Chillin' Out!

It's officially Summer and the past couple of days it's actually gotten hot outside! We've been taking it easy. Well, all of us, except Chloe. She's still on patrol, outside and indoors. She's been keeping at her post in the living room, barking at the guys who mow the lawns next door and across the street. She's been doing her perimeter checks outside, even though we haven't heard any more yowling noises. She's almost managed to catch a squirrel and a couple of chipmunks, though.

We're still going for walkies, although we've gone earlier in the day when it's cool. Last evening we only went two houses down when Aunt Pat decided to turn back. It had cooled off somewhat, but she didn't think it was cool enough for us. It had rained today, so when we went out this evening, it was pretty nice out.

The neighborhood kids are now out of school, but school is still in session here! Every time we come back from our walk we'll go over our obedience commands. Yum, turkey! Those kids don't know what they're missing!

Things That Go Bump In The Night...

can be rather scary! Not just for us, either. Earlier this week, Daddy had us outside so we could make a night time pit stop. We heard this awful yowling coming from one of the neighbor's yards. At night, it's a little hard to tell what direction any noise is coming from, and the sound seems so much louder than during the day. Daddy looked concerned and told Aunt Pat about it. They got the flashlight out so Daddy could take a look, but by that time, the yowling was done.

I'm sure it was a neighborhood cat...and nothing else. We've seen, and barked at more than our fair share of wandering cats during the day. At night, we'll hear the leaves rustle from the wind and traffic noise from the streets around us and the nearby expressway. But, a day or so after our encounter with the mysterious yowl, there was a bear sighting in our town. Plus, a few months ago, someone who works at our Vet's office saw a coyote a couple of miles away.

I wasn't scared, but I think Katie and Chloe were. Since then, Katie will stay within the light of the motion sensor, do her business and go right back in. If the light goes out, boy, the human gets "the look" from Katie. Granted, she was never one to dawdle at night. She's always the first one back inside and likes to go right back to bed. Chloe has restarted her perimeter patrols. She slacked off the past few months, but is faithfully sniffing around the yard whenever we're out. I've kept my usual routine. I'll do my thing and either go right back in with Katie, or, if it's nice out, I'll lay in the grass and keep the human company. Yes, there's always a human outside with us day and night. During the day, Aunt Pat might go in to fold laundry, but she's right next to the door and will open it and come out to check on us. I usually will sit or lay by the door until
she returns. It never hurts to be careful.

Congratulations Chloe!!

She's graduated! Today was the last Obedience Class and she passed with flying colors! Today they practiced their "Sit", "Down" and "Stay"; and walking again. But, today when they stopped, the dogs sat at their people's sides. Chloe caught on very quickly and got a "very good" from the instructor. They also did "Heel" and they walked in a figure eight around two cones.

At the end of class, the instructor gave a little speech and then called each dog up to get their diplomas and one of the biggest biskees I've ever seen! One diploma is from the class, and one is from the school district. On the way home, Chloe tried to bury the biskee in the back seat of Aunt Pat's car, but that didn't work too well. Aunt Pat brought it in so Chloe could enjoy it later.

Unfortunately Chloe wasn't the valedictorian. Class ran a little late so there wasn't time for a Valedictorian or Salutatorian address. Chloe didn't mind, though. She got more time to sniff, err chat with her friends. She may run into them again some time in the future at the pet store or maybe even the new dog park that's supposed to open in town.

Katie and I were very excited when Chloe got home. Katie jumped around and shook the chew toy very hard to get the stuffing out that she had a sneezing fit. I wanted to get Chloe a graduation present so I went into the garden and picked her a couple of strawberries.

I accidentally ate them on the way over. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right? I did let Chloe eat her graduation biskee all by herself. Aunt Pat had Katie and I practice our lessons at the same time Chloe ate her treat. Aunt Pat said she wanted us all on the same page when we took our walk tomorrow. But, I think she did it to distract me and Katie so Chloe could eat her treat in peace.

It's Strawberry Time!

