Rudy's Ramblings

I guess it wasn't really mine

I did a naughty thing today. Mom had set out Kasper and my's christmas stockings. They were laying on the stone ledge at the bottom of the fireplace. While mom was playing Cafe World on FB, I took both of them and starting chewing. Her dad did not even notice me doing this....

I was discovered. Kasper's was unharmed but my stocking is full of crusty slobber, I tore off the hanging loop, and made two giant holes in the top. I hope my presents do not fall out! Mom will jimmy-rig it somehow she said but she was not impressed with my work.

oops. Mine =/= mine!

back to the prairie

Small update...

We are now living back in SD. It is beautiful here! The car trip was so long. I puked twice on the first day but that was it. I even helped with the clean-up!

We have a yard now, it is huge. Lots of leaves, sticks, real grass, sniffs, other dogs to bark at...hooray! We can really be the dogs we were meant to be now. We spend a bit outside in the morning and an hour or so in the evening just running.

Did you know even our small community has a dog park? Oh Corpus Christi, you are truly put to shame!

Keep on truckin

The house is filled with boxes now. We have very few days left until we move. We are going back to the land of my birth. The prairie! Where it is cool and and crisp, with real grass, and no fleas. I am very excited except for the car ride. We do have a cushion-seat for us pups but riding with Kasper and my car-nervousness will be no treat.


It is sad to leave our pals here but we cannot stay. This is not the place for us. Goodbye, Texas!

ooooops

Yeah, we've been gone for awhile. Way too long. Sorry to all the pals we've neglected. Mom just spent a lot of time at Dogster and wanted to cut down on the distractions since it was her last semester of college. She actually graduated and now just has her job so we have lots more fun time.


It's super super hot here already. No one should envy Texas. Ever.


But we might have a new home soon. Far far away. With a yard, and trees, and real grass. Mom is scared to jinx it so we wont say much else except it will be nice to live in the north again. We just werent made for the south.


Hope everyone is well. Mom has lots of catching up to do on here.

Am I so weird?

The human isnt sure if it's normal for me to have my paws all over my brother after his grooming appointment. He just smells so good....I cant resist humping him. In fact, he's the first dog I've ever humped. *tear*

It's not unnatural to love your brother so, right?

Getting to know You!

Stole this from Riley!

Copy this diary entry, and paste it into your diary. Read then delete my answers. Then you can fill in your own! We can get to know our pals better!! Have fun!! Then send a rosette to 4 pals and ask them to post it in their diary!!!! (I'm not tagging anyone, it's all in fun!)

Here we GO!!!!!

1. What color is your collar?

I have lots but usually my green with some checkered squares on it.

2. What kind of food do you eat?

Right now Solid Gold, going back to Wellness after this.

3. What are your favorite treats?

Lakse Krunch and bully sticks

4. Do you have a Valentine or significant other??

Never!

5. Do you get Table Scraps?

Depends. Mom gives us a few leftovers or pieces of breadcrust she wont eat.

6. What is your favorite toy?

Any stuffy that squeaks. I like to hear them dying.

7. When is your Birthday?...

April 29

8. How many times a day do you get to eat?

Twice

9. Do you have a favorite color?

Green because it compliments my coat.

10. Do you hope all your pals put this in their diary?

Of course! But I dont expect it ;)

we did it

Got my vacc's this week and pups, we did it. I'm 75.6lbs. Pretty much my target weight. Finally! It's been 15 months and I took off all the weight! YAY! I'd celebrate by eating a cake but you know...


It's been "chilly" here. In the 60s. Mom and I went running this morning for almost an hour and I could've gone longer. Oh how nice the cool air feels.

Now I have to start making my Christmas list. I scarcely know where to begin.

hueso

Pups, I think I have dropped even more weight and mom feels bad. We've been on CA Naturals-Herring for awhile now, plus probiotics, and wow I am a thin and very shiny, conditioned looking dog! Mom thinks it might almost be too much (ok, I'm not anywhere near bad-skinny but she's paranoid) so we're starting Wellness which has more protein and more calories. As long as it smells like fish, I'll eat it, lady.

I'm not sure what to be for Halloween. We were going to do a pair but mom thinks it's a bad idea so she'll just dress me up without Kasper. It's a contest at the apartments so it has to be good! We're stumped.

almost there

Would you believe that it's almost cooling down here? Last week we got in the 70s with lower humidity! Me and Kasper were going nutty in the house, running around and being crazy until mom took us out into the nice weather.

Mom says that after it gets cooler (into the 60s), we will start going to the beach. She hates crowds and the people here are wusses when it comes to weather so she knows it will be empty if someone needs to wear a, gasp, longsleeve shirt! Heck, we'll be in the water....I'll just pretend it's snow.

We may or may not participate in the complex's Doggy Halloween Costume Contest. Oy vey. I'm sure the horrible pictures will follow if mom decides to waste her money on that schtuff...

our hearts break

Mom rarely looks at the pound listings anymore (since we have our fill of pups in the house) because they make her cry and cry and cry. However, she happened to see this beautiful, sad boy:

Quincy

I hope someone in south Texas sees this and wants a gorgeous golden retriever. We will try to contact some rescues as well.

missed

The hurricane went north of Corpus Christi and instead hit our friends in the Houston and Galveston areas. We are so very lucky to not have gotten anything but pups, please send support to those in the flooded regions. There are 4-5 million people without power. If you know Texas in September, the heat and humidity is still unbearable.

The local SPCAs and a few outside groups went in to get abandoned pets and move the current shelter dogs to other facilities. Thank Dog for them.

Anyway, we are ok and our best wishes go to everyone dealing with the aftermath.

oh Texas, you fickle beast

Some of you may have heard of hurricane Ike coming towards the US. We'd love it if any pups would pray and/or send good wishes to everyone on the Texas coast. We know it is coming for us, we are just wishing it will weaken before landfall. Our city (Corpus Christi) is right in its path so mom is pretty darn worried (us Midwesterners only know how to deal with tornadoes and blizzards!).

We will not evacuate unless the government mandates it but as far as we know, we have a place to go. A few others offered mom a place but said us pups would have to find somewhere else. Boo hiss! Thank you for your kindness but mom says she'd rather sit in the storm than be without us.

*happy thoughts happy thoughts happy thoughts*

Sometimes petfinder makes us cry

Mom saw her when she was first put on the site:

Martina, beautiful Pointer girl

Her story hurt our hearts. Anyone in TX looking for an active sporting dog, she will be a great family member!



Going on walks with a small pup is odd. I have to jump over him lots but he pays for it by having to wait while I sniff every square inch of grass.

goodness me

It's been awhile, pups. Let's just say schedules dont always mesh and communcation not always followed through with. However! I do have a brother now. You can see him here: Kasper.

It's odd to share the attention but mom still lets just me sleep on the bed and gives me special playtime too. At first I hated this dog and resented everything about him but now I see I have someone to be rough with and to sniff and to make my tummy warm when we both lay on the floor.

Mom just ordered his tag. Oh my dog, it is ridiculous. You will all see the picture when it arrives, I'm sure.


