I've been a slacker. We've been cooped up in the house for over a week b/c it's so flippin' cold out and I've done absolutely zero training with my dogs. They're all going a bit stir crazy b/c we haven't been walking either. Punxatawney Phil better be right this year!

Lola was thrilled to bundle up & go to Advanced Puppy last night. As we were going in, puppies were coming out and she made minimal fuss. I didn't have the GL on her and she was surprisingly responsive on leash...very little pulling (never let them pull, they never learn to pull, right?). She did greet some bigger pups inside the building & I really don't think they appreciate Lola's style of greeting (which is thumping them on the head with her big paw).

She couldn't wait for puppy playtime & didn't stop smiling the entire session!

She has a boyfriend in class named Brody that likes to hump her and she's not real good at telling him she's not that kind of gal.

She shares her water with him and let's him give her kisses too.

Handsome little guy, huh?

We all were to call our dogs & I was thrilled when I said "Lola, Come!", she stopped mid play & flew over to me! She has a great recall, especially for a baby (I have heavily reinforced coming to me every time I call since she was 8 weeks old. I always make it a huge deal when she does...and she does 98% of the time.)

Marsha pulled out some rattling hula hoops and gave us all one to have the dogs check out. Lola could've cared less & let me rattle it all around her and she jumped through it and sat inside it. She has no idea where her feet are & when I raised it off the ground for her to hop through, she tripped (she's full of grace...just like her Mom!). Marsha then spread the hoops around the room & we did some heeling and automatic sits inside the hoops. Lola's heeling was excellent. Her attention was excellent. Her auto sits we're good, but wide. We did some fronts (crooked) and some Swing Finishes (crooked). Not too concerned with perfection. Her downs are sporadic. She does not down every time when asked and often takes some coaxing. Need to work on that. Her stays are getting better. She will now sit & stay while I walk around her in a circle. Marsha laid gating on the floor for the dogs to practice walking on strange surfaces. She was tentative at first but was quickly walking over the gate after a few tries. She was stellar for the "meeting a strange" person. Actually, her attention was stellar...she really didn't want to meet them. She wanted to sit & stare at me. That's progress. No jumping on anyone. She has become much more aware of my body cues.

Hey! I think we're becoming a team!!

The snow was fun for a couple of days, but now I'm ready for Spring. Today it's a brisk 7 degrees. Yesterday we woke to the joys of scraping an inch of ice off the cars and running the engine for 30 minutes before braving the roads.

There is a layer of ice covering everything, with snow piled on top of it.

It's not too cold for Sherman who takes his bone out with him at lunch while the girls run around the yard.

When Lola's lips turn bright pink, it's time to head inside!!

Charlie's mom reminded us that it's 25 days until day-light savings & 34 days until spring. Bring it on!!

I have to share a story from the other night that only good "Dog People" would understand. The Dogs & I were enjoying a lazy evening...them lounging, me catching up with The L Word. Sherman was laying on the floor right below me, I was stretched out on the couch above him, Lola was curled in a teeny ball, snuggled in beside me & Penny was on her favorite loveseat.

So the show finishes up & I reach down to give Sherman a scratch and ask him if he wants to go outside before bed. As I'm scratching his favorite spot in the middle of his chest, right between his front legs...I feel a very large growth. It's huge. My heart stops and I feel faint. All I can think is that a giant tumor grew on him overnight & we're looking at the big C. I'm on the verge of tears & I say "Shermie???" and he rolls over, grumbles & I realize...I'm at the wrong end!!!! To quote Scotty..."Ewww! You were touching his WEINER!".


Yes...I thought Sherman's weiner was a tumor.


Speaking of weiners...I thought I would show everyone what a walk with Sherman is like.

"First stop...Shauna's. Lots of stinky smells there".

"Ah Ha...a new mound of fresh snow!"

"Gotcha!"

"Hurry Mom! We're almost to my favorite tree!!"

"Hmmm...Taz must have skipped the tree today. Let's move on."

Yinz guys get the point. I could have taken more shots of Sherman's favorite past time, but the neighbor's were starting to look at me funny.

But it's so fun to see a 10 year old Sherman still get the zoomies from fresh snow!!

The famous line from Kindergarten Cop takes on a whole new meaning with me now, though.

Detective John Kimble: I have a headache.

Lowell: It might be a tumor.

Detective John Kimble: It's not a tumor!

Thank goodness!

We're having a little snow storm here in the 'burgh. The temps are in the mid 20s...perfect for romping. Lola delights in chasing her favorite ball around the yard.

And although she gets cold, she refuses to let the fun stop once inside.

But Penny's got other plans. "Whatcha got there, girly?"

"Mmmm...I'll take that."

"Thank you very much!"

