Homework???!!!??

Good evening all!

I finally found some time that my mom and I were both awake and not consumed with many other things that we should be doing.  The phrase "dog days" didn't start for no reason you know!

Let me start by giving you all a dog school update.  I LOVE school!! My mom has been wavering about whether we should continue to attend dog school or not.  I get it takes up time, but I think it's great.  So in order to convince my mom it's a good thing, I have been paying super close attention to my four-legged classmates and trying to catch on as quickly as I can. 

I am enrolled in 2 different classes on 2 different days.  What's the big deal about that you ask?  I get to go for a car ride to school 2 days a week!!! I LOVE riding in the car.  My mom has been talking to me about the possibility of us getting a new car.  I have been pushing for a convertible.  I can just picture myself driving into school during the spring months with the top down, my hair blowing in the breeze.  It would be awesome!! and I, would continue to be the envy of all the other four-leggeds at school! I think I almost have mom talked into it, but we'll see. Anyway, back to my school progress. 

On Tuesdays I am taking an advanced rally obedience course.  This is a class where my mom has to read a command on a sign along a course and then tell me what I am supposed to do so that I can get the maximum number of points.  There are a lot of new signs, according to my mom, and well she is having a hard time understanding them all and the best way to tell me how to do my part.  I am sure my mom will get her part down with practice.  I have been paying super close attention to my classmates though, and really picking up on what it is their owners want them to do.  So when it gets to be my turn to be in the ring with mom and "run the course", I have been copying what I saw my dog friends doing.  My mom has been giving me looks of shock that I knew what to do!  My mom told me that I have been doing so well that she has entered me into a advanced rally trial in April.  I am so excited to try to win more ribbons, toys, and get more diplomas!!  I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

On Thursdays, I am taking a beginner agility class.  Yes, this is the 3rd time I have taken this specific class, but my mom has been really cool about letting me get comfortable with the agility equipment at my own pace.  I have been fearless with all of the contact equipment pieces: dog walk, A-frame, and yes even the teeter-totter!  I have been a true leader with my classmates in agility.  Taking it during the morning hours has been so much better for me, I don't feel as tired or worn out!  I have been getting a little crazy and out of control at the end of the class meetings, and my teacher Ms. Dovie gave my mom some ideas on how to help me learn to increase my endurance during agility.  We have been getting after our homework, and I hope it pays off.  I think my mom is going to enter me into my first agility trial at the end of March.  I am so excited that she finally bought a set of weave poles to have at home, to really get me comfortable with them!

So on the whole dog school is going GREAT!  I have been resisting doing some of my homework at home, because I have been doing so great at school.  But...my mom is trying to teach me the fact that the more I do it, the more confident and comfortable I will become when I have to compete with other four-leggeds.

I will do my best to try to keep timely updates of what's going on! My mom has been pretty busy with work lately, and has had to travel a lot lately.  So although I know you all would like more frequent updates, I try to spend as much time playing with toys with mom rather than always bugging her to get a blog entry up!

Until my next entry....keep those tails wagging!!!

Winter Vacation is Over...

My apologizes that it has been so long since my last entry.  Mom and I took a real vacation, and goofed off for our winter vacation.  Yesterday I started back to dog school.  I have both my Rally Obedience class and Beginning Agility class in the morning, so I hope I can pay better attention and not get so tired during class. 

I will begin this story by sharing with you what I did while I stayed in Florida.  When mom told me that we were going to Gramma and Granddads house I got very confused.  Once we got out of the car and got settled in, I realized that the whole family was there.  Gramma, Granddad, my Uncle Orion, Aunt Hannah, and Aunt Girl (the 3 cats) were all hanging out at this new Gramma and Granddad's place.  It was Christmas time.  For Christmas, mom and I usually hang out and play and open presents.  This year, I had time to open presents, nap and play with my 2-legged cousins, Jason, Megan and Nicole.  I also got to see my 2-legged Aunt Jamie and Uncle Tim.  As you can tell from some of the pictures I did a great job of getting some presents with my name on them open.   So glad mom has me in Rally obedience so that I have learned how to read some things to know which packages are mine.

