Yaaawwwnnn!!!!

Ohhhh my goodness, I am so sleepy now, I just posted five, no make that six posts and I am wiped out. I just wanted to get it caught up as I have been so busy and today I had this awesome long play session at a friends house out in the country. We played on 8 acres of land, running in the snow, chasing each other and me of course trying to hump them.

It was all in fun. Mommy and her friend had tea and sat and talked for hours while the dogs all played. Her new friend Dave is a great guy, very funny and artistic to say the least. Very interesting guy. An actual artist and is currently working on a book. He threw some book ideas at her today and she is very eager for him to finish the one he is working on because it is unconventional and a work of art in and of itself. Will be interesting.

I behaved and did not jump into the river behind his property but I wanted to. But I played with Bailey and Molly and we ran around like crazy!!! It was great!!! I have made so many new friends since moving here and mommy was worried I would not be able to make them but all the dogs here are friendly and fun and we get along so well. Plus mommy is making tons of friends here as well too and that just means I make new friends too!! Yeaahhh mommy!!!!! Well as you can see I am so very tired and it really is passed my bed time, I must go. Oh by the way if you are just reading my blog, you wont know about my favorite habit of hogging the bed. But tonight I think I wont hog the bed, but share it with mommy because she gave me such a beautiful day today and I am so happy to be with her!!!!!

Alum Creek Festival of Lights

Wow what a fun night we had!!! At the dog park we learned that Alum Creek has what is called the Festival of Lights and so mommy and I went. For the first time ever she allowed me to sit in the front seat and have a nice experience looking at all the lights with no obstruction. I was a little afraid at first. I was never allowed in the front seat before. So after some gentle encouragement I hopped in and had a wonderful time. I was awestruck at the beauty all around us. I was not used to having such an unobstructed view before and I was totally taking it all in.

It was huge, lots of beautiful light figures and decorations!! The night we went it was nice outside, so we could roll down our windows and truly enjoy all the sights. So many fun images and very bright colors. I enjoyed sitting in the front row but not when we left the show. I was not used to all the headlights coming at me. Mommy saw my distress as I began to drool, a huge sign of anxiety so we pulled over and she put me back in the rear seat where I promptly felt better. All those cars coming at me made me feel as if I had no protection and even though she seat belted me in, that was truly funny as one movement from me in re-positioning myself I came out.

She just giggled and was like, noooo this wont work. But the light show was only 10 mph, so it was safe and I did enjoy all the beautiful colors and fun images. I did smell the water though as it is near a huge lake, but mommy said "no swimming buddy, not tonight" and I knew from that tone of voice I was not going to be allowed to jump in. I can so easily see me costing mommy almost 800 this year in baths, heee heeee. Hmmm, not funny right. Oh well. She loves me and takes good care of me so I am blessed, and happy this Christmas to be on this new adventure with her and to be able to explore the area with her. Canine boot camp was a great thing for me as I walk so much better now with her and I heel well, there is no more pulling and she is able to walk me in a crowded street and window shop and I sit at each window and wait till she is done. I have learned trust me that if I want to hang with mommy more I need to be on good behavior.

This Christmas we are all very happy and blessed. We all have each other!!!!!

I am the man!!!

Well I had a wonderful day today with mommy, she took me to the local dog park and it was soooo much fun!! It was a fenced in dog park located at Alum Creek and it was fenced in and I ran free and played with so many dogs. Mommy was surprised, I mean surprised at how I left her side and just ran free and played and did not worry about where she was and played till I was tired. She was very happy with the experience as it showed her I am able to be away from her and have fun. Actually this was the first time we went to a dog park and the experience was wonderful.

She met a nice woman there and that chatted while I played. Now mommy still has me on the E collar to keep me in line with my training and well if you have read any of my past posts you will know already that I like to hump other dogs, or try too. OK, so some things we can not, no I wont say can not, choose not to change about ourselves. And one for me is humping. I noticed that even though I am not watching mommy the whole time she is watching me.

I think she picked up on my stalking this male dog around the park and with her keen observation she waited for the move, and when she saw me do the sniff then begin the walk to the rear and WHAM!!!! I felt the tiny zap, and knew it was not something I should be doing. And I stopped that real quick. And then she continued to watch me as my stalking did not stop, I do not know why but I was drawn to that fury little rag o muffin. And anyway, mommy did what she does best, she distracted me and had me sit and it took my mind off what I was doing, or wanted to do. And then I played some more and then I was totally surprised as mommy took me to the lake to swim!!!

