Park Times!

Okay, we've been slacking a bit on the blogging department.  All that modelling was Hard Work!  Heehee.

Anyhoo, we've been busy with 'stuff.'  After the Mango Momma's Most Excellent Weave Pole Instructional Video Mom has been inspired to get us out with own own weave poles.  But since we've only had one attempt where we've had more than two poles set up, we don't have any pictures or video yet.  But one of these days...

On Sunday, we had another playdate with Lulu the Bug.  For a short little thing, she's quite speedy...

We had quite the funballs time, and look forward to future playdates!

Today we went on a walk on the Multi-Use Trail (MUT).  We haven't been on this trail in a while, and it was good to get out and go for a long walkie.  The weather was really nice - high 50's-low 60's (i.e. perfect) - so we really enjoyed ourselves.  We also, of course, stopped by the park, and got in a little tennis ball action.

Check out that vertical leap!

We were all into catching balls out of the air today!

Two tennis balls makes for twice the fun!

Happy park times!

We have also been doing bitey-face zoomies in the backyard, but Mom has been slacking with the bitey-face photos; I'll have to talk with her about that.... But I didn't want you to think we had given up biteying each other in favor of modelling.  Although my sister is a HAM.  At daycare they have pictures of all of us, and mine is an action photo (duh!) while Abby's picture is yet another photo where she's Totally Hamming It Up for the camera.  Who'd've thunk that the Hippobottomus would aspire to be a model?  Heehee.

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

What HAVE we been up to?

So, what HAVE we been up to, now that we are Good Citizens, you ask?  Well....  We've been going to the park a lot...

\

And we've been getting in some quality bitey-face time.

In case you're curious, that little fence in the background is to keep a certain sister of mine from sneaking through the one hole in the bushes and barking at innocent doggies walking down the street.


Oh!  And our hurdles showed up! 

We weren't using them there - other than as an obstacle around which to zoomie!

But we have started using them.  Mom has been setting up both of them, but to get the video, she just filmed one hurdle.  We're not exactly Brutus and Carmen (yet... well, maybe never, since apparently we can do sheep herding trials every weekend, but Mom still can't find a local place for dog agility, so the backyard it is!)

Here's our latest video (Mom's still learning how to use the basic movie software on her computer...): http://youtu.be/1x2Zbxqadwg

If you can't see the video, here are a few still 'highlights':

You'll notice in the video (or the last photo here) that Abby tried to get a treat from Mom for running beside the hurdle, rather than over it.  Mom was paying attention and made Abby go back and go over it to get her treat!


And the other excitement?  Abby has been going to MORE doggie classes!   Jessi (the turkey hotdog goddess) has a class on Saturday mornings, and she wanted another doggie in the class, so I went the first week (when Mom almost took me to the car show, instead), and then decided that since Abby gets Saturday Morning Crazies, class would be a good diversion for her.  And the class has Abby's buddy Sherman, the English Bulldog:

Heehee!  Look at that face!

And Lulu is also a frequent member of the class, so everyone is happy!

Abby's got a couple more weeks of class.  In this class she's continuing to work on Good Citizen stuff, as well as "high stress" situations where she's supposed to stay focused on Mom.  As you can see from the not-so-high stress exercise, Abby is shifty-eyed, and tries to avoid making eye-contact with Mom.  Apparently, however, Mom said Abby is "doing well" in spite of her shifty-eyedness.  

Well, apparently I'm doing SO well that I am not even doing classes.  Or maybe there isn't another class right now.  Something like that...  Heehee.  I do miss seeing Jessi every week.  And I miss the extra Vienna sausages... so maybe I'll have to talk to Mom about another class!

There is a rumor, however, that we might have a playdate tomorrow with Lulu!   Jessi has recently moved, so she now lives much closer to us than she used to, and since our park is usually empty, and Lulu requires a lot of zoomie time, Mom and Jessi are trying to coordinate a time where Abby and Lulu and I can all have crazy funballs times together!  I'll keep you posted!

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss:  In case you were wondering about that picture of Mom in Abby's doggie class.... well, it was 35 degrees this morning, and still "a bit nippy" when Mom and Abby went to class, hence Mom's long-sleeve shirt.  You can't see the lady with the standard poodle, but she had a sweatshirt on.  It's nice during the days, but starting to get cool at night!

Anything Abby Can Do...

Heehee. Let me just say that I love my little sister. But what are little sisters for if you can't harass them? I think Mom's brothers would totally agree with that. But I digress... You know how my sister has been in this super-intensive doggie class for 6 weeks to learn to be a Canine Good Citizen? And how Mom has spent TONS of time practicing with her so she'd pass her test? And how she passed her test on Tuesday? Well, I think it's pretty cool, and I'm proud of her. Because, frankly, she has a puppy brain, and it's amazing she can learn anything.

*ahem*

No, really, I'm proud of her.

In the meantime, while Abby has been toiling away in her CGC prep class, I've been in an 'Adult 2' class - way more fun and games, and far less 'serious stuff.' Well, today was the last day of my class, and when it turned out that my buddy Cooper wouldn't be at class, I got to play with Lulu...


And Mom asked Jessi (the Turkey Hotdog Goddess) what it would take for me to get ready for the Canine Good Citizen test. After a bunch of yammering, they decided to do a 'practice test.' And I did just fine. So fine, in fact that since Jessi didn't have a class right after my class, Mom asked if maybe we could do the real test. You know. Since we were there, and everything.

And guess what?!?

I passed! So just like my sister, I'm now officially a Canine Good Citizen! And I didn't have to do a 6 week prep course to pass, either! AND, Mom didn't douse herself in Vienna sausage juice. Neener-neener! So yeah, anything Abby can do, I can do better! Or I can do it at least as well as she can!

