DAY 132, Wednesday, 7/18/12

There’s another dog in our obedience class who is what you might call a veteran. He’s been through every class two or three times, so he pretty much knows all the routines. It doesn’t bother me any, but I think Bob feels a little intimidated by him. So, anyway, tonight we were walking the maze: zigzagging around a row of distractions. It’s not as easy as it sounds because one of the distractions is a great big sausage treat. Well, I made it through the course perfectly every time, but that other dog, the veteran, stopped every time to scarf up the sausage treat. Bad boy. Bad boy.

DAY 131, Tuesday, 7/17/12

Well, today was a bust. Some maintenance men were supposed to come to make some repairs in our bathroom, and Bob wouldn’t take me to the courts for fear that we might miss them. Because the repair work is supposed to leave a very strong odor, and knowing how strong my sense of smell is, Tony suggested that I spend the night at the local doggy Hilton, so Bob made the reservations. However, by 3:00 p.m., the workers had not shown up, so Bob cancelled the whole thing. What a waste of a whole day! On the good side, the UPS guy delivered a package that contained two boxes of treats for me, so the day wan’t a total waste.

DAY 130, Monday, 7/16/12

Bob has started playing dirty. Whenever I ask to go out, he tries to put that darn training collar on me. Naturally, I resist, but he keeps trying. If, after several tries, he is not successful, he just puts the lead back over the doorknob and walks away. I guess he figures that if I get desperate enough, I’ll stop fighting the collar. That’s just plain dirty.

DAY 128, Saturday, 7/14/12

Today, Bob looked me straight in the eyes and, in that mushy way that he has, said, “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” And I thought, yeah, you say the same thing to Tony all the time, and what has he got to show for it?

DAY 127, Friday, 7/13/12

The sand on the volleyball court was still damp today from all the rain we’ve had lately, but Bob took me there anyway. He said that I sounded like a galloping horse when I hit the ground running. What is it with him and horses?

He’s been somewhat negligent about brushing me this week, so when he finally got around to it today, he said he got about 15 gerbils out of my hind quarters alone. (See Day Twenty-Four, 4/2/12.)

DAY 126, Thursday, 7/12/12

I really wanted Bob to take me to the courts to run today, but he waited until it was too hot. He should have gotten out of bed earlier.

He did take me back to McDonalds this morning. I was a little antsy around the soda machine, but for the most part I was pretty well behaved. Of course, I drew lots of admiring glances.

DAY 125, Wednesday, 7/11/12

Well, Bob and I did pretty well in class tonight—especially considering that we had a week off due to Independence Day. Wendy showed Bob how to put that darn training collar on me without having me fight him so much. Of course, it involved a little bit of bribery with treats, but I’m not objecting. We practiced avoiding distractions while heeling—first, with the training collar, and then, without it. We also learned to crawl, which was a cinch for me.

We have learned that Therapy Dogs International (TDI) will be having a testing session just south of Forth Worth a week from Saturday. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that test yet, but we’ll probably go just to observe. We only have a couple of more weeks left in our advanced class at PetSmart, and we may try for the AKC Canine Good Companion certification after that. I could probably pass that if I’m on my best behavior. The question is, will Bob be on his best behavior?

DAY 124, Tuesday, 7/10/12

I really love Tony. Today he took the afternoon off just to be with me. Well…why else would he take the afternoon off? And a few days ago, he brought me a deer antler, which I have been having a grand time with.

Some of my fans have been asking for more pictures of me, so I’ll have Bob crank up the ol’ camera and take some more shots.

DAY 123, Monday, 7/9/12

Bob thinks he is so clever. Whenever we go out walking now, I try to be on my best behavior so he won’t put that doggone training collar back on me. I really hate it. Just to be sure, though, he always puts it in his pocket and makes sure I see it so I know that the threat looms over me if I act up. I hate to say it, but it’s working. Hmmm. Maybe Bob’s not quite as dumb as I thought.

DAY 122, Sunday, 7/8/12

Apparently, the City of Temple Water Plant was struck by lightning last night and was not able to pump water today. All the stores and restaurants had to close, and we were advised not to use any more water than was absolutely necessary. Bob went to the store and bought several gallons of water, so I had enough water to drink. I thought that was very considerate of him.

I heard Tony and Bob talking today about something called “snow.” I’m not sure exactly what that is, but it sounds like fun. Bob said, though, that if they ever let me out in a field covered in snow, they’d never find me again. Wonder what he meant by that.