Kayaking????

I saw on the calendar that Mom is supposed to go kayaking with her friend again this weekend. I suppose it is too much to hope that I will be the one chosen to go. Her friend brings the Emma kid, so probably Beanie will go again, cuz he is smaller and better for a kid to walk.
I gotta work out a plan here. I KNOW it won't work to act really nice... look what happened to Jenny when she did that. In addition to not going, she ALMOST got stuck with having to take medicine.
The way I see it, I have two choices... first, to cause Beanie physical harm so he cannot possibly go kayaking, or to somehow convince Mom to take us both. Her kayak is big enough... I know cuz I sat in it when she first got it. And, I LOVE kids... and, I am smart and sweet and I would let Emma take me for a walk to show me off, too. But, if we both went, she couldn't possibly walk us both... we would get all tangled up in the leashes. However, if I hurt Beanie and got caught doing it, I would be banished to my crate, and Jenny would probably get to go instead of either of us. Ah, what a dilemma..... what to do????
Maybe if I pulled the big bag of dog treats right to the edge of the table Beanster would smell them and get them down and eat them all and get sick and not be able to go??? I could never get blamed for that. Nah, that would NEVER work... Jenny and Chaz would eat them too, and then Mom would have to stay home and take care of them all.... nope, not gonna work. Hmmmm, guess I will have to think on this a bit more.
WAIT... I KNOW what to do... I'll get Mom to take a friend, then we both CAN go and her friend will walk me... maybe Kiwi's mom will come. NOPE, that wouldn't work, then Kiwi would have to go, too!!!Hmmmmm, maybe we can take Skye with us. Mom has two kayaks sitting in the shed, cuz I saw them when I ran in there the other day. Skye is pretty big, I bet she could paddle me in a kayak.... great idea, guess I'll work on that one!!! Probably I will get this all worked out and the fireworks will come again this weekend!! AUGHHHHHH, I'm going to bed now!

A Happy Mom!

Wow, Mom is really happy today! She is even humming as she cleans our house. And, she mowed the lawn, too, which usually makes her unhappy.
I must say, when we got up, she wasn't that happy. My cousin Timmy is sick and had an operation yesterday, so he is crying in the living room. Yes, I am sorry he doesn't feel good, but... it's not my fault! Then she had to go to work, and that Lukie was playing games with her. When she got home, she was still not happy, even tho Timmy was feeling better. Then she was watching the clock, and as the time went on, she got unhappier and unhappier. A couple of times the phone rang, and she jumped right up and answered it, but was still unhappy afterward. I did hear her say to someone it was too late now, he would have called by now, whatever that meant.
At noon the phone rang again. Wow.... Mom was now soooo happy she was screaming into the phone!!! It seems it was that dog handler man, and Ali won at the show today, so now she is a CHAMPION and is going to come home on Sunday! We have all missed her so much, especially Beanie cuz she is his special friend. She hasn't been gone that long, only since May. Mom said she was gonna give her a haircut first thing and let her be a real dog and go outside and dig in the mud puddles again!!!
I was glad to hear that cuz I have to confess here... when Ali was younger and Mom was growing her fuu fuu hair out, I was playing with her one night under the desk and I chewed all the hair off her neck. I chewed it right down to the skin from her tippy top head to her ribs. Boy was Mom mad at me!!! She told me I just chewed a year's worth of hair off, and to never, ever do that again. After that, she never let me outside with anyone with long hair! I guess I am forgiven now????

I go on a trip!!!

