MY PUPPY DAYS ARE SO BUSY

My days have become filled with many of my assigned duties so I have a tough time getting in all of my important naps.

I sleep in this position a lot when the curtains behind me are open so I can keep an open eye on everything going on in the back yard. Boy, my days can be so difficult!

Then I sleep this way when M.O.M. and M.O.D. are in the kitchen cooking up something and I always hope there is something for me. And if there isn't then I can get in a few extra winks of sleep. Oh my life is so tough!

But this is my most important duty in my life. I can sit here in the living room and look right out the front windows looking out onto the road and at the same time I can see what is happening near my kennel in the side yard. It is very important that I keep track of all the animals and people that walk down our road. I do get a little excited when the flock of turkeys come near but they no longer come in our front yard ever since I moved in here. I think I am glad because a few of them are very large and I think they would get the best of me it they had the chance.

M.O.M. and I went on a nice long walk down our road today. I was allowed to use the retractable leash that let's me run up to 20 feet ahead of M.O.M. I am on a leash these days because M.O.M. and M.O.D. don't like the way I have been acting when I am without my leash. I think my training kind of faded from my memory because M.O.M. was sick for 2 weeks and we didn't get outside for many long walks during that time.

But they are not allowing me to use that excuse to run like crazy through the neighbors yards, under the wire fences to run in the pastures or after a dog that comes up to their fence. They do let me run fast until I reach the end of the leash so it is still fun. But M.O.M. gets upset because I never remember where the end of the leash is and sometimes I am going so fast that when the end of the leash comes it makes me do a flip. It doesn't really hurt me much but M.O.M. is afraid it will hurt my neck muscles and bones.

So that is one of the reasons M.O.M. bought me the "halter" style of leash. Instead of fitting around my neck and pulling on my neck it goes gently around my nose just below my eyes. And I learned very quickly how to use it and how gentle it is. And I can't believe how different I act when I am wearing the "halter". I find myself walking quietly beside M.O.M. and enjoying the view as we walk along. And because I am strolling instead of always running, I have been able to see lot of eagles and hawks and black birds flying in the sky. Wow, this is great!

I HAVE A NEW JOB

I have found myself a very important job lately. M.O.M. has a very bad cold and has been sick for almost a week and finally feels good enough to be in the living room for a bit.
So I decided that I had better get on the couch with her so I could keep an eye on her while she is resting. I don't think she really knows I am here yet but I am sure she will. M.O.D. has let me sleep on the foot of the bed during the day when M.O.M. has been in the bedroom during the day. I do like to think that I am helping her to get better.

IT IS TOO COLD OUTSIDE!

I thought I could get up on the couch before M.O.M. saw me but she even caught me on film! I can't seem to get away with very much around here.

But it's real easy to make M.O.M. and M.O.D. smile. All I have to do is do one of the tricks I have learned and of course look real sweet when I do it.

This is the cozy warm bedding I have in my little kennel. I don't spend very much time in it because the temperature has been below zero. I do have a wonderful warm dog house over in the corner but I don't spend much time in it as I am always interested in what's going on in the neighborhood. And I can sit on top of my doghouse and watch my best friend dog friends just across the fence from my kennel so we visit every chance we can. M.O.M. has said that all three of us are going to go one walks in the woods together this summer. What fun that will be!

REHAB ISN'T MUCH FUN FOR PUPPIES

Yesterday I was very excited about running out the back door and down the steps to my kennel. But I was running to fast and when my little feet hit the ice in front of my kennel gate I fell very hard on my left hip. It made me cry out a bit. M.O.M. came to me quickly and made me feel better, but she noticed today that I am stiff and soar and even carrying my left leg a bit.

So she and M.O.D. decided today that I had better stay inside as much as possible to help me heal better. But because I am really still a puppy I tried many times to convince M.O.M. that I needed to go out to my kennel or even a real fun walk.
I tried to get her attention at the front door.....She just gave me that look
So I tried the back door....Gosh, she still has that look!
So I tried the front door again but this time I gave her my sweet face as best I could. My gosh! There's that look again!! Darn
Yes, I did try the back door again. No, that didn't work for me this time either!

So I finally decided that M.O.M. isn't going to let me fool around today. So I will just lay here and pout for awhile and maybe she will feel sorry for me.

Hmmm, several minutes have passed and this pouting thing doesn't seem to be working for me!

Boy, she's tough! Hopefully she will take me out for a walk later today when it warms up a bit. I will even wear my new halter leash if she will take me out! I will try to look real cute whenever she is around. Maybe that will help.

