Fresh Powder

I love snow. Snow is even better when your're the first one running through it. Nana visited yesterday and brought treats and stuff and today I got to go outside and walk. Dad and I walked down the street and back before walking around the house. We also stopped to talk to the big pack of labs down the street. There are two grownups and three pups. They're all so big compared to me but I still like to talk to them anyway. Midnight, the black one, wanted to play with me really bad but she's so big, she almost ran me over! It was a pretty cool day.

The holidays are over

This was my second Christmas and New Years. It was a very interesting time. My little sister, Kimberly, is going through the dog version of the terrible twos. She got into trouble so many times during the holidays, I'm surprised that she didn't earn herself more nicknames than what she has.

Come to think of it, she did earn one. Nana came over again for Christmas this year but this time we had a second guest. Kimmy and I finally met dad's sister. Aunt Kelley is really nice. She likes to pick me up, and pet me and give me kisses and tell me how sweet and fluffy and cute and soft I am. She calls Kimmy "Crackhead."

Every time Aunt Kelley sat down, Kimmy would jump up in her lap and start trying to lick her face weather she wanted it or not. All in all it was a great time when I got to have the attention of 3 people. I got some toys and treats for Christmas. Kimmy technically got more than I did for Christmas but that's only because I already had a coat and she didn't. No big though.

I found out that Nana is going to be living with us soon because her boyfriend went to the bridge after being sick for a really long time. I feel sad for Nana and yet I can also hardly wait for her to live here.

Winter Wonderland

It took me two days but dad finally figured it out. I sat next to where my harness used to be for two days.

I think I'm getting ahead of myself though. The day after we got back from our last Christmas trip, dad had to go to work for a few hours. When he got home, he saw a bunch of stuff on the floor that was tore up. Kimmy got the blame and punishment for most of it...

I got punished for my harness being broken. The part that goes around my chest and clicks shut to hold onto me was chewed off. I got a spanking for it. I told dad I was really sorry for letting Kimmy chew up my harness and he apologized to me for the spanking.

I don't like spankings but I did get a new more pawesome manly harness out of the deal.

Anyways, at the time I didn't have my new harness yet so dad said he didn't want to take me outside without one. He finally broke down and used the harness I wear in the car instead. He put it on me and then put my coat on top of it.

After that came the fun part. I dove into the nearest snowbank and shoved my face in up to my ears. I bounded through snow that was higher than my chest. I rolled in it until I looked like a four legged yeti. Then dad took me around the yard and I got to drag him through all the fresh snow in the backyard.

He made me go in after that where I chased Kimmy around for about half an hour or so. Then I passed out from exhaustion. It was so much fun, I can hardly wait to do it again!

Nana coming to live with us?

Nana's boyfriend is very sick again and the doctors don't expect him to last much longer. That means that Nana is probably going to come live with us. It's going to be a challenge getting her moved in but once we get her settled in it'll be great. I love it when Nana comes to visit. She pets us and plays with us and brings us treats and things whenever she comes. It'll be wonderful having her here!

I'm Official Again!

Dad went Tuesday and got my new 2008 license. It's shiny and gold and tells the world that I am official!

Holiday Woofs

I went to the vet last Friday. I had to get caught up on my shots. I got my rabies and my distemper/parvo vaccinations for the year. They checked Kimmy's belly to see how she was healing after her spay. I'm still not sure what a spay is since I've never gotten one, but if it's anything like getting a neuter, it had to stink. I'm not sure why she didn't hurt like I did after my neuter.

Speaking of things that stink, they did something to Kimmy's butt to make it less stinky. I don't know what was wrong, but her rear was REALLY stinky. It's better now though.

After all of that, we headed home and finished packing to go out of town for a holiday get together. Kimmy, dad and I went to my Uncle Scott's house. He's not really my uncle of course, cause he's only got two legs, but I call him my uncle anyways. It was a really awesome trip because I got to see my cousins, Oliver, Ben and Zach. Ben and Zach are two leggers while Ollie is a four legger like me. Kimmy has a big crush on him. We hadn't seen him in quite a while so it was really fun to get together with him and play for a few days.

One of the neatest things is that we got to go outside with no leashes on to go potty and play. The only thing was that I got into a little bit of trouble because when it was time o come back in, I went around to the side door instead of the back door where everyone else went in.

The next day, we went to dad's aunt's house and visited. Kimmy and I were hoping that we'd see aunt Riley, a four legger, at the get together. Her human parents didn't go, so she couldn't either. We couldn't play with any other dogs there so we played with the kids instead. There were three of them and they ended up tiring Kimmy and I out to the point where Kimmy flopped down and went to sleep on the couch while dad and I entertained the family with a few tricks. After that, it was time for me to find a comfy spot and curl up as long as I could. We headed back to Uncle Scott's house and went to sleep while dad was watching a movie.

The next morning, dad was supposed to get up for church but we couldn't wake him up so we laid down with him on the couch. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that cousin Zach wasn't afraid of us anymore. When we got there on Friday, he cried when we got near him but on Sunday, he was happy to pet us whenever we walked by.

Dad finally got up and started putting everything back in the bags we travel with. He penned us in the kitchen while he went to lunch for Ben's birthday. When he got back, he loaded up the car and we headed out. We stopped on the way back at a McDonald's and the three of us ate some chicken nuggets. For the record, I like chicken nuggets.

Ever since we got back, dad's been turning the house upside down getting ready for Nana and Aunt Kelley, whom neither Kimmy nor I have met, to arrive for Christmas. I overheard dad talking to Aunt Kelley and I heard the words pig ears. I think Aunt Kelley is getting us pig ears for Christmas. We had some at Uncle Scott's. It definitely wouldn't hurt my feelings to get some.

