Decoy Turns 10! // Pizza and Cake Birthday Shoot
If you follow me on social media you know I’m obsessed with my fur-baby Decoy! Decoy has been with me since he was 8 weeks old and on October 6th he turned 10! I cannot believe how fast time has gone by and I wanted to do something special to celebrate his 10th birthday!
But first, let me back up and tell you a little about Decoy. He is a purebred dachshund - a shorthaired red coat, specifically, which means that of all the dachshund coat/color combination he is predisposed to being extra naughty. The red shorthairs are known for having the ‘least favorable’ dispositions of the dachshund breed, and, while I can’t speak for other doxies, I have come to learn that Decoy has his particular moments which I could see as being less desirable traits, but his sweet, cuddly side will certainly outweigh his otherwise obnoxious behavior.
So what are these ‘less desirable traits’ of his? Let me list a few:
1) He barks at almost any little sound. I think its a territory thing because he will bark at the wind to protect the house.
2) Don’t get me started on the mail man. Around 2PM every day he is on high alert because this is generally the time the mail comes. And once he hears the mail truck down the road its all over. He starts to bark, but then once that mail is dropped into the box (which for us is attached to the house) its all over - a complete melt-down of hair-raising barks, growling and jumping at the door. On days I let the sun shine in through the storm-door I sometimes forget to close the door around 2PM and the mail man must get a kick out of my crazy little animal about ready to go in for the kill.
3) One word - KONG. Every night around 8PM he comes running into the living room and throws his kong at us demanding it be filled with peanut butter. He will bark and growl at us until we succumb to his demands.
4) Beware of Small Humans - he’s not the greatest with kids. What I mean by that is he will chase and bark at any small child within viewing distance. I think it goes back to their instinct to hunt badgers. However once he’s been around a small human regularly he generally gets over his hunting instincts and will allow said human to be around him.
5) Another word - BEDHOG. For being such a small dog he really knows how to hog the bed. I mean, he will sleep under the covers and sideways. Good thing we have a king-size bed.
But with all these ‘less desirable traits’ comes moments of doggy perfection
6) Cuddler - he is the best cuddler. He will lay with you for hours (unless its really hot out)
7) Humor - he has the best sense of humor, including biting your feed as you walk to fill his food bowl or fill his kong with peanut butter
8) Playful - he loves to play. Even at 10 years old he will play for hours! He has a few favorite toys and he will want to play with forever!
9) Short Legs - he really doesn’t get into anything he shouldn’t because he can’t! His legs are short - so less chance of digging in the garbage, taking food from the counter or drinking from the toilet!
10) LOVE - he just loves being loved. For those of you who know him personally, you know he can be very picky with who he loves. But once he has fallen for you, he will be loyal and true.
So for his birthday I decided to do pizza this year. He LOVES pizza. While we try to limit the amount of people food he does eat, he cannot resist pizza! So I made him a small pizza and then collaborated with a local dog bakery for his adorable cake! Don’t worry folks - he only at the cheese off the pizza (not the whole thing) and only had a few bites at a time of the cake!
I’d like to thank a few amazing shop owners for helping me with this shoot:
Collar: Duke & Fox
Cake: Dog Eats Cake Boston
