Introducing, ME, the Guinea Pig...

Some how, some way, I was the first one that Julia groomed a few months ago during her vacation. Surprise, when I turned out looking good AND still alive with no blood loss, she went on to gain experience by grooming the other ones here.
Well, today it was time for my Spring groom. Julia wasn't here, but Momsie decided to go ahead and give me the fuu fuu groom for the warmer weather. Frankly, I really LIKE that groom. There is much less hair on my body so I am cool and comfy and best of all, there isn't much left to brush out, either.
Soo, first thing, Tonya bathed me whilst Mom was shaving down some HUGE, HAIRY beasts. After I was dry and we had lunch, Mom did my feet and face, then, because she got a brand new SHARP blade, she decided on the fuu fuu doo. I was actually surprised at how quickly she finished me off.
There were a couple of problems, albeit minor problems. First of all, Mom couldn't find the fingernail polish remover so she just CUT OFF the parts of my nails that still had Julia's polish on them. Scared to death, I was expecting lots of pain and blood, but I guess Mom DOES know best... no polish left on my nails and NO blood letting at all!
The other problem was NOT my fault, either. It seems that Toto has also been chewing on MY coat. Mom found a whole area around my shoulder and elbow that had been chewed off. Obviously, since Toto chewed Ali's back last week, he must have been practicing on ME first!!! Mom said she did catch him holding me down, and when she brought me in I was all wet there. What a strange dog he is!!!
I am now all set for Summer, IF Spring ever comes!! And, Mom is all trained on me so she can now do the fuu fuu on the others!!

Adopt 2012 Contest

Mother had a decision to make when I came here. She wanted a black toy poodle. She really didn't care so much about a puppy over an adult, in fact, she thinks us adults are easier most the time.
Our Mom was a dog show person, breeder, etc. But, as times goes on, she is moving more toward a dog owner, former breeder person instead. She does LOVE breeding and keeping her own babies, knowing that the health testing and temperament testing and showing part is all done on the parents, and pretty much knowing she can predict what the babies are going to be like in those aspects.
But, Mom does mostly playing and loving with us dogs now. She is busy with working in the kennel and breeding and shows take time AND money. Besides, with poodles, the dogs being shown in conformation need to keep the fuu fuu clip and can't race around in the field and go kayaking and all that stuff Mom wants to do with us.
So, her decision was much easier... she really wanted a female and the handler lady only had a male puppy. Then, Mom heard about me. I was a finished champion so Mom's dog show eye wouldn't have any problems looking at me, BOL! I was in need of rescue... my breeder had placed me with a person who pretty much considered me product to produce puppies so she could sell them. I was kept in a crate by myself most of the time and if I wasn't in my crate, I was outside alone in a pen. I had a litter but I wasn't a good mother and my puppies had all died within the first week so the lady who had me didn't want me and sent me back to my breeder. My breeder knew Mom was looking for a black toy, so she told Mom to come get me.
I am soo happy Mom chose me and not the puppy. Puppies are fun, sure, but...even though I am almost five years old already, I am FUN too!!! I run and play and have fun just like the a puppy would BUT... I am all growed up and mostly trained and what you see is what you get, not what I might grow up to be!
Sure, I came with issues, but who is to say that a baby puppy wouldn't grow up with issues??? My issues are not too severe, Mom CAN live with them and she is working on some of them to change me. You CAN teach an older dog new tricks, sometimes even faster than you can teach a baby puppy!!!
Meanwhile, I am in a home where I am wanted for what I am, not what I may produce. She had me spayed immediately, so she obviously doesn't care that I am not a good mother. Mom loves me and doesn't care if I EVER go to another dog show. She puts pads down on the floor because, if they are on the floor, she has figured out that I won't pee in her bed, BOL! She is working on my excessive barking, but has also noticed that the longer I am here, the less I feel I need to bark for attention. And, she lets me run and play and go in the wet grass and the pond and the bushes without even worrying about my fuu fuu coat...for the first time I am finding out that dogs can all play together, we don't have to just go outside to do our business all by ourself, one at a time, and then go back in our crate.
And, I am also learning about sharing and loving and, yes, just being held quietly. Before, I just got picked up when someone was going to do something to me like brush me or bathe me or clean my teeth or whatever. Now, I have learned that if I want some loving I just need to walk over and put my feet on Mom's leg...she will instantly pick me up and hold me.
And, I have also learned that the other people here are the same way. EVERYONE picks me up and holds me, even kids and old people!
Here, if I have to go into my crate it is only for a little while, usually when we eat OR when Mom is mopping or vacuuming. The rest of the time I can hang out where ever I want to. I can sit in the chair and watch out the window, I can lie on a dog bed and I even get to sleep in Mom's bed with the others.
I am soo glad my breeder got me back AND I am even more glad that Mom and Julie drove all the way to North Carolina to get me so I could live here. Life is very, very good, finally!!

Playing, and playing, and playing.