Are you guys ready for football? The season starts so soon! Unfortunately I will be getting a Packers bandana and the little poodle will be getting a SWEATER. Oh the humanity of it all. But mom says, "humans dress toddlers in ridiculous college football outfits, why cant I do this!" and then laughs like a maniac. She's an oddball sometimes.

Coastal Bend pups!!

My diary isnt widely read or anything but I just wanted to point out this amazing girl at the Gulf Coast Humane Society, Jenny. Mom has walked her several times and she is very calm for a lab, loves attention, knows a few tricks, and already heels perfectly by your side! We cannot fit another big pupper in here like mom always wanted so she hopes our large friends can find homes as easily as the lapdoggies.


In other news, we think tomorrow is THE DAY. Oh my!! I'm getting anxious and staring at the new crate all the time (I even stole the mini-Bobo out of there when mom wasnt looking). Then the trial begins.

dios mio!

Pups, today we had a visit from a new friend. A maybe-brother! He is small and white and rambunctious. He's got wit, charm, and similar attention-begging skillz (no one can match me, though). I let him be the boss of me but we shall not speak of the profuse humping that occured as well.

After a month of waiting, he will be here for a trial run at the end of this week. Could it be? I will not live as an only dog now? I cannot imagine except at least my toys wont be shared (street pups seem uninterested in toys) so it's all good, baby.

I guess you'll have to wait and see if it works out and then we will have a dogster family!

oopsy!

Well jeez, I havent updated in forever. Guess the typist needed a vacation?

I've made progress on my on-leash excitement around other dogs. Now I can see them, look once at them, then ignore. Mom got sooooooooo happy the first time I did this. Anyone who has read our me-leashed/loose dog perils can see this is a great accomplishment. We owe Asher for the help!


Not much else is new except we are hoping for a new family member soon. Keep your paws crossed that it works out and an abandoned baby can join our home.

drop it like it's hot

Welp I dont have heartworms! Ok, I guess that's expected but we werent sure since this place is submerged in disgusting critters. Mom did find a huge flying roach in her tub this morning. I was too lazy to come save her. The vet gave me 10 cookies, even for jumping on her. Good lady.

It also appears I have lost 3lbs since May 14! I'm 77lbs now which is pretty darn good if I say so myself. We are thinking maybe 5lbs more can be lost and I'll be at my right weight.

Mom should be starting her temp job this week and that means more toys for me. I can deal with her gone for a few hours a day for that.

Hope you're all beating the heat (we're barely scraping by!). The worst is yet to come, I just know it.

awhile

Guess it's been a bit since I updated. I was at a doggy motel for just over a week with no access to a computer. I had lots of fun and played with new friends every single day. Mom was a bit worried since when she looked me over after she picked me up, she found some fleas but she pulled them all out and we havent had a problem since. Phew. She's a bit disappointed the motel didnt follow her instructions for me but no place is ever perfect.

Not sure if any of you shop at FetchDog but we got coupons for them you are more than welcome to use. $20 off a $100+ purchase (code: 2222) or $10 off a $50+ purchase (code: 2221).

whewwwwwwwwwww

Today we braved the horrible heat and wind to arrive at a place that smelled like DOGGIES. A woman took me back and mom left. I played in a mini-arena for 6 hours with 5 other pups, 4 were Boxers! Mom figured I could learn to interact with and be more calm around strange pups.

I had fun with them but the best part was playing with the humans and tennis balls. I wouldnt admit it but the lady told mom after awhile, I didnt even play with the pups! I'm a loner, Dottie, a rebel! All in all they said I was a good good boy and fit right in.

I'm also being boarded there so I can romp with pups everyday!


Dont forget, NY/PA pups, Regal is still missing. He's been spotted but we need to bring him home!

If you live near the NY/PA border...

Please keep a lookout for Mokie's friend, Regal. He's missing and his owners are searching desperately for him.

sporty

I dont know why she didnt do it earlier but the human finally googled agility for our area. Well what do you know, there is an agility club who holds classes twice a year! She thinks I fit the requirements for the beginner class and considering you have to be on a leash at all time, it shouldnt be anything I cant handle.

Just when we thought no one in this area had classes without a choke chain requirement, we find them. They use clickers like I'm used to! The human is super excited and we just hope the classes arent on a night when mom has people-classes.


Also got my first "Bobo." Human couldnt resist getting just poop baggies so she figured why not. I'm already treating him like a dead squirrel. Paradise.

Winner?!

Dudley has told me I'm the Poop Twirl Dancer of the month! By George, it is an honor that my spinning skillzzzz are being recognized. In case you didnt know, Poop Twirl Dancing is an art form in which you select the most exclusive blades of grass on which to lay a fresh pile (only to have a human hand in a green baggie take it away). Humans just dont understand postmodernism.

We did have a minor problema de pulgas but it should be taken care of. The south is so hard on us, it's a lot of work to keep up.

Here's wishing everyone a great Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully some of you pups get a few hot dogs slipped to you.

calling you

Yesterday we got up early (is 8.30 early?) to go out to the field. Luckily no one else was out so we werent rushed. I didnt really want to run with mom so she decided to work on 'recalling me.' It's pretty hilarious that any human believes a happy voice and a fish biscuit is worth giving up sniffs and chasing wild creatures but I decided to humor her. She didnt trust me too much and my 20ft lead was still on the ground but she got 50-70ft away from me and called me. Since I was being nice, I ran full-on toward her every time. She knows I'm not this way with other more exciting things around but apparently I've made progress.


This morning was busy and funfunfunOMDpeoplefun. Went to the vet and they shaved part of me! The nerve. I got poked too but now I am in a database of lots of pups should I ever wander from mom's side. They took some of my prettiest fur but hey, I got treats.

sadly I still weigh 80lbs. Mom thought I looked a lot leaner but maybe since I have more muscle now that's why it hasnt gone down more. Still chugging along on the weight-loss train I guess.

Tree tree

Well it's my 3rd birthday today, I cant even believe it! This morning we got up bright and early, took a walk while it was actually cool out (dog bless cold fronts!), ran like idiots through the field, then came home to rest. Then I went to get a bath at the self-grooming place. Some GSD was being naughty so I tried to show him who was boss; I even barked. Oopsy. Then I opened my presents and got a new food dish, a giant bone to work on, and a squeaker monkey. There is one present coming in the mail from back home - it is something to aid us while on long walks. Mom wont say so I guess it's a surprise.

Tomorrow I get chicken drummies so I guess that's what I get instead of a cake? I got a special meal today too but hmpphhh.

Mom has searched and searched but this area has no real hiking or natural parks. This is very sad for both of us since she wanted to get me a backpack and do work. A crowded beach just isnt the same.

All of this writing means I'm not getting attention so it's gotta stop. MY DAY, WOMAN. Let's party.

Dear, sweet boy

Many of you already read about our wonderful pal Elvis going to the bridge today. I did not expect to read it and gasped when I saw his momma's note. Everyone he knew was blessed to know him even if it was just a short time.

Much love to the whole family. I hope your hearts find peace knowing he has many pups to play with at the Bridge.

love,
M and Rudy

well I'll be...

Thanks for all the suggestions and condolences about my last entry, pups. Mom thinks she's "over it" now but I know she doesnt let insults about me go.