After any good physical effort, it's always good to take a rest.  It was quite warm in Florida.  Mom said that one day the temperature was like 80 degrees.  I liked the fact that Gramma and Granddads floor was made of a cool tile.  It really helped to keep me cool with all this fur.

My mom and I had our own room.  I was a cool nephew and would let my uncle orion hang out on my bed with me for some rest time.  I, of course, would help him wash his face.  We had loads of fun exploring Gramma and Granddads new place.

Mom, or Gramma, would take me on a walk around the neighborhood a couple times a day.  Mom got this great photo of me in front of an aloe plant.  She tried to convince me I wanted to go exploring the beach and ocean some more, but I could hear it from where this photo was taken and convinced her it was not a good idea.

I loved when my cousin Jason would come over.  We have some great games that just he and I play.  He really gets me.  I think it's because we are so close in age.  He's only a year older than me, so we both play like 5-year old boys. 

Jason even had to stop from time to time to do something more low key than running and playing and chasing a ball.  I had fun watching Jason play slingshot cowboy on mom's iPad. I tried to tell him how to get the iPad to my blog, but Jason said his game was more fun at that moment.  Jason really wants a dog of his own, but I was happy to keep him company and play with him while I was in Florida.

Before I knew it, mom said it was time for an airplane ride to get back to my house in Oklahoma.  Mom bought me, what she kept calling my airplane suitcase, I had no idea what she was talking about.  She would have me go in it from time to time and I thought it was a game.  Then on December 29th, I was in my airplane suitcase on top of mom's suitcase.  Needless to say, I was a little unsure as to what was going on, but I made the most of it and tried to take in all the sights and smells.  First, we arrived at the airport  Mom said she had to check her suitcase so that she didn't have to carry it and me onto the airplane.  I was a little relieved that I wasn't getting "checked" as well, since I didn't really know what that meant.

 I hung out on the counter while mom talked to the clerk about my papers and that I would be flying with her.  The clerk of course told me how cute I was, and that I looked so adorable in my airplane suitcase.

Once mom and I went through security, she got to take me out of the airplane suitcase and carry me through this funny looking metal contraption, we hung out in a waiting area.  There weren't many people around, so mom let me pop my head out of the airplane suitcase.  As you can tell, I was liking the adventure.  We had many adults and kids come up to us and want to pet me, and have my mom tell them all about me.  I was a star.  Everyone seemed to ask whether I would bark on the plane or not.  Not sure why they would ask that, what would I need to bark at?  I guess I would find out once I got on the airplane.  Then before I knew it, mom said time to get on the airplane.

 I know the angle of this picture is a little weird, but you should have had my view point of what it was like to be under an airplane seat.  Mom got me an airplane suitcase that fit just right under the seat.  The silver portion at the top of the screen is the barrier between the aisle and the seats.  It was cozy enough.  Mom says I slept most of the airplane ride.  The pilot came on just as we were about to take off and said that they were going to make us wait 15-minutes before we could take off.  It was the one and only time I barked on the plane.  It made all the people around me laugh.  I'm always good for some entertainment.

 Once the plane landed, mom said that we were in Atlanta and had a couple of hours to wait before we went on another and the last plane ride to Tulsa.  Mom got out a pee pad for me in the airport and we tried to tuck away in a back corner so I could have some privacy.  As many of you read my blog regularly know, I love people and people watching, so I didn't need to do my business if you know what I mean, but it did feel good to stretch my legs for a little bit.  Mom had gotten herself a cheeseburger and shared it with me.  So after stretching my legs and getting some food and water, I was ready for a the next trip.

 We went down to where we would get on our plane, and mom let me hang my head out again.  I did just to let her know that I was too sleepy to be social, so I laid down in my open suitcase and tried to rest and take a nap.

