It's My Birthday!

Today is my 3rd birthday! Mom has been giving me lots of extra hugs and kisses today. My sister dog, Kizzie, came yesterday to help me celebrate today. Mom made us a special dinner and I got a new toy. Well, I think it is a toy...Mom said it is our new dumbell for my next level of obedience. She said I would get a special treat tonight for a snack and she was right! I got a caramel apple with chopped peanuts on it...one of my all time favorite snacks. I shared some with my sister and she liked it too. I was supposed to get a bath and a haircut today so Mom could take my birthday picture, but she got too busy, so now it looks like that will happen tomorrow. Mom bought treats for me to take to my dog class tomorrow night to give to all my friends there. I think they will like that.

We've Been Busy!!!

I haven't written in my diary for a long time, 'cause Mom has kept me reeeaaallly busy! We went to the shows in Oshkosh, but I decided I already had my CD so didn't do very good. So no green ribbons for me :( But Mom gave me a hamburger anyway, 'cause she said I was still the best dog ever.

Then I got to be in the 4th of July parade with all my friends from dog school. It wasn't too warm, so we all had a good time. I saw Ben and Abby watching me from the curb, so I just had to go over and say hi. So what if the rest of the group kept going...we ran and caught up to them.

So we practiced our rally exercises and went back to Oshkosh in July. I got my first 2 legs toward my RAE. Mom said she was so proud of me...I had to do a lot of work...I got to go in to the ring twice each day! But I like it when it gets to be my turn so I did really good.

I also got a new friend next door. Her name is Remi and she is a "girl"!! Ben and Abby adopted her from the Animal Shelter. She is lucky that she got to go live with them. They are giving her a great home and she is getting spoiled rotten! Sometimes she gets really excited when she sees me and I have to tell her to be good. But she is just a puppy and she will learn to be good. Her mom signed her up to take classes with Mom at my school. Maybe she can walk in the parade with me next year!!

Then we went to Manitowoc for another weekend of dog shows. I got to stay in a motel with Mom for two nights! It was lots of fun to sleep up on the bed with her...I wasn't scared, but had to make sure Mom was going to be ok.
Mom said I did really good and I got two more legs toward my RAE. Lots of green ribbons and more hamburgers!! I really like this dog show stuff :)

Mom said we will be really busy again in October. I will try to let you know how I am doing.

A Big Dog Show Weekend for Me!!

This past weekend Mom loaded up the car and said we were headed back on the dog show circuit. We were entered in THREE dog shows! Wow, Mom sure was jumping in with both feet. We were able to stay with my skin sister and my sisterdog while we were gone so that was an extra fun time.

The shows were held at a fairgrounds and the ring surface was packed clay...hey where did the mats go??? It was my first time doing regular obedience and no mats! I did really good and we got a 2nd place in our class on Friday. On Saturday, we had a long wait and I got tired of just hanging around, but we got a better score and a 4th place finish. We had to get up REALLY early on Sunday, but we were the first ones in the ring and we did really good. I think I did better than mom, but we got our best score of the weekend and got a 3rd place. I had so much fun and got lots of hamburgers for rewards. Oh, and Mom bought me a new ball for a prize! Yeah!!

So, now we are going to go to some shows in Oshkosh to practice, but then Mom says we are going to go back to Rally O to try for our RAE.

More good news

Mom and I went to see the special vet yesterday. He said I was all better. Great news for me and my mom! I'm able to do as much as I feel I am able to do. I can jump on/off the beds again and run around the back yard. I'm even able to take walks with my dog friend, Buddy. Mom took me to dog school last night and I was so happy to see all my friends again. Mom says we have to get ready for some dog shows, so it looks like I'm going to be a busy boy again. I don't mind, as long as I get my McDonald's burger.

Good News!

Mom took me to therapy on Wednesday and I also had to get a picture taken of my leg. When Mom came to pick me up, Sarah was so excited to talk to her. It seems my leg is healed and I don't have to go to therapy anymore! I have to go back in 4 weeks for the final ok. But, I get to take walks again!!! Mom says we can only take short walks at first but then we will be back on our normal route pretty soon.

I was so excited yesterday when Mom got my sweater out and said we were going for a walk. I rolled in the snow and it took me a long time to check out all my favorite spots...like the fire hydrant. I had such a good time! Before you know it I'll be back good as new!!

My Poor Aching Leg!