The dog park has a swimming area for dogs and although it was muddy, my favorite thing not mommy's, she let me go for a nice swim and then of course I rolled and rolled in the mud. At one point momm y threw a Frisbee and guess what, yep, it sank to the bottom. Now what in heavens name would make her think for one second it would float?????? So there I was swimming and swimming and there she is on shore yelling at me, "sorry buddy who would have thought it would sink" and so I swam to the other side about 100 yards away and then swam back to her. I know in my heart if I had any trouble she would have jumped in with clothes and shoes on to get me, bless her heart. Maybe I should have attempted a fake drowning to get her to come after me, would serve her right for throwing my Frisbee in the water and having it sink to the bottom!!!! Heee, that is OK, we are cuddling tonight together so I am sure I will get back at her with a little bed hogging.

She did give me a nice warm bath after the swim, but boy was I dirty, and then she allowed me to sit on her favorite piece of furniture. And I did, I love sitting on couches, the floor is beneath me, giggles. tomorrow is Halloween and I am so excited to wear my pumpkin costume and greet the kids!!! Maybe I will work on my bark and scare the little ones who knock on the door, hee hee hee. Mommy's evil side is rubbing off on me, or maybe I am rubbing off on her. Either way, we are two peas in a pod. Well, I am beat, totally beat and think it is time for mommy to give me an ear rub, belly rub and neck rub, in that order and then to put me to bed. I am not spoiled if you think that I am, no really I am not spoiled at all. Image of me smiling!!!!!!!

Acme Canine Training, move over Dog Whisperer

Mommy pulled a fast one on me recently. After our move I became a little more clingy than normal, lets just go ahead and call it separation anxiety OK. When mommy would leave me to do errands I would bark and bark and bark and bark until she came home. Perplexed with my new habit she actually tried to find out if the dog whisperer could come and help me, but not able to wait she did what Cesar Milan's website said to do, enlist the help of a professional dog trainer in your area and that she did. She contacted Acme Canine and they came to our home and met me and spoke with my mom to find out what was going on, they explained that I had separation anxiety all along but it had become more intense with the move and training could help with this.

Mommy learned so much during just that first hour visit and quickly realized she had contributed to the separation anxiety big time by spending so much time with me and letting me sleep with her every night and cuddling together, we both like that and I am a lab so I really like it but when mommy would leave me I still wanted that close feeling and well, I began barking to soothe myself because mommy would spend so much time rubbing my ears and belly and back and we were inseparable so it was hard for her when they presented her with the best option for my situation. 2 weeks at their facility where they would train me and work with me all day and help me build my confidence to be alone.

Mommy had a hard time with not seeing me for two weeks but she was told this was the best plan as I needed behavior modification and having me at the facility with training all day to work on my issues and re-learn the sit position and lay and come and wait position ( OK so I had re-defined those to meet my likes) it would help me greatly and they had the time where mommy did not have the time to spend all day working with me, plus they knew how to train and mommy did not.

So I went to boot camp!!!! I learned how to walk on the cat walk!! That was fun, I was so afraid at first but my trainer was patient and gentle with me and encouraged me to do it because she knew I could do it, and I DID IT!! And then I even sat down while at the very top! We had many fun exercises and activities and I learned how to be quite in my crate and not bark when someone came in the door. I did re-learn the sit position and come and wait and down, they even taught me how to leave the treats until I was told I could take it. And that was hard for me as I LOVE my treats. Mommy was able to see me twice during my time, to work with me and learn how to continue the training. I had so much fun seeing mommy and she was so happy and I was so proud to show her my new tricks and how well I followed commands. She saw me as more confident and happy. And mommy almost cried when she saw me so happy.

Mommy said that the Acme Canine trainers were just as good if not better ( they are local) than the Dog Whisperer, it was truly as if Cesar Milan had trained me himself, she saw a new dog and oh get this, I even walk so much better with mommy now, I learned how to heal!!!! mommy loves this new learned behavior and when we walk now mommy is so happy as I walk so nicely with her and we are able to window shop and explore together because I am not pulling the leash so hard that mommy's hand turns red from all the rubbing and so forth. And I am happier too because I am more confident in myself and I am proud of all the things I have learned to do and because it makes mommy happy too as she is so proud of me and does not have to worry about me barking all day while she is away and getting myself worked up and freaked out.