Before I knew it, we were on the plane and on our way home.  There wasn't anyone sitting next to mom on this airplane ride so once we got to a safe height  mom put my airplane suitcase in the seat next to her.  I didn't really stick my head out too much, I was content resting and taking it easy.  I was glad to get back to my house, but really had a fun adventure.

The spring session of dog school has started.  Mom has me taking 2 classes again. I really want to overcome my fear about the teeter totter and try to stay focused on mom during my Rally classes.  Mom is saying that I may get to go to a competition in agility in March, but it depends if I can overcome the teeter totter or not.

Road Trip!!!!

It's Christmas time, which means mom and I will be in Florida to celebrate with the family. Mom and I headed out very early Monday morning to start the drive from Tulsa to Melbourne, Florida. I made this drive before with mom and gramma over the summer, so I was prepared. We took Granddad's car! Granddad has a flashy red car, and I thought it suited me quite well. Mom loaded up my car seat, and even got me an extra dog bed so I could try to rest and relax during the journey. I did my best to rest, but well I know it's a dog's job to keep an eye on mom, so I did my best to do that too! It took a total of 22 hours in the car. Mom and I tried to stop at least once every 3 hours unless "nature called," if you know what I mean...Mom did her best to take some pictures of my adventure on the road. So here's all that I can recall:

As you can tell from this picture, I was in great spirits and really up for the journey. I am such a great companion. Recently, my mom has been quite busy with work so I was really excited to get to spend some time with her!!

Mom hit a part of the trip after Memphis Tennessee and before Birmingham Alabama where the road was pretty straight and simple to follow. She stated that even "I" could drive it. So I offered to take 2nd shift on the driving. I think it lasted like 20 minutes, I was wiped out!!

Okay, so I know in this picture it looks like I'm sleeping, but I'm not was just giving my eyes a chance to take a short break during the long trip. I kept a good lookout. When we got to Montgomery Alabama there was a wreck of some sort on 85 South. We had terrible timing, or maybe it was awesome timing for me, as we got to see 10 policemen head towards an accident that was in front of us while we hung out in the car. Now the really cool part about this for me, is the fact that 7 of those policemen were on motorcycles!!! I love motorcycles. Once we got to rolling again, I hung my head out the window and was commenting that I liked their motorcycles, mom told me to stop barking and then rolled my window up. I just grinned.

When we finally checked into the hotel, a Days Inn in Dothan, Alabama. It's pronounced (Doe than, with a long O sound), mom double checked because Pat was doubting her as she said the name of the destination.

I was stoked that the hotel had ESPNU so that mom and I could catch the 2nd half of the KU basketball game!

I was amped up and ready to go this morning! Mom was lolly-gagging around, and I just wanted to hit the road, and get the road trip done. So I hopped in the car, and mom went to turn in the room key. I tried to stare her down to get her to move quicker, but instead she snaps this photo. But as I said earlier, I have to say I looked pretty stylish in granddads ride!!

This morning mom met up with another KU Jayhawks, Carla! You know Jayhawks always stick together, and once a jayhawk always a jayhawk. Carla lives in Tallahassee, Florida. She works at Florida State University. Carla told my mom about a cool park: Maclay Park and Gardens. There was a cool recreation area. There wasn't anyone around, so mom let me off my leash and I got to run around and play for a little while. It was good to work the stiffness out of my legs. Mom took a video, but not sure how to upload that to my blog right now. I'll work on it.

Once I ran around a little bit, mom and I walked down towards the water. There was a beach-like area. I remember not liking the beach too much last time I was in Florida, but mom encouraged me to check it out and give it a try. Since there weren't any other two-leggeds or four-leggeds around I figured "why not"?

There appeared to be some seaweed on the beach, but later mom told me that it was the trees shedding some funky looking leaves.

I checked out the water a couple of times. Carla later told me that there are real live gators in them there waters. So gratefuly I didn't meet one of those nose to nose if you know what I mean!!

