I Live At Aunt Becky's Now!

This morning when we got up, Marty put me in the car (not surprising), but instead of going to the little house, we went to AUNT BECKY'S!!!!

Marty brought all my stuff in and left me in the kitchen and WENT AWAY!  (I think maybe I was supposed to be in my box, but Marty just put my box up and put some toys in it, she didn't make me go in it.)

I was just hanging out, and guess what?  Aunt Becky came home to hang out with me!  We played fetch (well, we were going to play fetch, but I was too excited to see her, so we played run around in the yard with a ball instead).

This is so much better than the little house!!

Home Alone Again

Sunday was a good day for me at the farm.  After my swimming adventure, we played more fetch and I got to play with Ziggy (mostly I ignored him so I could fetch) and then Tractor Guy came over with Mrs. Tractor Guy and then my grandhuman came!  I thought maybe we would all stay, but we went back to the little house very late.  

Monday when Marty came home from work Lyle wasn't with her and we had to go in the car.  We came back to the farm.  My grand human is still here and she slept in MY ROOM.  Marty put up a gate so I had to stay with her in the other room.  Rude.

Today, Marty and my grandhuman and my great grandhuman all left and I had to stay home by myself and be in charge of the house.  I was home for a long time, but finally Tractor Guy came over to play with me for a little while.  Then I was alone again, and Marty and my grandhuman didn't come home for a long time.

I had house privileges all day with not much exercise, and no puzzles left for me, and the only thing I did was get ONE unauthorized ball in the house!  Marty is so proud of me.

SWIMMING!

Guess what I did on Sunday?  We went to the farm and Marty and Lyle took me down to the pond and I went SWIMMING!










Marty says what I do is more splashing than swimming, but I don't care.  I want to do A LOT MORE!

Learning To Ride A Bike

As I have said from the very beginning, Marty is crazy.  She is crazy about me, and she is a little crazy about bikes, so I suppose it was inevitable that eventually I would have to learn to ride.  Even though the whole garage is full of bikes, Marty got a new one for me.  (She said the other bikes were not appropriate, whatever that is supposed to mean.)  

We've had it for a long time, but it was in a box.  This week, since we didn't have school, Lyle put the bike together.  Yesterday, Marty rode it to work (I did not get to go).

Today, I got to walk next to it.  BORING.

We went back out again later and I got to run next to it while Marty put her foot on a pedal.  

Lyle has to go to Lowe's and my new harness has to get here, and then we are going to go ride for real.

Nail Trim

I do not understand why Marty thinks she needs to cut my nails.  I think if she just had me out for longer walks, everything would take care of itself.  SHE says that this is what responsible humans do and that if I don't cooperate, I will be like Mr. Tripoli and have to RIDE IN THE CAR and GO TO THE VET'S to have mine done.

Marty and Lyle tried to do my nails earlier this week, but I was a wiggle worm and wouldn't hold still, and Marty said it was more important that I not have a bad experience than that I get my nails trimmed (on rare occasions, they can be sensible).  So another day this week we practiced Lyle giving me treats while Marty touched my feet, squeezed my toes, and touched me with the nail trimmers.

Then last night when Marty picked them up, I knew what was coming.  I ran downstairs and tried to convince them they could have time with their computers instead, but they brought the trimmers down there!  I rolled off the step and wound up behind the couch, and THAT IS WHERE THEY CUT MY NAILS!

Lyle gave me treats almost as fast as I could swallow them, and Marty was very careful, but I was still SO MAD that I went upstairs without them for a long time.  I am not sure they noticed that they were in trouble.

Happy Littermate Day!

On Thursday, the humans celebrated having littermates.  I decided I should give a shout out to mine... I don't really keep in touch with everyone anymore, although Cane and Blaze are living with Christopher and the big dogs.

Here's a pic of us when we were babies, I'm hoping for a playdate later this spring!

Navidson Has A Mr. Tripoli!