Heh. Actually, I'm NOT going to rub my non-Vienna sausage-scented results in my sister's face; we are both Good Citizens, and that's cool with me!

Besides, I can still put the smackdown on her whenever I want!

Heehee.

Anyhoo, this does not mean that we are now all edjumacated and done with stuff. In fact, now that we've got Mom trained on the blue cheese/Vienna sausage dispensing, we want to keep going to school - why stop when we've finally got her trained? Besides, I'm sure Jessi has Super Secret Vienna Sausage Dispensing Techniques that Mom is now ready to learn!

Thanks, Jessi! We all think you are PAWSOME!!!


And for those of you who are Lulu fans (and really, who isn't? I mean, she's a Bug - how can you NOT love her?), here is a gratuitous Lulu picture. (Since I was being tested, Mom didn't get any photos of me.... But Lulu photos are good, too!)

*kissey face*

-Fiona (CGC) and Abby (CGC) the Hippobottomus (for the record, 'Hippobottomus' didn't fit on the AKC form...)

Serious Funballs Times!

Hiya! So we've been doing all sorts of funballs stuff in doggie class. Well, I have. Abby's been trying to cram for her Canine Good Citizen test next week. More on that later...

At my class last week, Jessi (the turkey hotdog lady) brought her dog Lulu to class. (You may recall that Lulu was also at Abby's class last week.) Now, I've known Lulu for a while. Sometimes when Jessi would dog-sit us, she would bring over Lulu, and we'd have crazy good times. For a 14lb Bug (Boston Terrier/Pug mix), she can hold her own with the big dogs. It's always good to see Lulu.

Hi, Lulu!!!

Last Friday at my class, we were working on 'leave it' and Lulu was the 'demo dog.' She was first given something nommy to chew on...

And then told to 'leave it' and is distracted with something even more nommy (in this case, a bit of Vienna sausage).

Clever girl! Heehee.

There aren't alot (okay, any) pictures of me 'leaving' things, because when we were outside I wasn't really interested in any of the 'distractions' like rawhide chews, or cookies or even a tennis ball (hey, I had been at the park earlier...) - nothing was quite as interesting as the Vienna sausage bits, so I mastered that quickly. And let Mom take 'snooter shots' instead.

Hi Mom!

Oh, and just in case you were wondering about Lulu, even though her Mom is a "professional trainer of dogs" (to be more precise, she trains humans in efficient methods of turkey hotdog delivery), Lulu is a bit of a free spirit, and her Mom prefers her that way. So, while us other doggies were learning to 'leave' things, Lulu was busy checking out the box of goodies.

She's no dummy! Heehee.

But lest you think this is an all-Lulu post (which I'm sure Jessi wouldn't complain about), let me sneak in a picture of ME from the class. You know how Abby has been practicing lying down while Mom walks away from her?


Yeah, well, I can do that, too.

See?

Anyhoo... Speaking of my dear little sister. She's got her Canine Good Citizen test next week, and so this week's class was a 'practice test.' The class started off with a little socializing, as some of the uh, "more excitable doggies" (which may or may not include my sister, but probably does) need a few moments to compose themselves. Especially when the ever exciting Lulu is around!


Obviously Abby had to get all the latest gossip from Lulu and Denver...

And Lulu had to make the rounds - and make sure Mom didn't have any extra blue cheese on her fingers! (Check out that tongue! That is totally designed for efficient blue cheese removal!)


And then they got on with all the tests (which Mom doesn't have any pictures of because, well, she was trying to handle Abby through these adventures). Apparently Abby did OK (although I have intelligence which suggests that Mom might have slathered her fingers with blue cheese), in everything other than the 'greeting a friendly stranger' test and 'getting pet by a stranger' - in both of those tests, Abby is supposed to remain sitting while she either gets pet, or ignored while Mom shakes hands with the "stranger." Being the social butterfly that she is, Abby gets excited and doesn't like staying seated for long. She finally 'passed' both of them in practice test, but it took a while. Mom's not quite sure how she's going to help Abby 'cram' for this part of the test, but she'll work on it.

Of course, Abby will suck up to Jessi, to make Mom look bad.

What a suck-up! Heehee.

Even when the 'friendly stranger' approaches - Abby is all well-behaved. So at least we know she CAN do it... The question is whether she WILL do it for Mom! Heehee.


Anyhoo, I have a feeling Mom is going to be taking Abby to Petco to work on things a few times before the test. Which is cool, because bully sticks come from Petco, and I think we're getting low on bully sticks. Hint, hint....

I'll keep you posted!

In other excitement, we've been having funballs times at the park!


Zoom-zoom!

And before you ask about bitey-face photos, we've been bitey-facing, but usually in the early morning or in the evening (when it's cooler), and Mom isn't happy with any of the pictures she's taken. But rest assured that we are still doing serious bitey-facing!

Oh, and you might notice that I'm a bit shaggy...


It's a bit hot, and when my darling sister zooms around the yard and through the bushes, she picks up burrs and stickers and things. So apparently we are going in for haircuts on Thursday. So stay tuned for 'nekkid photos'! Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: Mom wants to post a picture of Indie, the pitbull in Abby's Good Citizen Class. She and Abby are buddies - always causing trouble. I think in this particular picture, Indie is being removed from Abby's Bad Influence!


Mom loves her face (well, Mom loves all of her - Indie is still a puppy - 8 months old - and such a sweetie!)... So here's a little more Indie-love!


And a gratuitous Lulu picture!

Kissey face! Heehee!