Which reminds me, it has come to my attention that I look "special" and "slow" in my harness. Your words cut deep! Well it wasnt on Dogster but real-life pals said this about me. Apparently "you never see large dogs in harnesses, it looks funny!" and "is he too dumb to walk with a collar?" Ouchies!

Perhaps we should explain... I used to walk on a collar, I sometimes still do and I do it well. Because of our infestation of loose, uncontrollable dogs, mom has opted to put me in a harness because I have the fun trick of getting out of my collar when a loose dog is roughing me up. Apparently I tune mom out when this happens so she finally had to buy something that I couldnt get out of, no matter the type of attack.

So yes, I may look like a draft pony but I'm told it's for the good of everyone. Judge me not on my clothes but on the tricks I do for treats!

Mom is mad. very mad.

Well pups, this is not a happy entry. Mom is still on the verge of tears. I will let her tell the story.

It's pretty nice out so I take Rudy on a walk/go get my mail. Across the street from the mail/office is a large field with partial fencing that is often used for people to play with their dogs offleash. I dont have a problem with this since most people have great recalls and their dogs stay in there. Today however, it's just my luck that the jerk owner (of the dog that is ALWAYS loose and humps/pins Rudy down) is out there. I'm almost leaving and his dogs spot us. The chase is on. They charge full speed at us. I dont run because you should never run from a dog who you dont know. I cover Rudy with my body. The one dog is humping him as hard as he can. I scream at him "GET YOUR DOGS. GET YOUR FREAKING DOGS" Does he have vocal control? No. He has to come physically get it.

He comes over to me and Rudy is, understandably, growing and barking. He says "I dont want him to bite me!" I tell him he wont, he's just upset and to get his dog. I say, "this is the third time your dog has come at us!" He replies, "YOUR dog is the one that is aggressive. Mine are trying to be friendly and play, from the looks of it, YOUR dog has the attitude problem." He is shouting at me. SHOUTING. I had so much I wanted to say at that point like, "WHAT THE %$&!. Your dogs are loose ILLEGALLY. Is aggressive humping 'PLAYING' in your world? They charged at him? What did you want him to do?" Instead all I could get out was, "He's on a leash and feels trapped, your dogs are loose and coming at him so he's UPSET." Then I left as he dragged his dog off.


I dont know what to do anymore. I have tried to stay calm in these situations. I have tried to get the dog off of Rudy nicely. I have tried everything but now it has happened so many times (10+) that Rudy is not having any of this. Can I not walk my own dog on leash, as is the law, anymore? I am not at fault for walking my dog nor having control of him. My dog is not at fault for simply growling while your dog is visibly dominating him. My dog LOVES other dogs and gets along fine as long as they are all on leash or all offleash. I am tired of defending myself to irresponsible people. From now on, their dogs are getting pepper sprayed. I am done putting up with it. /end human talk.


Well that was a book, mom. I shouldnt criticize though, we are scared to walk around our own home. Time for some puppy hugs and chicken soup (well, yogurt for me).

bombs away

I have suffered a great indignation, perhaps greater than being referred to as "just a dog" or being insulted about my lack of huevos. A bird decided my flaxen coat was a toilet. Perhaps in some odd irony we can laugh, mostly because I was sniffing some other pup's poo at the time...


My new foods arrived and I am transitioning to EVO. It is great so far. The TOTW arrived today, albeit 6 hours late with a whiny UPS man ("heavy, so heavy!"), and whenever EVO is done we will start it. Compare results (what am I, a lab rat?) and choose.


Human says her weekend starts tonight (I can smell the beer already...) so we are going to party for a few days. Hope to see all my 3rd coast pals at our social tomorrow night.

on your marks

Today "food heats" were set up for me to taste test the samples that arrived. Mom laid out small piles all together and the ones I ate the fastest had to compete until only a few were left as the choices. The final four were:

1st place tied = Taste of the Wild High Prairie and EVO red meat
3rd place = Solid Gold Wolfking
4th = Timberwolf Organics Dakota Bison

Now we are stuck though. EVO is available in town (holy bejeez! that's living in a city for you!) and much more expensive but High Prairie is an hour away or online ordering, yet it is much cheaper (still a bit unsure about Diamond as a company though). Decisions! Canidae has treated me well, very well, but mom thinks I could use some tweaking. What am I, a sports car?


Hope all my pals have a great weekend, Easter or otherwise! woofs.

Pom poms

Anyone in the south Texas region, read up

Hundreds of pomeranians and other breeds seized from lady

I am pretty sure the GCHS said they still have 90 pomeranians at the moment. If anyone is looking to rescue a little puffball pup, our city has an overload!

brrrr

Tonight we busted out the 30ft leash and went out the property's field (isnt it nice they mow it down just for us dog owners? aw). Mom ran and chased me and I sniffed and snuffed through knee-high weeds like a hunting dog (except my prey is puppy poop). We ran so much I felt like I was offleash and in a yard again. The only downside was the 20 burrs caught in my feathers...

Mom is also oddly excited since she caught our neighbor, who waited impatiently for us to leave the field since he wants his dogs OFFleash, leaving a pile of poo behind. Finally, she said, finally! I caught him! You see, apparently his pups also leave lots of presents for me in my designated poo-yard. Hope you like the fine, partner! Humans, eh? Spiteful little things.

chuggin along

I hope you guys are still sending the love to Elvis!! We love ya, buddy. There is hope yet!


Today mom worked at the Humane Society (had to quit early because of the wind and her poor dry eyes/allergies). She said all of the pups were so HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY to go play outside. Almost all of them were long and low dogs - you trying to tell me something, lady?

She wanted to take home all of them but especially a beagle/doxie girl who she said acts just like me. Two Basset brothers were also a joy since they walked with their noses to the ground the whole time. I guess they all walk better on a leash than I do - excuse me? Next time she will try some bigg'ns but it was hard enough getting into the small pups' kennels!

Clicker time is going well. I am learning 'watch me' finally. Who knew human faces existed in the same room as treats? News to me. Next is "come" and recall. ha ha - yeah right.

A good Hound Dog

Everyone, please please say prayers or send thoughts or bark to the doGs right now. Our dearest pal, Elvis has gotten worse and we are not sure what will happen. Mom feels such sadness in her heart because he is a Good Boy and so loved by his wonderful family.

Much love to you, Elvis and family.

board room

Tonight, pups, tonight I socialized. We looked around the park for the 'doggie social' and thought no one came. Alas, there were 3 more dogs waiting. We had a nice walk and after 45 minutes, I was almost calm. Almost. I loved on some Rotties and a mini poodle mix without growling! It was very successful and hopefully after some more of these, I will learn that new things arent THAT exciting.


We will put up more fliers here at home so maybe next time more will join us.

smackers?

I got an anon rosette - who is giving me smooches?!

Exciting news, someone in this city is having a doggy get-together. Mom is so excited and hopes I wont be naughty on my leash. Originally she was going to see a band that night but she figures time with me is better than spending too much money on beer and getting hit on by men who prey on gals who go to shows alone...


