Always waiting...

As Lola tends to lack patience in a lot of situations, we do a lot of work on increasing her self control. It can be a tedous process but in the long run, has taught me to be more patient. She's cerainly not where I would like her to be, but she's still techically a puppy.

"I'm always WAITING!!!

To get out of the car...

To go outside...

To eat my dinner...

To chase my ball...

To get my picture taken...

It's a ruff life, I'll tell ya!"

We had the Advanced Basic class tonight & and for some reason she was pretty keyed up. I really should walk her or run her hard around the yard before we go. I suspect she'd be more mellow. She was pretty snarky with the other two dogs in class and had one minor meltdown (I define meltdown as she completely loses her mind barking & lunging & cannot refocus on me at all).

But overall, she did well. She has wonderful name recognition and attention (and having the instructor comment on that is fantistic positive reinforcement for me!). Her heeling was sloppy and she continues to swing out on the halts. Her Stays were decent...her SitStay has drastically improved but her DownStay has suffered (probably b/c I've been working on the Sits!). She only jumped on Ruth once during the Sit for Exam. Her Stand is non-existant.

We did some of "Go Wild & Freeze" and she has an incredibly fast Automatic Sit. In our house, there is a pretty strict Sit for Everything rule & She who sits first, is rewarded first. I say She b/c after at least 2 years of inforcing this rule, Sherman still doesn't get it.

During her Recalls, she held her Stay every time, which I was very pleased (and surprised by), but she only came to me 2 out of 4 times I called her. The other two she veered off to check out Ruth's dog who was chillin' in his crate. Fortunately I had a long line on her & stopped her before she reached her destination. As soon as I call her again, she came right to me. I'm pretty sure she can pass the CGC & TDI will probably test her over the Summer. Why not?

Lazy Boy!

Well, I officially have the laziest dog on the planet. Sherman has taken to eating his breakfast & dinner laying down.

Now, he's no spring chicken...but this is pathetic!

Interestingly enough, he has decided that late night & early morning should be his play time. Hey, he's had plenty of rest all day (and overnight)! I'm usually staring at the backs of my eyelids by 10/10:30 and around 11, he'll start. Squeek, squeek, SQUEEEEEK! (jump up on the bed) Squeek, SQUEEEEK! And he'll repeat this process around 5:00 am. As no one actually gets up to play with him, it's usually short lived...Thank DoG!

It's still cold here, but all the new smells of Spring are everywhere & Sherman & Penny are driving me crazy. They are dogs, they like to sniff stuff...that's part of the fun for them on the walk so I generally indulge them. I do have a seven second sniff rule for Sherman b/c he will stop & sniff every single blade of grass he comes across. Penny isn't usually bad about this but tonight she was particularly annoying.

Lola is doing better and although we did have 2 mini bark breakdowns, they are becoming easier to diffuse. She's no longer barking at other dogs barking that she can't see and is becoming much more relaxed in our neighborhood.

I had a guy pull his truck over and ask me about her.

"Is it a boy or girl?"
"She's a girl."
"How old?"
"A year & a half."
"She's beautiful...I have one just like her at home. Big American Bulldog. You gonna mate her?"
"No, she's spayed."
"Too bad, too bad...they would have beautiful puppies."
"No...no puppies for us."

Would it have been worth my time to try & explain to this guy in the middle of the street why I am not "mating" my dog? Somehow, I doubt it.

The Nose

Poor Penny. During stressful situations, she rubs her snout along the ground...shredding all of the fur & some of the skin off her nose. It hasn't happened in a while but last Saturday, I had her at class with me and she was crated for a lot of the time. She hasn't really been crated in 2+ years. She wasn't pleased.

This is the result:

(note one of Penny's favorite toys from Grandma Kay...her bucky beaver. She likes to snuggle with it.)

It looks like a dried up tick.

Meanwhile, she & Sherman haven't totally made up from their fight this week. We've been having a lot of avoidance between the two of them.


But today we went on an hour long walk and they got in some serious bonding time.

"Hey guys...can't we just all get along????"

Foto Shoot Friday!

As Easter & Spring are right around the corner (despite the fact that it's SNOWING today!), This week's Foto Shoot Friday is themed accordingly.

Sherman can't seem to squeeze his chubby butt in the doorway.

But somehow, they all fit on the landing...

My little Easter Bunny...

I hope everyDog has a great Spring Break weekend!

More bandmates!

"Hey guys...it's me Lola. I've hijacked the computer while Mom is at work. This band idea is really picking up steam!

Every rock band needs a good Bass player, so I hope the other bandmates are OK with me inviting Tadpole to join the Howling Jowls. He's not very jowly, but he apparently has the howling part covered. And style...very impressive.

And Sophie asked very nicely if she could be a back up dancer and really, who could resist a face like that?

So she's gonna get together with Sparky and work through some dance moves for the world tour.