I got to meet mom's friend Carla. She of course thought I was adorable! I think we took a really cute picture. It was really nice to hang out with a fellow Jayhawk. Especially after the basektball loss last night to Davidson. She was a really great host and brought my mom some tea and a bagel from Panera. My mom was nice enough to give me a taste of her left over cream cheese. We had fun hanging out in the garden area, even though the sign said no pets allowed. I tried to point out the sign to my mom, but she ignored me...it was a very pretty garden. My gramma would probably like going there.

After all the excitment at the park, I have to admit that I was feeling exhausted! So I decided to catch a dog nap. I had a tough time getting everything in just the right place so that my head didn't get bounced around when we hit bumps in the road. I have to say that granddad's car really rides pretty smooth.

Mom was nice enough to wake me up a little before getting to Gramma and Granddads house so that I could look awake and alert. I'm sure that I will sleep well tonight. Mom says that I get to ride in a plane on the way home in a little over a week. I am a little nervous about that, but for right now I am going to keep sending good vibes to Santa Claus so that maybe I'll get some of the things on my wish list. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!! (my mom does too)

Weekend of Tests!!!

Wow, it has been a super crazy week!  First things first...my mom had to go out of town for business and my gramma and granddad are in Florida so I had to spend 3 days at the Doggie Hotel (mom calls it woodland west).  I really am not a fan of the Doggie Hotel, but try to be understanding that mom has to leave to work sometimes so that she can make money so I can get treats, cool stuff, and go to dog school.  Mom told me that she has to go out of town next week too and I started to panic, but then she said that Gramma and Granddad would be home from their trip so I can stay with them.  PHEW!!

Well mom got back to town on Wednesday and picked me up as early as she could...I had about 2 hours before it was time to go to dog school for my agility class.  I really wasn't feeling like myself and was still a little stressed out and tired.  When mom wanted me to go across the Teeter Totter I panicked!  It was like the first day of Agility class with the teeter at full height.  I was all over the place in the ring, and I could tell that mom was tired for all the driving that she had to do as well.  Needless to say...dog school did not go well.

I was glad mom went back to work on Thursday, I needed the day to be at home in the nice quiet environment so that I could catch up on my sleep.

Well Saturday morning, mom and I got up.  I was surprised mom wasn't getting all her running stuff on.  Then she breaks the news to me, that I was going to have to take my Rally test that morning.  I tried to keep my cool.  Mom said that I probably wouldn't do well because we haven't been doing my homework like we really should.  Well we got to school and there was a sign on the course that neither my mom nor I had ever seen  before.  Mom told me just to stay cool and have fun.  So I did... Well turns out I squeaked out a 75.  I know that doesn't sound like a great score, but technically it's a passing score. Mom was thrilled and I thought good job me!!

Then today came...mom woke up and started telling me I needed to "be the teeter".  I was kinda freaked out again about the teeter totter.  We got to school and I made the rounds saying hi to all my two-legged and four-legged friends.  Before I knew it was my turn!!  Mom had my friend Zoe's mom take a video.  You can see that video here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfFlHxw1Egc

You can see that I was still a little skeptical about the teeter totter.  So mom says that I get to do beginner agility again.  My teacher Ms. Jonnie told me that I could go on to novice agility, but mom thinks I need to continue to build my confidence and get over my fear of the teeter totter.

Here's me going over the teeter totter while on my leash, after my test was finished:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znWyu16J5HQ

Two tests in one weekend...I'm ready for mom to go to work tomorrow so I can recover.

Boca II CD RN

Hey all!

I did it! I earned another diploma/title. I competed in my 2nd and 3rd trial in novice rally on Friday October 28th. Mom was nice enough to take the day off of work so that we could compete. I was excited because mom told me that the trial was going to take place at my very own do school!

During the first trial. I was all calm cool and collected before going into the ring. However, as soon as mom told me to heel I got a little excited and took off a little too fast and mom had to talk loud at the first sign so I didn't miss it. Once we got through about half of the signs I settled down. I wound up getting a score of 90. Hey, it was an improvement from the 89 I got at the trial in Fayetteville.

