I worked hard this week

I worked really hard this week. We got our driveway redone and I had to supervise the workers for four days to make sure they did a good job! There was a lot of noise - lots of trucks and machines, etc. But I didn't let any of it bother me and I think it turned out nice! Here is a before picture:

And here is the finished product:

We can't actually drive on our new driveway for two weeks, but I walked on it today and it is awesome! Makes our house look much better too!

Other than that, mom and I went on a picnic to a part of a park that I had never been to before. We picnicked on a blanket and then we explored the big grassy area and then mom set up a jump for me and had me practice a little in a new environment. It went well and we had fun. The pet trail that I love so much is in this park so we also walked on part of it before we went home.

On Tuesday I had my handling class and there was nothing too remarkable to report - even though it was cool, I just didn't feel like running fast. The instructor did get out the chute for me and I did a better job of running through it than some days. Mom decided that this week she would work really hard to try to find some sort of a start line routine for us - she has tried to do this before but she never stuck with it - we thought we figured it out on Wednesday (I did my figure eight trick between her legs and she said, "1, 2, 3!" and then I took the jump) - and then on Thursday, I wouldn't do it. So now she is just trying to get me to focus on her and to do a trick that I know before she tells me to "go!"

We've had cool and cloudy weather for most of this week except for yesterday and most of today. This weekend we are supposed to return to August-like weather with temperatures in the upper 80s and even low 90s. I am not looking forward to that!

Hope you all have a great weekend and if you are going to a trial, good luck and have lots of fun!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Visiting and some walking

We just came in from our morning walk - sun is out but it's 19 with a wind chill of 10! Hello March! Spring is right around the corner - can't you tell?

Thursday and Friday mom and I went to visit my cousin Wilson (and my aunt, uncle, and two human cousins and my other dog cousin Sandy)! The weather was supposed to be warm but cloudy. (Warm meaning in the 50s). As soon as we got there - it's about a 2-hour drive - we loaded up my aunt's car with the two big Goldens and me and headed off for the park. They have a nice park not far from their house - an almost two-mile walking path around a lake. The only bad part is that one section of the path goes close to a major highway - so you guessed it - I do lots of barking there. It was not warm at all - very windy - I loved it but mom and my aunt were complaining. After the walk we hung out at the house - the yard was too soppy for ball playing but I got to follow Wilson around every where he went in the house. On Friday it was even colder and windier and wetter, but mom and my aunt still took me for another walk at the park. Poor Wilson and Sandy had to stay at home - they are a lot more trouble than me since they are so big! After lunch mom and I left to drive back home - I am always happy to go visiting, but it exhausts me - I sleep soundly all the way home and then usually go to bed very early in the evening!

We found out during the week that we could go to a trial to get officially measured even if we are not entered in the trial - did you all know that? Now that I am two, I have to get measured twice to get my permanent height card. So mom and I got up early yesterday and drove to the same place where my trial was held two weeks ago - there was another trial this weekend. We were hoping to get measured by our instructor again - but she is sick with a very bad case of the flu and couldn't be there! So we decided to wait and go to get measured during a trial in March - we can't enter it because mom has to work. The next trial we plan to enter is on April 4th and 5th. Hopefully I will have my height card by then and it will say I am 14" or under!!!!!!

Then yesterday afternoon mom, dad and I went for a cold walk up at the lake where we frequently go - the temperature was in the upper 20s and mom was hoping that the ground would be frozen. Well, no such luck for her! We started out walking on a closed road that leads to the sailboat club but some stupid people had been there and broken a lot of glass on the road! Why? So we got off the road and took a grassy path. The path was cool but the ground was not frozen and there were puddles and mudholes every where! Soon I was pretty wet. The path leads down to the beach and the lake - at this time of year the beach is really big because the reservoir lake is low - so I had tons of room to run and run on the beach. Then I was covered in sand too. Mom almost had a heart attack when she saw how dirty I was getting but dad just laughed and laughed! I had a BLAST!!!!! I didn't care how dirty I got or how cold it was. The wind was terrible - mom's eyes were watering, her nose wouldn't stop running and her cheeks were fire-engine red! It would be great to have some photos or video of all this - wouldn't it? But who can take their hands out of gloves to do the picture-taking? When we finally got back to the car, mom got a towel to try to dry me off and found that my belly, legs and chest were covered in sandy, muddy icicles!! What a mess. There was nothing to do but put me in the car and go home!

Hope you all are having a fun and enjoyable weekend!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Sunday

Today is our third day of temperatures above freezing. Yesterday was 50! But look at our backyard - there is still a lot of ice every where. Mom has taken me out on a leash since Tuesday when I was limping. She is afraid to let me out on my own because she knows I would get the zoomies or chase a squirrel or something and slip on the ice. So I have not done any zooming or running for almost a week. And of course backyard agility is still out of the question. Mom says she can't remember it ever being like this before.

This morning we walked in our neighborhood for the first time in a week. There has been enough melting that if you are careful, you can pick your way around using the sidewalk, the grass and the street. Now everything is wet and muddy and I come back home filthy! Yesterday our neighborhood was still too icy, so mom took me to walk on a park road near a river. It started out as a great walk, but this park road sometimes goes kind of close to a main road and I went berserk - screaming at the cars as they went by. Poor mom has been trying to break me of this habit since I came to live with her almost two years ago and nothing works. She gets very frustrated when I won't listen to her or look at her (even for treats) .....and I get really frustrated because I want to get those cars!!! If any one has any advice for mom, I think she would appreciate it.

