28 October 2008 by admin.

I have been going to puppy school for the last six weeks, and this week I graduated with honors.

Six weeks ago mom and I started puppy class.  Mom said before the first class, that it was going to be a long six weeks.  Now I didn’t understand how six weeks could be longer than six weeks, but she said something about lack of focus and not being able to keep my little butt still.  I still don’t know what she meant.  I was just having fun visiting with all the other students in class.  I am absolutely sure they loved meeting me.  I know I loved meeting them.  We are all friends.  There was a little poodle that barked and whined all the time.  What an annoyance that was, but we still had fun playing.  There was a Teruvian that sure was cute and shy.  There were a couple of shepherds and a mutt.  My favorite though was this cute little female Vizla.  She was sooooo cute.  Mom kept calling her my girlfriend.  She sure was cute. 

So the first class we learned something called heeling.  That is where I was supposed to walk really nice next to mom.  Then we also did sits where we were supposed to sit really still for along time.  My butt just wouldn’t stay on the ground that long.  My favorite exercise though was the down stay.  I liked it best because I could take a nap during that exercise.  I think it was mom’s favorite too cause she would get so excited and tell me how good I was when the teacher said exercise over.  School is fun, but kinda boring too.  So, mom said she would start bringing more stuff to future classes so they would be more interesting. 

After a few classes learning the heeling, sitting and downs we got to also start doing a recall.  Mom told me that this was one of the most important things I would ever learn, so I have been working really hard at it and I try to stay enthusiastic and come really fast.  That makes mom really happy. She is also happy because she says my fronts are really good.  I try really hard to sit nice and straight in front of mom, because if I do a nice front then I get a really good treat.  Boy do I love mom’s treats.

After one of my puppy classes we were standing around talking with the instructor and some of mom’s friends, and I heard mom tell her friend, Marty, that I was doing better than either Belle of Halo in my heeling at this stage in school.  She said I really knew where I was supposed to be and wasn’t even pulling on the leash.  That made me really proud that I could do something better than either of my big sisters.  Well, maybe not better, but at least I was doing really good.  Then I heard mom say I was sit challenged.  I wasn’t sure what she meant by that as I never sit unless she makes me.  I am starting to think that maybe mom wants me to be sitting when we stop in a heeling pattern as she always says sit and then pushes on my butt a little bit.  You know though, it just doesn’t make sense to me to sit as we are just going to start walking again.  I guess I will eventually figure that one out.

Mom is really patient with me and we always have fun in school.  Sometimes we play with toys and sometimes I get special homemade liver treats when I do something really good.  Mom also said I was ready for graduation. 

I was a little nervous graduation night because when I walked into school it looked really different.  There was a ring just like at dog shows (at least that was what mom said) and there were chairs for the audience, and some people even had cameras. Mom said we would get a number and when they called us we would have to do everything the instructor told us to do and not make mistakes as we were being scored.  She said it was all for fun and we shouldn’t be nervous, but I was kinda nervous because I wanted to do good. We went third and our turn came really quick.  I did really good on the heeling, but I forgot to sit until mom helped me.  She said not to worry as the other dogs didn’t do as good as I did.  After that I relaxed allot.  The next two exercises I aced.  The sit for exam (we don’t do a stand yet in puppy school) and the recall I do really good. Then it was time for all of us to do sits and downs.  Mom didn’t know it, but I had a big surprise for her.  I had never done a long sit for a minute for her before (remember I was sit challenged), but tonight I was going to keep my little butt planted no matter what happened.  It was hard because that darn poodle kept whining and getting up, but I just kept watching mom and thinking I can do it and next thing I knew mom was walking back to me with a big smile on her face.  I had done it. Yippeee!!  The last exercise was the down, and that one is so easy. I knew I could do the down, and mom knew it too.  Then we were all done and waiting for the big moment when we got our scores.  Mom was pretty happy. She said we did good and she was still happy because of my surprise for her.  If I had known sitting for a whole minute was going to make her that happy, I probably would have done it sooner.  She even gave me a jackpot.

Now the moment we had all been waiting for,,,,,who would get the high score…we did it.  Mom and me got a 91 out of 100.  That was the best in the class.  We got a blue ribbon for it, and everyone was clapping and laughing and having a good time. Mom said I scored better than either Belle or Halo did at their graduations.  She says I am going to be awesome.  I sure hope so, because it sure it fun to make mom happy.

