here for a good time

hallo und herzlich wilkommen!

sorry, my master's german courses are starting to sink in.

I haven't been back to write for a while - and partially because I've been just too darn busy! (and because I don't know how to turn the computer on)

part of that busy has been two obedience classes and two agility classes over the past year.. there's a heck of a lot to learn. I've also picked up another few tricks under my sleeve. We'll see if we can get them up here via a youtube video my master has been promising to direct. (but as of yet has not)

Mom says she would like me to go to another obedience class, but Dad would like to find the right one. Something to do with me being a little protective and reactive around other dogs in the apartment building, who knows. I say I have to make it known that the building belongs to me and you better watch your back!

In between classes I've been to the doggy parks of the city a couple hundred times.. free time to sniff and lots of room... next to freeze dried liver it's my favorite thing!

I also overheard a lot of talk about puppies..and even went for a trip to visit some this summer. I can't see what all the fuss is about. They're barely mobile, they smell funny, and they are obviously very indescriminately promiscuous for human attention. I hope Mom and Dad aren't planning to bring one of those things home.....

note from the hooman

hello all - thanks for checking in on boo's blog.

boo is doing really well with his training so far - his leash manners have improved considerably and he's learned a number of obedience commands and been able to demonstrate them in different places under distraction.

with his improved manners he gets a little more freedom in the apartment and the places we travel to for a little longer. We can feel comfortable doing that knowing he finally 'gets' the whole potty training philosophy. I hear that coming into sexual maturity can undo potty training so he's still very much supervised at all times when he's loose.

some days at puppy kindergarten there's just TOO much distraction for much to get accomplished, but we're working on that. strange dogs, or a lot of novel noises and new smells can induce puppy ADD still, but I believe with a little maturity and a lot more work and patience things will work themselves out.

in the meantime, he gets lots of puppy socialization. just lately he's met an airedale terrier, a schnauzer, a whippet, a greyhound, and just this morning a 12 wk old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. It's all new and exciting and fun!

long weekends = good

that's the farthest I've ever traveled in a vehicle. 2.5 hours!

but me, I'm good in the vehicles. no motion sickness or zaniness from me. I am a bit of a suck though, and like to be in someone's lap on the bumpy parts. Darn Saskatchewan roads.

and new things! lots of them! i met 4 of what the humans called 'cats'. Maybe that's the word for a funny lookin' breed of dog? In any case, I approached them just the same as I would dogs, tail wagging happily and going to check the front and back end to get all their vital details. You can see a video of me meeting the 'cat' called Snowflake here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SOrkBsW6P8

I also met a big golden dog named Lacey. We couldn't quite work the mechanics of playing together, though. I would signal my interest in a play engagement, and she would drop into a play bow in front of me and utter an excited woof, at which point I saw I fit between her two paws, and her head is roughly as big as I am. At the sound and site of that first wuffff, my interest waned and I headed for cover. I give her points for the attempt, though. We did go for a walk together and that was much more my speed. Lacey also protected me from that grumpy cat Tia, which I appreciated.

I also learned this weekend that I like rainy days. Much to Joanne and Peter's chagrin I found out sitting in mud puddles and doddling in wet clay and mud are great, and as a bonus, elicit the funniest human sounds and reactions. I'll endure a bath and towel dry any day to play in the rain again.

i'm famous!

I had a good weekend - went out to visit the grandparents. My kennel and exercise pen and food came with me so I had a slice of home away from home. I hear I will get to see the grandparents on the other side next weekend - and there might be some serious playtime with some cats and a golden retriever. Sounds good to me!

I have decided to be a little bit of a bad-ass on walks lately. Though I get my business done in short order, when it comes to walking time, I'm focused on finding and picking up sticks. My other trick is to lay down like a brick if the walk isn't going in the direction I want. I can tell it frustrates Peter and Joanne to no end, but they're still giving me attention, or playing a fun chase and tug game with me when I have something I'm not supposed to in my mouth. I wonder when they will figure out who's training who?

Last but certainly not least - I have a business card. Before you blast my owners for how frou frou they are making me though, you have to realize how many times they hear :

"What breed is he?"
"Never heard of that"
"He's a what?"
"He's some sort of bichon shitzu maltese whatever mix, right?"
"How do you pronounce it again?"
"What?"

Basically, my business card is just an information package that answers all those questions - breed name, phonetic pronunciation, history. I'm not actually running a business.

Yet.

the scoop on the poop

housetraining is funny.

maybe not so for the humans, but for me, it's hilarious.

I overheard Peter say that he has talked and thought more about poop and pee in the last week than cumulatively in his life. He also tried a bit of alternate psychology with me. Basically, after he discovered I had an accident, he yelled. . But not at me, at my pee stain! LOL - he said he's heard other trainers do that and have success.

rigggght. I managed to stifle a grin as I watched a crazy man yell at urine.

As I said before though, I am super intelligent, and I believe I'm catching on to what these wierdos want. I'm thinking they want me to poop and pee outside. I'm not quite sure if going indoors is a bad thing given that, so I had better go a couple more times in my pen just to be sure.

They have these cute little phrases to tell me what they want when we're outdoors, too - "Go potty" for pee, and "Get busy" for number two. It makes me wonder if anyone else uses phrases with expletives with their dogs.. you can imagine.

arf arf arf! That makes me laugh.

I'm getting the hang of this!

Just two days ago I was so spooked by stairs that I didn't even wanna go near the doors entering the stairwell in the apartment. They are a bit of a climb for a little guy like me, and heck, I've never seen stairs before. Whaddya expect?

But see, I was just biding my time, pretending to be this timid soul, and BAM! I hit 'em with a batch of puppy confidence and leave 'em standing there with their jaws dropped. Peter and Joanne watched me yesterday both climb up and down all 15 scary stairs, no problems!

But life hasn't been all about the apartment - my first puppy kindergarten class went really well. And on my outings since Thursday I have met a Bearded Collie, two Shitzu mixes, a poodle, a bichon mix, two goldens, an Akita mix, a yorkshire terrier, and a Boston Terrier - and those all went well. There was a Sheltie with some leash aggression issues, but that's a foggy memory already. A lot of them are bigger than me, but my sideways wiggle, muzzle lick, and rollover seems to win 'em over.

Anyways, I have a rawhide stuffed with pork to chew on, I will update you later!

Something's different here!

Just last week I was with my littermates hanging out when these humans came and took me to a whole different world! I am quite shy right now, and a little unsure of everything. My schedule has been changed around, and that's not good for my tummy. I made a bit of a mess this morning (sorry!) and got subjected to (horrors of horrors) a bath! I thought I was good to go with the one I had just before I moved here! What is it with these humans and their love of grooming?

On the bright side, these humans really seem to care about me. I have a nice kennel with a soft lining, loads of toys, and they aren't trying to feed me your run of the mill grocery store pet food. They have taken me out to meet some puppies and people already, and as I understand it, I am attending kindergarten already on monday night. I am obviously a bit stressed with all the changes, but I think if these humans are patient with me we can make some big things happen.