The trouble with training...

The trouble with training is that my person doesn't only do it with ME!

Here are some of the other Dogs my person does the game called training with. This is Baggins. My person thinks he looks like Elvis with his bare, hairy chest. Who's Elvis?

Hannah.

 

And Cletus.

They are being Good Dogs for Christmas, and are being very patient while the people stick funny things on their heads.

And what was I doing while my person was playing with other Dogs?

I was being Good Dog too. I was waiting with Momma C. I really, really wanted my person to come over and pet me, or train with me, or anything...  PLEASE....??

Momma C and I waited and waited and waited...
I'm glad she was there waiting with me. Also she had treats. And also my littlest person was there too. Also with treats. But still - shouldn't we all be together?

And then finally it was my turn to play and train with my person. No silly pictures for me this time though. Whew.

I think all this waiting politely means I was a Good Dog for Santa, don't you?

Summer Dog Park Party

Tonight was a party at my Dog Park!

This is my friend Charlie. He loves his ball. He loves little kids even more than he loves his ball. And he loves back scratches even more than that. Charlie is a very happy dog.

Charlie lives with Coco.

I like Coco because she lets me chase while she fetches.

Here is Lambic. I like her too because she also lets me chase while she fetches.

There was food at the party. My good friend Rosie was so excited by the food that she didn't want to play with me. That was okay tonight because there were many other dogs there to play with, but next time I hope she chooses to play with me instead.

And here is me.

Both my people came with me to the Park tonight! This is not usual.

Here I am with Momma C. For some reason this funny thing always happens when Momma C is around. At first I didn't like it, but now I don't mind it. It's just Momma C being silly.

After Park we walked home together. I practiced Heel. I was Very Good Dog. I stayed very close to my people.

We're almost home! Momma B, why do you keep playing with that silly big black eye thing? Can we Walk now?

Yay, we're home. I love Home.

Everybody and Their Dog Walk

Today we went to the Everybody and Their Dog Walk.
Everydog and Their People were there.

This was much better than previous times.

Last year Nature was making rain-wind-cold. I was mud-dog. There was even too much rain for me, and Momma B and I decided to leave as soon as we could.

Two years ago I had to go on the Walk without Momma B. This was very upsetting. I ran away from Momma C because it's no good when our family isn't together. I ran back a long long way to find Momma B. Momma C felt very worried when she thought I was lost, and then the people called me Bad Dog.

Three years ago Nature was making Hot. I went in a Tricks contest with Momma B and we won third place for me doing Weave between her legs. That was kind of fun, but then I ate the toy they gave me for being such a clever dog and then I was Bad Dog again. Also there was a very large brown furry thing called "mascot" that kept chasing me around. Mascot was very scary and I had to make big barks to defend myself.

This year was better. Nature was making wind-clouds-sun. It was not too cold for the people, not too hot for me. There was a spot just for us. Momma B asked me to do Down and I did and I stayed there beside her. She fed me food and I was Good Dog.

Then suddenly I found Momma C and my littlest person! This was very exciting because I thought we had left them at home.

We all went on a long walk together with many other people and dogs. My littlest person got tired, so Momma B and I went ahead to find her something to eat and to get back to our chair and our patch of grass.

When we got back I discovered all sorts of amazing things had happened while I was gone.

First of all, person-who-sometimes-stays-and-takes-me-on-fun-walks was there! She is very calm and gives me lots of yummy food and takes me to lots of fun places. I was very happy to see her and I did body-wiggle against her legs.

And then something even more amazing... Simon had appeared while I was gone!

We did run-chase-play until the people decided that we were going to knock over one of their funny things called "tents". Then Simon had to go back into his crate-den and I had to do Down beside Momma B. My littlest person came and sat with me.

I was mostly Good Dog after that, and so after a while Simon and I were allowed to go play together in the big empty space. This was so much fun!

This person is also named Trainer. Momma B asked her to do Pose for the Camera, so naturally I helped. I am good at doing Pose!

Now I am very, very tired. I think I will sleep until tomorrow. Or maybe just until Dinner...

Dear Moms

Dear Momma C,

Thank you for picking me out of all the cute puppies to come home with you and be your dog. Thank you for playing games with me. Thank you for giving me eggs on my breakfast, and sometimes on my dinner too. Thank you for listening to me when I need you to stop the truck so I can get out and make my tummy feel better. Thank you for taking me to "office" every day so I don't have to stay at home alone. Thank you for cuddles and wrestles and play times.

Dear Momma B,

Thank you for taking me to beaches and parks and forests. Thank you for always trying to listen to me. Thank you for being my playmate in the snow. Thank you for explaining the world of people and their silly rules to me. Thank you for trying to understand how my nose works and taking me out to play sniffing games. Thank you for making sure I get out to run every day. Thank you for always carrying lamb and other yummy things in your pocket. Thank you for being my safe person.

Dear Doggy Mom,

I don't really remember you, except as a warm tongue and a safe smell. The people say your name was Shylo. Thank you for bringing me into the world. Thank you for taking care of me until my people came to find me. Thank you also for bringing Raven into the world. I hope you now have wonderful people like mine.

Happy Mother's Day!