Time to hit the fleece blanket some much needed sleep. Nighty night and Happy Howlidays!

Snow is coming

Dad asked me if I remembered snow from last year. He said that snow was coming back. I'm not sure if I do remember it or not but that might explain why it's getting colder outside. We haven't been taking walks as often cause the wind has been blowing hard and the sun has been hiding behind the clouds.

We've been inside all day and so dad has taken to teaching us again. Dad taught Kimmy to lay down. Took her long enough to get it. I learned it in a week or so and Kimmy took a month. I learned how to play dead in an hour. I'm not saying that Kimmy is stupid, it's just that she sits there looking funny at dad when he tells her to do something. She ends up taking up all of dad's time which means I get less attention.

On top of that, whenever dad and I play together, Kimmy wants to get involved. She climbs on me when I'm playing or when I'm sleeping and sometimes I get in trouble for growling at her. Dad says that there's a fine line between correcting her and being snippy.

Don't get me wrong, I love Kimmy and we play all day and I don't complain even when she bites me so hard that she draws blood. I just want her to give me some "Albert Time" on occasion.

Oh... I just remembered. Dad just got a new thing for my leash that lets Kimmy and I go for a walk on the same leash. We pull so hard that dad says we're like a dogsled. It's really cool except when I need to stop and pee on something.

That's it for now. I'll have to update again when the snow comes.

Carnival!

Dad and I went to a Canine Carnival today. It was small but it was pretty cool. They had agility demos and an open course, Red Cross reps talking about having an emergency kit for your furkids, a Clinton County Sheriff did a demo with his contraband sniffing dog, games for the dogs to play such as pick-a-biscuit, pick-a-ball, frisbee catch, musical chairs, an owner/dog look alike contest, cub scouts bathing dogs for donations, microchipping, groomers doing nail clipping for donations and several vendors such as Invisible Fence, an all natural food vendor and Petlane pet products.

I won a small green squeaky elephant the first time at Pick-A-Biscuit but only won the biscuit the second time. I won some kind of bone at the Pick-A-Ball. That's what I get for letting dad pick the ball. Thing is, though, that the balls were in 4 inches of water. No big for a big guy but it's a big deal to me. Dad tried to get me to pick a ball myself but I wouldn't have anything to do with going in the water. So he picked. I like the bone and the other prizes were plush squeaky toys anyways. I have lots of those.

I was too distracted at the frisbee catching game to play. There were lots of other dogs there and there was so much going on. They let me keep the frisbee for coming close to catching it on my second try.

Dad and I watched the musical chairs game which was fun but dad said I would have lost in the first round. The dogs had to walk around with their people and when the music stopped, they had to sit. Last one sitting was out.

All in all it was fun and I look forward to the second annual Canine Carnival.

My first birthday

One would think that it was going to be a bad day since the first thing I did was fall out of the bed this morning but it wasn't half bad. Treats, a birthday walk with dad and Kimmy, a nap on dad's bed with him and Kimmy, cheese and lots of play time with both dad and Kim.

Dad has been trying to teach Kimmy how to use the potty pads. I went into the bathroom with the today when he was trying to show her how to potty. Dad open the door to see if I wanted to leave the bathroom. I started to leave but stopped when I saw that Kimmy wasn't following me. I reached back to pull her collar but dad wouldn't let me take her with me. He wanted to show her where to potty and didn't want her to leave until she had pottied. I wasn't going to leave her behind. I stayed in the bathroom until dad let her out.

Dad said I was a good brother.

Later, I went upstairs to get my MooChew, a chew toy I got for my birthday from my Nana. I had taken it upstairs because I didn't want Kimmy chewing on it. Kimmy tried to follow me. She tried to follow me up there the other day but that was before I realized how much I cared for my new sister. I guess and those kisses she gave me on the nose had gotten to me. I waited for her and encouraged her to try and climb. Climb she did. By the time dad got to the stairs she was only 3 steps from the top. I think I was 3 or 4 months old before I had done what she did. She's only 2 months. She's something else.

Not a bad day today and dad is talking about taking us to the new dog park in Lansing tomorrow...

My new sister

I've had a new sister for about a day and a half now. She's lots of fun and plays with me lots but dad gets upset with me when I play rough with her. I really don't understand why because she plays just as rough. I like having her around in general and I don't mind sharing my toys with her.

The only stuff that I won't let her touch is the stuff I got for my birthday. Dad wasn't happy when I growled at her for trying to take one of my birthday presents. He said I shouldn't growl at her but also told me that I did have the right to since they were my birthday presents. I decided to take my presents upstairs where I could chew them in peace. Kimmy tried to follow my but the each step is nearly as tall as she is so she couldn't climb more than four before giving up.

She hasn't figured out yet that she's supposed to potty on the pads in the kitchen and bathrooms. She keeps sneaking away and pottying in a hidden corner somewhere. Dad gets frustrated but says that she's only been here for a day and a half so it'll take a while to get the hang of it.

We went really far to get her. There were so many dogs there that day. So many puppies were rescued from that puppy mill. I said hi to a bunch of them before my sister got there. Once she was there, dad put us in something called a shopping cart and pushed us around the store getting treats and toys for us. For the record, I hate shopping carts. Every second I was in there I wanted out and down so I could walk on my own four feet. She didn't seem to mind. She started playing with the toys in the cart.

Dad says I'm a pretty good big brother. It takes getting used to but the first thing I started doing is making sure I stop playing with her when she needs a drink of water. I shoved her head into the water bowl on Sunday. Dad didn't think it was too funny but I thought it was hilarious.

Anyhow, it's a tough job being a big brother but I'm up for it.