It's June, and you know what that means...strawberries! I love strawberries. It doesn't matter that they aren't ripe. I have to eat...errr test them to make sure they're the best quality. It's been difficult to get Aunt Pat to understand it. I hear a lot of the "Leave it" and "Out" and "No", but I know she knows the importance of quality assurance. Testing the berries lets me tell Aunt Pat if she needs to change anything with the soil, like adding fertilizer, or mulch. I'm teaching Chloe what to look for, too. She's very interested in gardening, although she likes to play with the berries she picks. Aunt Pat stepped on one she'd brought into the house and left on the dog bed. Poor Daddy got scared when he saw some strawberry juice on one of the pee pads. He was afraid that Katie was having problems again.

It's a shame, but sometimes every gardener has a casualty. The lettuce is still fine. I just stepped on it when I went to check the berry plant that's growing next to, and into it. I chewed off the runner that was interfering with it, and now it's just fine.

We just need a little more rain. The bean plants are coming along nicely. I had to pick some that weren't growing as quickly as I would have liked, and some I thought were a little too big for where they're supposed to be right now. Aunt Pat was very upset and told me that those plants were bigger because they were grown in a special potting soil so they were supposed to be bigger. I just made my cute "You-can't-stay-mad-at-me-because-I'm-too-cute" face and put my head on her lap for emphasis. It worked, but I'm not sure for how long.

Chloe Was So Disappointed

Last night she was supposed to have her last Obedience Class, but it was cancelled because of rain. She was so excited because it was graduation day, and she thought she was valedictorian! Last week, Chloe overheard one of the instructors tell Aunt Pat how well she did with the Sit, Stay, Come exercise. The instructor put Chloe on one end of a 36 foot leash, then Aunt Pat walked to the other end. Chloe had to Sit, and Stay, then come when Aunt Pat called her. She was one of the best behaved dogs! I'm sure Chloe thought she was the best dog, and she knows that the smartest student in class gives the valedictory speech. It was all written, too. She was ready to speak about how this obedience class wasn't the end of their education, it was the beginning of life-long learning, that would enhance the bond of trust and improve communication between canine and human. Chloe tried to practice the speech in front of Aunt Pat, but Aunt Pat thought Chloe's vocalizations and foot-stomping meant that Chloe needed to go potty. So much for enhanced communication between canine and human.


Class is rescheduled for next Monday. I don't think there's going to be a graduation ceremony. The instructors will probably hand out the course completion certificates at the end. I tried to tell this to her, but she won't listen. Katie and I have been helping Chloe study. Of course the extra treats are a great motivator, too, but we want her to succeed. We'll also make sure that we keep practicing once class ends. After all, practice makes perfect...and tastes great!

Leave It!

We have a problem, but I don't think Daddy and Aunt Pat realize how bad it really is. I'm talking about those little...creatures known as Chipmunks. No, I'm not talking about Alvin, Simon and Theodore, I'm talking about those little squirrel relatives that love to get into our garden, nest in our shrubs and run around so we can chase them. Aunt Pat spotted a lot of them in the back yard next door, and we spotted a couple in our front bushes. We try to chase them, but all we get for our attempts at keeping the yard pest free, is "Leave it" from the humans. Sure, we pull on our leashes a little, but what would you rather have, a yard full of chipmunks eating us out of house and home, or a little tug on the arm? I don't think Aunt Pat appreciates it when ever-vigilent Chloe, jumps on her to wake her like she does when she needs to go potty, and then charges the fence barking. Instead of telling Chloe what a good girl she is, Aunt Pat hushes her. What's a girl to do?

We've heard "Leave it" a lot on our walks lately. They covered it in Obedience Class this past Monday so I think Aunt Pat's gotten a little too enthusiastic. We're dogs. We experience our environment through our noses. We'll sniff any leaf, pencil, spot on the sidewalk, under a shrub, or a yummy-looking piece of garbage on the ground, Aunt Pat will call our names and direct our attention away from our discovery. Sure, she lets us sniff the fire hydrants, the light poles and the street signs, but it's not the same as sniffing an old take-out cheeseburger wrapper. Burgers, yum.....