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!

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

My Sister the Super Spaz

Before our Granny retired, she was one of Those School Teachers - you know, the teacher whose class you prayed to not be placed into. Mean Mrs. Marshall she was called. And one of the things Mean Mrs. Marshall would do to kids who stepped out of line was make them eat lunch with her, rather than with their friends. Why do I mention this?

Well, when Abby got to her Canine Good Citizen prep class today, she was being a Super Spaz. Yeah, really. Abby. I know, hard to believe, huh? Heehee. Because Abby was all spazzy, she had to go sit with the teacher!


However, I am sure that Granny never used Vienna sausages to get her students to behave. (Although, if Granny's students were eating the school lunch, maybe she did!) Jessi worked her magic, and Abby started to pretend to be act like a good dog. BTW, I am not trying to suggest that Jessi is Mean; I'm saying that Abby, like some of Granny's students, needed a little, uh, up-close-and-personal attention to behave like a good doggie.



However, Abby had to stay with Jessi for quite a while.

Not that Abby minded. Abby first met Jessi when Abby was 10 weeks old, and has never forgotten that Jessi is The Original Source of Turkey Hotdogs.

Abby as a 14 week old suck-up.

But I digress... Jessi got the wild beast that is my sister to calm down, and Abby went from Crazy Puppy...

To suck-up puppy (yeah, so she's a year and a half old - she'll always be a puppy!)....


She may be bigger, but that just means she's a bigger suck-up! Heehee.

Look at her, all good citizen-y in training!


But as soon as she got back to Mom?

Goofy puppy.

Heehee.

Meanwhile, the rest of Abby's class was, well, less goofy.

Zoe and Denver just hanging out like REAL Good Citizens.

Hefner, being the handsome standard poodle that he is.

Banjo, the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, being a good little doggie.

Okay, enough of the Good Doggies. Let's get back to my little sister and her class today. She and Mom had to approach another doggie/person pair, and Abby (and the other doggie) had to sit while Mom and the other person shook hands. Let's just say that A LOT of Vienna sausages were involved in this process...

Yes, Mom is shaking hands with the wrong hand, but her right hand is covered in a Vienna sausage/dog slobber combination...

Yeah, um, Abby's got a little more work to do before she's ready to past that part of the test! Heehee.

Then, Abby had to attempt to do the same thing that I did last week. She had to sit in the middle of a circle of doggies and attempt to pay attention to Mom... Emphasis on 'attempt.'


Mom had to dispense a whole bunch of turkey hotdogs to get this:


And you'll notice when Abby was one of the doggies walking in the circle, she kept trying to eat Mom's fingers off in an attempt to get at the turkey hotdogs...

Heehee. I think Abby's got a fair amount of work to do before she's ready to be a Good Citizen, but Mom is hoping that with Jessi's miracle-working abilities, Abby might be ready to pass the test in a few years, ah, in a few weeks. Or maybe Abby is just being a goofball to get the extra turkey hotdogs... Hmmm... I must ponder this behavioral cleverness... Heehee.

Okay. Enough about Abby and her ability to snarf down turkey hotdogs and Vienna sausages. Let's get to a few funballs shots from us at the park yesterday morning...



Good times! And yes, I've got the greatest sister in the world. Even if she's a goofball!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss: Mom would like to thank Jessi for getting some pictures of Mom during our doggie classes. She'd also like to thank Jessi for molding us into the fine, upstanding doggies that we are today!