I have been feeling good since Wednesday evening - I bounced back from my horrible vomiting episode pretty quickly. No sign of the limping, but we haven't been testing it much. On Wednesday I go to agility practice, so we'll see how it goes. If all is well, Thursday night is my class and then Saturday we'll go to the trial.

I would zoom if I could,

Ricky

The First Real Week of the Year

Well today starts the first real week of the year - meaning back to work and teaching for mom and dad. We did have a great couple weeks off - the weather was actually pretty good for a few days in there and we got out and did some fun walks! Mom took me to our favorite city park a couple of times (she never remembers the camera when we go there for some reason). Dad and mom also took me to the cemetery - some of you might think it's a little creepy and weird to go walking in a cemetery, but this one is a fabulous place to walk - lots of big trees and big areas to wander around in. And unfortunately lots of places to make me pose and not smile for the camera!

On another day we went up to the lake - you know the lake where we went camping back in August. No camping or swimming this time but we did go on a hike.

The water is really low - it's hard to tell in the photo but mom and I are standing on top of a bank and it's about 4 feet down to the ground from there. Usually the water is all the way up to where we are standing.

This is a view from the end of a new trail we discovered.

We have also done quite a bit of backyard agility practice working on some of the handling exercises from Linda Mecklenburg that have been in the last few issues of Clean Run and also just working on speed and faster weaves with harder entries - no video, of course, because mom never gets it together! This week we start our advanced intermediate agility class on Thursday nights. Looking forward to running longer sequences and learning how to handle them. Mom says we are entering our first trial in February (AKC at the barn where we have been going to watch trials since I was a pup). I notice that she hasn't mailed in the entry form yet - I think she's nervous and getting cold feet! Come on, mom, we've been training for a year now and it's time to see what we can do! (I bet she wouldn't be nervous if she knew that I promise to stick with her - no sniffing around - and promise to do the chute!)

When the weather is too cold or rainy we work inside on tricks, etc. We've got a bunch of tricks in the works including backwards circle and rebound. We just saw some excellent videos of these two tricks - one by Sian and one by ChiDaisy.
There are so many good dog trainers posting how-to videos at YouTube! It is a wonderful way to learn new things!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Labor Day walk

Yesterday was Labor Day and since it was a holiday, mom and dad decided to take me out for a walk at some lesser-known parks to try to avoid crowds. So first we went to a little nature trail near here and I got to walk dragging my long line! I love that because I get to smell and smell and can run to catch up with mom and dad. After our first walk, we stopped at a grocery store and picked up a lunch and went to another nature trail. This one is even better than the first (but I didn't get to drag the long line - too much poison ivy, mom says!) The trail goes down to the river and the vegetation is so lush and varied. We usually find a lot of bugs and dragonflies there. Part of the trail floods easily so a boardwalk has been built so we can avoid the water. Mom and dad took folding chairs and their lunch and we sat on the boardwalk and ate. Of course mom remembered to bring a lunch snack for me! We had the place all to ourselves - our own private get-away! It was awesome!

Tonight mom is playing in a string quartet concert in a town about an hour from here. I get to go (since the concert is in a park!) and grandpa and grandma are going with us. Should be fun - I love to hear mom play. I've been listening to her practice and think she will do just fine. We'll try to get some photos and share them with you tomorrow!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Summer is flying by!

Hard to believe it's July 23 already! Where does the time go? Today is finally a cooler day - I am loving it! Mom loves it to and we both have so much more energy than when it's hot and humid. Thank goodness we get breaks in the heat like this in a typical Ohio summer.

Lately we haven't really done much out of the routine. We start each morning with my lessons - working on basic obedience stuff like heeling, figure eight, stays, recalls, and a little dumbbell work. Then we go on our morning walk in the neighborhood. I am doing well on the walk these days. Mom drapes my leash around her neck and I am fairly good about staying by her side. She occasionally has to give the leash a quick tug to remind me about what I should be doing. We have a routine with cars now too - when we see one coming, mom tells me to sit and to wait. Then after the car goes by, mom waits for me to look away from the car (sometimes it takes forever for me to forget about those CARS!) and to look up at her. Then we keep going. I am better about not losing my cool and barking like a maniac when cars go by, but I do slip up from time to time. The past few days we have been doing lessons during the walk too - we go to a quiet area of the neighborhood where there is a sidewalk in a grassy area that used to be used for elementary kids to walk to school - there mom puts me through my paces to see if I will listen to her in a different environment. I've been great so far! I even held my down stay when a big flock of Canada geese flew right over my head!

After the walk, we often come home and do a little agility. Lately we have been working on some serpentines and pinwheels and weaves. Yesterday mom set up our teeter on the cement patio - previously I had only done the teeter in the grass and mom wanted to see if the "bang" from the board on the cement would bother me. Nope - I had no problem with it - as a matter of fact, I don't know what she is even talking about. I didn't hear anything. I was focused on the target with the treat on it!

The rest of the day we do gardening, or teach viola and violin if it's a Tuesday, or go to the park, or play in the hose, or chase squirrels in the backyard, or go for car rides, or visit grandpa and grandma.....as you can see, I have a wonderful life!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky