The mean dog

On the weekend I went to the dogpark on the north side of Fredericton. (There's no dog park on the south side of Fredericton, what's up with that?) I went there twice with my humans and I had fun ignoring the ball and meeting other dogs. So many bums to sniff, so little time. It was a fun time both times and I was nice and tried when evening came. Yay, my new favourite place to go.

But last night, as I was going in, one of the dogs jumped on me and bit me on the neck and picked me up and shook me. It was scary! A man helped get the other dog off of me, but it made Sarah very upset, and she was crying. Now I am not allowed to go to the dogpark anymore, because it makes Sarah upset.

I don't understand why humans would bring a dog who bites to the dogpark and not have him muzzled. They ruined it for me. :(

I hope I will get a chance to go again some time. I am just learning how to be around other, bigger dogs. I have a neighbour dog Minnie and she is a little dog, but I love her very much and she loves me too. We play together every chance we get.

Good music video

I like OK Go.

Going to School

I have been going to puppy school in Grand Bay every Sunday. I have more energy than my classmates. I generally am more interested in people than dogs. Dogs don't give you treats and don't pet you and call you by name.
I take my human Sarah with me, because Grand Bay is far so we have to take the car (which Charles calls the Batmobile) and I'm too small to work the pedals. Sarah wants me to be the best puppy in class, because that way we "win." I think going to class is OK. Usually what I do is wait a week after Sarah tries to teach me something, then I just start doing it to see what happens. Like in this picture, I am doing "sit". I can also do "stay" and "down". What happens is Sarah's voice gets very high and happy.
Lucy and I are getting along OK. She takes my treats, but I don't mind. I like playing with Lucy.
Last weekend Sarah went to a baby shower of her friend Alicia. I like Alicia, she's nice. That meant Charles and I stayed at home by ourselves. Since we were "batching" it, I slept in Charles' bed to help him from being lonely. Usually I sleep in my own bed, but I think sometimes you have to sleep with your human to cheer them up, just so long as it doesn't become a habit.
On Friday my humans are going away for two weeks. This makes me very sad. I'm going to miss them a lot.
Does anyone like pooping in the rain? I know I sure don't. Charles sometimes pees outside the same as I do, but only I have to poop outside - even when it's raining. It doesn't seem fair. I've tried to poop inside near the back door instead but my humans keep interrupting me. I guess they have their reasons.
But I am a very good dog. I sleep through the night, I go outside and do my business when I'm told, and I am very cuddly. Although the warm weather is making my fur come out in bunches.

My talented family

On the weekend, my human Charles went to see his niece Lydia playing with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra at the Playhouse in Fredericton. Amazingly, they don't allow dogs to those shows. This is a true shame because I have an excellent barking voice now and I think it would go great with symphonic accompaniment. Anyway, it was a terrific show Charles says and Lydia is now the poster child for the NBYO. It's nice to know I don't have to carry all the weight in representing the family publicly.
Lydia plays the violoncello. I think it looks delicious, and if I get a chance I am going to chew on it to see if I'm right.

Oh, also on the weekend I went to my first puppy class in Grand Bay. 14 puppies took their humans to class, which Sarah calls a "ridonkulous" number. Anyway, this was my chance to meet more dogs. Dogs schmogs, I like humans far more than dogs. In fact, these days I am just super excited to meet them, so I run around and bark at them and try to jump up all I can. Sarah says I was not the best puppy in the class, although I am now learning about "down". One good thing though was when they talked about housetraining, a lot of the humans said their dogs still do their business in the house. Gross! I never do that now. Although I still don't understand why my humans make me hit a bell with my paw before they open the door to go outside.

The weather is very warm these days and that means more walks for Lucy and I. I still find walks tiring, but they do provide a chance to meet people, so that's super fun.

Tomorrow I think my human Charles is going to go for his first mile walk this year. He's been working up to it. Yesterday he walked for 0.9 miles. So just a little bit more tomorrow.

Did you know that I am a "perro" in Spanish?

I am the bestest dog

I even help with laundry. I love how dirty clothes smell, especially socks. Feet are great. I love Charles feet even more than Sarah's because they smell stinkier. When Charles has a shower, I bark at him until he shows me his feet. Once I check them out, then I know he's good to go for the day.

I now weigh ten and a half pounds, I am really growing quickly! I am also getting my humans to better understand how smart I am. For example, I used to be a "bucking bronco" when they put the leash on. And sometimes I was a donkey. I would walk one direction without trouble but coming back, they'd have to drag me. Well the other day, I went out for a walk with Lucy and my humans, and I saw how much more fun it is to walk the way Lucy does, with the leash loose. So I just did that. Then later on when Lucy signed the guestbook at a corner, Sarah told me to "go pee", so I did, right on the spot. It is amazing how easy it is to make your humans happy. A little pee on command and they go nuts.