I don't really know what happened, but all of a sudden I had a terrible pain in my knee. I was limping and didn't want to jump up on the couch or the bed. Mom gave me something to try and make me feel better, but it didn't work. Mom took me to see Dr. Kay and she said I tore my ACL and would need surgery to repair it. So mom took me to a specialist and he said he could fix it right up. So a couple of days later, Mom took me back to have it fixed. I had to stay overnight, but Mom came and got me as soon as she could. My leg looked really funny because they had to shave so much of my hair. Mom said I looked like a lion :) I had 16 stitches in my knee, but I didn't have a cast or a bandage on it. I was a good boy and didn't lick at the incision so I didn't have to wear one of those goofy looking cones on my head.
I got my stitches out 2 weeks later. I then got to go to hydrotherapy...I didn't like it at first. I'm not much for being in the water and then having to try to walk on a treadmill besides :) Sarah (the girl who helps me) says I am doing really really good now. I will have to go back for several more weeks of therapy and then they will x-ray my leg to see if it is healed. I had TPLO surgery so my bone has to heal first before I can start taking walks again with Mom.
Mom says I should be good in a few more months...I hope so. I miss my playtime with Buddy, Ben and Abby.

My Big Weekend

Mom said we were going to have a big weekend...two days of dog shows. We got to stay in a hotel again and that was a lot of fun. My first day, I did really well and I got another new toy for a prize beside the green ribbon and a yellow ribbon for a 3rd place. Mom got me a McDonald's on the drive home.
We went back again today, and I was a bit tired, but we got another green ribbon and a red one for a 2nd place and I got ANOTHER new toy! Mom was the happiest with the ribbon that we got that said "New Title" . I now have my Rally Excellent title! Mom says I can rest a bit before we start something new, but I like this dog show stuff. Today I got TWO hamburgers for being such a good boy!!

ANOTHER dog show!!

Last weekend Mom took me to another dog show. It was snowing, but Mom said we should go anyway. It was a long trip and we were staying overnight with my skin sister. It's a good thing, too, because we got halfway there and Mom realized that she had left her suitcase on the bed. Good thing she remembered to pack my bag with the treats :)

I remembered the building from another dog show, so I was ok while we were waiting. Mom found some people she knew from other shows so she was ok, too :) It was our turn and we were the first ones to run the course. I was such a good boy, but I really didn't want to sit. I had done enough of that on the ride there! We still got 92/100 points and it was good for one of those green ribbons Mom likes so much. We also got a white ribbon for a 4th place.

We are going to another dog show this weekend...Mom says we can finish our title if we do good. Maybe I'll get a Big Mac instead of the regular hamburger :)

Fun Match

Yesterday was our dog club's annual Fun Match. Mom got me up really early and I didn't like that because I like to sleep in the morning. We got to the place where I go to dog school, but it was set up all different than ususal so I knew something special had to be going on. Mom said she signed us up for two events..Novice and Rally...but there was going to be a long wait for our turn. I did really good in Novice, even though I sneezed most of the way around the ring. It must have been those new mats. We ended up in 1st place and I got a big trophy and some more ribbons. Mom gave me a hot dog for a treat, because they didn't have any hamburgers there. I also tied for High in Trial, but lost by 1/2 point in a heel off. I think I was too full from the hot dog and didn't do my best. :)

My next event was Rally. It was my first time on an Excellent course and it was a good thing it was just for practice!! Mom and I both made some mistakes, but we still got a green ribbon. Mom gave me a big hug for trying my best.

My day was over so I got to go home. Mom stayed to help with the rest of the match and clean up. I was lucky to go home and take a nap!!

Halloween Party

Last Friday Mom got out the suitcases so I knew something was up...looks like another road trip! We had a really long ride and Mom told Dad we were going to have a beautiful ride up over the big bridge. Little did she know...I looked out the window and there was SNOW! When we got to the motel, everything looked familiar; this was the same place we stayed last summer for that cocker spaniel party. I sure hoped this meant we were going to visit my friends again!! Sure enough, we went to a Midwest Pupapalooza Halloween party. One nice lady made us all trick-or-treat bags and all the moms and dads brought treats to fill them. I got lots of yummy home-made treats and toys and BALLS! I must confess I was a bit of a ball hog when we played fetch, but Sara had brought the prettiest colored balls and I wanted one of every color!! We also had a costume contest and Mom dressed me as a soccer player...I guess it had something to do with my ball fixation :) I sat really nice so everyone could take my picture. We all had a really fun time.
That night I got to go to a different room and play with some of my friends again. I really hated to leave, but Mom promised we would be back in June to see everyone again.