Okay, Navidson's is named Mr. Scout, but this is still very exciting news!

Navidson's grandhumans came to visit him and Dan this week, and they brought their dog.  Navidson's grandhumans have visited before, but this was the first time they'd brought Mr. Scout.  On Tuesday Navidson told Dan to ask Marty if we wanted to meet them at the park.  So we did (of course).  I got to meet Mr. Scout!

I was very polite (because Mr. Tripoli has already taught me about being nice to uncle-dogs).  Mr. Scout did not want to play fetch, he mostly just hung out with the humans and said hello every so often.  Navidson is not allowed to play rough with him, so he played with me instead.  I don't mind.  Mr. Scout is older than Mr. Tripoli, but not as big.  Marty thinks he is some kind of a hound, but Navidson's grandhumans say he is some kind of a terrier.  No one really knows.

There were A LOT of other dogs at the park, maybe because the weather has gotten so nice (the humans think it's nice; I liked it better when it was cold).  I met Tucker, who is a Lab/Golden Retriever mix and about a year old.  I dropped my muddy ball on one of his humans and got her muddy.  I was not sorry.

Sadie came for a little while.  Her humans are still trying to get her more excited about fetch than chase, but she still likes chase better.  I help out by retrieving anything they throw for her.  Marty says she's sorry for that, but I don't know why.

I met a new dog named Vasco that was some kind of a Lab mix.  He was gangly, and Marty said maybe he was party Great Dane like Max.  He played with Navidson more than me, which was fine, because I was busy fetching.

Sophie's people asked what I do when Marty puts the ball away, so she showed them.  I stared at my bag for a while, and then when it became clear that Marty is too thick-headed for my mind control powers to get through, I went and found a frisbee to fetch.  I like to fetch balls better, but frisbees are good for tug.  Vasco and I played tug with the frisbee until we broke it.

Navidson and Mr. Scout and I stayed until all the other dogs had left, and then Marty decided it was a good time for us to go home too.  It's amazing how much better she is at walking home from the park than getting there.

Marty Tried To Steal A Dog

Monday night we were all home, minding our own business, when I noticed there was an unauthorized dog in front of our house WITH NO HUMAN!  I have very strict rules regarding what dogs I let within a certain perimeter of my domain, and I did not recognize this dog.  (Dogs I know at the little house:  Jack, Cocoa, Jackson, Macauley, the chihuahua that lives across the street, and the yellow lab that sometimes visits next door.  All other dogs must be accompanied by a human AT ALL TIMES!)  I alerted the crazies right away by barking very loudly at the window.  (I am only supposed to do this to alert them of a threat, but I feel like they're not really very prepared, so we conduct frequent drills.)  For once, Marty actually agreed with my threat assessment.  

She went outside to see if the strange dog's human was around.  I volunteered to go with her, in case she needed protection, but she said she thought she would be fine.  That attitude is why need drills.  She *thought* she would be fine.  How did she know?  What if something had happened?  Clearly she should take me with her in these events.

I watched from the window and kept Lyle informed as to what was going on.  There wasn't a human with the dog, and when Marty called it, it didn't come to her.  She got puppy biscuits and MY nosework leash and went back to the dog.  I couldn't see her for a little while (I tried to tell Lyle we should go outside RIGHT AWAY and check on her, but he said she was fine.  I cannot believe the lackadaisical attitude they exhibit.) and when she came back, she had the dog on my leash.

She walked her up and down the street (the other dog was actually pretty good on the leash, I am concerned that she may have taught Marty that the appropriate rate of reinforcement for nice leash walking is a lot lower than what I've been working on teaching her).  Marty kept asking people if they knew the dog, but no one did.

