The Little Mouse in our House

Greetings and Salutations to one and all. There have been great goings-on in the Larson household recently, and I've been just panting for an opportunity to tell you all about it.

As the title of this diary entry suggests, one of the more exciting events of the last week was our little mousey visitor. Mom was taking a nap downstairs on Wednesday, and I was just hanging out in my kennel. A little nibbley sort of sound caught my attention, and looking around, I suddenly see a tiny, furry creature sitting in my bowl and helping himself to a piece of my kibble, just as bold as you please. I barked out to him to go find his own darn kibble, and Mom, hearing my barking, came to investigate. She opened my kennel, and I'll tell you that I didn't waste any time getting over to my food bowl to give that little guy a peice of my mind, up close and personal. That's when she noticed our visitor......and she was rather vocal about it as well, I might add! Between the two of us, we chased that little guy through the house. We almost caught him twice, but he used his sneaky rodent ways and escaped us both times.

Fast forward about 6 hours. Once again, I'm just hanging around in my kennel, and the mouse shows up again. This little guy is small, but has the courage of a lion! This time, though, Mom, Dad, & I are ready for the hunt. We're surrounding the rodent, ready to pounce, when guess who shows up??

Brady Cat!

And the mouse runs right under Brady's front paws in a daring attempt at escape.

Brady didn't even notice him!!!!

Thank God I'm around, since I"m obviously the mouser in the family. We caught the little guy and Dad let him go outside.

Since that day, Brady has been skulking around trying to pretend it didn't happen. He's hoping none of the other cats in the neighborhood hear about this, or he may have to surrender his cathood. I almost feel bad for the guy....almost....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Birthday Bonz!!

Boy, oh Boy, did I ever have a birthday to remember! I'm still recovering from the crazy, fun party. I swear, if there were lampshades at the dog park, we all would have been taking turns wearing them! There was frolicking, there was cavorting, there were goodies galore....there was even a brawl!!
I got fabulous presents, including a bag 'o' bones, a chewy stick, and, my absolute favorite, the stuffed squirrel, who I have named Stanley.

Stanley is the best toy ever. Mostly because my dad gave him to me. But also because he's got 2 squeekies in him. One squeeky in the body and one squeeky in the tail. But, to top it all off, he looks EXACTLY LIKE A REAL SQUIRREL!!! The only thing that could possibly be an improvement is if he could actually run around so I could chase him. But I never can actually catch the real squirrels out in the yard, so maybe it's better that he can't run. I wouldn't want to risk losing him!

Mom & I went on a field trip on Friday afternoon to a gourmet dog store in Long Grove to get me a birthday cake. Mom had been to this store before, but I was a first timer. That must be why the lady there gave me lots of treat, and none for mom!! While it was slightly disappointing that they were out of stock on birthday cakes, I had fun picking out my own birthday cookie. It was a big cookie, with frosting on it, just like a people cookie. Except it tasted like chicken. With frosting. YUM. I so wanted a nibble right away, but mom made me wait until my actual birthday day, Sunday. Then, everyone sang happy birthday to me & I got my cookie.

What a great day. I wish I could have a birthday once a month!

Almost my B'day!

It's been a while since I've written, but what can I say? I'm a busy pup! My entry today was prompted mainly by the need to update my photos, and, as you will see, I'm sportin' a v*e*r*y attractive new bandanda, thanks to my friends Skye & Nina. Thanks, you guys!!! Brady & I LOVE our new, custom-made bandanas! You guys rock!
I'm sure all of my friends out there are wondering about how my little doodlebug is coming along. I've got to tell you that the doodlebug has grown a LOT, and mom is waddling around the house looking pretty funny. She smells different too. Sometimes I bark hello at her belly so that the little guy will know me when he comes out. I'm not sure if he can hear me in there or not, but I figure it's worth a try, right?
Finally, the biggest news of all.....my birthday is coming up next week. Yep, on October 30th, I will be one year old! All the dogs at the dog park are having a party that day, and I can't wait! (ok, well the humans think the party is mostly for halloween, but all us dogs know what we're REALLY celebrating!) The boy dogs have DEFINITELY noticed that I'm growing up, and always want to hang out around me when I'm at the dog park. I guess mom & dad were right after all to get me "fixed" ~~ :)
Well my friends, that's all the news I have time for right now. Take it easy & I'll bark at ya again soon!