The other great thing about Acme Canine is they have fun social activities for pets and their owners!!!! This is in my next blog!!

Moving

Well, mommy and I are about to head out on our adventure, it feels like just yesterday she brought me home and showered me with lots of love and attention.  We have been through a lot together, from daddy leaving to other personal losses, but the whole time I have been her support and best friend.  We are packing the house right now, well, she is and I am supervising.  Occasionally getting under foot but she just pats me on the head and gives my ears their rub and sends me on my way.

Now the car trip is going to be rather interesting, my sister does not like to ride in the kennel so she needs a little help IE, medication.  Uh huh, hope it helps her as we really do not want to spend hours upon hours listening to her meow at the top of her little lungs, it sounds like she is dying.  And there is no way to hold her or comfort her so we hope this works out well.  We saw my favorite Vet Brooke and she gave mom a prescription for her and we tested her out and she seemed pretty mellow to say the least.  She kind of looked like a stoned kitty.

Anyway, the house is an utter mess, mommy had a moving sale this weekend, she did very well, and now we are just finishing up all the little tid bits here and there and packing and doing errands and going to the dump and blah, blah, blah I am already tired just writing it and I am not the one doing it.

OH mommy was so funny yesterday, she is so sweet, we went to do errands together as that is our thing, and we stopped at Dunkin Donuts for mommy to get a large iced coffee as she needed caffeine and she bought me a kid portion ice cream, and then pulled over and fed me.  She said she wished she had a camera because I had all this love in my eyes while eating the ice cream.

It is  a rare treat so I was in heaven and digging it!  Well, mommy is about to disconnect the computer and pack it away so I just wanted to get on here and tell all my friends and Brooke that I will miss you guys so much and hope mommy and I are as blessed in our new place as we were here in making friends and finding a good vet!!!!  Oh well look at that, I have to go lick mommy's face and wake her up so she can finish packing us up so can get out of dodge!!!!!!!!  So glad mommy got me and not daddy :-)  He proved to not be too good at being there when things get tough and with mommy no matter what I know she will always be here for me and sis, and us her.

Zombie Pets

I took this picture in the dark of me and my sister to show mommy how her eyes glow in the dark (Which freaks me out) but mommy said after looking at this picture that she has zombie pets because both our eyes glow, but she loves us anyway and for me not to fear my sister as my eyes glow at night too.  But I think my eyes look this way from the camera's flash, but look closely at my sister's eyes, they look white!!!!!!

And it is not the flash I tell you because when there is no flash and it is pitch black in the room, and I look at her when she is laying next to me, she lifts her lids and all I see are glowing white eyes.   In earlier posts I stated that I fear she is the devil's spawn, and now I fear I have proof, she acts so innocent when mommy is around but then alone, those eyes, those eyes, they haunt me!!!!!!

My new indestructible toy, has worn me OUT!!!

Well mommy did it, she finally did it, she found me a toy that gives me full mental stimulation, exercise, treats, and wears me out.  She found it at the Pet Loft,  you put treats in it which are hard to get out!

We are talking about a good hour entertainment here and it is FUN!!  She helps me out at times when she sees me struggling to get a treat, she will come over and pull it out a little to give me an edge, but this toy is unbelievable for sure.  It is made out of some kind of rubber that is soft so it works against your efforts, you would have to try for yourself to understand.  It also comes with this large disk like treat which is so hard, a knife wont cut it, and trust me mommy tried as she struggled to get it in the correct way and she did not have the strength to pull the rubber apart to get it in.  Once you get it in, you do not get it out unless you have canine teeth and tongue to eat it, which provides at least two days worth of entertainment, but cleans teeth too.

Which is why mommy bought it, she has been trying to clean my teeth for me, but that has never worked, and soon she will be taking me in to get my teeth cleaned, but in the meantime, she gave me this toy and we both love it, she is my best buddy, she is always finding something new for me play with and new places to go to, like the canine spa, WE WENT AGAIN LAST WEEK!!!! YEAH!!!  I love that place, I swam for over 30 minutes again, with the pool all to myself and had a blast!!!

