Frisbees, Ballet, Bitey-Face and Possibly More Frisbees

Heh.  We actually do more than just leap for frisbees, although you wouldn't know that from looking at Mom's camera.  I mean, we go on lots of walkies, we chase lots of rabbits (mostly unsuccessfully), we bark at people and dogs on our street, we bark at the garbage truck, we bark at stray air molecules, we stare in wonder at the mice, we wrestle on the bed (much to Mom and Dad's great enjoyment), and when it rains, we track mud into the kitchen.  See, we do WAY more than just catch frisbees.

Although we do spend a lot of time perfecting our frisbee technique.

Ho-hum.  Abby does this All Day Long.

 

And this.

A picture of grace and uh, well, she caught the frisbee and that's all that matters, right?

Yep.  I can do it, too, when Abby's not hogging the frisbee.

See?  I can levitate, too!

Wow.  Abby's kinda tall!

Yes, youngster - watch and learn.

She gets point for the effort, doesn't she?

Okay.  So we spend a fair amount of time with our frisbees.

Again!  Again!

Of course, occasionally Abby will forgo the frisbee for a little ballet.

I think she's getting ready to audition for 'Swan Lake'.

Heheheh.

Of course, we also make sure we get in some bitey-face - we wouldn't want to lose our edge!

Bitey-face is really a cold-weather sport, but we always like to engage in a little off-season training!

We also spend a little time humoring Mom with some posing.

Goofadoodle.

Why does Abby look so much bigger than me?  It has to be one of those optical illusion thingies.  Or she's a mutant.  One of the two.

It has not been ALL fun and games, however.  As you may know, Abby has her first therapy dog evaluation next Saturday, and Mom and Abby have been spending a ton of time trying to look like they are a well-behaved team, and not just a pair of doofuses.   There actually aren't any pictures of this because Mom has been too busy focusing on not being a doofus, and that pretty much takes up all her energy!  Heehee!  Anyway, Mom is looking at the first evaluation as a 'pre-test'.  She doesn't actually expect that they will pass, but is instead looking to identify the skills on which they are determined to be "not ready".  (Unless Abby - or Mom - bites someone, they won't actually fail, they will just be declared "not ready".)  Mom is hoping to come away from next Saturday's evaluation with some 'direction' for her training with Abby so they'll be a whole lot "more ready" for the next evaluation.

Which means Abby will have plenty of time to get comfortable in this...

Because Mom is all focused on not being a complete embarrassment next Saturday, she has declared that my birthday celebration will be postponed until the weekend (I turn 5 on Wednesday, but apparently there will be no trips to the Magic Cheeseburger Window until after the evaluation).  However, there is some evidence that Mom is at least thinking about my birthday celebrations...

Puppy cake!

And until such time, I'll just be bouncing around waiting for the frisbees to fly!

Throw it!  Throw it!

And, of course, I will keep you posted on the Hippobottomus' level of readiness to be let loose on the public!

Goofy or therapeutic?  You decide!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Happy Birthday Hannah!

We want to give a shout out to our cousin (Mom's niece) Hannah!  Today is her birthday, and while we were thinking about flying AirFiona to North Carolina for a special birthday visit, Mom reminded us that Abby's therapy dog evaluation is coming up soon, and she needs us here for grooming and more prep work and stuff.

So instead, we decided to make a birthday card for Hannah.

Happy birthday, Hannah!   We hope you get lots of goodies and dog kisses!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby and Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Gary

We're Hot Dogs!

Take that any way you want.  Hot or hawt...

But it has been unseasonably hot here...

"Hi.  We're 'doodles and we're hot."

Actually, it was super hot on Friday.  After work, Mom and Dad went on a bicycle ride, and when they came home, they were surprised to discover that the garage door opener didn't work.  Upon further inspection, they discovered there was no power.  After determining that we weren't responsible (I swear we didn't overload the outlets trying to crank up the air conditioner!), Mom and Dad went on the power company's website where they helpfully informed Mom and Dad that the power outage was due to "a power interruption."  Uh, no kidding.  Anyway, the power was off for almost 5 hours, and given that it was 97 in Park City (we don't EVER get that hot... well, hardly ever), we were roasting.  No air conditioning, no fans, not even much of a breeze.  Mom spent a lot of time encouraging us to lie down on the tiles to stay cool.  We were quite happy when the power came back on just before 9pm.

It has actually been quite warm all week, but we haven't let that interrupt our biteying and frisbee time.

We're all about Sisterly Love!

Mmmm.  Abby's ears taste like chicken!  Heehee!

Abby, you may outweigh me by 15 lbs, but I've still got the psychological advantage!

Yep.  Mad frisbee skills!  I has 'em!  Heehee!

There are actually fewer bitey-face and frisbee photos than usual because, well, it's been so hot that when we go out with Mom when she comes home from work, we prefer to hide in the shade.

"Move over.  My tail is still in the sun!"

Since Abby isn't super active in the heat, and she's got her therapy dog evaluation coming up in less than 2 weeks, Mom has been taking Abby to Home Depot, so they can work on being less doofus-y in public.  I'm not sure it's working... 

Look!  You can get a mirror with a goofadoodle in it for under $40!

Yuh.  She's so NOT being a doofus here.