I was starting to think that she was going to bring her into MY house, but then she opened the car door.  Hahaha!  Good!  That will teach a dog to trespass within my perimeter, she has to ride in the car!  I think Marty was going to take her to the vet, and that's EVEN WORSE.  The other dog did not jump in though (I've heard Border Collies are smart dogs, it must be true).  So then I was even MORE worried that Marty was going to bring her in, but about that time a car stopped and when Marty talked to the human she said it was her dog.  WHEW!  

I am pretty sure that the other human thought Marty was trying to steal the dog.  If she'd known that the crazies have ME, clearly she would not have been confused.  I don't want another dog, not even Navidson, much less some Border Collie that thinks I need to be herded around like my cousin Belle does.  And Marty is barely trained, so I don't want some interloper in here messing up all the habits I've been working on instilling - like making her sleep curled up so there's more room on the bed for me, and making her sit on the other chair so I can have the couch with Lyle.

Marty says maybe when I am older I can have a pet, but I think she should not hold her breath on that.

Talk About Being Embarrassed By Your Relations

The worst thing has happened.  I've discovered a horrible truth about Devin and Koren.  They have a cat.  No, it's true.  I'm horribly embarrassed to have to admit to this, but it is true.  This means I have a cat-nephew.

And that's not the worst of it.

Last weekend when we were visiting them, I thought I smelled something funny coming from Devin and Koren's room.  But Marty kept saying, "Don't worry about it, there's nothing interesting for you back there."  LIES!  You know what was back there?  THE CAT!

The cat came out to say hello.  Marty put my leash on me, and I thought we were going to leave in disgust, like sensible dogs would, but no, SHE LET THE CAT SMELL ME!  It was horrible.  I may be traumatized for life.  (Yes, I got cookies for this.  Yes, the cat did too.  No, the cat wasn't allowed to actually do anything to me, BUT THAT IS NOT THE POINT!)



After the cat got to smell me, the cat got to smell my stuff.  Did I get to smell the cat's stuff?  No, I did not.  Did the cat have to wear a leash?  No, it did not.  Did my leash come off the whole time the cat was out of its room?  No, it did not.  Were the cookies I got high enough value to compensate me for this horror?  Maybe.  No, they were not.

The cat got to smell my bag, and even worse than that, the cat got to smell my box.  If the crazies think I am ever going back in the box without a fight, they can just try it!

Visiting My Human Siblings

I was supposed to go see Aunt Becky last weekend, but at the last minute, Marty decided she didn't want to drive up there.  (See, when Marty doesn't want to go in the car, we don't have to, but when I don't want to get in the car, the crazies pick me up and dump me in there.  Not cool.)

Saturday morning we got up early and went in the car.  I thought maybe we were going to visit Aunt Becky after all, but we didn't.  We rode in the car even longer than it takes to get to Mr. Tripoli's (Marty and I slept) and when we got out, we were visiting Devin and Koren!  I had never been to visit them before.  Almost as soon as we'd gotten there, I had to go in my box.

I think I have mentioned before that a)I cannot effectively protect anything if I am locked in my box; b)my box is too small for me now; c)even though I do not like going in the car, I would usually rather be with the crazies than locked in my box, especially somewhere new.  So, I threw a fit.  It didn't accomplish anything, I still got left.

When all the humans came home, Marty let me out of the box and took me outside.  Guess what?  My human siblings have a dog park right behind their house!  It's not quite as nice as my dog park, but it's RIGHT BEHIND THEIR HOUSE!  I got to go play ball almost every time we went outside!  I made them take me out a lot.  I met a husky like Luna, and a puggle.  I was very nice to the other dogs because they were a little shy.  Their humans thought I was a big dog!  (I guess they'd never met Mr. Tripoli or Tornado.)

Why Don't We Do This Every Day?

Marty and Lyle BOTH came home at lunch and we went for a walk with my special allowed-to-pull harness! 

Super Dog!

Wednesday night we had school again.  Marty had to almost drag me out to the car, but once we got there I jumped right in.  We practiced "punch it" which is what Marty says when she wants to give me a treat for putting my foot on something.  I got to punch a magnet, a box of band-aids, and a traffic cone.