In other news, does anypup read the 'pet' section of Craigslist? That is some sad sad stuff. So many dogs being given up. Mom found a 9 month old Golden boy who is sentenced to his backyard and the people think he's "too big" for it now. :(

Tomorrow we start something called "clicker." Perhaps I shall journal my progress through the weeks but that is pending laziness of the typist...

proud?

Mom has a thing for dog shows. Who can resist beautiful dogs for hours on TV? Anyway, if any of you pups watched tonight, did you notice the commentator talking about responsible dog ownership? From the ca-ca about staffies to the backyard breeder term "tea cup toy dog" to people needing to feel macho about having "tough" dogs. She is so glad that man talked about it. It may not reach all the people it needs to, but any education is wonderful. Oh, and that beagle is way cute. Almost as cute as me.


We are embarking on real training soon. The Training Forum gurus have recommended mom a book and it is on its way. I am thinking it involves a lot of treats so I have no objections.

spit wars

What's a downer? A downer is when you are gleefully shaking the precious life out of lamby-lamb so violently that he cannot possibly survive and have a human moan that a glob of slobber has fallen upon her laid-out-to-be-flattened Brett Favre poster. Perhaps she will realize that I touch everything in this house.


We have a new addition now. It's called a 'loveseat' and I am not allowed to play with it. Mother is embarrassed to say but since she has lived in Texas, all she had was a chair. Now she says she's a grown up. I say: less room for zoomies.


oh oh oh. Our real-life pals in Iowa told us they switched to Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato and loved it. I do great on Canidae lamb but mom says we can rotate. She bought a tiny bag today and mixed some. I approve so far!

I hope I get a jobby, Freddy

My cute pal Jelly replied in her diary about what job she would have if she was a human. I felt thorougly compelled to answer as well.

First, I do not wish to be a human but we can pretend for a moment. I have two options.

Option 1: Snow plower. Snow is glorious, especially in dunes. I would gladly brave the weather to shove it aside. The only problem I forsee is the number of hours I'd be working since I'd be using my newly-shortened human muzzle instead of my current one. Machines? Yeah, right, someone's going to give a license to a 3 year old.

Option 2: Nightclub bouncer. I am a diligent little guard and can tell the naughty people from the good (sort of like Santa Paws). My adeptness at staring is unmatched. Men are afraid of me and girls think I'm cute (sorry, Miss, you're not getting in for free) so I think I could pull it off.


Too bad neither of those pay enough for me to keep up a diet of lamb everyday...

Discrimination

Mom has a rental car for awhile while hers gets fixed up (Texas drivers are crazyyyyy) because someone hit her. They specifically said "NO PETS" in the vehicle. If any hairs are left, it's $75. Well that's nice, but what about puke? That's my favorite thing to leave in a car...


We do not support PETA at all but apparently they came out with a new video that shows a distributor of small pets for Petsmarts in Texas (it was on the local news). A rabbit getting an 'operation' while it's still awake? Mom couldnt even watch it because she used to raise rabbits. Who knows if it was staged since we all know Peta will do anything for publicity but either way, animals suffered. I will have to keep them in my paw-yers.

No new pics for me but we so so so enjoy all of our pals who put up new ones.

Oh I almost forgot (aka mom blocked it from her memory) but the Packers lost, and lost badly. It broke her heart. I'm sorry, lady, I cannot care about a ball being thrown around unless I am within 10ft of it. Perhaps now she will take this dog forsaken background off my page...

follow the leader

I dont know why mom is using this space for HER agenda but whatever. She has turned a few people on (and perhaps some beyond that from word of mouth) to http://dogfoodanalysis.com and making them look at what they are feeding. She could not be happier that the word is spreading. Maybe someday everyone can realize us pups deserve good eats too and wont follow gimmicky advertisements as a point of reference.

[[note: the latest Celebrity Apprentice left her conflicted. pshawww]]


As sorely as I miss snow, I must admit this 'elderly-shelter-from-the-bitter-north' city is treating me quite well with temps in the 60s. The walks are endless! We have discovered at least two new pups at the complex, a boxer and a shih tzu looking thing. Mom's got the baby blues.

one last thing...we bought some Flower Essence herbal remedy stuff for travel anxiety. Once we try it out, I will let you pups know if it works.

Bribery will get you everywhere

It finally happened; the bath. Although I found it quite annoying, mom wants to recommend Bruno's Bath House Dog Spa to anyone in the Corpus area.

I of course refused to walk up the steps to the tub. No matter we have to walk up and down three flights just to go pee at home, this was different. Mom was very happy that they have free high power blowers to use as well. Complete self service! Paws up to that I guess. I look pretty fancy but there was only a Chihuahua and newly weaned Bulldog pups to show off to.

The guilt was overwhelming and mother found they carried Merrick products so she picked up a few things for me. I am beyond glad that I am not a toy dog because mom could barely resist all the accessories. My dignity is saved, at least for today.

Now off to enjoy looking like a day-old lamb.

the long haul

Finally I am back from my imprisonment, pups. Ok ok, it was not so horrible because I got to play outside a few times a day and see other dogs but I had no bed to sleep on! Mom also think it helped my pseudo-aggression towards other dogs because the man brought me out on a leash with another loose dog and I paid him no mind.

It is unsure at this point if I was bathed or not. I'm keeping my muzzle shut for obvious reasons. Apparently I smell like cheap shampoo but then again, it's sort of just how the vet's office smelled. I'm definitely not full of yuckyness but the odor is very odd. Humans do not enjoy this smell and my fate will probably be a bath on Monday. arf.

I hope all of my pup pals had a great Christmas, or whatever you celebrate, and got lots of toys ready to be destroyed. Mom is catching up on rosette-giving since being on vacation was SOOOO much more important than that. Whatever, lazy.

Rudy-Day

Today was officially named my-day. And why? Well I'm not quite sure but mom seems sad and nervous. But how can sadness equal this awesomeness? Hm.

Highlight reel of Rudy-day

-Wake up and go for walk/run. It was windy, the best kind of morning.

-Forget my diet and eat gratuitous amounts of people-food

-Play tug of war

-Eat! well that wasnt anything special but FOOOOOOOOOD

-Nap next to open window

-Mini-walk

-Watch mom eat

-Tear up pop box

-Lay outside on balcony with mom

-Play with Mr. Treatball

-Play fetch

-Play tug of war AGAIN!

-And now mom left the balcony open so I can patrol both inside and out freely

And it's only 9.30! I can go all night (i love fetch at 2am, much to the sleepy human's chagrin). Mom says I might be sad for a few days but she hopes this and the many treats I get later will make up for it. I dont know what this means, pups, but I have a few more hours to cash in on!

finally over

It seems to have been two weeks since the human wrote for me. She was busy with something called "finals" but all I know is that I had to do a lot more begging for attention than normal.

Thankfully I am now what is called a "spoiled freaking brat" because mom felt bad about working so much. Her crate is now my crate. Usually I just slept on the end of the bed on my towel (my coat seems to trap a decent amount of dirt and the human comforter was turning grey) but mom will wake up in the morning to see me using a pillow and stretched out on 3/4 of the mattress. Too late to banish me to the floor now!