Mommy would throw toy after toy for me to run and jump in after and I did a great job, as always, I am a water dog of course so to expect me not to do a great job well, that would be underestimating me and my desire and love for the water.  Mommy promises to find a new spa for me when we move, and hope that is soon, we are hoping our house sells quickly!!!  It is very hard for her to keep the house spotless with me in it, as I like to shed, oh well, sue me, but hey, I probably would not shed so much if she would not rub me so much and massage me so much and chase me in the house and wrestle with me so much.  those things do make my loose hair fall out, and she does brush me, oh yes she does so do not think she does not do it.  We sit on the deck together in the evening and she brushes me over and over, but I just shed.  

She even brings my sister Mandy out to sit on her lap and brush her too outside, it is so funny, sometimes I wish Mandy would hop down and get away from mommy so I could chase her around the yard, but mommy would not like that one bit as Mandy is an indoor cat only, but hey, what do brother's and sister's do anyway but have fun right, and give each other hell.

She gives me hell, I give her hell, and all is well in our household.  And then of course the real balance in our household comes from mommy loving us and caring for us with all the love and affection that she has for us, we are truly a happy little family..

canine spa

OK, not my best look I have to admit, my eyes look a little strange, but I had a blast at the canine spa in Dillsburg, PA!!!  Mommy took me as a surprise, it was such a long ride, 50 minutes and well worth it when we got there and I discovered I was GOING SWIMMING!!!

I have the best mommy in the world, it was a grand surprise to say the least and I swam for a little over an hour.  Mommy and I had the place to ourselves for about 40 minutes then five other dogs showed up but by then I was pooped and ready to go home.  

So mommy washed me and dried me off then loaded me up and we went home where I was in need of a massage as I am an old man and swimming that long was good for me, but a little tiring.  Mommy knew it was time to leave by watching me and if not for her I would have stayed there all day and collapsed from exhaustion, when it comes to water I have no boundaries and will swim and swim till the cows come home!

Mommy did a great job rubbing when we got home, she does it so well, and then she tucked me into my dogie bed and covered me with a blanket and I slept all night, it was a good day and she promises me it will be a weekly outing for us both.  Now, if I can only get the cat to swim we can have one hell of a family outing, but I just can not seem to get my sister Mandy to enjoy the water, when mommy leaves us alone I try and dunk her in the toilet but she runs away and hides.  Oh well, still need to work on her but only when mommy is away.

I want to suck your stuffing!!

OK, so I like a little vampire action here and there so sue me.  This is my favorite stuffed bear, he is a Halloween bear and just playing with him makes me want to bite his neck, and the stuffing is so tasty how can anyone dog pass that up.  I find a little rough play with my stuffed toys keeps me sane.  I enjoy a good bite session and as I have advanced in age I have kept my toys in tact, no stuffing oozing out from ripped seams, I just bite and bite and bite, and if stuffing comes out I eat it.

Although my favorite thing to do is take my toy outside with me but mommy does not approve of this as i end up leaving them out there and then they are ruined, like Ducky, he has been out in the elements for three weeks now, but mommy promised to wash him and make him close to new again.  I just love that little yellow squeaky duck.  Mommy found a new game for us to play, it is called "toss the treat" mommy throws a treat in the back yard and I run after it, I get great exercise this way as I run and keep running as I want a treat.  I for some reason just wont run after a ball and bring it back to her.

I usually make her come to me to get it and then have her throw it again.  I like this game a lot, but mommy says it is not normal, she should not be retrieving, I should be, so she came up with this new game in the back yard and I have to say, I like to eat so I run and run for those treats.

And just when I think I have her trained, ha, she comes back and finds a way to get me to run.  You may think I am lazy but I am not, I just do not want to run, it is a choice.  I choose not to unless there is something in it for me, like a treat, then I run.  And now it is time to turn in as we have a long day tomorrow getting the yard in tip top shape. 

HELP ME, SAVE ME, HIDE ME!!!

It has been 6 days of roughing it out in the cold, hiding in the tall grass of my owners home!  My master Outlaw who always played with me ever so gently (take a look at my picture as it is evidence of the beastly man handling I have been through) decided to share me with his friend Jake.

