Animal Sense training

Well, you know I don't need training, right? I mean, not really. I'm a good girl. I do have accidents in the house, and I misdirect aggression at my brother London sometimes when I am startled, but I'm really very good. Still, mom and dad couldn't pass up free Animal Sense lessons! They actually wound up being pretty fun for me, so I'm going to tell you about them.

First we met with two nice people: Jamie, who runs Animal Sense, and Amy, who was my personal trainer. London didn't bite either of them, which was nice of him. I didn't like that when I pawed at them for attention that they ignored me, but mom says I should be doing that less anyway. I barked at them until I ran out of energy and that was pretty fun.

The good thing about these new people is that they came with food. They fed me yummy things, and mom and dad got out the treats whenever they Amy came to visit. We practiced some of my new tricks. I knew sitting and down, but didn't know to look at my humans when they say "Watch me!" or to come running when I bark at the door and they say "What's that?" We also worked on "Stay", which I hate. I get excited, what can I say?

They also recommended I go to "Small Dog Play and Train" classes at Soggy Paws' North location. That was a great idea because each week I got hot dogs in exchange for tricks. I also made some doggy friends, and one of them was even my size and, um, "breed". (Sorta, mom says I am a "mutt", which she told me means I am "extra loveable")

We also learned that I'll do anything for a new fuzzy squeaky toy. I'll even jump over high poles and run through tunnels! I like the agility courses, if I'm in the mood. I'm a nimble little girl. London even jumped on top of a ramp to get a big piece of hot dog. Classes are really pretty fun, you know, even if I bark through most of the classes so the other dogs remember I'm there.

London and I both got toys at the end from our teacher, and we got certificates that mom and dad put on our fridge. Mom says they say we are "awesome canines". Well, no surprise there! Mine should be bigger than London's because he mostly hid during training time.

I'll write more later. I have to go hide somewhere safe because I think I heard thunder! Oh no!

Growl & Meow... Mmmmm

I have to tell you about some delicious treats that I recently tried. They're from Growl & Meow and Soggy Paws gave them to me as part of my win! I LIKE this prize. Mom and Dad told me they're called "Mangoberry Bites". Wow, I love the sweet fruity taste. They're much better than most dog biscuits, and I've tried a lot of different kinds.

I shouldn't tell you about the other Growl & Meow products because you might buy them and scrub your dog with them too, and we dogs don't like that so much. I mean, sure I like being clean afterwards but when I see my mom coming with a doggie cleaning product, I run for it! I don't want to be scrubbed, and your dog doesn't either. The foaming face wash is mom's favorite because when she rubs it on my face and then uses a washcloth to take it off, she says my face looks good as new.

(I have a lil head and I have to put it all the way into my food bowl in order to get any chow! It's not my fault that it gets dirty! Oh, and my eyes are too big for my head so my eyelids don't close over them and I get tear stains. Hmph. I'm still beautiful.)

London gets a flaky back because he has dry skin. Mom has been using the Mutt Moisturizer on him, and is delighted at the improvement in his skin.

We also have some Bowser Balm. My feet get awfully sore in the winter because of the bad salt that is put on the sidewalk in our neighborhood. I hope this stuff helps.

Oh! I almost forgot about the Doggie Detangler- grrrr it's my enemy. Oh wait, it does make brushing me a lot quicker and less painful. Maybe I don't hate it. I just hate being brushed! Yeah, that's it. So I guess if Doggie Detangler helps that be over quickly, then I like the stuff.

Oh, I have to go! Mom just put cut-up hot dogs in my chow to make it extra tasty and I don't want London to eat my share.

Dizzy Dogg Treats! Mmmm

(Hey look, I'm in the newspaper. That should happen more often!)

Oh man... you wanna know what's tasty? These Dizzy Dogg things we got last time I got groomed. I'm kind of annoyed that my mom and dad are keeping the basket of them on the table where I can't reach. I wouldn't eat them all at once. Just... most of them. Especially the Dizzy twists. Oh man. Mom told me to slow down and not try to eat the whole thing all at once but she clearly hasn't tasted these! And you know what else is tasty? The Nutra-tein crunchers. Mmm...you need to chew on one of those. I drool just thinking about them. Mom just moved the bag and I thought she was going to give me one. Noooo fair!

Mom told me they're a Chicago company. I said. "Well, I was born in Florida and then I moved to Rhode Island. Now I'm in Chicago. Where should I be loyal to?" She said I didn't have to pick. Florida's pretty warm though, which I love.