Today Mom was supposed to go to a dog show with one of the Frenchies, but it was very, very hot, so instead us poodles got to go on a trip to visit my daughter Pinki, and my sister Tori and Beanie's best friend, Ali, a little white poodle. All three are at the dog handler's house, getting ready for some more shows. I got to go cuz he was gonna help Mom fix my corded coat. The little brown fluff ball Chaz went to get his fluff trimmed off. Beanie had to stay home, hee hee hee!
We left here pretty early cuz Mom wanted to get back for that still postponed kayak ride. Well, the ride was pretty long, but it was cool and comfy in the car. Mom made me ride in a crate though, and I don't really care for that! When we went thru a big city, there was another big downpour with lots of firecrackers. I didn't know they did them in the daytime, but guess they did it cuz the 4th of July is pretty soon. There was even some ice falling out of the sky. Probably so the people watching the firecrackers could use it to keep their drinks cold???
Anyway, finally we got to the place. Right away I spied my Pinki, so we had a great reunion. She is still kinda prissy, in fact, she had her hair and ears all done up with lots of rubber bands. She said that was cool cuz it kept it out of her eyes. Pretty good, I guess. She was also showing off cuz she thinks she's a bit better than us now. Ali was happy to see us, and she told Mom she wants to come home now! Mom said she only had to win one more show and then she could. Tori was just Tori. She was running all around acting like a big shot, and she tried to nip the little fluff ball. She was some surprised when Mom yelled at her... I think she thought she couldn't be yelled at when she was at someone else's house!
Mom spotted a tiny little black fluff named Benny that lives there. She kept looking at him and talking to him, and was carrying him around every where she went. I was really worried cuz I though she was gonna bring him home with us, but we left without him. Whew.
Finally it was my turn to be fixed, but the man said Mom was doing my coat right, so I didn't even have to get on a table. I was happy, cuz I was afraid they were gonna brush me! I did hear Mom say she wasn't sure she would like my coat corded cuz she hates mats in any dog's coat. The man laughed and said that's what a corded coat was... a bunch of mats. Guess we'll see what happens to my coat cuz he told Mom it would take TWO years to get it right. TWO years.... gosh, that is worse than growing a show coat, I think!!!
Finally, Mom put us back in the car and we headed home. I got to ride in the front seat!!! I was sooo happy that I just leaned over and laid my head on her arm the whole way home!
When we got home, the firecrackers had followed us home, so we couldn't go kayaking, AGAIN. I am never gonna get to go!!!

Kayaking?????????

For some reason, Jenny was really bad last night, and Mom even had to get up and put her in a crate to sleep! Must be cuz she "thought" she was going kayaking today, and Mom really was gonna take me. I would like to point out that I have NEVER, EVER gone kayaking before!!! So, I was pretty excited about the whole thing. On Saturday, Mom works until 1, so I assumed we would go after that. I stayed in my bed, resting up, cuz Beanie told me it was pretty exciting and I wanted to be wide awake so I wouldn't miss anything.
Pretty soon Mom came home from work. I realized something was wrong when she didn't put on her kayaking clothes, and she went and got out the vacuum cleaner. Next thing I knew, we were all in our crates and she put on some loud music and was vacuuming and mopping the whole house. Oh well, maybe we are going after she cleans???? Then, it started getting very dark, and, frankly, we thought it was dinner time and we were all waiting for our dinner. Next thing we knew, someone was setting off HUGE firecrackers. We all thought firecracker weekend was next weekend, but, I guess we were wrong! It was getting louder and louder, and then all the music stopped and the lights went out. I glanced outside, and it was raining so hard I couldn't even see across the lawn. Mom let us out of our crates and we all jumped on the bed with her and took a nap. Well, we tried to take a nap, but the firecrackers were so loud they shook the whole house! Drat....no kayaking today. I knew Jenny was a creative genius, but even I didn't think she could come up with something like this!!!!