Our Blogging buddy Cubby recently brought a situation to our attention at Legacy Boxer Rescue. Apparently a Momma Boxer was at a shelter in Texas...surrendered b/c she was pregnant. The Rescue took her in (and named her Gidget) and gave this little girl and her new pups a chance at a real life.

I'm a firm believer that we need to do all we can to help the dogs in our own hometown. There are so many dogs (and cats & rabbits & ferrets, etc) in Pittsburgh in need and I try to put all of my resources into helping those close to home. But, Penny & Lola convinced me that we had to send them a little something to help out (OK...and Sherman gave the final go ahead). And I'm very glad I did. I'm really impressed by what I've read of Legacy and they have so many Boxers in need of new homes. To take on a Momma dog & her new pups definately puts a strain on their funds.

So kudos to Cubby for bringing Gidget and her pups to our attention, to the foster family that's giving these puppies a shot at a really great life & to all of our fellow Doggie Bloggers who stepped up & sent these pups a little something. I'm honored to Blog along side yinz guys!

If you're in a giving mood...and you're into Boxers, check out Legacy & send them a buck or two. Gidget says thanks & sends nubby wiggles!

Dog People rock!

I took the day off to hang out with Marsha & some of the other TDI dogs at Saks. Marsha put an event together to bring attention to the TDI program at the WPHS and Penny & I spent the morning downtown...at Saks...in the shoe department. Yep, that's right. Penny & 3 other TDI dogs plus two shelter dogs were trusted by the fine staff at Saks to hang out surrounded by Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos. Apparently high fashion folks don't know about the canine attraction to fine footwear.

Fortunately, we were one well behaved bunch & not a single shoe was harmed during the presentation.

Next we headed over to Pitt as the newspaper decided it would be easier to do the story during active class hours. Sherman won't be in the paper, but Penny will. We walked around campus & made lots of new friends. Penny fell in love with Bob's dog Oscar and asked him to be her Valentine. They make a very cute couple...both being well - equipped with big floppy ears!

Little Miss Lola & I headed out to Advanced Puppy tonight. Yes, it's still freezing & Lola is happy chillin' in her Pink Plaid Diva Coat.



Playtime is definitely her favorite part.

She even let the little Brittany get fresh with her!

But little Sophie is her favorite. She desperately wanted her to come out of the ExPen to play.

Marsha puts the little pups in an ExPen during playtime to keep them from getting rolled. Lola is the oldest puppy in class but not the biggest. There is a GoldenDoodle & a NewfieDoodle (Doodles coming out of the woodwork!) who are both twice her size.

We let the dogs play for a while & then started class. Did I say before that I had a Feisty Fido??? I must have been making that up b/c Lola was not only a normal dog...she was an obedient dog! Her heeling was great, her stays were better, she didn't snark at anyone and she gave me stellar attention. We had all of the extra folks in class come around & do sit for exam & she didn't jump on anyone!! We may be turning a corner.

I am thrilled & hopeful. I'm going to have her test for the CGC/TDI in March just 'coz. Don't know if she'll pass & don't care if she doesn't. I want to see where we are & what we need to work on.

She was quite sleepy on the way home.

Penny & I had Advanced Basic class tonight. I was surprised so many people came because it was 2 degrees!! I HATE this cold!

I had cooked up a fresh batch of my special "Training Trail Mix" (liver, round steak, lowfat hotdogs, some premium kibble, Natural Balance food roll & some soft Simon & Huey PB treats) before we went and pulled some liver brownies and homemade peanut butter cookies out of the freezer. Off to class we went.

Penny's Heeling & Attention were stellar. We proofed some Stays and I'm happy to report her Stand Stay is improving. She is having some issues being examined (she likes Ruth & wiggles when she comes near her).

I realized tonight in class tonight that a lot of Penny's "problems" are my fault! Yes, I know...hard to believe. On the Figure Eights, I tend to drop my shoulder back causing Penny to lag. My hand signal on the Swing Finish is not very clear and is confusing her. Ruth took Penny to demo the Swing & of course, Penny did it perfectly for her. So I need to practice my form in the mirror and maybe have Scotty record us to see what I'm doing wrong.

Lola's absolute favorite toy is a stuffed Rooster that "crows", rather than squeaks.

It's soft & fuzzy and makes a cool sound & is perfect for playing tug.

"I like to tug with my best friend Penny"

After many, many play sessions "Mr. Chicken" looks like this:

So I keep a bunch of extra Roosters on hand for when the squawk box is smashed or he's been killed & gutted.

"Mr. Chicken...meet (new & improved) Mr. Chicken"

But if he's still squawkin', Lola doesn't care if his face is ripped off...

"Are you done taking pictures of Mr. Chicken yet? Can I have him????"

"Thank you."

"Scotty!!! Look what I have!"

Training progress (2-5-07):

It was a negative 3 degrees this morning when I took Sherman out. The temps were up to a balmy 8 degrees by the time I got home from work. Still too cold for walking.