We also are getting my new snazzy harness tomorrow. I'm thinking it wont make me look as fat as my old one but time will tell. Black is always slimming. The old folks back home sent an early Christmas gift of a Puplight. We did not use it tonight for fear of ridicule by drunken college-age arf-heads but it will be great for my 11pm walks.

I do not think I mentioned it but I was in a 'tiff' with a big old pit boy. He had gotten loose from an apartment and thought it was fun to hump me and pin me down. I take no crap from no pup and once I ripped off my collar, I chased him down. Of course, I am not violent so no bites were exchanged but it scared us quite a bit. Later on, an employee here told mom the staff's nickname for her was Michael Vick because of all her dog fights [note: they are never our fault!].

We'll see who's laughing when I decorate your doorstep with piles of christmas cheer, Mister Man!

Lapse in judgment

What a rough night. The first of the blame falls upon mom, whose indescretion was to feed me a beef-based canned food. My indescretion was to not listen to my call of duty out-of-doors last night (though not entirely my fault since some college boys who acted like pups were running around drunk and almost hit me. I alerted them to their complete dumba$$ery by giving them a deep woof).

That then led to a pile of indescretion by the window...and another..and well, a trail of them.

The knocked-over christmas tree and ornaments strewn about were mom's first indication that something had gone awry. My bad, I did not see it in my haste to uh, feel better.

Of course, mom has learned that oxygen as a cleaner really does work.

Vetted

Even though I'm a fully-vaccinated boy, in order to be boarded in this county I need their one-year shots. At least they were cheap, eh, mom?! I was a good boy and the lady gave me 5 cookies. Way more than I ever get at home, that's for sure. Plus now I am protected from all those silly tropical diseases that apparently so many people allow their dogs to get here. Luckily mom is used to being talked down to because of her child-like looks so we both took the whole thing in stride.


I did not want to do this but I suppose admitting it is the first step to getting over it. I weighed 83lbs today. Yes, quite large. BUT THAT IS 15 POUNDS LOST SINCE I MOVED HERE! woooooooooo! Mom was reluctant to share my original weight but it's time to let that go. I have 8 more pounds to lose until I am what my old vet said was my body's ideal weight. I'm a beefy boy but the future is bright.

Time to curl up by the mini Christmas tree.

wags and woes

Was there ever any doubt that man-humans are the greatest toys on earth? They can pummel you, run with you, and sleep on the floor with you. I've had a great time the past day with such a human, even if he does call me a momma's boy. I cant help it, ok!

Dont tell mom, but I was looking over her shoulder yesterday and saw that she ordered every non-chicken variety of Merrick's canned food for me, just to try it out/have some special meals. Hopefully she doesnt save ALL of them for Christmas, that's just cruel.

Sadly I have reverted back to some puppy-ways. I made accidents in a few places. I didnt tell mom what I was doing in the backseat of the car last night but as she found out this morning, I had a big big mess on the seat/door. My bad! Then on the way home tonight, I was practically foaming at the mouth with car sickness and in the apartment I puked on the carpet as we walked in the door. I dont know what has come over me because I've been riding in cars for two years. Sorry for the clean-up, mom. Guess that spot cleaner was a good purchase after all.

Now that mom is job free, we are totally having pup parties and going to the beach. No doubt that nerd will take her camera along to record my adventures as well. Hopefully she catches my good side.

winter outlook

It finally happened, mom quit her job. Now I am probably the luckiest dog alive because school will be over in a month for her and then we can really party. Although I think she said something about not getting so many new toys and treats but we all make sacrifices I suppose. Next week we are going to the beach/park for the first time...

Confession: although I am a sporting breed meant partially for water, pups, I have never ever swam (swum?!). It's a bit shameful considering I grew up near a large river and lake and now I live on the ocean. Mom is hesitant since she is not looking forward to washing the salt water out of my lustrous coat but she figures she'll have time to do it now.

In other news, I am apparently being trained for scent tracking (if you call hiding salmon treats in various spots in the living room for me to find "tracking). I also tried to eat a giant ball of my own fur. Hey, I'm almost a blonde.

Biscuits for all

Happy Halloween, everypup. It's not very halloween-y here in south Texas but we'll take what we can get. Mom says because of where we live, we probably wont get trick or treaters. She's a bit sad but I'm pretty happy that I dont have to be on guard all night.

I did play my own trick though. A few days ago I ate something during our late-night walk (I'll never tell but it did smell like number 2!) and the next morning mom woke up to three separate piles of brown liquid! Her rug is ruined and she had to buy a spot cleaner for the carpet. Really it was just a ploy to eat rice and pumpkin for two days straight, mmm mmm.


Oh and the human figures she should put up some reviews (although I'm not sure anyone read this thing, har har!) of treats she's bought.

First: Happy Hips Sweet Potato Treats

You dont get too many for the price (much to mother's chagrin) but they are chewy and take a bit longer than snap treats to eat. She gives them to me as a parting gift when she feels guilty about going to work. Two paws up!

Second: Lakse Kronch Wild Salmon Treats

The amount is good for the price, plus it's 100% fish. Mom says they smell like fishsticks but nothing unbearable to fish-sensitive humans. A bit crunchy as well. Once again, two thumbs up.

Mom buys an embarrassing amount of things for me so I'm sure she'll write more products later.

Enjoy your howl-ween!

bull sh...er, malarchy

Literally.

Today was a winter miracle! Well, more like temperate at best but what can we hope for in the tropics really? 65 with a breeze, 40% humidity. Ahh, smelled like back home. So we took more walks than usual since mom says this type of weather makes her mood improve. Because of the extra exercise, I actually made a pile in broad daylight. Mom was disturbed by the look of it and realized as she picked it up that two inches of bully stick were in there. Whole. I'm quite proud of myself but now mom is questioning giving me any more since I seem to have inhaled the last bit of it. An accident, I swear.

We took another walk just now and I dragged mom through a bunch of automatic sprinklers. I thought it was fun to embarrass her in front of a balcony full of people but she got me good...we had to go inside because apparently wet human clothes plus 60 degrees do not mix well.

I already thanked him, but the wonderful Misha Gray Beard sent my toys from the Halloween exchange. Dog almighty, they are wonderful. I often become bored with toys that cant be destructed in 15 minutes but Ghosty is my new best bud. Check the pic and video (mom is embarrassed of her prepubescent boy voice - she's a full adult, she swears!). Today's been a doozy.

operation see-ay-tee

I dont know about you guys, but I have discovered the magical world of cats. The people in the building next to us leave food out for the strays so there are at least 4 out there every night. And what a wonder it is. At first I just stared at them but now I see it really is a battle.

During my not-so-covert ops, some intelligence has been gathered. Firstly they lay under cars. This means that any and all potty breaks must be started by peering under each one. Second you must check the bushes because they will lay in the mud. Do not hesitate to drag your human into said mud as well. Thirdly, check all trees and anything above 5ft tall. This is their undercover location and they must be exposed by acting like a crazy Treeing Walker Coonhound (sans barking of course).