Now my humans have put a bell by the door so I can let them know when I want to go outside. I haven't used it yet, but you just wait, I will.

Sarah is looking forward to puppy classes. This is because she's very interested in me meeting a lot of other dogs. And in learning to come when I'm called. Right now I am not a big fan of coming when I'm called. After all, if I don't come when I'm called, the humans come and get me. That seems like less work for me, and they could use the exercise anyway.

My Dad and His Enormous Head

Here I am with my human. As you can see, he has a ridonkulously ginormous head and a beard to make it look even bigger.
Charles says that he isn't going to trim his beard or cut his hair until he loses 3 and half more pounds. I like his long beard. It is fun to chew on and sometimes there's even food in there for me. Yay!
Mommy likes to hold me and brush me with a weird wire brush and I wriggle when she does that. I still haven't decided if I like it or not. Charles says when Sarah does that to him, he is usually able to get away - although sometimes she barks at him and he has to get groomed even though he doesn't like it much.
Charles and I have a lot in common. We both like to eat meat, although Charles doesn't have as many raw chicken necks as I do most days. And we both think Sarah is cuddly and want her to be happy.

The bad smell

There was a bad smell in the house yesterday. It was caused when Mark knocked over a can of gas line antifreeze and it spilled all over the basement steps. Daddy got a headache and had to sleep at his friends last night. I missed him. When he came to pick mommy and Mark up this morning I made sure to wag my tail at him so he'd cheer up. I sure hope he is sleeping at home tonight! Before we both go to bed, we sometimes look at each other for a while. Sometimes when we wake up in the middle of the night we look at each other and then decide if we're going to go out for a pee together.
Anyway, the rule seems to be that if it gets cold, Sarah goes to sleep at her friend's house and if there's a bad smell Charles goes to sleep at his friends house. But I think it has to be a certain kind of bad smell, because some nights Charles makes a bad smell and he doesn't go anywhere. Although I've heard that if Charles makes too many bad smells he has to go sleep on the couch. Also that Sarah never makes bad smells. And even when she does, it doesn't count.
Because I am a very good boy, I have already learned to sit and play fetch, and I have also learned that the smarter you are, the more likely you are to be a Habs fan. So I am one.
I sleep through the night, and only make a mess in the house when my humans make a mistake and don't let me out.
My parents got me some new food. They have been trying all kinds to see if there's a raw food I like better than others. I am very fond of chicken. Daddy says that's a relief because the bison is pretty expensive. He says he doesn't get to eat bison every day, so why should I? I think Daddy is cranky because he hasn't been eating well.
My humans have been inspired by me and are about to begin walking every day. Although they are silly so they walk on a treadmill, in the same place. So they walk, but they don't actually get anywhere. As I've said before, humans are a little bit crazy. That's why we dogs have to stick around and take care of them.
Lucy has been feeling better and easting better lately. When we are together she gets to wear a special kind of collar or mask called a muzzle. Charles says when she wears that her name is Hannibal Lector. I think humans have too many names for things.
Tomorrow is Chinese New Year. My mommy and daddy are going to go to a special dinner. I hope they are not too late getting home. Weekends are the best!

It's good to have a human

My Mom is very cuddly and I like her a lot. This past weekend I had a very big Saturday. I went to the house of my human's friends and met their girl Emily, who was very nice. I also saw a cat.
Then I took my humans to the pet store. It's important to introduce your humans to other humans, so that they will be socialized to like other humans. Everyone said I was a super good boy, and I got signed up for school. Yay! I am going to be the bestest boy ever in school, you'll see. My human Charles was given a button with both our pictures on it. This is important for him to wear so that people can know he's my human. Dogs can tell of course because I make sure he smells like me, but humans have terrible noses. Really just useless. But what do you expect they have hardly any sort of a snout at all. Well Charles has a not bad snout for a human but still.
What else? Oh yes, I am learning how to get humans to give me treats, and you won't believe how easy it is. First you just look at them, then when they say sit you just sit down and next thing you know, treat! I mean, c'mon how easy is that.
I am also training my humans to play fetch and they are getting better and better at it. We started just playing it inside with small distances but lately we've been having big games and the humans are getting in better shape so now they are throwing the duck further and further. This is fun, and of course it gives Charles more exercise so he's lost another pound, that's 3 so far. I am also up a pound, I am getting bigger and bigger. So now Charles weighs only 36 times as much as I. Great progress!
Oh and I am also getting my bark on. I try to let them know when I want to play or when something's going on. I know my humans are worried I will be too noisy when we move to the condo. I haven't forgot that I'm here rather than my brother because I was the quiet one. Charles went to the store to see if they had something to help keep me quiet, but they said I should be allowed six months to get the hang of my voice until they buy anything like that. Yay! Or should I say, Woof!