I LOVE Summer!!! We pretty much ALWAYS get to go outside into the big yard or the lab pen and play and play and play.
Today it was a bit warm down there, but Mom and Julia took us early enough so there was still some shade and still some cool breezes. I had soo much fun chasing Riley and Beanie that I didn't even realize I was hot!!!
Julia was here so she found all the squashy balls and she was tossing them all around for us to go and get. Of course, we always chase whoever gets one, hehehe!
Finally, we WERE too hot so we all came back to the air conditioned house and napped the rest of the day away. Now I am wide awake listening to the fireworks. I don't know which is louder, the thunder here or the fireworks from uptown!!

Catching up...

Wow, been ages since Mom helped me write a diary entry. How does she expect I am EVER going to be selected as a daily diary pick???
Anyway, things have been going along smoothly. My abscess healed really quickly... in about three days it was PERFECT. I told Mom it was probably going to heal on its own but she insisted on taking me to the vets and making it MUCH worse before it got better. It also cost $300 for her to give me that extra pain, hehehe!
Anyway, I suppose you heard we have a HUGE, GIANT GSD living here with us now? I was the first little one he met, so I am his special friend, now, I guess. He is always following me around and when I do something, he does it, too. He and I get to pretty much stay inside during the day while everyone else has to stay outside, at least now that the weather is fine, that it. He stays inside cuz Mom is still not sure he won't start something (or finish something?) with the other boys when he's out there and she is at work. I get to stay inside cuz I bark, hehehe!
Yesterday was my day to go to work with Mom and get my hair done. I chose that fuu fuu doo once again...it is pretty well suited for Summertime cuz it is cooler when the air can reach my belly and my legs. Besides, as Riley said, it doesn't get all wet and stringy when we run thru the wet grass.
Speaking of wet grass, it seems to have been raining EVERY DAY for the last few weeks. Like right now...it is bright sunshine and warm temperatures but just a half hour ago there was a crashing thunderstorm with gale force winds and pouring rain and the temperature dropped 15 degrees in just five minutes. Glad I am inside, BOL!
Well, gotta go see where Ajax is, he might be into something and I need to point out the rules here, hehehe! Catch ya later!

Back from the Rip Out Room!!

As promised, Mom dropped me off at the vets first thing this morning. They took me right out into the back instead of even stopping in an exam room. Mom signed her life, and mine, away and went back to work.
Before long one of the techs came along and gave me some Valium...that was nice, but that was the ONLY nice thing about the whole day! Next thing I knew, I was waking up and Sarah from work was picking me up. My neck HURTS!!!
The vet called Mom and told her I had an abscess...duh, Mom knew that. She also told Mom it was already ruptured and draining so she just cut out the nasty pocket in the center and put in some stitches to help it heal. I have to take TONS of antibiotics cuz I went swimming in the beaver pond with it open. Oops!
It was fine this afternoon but now it hurts me so I have to lie on my side. Mom said it was good for some sympathy so milk it while I can...trust me, I will!!!

Camping was FUN!!!

Wow, I had a very, very big weekend! I got to go to the camping weekend Mom had with Julia. First, we had to get our beds ready. Julia gave us a big speech outlining all the sleeping rules.
Yeah, right. The only rule I listened to was to be comfy!! It WAS pretty cold in that tent so I ended up under Mom's sleeping bag, cuddled up with Toto. I slept GREAT!
This morning we all got to play for a while, then Julia cooked breakfast and us dogs got the leftovers. Guess what, we had EGGS!!!
After breakfast, I had another first. Julia chose ME to go along on the kayaking trip. I had never been before so she said Ali could come and teach me cuz she is a good teacher.
I only fell in once, but I had to wear the life jacket until Mom knew I could swim, I could, so then I didn't have to wear it anymore. It WAS HOT!!! During lunch we all went swimming again.
Unfortunately, Mom noticed my neck was pretty swollen so she took a look and I have an abscess from something. Soo, after my great weekend, I have to go to the vet's tomorrow. DRATS! Mom says it's a good thing she didn't notice it BEFORE we went kayaking cuz I would have had to stay home. Ooops!

Barking????