Well now I am off to Intermediate school where I will continue to perfect my heeling, recall, sits and downs, and learn new stuff like a figure eight, a stand for exam, and the finish.  I can’t wait, if it is as much fun as puppy school, I know I will like it.  Plus, some of my puppy friends will be in intermediate class with me.  Sure hope that darn whiny poodle isn’t in my class.

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23 October 2008 by admin.

Boy does my mouth hurt. These days all I want to do is chew on something. I don’t really care what; just give me something to chew on.

I am now a little over 5 months old.  I weigh 41 lbs. and I am about 24 inches at the withers.  Everyone says I am a big boy.  I don’t feel so big though.  When I play with Belle and Halo they still win.  Plus, my teeth have started hurting me something awful.  I am always looking for something to chew on.  Mom is mad at me because I shredded her new chair cover for her nice chairs in the backyard.  I think it was because it was new.  She didn’t get as mad when I shredded the old one.  She even said, “No big deal, it was old.”  I thought it must be ok to chew on, but it wasn’t.  I also put some teething marks in her wood chair on the back porch.  Let’s see, I also have gone through about a half dozen of the really big leather chew toys.  I only get those when mom can watch me.  She says that is because she doesn’t want me to swallow any of the chew.  I also tried to chew on her slipper, but her foot was in it.  I guess that was a mistake.  She just found her small travel mouse for her laptop this evening.  I didn’t do too much damage to it.  After all it still works, sort of. I like to chew on my sisters ears, but they don’t like that and try to bite my head off.  I have lost all my front teeth top and bottom and my new big boy teeth are coming in.  I even lost my first fang, a little bit early.

Now that is a story.  It all started innocently enough.  I was playing rough house with Halo in the backyard.  We were really going at it.  She would grab me, then I would chase her.  On and on we went.  Our big sister Belle was just watching and mom was laughing.  Then I finally caught up with Halo and tried to grab her neck and then it happened.  I caught my upper fang (mom says it’s a canine) on Halo’s collar and snap.  The tooth broke.  No one noticed though, and it didn’t really bother me.  After all I am a GSP and everyone knows we are tough dogs.  So, I went on playing with Halo and having fun.  The next day though it started hurting, but I wanted to be a big boy so I didn’t complain.  That afternoon mom came out to play with us.  I wasn’t really feeling too good though.  Mom was working to get me playing, not knowing I had a broken tooth.  Well she came over and touched my muzzle.  OW!!! That hurt and I jerked away.  Mom got to looking and said, “Ringo let me see your nose.  It looks swollen a bit.”  Then she realized that I had a broken tooth.  She said it looked awful as the tooth was turning a grayish black.  She also said my gum was red.  She immediately put me in the GSP mobile (that is mom’s minivan) and we went to see Dr. Buell.  Well Dr. Buell had the day off, so we saw Dr. Maltby instead.  I like Dr. Maltby because she says I am one fine bird dog.  Dr. Maltby very carefully looked at my mouth and said that tooth had to come out, and that I should stay with her for the day. 

That is when the adventure began.  First, they gave me some pain medication.  My tooth felt a little better after that.  Then they let me rest in a crate and the assistants took turns keeping me company. Finally, it was my turn to get that nasty tooth out. A little while later I started waking up and it was really cold.  I was shaking really bad. That is when one of the assistants (the one that is my favorite) came and got in the crate with me and we cuddled.  She put her arms around me and loved on me and was keeping me warm.  It was really nice.  Almost as good and when I curl up and snuggle with mom.  Almost, but not quite.  It wasn’t too long after that that mom came and picked me up.  I was happy to see her, but I had made some good friends at the doctor’s office too. Now for most this would be the end of the story, but not for me.

So, a week went by and then another.  Mom said the big boy fang was coming in where I had had my broken tooth removed. And then, mom got really upset.  She was looking at the lower fang and all she saw was some blood.  Well you see, Halo and I had been playing again, and well that darn fang on the bottom broke. Mom took one look and said, “Ringo if you want to go to the vet I will take you. You don’t have to break your teeth to get to go.”  This time we had to wait until the next morning because it was too late to go that night.  So, the next morning I got to go visit my friends at the doctor’s office.  Both Dr. Buell and Dr. Maltby were there and Dr. Kelly too.  They tried to take this one out without surgery, but all they could get out was one of the pieces as I had really done a job on this tooth.  It was shattered.  So, I got to visit with the assistants again, and Dr. Kelly did my tooth this time.  Well this time when I woke up I wasn’t cold, but all my friends came and loved on me any way.  Dr. Kelly just laughed and said he had fixed me up this time so hopefully I wouldn’t be coming back with broken puppy teeth. My mouth was kind of sore on both sides too. 