Penny – worked more on the Swing finish. She’s getting it. I don’t know why this is so hard for us…seems like it comes pretty easy to other dogs. She did 5 out of 6 Finishes correctly (form wasn’t perfect…but I’m not concerned with that yet) and in a separate session I got 6 out of 8. Did some SitStays….I’m working on longer out-of-sight Stays & bigger distractions. I’ve been tossing food all around her after cueing the Stay. Also doing all kind of obnoxious movements (jumping up & down, running away, laying on the floor). She never broke once.

Lola - she is such a fun little dog to train. It’s kind of freakish how quickly she picks up on stuff. As soon as she sees the clicker she’s starts throwing herself into all of her behaviors to see what will work. I always back her up and ask for something easy to start. Played around with fun stuff she new (Spin, Weave, Twirl). Then did some basic not so fun stuff (Stays, heeling, quarter turns, Fronts). Worked on paw targeting as I haven’t taught her to shake yet. Took her a little while to figure out I wasn’t gonna click for nose targeting, but once she got it…she got it good. She was offering me her paw to shake in no time.

Sherman – Dynamic Dogs was held at the shelter. This is a really great group of dogs & handlers. We all seem pretty comfortable with each other & the dogs all get along well. Even Sherman. Marsha started class with a discussion about the Dog Flu and how there have been reports of dogs infected in our area. She also discussed the risks of doing Therapy work in hospitals and nursing homes due to infectious diseases. Next week, we go back to Pitt & are meeting with someone from the student newspaper, Pitt News, will be doing a story on the WPHS & the TDI dogs from class. Pretty cool.

Then we got to work. Did some round-the-room heeling and Figure Eights with the dogs as posts & Sherman did really well. He has pretty decent attention. Did lots of stays with distractions...Sherman's stay needs some work. He lays down on the Sits and can only hold a Down for 20 - 30 seconds. Marsha had us line up all the dogs, put them in a Stay & walk across the room. The idea was to call each dog by name, & your dog wasn't to move unless he/she was called. Didn't go so well. We tried several times w/ several different patterns and only 2 or 3 dogs could do it. None of us took it too seriously & it's really hard not to laugh when your dog is enthusiastically trotting toward you. So we all moved to the outside of the room & put the dogs on Stay in a circle with their backs to each other. This worked so much better. Every dog held their stay and only came when they were called by name. I love this class!

We've done no training & no walking this weekend. It was 1 degree when I woke up this morning. The only exercise the girls have gotten is by playing.

And yes, they are playing in this picture. If you think it looks bad...you should hear it!

"I love my Daddy".

"And he loves me!"

It continues to be very snowy & cold here in Western PA. Today wasn't so bad (temps in low 30s) but this weekend it's supposed to dip into the single digits. Not a big fan of that!

The dogs haven't been getting walked b/c it's just too flipping cold. But they do burn off some energy by running around in the yard.


Lola likes to eat snow...

And once they're done zoomin' outside, Penny likes to warm herself by the fire.

I'm assisting in Annette's Adult class on Wednesday's so we moved Lola from Super Puppy to Advanced Puppy. She did fine getting into the building but got a bit snarky with another dog going into class. It may be time for the GL to go. At least in situations where she will be getting up close to another dog.

Advanced is the second class in the puppy series and the first part of class is puppy play time. Well Lola just loved that. She is wonderful with dogs off leash & there was a little Brittany that insisted on humping her. She didn't correct him but did try to get away. There were two small dogs that Marsha confined to an ExPen so they didn't get rolled. A little black scruffy mix that Lola was dying to play with. It was very cute...they kept play bowing with each other through the bars.

This class is very approriate for her attention span right now. We did heeling, figure 8's and started working on Stays with distractions. Lola, of course, did her best to impress all by throwing herself into every trick she knows.

She's got jjooowwwlly lips...

and fuuuunnnnyy teeth.

Penny & I had class with Ruth tonight. She was pretty distracted at the beginning and wasn't real interested in paying attention to me. But about 10 minutes into class, she found her focus. This class is awesome. We did a lot of heeling, stays and recalls. Ruth has a lot of great ideas for proofing stays & attention. Penny's SitStay is pretty reliable, but her DownStay could use some work. She's never tipped her hip & always downs in a sphynx position. Stands are crap, but the Stand Stay is surprisingly decent. We still struggle with that damn Swing Finish. I did way too much luring & exaggerated movement backward in the beginning and never really weaned off it.

I put on a big pot of chicken legs in the slowcooker right before we went to bed. BAAAAddd idea! By 3:00 am the smell of cooking chicken woke me up from a deep sleep. It also woke up Sherman who whined & cried for a good 2 hours b/c he wanted to eat chicken. Note to self...don't do that again.