After school we got to play fetch in the round pen again, but this time the horses were not there.  I did not jump in the car by myself after school.

Thursday morning Marty tried to pull me off my bed, but she just pulled my collar off.  Then Lyle pulled the bed right out from under me.  What is wrong with these humans?  Why can't we all just go back to bed?!  Eventually Marty promised me we could play fetch if I would get up.  I don't understand why they just don't say that in the first place.

I got neglected again so that Marty and Lyle could hang out with H. Bill and his littermates.  They did not come over, but I could smell them.  I paid them back by being a wild animal all night!

Too Tired To Play

The weather here has finally gotten nice after months and months when Marty was being a giant wimp. Tuesday we went to park in the car.  I am getting a little better about the car, but I still don't like it.  I got to wear my allowed-to-pull harness so we didn't even have to struggle to get into the park!

We were the only ones there, so we played a lot of fetch.  I must have still been tired from the weekend, because I got worn out even before Navidson got there!  Dan brought water (Dan is much better trained than Marty) and I drank almost all of it.

After we left we went by the vet's office for me to get weighed.  I weigh 76lbs now.  I was very happy not to have to stay and we went straight home.

Clicker Expo - Sunday

Sunday morning we got up and went back in the car to the same place.  I had to lie down and snack from my Kong (but mostly I napped) while Marty listened to another human.  This time there were only a few other humans.

After that was over, Marty left me with A STRANGER!  (Okay, it wasn't a stranger, it was Biscotti's human that I'd met when we did our shaping weekend, but still, Marty LEFT ME!)  For at least THREE MINUTES!  Just when I was starting to believe she was never coming back, she did, she hurried me back downstairs to the working room.

I didn't want to be there, and I tried the lying on my side and pulling to the door thing again.  Marty took me outside and fed me some pretty good treats and promised me that if I just tried it I could leave if I wasn't having fun.  So we went back in and picked a different place where there weren't so many dogs close to me and no one could see me.  Then I got treats just for not trying to leave.  It was a pretty good deal.

After a long time of just being there and getting treats, we went back to the little hidey hole where Marty played fetch with me and we got to play fetch with piggy toys.  I didn't really want to bring them back at first, but I didn't want Marty to play with them without me either, so I did.  A really smart human who talked funny came over to play with us and I learned about holding onto the tug toy tighter.  She was a very interesting human!

When we were done playing with her, we went back to Mr. Tripoli's.  Sophie had already gone home.  Marty and I both took a nap, and then Marty went back, but I didn't have to go.

Clicker Expo was pretty exciting!

After Clicker Expo - Exhaustion

I got back from Clicker Expo and I was almost too tired to play with Sophie and Mr. Tripoli.  Marty was almost too tired to talk with my grandhumans.

Marty was supposed to help me update my blog, but we didn't get very far.

Clicker Expo - Back On My Game

After I took a nap, Marty came out and woke me up.  She put my Nosework harness on me but we didn't look for meatballs or funny smelling trees.  (Don't tell Miss Jessica.)  She just hooked it up to my leash and we went for a walk where I didn't have to "walk nice".  We met another dog that was also out for a walk with her human and then I got to play fetch in the mud!  Marty talked to the person guarding the mud pit (I think people were supposed to park cars there) and asked if it would be all right.  She was afraid of me, but I sniffed her hand and she said we could play until cars came.  We played for a long time and no cars came.

Then we walked somewhere else and played MORE fetch.  This was a good lunch break!  I would be happier about being in the car if it always meant we got to play fetch.

After lunch we went back inside to the working room, but this time Marty gave me a LOT of treats just for being there and when it was time to practice we went in the back where almost no one could see us and I got treats just because Marty clapped her hands.  (Sometimes Marty wants to learn very strange tricks.  I have no idea why she wants to give me treats for clapping her hands, but whatever.)  Then we took a break and I got treats for hanging out on my mat and then we went back to my hiding spot and played fetch.  This was so easy!