My new doo

Hi, all.
This afternoon Mom came home from work and got me. Normally, if that happens in the afternoon, it's not a good sign. Today was normal! When I got there, I tried to sneak off into the daycare room, but she snagged me and I got put on the grooming table. I knew this would not be good! 'Member I said she was cording my coat? Well, so far that has been really great... I NEVER get brushed, and my baths are really short....no blasting me with the power dryer and no brushing and combing. I get bathed and get to run right back outside to dry. Anyway, Mom is not noted for her patience so I assumed I was gonna get a hair cut and she would forget this cording deal. Sure enough, the clippers came out, but she reached into the show tack box to get out a clipper blade. Hmmm, what's happening here, those blades are all really close blades, not normal give a pet poodle a haircut blades. Next she starts right in the middle of my back legs and off comes my hair. I am still not sure what's up.... that is until I sneak a look in the big mirror. OH NO...... it's that stupid show continental clip again!!! What is going on here... when I got neutered, she said I would never have that clip again, and here it is not even a year later and I'm turning into a pris again. Finally, she was done, and I slunk home with my bare bottom hanging out. When I could, I took a look on the 'puter.... well, it seems that when a poodle has a corded coat, they are clipped in that continental pattern. Who knew???

The Pink Stroller Strikes Again.

Hi,
All day today I've had a stomach ache. To make myself feel better, I decided to check out my dogster page. Would you believe that pink stroller photo has mysteriously appeared on my page???? I ate that stupid little black thing, and the photo still showed up. I can't believe it!!!! Someone is going to pay for this, I can assure you!!!
Does anyone know what "saved to the hard drive" means????????? Somehow, I think I've been swindled. Again.

The missing pink stroller picture.

Yesterday morning after Mom left for work I was sitting in my dog bed deciding what to do with myself for the day. Suddenly there was a knocking at the door. I jumped up in my best "protect the house" mode, and ran over to see who it was. I heard a small voice saying , "Toto, Toto, let me in." It was my friend, Skye, her mom works with my Mom. There is no more school, so she came with her mom to visit me! She got my leash off the rack and took me over to the kennel. First we had breakfast (again, for me, hee hee), and then Skye and I went outside for a little walk. Unfortunately, Skye spied the pink stroller that Mom brings the baby puddles to work in, so she decided that I should get in it and go for a ride. Yeah, right, now that is a manly thing to do... ride in a PINK baby stroller. But, I LIKE Skye, so I got in. She was pushing me all around, and even pushed me into the kennel. Next thing I knew, I saw Julie and she had Mom's camera. I tried to hide in the bottom of the stroller, but I am not that tiny. They all went to look at the pictures on the 'puter, and they were AWFUL.... I was chuckling and chuckling to myself!!! Suddenly Mom took the camera, looked at it very carefully, and discovered the little button pushed over that I had so carefully moved. DRAT!!! So, I had to get in the stroller again, and get pushed around again, and Julie took more pictures. This time they came out okay, but fortunately, I had my head turned away from the camera!!! Believe it or not, I had to get back in the stupid pink stroller once more, and we had to do the whole routine again. Now, I am a patient fellow, but I was getting mighty tired of that stroller, so I gave up and smiled for the camera. I heard mom muttering something about putting that picture on MY Dogster page. Yeah, over my dead body!!!
Check out my photos.... you don't see me in a pink stroller now, do you????? And, I am not dead yet, either. You know those little black things that they take out of the camera and put in the 'puter to see the pictures???? Let me tell you, they don't taste too bad if you chew them really, really fast!!!!

Last Day of Spring Fling

Please excuse that I am out of breath... we just returned from a romp in the field. I had so much fun chasing Beanie and Jenny, and being chased by them, too!
Silly Jenny was trying to get us to help her catch a froggy out of the pond... check out my new photo. But, it really backfired on her, cuz later she got so excited that she fell right into the pond, AND, missed catching the frog!!!
We ran and ran and ran, then I spied the agility tunnel, so then we all ran thru that a few times. Poor Beanie got himself turned around in there, and next thing we knew, he was running thru our legs!
Oh yeah, I only rolled on one dead nightcrawler. Would have done a few more but Mom spied me and yelled that word that puts fear in any dog.... BATH!!!!
Well, gotta go rest up for bed now!