I did mess up once, though. It was very dark and the mom did not see the cat sitting in the grass. My superior vision did so off I went. I guess it shocked her (and her arm socket) so much that she gasped my name very loudly and probably woke up a few sleeping pups. I partially blame her for letting it get away. Next time, devil tabby.

the backwoods

Oh my pup, you will never believe what we found the other night. An armadillo! Or so says mom, it looked like a rock cat to me. He was sniffing along the fenceline and when he spotted me, he ran and dove under a hole a doggy had dug. Those critters are quick! Mom was very surprised because she did not think they lived this far south (even if our apartments are sort of "in the country"). I made a promise to myself to treat it like any other cat and eventually I will catch it and teach it to run away from me.

As for other wild west adventures (and uncivilized "manners"), there is a major pile-problem still. Every morning there seems to be a new surprise in my "yard" and mom wishes she could figure out who it was. Some of them are scarily huge too. She's thinking of bagging it up and putting it on their doorstep with a note: "what are you feeding your dog? No canine should have this much coming out of them. I recommend a food with less grains and fillers. It'll be much easier to PICK UP as well." What's the worst that could happen?!

And for any local pups in Corpus, I want to show you something. If you know anyone who wants a beautiful great dane, there seems to be an amazing-looking purebred at the shelter. I could not believe that type of dog would ever be given up. Mom knows she cant even visit because he will come home (and we dont have the room right now).

Psh, humans. One golden is just not enough, eh.

Edison

I'm just full of inventions, I swear. Well, maybe the human is too but I dont like to give her too much credit. Instead of spending all that money on 'thinking toys,' it works about the same to use a cardboard six pack bottle holder and shove the toys to the bottom. Shredding cardboard and mental stimulation. What a day.


That is not to say the human is well, a lush, but sometimes other humans comes over and they have fun. Probably more fun for me though, since men are the ultimate in great humans. Sometimes they even crawl into my crate with me and cuddle on the floor with me.

Nothing of much interest so I think I better get back to watching the Packers - Chicago game since mom seems to be having constant heartattacks. Never know when I'll be needed to jump in the air while squeaking my lamby.

Self petter

Public Service Announcement.

If your human is in bed and happens to have an appendage sticking out, duck so you are underneath it and every few seconds weave your head around. Voila, you can have petting anytime, day or night.

I wonder if my invention has been copyrighted...

mind your p's and q's, bub

I do not think I am an imposing dog. I mean, I have never heard of anyone being afraid of a golden retriever. But pups, I have scared three people quite a lot since moving here. Mom did not get my approval for anyone to come over so when the maintenance man arrived, I woofed my best woof. When she opened the door, I thought he was going to run away. He asked if she had a bear living with her (as if, I'm not that fat) so she kenneled me to make him feel safe. Now I realize I have a very manly voice so being intimated is not too odd. The other two were out of the blue; both athletic-looking young guys, who upon seeing my perked ears and eagerness to greet them from 10ft away, stopped in their tracks and stared at mom bug-eyed.

You wimps! They asked if they would be ok and mom had to explain that all I wanted was to love on them but she was going to hold me back anyway. They passed by nervously yet still gave her some nice small talk. She laughed a lot and wondered what would (or will?) happen if she had a german shepherd or something of the sort.


And to prove I'm not a dummy, I mastered "bow" and jumping a 1ft obstacle tonight. To anypup that has jumping fears, I will tell you the secret: just encorporate the obstacle into your zoomies. You wont even notice it.

Gain and Loss

I think it's good news...mom thinks I am looking slimmer, at least as far as my butt goes. I am no longer knocking into furniture as much so it's probably true. Dieting is hard for me but my food is delicious and I get pumpkin on a regular basis so I definitely approve.

What's more, my mind-powers are strengthing as demonstrated by mom's long trip to Petco. Usually she goes to Petsmart because it's less of a drive but Petco is way less busy, cleaner, and has more treats to choose from. I got a stuffed toy (aka "cow") for the first time in forever. I have a bad habit of destroying them but I dont think humans understand the pure joy of something soft being torn apart in one's mouth. And the squeaking, oh the squeaking. She got a video from part of the aftermath, although my "i cant believe i got a toy oh wow oh wow oh wow" dance was not captured on film. Probably for the best, I have an image to uphold.

Of course, not all the money was spent on me. The tail-less rat got a new "play hut" that it seems to enjoy.

Training the human

It has come to my attention that I actually have to learn new things to obtain treats. It used to be sit, shake, lay down, and bam, food. Not so much anymore. Apparently sitting up all pretty and doing those tricks in succession is not acceptable. A new challenge, you might say, as how to get the food from mom.

She first tried "targets," which I thought involved a lot of plastic bags after an hour away from home but this time I had to touch my paw to an item. I found that if I kept shaking my paw and eventually hit it; food!

Next item, roll over. Hah.

The newest one I was expected to walk over a board slightly elevated by text books. Psh, easy enough, seeing as how I jump in the air before doing zoomies. Then for some reason she raised it up to about 10 inches. I am not sure she realized that that much physical activity is not worth a treat. I watched her throw food over the board and block me so I had to jump. I'm not a circus animal. Am I here to amuse you? In protest, I sat and drooled and occasionally body-checked her trying to get to the food. She finally gave up.

The human training is going well but it will be hard to keep up without supplies. I wonder if the grandparents will send payments for all this teaching I'm doing.

Extended summer vacation

Ho boy. First I just want to say I love Dogster. Our freeeeeeeeeee Furminator gift basket came in the mail the other day and mom is quite pleased. The "dry" shampoo smells great and the Furminator is working well for me. Who knew I had all that dead skin still clinging to my body? It's nice to think about!

And it seems I'm a drop-out before I could even begin. I was signed up for obedience but mom got the papers today and it says choke collars are a requirement. Guess we wont be going :S She did find a couple trainers in the city so maybe after her nights free up from classes in January, we can start. Mom IS proud of me for making some progress with loose dogs, though. Tonight 4 of them came at me and mom stayed calm so I did as well; instead of growling or jumping at them, I stood like a statue and just wagged my tail. I did fail the part about not eating random substances though. All mom knows is it was yellow and mushy and stank like death. Some things humans just dont need to know.

Because of the beautiful Mocha Bear, we have discovered OnlyNaturalPet.com and already placed a (small) order. I'm not sure why I have to be so healthy when mom makes a meal of cheesey rice and Dr. Pepper for herself....


Lastly I want to give giant doggy hugs to all the wonderful dogsters that have passed on in the past few days and the ones that have fallen ill. It seems so many have happened at once and they were some of my favorite doggies to read about. I hope you are running free at the Bridge.

Pack Attack

Well pups, apparently something called "football season" has started (as you can see the way the human desecrated my page). It is kind of good because there is much fun in the air, and jumping, and yelling. Any happy movement is fine by me. Heck, I even jump around too. And although I will have to wear a Packers collar soon, at least the green really sets off the red in my fur. Yet it is also so tiring for me because I have to keep up with all this. Why does mom yell "come on, babies!" if she is not talking to me? It's quite confusing since I am the only baby. Not only that, but she delayed my mealtime a whole hour. Is this not neglect? Where is the man mom goes to see? He gives me steak pieces whenever I want. Perhaps a move is in order. Either way, mom was very happy when it was all over (Packers win 16-13 over Eagles ;)) so I did not have to do any consoling.

i wouldnt believe it if i hadnt seen it

Well, the unthinkable happened. Mom went out to the stores and returned with nothing for me. Completely inexcusable. I even searched the bags but nothing. I mean, sure, she got a 40lb bag of Canidae (finally I am fully switched over...mmmmm) but what good does that do me the other 23.75 hours of the day I dont spend eating? Nothing. Her excuse was she found some shirts at Target and seeing as she hasnt bought clothing for herself in 7 months, she needed them. Um, I fail to see this as valid. Petsmart is 30 seconds down the parking lot, lady. I think I have her guilted into going tomorrow after class anyway. As long as no more bandanas make it past the door...