Well mom and I took it easy before the second trial. Then when mom was walking the course she came back and told me that the course was a little tricky and that I better pay attention to her. Mom took me outside to play and run out some of my nervous energy before it was my turn to compete. When we got back inside mom told me a bunch of dogs had "nq" (non-qualified) because they missed a sign. Now as the four-legged it's not our fault if the two-legged missed the sign. But after getting too excited during the first trial I knew I better pay close attention. Mom and I took the ring for our second trial. We both did great. I didn't think mom missed any signs am she didnt seem frustrated so I figured all was well. Our score got posted and I got a 98!!! We watched the other dogs go and what do you know? I did well enough to get 3rd place!! Also by getting my 3rd score of 70 or better I earned an "RN" (rally novice) title. It's very exciting. I had a great time!

Mom says the next title that I will go for is in novice agility! Now that I am over my fear of the teeter totter I think that title will be in my near future.

Happy October!!

Hello everyone!!! I am so sorry that my mom hasn't updated my blog in over a month!!! I have been harping her about it, but she's been super busy with work. I hate when my mom has to work a whole lot, but it's what let me go to dog school and get treats and all that. I have so much to share I am not real sure where to start.  It's a good thing mom has remembered to take pictures of me and some of my cool happenings. I'll just upload those pictures and tell you about them.

 The weather has finally started to turn cooler, so I am able to spend more time outside and on longer walks with mom.  I am so glad it's almost winter time.  My mom says "yuck", but I say bring it on!  Well there was a 5K event that my Big Buddy Pat was running in, and mom wasn't just down the street, so I asked mom if I could go cheer him on.  She said sure why not.  So we headed out to the Corn Dog Classic 5K.

I found a prime spot, just by the corn dog stop.  Mom said that the runners had to stop and eat a corn dog before they could continue up the hill to the finish.  So I could smell the corn dogs and see the finish line.  I was the coolest cheerleader out there!  Then once my Big Buddy Pat went by I convinced mom that I needed to show the rest of the group how to finish strong.  So we darted up the hill and crossed the finish line!

I didn't get any special recognition or anything, but I made lots of people say "oh, what a cute dog".  Then Susan Westmoreland who runs with my mom saw me, and I turned on the charm, because she was enjoying a full sized corn dog that she got for finishing. 

It worked!!  I really appreciated her sharing with me.  I felt that I earned it.  Then as we were getting ready to head home, I felt that my legs were a little sore.  Mom always jokes about ice baths to help her muscles.  There just happened to be a pile of ice, so I took advantage.

It really does work!!  I didn't slow down or anything due to muscle soreness!

Anyway...it was loads of fun to go cheer on the runners!  Like I said earlier, mom has been pretty busy with work stuff.  So much so that she is working some on Saturdays and Sundays.  I asked if I could go with her a couple of weekends ago, and she said yes!

I like to hang out at mom's work.  She has a big window in her office and lots of people walk or ride by because it's right next to a dorm.

And when I'm there, I know I motivate and encourage mom to get her work done.  I think I look pretty good hanging out on a desk.

A couple of weekends ago, mom took me to Fayetteville Arkansas for my first trial in Rally obedience.  I liked riding in the car.  Mom said it took a little under 2 hours to get to the site.  It was in a barn-like atmosphere.  I was ready to rumble though after being in the car for so long.  We went in and set up my condo and checked in that I was ready to compete.

Mom and I then went out into a big yard area and ran and played and then crammed on the rally signs that were going to be on my test.  Then before we knew it was our turn to compete.  I did great.  Mom kinda got distracted on the first sign, but it was the first time for both of us, so I don't hold it against her.  I wound up with a score of 89 (if mom hadn't gotten distracted it would have been a 99).  This means that I got my first of 3 needed qualifying scores to get a Rally Diploma/Title.  I am going to be competing in 2 more trials at my dog school on Friday the 28th.  Wish me Luck!!