Outlaw brought me out at first just to show Jake how cute and soft I was and to let him hear what kind of cute squeaky sound I make when he ever so gently puts me in his mouth and applies lite pressure but then his excitement most have over taken him as I became a real chew toy, a tug toy and was discarded after  what seemed like hours of abuse by the two dogs and I hid.  

I fond a tall patch of grass, a few actually in the yard and I stealthily manoeuvred myself from each one ever few minutes to keep from being found.  While Jake was playing with Outlaw he really did not look for me all that much but once Jake left I continued to hide as I feared Outlaw had gotten a taste of me so to speak and was going to continue the harsh abuse so I remained hidden until today.  But I have not made it in the house yet due to fear but the owner of the house is getting ready to mow the yard and it is either the sharp blades of a powerful engine or the not so sharp teeth of an aging dog.

My choice is not looking good right now, maybe I can plead my case with the owner, oh wait here she comes, she spotted me, damn!!!!  Wait a minute she looks a little sad to see me in the condition I am in, oh ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, she brushed me off and soothed my hair and put some of my stuffing back into my head, she says she will fix me up like new and encourage Outlaw to play with me only in the house and gently.  How nice, only thing is do I trust her?????  Well for now, that is all I can do but from watching her with Outlaw I think she is a woman of her word.  I think I am finally in good hands, hopefully the jaws of the old beast will prove to be just as gentle and good.  I only have so much stuffing left before I become an empty shell.

My friend

Well, sadly my best friend left after our last play session last Friday.  We had so much fun together and this time I did not limp after he left.  My old body was getting used to the activity and all my kinks had worked themselves out.

Jake and I played until we were too tired to do anything else but rest next to one another.  We were playing with one of my favorite toys, a yellow squeaky ducky, could not find it anywhere.  I call it "Ducky" I know simple but hey, it fits and I like it.  

Mom said we would eventually find it.  Jake and I just enjoyed the cool grass under our bellies and the attention our mommies were giving us as we rested and enjoyed each other's closeness.  Jake lives in New York, upstate New York and it gets very cold up there.  Mommy plans on taking me to see him sometime this summer for vacation, I am really looking forward to this as Jake lives in a very nice house and it in on 2 acres of land, so we can play and play and play all day.  Hmmmm, mommy may need to bring a lot of pain med's but i am sure she will.

This time after Jake left I did not try and go with him.  I think I hurt mommy's feelings the last time when I tried to jump in the care with Jake.  So this time I showed mommy I loved her and did not try and hop into the car, instead I sat next to her and put my head in her lap so she would pet me and she did.  She is so loving towards me.  We plan on moving soon and it will be such an adventure to take an 8 hour car trip with her, and my sister well, she will need to be sedated as I am not sure she will last in her crate for the entire 8 hours.

Plus I do not feel like listening to her meowing all the way there either.  Well, mommy is ready for bed and is about to turn out the lights so I need to end this and go to sleep, we have a big day tomorrow and I sure hope we find Ducky, he has been missing since Friday and I really love him, he is my favorite toy!!  

Mystery about my sibling's torment

So, this is Mandy, my sister.  Mommy and I finally found out what was wrong with her and why she was acting out towards me, she actually had an ingrown toe nail!!! OUCH! She never showed pain, and it was on Easter Sunday that mom found it.

Mandy was sitting on mom's lap and mom was holding her paws and noticed how warm the left front was and she noticed the nail on one of her toes was curled under and when mommy looked she found out that it curled all the way into Mandy's pad and it looked painful.  Poor Mandy, she would not let mommy look at it, so mommy took her right to the emergency pet hospital and they removed it and gave mom antibiotics and told her to buy some new cat littler so Mandy would not get any of those tiny little litter in her open wound.

So Mommy did that and guess what, when Mandy got home she came right up to me  and rubbed up against my leg and arched her back and purred.  I guess she was trying to tell me she was sorry for acting so poorly towards me but she was in pain and irritable and was acting out. Since the nail has been removed Mandy has been very nice to me.  Gentle and sweet and cuddles up with me, I guess she loves me after all and was not trying to be the demonic cat I thought she was turning into.  She is my sister and I love her, glad she is better.  But she did stalk me when I was a puppy and I can prove it, just check out the photo of me sleeping in my crate the first week home and how she was studying me.  But we are good friends now and I would not trade her in for anything.  She is a keeper.