure it says "for mr. rambo" on this box!

barkboxes are like magic, because when you're grumpy, getting one in the mail makes you feel loads better.

stage 2 of getting a barkbox in the mail:
grumpy? who, me? no way. now open this box....um, please.

they make your tail wag just a little bit faster, and your smile just a little bit bigger.

stage 3 of getting a barkbox in the mail:
can we open it? can we open it now? how about now? come on what are we waiting for?!

after a hundred bazillion years, the human finally opened the box.

and inside i found an eiffel tower! and a rope toy! and cordon bleu treats! 

...i'm not really sure what a cordon bleu is, but it sounds fancy, so i'll give 'em a try.

stage 4 of getting a barkbox in the mail:
YAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

after tasting the yummy treats and playing with my new toys, i did what i always do after opening a barkbox. 

i sat in it, of course. 

'cus it's comfy, that's why.

stage 5 of getting a barkbox in the mail:if i fits, i sits.
(barkboxes are the perfect size to rest a puppy-bum...especially after a long afternoon of playing with all my new toys!)

...and ta-da! goodbye mr. grumpy gills, hello happy puppy! :)

- rambo 

p.s. wanna get a barkbox pup-scription for your own dog? use my fancy-schmancy code "RAMBO" at checkout to save 10%! 

p.p.s...or just click this link :) 

i just got an ifetch!

the mail lady delivered a package to our door today!

i love getting packages, even when they're not for me.

but this one was for me - it even had my name on it!

i love getting stuff in the mail!

the human said that the people at iFetch sent me a product to review and share with my Facebook fans.

i had never heard of an ifetch before, but since playing fetch is one of my favorite things, it sounded like something i'd be interested in.

can we open it? please please please?!

the human went to find some scissors to open the box, but it took her too long, so i decided to do it myself.

sooner or later i'll get this thing open, just you wait...but feel free to jump in with some scissors if you find them.

when we finally got the box open, i found three small tennis balls and a weird looking round thing inside.

i have no idea what this is, but i have a feeling that it's awesome. trust me on this.

before plugging it in, the human showed me how to drop one of the balls in the top of the iFetch, which i like to call "loading the cannon."

it was kind of hard at first, since i'm not used to dropping toys on a specific spot. 

uhhh...where did the ball go?
(turns out i dropped the ball on the floor and it rolled out of view. this happened a LOT at first).

luckily, iFetch posted a "how to teach your pup to use an iFetch" video on their youtube channel (if you want to watch it, click here). 

we watched the video, and i learned a lot of great tips for improving my technique. the human learned how she can help me get used to being around the funny round contraption (it kind of does look like an alien, after all).

just...a little bit...closer....*plunk*...i did it!

finally, after about a gagillion attempts, i finally got the ball into the mouth of the iFetch!

the human rewarded me with a few extra bacon treats for my accomplishment. which, i guess, wouldn't be that big of a deal to a human, but it is to a little puppy without any thumbs!

i'm still learning how to drop a ball in the iFetch. even though i make it in about 6 times out of 10, the instructions say it should be 10 times out of 10 before we turn it on.

if we turn it on before i'm ready, i might be startled or scared when the ball shoots out of the other side of the iFetch (or so the human says...i beg to differ!). 

until then, i'm just going to work on my ball-dropping skills and hopefully i'll make it 10 times out of 10 soon!

i can't wait 'til we can turn this thing on and see what it does!

stay tuned for an update on how i'm doing with my iFetch! once i get the hang of it, i'll upload some videos of me playing with it so you can see me in action :) 

- rambo 

my trip to asheville, north carolina

i just got home from a mini vacation with the human and the grandhumans in asheville, north carolina! 

i'm not very good at geography and i'd never heard of asheville before, but i'm not the type of pup to turn down a road trip. 

oh boy oh boy oh boy! i love riding in the car! i don't even care where we go! let's go let's go let's gooooo!

