Dining Al Fresco

It has been so gorgeous the last week. Temps in the 70s, blue skies, lots of sun, a gentle breeze. I am hoping this is an indication of the summer we're gonna have!!

I thought since the weather was so nice, the Dogs could eat their dinner on the deck. On the menu tonight...chicken backs! YUM! And how convenient for them to put 3 in a package!


Lola inspects them for freshness.
(the wine is not on their menu...it's on mine!)

And then everyone has to get a good sniff.

Dinner is served!

(now don't yinz guys go getting jealous of Sherman's beach towel from the 70s)

There is no better way to spend an evening...sitting down with a glass of wine watching the Dogs devour raw meat.

I need a life.

TAG! and Training Stuff

It seems every one's been Tagged but us...so we're tagging ourselves!!! HA!

The most recent TAG has been belly shots & I found some good ones in my photo archives.

RUB OUR BELLIES!!!

"Everypup...LOOK AWAY! This photo is just for my sweet love, DOT!"

WARNING: Boring training stuff ahead:

Penny started her Rally class on Sunday. We've taken one before but this one is structured a little different. The first class focuses on the easy stations...Serpentine, Halt-Sit, Halt-Down, Left Turn & Right Turn. Heeling is the biggest component in Rally & Penny's heeling is pretty spot-on. So if I can just walk like a normal person & not someone with two left feet, we'd be golden. Also, she has such excellent attention that she doesn't see where she's walking & kicked out the cones a couple of times. Penny is the biggest dog in the class! A Poodle, a Westie, a Silky and a little white fluffy thing (might be a Bichon)...and Penny. Mack, the wiggly Pitbull from Lola's Advanced class will be joining us next week. The class was really fun. Class is always fun with Penny.

Lola had another great Advanced class. She continues to improve & amaze me. We saw a bunch of dogs coming into the building and she didn't react once. She greeted a young pitbull very appropriately & rode the elevator with him & was fine. We worked on a lot of the same things from last week. Her Stays are still a problem. She's fine if I'm in front, facing her. But if I turn my back or walk around her, she turns to find my face. I just need to back up a little bit with her. We worked on the start of off leash heeling with a light line & as I teach my dogs to heel off leash, this wasn't a problem. Her Left About Turns were much improved & she's actually realizing she has a hind end. She has a near perfect Automatic Sit. She's struggling a little with Down from a Stand (Drop), but she actually did a pretty nice StandStay. I plan on working on the Stand & Round Finish this week and do more proofing Stays.

On the way out of class, we stood in the hallway facing 10 dogs waiting to go into the training room. Lola was about 8 feet from the closest dog. She sat next to me & I c/t her for watching the dogs & staying seated. She gave me a lot of attention and responded very well to her name if I saw she was getting too interested in another dog. Then a girl & a young LabX got off the elevator & the dog was going nuts. Growling, lunging, teeth baring...reminded me of Lola at her worst. I'm in the hall they needs to walk thru to get to the 2nd training room & rather than ask me to move, she just starts walking right toward us. The dog is still going nuts & I said "YAY! Lola, Let's Go!!" and turned around to find a safe spot for us. Lola was trotting very nicely beside me & I glanced over my shoulder & the girl is still walking toward us, but is moving faster! So I say "Could you please stop & wait till I can get my dog into the room???" She says "Oh...sure." and Lola turns & snarks at her dog. ~Sigh~ I hate people. It was an almost perfect night. But not my dog's fault.

The neighborhood walks are getting better too. She is still reacting on occasion but those times are becoming few & far between. And she's recovering much faster. It's the worst on our street & I think she has a protective thing going on. Once we're a block and a half away, she's much calmer & actually a joy to walk. Her newest thing though is birds. She's obsessed with birds. Pretty much anything moving in general actually. A leaf, a plastic bag, a scrap of paper...she launches herself at them full force. If it weren't so annoying...it would be comical.

Chicken Stew is Yummy!

The Brat Pack just talked about all the good stuff they've been eating so I thought I might share some of The Dogs meal this week.

I like to get in touch with my culinary side by making food for the dogs. Scotty will tell you I cook for them more than for us...and that's probably true. This weekend I made a big batch of their favorite chicken stew. Chicken legs, broccoli, carrots, yams & cauliflower. I generally don't add any grains to it as it's usually mixed with some of their kibble.

But tonight it was just chicken, chicken & more chicken stew!

Now, there are a few unusual things about the picture above.

1). The smallest (teeny) portion is Lola's. (She usually gets much more, but she had class tonight and filled herself up on good stuff.)

2.) The cabinet the food is sitting on is bare wood and doesn't match the rest of the kitchen. (Scotty just made it and will be painting it soon.)

3). The dogs are eating on paperplates. (They usually eat from stainless steel bowls but they are in my new DISHWASHER!!!)