TODAY WAS A REAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

My M.O.M. figured out a real easy way to teach me to bow on command using the clicker method of training. She noticed that I liked to do this type of action when I was playing with my ball so she rolled my ball under the chest that you see in the background in this photo. Of course one of my favorite things to do is to roll my ball under there then try to get it out. So she rolled the ball under the chest then kept saying "Get the ball!" and when I got into this position she clicked the clicker and gave me a treat. It didn't take me very long to catch on to the idea so pretty soon I was doing it in the middle of the living room. And I don't even need a ball to do the bowing. M.O.M. is starting to replace the word ball with bow and I didn't even notice the difference...I just know I get a treat and lot's of praise when I do bow for her. So I now have one more trick to add to my routine. Gosh this is fun.

M.O.M. and I went into our favorite farm store today and I thought it was to purchase more of my wonderful treats. But after choosing my treats we ventured down another aisle that had many styles and colors of leashes and collars for dogs of every size.

M.O.M. did a lot of looking as though she couldn't find just the right item. Just as we were starting to leave she spotted what she was looking for high up on a shelf. I wasn't sure just what this thing was but we took it and my treats to the register when the clerks came out and gave me my usual treats. Have I said I love this place??

When we were back in our truck M.O.M. open the shopping bag and brought out the item she had purchased. She held it up so I could smell it and then she gently placed it around my nose. This upset me a bit and I tried very hard to get this thing off my little nose. But I couldn't get it off and M.O.M. continued to speak gently to me. I didn't like it because it felt so strange but I sat quietly as M.O.M. adjusted it on me. She left it on me for just a few moments then returned it to the shopping bag so we could head home.

M.O.M. waited till the next day before placing this strange thing on me again. This time we ventured outside while I was wearing it. Of course I tried real hard to wiggle out of it but it just wouldn't come off. M.O.M. was speaking to me in her gentle voice so I decided to just stay close to her left leg and maybe I would be all right.

We did take a nice walk down our road and I must say it was kind of fun just to walk quietly beside her as we enjoyed the warm sun. I even learned that I could still sit down when I was told with this strange thing on my face. It was several yards down the road when I realized I was walking with my M.O.M. without ever feeling any pulling or tugging on my little neck. I think I kind of like this new type of collar.

I WILL EXPLAIN MY TRAINING METHOD

As I have told you earlier, I have started my training sessions with my M.O.M. and M.O.D. I must say it is a very enjoyable time for me. M.O.M. has been studying a method of training that she has never used before but seems extremely happy with.

It is called "The Clicker Method." It has been around since the early 1990's and is a 'hands off' approach to training. And it has been used successfully on whales, dolphins, horses, cats, rats, and many other type of creatures.

The basic idea is when M.O.M. sees me do an action she wants me to do on command she presses the clicker and gives me a special treat. It is a very small piece of a treat so it always tastes so good when I earn it!
These are the two clickers my M.O.M. uses during our training sessions. The purple one is used inside our house and my M.O.M. wears it around her neck on a special strap so it is always available when I do something the way she wants. There are also special treats in her pocket...I can usually smell those when I am near her!

The pink clicker is used for outside training as it makes a louder sound so I can hear it over the bird sounds and any cars passing by. M.O.M. does try to make things very easy for me to learn. In the following picture I am doing the very first lesson I learned with these wonderful, kind method.

In the above picture my M.O.M. has called me to her and I came and sat in front of her. I am learning now to stay sitting for longer periods of time. M.O.M. is very good about not making me wait to long until I really understand what she wants. By the end of the first day I already knew what M.O.M. wanted me to do! And when I was learning this process my M.O.M. never even touched me...not even to get me to sit down in front of her! So now when M.O.M. wants me she calls my name and says "come" and when I get to her she says "sit" and I sit real cute and then she rewards me. I don't even realize that I am performing 2 different tricks for her and it's fun. I am enjoying this training method.

And this method of training makes it very easy for M.O.D. to get me to do the very same tricks M.O.M. has taught me as I am also now learning the voice commands that go along with each action I am performing.

My M.O.M. has noticed that I like to use my front feet a lot when I am playing. So when she saw me do the action she wanted she would give me a click and a treat and pretty soon all she has to say to me is "Give me five!" Every once in a while I would forget and try to give her "ten" so that may be the next cue! So I am learning a lot of fun things without any raised voices or leashes or even a collar pulled. Amazing. I do know I am so lucky to have found this wonderful family to adopt.

And today I am 6 months old. Happy 6 months to me!!!!

I will let you know what my next trick is when I have mastered it enough to show off for you.