when we arrived in asheville, we checked into a dog-friendly hotel called aloft asheville downtown. this was my first time staying in a hotel, and i was really excited.

do i even get to sleep in own queen-sized bed?!

after we checked into the hotel, we went outside to explore. right away i found a warm patch of grass to roll around in...because, obviously, no day is complete without a good wiggle in the grass.

ahhhhh, nothing better than a warm patch of grass to roll around and get dirty in :)

it was almost dinner time, so we decided to take a walk downtown to find a restaurant with a patio where we could eat outside. 

on our way there, i smelled all sorts of new smells and saw a lot of things i'd never seen before...

i'm not sure what that is, and i'm not sure what those humans are doing, but if they have bacon, i'd like to hop on!

after a long, long time discussing where to eat, the human and the grandhumans finally picked a restaurant. we sat down on the patio, and i even got my own chair at the table.

dog-friendly restaurants that hand out treats to pups are the best!

since we had such a long day, we decided to go to bed early. which was fine by me; i needed my energy to get up and go to a big fancy house in the morning! 

...i didn't know why we were going to a big fancy house, but as long as there were smells to smell, people to meet, and squirrels to chase, i knew i would have fun.

the next day, we woke up early and drove to the big fancy house, which the humans called the biltmore. 

before we got out of the car, i made sure to put on my nature's recipe petcam so i could take pictures of all the cool things i see.

i'm more excited about rolling around in all this grass than i am about seeing some big fancy house. but do you blame me?

since the mansion is really old, they don't let pups inside, so i walked around outside with my human while the grandhumans went on a tour.

how many times are you going to ask me to sit and smile for the camera? i've got things to do!

...and by "walked around," i mean the human took a lot of silly pictures of me sitting in front of the mansion. 

it was really warm out, and i started getting thirsty. luckily, the human brought my collapsible barkbox bowl so i could have a drink.

i don't think the humans at barkbox have ever been to the biltmore before, so i took this pic for them :) it's the least i could do, since they send me a surprise box of delicious toys and treats every month!

sometimes when i have to sit for pictures, i ponder the meaning of life. and think about bacon treats. 

yep, pretty sure that bacon is the one thing that makes the world go 'round.

finally the human said, "let's go!" and we went for a walk on the grounds of the mansion.

sun on my face, wind blowing through my fluff...ahhh yes, today is a good day!

there were a lot of dogs and humans walking around outside. i made a lot of new friends, but i really liked a pup named louis. he was half my size and had a lot of energy. we had fun chasing each other around until we couldn't chase anymore.

smaller and faster than me? i think i've finally met my match!

after saying "woof" ( or "goodbye" in english) to my new friend, the human and i decided to explore the gardens. i was tired from chasing after louis, so i found a nice patch of grass to take a nap on.

me? sleeping? no, i'm just, uh, resting my eyes. yep.

but i didn't rest for long - there were too many interesting smelling smells to sniff out and dirt patches to roll in!

you think i'm posing for the camera, but i'm actually scoping out my next move.

i decided right then and there that i would like to move into the mansion so i could spend time in the gardens every day.

how could they say no to a face like this?

after we walked through the garden, we went back to wait for the grandhumans. 

seriously, how many benches are you going to make me sit on so you can take my picture?

while they were finishing the tour, i imagined that i was a king and the mansion was my a palace. 

my kingdom would be called doglandia, and i would eat bacon for every meal. all the dogs in doglandia would get a free barkbox subscription, and all the pups in shelters would find homes with kind humans.

yep, i think i would be a really great king. where do i sign up?

once the grandhumans came out of the mansion, we decided to go find a good spot to have a picnic.

on our way, i stopped to make a new friend. even though he didn't say much, he was a great listener. 

i'm not sure what this is, but i think i like it! or him. or her. whatever it is.

all in all, it was a great day. who knew a pup could have so much fun visiting an old mansion in the mountains?

so...when can i move in?

- rambo