I am in training now so I am supposed to be polite and "give back" for my rewards. So thank you to Soggy Paws and Dizzy Dogg for giving us these.

Now can I have another? I'm a skinny dog, what's the harm?

Animal Sense Training Day

first of all, i need to say how happy i am about the news that Nina got adopted! both London and i are thrilled that she has a new forever home. we know first hand how much happier and stable we felt once we got ours. all dogs deserve a forever home.

ok, so, today was my training consultation with Jamie (and Amy) from Animal Sense. *blush* i hate to admit this, but i've never really been properly house broken. and i hate Chicago's cold, windy weather which makes learning to go on proper walks hard for me. i'd much rather do my business inside where it is warm like the people do! and i still bark at noises outside the door an awful lot.

now my house has wee-wee pads everywhere and mommy and daddy walk out of the room every time i bark at noises! it is kind of shocking. but i think i'll learn quick.

i also got signed up to go to a small dog play-n-training class which i'm looking forward to very much. before we got adopted we never got to meet other dogs and now we aren't socialized. i play a bit too rough sometimes with other little dogs. so we're going to class to learn to be good friends! we're excited.

Jamie had come to visit a long time ago to help London stop being such a tweak, and she said that he'd made a lot of progress. i hope i learn fast too!

in a bit mommy is going to post a scan of the picture of me that was in Chicagoland Tails last month. i'm famous!

more attention!

on Saturday (Caturday, feh!) i had to go to the vet again! the icky medicine for the sores in my mouth didn't make them go completely away, so we had to go back so the man could look again and see if they were OK. he said that for now we're going to "observe" them (i'm not sure how they expect me to see inside my own mouth).

oh, and i failed a test! (*blush*) so that meant i had to get a shot, too. a vaccine for my temper. no, that's not it. for this temper. no, Daddy says its called distemper. i guess that was OK. it made me sleepy.

Mommy has been helping me practice all my exercises at home. she puts things on the floor and makes me go round and round to get cookies. sometimes i get dizzy and excited and i just want the cookie now! i sure hope the exercises work and make me stronger, cause they're tricky!

Mommy also says i'm getting a new collar soon. my pretty red one with the stars is getting worn out. i don't want to lose my tags!

i'm so glad that it is slowly starting to warm up outside. i hate the cold so much. c'mon sun! shine!

Integrative Pet Care

I tell you, my schedule is so busy these days. It's nice to get out and let people everywhere see my lovely haircut. I was back at Soggy Paws for a trim the other day! Gotta keep that fur out of my eyes so they don't get goopy :) It was okay though because after my stylists were done bathing away my itchies Mom and Dad gave me a doggie truffle. Mom threatened to eat it on me because it smelled so good! She gets enough treats, I think!

Anyway, yesterday we went back to Integrative Pet Care to learn some exercises. As I mentioned before, the people there say I am "cow hocked" and that means I put too much weight on my front paws. They also said, um, wait let me have mom type it... I have "luxating patellas". Oh, that means that my back legs don't always stay in place. To keep from needing surgery at some point we need to do exercises! Good thing they're fun.

I barked at Dr. Mayer's dog and I got yummy treats just for playing. I got to run around cones (I am so good at agility) and jump over little polls. The nice lady and mom and dad all kept saying I was cheating with the polls by not using my back legs right. I can't help it if I found a better way to do it! They said I need to do it the hard way to build up strength in my back legs.

I also stood on a funny device that was wobbly and rubber! The nice lady gave me a massage the whole time and that was nice. She could have done that all day if you ask me. She also warmed up my legs and gave them nice massages. I showed her how well I can sit and lie down for treats
, but she said for a while I need to earn my treats by chasing them in small circles. People are funny.

Mom and dad already made me play for my treats this morning! Mom had me running around her legs in an "8" pattern. I didn't tell her how much fun it was so she'd still give me the treat! London wanted to try, so he got a turn too.

minty fresh

On Thursday I went back to the vet's office, but not for another check-up. No, this time it was different. Now, the truth is, I don't really know what they did, because I slept through the whole thing, but Mommy and Daddy say that I had special people to help me sleep through it all, I got my nails trimmed, and all my teeth were carefully examined and cleaned. Someone finally found the little sores in my mouth that my crooked teeth were making! So Mommy and Daddy are sneaking me medicine hidden in penabuderonastick treats. They think I don't know, but I want them to be happy, so I take it. Plus, penabuder is fun to try to eat.

My mouth feels lots better and my breath is a lot better, too *blush*. But now I have two funny little bald patches on my legs. I hope they grow in fast, they look funny!