We went back to our spot to listen to the human in charge talk some more and I was sooooo tired I fell right asleep.  Humans spend way too much time talking.  All the other dogs were asleep too.

After Marty was done I went back in the car for another nap and then we went back to Mr. Tripoli's!

Clicker Expo - Wipe Out

Saturday morning Marty got me up before anyone else was up and put me in the car.  We drove to a new place I'd never been before.  There were SO MANY dogs!  I didn't get to play with any of them, and we went inside this big building with SO MANY humans.  I was so excited I was pulling hard on my leash.  Most of the other dogs were walking very nicely, and I think Marty was a little frustrated, but too bad.

The nice thing about this particular place is that it's all about humans learning to get treats.  Humans are not allowed to do anything mean to their dogs - it's actually in the rules!  So even though Marty was a little frustrated, I did not get jerked on or yelled at at all.  We went upstairs into a conference room and I settled down on my mat and got a new Kong toy with special treats inside.  The room filled up fast, with dogs AND humans.  I was very calm for the whole time.  Lots of the other dogs had more trouble than I did (most of them didn't get Kongs).  Marty listened to another human talk about how dogs learn to help humans that can't do certain things for themselves.  It sounds like I'm about to get more chores.

After that class, we went downstairs to a class where we were supposed to learn about how to chain behaviors together.  It was super stressful because there were a whole lot of other dogs and people looking at me.  Marty was stressed too, so I decided we should leave.  It took me a little while to convince her, but after I refused to do anything but lie on my side and pull toward the door, she finally saw reason.

I took a nap in the car and she went back inside.

Oh Boy, Sophie!

Friday morning Marty got up early (I made her let me and Mr. Tripoli go play outside again) and left.  Mr. Tripoli went back to sleep, so I got my grandhuman up and made her give me puppy biscuits!  After a little while Sophie's human brought her to visit!

I was so excited to see Sophie that I put her whole head in my mouth!!  Her human was not as impressed as I expected her to be.  My grandhuman put us outside so that Sophie's human wouldn't see.  After a while, Mr. Tripoli got up.  I think he has resigned himself to the overwhelming charisma of Chessies and given up on Sophie being his girlfriend.

Marty came back about dinner time and brought a whole bag of new toys for us.  We got to play with them and I even taught Sophie how to get Marty to give her treats for high five!

So This Is What It's Like To Be Neglected

Wednesday we had school.  We're learning about getting treats when the humans do things with their hands, and we're still getting treats for doing nothing.  I also showed everyone that I can run RIGHT BY Miss Pat to go to Marty.  When I got there we ran back to Miss Pat for treats though, so I'm not sure I really understood the point.

Instead of going to the farm after school, we came straight back to the little house.  I couldn't decide if I was mad that I didn't get to go to the farm and play fetch or if I was happy that I didn't have to get up early and ride more in the car.

Thursday morning Marty and Lyle went to work and left me.  I only got playtime with Joyce and Nita, and then Marty came home early, played with me for about five seconds and then left again and was gone until REALLY LATE.  I don't even know why I decided to go live with these humans, they're never home!

When Marty finally did come home, she packed up all my stuff and threw me in the car and we drove for a long time!  IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!  But.  But!  Guess where we were when we finally got out of the car??  MR. TRIPOLI'S HOUSE!!  I woke him up right away to tell him I was there!  He was not as excited to see me as I thought he should be.  I even made him go outside and play with me, but he seemed a little lethargic.  Marty said maybe we should let him go back to sleep, but I think it's just that SHE wanted to go to sleep.

I was not allowed to sleep with my grandhumans and Mr. Tripoli, Marty made me sleep with her.  I protested by not getting in the bed.  Then I made her get up and take me out at 4:45 in the morning.  (I made Mr. Tripoli come too.)  That will teach her to neglect me!