I think we need an agent.

Bye for now!!"

Full Moon Fever

At least I hope that's what it is....

Just as I'm leaving for work this morning, Sherman & Penny get into a knock-down, drag out brawl. It's the first one in 2+ years. I had just given them their goodbye cookies and Penny was being Penny and spit it on the floor. Sherman, being Sherman, ran over to snatch it from her. Then all hell broke loose. And I always do the wrong thing breaking up fights. That's how I ended up with 8 stitches in my finger. I go for the collars to pull them apart. I know I'm supposed to grab the worst offender (Penny) and wheelbarrow them away from the fight. But I freak out too much to think clearly. Unfortunately, Penny wasn't wearing a collar. Fortunately Scotty heard me screaming at them and came downstairs to help me get them apart.

They were both very shaken up. Sherman has a big chunk out of the top of his head & a smaller cut on the side of his face. Penny is fine.


No real lasting effects though. They're being kind of standoffish with each other at lunchtime but I took them on a walk together after work (and they behaved wonderfully). By the end of the evening, it was one big happy family again.

I'm wondering though, if there isn't something wrong with Penny. She's been very picky about her food (more than usual anyway) and a little mopey. Maybe she's not feeling well or maybe it's just the moon.

Kong Explosion!!

Look what we got today!!!! A giant box of Kongs!




Actually, these aren't for the Dogs...they're for the shelter. I think "the most spoiled dogs on the planet" have plenty of their own!

Lola has her very own pink Kong because that's her signature color.

Notice how she looks drunk while she's cleaning the peanut butter out of it.

So my little freak of a dog (Lola) went to an Advanced Basic class tonight for the first time. She's been through 10 classes thus far (that's 10 sets of classes). 2 Puppy, 1 Advanced Puppy, 2 Teen, 2 Clicker, 2 Adult Basic and 1 Adult Manners. Oh & one Feisty Fido...that's 11 classes. You'd think she'd be all set for an Advanced class & I'd have nothing to worry about right? I've mentioned that Lola is a reactive dog before (she basically loses her mind barking & lunging & snarling at any dog she sees on leash). That is was I was a little worried about. OK, more than a little.

Imagine my surprise (and sheer delight) when she was a perfect little angel in class. She did bark at Ruth's (the instructor) Aussie when we first got there, but quickly stopped when I told her Enough. The rest of the class was wonderful. We did Heeling, Serpentines, Sit & Down Stays, Recalls, Finishes and gave me awesome Attention. Her form is pretty sloppy, but that's not my concern at this point.

I had planned on competing with Lola at some point in Rally or Obedience or maybe Agility...but when she developed this reactivity thing, all was put on the back burner. Helping her through this problem is my first priority. But one day...who knows.

Oh, & Lola want me to let everypup know that She & Bella have found their new drummer.

Tommy Pee(nut)!!

They've got Wally, Cubby, Wimsey & Doofus on backup vocals. The Howling Jowls are ready to take on the world!!

Pimple face!

I've read a lot from other Boxer owners that they can be prone to acne on their face. As Lola enters her teens (turning 17 months old on 3/31), she's no exception!

My little pimple face!



And in case you're having trouble finding the pimple (Boo's Hoomans)...here it is!


It's really quite fun to sit out on the front deck & patrol the neighborhood. Penny takes this job very seriously & will alert the other 2 if something needs Woofed at.

How many Dogs does it take to stare down Eight-Ball...the neighborhood Tom Cat???

One...

Two...

Three!



(I called them all inside before they started making a real ruckus).

Lola's walk tonight was interesting. About 5 minutes in, we saw a dog that we've met a few times before. He's a very mellow long haired Rotti (Duke) and during prior introductions, she's loved him. He was turning the corner when we were 40-50 feet or so. She saw him, I c/t, c/t, c/t...no barking & I yelled, "we'll cross the street". As we started to cross, she started flipping out & he said "Aw come on...she'll be fine. Oh what the hell? Probably not my best move but as they'd met before, I figured "why not?". So I said, "Come on Lola, let's go say Hi!" and we trotted over to him (she was not barking). She wiggled up to him & licked him all around his mouth. And then she did a little snarky thing...grouching in his face. He didn't really react to her, but raised himself up a bit and she instantly settled down. Then about 10 seconds later, she started this really high pitch barking, backing herself away from Duke and barking *at* him. And it was very cool...he turned his head & looked away from her. She stopped barking & wiggled up to the owner. She was being pretty obnoxious & jumpy with him and he was great...he stood up and wouldn't pet her till she calmed down. Which after about 20 seconds she did. He & I talked for a couple of minutes, during which time she was either kissing up to Duke or ignoring him.

The rest of the walk was awesome. It was a gorgeous day and every dog in the neighborhood was outside...barking. She didn't react once to the barking (and I continued to c/t for non-reaction) and she didn't react to the two dogs we saw tied out in their front yard. Granted, they didn't bark at her...in which case, if they did, she most likely would have talked back.