She did add a picture of my enem...er, "sister." A hamster named Canela. I do not understand keeping these meals as pets. Not only that, but I am taunted a few times a week by the meal as it runs around the rooms in a ball. At least I know I will outlive it so the future is bright.

Tonight mom added a full-on run to our walk. It is windy and she knows it gets me wild so we went through the whole field at a fast jog. I am paying for it now and must sleep ~6 hours to get my out-of-shape-self at rest.

pushing it

I must break the perception of me as being a dainty gentleman and tell you that I do not enjoy cushioning of any kind at any time. I am a tile-laying, bare-crate-sleeping, roughing-it type of guy. Last night I stared at mom while she got into bed. This went on for quite a few minutes and apparently since humans do not receive my telekinetic messages, I opted to wag my tail. She finally understood and helped me hop up.

You must understand, cushion is nothing to mess with so once you are on it, do not move. For any reason. Then bury your head in the nearest pillows. For some reason that darn human would not stop adjusting things or trying to shove me over. Finally she settled but I soon realized that not being able to move on cushion meant that I could not roll onto my back with my legs in the air nor was there a corner enclosed in metal that I could shove my head into.

I promptly got up at 2am and sat there panting until the girl woke up to move the covers and let me down. This will be the end of human-crate sleeping although I think mom is relieved. She just wishes she was good enough to sleep next to me.

OH MY DOG

Mom just opened up her email and saw this:

"Hi Megan,

Congratulations, you were on of the 25 lucky winners! You’ve been selected to win the FURminator Homepage Promotion on Dogster.com! Thank you for your support of FURminator and Dogster.com. You should receive your FURminator Gift Basket within 5-7 Business Days."


WE WON?!!? This is amazing since it never happens. A free Furminator?! woooooo. I love Dogster. Love love love.


In other not so great news, we have more problems. But this time they are not my fault! It is because many people at these apartments treat the outdoors as their personal backyards and leave their dogs offleash. Since I'm not so hot at recalls, I am always on leash (plus it's the law). Two dogs in the past three days have charged at me. Mom says they wanted to play but you know what I saw? They wanted to challenge my authority. Possibly attack mom as well so I "attacked" one (no bites, guess I'm not a good fighter) and mom held me back while I growled at another. We are both frustrated because it's a lot of work for me to get into guard-mode and I am tied to leash so I cant run, only fight.

Mom says she might have to start walking me at 6am or something. I really hope not, that is way too early for a lazy pup like me.

Humans gone mad

I suppose it I should've seen it coming. A whole year deprived of my presence and finally my mom gets to spoil me silly. She has never been a 'dress your dog up' kind of person. In fact, she took the Bruce McCulloch school of thought: "one thing that makes me down is when people put...bandanas...on their dogs." Alas, mother was in Petsmart once again to get doggy-pile pick up bags and she saw a glorious display of Halloween items. Her favorite holiday to decorate for just happens to be Halloween. There were costumes, collars with bats (with light up eyes!), toys, everything you could ever want. Not only did she get me a black and orange jack o' latern bone but she picked up a bandana as well [see new pic]. Did I mention she also just got my Halloween collar in the mail? Obsessive much?! Suffice to say, we are fully prepared a whole 2 months in advance.

Luckily she does not have a trick or treat bucket or I'm sure she would make me carry it around come October 31st (mom's note: there is still time and Target does not yet have their holiday items out! mwahah).

Scary stuffs

I gave my mom quite the scare the other day. After I finished eating and went out for potty, all I did for 45 minutes was pace and pant heavily. I was drooling a lot and wouldnt lay down, along with sometimes looking at my sides. Mom thought (from reading dogster) that this might be bloat, even though I eat my food one kibble at a time. She even called up the emergency vet but they were not very helpful. By that time though, I had laid down and a few minutes later I sprawled out on the floor to sleep. Mom watched me a lot but I was fine. She's still trying to understand why I did that but as long as I'm ok.

We also opened the door one morning to find a stray cat (one of about 18 on the property) right next to it. It could've run inside! Mom tried to get it to shoo shoo away but those alley cats are tuff. She told me to sit and stay but after I saw it wasnt listening to her, I charged at it and did my special deep bark that says "get away or I'll possibly lick you to death." It hissed at me and ran down the stairs. Mom is getting sick of those darn cats. She even saw one with a collar and tag wandering freely. "Outside cats" my butt.

One good thing for me is all the piles left outside by other dogs. oh the smells! oh the sniffs! Somehow mom does not see it this way though. She swears at all the icky people who leave those piles out. There are three piles in my "yard" that I go potty in just since yesterday. And she wont take me on the grass along the outside fence because every other step is a wonderful pile. I guess the people here are just too good to pick up piles or maybe they think they are as delicious as I do. Hey, get with the program, mom.

Mom also started school again but it's ok because she is gone way less time than when she used to work during the day. This weekend we are having a mom and pup party. No cakes though, I'm too chunkalicious for that.

High class doggy

That's right, I'm officially living the good life. I, Rudy, am drinking bottled water. Mom says the city's water is infected with e-collies. To me this sounds wonderful because I love playing with fluffy dogs but instead it means I can only drink the stuff she buys from the store. The rain from the tropical storm came as well and wouldnt you know, mom made me walk on the grass. While it was wet. I find this a bit offensive because I'm a delicate gentleman and the soggy, sponge-esque ground completely soaked my paws AND my cowboy chaps (note: leg feathers, mom just likes calling them that). The grass was not fit for my wee.


There is also another disturbance in the form of a rodent. Some sort of ham I'm told. It makes lots of noise at night and when mom is trying to tame the wee baby, I cannot help but be jealous. Today I laid 2 feet away from her and just stared with my head on the floor. Hopefully she got the message that rubbing my back is more important than some fuzzball I could eat.

The great thing about living in a city is there is a Petsmart AND Petco. Toys galore, especially since Petsmart is in the same complex as mom's work. She was sad yesterday though, she stopped to get me a rope bone and a toy for the hamster and a man had a golden retriever that looked like mom's first dog. The man told people he'd been through obedience classes but the dog was obviously not fit to be around so many people in a store environment. So the man kept grabbing the pup by the skin on his rump, picking it up, and shoving it to the ground. It made mom sad, especially since it looked like Comet. She gave him dagger-eyes in the parking lot though.


My paws are tired now. Enjoy the video of me tearing a pop box up. I know I did.

