What is this? Pretty sure it is not a dog.

Stephen is listening to Styx, Blue Collar Man (long nights). I am pondering. I saw an animal at the Timber Ridge Hospital, (I am getting my extra rabies shot so I can go to Hawaii). Where's Hawaii? Is it further than Banker's Spit, my favorite park?

Dogs have four paws. This has four paws.
Dogs have fur. This has fur.
Dogs have tails. This has a tail, but it flips back and forth rhythmically instead of wagging.

But it is not a dog, at least I don't think so. It has funny eyes. I wanted to Sniff it in Real Life, but I didn't think it would be a good idea.

I did a Sniffle search on the Internet and found a picture that looks like it. Can you tell me what it is?

After Leader of the Pack Training (Mark and Rodeo)

Stephen here: Wow. Yogi was a very different dog when we picked him up from two weeks at Leader of the Pack in Portland. He is a much more balanced packmate. He is very alert and well behaved. The huge question is when to get him neutered. Our contract with our breeder says not before a year. Mark, says between six months, (Yogi is six months old now), and nine months. This is something to think and pray about and perhaps we will open a discussion with our breeder.

He is still full of beans and we like that. Right after we picked him up and before we got him in the seatbelt, he reached over and hit Everclear - Father of mine, which was a bit below the belt, but we could tell he was joking.

Yogi, seems to be smaller than he should be. We are feeding him enough high quality food. I honestly do not mind. I would love him the same if he was 130 pounds and will love him just as much if he ends up at 90 pounds. Both Kathy and I would like to avoid having an obese dog.

When we brought him back home after two weeks, we took care to remind him of the schedule we have here. We wake up early in the morning so he can do his business and then we have quiet time. We also re-introduced him to his toys. He is slightly less interested in his puppy toys, that might be a function of age.

Mark says, not to allow him on the furniture. We don't follow that exactly. Out on the back lanai where the pack gathers to unwind he has his own plastic lawnchair with a mat. That chair is always Yogi's space. Last night Yogi played a Diane suggestion on his iHowl player, Leonard Cohen's Dance me to the end of love.  That was extraordinary! Then he picked his Hallelujah, it is not the best  rendition I have heard, but great backup vocals. Cohen's hat remains me of Tom Waits and I certainly need a fix. Think I will spin the Closing Time album till it is time for my call with Mason.

Back to Yogi and the furniture, inside, we do not allow him on the beds, but he is allowed to join us on the easy chair in the living room when he is invited. That will get interesting when he gets older, but we are up for it.

In home training with Mark and Rodeo in Portland

Dear Mark and Rodeo,

I am excited to be going back to my forever home, but I have to admit that I am a tad nervous about the out briefing between you and Stephen and Kathy. Thank you for spending two weeks together with me for in-home training. I am very excited about everything I have learned. Anything I can learn to pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen test is great. I had my first class Monday, June 22, 2015 and it didn't go so well.

I was supposed to Sit Stay when someone came up to shake hands with Stephen, but I kept jumping up. I don't think this was entirely fair, the person that came up was Nikki, my trainer for Petco Puppy 1 and Petco Puppy II. I was excited to see her, I think that is understandable.

Stephen thinks I should work on my walking skills. In my pack we have three kinds of walks. There is Heel, which is OK if I get a treat or two, I usually do that with Kathy. There is Walking, that means we cover some territory, I get to put a few things in my mouth, especially sticks, but I cannot sniff every blade of grass and may not chew on my lead. I am learning to speed sniff. Walking means I may not get to meet every person or dog we encounter and I am not supposed to bark. I really enjoyed walking with your pack in Portland. Finally there is off lead. Stephen and Kathy only let me do this in safe places like Banker's Spit Private Dog Park and our back yard.

If it is OK, please do not tell Stephen and Kathy about my barking problem. That cut me to the quick when you started calling me Sir Barks a Lot. Rodeo, can you explain this to Mark, sometimes a dog just has to bark. Thanks for the photo, it will always remind me of boot camp.

Yogi's Resume

Yogi F. Von Kinghaus
Born January 14, 2015

Completed classes and certifications:

Petco Puppy I May 2, 2015
AKC Star Puppy May 9, 2015
Petco Puppy II June 16, 2015
Sumner Park and Recs Beginner Dog Class June 20, 2015

In home training:
Average 1.5 hours per day

Commands and hand signals:
Look, or Mira, finger points at eye
Sit, palm up
Down, palm down
Stand, start with sit hand signal then pull hand away in a fist
Wait, hand slashes like an inverse karate chop
Wait till the human crosses the threshold, then OK
Wait for food or a treat
Wait, Come
Wait, Look Left, Look Right when crossing a street, (this is only ten percent successful at present)
Look Left or Look Right, (this is still sketchy)
Touch Yellow, Touch Blue, Touch Grey, ( should have taught nose yellow, but it is too late now
 Leave It, Come, Fetch, Stay, Find It, Find Heel, Settle, Good Boy, Yes, Right and Left.

Concrete day - I am in jail

Last night the pack walked to Banker's Spit. I met a lovely lady named Scarlet and her pittbull Roxie. We romped and slobbered all over each other, but didn't sniff very much. She was bigger than me and I got knocked around a bit, but stayed in the game. We came back to the lair's lanai and Stephen put on some Beth Hartman, he thinks she sounds a bit like Janis Joplin.

This morning started slowly. Stephen and I went on a walk and then he made Kathy a Dickey's smoked turkey sandwich, (I had kibbles),  Kathy started to sort out our upcoming trip, by putting all the reservations in one document. Then Stephen took my outside to go potty and put me in my crate.

Then they went down the hill to work on Stephen's project. I don't know what it is, but it makes a great agility ramp. An hour later they came back to let me out. You know, I could have helped them. Yesterday, when Stephen was digging the hole, I helped.

Later, when the concrete had set and I couldn't knock the post off plumb, I went down to inspect Stephen and Kathy's work.

The day begins and ends with quiet time

I have a schedule. At 0555 Kathy's phone starts buzzing, they call it an alarm. We get up and I go outside and go potty. Then we have quiet time. Kathy and Stephen often read books wrapped in nylon chewtoys, or catch up on their PeeMail on their iBones. At 0900 I get breakfast, which some people say is the most important meal of the day. That is wrong! Every meal is important, in fact, every kibble is important. In fact, every crumb of every kibble is important.

Then we have our day. It seems like every day is different. Last night, I started my new class, Petco AKC Canine Good Citizen. They are asking the most outrageous things of me. The whole pack is dubious that I am going to pass.

But every night we end up on the back lanai. Stephen and Kathy sit on the love seat. I Go To My Mat. I have my own chair with my Mat. Stephen and Kathy say I will need it, that soon I will not fit on people chairs, and my AKC brand blue ducky. I think I need a bigger Mat too. We watch the planes on their final approach to SEATAC. We watch the bats eat bugs. We watch the ducks cruise slowly on the lake. Sometimes we even get to see eagles. At 2200, Stephen eats some people treats called tryptophan. The light fades and we go to sleep.

PeeMail from Roxie at Meeker Days Puyallup

Dear Yogi,

I met Stephen and Kathy from your pack at Meeker Days. They say you and I look exactly like that. I am not sure that is possible since you are a boy and I am a girl. But if you post this on your blog, maybe my pack will post a comment and we can get together and sniff in real life.