Christmas morning

Well, it was a fun Christmas morning, I am a little slow on getting up to date on my blog. Have been super busy with mommy. Christmas morning was great, I opened my presents and the excitement of it all left me exhausted to the point I fell asleep while playing with my presents. Plush and cute cuddle toys, my favorite. Mommy also bought me this handsome new leash that is only to be used for special occasions as mommy says, LOL, but it is for showing me off. I know that and she knows that. This was the first Christmas that mommy allowed me to just go crazy opening up my gifts unattended and it was fun, so much so as one of the presents were nothing more than treats.

Mommy must have forgotten which box had them because when I opened them and began devouring them she quickly jumped up and grabbed them from me before I could swallow the whole box, they were good and tasty though. She laughed as usual at me and said, "yeah that was a close call buddy huh" I was thinking to myself, mommy you have no idea had you been a little bit slower in getting up I would have had the best Christmas gift ever. An entire box of treats in one sitting!!!

We visited friends later that day, after my nap of course. Mommy makes sure I am well rested and spoiled as I am a senior citizen but she just loves spoiling me anyway and my sister. Who got this cute toy by the way. A cool mouse on wheels that when you pull back and then let it go it races across the hardwood floors for quite a distance. Mandy spent about an hour chasing it and having fun, she then had a nap as well. After visiting family and friends later that night, mommy and I took a long walk and looked at all the pretty Christmas lights. I have to say that people here really decorate the hell out of their homes compared to back home, I like it here. Did not think I would be I really do. And so does mommy, she did well in picking our new home.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Well I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday week so far, I know I have!!! I woke up to lots of presents for me to open up, and I was in doggy heaven opening all the presents as they were all for me!!! Mommy sat on the floor and laughed while taking my picture and she has yet to download them. I want to post them for you all to see. And Mandy well she was just not that into opening gifts but she liked her gifts.

Mommy always gives her a can of wet food on the holiday's and this year she gave her this cool plastic mouse with wheels that moves really fast. You pull it back then let it go forward and it zips around and Mandy loves chasing it, so fun to watch. I think mommy took a picture of her playing with it too. It snowed last night and well as a matter of fact it is snowing again right now. I love snow. Mommy let me out on the deck last night and I ran around and did some spins and sprints on the deck as the snow was falling and I war trying to catch the flakes.

Mommy then took me out back to play in the yard and laughed while I did major sprints and ran in circles and around trees and bushes and out of sight and as it was dark, she laughed because she could see my white body zipping back and forth. She laughed so much I knew I was entertaining her so I kept it up to make her laugh. It is so cold out right now, I do not know how to tell mommy that I want and need some snow boots!! My paws get cold out there in the snow, and it is so freaking cold outside when we walk I want to be able to stay out longer than a few minutes. I keep lifting my paws up and holding my paw one by one in the air, hoping it will give her a hint but so far nothing. I suppose I should pull up a web site after I am done posting and hopefully she will get the hint.

Mommy also bought me a very cute and handsome collar that I am wearing in the photo, she says it makes me look classy. She also bought me this new and very ( I have to admit it) preppy new collar and leash!!! It is blue and kind of checkered with different colours but it is masculine and distinguished looking and I love it of course!!! She says it is a special occasion item because it is so pretty, uh I like to use the word masculine, and when she walks me downtown or takes me on vacations with her or to events then I can wear it, but she also allows me to wear it on walks, but not to the dog park. She knows sometimes I pee on my leash and she does not want that to happen so I think she will be on strict observations with me when I do get to wear it.

I mean come on I am 11 now so I think I can manage not to pee on it, well maybe because I am 11 I may not be able to aim better due to age and could end up peeing on it, that would be something I can see happening so maybe she is right. I will agree this time. But too maybe she will allow me to wear it in the house sometimes just to make me feel special and in fashion. Ohhhh I may actually find a girlfriend wearing this too, it really is a beautiful piece of work. Mommy has good taste. But I really do need and want those booties, maybe she can get me a hat to wear as well, that would be nice and a sweater. She saw a sweater for dogs downtown so maybe she will go back and get it for me, you know it would be nice to be warm and protected during this cold weather. As I get older I feel I need to be pampered more.

Of course in the house I just snuggle up to mommy every chance I get to stay warm and to feel the love, I love feeling the love from mommy as she really knows how to give me the love. And I love her too because she spoils me so much, just yesterday she gave me a very special holiday treat that she got from the vet, a kind of treat that fights bacteria in my mouth and helps clean my teeth and it is a raw hide and I love raw hides, it is awesome, woof!!!!!! Just awesome and groovy! When she goes into the kitchen I follow her to see if she is going to the cabinet so I can get another one.

She is onto me of course and just laughs and tells me to go to my Matt. Now sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't!! Like the other night when someone came to the door, for some reason i was wired tight. I began barking and barking like crazy and she would not open the door until I settled down, I was on my Matt where she told me to go and every time she turned her back to go to the door I would bark, then she would turn around and tell me not to talk back to her and to be quiet, but then when she turned her back I would bark and she was not happy.