Mom finally got there to pick me up.  I could hear her talking out front, but she took awhile paying and talking to Dr. Kelly.  I also heard Dr. Maltby talking about what a fine bird dog I was and that I must have awesome parents.  I think Dr. Maltby likes me.  Anyway, when they finally brought me out to mom she was laughing with Dr. Kelly.  She said, Dr. Kelly had fixed me up good and that Belle and Halo would be very happy about all the work that Dr. Kelly had done.  You see, Dr. Kelly had not only taken out my broken fang, but he had also taken out my other two puppy fangs that weren’t broken.  He had told my mom he didn’t want her bringing my back again in a few days with another broken fang.  I think Belle and Halo are happy too, because every time I try to grab their ears or neck, well there are no fangs to catch on with.  Mom says, “Ringo, don’t worry you will have your big boy fangs soon enough.”

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5 October 2008 by admin.

Mom took me and my sisters hiking again yesterday and today, but today she took pictures.

Yesterday Mom took me and Belle and Halo to the Greenbelt which is just below our neighborhood where we live.  It is about a 2 mile area with a creek running through it.  It is closer to our house than Turkey Creek, but also not as rugged.  She said just in case we couldn’t go to Turkey Creek again this weekend, she wanted to get us out and hiking again because the weather was nice.  It was fun, but Turkey Creek is better.

Well, today we went to Turkey Creek and Mom took the camera, so here are a few pictures.

This is me waiting for Mom and her friend Mariah.  They were talking and I wanted to go catch up with Belle and Halo.

I am on a flexi as I get a little carried away and take off running.  Mom says there are too many areas for me to get lost or hurt.  There are a couple of pretty good drop offs and she says I get a little crazy when I am running.  She told me Halo used to be like that too, but is now reliable.  Boy, I can’t wait to be reliable.

Here is another picture of me backing Halo (with a little help from Mom and the leash).

We don’t know what Halo was pointing in the bushes ’cause we never saw anything, but Halo sure thought there was something there.  Mom says she has seen quail on this trail and that they are slowly coming back into Central Texas.  She said the fire ants ran them out, but that the fire ants aren’t as bad anymore.  Rumor has it that the fire ants are because those darn Aggies at A&M brought them up here to study and accidentally let them loose.  My mom is a Longhorn and bleeds orange, so she is always saying things about the Aggies.  She also says they have a phenomenal vet school.  Good thing too since my vet is an Aggie.

Anyway back to the the pictures of me hiking.  This next one is me and my sisters using our noses.  That is what we call Quality Nose Time or QNT for short.  My dad was the one that came up with that name.  He always said time for some QNT and Belle and Halo new what that meant.  I am just now learning.

And finally, this is me and Belle after we got home from the hike.  We sure were tired.

Mom says a good GSP is a tired GSP.  I guess this means me and Belle are really good.

Bye for now.

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2 October 2008 by admin.

Well Fall is here (at least the temps have dropped) so we get to go hiking more often now…

Mom says now that the temps of summer have broken, she is going to take us hiking more often.  Geez, I didn’t mind the heat, but mom and Halo like it cooler.  Anyway, mom took all us kids to Turkey Creek this last weekend.  We went with friends (three of mom’s friends and another furkid GSP named Hannah).  Well Belle and Halo got to go off leash because this is a really cool 3 mile loop where dogs are allowed off leash, and Belle and Halo are reliable.  Mom said I had to be on leash cause I’m not reliable yet and I am way to fast.  It was still fun because she put me on a flexi and I got to go out to the end of the flexi.  My sisters were pretty good about staying with me too.  Hannah is a pretty cool friend.  She is an 8 year old GSP that has been rescued.  She says her new forever home is the best. 

Well back to the hike.  It was really awesome.  Belle and Halo were a little disappointed because they said there is usually water (11 creek crossings) on this trail, but due to the dry summer the creeks and springs are all dried up.  Except for one mud hole that is.  I found that slimy mud hole with green stuff on top.  I almost got into it too, then mom looked up and saw what I was doing… Boy did she yell. 

That hike was really long - 3 miles.  Of course, my sisters did about 10 miles and I probably did more than the 3 miles even on my flexi.  We met some other dogs on the way.  Mom wouldn’t let me run up and greet the other dogs until I had been properly introduced.  That is something I am also learning at puppy school.  But I met allot of other dogs.  It sure was fun, and I sure was pooped by the time we got back to the car.

Mom says we get to do it again next weekend and she is going to take her camera this next trip.  So, hopefully I will have some pictures to post next time.

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