Or here.  Especially since Mom was trying to make a statement with the caution tape...

Mom saw this and immediately thought of Granny, who is in a constant battle against her squirrels.  Mom was baffled, so I'm not sure what that means...  Heehee!

Not quite sure what Mom was trying to photograph here.  Like I said, it's a big request to ask both Mom and Abby to not be doofuses at the same time.

"Hey Mom!  I think this super cool washer-dryer set will even fold the clean laundry for you.  You totally need this!"

"And while we're appliance shopping, how about a new range?  I bet these cook doggie birthday cakes in half the time!"

"Yep.  It's still hot out!"

While Mom and Abby are having good times at Home Depot, I get to hang out with Dad.

"Hi Dad!"

Oh, and in one final bit of excitement, when Mom broke out the vacuum cleaner today, Abby and I decided to hop in Air Fiona and get as far away from Vacula as possible - we found ourselves near the Hagerstown (Maryland) airport.  Khyra's Mom was able to get a photo of us!

You might have to biggify that one - we still haven't gotten our Dreamliner yet, so we're still flying an older (and smaller) fleet...  Heehee!



*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Back to Normal (Well, As Normal As We Get)

Heehee.

Now that Mom is back from living in the Atlanta airport seeing Granny and Grandpa, things are getting back to normal.  Or as normal as we get.

Before Mom left, she decided she would start REALLY working with Abby to prepare for their therapy team evaluation (the Therapy Animals of Utah group doesn't just evaluate a pet - they evaluate the pet/handler team - so it's not all on Abby!).  Now Mom is all "Ohmigawd!  The evaluation is July13th!  How much socialization can we cram into the next few weeks?"

Which means that Abby is getting all the doggie class time, while I get to stay home and hang out with Dad, enjoying some Abby-free time.

Yesterday was Abby's first day of "prepping" and she worked on her 'meet and greet skills'.  Of course, Abby is a natural suck-up, so the focus was to keep Abby from going totally cracker when people came up to tell her how cute she is.  Jessi (the turkey hotdog lady) even made this cool sign so people would stop by and pet Abby.

Doesn't Jessi totally rock?  Abby even has her own time on the class schedule for "Therapy Dog Prep"

Saturday morning at 11am at Petco is actually not as busy as you might think, so Mom and Abby are going to go during the week as well, after Mom comes home from work, so Abby can get used to busy stores with filled with people anxious to buy a few dog treats to placate their doggies who have been home all day while their humans have been working all day (to earn money to buy doggie treats).

However, the sign was still pretty successful, and Abby had to use all of her mentals to stay calm while people petted her (or walked other dogs by her).
 

Abby dutifully accepting pets from the nice 'Vetco' vet who was there to administer low-cost vaccinations.

There are times I think Mom is almost as much of a hambone as Abby!

I anticipate a few weeks of peace and quiet as Abby is hustled off to Petco, and Home Depot, and other dog friendly places where she can learn to act a bit more like a civilized dog.

Dr. Liz here.  While we are working with the intention of passing our evaluation on the first try, the Pet Partners people have a very rigorous evaluation process (which is a good thing) and I will not be disappointed if we don't pass the first time around.  If we are successful, that would be fantastic, but if not, it will give us both the chance to get a sense of what we really need to work on, so we'll be ready for the next time we get evaluated.  I really like that Pet Partners has such a demanding evaluation process - I'd rather we be super-ready before we are out at a site, than be worried that we're only kinda-sorta ready.   And all of the work with Abby will give Fi a break from her sister - which I think she'll appreciate!

Abby was quite worn out after her session yesterday, so I think this whole Abby-as-therapy-dog thing could be great!  I mean, she might get worn out enough that she doesn't have the energy to be so crackery all the time!  And I really don't see any downside with that.

The evaluation covers EVERYTHING, from her behavioral skills to Abby's hygiene (Mom has started brushing our teeth) and physical fitness (seriously - they won't evaluate over-weight doggies - the thinking being that since the pet is the first priority of the handler, if a pet isn't at a healthy weight, the owner should focus on getting the pet healthy before tackling therapy work - and I like the message that sends, to both owners and the people who meet the certified dogs).

So in addition to Abby's skills, Mom is continuing to ensure both Abby and I are in peak physical condition.

Yep.  Her teeth are looking great!

She looks like she's ready for take-off!

Cracker dog face.  We probably shouldn't show this photo to the evaluators!

She flies!

More physical activity.

And yes, I have my own frisbee time.  I just don't fly through the air like a crazy dog!

I love my sister.  I really do.  But sometimes I have to give her a piece of my mind when she's doing her "I'm-too-cute" routine.

She's such a suck-up!

Which is why I like to give her a big old "pfffth" when she's not looking!

Heehee!

Actually, I really hope Mom and Abby succeed with this whole therapy dog thing.  I think Mom would enjoy it, Abby loves seeing people, and I think little old ladies might actually find Abby's sucking up to be charming!

Hi!  I'm here to be therapeutic!  (Once I've passed my evaluation, that is!)

And while Abby is off sucking up to people, I can amuse myself by making funny faces!

Have a great week!  And be on the lookout for more photos of Abby learning how to behave like a civilized doggie!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus