School again?

I just turned 8 months old and Stephen and Kathy say I am in a growth spurt. I am sleepy all the time. Since I was a young pup we began every day with quiet time in the morning, Stephen lets me cuddle with him for a few minutes and sometimes at night as well. He even stopped packing for his trip to JBLM to spend a few minutes with me and listen to a song on my iBone about the things you don't say to your wife. What is JBLM?

But, you would think they would let me sleep on a cloudy Saturday. But, no, they want me to go to school. Didn't I just graduate from clickers and tricks last week? School again. Oh well, it will be fun to see Flurry and Blizzard, Goldie and Cookie, Oscar, Bailey, Jack, Kloe, Ziva, Redd, Rose and Emma again, many of the are bigger than me, but they don't seem to mind my size. And I do like my teacher, Jim Grasley. So, I will get up.

PeeMail from Runtie, Soccer Season is Starting

Hi Yogi,

Rebecca is working with me on my soccer skills. I heard Tracy laugh and say "keep working Rebecca, she almost has it". How is the catch the frisbee thing working for you Yogi?

Hmmm, maybe I can try that.

PeeMail from Jack, (Service Dog)

Hey Yogi, I had my first flight as a service dog today and did well. Keep up the good work, it is a long road, but it is worth it. As a service dog, you can go places most canines cannot.

Social Butterfly

I know I am supposed to become a service dog; but I am a puppy. I feel I must jump up on people. Stephen laughs, he remembers another precocious puppy named HD, that he invited for a web cast and it didn't work out. Years later HD said he regretted it, but he didn't even have his drivers license yet. That's odd, I have had my license for months? Must be a human thing.

Anyway, Stephen and Kathy are trying to socialize me. They bring my mat and tell me to go to my mat, And when people come, they try to keep me from jumping up. Don't they know how much fun, heck, it isn't even just fun, puppies are born to jump. Tonight we tried to go to the Auburn Art Walk, but they moved it and there was no parking an Stephen is limited in his walking right now.

Instead we went to Zola's. They are puppy friendly on the outside tables. Kathy had the Quinoa salad, Stephen had a Turkey sandwich, I had Kibbles.

Next we went to Urban Timber, Kathy had a glass of hard cider, Stephen went shopping at WinCo to make something healthy for Men's Prayer Breakfast, (poor Stephen, he just doesn't get it, all the men have to eat healthy the other 29 days of the month). Some kids came over and I practiced being social. Right now the big focus is on licking instead of touching with teeth. Shucks, all that work on a gentle mouth down the drain.

The graduate - Clickers and tricks 101

Summer is over and that means it is time to go back to school. I have been to Puppy I, II, Canine I at Petco and had to drop Canine Good Citizen, I like to jump up too much. I have also been to Sumner Parks and Rec Beginning dog training. But my favorite class ever was Petco Tricks. At first the clicker was annoying, but then I realized it means treats, lots and lots of treats. I learned a few tricks and Stephen and Kathy learned how to teach tricks, (did I mention it involves lots of treats). Anyway, graduation was tonight. My teacher Martina sent us home to work on kisses, and backup.

Farrelli's in Sumner

Stephen and Kathy had been out all day and were hungry. I was hungry too of course, but wanted to do some people watching, so we decided to eat out. We asked Farrelli's about their outdoor tables and they said actually the tables were Sumner's, but if we wanted to order out, we could certainly eat there.

Kathy ordered a gluten free veggie pizza, Stephen ordered a medium "James Favorite" with non-dairy cheese, I had kibbles. Ferrelli's was very helpful, they brought the drinks club soda for Kathy, ice tea for Stephen and water for me.  Lots of people walked by, some petted me, some steered clear. I tried the old upside down, paws up, routine for a little five year old girl in a pink dress. She petted me and told Kathy she liked me. I liked her too.

Basketball season is starting