Yep...we finally have a dishwasher & it's no longer me!! Sitka just got a new cleaning box and is pretty psyched about it so I don't feel so dumb getting totally geeked over mine.

Isn't it beautiful??? Sherman is very happy about it too.

I've talked about the fun game we play at mealtime...here The Dogs are in action. They usually take longer to eat but the paperplates make for a quick meal.



Yum-O!

Friends come to visit!

Scott's parents came over to visit this afternoon & brought their two dogs, Panzer & Barron with them. Panzer is 11 1/2 & huge.

The girls both love him. He's usually smitten with Penny & will spend hours licking her ears & in her mouth.



But of course, Lola decided she should steal the show and made it her mission to have him enamored with HER!










"Fine with me! A little peace & quiet is a nice change!"





But the girls also had a great time running with Barron. He's Lola's age & the three of them ran circles all over the yard. None of the pics I took came out because they were moving too fast!


He's a real cutie!

And where was Sherman during all of the fun & games outside..Locked in the house!!!



Yes, Grumpasorous Rex could not behave himself and was banished inside. He kept jumping on Barron & humping him & driving us all crazy.

"Don't believe a word of it...I was just showing him that I'm the boss. Of everything."

Sherman has a major Napoleon complex.

Foto Shoot Friday...Hello Springtime!

Just what are you dogs staring at????

"Something is up there!"

IT'S A SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, Sammy Squirrel has a nest in the big tree in our back yard & enjoys spending the better part of his day taunting the dogs.

"Oh Penny, just wait...he'll fall. He'll fall right out of that tree & into our mouths."

"Really??? Do you think?"

"Oh yes...he's gonna fall one of these days. And then we'll feast."

"He's moving!!!"

"Stupid Dogs...you'll never catch me!!"

Lola could care less. She's much more concerned about the tennis balls I bought her from the dollar bins at Target (all these...$2.50! Gotta love Target!)

"I'M SITTING!!!! Throw the stupid thing already!!"

Action shot...mid shake.

We hope Everypup has a fantastic weekend! Go hunt Squirrels!

In the Army now (we hope!)

The Army of Four is soon to be the Army of Four-Hundred!! They've been recruiting soldiers and have gotten a lot CyberDogs to enlist!

The Dogs of Jackman Avenue are reporting for duty!!!

Staff Sargent Sherman - He's should have an honorary ranking based on his age (which is OLD). He would like to oversee the Mess Hall. For sure. He's grouchy enough to keep all of the Privates in line. He will also personally taste-test all rations to make sure they are up to military specifications.

"RRRRRRrrrrrrrrRRRRR! No one touches the food till I've tried it!!!"


Specialist Penny - Who is more Special than Penny??? She's a Specialist at wiggling, snorting, dancing, sneaking up on the bed at night & putting up with annoying little white Boxers. She's also the most educated of the 3.

"I've got the most Skillz!"



Private First Class Lola - Well...she thinks she's First Class and has already shown Zim her Privates. She would like to take on special military assignments. Kind of like Syndey on Alias. She's master of disguise and can seduce just about anypup. She can also kick a$$...well, at least she thinks she can.

"Yep that's right...after I seduce you, I'll kick your A$$!"

We'll see Everypup at Boot Camp!

Smiling Boxers (and training stuff)

Cubby had this picture on his blog...I thought it was so funny & reminded me of one I took of Lola when she was a puppy.


Goofy little thing.


I love how the jowls spread out & make it look like they're smiling!


WARNING...boring training stuff ahead!

I haven’t done squat with Sherman & Penny (other than the usual every day stuff) lately. I’ve been really spending time almost everyday working with Lola and the payoff is very noticeable. Drives the point home that I need to be very consistent with her if I want to see progress...this I already know, but can get lazy.

Front deck reactivity – Sherman & Penny are pretty much over it with a few outburst over dogs they don’t like (Taz & the husky). But they quiet down pretty quickly. Scott has been using the PetAgree pager with a lot of success. Lola’s “barking at everything that moves” is lessening. I’ve been rewarding her for looking & not reacting and redirecting or bringing her inside if she starts. She was actually out there for over 20 minutes one day & I thought she was inside with me! Didn't think that would happen for a while.

Advanced Class – She had one small outburst walking into the building. The rest of the class, she was perfect. Her heeling is still pretty sloppy, as is staying in heel position, but I haven’t done much with that so that’s my fault. We kind of drilled the stays a bit & she started breaking a lot toward the end of class. But her DownStay was very nice & I can now walk around her in a SitStay without her turning to find me. She did ½ dozen recalls without a long line & never deviated toward another dog. Barking at other dogs in the car has completely stopped. She responds very well to Leave It and then I just chuck treats in the backseat & she’s happy.