My Little Doodlebug

Well, I finally know for sure what's been going on around the house. Mom is growing me a Doodlebug. Little Doodlebug Larson. Yeah! She explained it all to me, and I must admit I'm pretty excited; I will pet him and lick him all over and I will call him George. Even if his name is Caleb, I'll still call him George.
Anyway, I wanted to go pick him up today, but Mom says we have to wait a few more months. She showed me a picture of the little guy. He's not too cute now, but Mom swears he'll be a lot cuter when we finally get to bring him home. I've seen the other little Doodlebugs in their strollers when I'm out for a walk, and I've always wanted one of my very own. This is gonna be SOME Fun!!

Emergency Vet

Don't ask me why I decided to bite the wasp...but he didn't like it.

He bit me back. Twice. I let him go after that.

But it was too late, the damage was done. Ninety minutes later, when my face had swelled up to 2x its normal size, we were off to the emergency vet.

Things I don't like about the emergency vet are:

1. They try to stick a thermometer up your butt

2. They stick you with sharp needles

3. It smells like scared, hurt animals

I'm glad I'm better, and I guess it's good to know how to get to the emergency vet. You never know when there will be an emergency. Now I feel prepared.

Most of all, though, I'm going to avoid wasps from now on.

Playing 2nd Fiddle

I have a bad, bad feeling. A feeling like my life is about to change. For good. Maybe it will be for the better....but I just don't know. I just don't know.

What I do know is, that if I concentrate on gathering the clues, I can put the puzzle together and sleuth out the truth....

I know all my friends here on Dogster have been wondering what has happened to me. Several months ago, I just disappeared. I used to be a regular in updating my diary....and then, nothing. What happened?

That was the first sign that change is a-coming.

The Mom was suddenly very tired. And when she wasn't napping (which wasn't very often), she was on the phone. She said she's too tired to take me for a walk, she's to tired to go to the puppy park, she's too tired to do ANYTHING, so The Dad has been doing a lot more with me lately...WEIRD!!

That is another sign....yep, change is definitely a-coming.


At first, The Mom started to smell a little different. I can't definite it exactly, but I knew something had changed. And if I jumped up on her, sometimes she'd say "uuuuuufffffff" and push me off. And now....she is getting pretty darn FAT! She doesn't seem sick, but she's definitely not well either....What is WRONG with her??

Yeah, signs, signs, everywhere are signs.....gotta put these clues together....


I'm starting to get an idea of what's gonna happen, but I'm not 100% sure yet, so I don't want to put it in writing yet. But if you have any ideas, please contact me!!

Train you Human today!

Our Humans are more than willing to work and live in harmony with us, as long as they know their position in the pack. If you, as the dog, don't establish the leadership role, your human dog could develop unwanted behavior. Gaining the cooperation of your human is essential to the mutually beneficial relationship between dog and human. It is for that reason that I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with basic Human obedience tactics.

The first and very important command is the "Give snack" command. It is performed like this: First, wait until your human is holding some delicious snack, say a hunk of cheese on a nice ritz cracker. Yum. Sit nicely next to your human and look up at them with soft, pleading eyes. Once your human is properly trained, this move alone will usually result in the giving of the snack. However, early on, additional steps may be needed. If your human doesn't notice you there, gently reach up with a paw and tap your human on the leg to get them to notice you. If they look at you and don't immediately respond, you may want to try adding a gently cry to your alluring gaze. It is important to reinforce the good behaviour when they respond to your command properly. Reward them with a happy yip and loving licks. Never, never try to FORCE your human to give the treat, nor should you ever try to snatch it!! With a little practice, your human will respond instantly to your command.