CAN WE GO FOR A WALK TODAY?

The weather has warmed up just a bit... in the 20's... so M.O.M. and I decided to go out for a walk on our street. I was very excited because I haven't been out for a good run in a few days.

But our street is still covered with a heavy layer of ice and I had a real hard time keeping my feet under me. We didn't go very far as neither one of us could walk very well and the ice had no sand on it to help us with traction. So we returned home and will try to get out for a walk later this afternoon.

Waiting till the afternoon didn't improve things even though the sun was shinning. Our road looks like it is paved but it is not. This is the thick ice without a bit of sand to help us walk. So once again we returned home to the safety of our cozy home.

M.O.M. has started my training and she and M.O.D. took pictures of me as I was working on my training this evening. So pictures of my activities will be posted on my website tomorrow.

BOY AM I STYLIN!

I have got to be the BEST DRESSED puppy in the neighborhood.

This little sweater sure helped me keep warmer when the temperature was down below zero. It was actually 17 degrees below zero twice last week. But today we are getting a lot of rain. So now I need to get M.O.D. and M.O.M. to find me a waterproof cover thing.

I sure love this life.

We haven not been venturing out for very long periods of time lately because there is so much snow and it is hard for me to get through it. I try to use my cute pointed nose to push some of it out of the way but there is just to much! And our road is so thick with ice that sometimes all four of my feet are going different directions at once. I know it must be a comical site as I see M.O.D. and M.O.M. smiling.

Because of the conditions outside, M.O.D. and M.O.M. have been spending quite a bit of time with me inside our house throwing all of my fun different size balls for me to chase. And I have taught myself that after I catch up to the ball that if I take it back to one of them they will throw it for me again!

Cool trick isn't it?!

M.O.M. and I are still working on my training. This week I learned to come and sit in front of M.O.M. when she calls my name. Now I am trying to learn to stay sitting until she tells me I can move. I noticed she does not make me wait to long so it has been pretty easy so far. Of course, I caught on real quick that if I did what she asked I was given a yummy reward. I hope she teaches me a lot more because not only do the treats taste wonderful but M.O.M. sounds so very happy when I do it right and I get hugs, pats and kind words along with a treat.

I THINK I HAVE GROWN A BIT

The above photo on the left was taken of me on November 23rd and the one on the right was taken today...January 5th. I think I can tell that I have grown a bit between pictures. When M.O.M. put my own special backpack on me she had to let the strap out a bit that goes around my chest area. So I think I am growing. I have been earning a lot of delicious snacks lately as M.O.M. has started my training and I get lot's of rewards as I always try to do what she asks of me! So that too could be the reason my pack is fitting differently!

We have had a lot of fresh snow today and the wind blew so hard that I was sure my wonderful kennel was going to loose it's roof but everything held through the storm.

After the storm was over M.O.M. took me outside and we went on my favorite trail around our big yard but it was very difficult to find it as the wind had buried my trail with fresh snow. M.O.M. and I walked the trail several times to push the snow down (well. at least M.O.M. did!) so by the time we were done I could run like the wind on my trail again.

NEW NAMES AT LAST

I have been puzzling over the names I have been calling my people. It just doesn't sound right that I simply call them "My People", "My Man, and "My Lady" so I have decided on new names for them. My man will from now on be called "M.O.D." and my lady will be known as "M.O.M."

And as you have probably guessed, "M.O.D." stands for "My Other Dad" and "M.O.M. " of course stands for "My Other Mom". I do remember a few things about my mom and I have been told that my real dad was a traveling man. So I think mom would approve with these names for my new people.

So please try to not be confused when you see this names used in my life journal.

The sky was full of bright warm sunshine for the last 2 days so I was allowed to spend lot's of time out in my large kennel. I played, I chewed on my chew sticks, and of course I laid in the sun and took several naps. I could see M.O.D. and M.O.M. look out the glass slider checking up on me many times and that made me feel good.

M.O.M. has started my training and today I learned about sitting. Gosh, this was easy. I figured out pretty quickly that when I sat down in front of M.O.M. I was given a delicious treat. I would continue to sit all day if it meant I could get yummy treats!
M.O.D. treated M.O.M to breakfast at the Trapper Cafe in town this morning and I got to go with them. Well, I didn't get to go inside for breakfast with them but they made sure I had a wonderful chew stick to keep me busy. And as you can see, they gave me my own special traveling blanket to help keep me comfortable and warm. There were many times when I had to stand up and check on the dogs in other cars to make sure they were okay like I was. They too seemed to be worried a bit about their people as they stood and watched the Cafe door a lot.