Neighborhood walks – One incident this week. PitX on her front porch & I didn’t see that she was tethered. Of course I got nervous & Lola freaked. Owner came out, laughed at us and took dog inside. She was spooky for another ½ block, at least. But for the most part, she’s been much calmer. I’ve continued to “YAY!” at the sound of another dog barking & treating her and started doing the same when we see another dog. This has been very effective. The whole neighborhood thinks I’m nuts.

Chillin on the front porch!

We're back! Sorry to be away for a few days...

It was so gorgeous here on Sunday...this is how we spent our afternoon. Chillin on the front deck!

Lola has decided she's is really a lap dog & surprised Scott by hopping right up into his lap & smothering him with kisses.




She is totally a Daddy's girl!




(sorry about the quality of this video...I need to change the settings. And my voice sounds nothing like that in real life...I think this is my doggie-baby talk voice. Ewww!)

Sherman mugged for treats...

And Penny played the part of Sun Goddess...

We love Spring!

We should've been working in the yard. Instead we watched all of our neighbors work and we had cocktails!

Friday Foto Shoot...Pawty Time!!!

The Dogs of Jackman Ave are dressed in their finest tonight.

While some of the dogs (Lola) have suitors in Pittsburgh (Brody, Apache, DeeOgee, Duke, Scout...who is a girl...not that there is anything wrong with that.),

...this weekend is a celebration of CyberPups!!

This Foto Shoot Friday goes out to Dogs With Blogs...

"Pawty Time"

We have had more fun & "met" the most stellar dogs (and hoomans) since joining DWB. Opy, Charlie, Greg & Brooke couldn't have done any better than starting this lovely database of people who love dogs. And unlike the Dogdom I've surrounded myself over the past few years, there is no arguing about nutrition, training methods, exercise, dominance theory. relationships, etc. Its a breath of fresh air. We just love our dogs, have fun with them & exploit that fun on the 'Net. The Dogs usually don't mind posing & we've created the ultimate photo album.

I started the blog for Scott & I...so we could track Lola growing up. I wanted a chronicle of her training & everyday progress. (Yes, she was super little & cute...still is, little turkey!)

But tonight isn't about reminiscing...it's about DATES! Our very first dates!

Penny & Peanut sittin' in a tree! Penny knows I want my next dog to be a plain (although nothing PLAIN about Peanut) brindle male Boxer.

"I Wuv you, Peanut!"




"Marvelous Marvin...Thank you for being my Date...I've adorned my proper dress and await your "Lick" of approval."



And, of course...Sherman. He's gotten all dressed up for his one & only...DOT!

"I put a tie on & everything...this is true love!



And....I made her a video. Forgive my Mom talking...she's very, very annoying. And has a very shrill voice. I still WUV you Dot!"

We miss Charlie (and CoCo too)!

So Charlie & CoCo move to Kansas City and left their blog behind! I would say we should all mail bomb their Mom, but I can't find her email addy! But in their honor...we present Love Thursday.

We love Boxer Butts!!!

Lola's nub is much more convenient than Penny's...especially at the V.E.T.s office. Penny's works like a trap door. Lola's is like a handle.

The voting for the Awesome Blog award for April is almost over. Sorry to say, we're second to last! Boo HOOooooooo Hoooo!!!! Sherman is in a pretty deep depression but I told him that the other blogs nominated are pretty darn great & we should be thankful to be included with such a stellar bunch. He's gonna recover, but I had to promise turkey necks for dinner tomorrow & a fresh batch of salmon cookies this weekend. Yes, his Mom is a sucker.

Cold + Rain = CHEWIES!!!!

After an amazingly gorgeous weekend, it's turned cold & rainly...again. So how do we pass the time? CHEWIES!!!

Our favorite is Bully Straps...my dogs go absolutely NUTS over these. They don't last as long as a bully stick, but I get 15 - 20 minutes of chew time from them. They are very digestable (Lola was having digestive problems from bullies) and inexpensive.



I get them from the absolute best place on the 'Net for chew treats I've found...K9 Raw Diet. Their prices are great (giant foot long bully sticks for $4!), the shipping very reasonable and the most outstanding customer service around. They've just started selling the straps in bulk...which I'm thrilled about.

Sherman has to chew facing away from the girls as he can be a brat about stealing stuff. What's his is his & what's yours is his.

Chew, chew, chew...



and chew...


and chew!

They look like perfectly behaved angels, don't they???

Peanut's Mom told me how to find out what Google searches lead people to your blog. Most of our visitors stop by via links on other blogs or the DWB site. There were a couple of Google searches and most were uneventful...Dogs of Jackman Ave (duh!), Sensation Harness & Western Avenue. But the last search was classic...Hung Jackman in his underwear!! HA! I'll bet they were disappointed when the stumbled onto our blog!!