Well, I think that's enough for one day. Get busy training your humans! Best of luck!!

When I grow up....

Now that I'm getting older, it's time for me to start getting serious about what I want to do when I grow up. After all, a gal can't be a pup all her life. So, what to do, what to do?

Actually, I've gotten some pretty good ideas from watching tv. There's this show called "Pet Star" on Animal Planet that I just love to watch. There are some very talented animals who compete on that show. Since my ancestors were in show biz, it's already in my genes. AND, I can jump through a hoop.

I'd like to be a Pet Star. Maybe I'd get an agent, and be able to sign multi-million dollar contracts. And then I could buy TheMom a slammin' ride. And I could buy TheDad a slammin' ride too, as long as he'd promise to take me to the puppy park more often. I don't really know what a slammin' ride is, but it sounds cool, doesn't it??. And I could buy a big house, too, so Brady Cat & I could chase eachother up and down the long halls. A house big enough that, when I bark, I could hear the echo! Yeah, awesome!

Hey, I should tell Lyle about Pet Star. He could get his new band on the show, and they could get lots of national coverage. I bet it would advance his campaign, especially if they won the episode!!

Anyway, I've also been thinking about being a rescue dog. And wear a cute little collar with a barrel full of Brandy under my chin. I like snow, and I can sniff out almost anything, so I bet I could be a really good resuce dog. And I think the collar would make a great accessory, don't you??

Hmm, I'm not really ready yet to make this decision. I'm going to go think it over for a while, and I'll get back to you later with what I decide.

Vacation Recovery

Well, we're back from vacation and going through the recovery process.
But, boy oh boy, vacations are FUN!! I lived like a real dog and had a great time!!

On the second day, we were out on the boat in the middle of the lake when I saw these two dogs over on the shore who were taking flying leaps off the end of their dock. They did it over and over, and I was really interested in this and watched very carefully. They actually seemed to be having FUN!!

The Humans had been trying to get me to go in the water since we got there the day before, but I wasn't too sure I wanted too. I mean, it seemed a little too much like a bath for me to be comfortable. But after seeing those flying dogs, I had to reconsider. If this was fun, well, then, I sure didn't want to miss out on it!! So, I screwed my puppy courage to the sticking point, closed my eyes, and took a flying leap off the boat!!!

Apparently, I was born knowing how to swim, which was news to me. Thank God for instinct! I can tell you objectively now that Eskie's really only like water in snow-form. Eskie's are NOT water dogs.

Eskie's DO, however, LOVE sleeping outside of their kennel, eating barbecue, chasing chipmunks, digging on the beach, and sniffing around in the woods. Next time there's a vacation to be had, definitely count me IN!!

Gotta run see how Brady's doing, and if he kept busy campaigning for Lyle while we were gone. Bark at ya later!

The Land of Cheese

WOW! Guess what---? We're going on vacation! TheMom says we're leaving tomorrow to go to the Wisconsin. According to her, Wisconsin is home of the Cheeseheads. Mmmm. .. Cheeseheads. What's the rest of them made of? Do you think I can eat one? I'm gonna have good dreams tonight!!

Guess who doesn't get to come with--?! You got it....Brady Cat and Ickie will be stuck at home, while I, the cutest puppy in the whole world, get to hop on in the car and ride to the land where Cheeseheads roam. WaaaaaHOO!!!

I'm sorry, but I don't think I've mentioned Ickie before. She's another member of our family, of the fine-feathered variety. Her real name is Icarus, due to her excellent capability of navigating beak first straight to the floor on her flight attempts. I'm not kidding when I say she's a bird brain, but she's a good egg and provides lots of entertainment for me and Brady when the humans are gone.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited about this vacation thing. Even though I've never been on vacation before, I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it. Mom says where we are going, there's a lake I can swim in. I've never been swimming before, but I am pretty sure I'm gonna like that too! I hope I meet some other dogs who want to swim with me. Brady says he doesn't care, and he wouldn't even want to come on vacation anyway. He plans on staying home and rallying the local cats to Lyle's cause.