So now I'm wondering...if I can find a way for her to get her "YaYas" out before we walk, will she be calmer? Running her around the yard or tossing her ball beforehand just gets her more wound up. I'm gonna have to think about this one.

Lola sends this pic to Marvin's Mom, who was a bit under the weather this weekend and could use a good laugh! Glad to hear you're feeling better Jeannie!

Foto Shoot Friday (and the Cuz)

YEAH! Spring is here! And the stupid ice storm didn't kill my dafodils!

I noticed lots of dogs take one day of the week and reserve it for a special post. Flash Friday, Wordless Wednesday, Love Thursday, Tanner Tuesday. Well, The Dogs are gonna start having Foto Shoot Friday!

We have 2 shots to end the month of March. It was really sunny...hence the squinting.

So it seems that every pup loves the Cuz! I noticed recent posts from Texas & Opy worshipping the Cuz & my crew just doesn't get it. I bought a whole bunch a while back and no one was interested. Lola has this disgusting giant green ball that barely fits in her mouth.



And that's all she wants to play with.

I gave most of them away but found a DinoCuz in with the yard toys.

"Nope...where's my ball?"

"You're not serious...it's dirty. A princess does not do dirty."

"Hmmmm...I know that smell!"

"LIVER BROWNIES!!"

Yes. I put a liver brownie in between the Cuz's feet so I can say that The Dogs are not so weird & one of them actually "played" with one.

I just want them to be normal!! Is that so wrong????

We're gonna be famous!

"Quick! Mom is walking Sherman (he always gets to go first!) so I hijacked the computer to make a very special announcement!

My flygirl Bella & I are starting our own Rock Band!!! I'd like to introduce you to

THE HOWLING JOWLS!!!!

(Tin-Tin...we'll send you royalities for coming up with such a cool name!)

Lead vocals...Bella Ramone

On electric guitar...Lola Hendrix!!

We're lookin for a good drummer...Cubby? Charlie? Peanut? Joe Stains (you're pretty jowly)? Any of you boys have drummin' skillz???? Have your people call our people.

Sh*t! She's back. BYE FOR NOW!"

Back to work!

I'm back to walking the crew separately. Good for me...good for them.

Sherman is suddenly my best dog. Funny how that works. Tonight we saw two Beardies & the owner asked if he could come over to say hello. I told her he was weird with other dogs sometimes, but we could give it a shot. He was fine...dancing around, wagging his tail. He sits & waits when people walk by, auto Sits at intersections, doesn't react to strange dogs. He's truly a joy to walk.

I'd been walking Penny with Sherman a lot over the winter b/c it's too freaking cold to spend an hour & a half walking dogs. I had been using the harness and not really working on her leash manners. I'm happy to report that all the LLW work I did a couple of months ago was not forgotten. She's really better on just the martingale than the harness. She now takes the cue of a tight leash to turn & come back to heel...80% of the time. We saw a bunch of dogs and she didn't react once. There IS hope for Lola!!!

The real challenge is little Miss Lolita.

"Do I look like a challenge?"

Since all of the Click to Calm stuff is fresh in my mind, it's been fun the past couple of days to work with some of the ideas. We've been working on sound sensitivity for a while. It's Soooo much better than it was a few months ago. Now rather than saying "Yeah Lola!" any time we hear another dog barking, I'm Clicking when the dog barks right before she has a chance to talk back. We haven't had one single "bark back" since I've been home. I've been doing a lot of stuff right in front of the house, on the porch & front steps b/c she is very anxious when we first leave the house. If she's calm & looks at me...c/t. If she looks at people walking by...c/t. If she offers behaviors...c/t. I've also been changing my body posture from my usual "Ok, Let's Go" speed walking to more of a stroll. I'm concentrating on walking more slowly, relaxed arms and shoulders (pretending I'm getting a shoulder massage from Dr. McDreamy is a great way to help me relax!). This makes a HUGE difference.

So for the last few days, rather than dreading my walks with Lola...I've been looking forward to them!!

While checking my email...I turned around and found Lola on one of the chairs in the office. I swear she thinks she's a person.

"Trying to get some rest here...enough with the pictures".

Sherman used to sit in those chairs. He's too lazy to jump up on them now!

Pics from last Wednesday's class

Annette emailed me so pics of last week's class. Here's a group play shot. Sting the Smooth Collie is just a baby...I think 5-6 months. Harley is a GSD/Lab that is one of the nicest dogs I've met in a long time and that's Apache's gigantic tail waving in front.

We tried to get a group shot of them all holding Sit or Down Stays. It started out well...



Lola had flung herself into a new position & Cheyenne says "I'm outta here!".

And then, it all started to go horribly wrong.


It was worth a shot!