Fall colors, certificates and green feet

Heehee.

Fall is here.  Trust me.  This is our backyard.

All fall-like.

Which means.... fall bitey-face!

 

 

 

We just wanted you to know that we haven't given up bite-facing.   We're still working on our weave poles and our hurdles, but sometimes we've just got to cut loose and bitey each other!

Mom still has to work on her technique, and we're not exactly Brutus and Carmen, but hey, we've graduated to four poles!

In other excitement, we went to the park this morning, and the grass had Just Been Cut.  (As in, the gardener was still cutting the far end of the field while we were there.)  No pictures of our park action, but Mom was greatly amused with our green feet.

Green feet?  Really?  You think that's funny?!?

Apparently Mom thought the green feet were really funny, as she too lots of pictures of our feet, especially Abby's since her coloring makes her leprechaun-like feet more obvious.  

Heehee.

And finally, our Canine Good Citizen certificates arrived!  And as our Grandpa keeps pointing out, the certificate is the Most Important Thing!   Heehee!

 

Now we're both certified.  Or certifiable, or something...

Frankly, my sister STILL looks certifiable, in my humble opinion...

Heehee.

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

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

Photo Shoot, Part Doo

So, last post was all about Abby, the total ham and camera hog, right?  Well, FINALLY, the pictures of ME showed up.   You can see that I'm totally NOT a ham.   Unlike my sister, I prefer a more, ah, casual, wind-blowing-through-my-ears kind of look.

Carefree, if you will!

Actually, to be honest, I didn't really like the 'popping' noise of the photographer's flash, and I didn't like the feeling of the material they used for the background and the floor.  So I may or may not have been ready to bolt in the above picture.  I'm just saying...

Oh, and it didn't help that Mom brought Abby along, because she thought it would be 'fun' to get some pictures of the two of us together.  Fun?!?  Mom, you've got a twisted sense of fun.

Let's just say the 'cute, loving sister' photos didn't exactly materialize.

We were on one leash so, theoretically, we would sit together and look all cute.  Yuh.  That totally worked.

This was as close as they ever got to us sitting together and looking cute.  You'll notice that I'm plotting my escape while my goofball sister is entranced by the squeaky-toys being employed by the photographer's assistant.   But Mom was REALLY hoping she might manage to get a picture of her with the two of us.

Um.  Not so much.  You'll notice the death-grip Mom had on me in an attempt to get me to look at the camera.  Uh, I mentioned that I really didn't like the photographer's flash?  Or the proximity of my sister?

Finally, Mom got the hint that maybe the two of us weren't going to cooperate.  So, she got another picture of her with Abby the hambone,

and then put Abby in the car, so we could focus on ME!  Finally.  *sheesh*


I went with the contemplative look first.  You can almost see the Deep Thoughts I'm thinking!

Then it was time for pictures with Mom.  I mean, Abby can't be the only one with totally cute pictures of her with Mom.

The last one came out pretty good.  However, I'll let you in a little behind-the-scenes secret.  That last photo is cropped.  Here's the full-sized version...

If you look closely, you'll see that I was trying to get off the icky-feeling background.  However, you might also notice Mom has a cookie in her lower hand... A cookie that I received immediately following the taking of that picture.  Hence my interest and enthusiasm!

Heehee.

Okay, so I'm not quite the model my sister is.  Mom's happy that she got a couple good shots with me and her, and she thought my ears flapping in the breeze were cute (even if there really was no breeze, and it was just me not really sitting still...).

And I have to admit, it's a more unique look than you get with my sister the model!  Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Wordless Wednesday

Except that it's not Wednesday yet, and it's not wordless.  It's called artistic license!  Heehee.

So, remember right after Abby did her Good Citizen thingy, Petco was doing the photograph thingy?  And then Mom hauled me in the next day?  Well, some of the pictures of Abby have come in, and Mom is anticipating the DVD of all of our photos in the next couple of days.  But in the meantime, here are some pictures of the hard copy photos of my sister, the total ham.

 Total hambone!  But, I'll admit, she looks pretty cute.  You know, for my sister and all.

 In this photo, Mom was trying to emulate the picture she got of Abby when she was a puppy.

This is the photo Mom was trying to imitate.  Frankly, I think Abby looks WAY more serious as a puppy than as an "adult."

Mom calls this Abby's "Jesus photo" because in the original it looks like she's got a halo around her! 

Abby's 'model' strut.

This one is Mom's favorite.

Abby is such a suck-up, smiling at the camera like that!  Alas, I was not quite as cooperative.  But you'll see when Mom gets the DVD with my pictures!

*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!

Pedigree's Write a Post, Help A Dog Post

According to our good friend Tank, who heard from our buddy Bocci, Pedigree is donating 20 lbs of food for each bloggie post between now and midnight Sept. 3rd, 2011 that mentions the Pedigree Foundation. The Pedigree Foundation is dedicated to helping shelters and rescue organizations who help the millions of dogs who, through no fault of their own, wind up in shelters each year.

My sister Abby and I are Very Lucky Doggies. We have loving parents who take very good care of us, making sure we get the proper food and exercise, training, and regular healthcare. And we have a lot of doggie (and kitty) friends who have saved their humans from dog-less (and cat-less) existences when they came home from shelters and rescue homes. (A house without a dog? Or three? Perish the thought!)

So we think it's pretty cool that Pedigree is donating dog food to shelters Just For A Bloggie Post. Seriously! Twenty pounds of food! If you've ever had to carry twenty pounds of food up from the garage (not that I have, mind you, but Mom has), you know that's not an insignificant amount of food! Needless to say, we think a few minutes of our time is a great trade for a shelter to get 20 lbs of food. And we strongly encourage all of our doggie friends (and their assistants with opposable thumbs) to do a quick post for the Pedigree Foundation before midnight on September 3rd (that would be midnight Eastern Time, BTW). It's free kibble for shelters, so go! Post! Now!

We'll be back to our irregularly scheduled posts soon. But in the meantime, here's a couple pictures of Abby who was determined, even on her first night home, to Never Miss a Meal.   Now go do your own post so other doggies don't miss meals!  It costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time!

She's totally sacked out!  Heehee!

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

PeeEss:  If you want more information on the Write A Post, Help a Dog drive, check out Bocci's post - he's got all the information:   http://boccibeefs.blogspot.com/2011/08/pedigrees-write-post-help-dog-2011.html  And then go write your own post!