Mom says while MOST of my issues have been resolved since I came here I still have one major issue...BARKING! None of Mom's poodles bark unless there is some life or death issue so she is getting a bit annoyed with me, BOL, hehehe!
I bark, can I help it? I bark when I first wake up and Mom says it's time to go outside. I bark while she is walking from the bedroom to the outside. I bark while she is letting the others out. After I do my pee pees and poopies, I bark to come back inside.
When I come inside, I need to bark to remind Mom that while everyone else needs to go into their crates, I do not do crates! (Bless her, she HAS learned that much!) I also need to bark when Mom gets ready to head over to work... she MIGHT take me if I remind her I am here???
When she gets home I have to bark cuz I am so happy she is back. Of course, we all have to go outside again, so there is a repeat of the morning barking.
Next, it is time for supper. I LOVE to eat so I have to bark until Mom gets my supper for me. Well, there are a lot of us, so it takes a while so I have to bark lots! I do eat in my crate, so the second I am finished eating I need to bark and bark so Mom knows I am done.
After dinner it is usually dark so we settle down in the living room. I need to bark every time I see a light pass by the window. We live on a busy road so there are LOTS of lights passing by the window, BOL!
When Mom is home from work I have to bark even more. If she goes outside and leaves me inside I need to bark. If I am outside and she is inside, I need to bark. If I am outside and she speaks to another dog, or worse yet, takes another dog for a walk or something, then, of course, I really have to bark, BOL!
If she is cleaning and gets out the vacuum cleaner or the mop I have to bark. If I don't notice, but Jonesy does and he barks, I have to bark, too.
If we are all going down to the lab pen I really have to bark and while I am barking, I need to jump along beside Mom so she knows I am there, in case she can't hear me barking. While we are down there, if some other dog LOOKS at MY toy, I need to bark and chase them away. If we are all running, I need to bark, of course.
I cannot understand why NO ONE else here barks, well, except for Jonesy...he barks at noises like motors and bells and stuff like that, and he barks at the cats. I have NEVER barked at a cat, well, unless it was outside and I spied it thru the window...Mom needs to know they are out there, right??
Anyway, not one of those other dogs EVER barks unless the door bell rings or something like that. They are pretty strange, I think! They all run along outside, chasing the chickens or each other and never make a sound. Weird!!!
I will say, I do NOT bark in the bedroom at night. I am too tired from all that barking I've done all day long, BOL!

Fuu fuu duu???

My Mom is a little strange. For years while she was showing poodles she always complained about having to keep them in the Continental haircut. Now that she isn't showing any of us, she has decided she likes that fuu fuu duu and is giving it to all of us.
Toto was first, but I guess he had it last year, too. Mom thinks he looks "classy" with it because he has long legs and a nice square body. He also has a great coat.
Well, she liked it so much on him that she decided I needed it since she calls me her miniature Toto. I Have a nice coat, too, so I didn't mind, especially since she uses a modified cut and leaves our topknot and mane shorter.
So, yesterday Tonya bathed us and Mom gave us our "second cutting". Of course, I looked really nice, better than Toto!!!
Today was Riley's turn. Mom was afraid to give him the fuu fuu duu cuz most red poodles don't have a really good coat and it looks funny. Finally, she decided to just go ahead and do it, and both she and Tonya liked it lots. Now she is going to give both Ali and Georgie the fuu fuu duu as well. She is still trying to decide if Beanie will do the duu since he does NOT have a good poodle coat.
I say he will look pretty strange if he is the only one without the duu.
Meanwhile, I have suffered a setback as a super bedroom dog. For some reason, I have started peeing in Moms bed every night. Unlike Toto, I do not have a UTI. So, she is making me sleep in my crate, imagine that??? I am not too sure what her problem is... It is a HUGE bed and I only pee on a tiny spot in the middle. Ther is still plenty of dry places for me to sleep on!!!

My second ocean trip!

I was somewhat surprised to be invited to the ocean again on Saturday. Surprised cuz I wasn't too brave when we went last time and I sort of clung to Mom.
I would have been braver this time but it was gosh, darn cold! I was hoping Mom and/or Julia would be cold, too, so we wouldn't have to stay too long but, no, they were fine and Mom's back was fine so we stayed and stayed and stayed...that is until Toto got caught by a wave and then HE was cold, too.
I did have fun, I guess, if you call running from the icy cold snow to the icy cold waves! Julia was carrying me and I was so happy...I was sure it was because I was cold. Turns out, she would carry me a ways down the beach, then set me down and she and Mom would take photos while I raced back to Mom. Strange people!
Now, today it was downright HOT. Mom came home early and let us out. I glanced at the thermometer on the porch and it was 71 degrees!! That's more like North Carolina weather! After Mom got home from work she took us down in the field and Riley and I raced and raced and raced. I LIKE warm weather!!!

Finally, real snow!!

Thursday when I ran outside to do my business I stepped off the porch and sunk right over my head into tons and tons of SNOW!! It was really cold!
Fortunately, Crystal and Riley LOVE the snow and they made a whole bunch of paths for me to walk on so I wouldn't get too cold and wet.
Today, Mom took us down to the lab pen to play in the snow. Most of it was melted and really, really wet cuz it rained all morning. Oh well, once Riley and Cryssie made paths down there it was fine for me cuz it was warm outside too.
I guess I like that snow okay enough to stay up here in the north. It was pretty fun running thru it.
Mom has finally gotten the message that I do not do crates!!! Well, I will stay in my crate long enough to eat my dinner (I like to eat, BOL!), but as for being in there any other time, it is NOT for me. If I am stuck in there I scream bloody murder AND if I don't get let out, then I get revenge by pooping LOTS and smushing it all around.
It didn't take very many smushed poopies before Mom decided that I was fine out in the house instead of in my crate, BOL. Pretty soon I discovered that watch chair that used to be Jenny's so now I sit in that and watch the parking lot of the kennel. Well, I sit in that when Smokey isn't perched in it. When he is, he outweighs me by about 6 lbs so I don't argue with him.
Speaking of weight, Mom is now happy that I have finally gained a few pounds. She said I was way, way too skinny when I came here and now I am just right. Hope that doesn't mean she is going to start feeding me less, as I said, I LOVE to eat!!!!