I am doing great in Agility!!  This past Wednesday night I went over the teeter totter at Full Height without my leash 2 times!!!  My mom has some videos of courses that I have been running while at school.  I am getting more confident with every class.  Conquering the teeter totter has been AWESOME!!!

My Mom is Finally Giving an Update!!!

First things first!! I finally got my very own diploma!!  It is an official document from the American Kennel Club stating that I met all of the requirements necessary to titled a "Companion Dog".  I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for this to come.  Now I just hope my mom finds a great frame to put it in so it can hang proudly in my room!  I enjoyed being able to take my diploma over to Gramma and Granddad's house and hear how proud of me they are.  Granddad even said that maybe he and Gramma would get a cool frame for it.  As long as one of the two-leggeds who's allowed to visit stores takes care of it, I will be a happy dog!

Now on to the not so fun stories.  I have been feeling a little under the weather lately.  I had a couple of days where I was really having a hard time breathing.  I went for about a week with very little energy, and was pretty happy sleeping all day.  Both my mom and grandparents felt that I was really acting different.  So mom made me constantly sit with her.  I couldn't seem to stop panting, and when I was breathing mom said it was really loud breathing.  So mom made me an appointment to see a v-e-t.  I am not sure why my mom spells that word, but that's what we call it a v-e-t.  I really don't like going to the v-e-t because when you're a dog and they take your temperature, do you know where they put the thermometer?  Well, I'm sure you can use your imagination, so it never starts out well.  Dr. spears checked me out, listened to my heart, looked at my teeth and told my mom that she couldn't pinpoint anything going on with me.  So she said they were going to do a dogogram.  I was like what the heck is a dogogram, but I was feeling pretty puny so I went with the vet techs and the vet to a back room.  I would tell you what all happens in that back room, but well...it's top secret, and I don't want to lose my membership in the cool dog club.  Well my v-e-t uses all the coolest technology so Dr. Spears pulled up my dogogram on the tv in the exam room.  It was pretty awesome to see that I'm as cool looking on the inside as I am on the outside.

Dr. Spears explained to my mom that I appeared to have stuff in my lungs.  She mentioned the possibility that I might have canine asthma.  Fancy words if you ask me, but no one did...I decided ot just chill out and relax while the doc went and got some meds I would take for a week or so, that would hopefully put a little spring back in my step.

I knew I'd be back to my old self soon.  As much as I hate going to the v-e-t, I was grateful my mom made the appointment for me, and that I was going to get some relief.  I had to take some prednisone and some meds to help me breathe a little better.  It took about 4 days but then I started to get some pep in my step.  It worked out well that I got a little under the weather during my fall break from dog school. 

My 2 week fall break went by very quickly!!  But, I have to say that I was so excited to go back to school this past Saturday.  I am taking an advanced Rally class on Saturday morning and then Beginner Agility on Wednesday nights again.  I told mom that we should snap a photo of me on my first day of an "advanced" class.  So here it is:

You can see that I was so much more genuinely excited about going to dog school than my mom.  After school was out and I hopped up into my car seat, mom took a picture of me after school.  I have so many new things to learn for this class at school, but I am up for the challenge.

I went to my Agility class last night, and it was so different being an "experienced" dog in class this time around.  It was so weird to go over the dog walk when it was so low to the ground.  On the first class last time, I wouldn't go on the dog walk at all.   This time, I did everything that was set out on the course.  The teacher didn't have the teeter-totter out for this class.  I am ready to conquer it though!  It was fun to see many of my dog friends (Zoe, Tyson, Haley) that were for a class before mine, or in my class again.  I think this next 10 weeks is going to be so fun in agility!! I have a better understanding of what I should do!!

I will work really hard with my mom to keep my blog updated.  She's back working now with her own students at TU, so she has lots of papers to grade and her own paperwork to do.  I know a pretty lame excuse, but I am trying to be an understanding dog :)

Thanks for checking in on me!