Whackadoodle Wednesday

As you probably know, my sister and I are half Standard Poodle and half Golden Retriever.

Today, my sister showed that she really is only half Retriever.

See all those frisbees at her feet and the expectant look on her face, waiting for Mom to throw another frisbee?  Abby's Retriever half is clearly the half that chases things down, and not the half that actually brings things back.

Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

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

More Doggie Class Excitement

Hiya! Mom's been slacking, uh, busy with other stuff, so we've got a few doggie classes to catch up on...

Last week, in my class we did this thing where we were supposed to get all excited, and then calm down all of a sudden. Now I will admit that I've got certain 'triggers' that get me all bouncy and excited (people ringing my doorbell, fr'instance), but Mom jumping around with squeaky toys isn't one of them...


Yeah, um...


Calming down wasn't really too tough. Some of my other class-mates were more easily excited, and so the class was focused on them...


Which was just fine. I got to pose for Mom a lot:

Hi Mom!

Heh. My class meets on Friday afternoons and we are outside for most of the class, so we get a lot of people walking by, and while the other doggies were working on being calm (really, I've got pictures of a calm labradude!), I have a lot of visitors. Strangers were coming up and petting me and telling me how beautiful I am. Heh. I know I'm pretty, but it's always nice to be told so, especially by complete strangers. Being around strangers has not been one of my strong suits (talk about things that get me excited!), but with a liberal application of turkey hotdogs from Mom, I had a great time on Friday! I LOVED people telling me how pretty I am! I was even approached by a little kid, and I didn't get all spooked (but I did get a lot of turkey hotdogs). Since Mom was feeding me turkey hotdogs, and Jessi was working with the other doggies, there aren't any pictures of this, but trust me - I was GREAT!!! Who knows, maybe I'll be a Good Citizen one of these years!

Speaking of 'good citizens'.... Oh. Wait. Calm labradude picture, first, so you don't think I'm lying. Cooper was totally getting the calm thing down!


Oh, and labradude water art...


Heh. That's some talent, dontcha think?

Okay, so on to the 'Good Citizen'. Let's just say that Mom's latest plan to get Abby to pass is to soak her shorts in beef juice. Oh. Wait. I didn't say that. But don't be surprised if Mom accidentally drops a cheeseburger in her pocket right before Abby's test. Heehee.

But seriously? Apparently Abby was TOTALLY BANANAS in her class today. Look at this face:


Does that look like a good citizen to you? Looks like a crazy citizen to me...

They started off with a little 'play session' that Mom couldn't get good shots of because of the lighting, but here's an idea of what goes on behind closed 'good citizen' doors!

That blonde blur is my 'good citizen' sister going bananas on Indie, the sweetie pit bull.

And then a few moments later, Abby looks like she's a good citizen, right?


Well, that lasted about 2 seconds (if that...)...

Bye!

Yeah, um... So, let's move on to later in the class.... Abby was being Such A Doofus that Jessi had to 'handle' Abby in the 'greeting another person with a dog' exercise. And even then, Abby had a tough time keeping it together.


Notice her inability to stay seated? Yeah. Let's just say that Little Miss Fluff Brain had a wee bit of a Tough Time today. However, she did have One Shining Moment when she was supposed to 'stay' while Mom walked away from her, and then back to her...


So, I guess that's progress. Notice the complete lack of other doggies? Yeah. That's probably why Abby was able to 'complete' this task.... *ahem*

The rest of the time? She was trying to contain her Innate Goofiness...


All of which is why Mom is thinking about slathering herself in Eau du Hamburger moments before Abby's test.... Luckily Abby's got another week of 'practice' before the Big Test Day.

The class was not a total loss, however. Jessi brought her dog Lulu today, and Lulu is a serious cutie. She's been to our house before, and she's total funballs to play with. Lulu is the little teeny dog in the middle there.... She's a 'Bug' - a Boston Terrier/Pug mix


Lulu totally holds her own with the other doggies - notice how she's grinning at Abby's attempts to chase her?


Heehee. And, Jessi definitely loved having Lulu around:


Awww. Isn't Lulu a cutie?!?

Anyhoo, if any of you have any suggestions of how Mom can keep Abby's attention during the Good Citizen test (you know, meat clothing, blue cheese perfume, etc.), please let me know, as I think she's gonna need all the help she can get!

Oh, and in other excitement? We've been going to the park a lot (but Mom hasn't been taking pictures for some reason, although she promises to do better...) and playing frisbee in the backyard.


Never a dull moment!

Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

New Snow!

We have had a series of storms in the last couple of days (which is a good thing, because we had some days in the high 40s.... and we were losing a lot of snow), and Abby and I have been taking full advantage of the new snow. We got some new snow yesterday, it cleared up for a while, and then by the afternoon it was starting to snow again.

And (say it with me....) bitey-face in new snow is ALWAYS fun.

Lookit those toofies on Abby. I think she needs braces! Heehee.

Frisbee time is always good when it's snowing, too.


So, as the snow began to fall again yesterday afternoon, I did my best to make sure that all of the towels in the house were called into action. Heehee.

And then we woke up this morning and it was DUMPING!!!!

AWESOME!!!

We got about 16 inches of new snow, and Abby and I were not going to let any of it go to waste!

We mentioned that bitey-face is always better in new snow, right?!?

This is our Dancing With the Dogs submission.... Heehee!

We only lost one frisbee in the deep snow!

C'mon, Mom. Throw it, already!!!


Yep, frisbee time in new snow is great, too!

So, we say, let it snow! We're having fun!!! And with the holiday weekend, Mom and Dad are avoiding the ski resort, so they are spending lots of time with us!!!!


Heehee. Abby is such a doofus!

Happy snow days to everyone!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: For those of you who have been wondering about our snow; we live at 7,000 feet, and we will likely have "measurable" snowfalls until late March, if not April, and we'll probably have 'dustings' into May. As much as Mom complains about "wet dogs", I assure you that she likes us covered in snow much more than when we are covered in dust or mud! Heehee!