I on the other hand found it amusing because I quickly learned that by barking when she turned her back she would turn back around and come to me, just like a child, but it worked. Eventually she did manage to get me to be quite, and the poor visitor in the cold thought they had the wrong house as mommy was not opening the door. Finally she did and finally they came in, and I of course was the sweet little pup everyone loves and it was no wonder the visitor said, "Oh you should not call him Outlaw as he is an angle" Haaaaaaa!!!! Little does he know that I do live up to my name, but not so much since mommy has had me to herself. Anyway, all is good in our little family and now I am going to lay down on my Matt and watch the snow fall outside and find a way to get mommy to buy me some booties!!!!

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 met Santa!!!!

Whooo hooo!!! Mommy did it, she finally did it!!! She took me to meet Santa for the first time in my entire 11 years on this earth and I was over the moon happy to meet him!!! He liked me too, he said I was a good boy, does that mean I am getting lots of presents this year?? I think so, mommy tells me I have been a good boy this year too.

Now, just because my sister, Mandy is not in the picture don't fret. She had no desire to venture out into the cold to meet Santa. She is a rather bah humbug king of gal. poor baby, but I am going to buy her something very special this year. I still can not get over meeting Santa. Mommy found out where he was going to be and showed up with me in tow and voila it was done. Mommy has a way of making things happen. I think she carries around magic dust from time to time just to make my life exciting.

She also took me to see the festival of lights and it was amazing!!!! I will have to put that experience in another blog, she actually allowed me for the first time ever to sit in the front seat of her car to see the lights better!!! It was fun. Tomorrow night we are going to the training facility where I endured book camp and we are going to use my paws to paint a card and Christmas wrapping paper. Mommy finds the funniest things to do with me.

Here is a funny note though, she has spent over 100 dollars since Sept in bathing me at the Mutts and Company pet store. She I know loves me dearly and allows me to swim or play at the dog park knowing i will get dirty and then she bathes me. We actually received a discount the last time we went as mommy spent 100. They said she is a valued customer, hee heeee. We were looking at a house, an old converted 130 yr old farm house with a beautiful river behind it and she took me with her, needless to say I found the river and jumped in and got dirty.....well, that might be a driving point not to get that house!! She would never be able to let me out unsupervised for fear I will run and jump in.

Rightfully so as I would do this, just like I did last January when she took me to the frozen lake in VA and I ran and jumped in, ice did not bother me and I had so much fun rolling in the mud. My first post talks of that. I guess being named Outlaw fits me, although when people meet me they say I am not an Outlaw at all but an angle. Nice knowing I have people fooled. Not mommy of course but others yes. Mommy is my biggest love in my life, we are best buds and really does take great care of me and I am so glad she has me, my life is filled with constant love and warmth and protection and not to mention a very nice life.......

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!!!!!!!

Howl-o-ween at Acme Canine!!

Woo-hooo, I was a pumpkin!!! Finally after all of my 11 years mommy found a costume that fits me perfectly!! We were thrilled when she found this costume at a local store called Mutt's and Company, and it fit wow, mommy was amazed at how well I allowed the hat to stay on my head, of course before I went to training boot camp I probably would not have allowed it, the post below this one tells about about my experience with Acme Canine training and how I am a new dog now! Mom bought this outfit not only for Halloween but for the Howl-o-ween bash at Acme Canine that we went to this past Sunday and we had so much fun. When I got home I crashed as I was pooped out.

They had fun games for dogs and pet owners alike, we played tic tac dog, I think that is what they called it, anyway, we were divided up in teams of sits and downs. If you were on the sit team, you had to sit when your owner placed you in one of the grid's squares and if you were a down you were supposed to lay down in your square. Which ever team got all their dogs to form a straight line won. Now the kicker is, if one of us dogs who were sits and down did the opposite of what we were supposed to do then the other team got a point, and if you got up the other team one a point. Our team lost, it is much harder to keep a sit position than it is to keep a lay, I did very well but then this little sexy dog with a pink costume walked by me and I gave up my sit for a sniff and we lost the game. Rats!!

Well then we went to the next game which was musical chairs, how fun that one was. Actually our owners walked us around some hoola-hoops on the ground, and when the music stopped our owners had to get us to sit inside the hoop. Who ever was left not sitting inside of a hoop was out. We lost that game too. And then we had the balance a ball on the spoon race, that was very funny as all us dogs just wanted to jump up and grab the spoons but our owners were trying to walk with the ball balanced on the spoon and who ever made it to the finish line first won, we lost that one too. All in all we had the best time ever!! There was this maze which mommy laughed so hard during my attempt to find her, that was beyond funny to her but eventually i did find her and it was full of hugs and praises.

And then we had a professional portrait taken and I got some treats and then I got some fun time playing with other dogs and we all went on a dog walk parade. All the dogs and owners were dressed up and it was fun as mommy and I never did this before and it was a blast. Acme canine does a lot of fun things and mommy is so happy and so am I that she found them.

When trick or tr eaters come to the door this Halloween I am going to greet them with good behavior with my costume on and wont grab their candy, like I say in my post below, I learned how to "leave" it, and guess what, mommy also uses that command for when I try and sniff crotches and I listen, no more molesting visitors when they come to our home, damn, that was my favorite thing to do.........

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!!