Tejas is the place to be

Oh my dogness. Saturday and Sunday were hard on all of us, it was two whole days in the van! I didnt eat at all and I paced in the motel room all night. We finally arrived at a place surrounded by fields with lots of buildings, grandparents said this was "home." I saw mom come running out but I was very confused. Then I saw THE STAIRS. Stairs are ok, in fact, I like to do turbo races down them at the house. But these stairs, pups, are see-through! I was going to fall into them! It took the humans ~20 minutes to get me up the 2.5 flights to mom's place. I was so scared and so tired.

The rest of the night they moved more things in even though they know how much I hate when things get moved around (even though I hadnt been "home" for more than an hour, they should know this is very upsetting). Grandparents left and I stayed with mom. We met up with a very nice man who cuddled with me and patted my butt. I did get a little mad when he tried to get near mom too but then I found out you can cuddle two humans at once.

Today we got up bright and early and loaded up into mom's car. We picked up grandma and drove to a nice place that smelled like a giant box of dogness. But it was not as great as I hoped. Soon I was being forced up a "ramp" into a giant metal box without a top. I got a nice bath but refused to come down again. Didnt they see how high up I was? I couldnt walk down. So so terrible, stupid humans! Then a nice girl picked me up and used a loud wind machine to make me fluffy. My hair is all blown away, much nicer in the Texas heat. I got my new hawt collar and tag and now I can prance around with my head held high. I ate my Canidae for lunch and it's time for a nap.

I think life here will be good (if they install a doggy chair lift, of course).

So many problems, so little time

I went in for a pre-move check up and ohhh boy did grandma get an earful (literally, har har, you'll read in minute). My ear infection is back in full force and I need cleaning twice a day for FOREVERRR. Ok so maybe a few weeks but it is pure torture. Mom remembers helping grandma last time and even though I laid down for them, I shot them daggers with my eyes so they knew how much I hated it. I also sighed about 20 times just to make sure the point got across.

Not only that, but apparently I'm a fatty. A major fatty. Ouch, Doc, ouch. Grandma doesnt think so and mom is a bit skeptical seeing as I am naturally big-boned (and not in the Cartman way either). They can still feel my ribs so that part of me is definitely not encased in fat. My parents were HUGE hunting dogs so who knows what I'll turn out to be. Lots of exercise and some new, natural food will help, no? Mom says so.

And last but not least, everyone's best pal, giardia. Yep yep, I had it as a puppy and got the vaccine once it was gone but it has returned. Apparently most pups in my town have it so the vet was not surprised. My treatment is almost over and mom gets to give me my final injection since I'll be away from my current vet. She cant wait to play doctor again since she used to do it so much with rabbits.

My family must really love me to put up with this. I heard grandpa ask mom if she still even wanted me since she'd be taking all this on at once right when school is starting. I almost hid under the couch (the only part that fits, aka my head) dreading the answer but mom said it was not even something that crossed her mind.

Time to get back to pumping iron. Gots to be buff for the Texas hotties.

Mom's dim

Mom JUST discovered that she can view the 'new activity' of my pals and doggies in my corral. Holy jeez, you idiot! She was just thinking the other day how nice it would be to know who added things so she could keep up with everyone. Well, mom, Dogster is way ahead of you. WAY TO GO.


She also told me she went to PetCo (blarrhhh) today to get a hamster dish and one of the shelters had dogs there. puppies puppies puppies galore and the poodle she had wanted before she knew I was coming to Texas. It was so hard on her to see those dogs but I kindly reminded her that she has her very own Rudy. Maybe it's too late and she caught the bug (not fleas, at least I hope not).

Guess she should have a beer and get some sleep before I hear more about her absent-mindedness.

Stink ears

That's right, that's my name. Or was. Mom calls me that whenever I get my infections and now we have found out me + Chicken Soup = one stank doggy. Time for a switch.

Everyday the grandparents talk about a place called Texas. It doesnt sound like "treats" or "bath" so I wasnt too concerned except I hear it a lot. Any day now I will take off on my journey to the south. They do worry that I will drag mom down her building's stairs because HEY WOW a chihuahua? Wait, two chihuahuas? What is this glorious place you speak of? And german shepherds? Hm, I could get used to Texas I think.

The bad part is that I will have to start school, which is quite unfair for a well-mannered gentleman such as myself. I mean, I'm practically a teenager. Mom took off from her academic adventures once, why do I even need to start? Such hypocrites those humans are.

What a boring entry. It's not mom's fault though, she had to work late, then I had to call her and have her transpose this diary for me. PS. I was given a super late birthday present (way to keep up, mom) and got Dogster plus. Beware the photos that will be uploaded, mom cannot help but begin to empty her harddrive!

Excitable

Last night was a long walk by the creek which was fun except mom was being eaten alive by mosquitos. The people on bikes were fun to 'psych out' but mom says this is a horrible habit. I also pretended to charge some little girls at a Kool-Aid stand but then I sat like a gentlemen while they pet me. Finally some people who realize I should always be the center of attention.

Today I was rudely awakened way too early (9am) to go out but then mom and grandma sat outside with me. Mom teased me by putting some of her rabbits in the run. I yelled and cried to play with them but even though I'm gentle they get scared. She did let me up to see one and yet again I charged at him and made him go nuts. Run, rabbit, run! Mom was uspet at me because I've never done this before. I was just feeling my oats today, jeesh.

She got a picture of my badly-coordinated jumping. I told her not to put it up but she cant resist "doggy action shots" like all the other cool doggies have. I'm just a big boy without much grace, ok?! sigh. There is also a video of my lovely friend Jack. Mom didnt film me watching him because it was so pathetic.

I better go for a nap before I start making even less sense.

sunny day and haircut

Today was actually cooler than 80 degrees so mom took me out on the leash-attached-to-stake thing. She hates it but the family still doesnt have a fence on the backside of the backyard and I have a bad habit of only listening to grandpa for a recall when I'm outside. I just like to keep the girls on their toes. Mom took a bunch of new pictures of me and a video to show off my totally hot retrieving skillz to the internets.

Even though today was happy, yesterday was a nightmare! Mom and grandma kept talking about me going potty on my butt-feathers and how icky it was. My butt-feathers are beautiful whether they are covered with poop or not! Grandma held me like a show dog and mom used a scissors and went after them. My beautiful blonde locks fell to the ground while mom got tears in her eyes from laughing. What is so funny about my once flowing butt-feathers looking like a little kid who let an 8-year old cut his hair?! Mom says she will find razoring scissors to fix them but for now I will have to be embarrassed with a butt-feather bowl-cut.

home again?

woofers. Today was going to be a special day because grandma made me take a bath. She said I had to smell nice but I planted myself like a rock so she had to work extra hard to wash all my parts. Then she left for days and days. I chewed two more wiffle balls when finally I heard someon calling my nickname. WHOA IT IS MOMMY! I didnt know what to do at first because it's been years (or 6 months in human time) since she was here. I sniffed her shoes, decided we were alright, and threw myself into her lap. We've already accomplished digging under the couch, grooming, and watching UFC.

I'm sure she will take embarrassing pictures of me and maybe even some video. Hopefully I look just as hot in them as my old ones.

Changes

I found out I will be reunited with one of my owners who moved away from the family. This means new pictures and a new territory to call my own. I will miss the snow most of all though. I'm a big boy but I think Texas can handle me.