Visiting the home

Mom and I went visiting the other day. First I got a nice bath, then I got my red bandana on, and my special dog tags, and mom put on her blue visiting shirt. This time we went to a new place in Vermont. We met Laurie, one of the people that works in Mom's kennel, and she had a big, yellow labrador with her named RJ. Mom said he used to live here before I came here.
A nice girl met us in the lobby, and we got in a moving room and shut the door. When it stopped moving, we were in a long hallway with lots of people sitting around in wheelchairs or lying in their beds. The girl and Mom and me and RJ and Laurie walked down the hallway and stopped and visited with all the people. RJ is big, so he had to sit on the floor to be petted, but I am pretty small so I got to sit on the people's beds with them or in their laps if they were in a wheelchair. Some of the people even had dog biscuits to give to us.
RJ loved the younger people the most, but I prefer the older ones who are more quiet. Most of the people seemed pretty happy to see us, but I noticed some of them were sad and crying. I stayed with them the longest, cuz they were hugging me. One lady held me so tight I almost cried, but I remembered in our training, the training people did that to us, too, so I gritted my teeth and let her hold me. I don't think she knew how strong she was. Lots of the people showed us pictures of dogs and told us stories of their dogs. They were pretty interesting, I must admit. Some of them didn't say anything... they just twirled my hair in their fingers and stared into space.
Finally, it was time to go, so we got back in the moving room and ended up down by the front door. Mom and Laurie were now pretty sad and quiet, too. RJ and I were really, really tired, and I had to sleep all the way home.

The Denver Trip

Well, I promised I'd tell you all about the trip. It was for a French Bulldog speciality show, but I got to go cuz my breeder mom was going to meet my new mom there and I hadn't seen her for two whole years.
Anyway, we had to drive the whole way, cuz those stupid Frenchies can't fly in an airplane. Dunno why not, I flew in one when I came here and it didn't hurt me a bit!!!
We left early in the morning. Mom found out after about 6 hours that the girl with us wouldn't drive on the interstates so she had to drive all the way herself. Duh, from NH to Denver is all interstate, she should have asked before she invited her to go with us, I would say. She also found out that #1... I get carsick, #2... I won't go number one OR number two when I'm on a leash, #3... I don't eat when I am traveling, and #4... I don't do open stairs at motels. Other than that, we had a good trip out. We stopped at lots of fun places, and we even found a Wizard of Oz place and they let me have my picture taken under all their statues. Check me out on my photos underneath my namesake. Anyway, when we got there I was shocked to find only French Bulldogs everywhere I looked. But, on the second day, my former Mom came up from Kansas and she brought lots of my relatives and old poodle friends and even my dog mom, and then another person came from Arizona and brought my brother!!! I was glad to see him cuz we lived together for almost a whole year before we both left. And, finally, my Mom discovered that if she put my regular collar on me instead of my training collar, I would do my business whenever I had to. It was about time she figured that out, cuz I was gonna bust!!!! After all, she was the one that told me I couldn't go pee pee if I was training, cuz I would FLUNK!!! She should know that us poodles never forget anything!!!
Oops, I forgot to mention.... the Frenchies had to sleep in their crates and I got to sleep on the real bed!!! And, one day we left the show early and went on a drive way up in the mountains, and I got to climb on some rocks and cliffs. The Frenchies had to stay in the motel cuz it was hot and their legs were too short to climb the rocks. I saw some huge deer and even saw some prairie dogs. They don't look like dogs to me!!!!
Finally, the show was over and we left. Little did I know that we were bringing my cousin, Tinman, only 5 months old, back with us. Soooo, the trip back was a BIG pain. Tinman got lots and lots of attention cuz he was the new kid. The Frenchies got lots and lots of attention cuz they had HUGE ribbons from the show. I got NO attention at all, what a boring trip it was. But... I still got to sleep on the bed every night, and Mom bought me a new collar to add to my collection!!!!!!!!! And, I didn't get carsick anymore at all.