Penny here. I’m filling in for my mom who seems to be very busy. She and daddy are gone a lot during the day and I’m left to guard the house.
Let me show you around Penny’s Park!
I will tell you that I am a very fierce guard dog — if I’m on the other side of a door. If someone, say the cleaning lady, comes through the door, well, I’m just a happy puppy that needs to get her head rubbed.
I can’t help it. I’m adorable.
Running in my park is one of my favorite things to do!
Anyway, mom and I haven’t been to dog school in a couple weeks. I don’t know when we’ll be back in school. Mom even missed some band, and there’s a concert (so she tells me) this coming Friday!
We had a beautiful day for a walk at my park!
I don’t know, the folks seem entirely disorganized at the moment. I think I’m going to have to give them a stern talking to. I’m sure they’ll shape up if I can get them to focus on me.
After all. I AM the most important dog in this household!
Just because all the snow melted doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods. (Hee hee, see what I did there?)
Mom did take me to my park this week. We call it Penny’s Park because mom didn’t take my sister Katie there very often. Mom says that’s because she didn’t discover it until Katie was pretty old, and it’s very hilly.
It got pretty windy, even in the woods.
I don’t think my sister will mind that this one is named after me. We still call her parks Katie’s Park and Katie’s Park II. I wish she and I had been able to walk in our parks together.
Mom and I worked on my “STAY!” I aced it of course.
Anyway, after a long walk in my park I decided a nap in my dad’s lap was just the ticket. Lucky for me my dad obliged.
Dreaming about my next adventure.
Talk later, your substitute hostess, Pretty Penny, park explorer extraordinaire.
Mom says she posted one of my baby pictures yesterday. She says it was from my very first day home, when I was a tiny little thing. Yesterday was my gotcha day, I’ve lived here three whole years now!
I needed a nap once I came home, it was all so overwhelming.
I sure remember that first winter. There was so much snow! Of course I was a lot shorter than. My Auntie Beth and my folks made a snowman for me.
I thought snow was meant to be played in, not posed in. Sheesh.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to sit next to it. And I didn’t know about getting treats for posing yet. But eventually I sat…for an instant…so mom could get a picture.
What is this ‘sit’ of which you speak?
This year there’s a lot of snow too, and guess what? Mom made a snowman for me yesterday! She said we had to act fast, though, cause it was so warm the snowman’s nose and eyes kept falling out while I was posing!
Whatever, mom. The treats better be good, this snow is cold!
Now days I know all about the treat system so I had no problem sitting in the snow for a little while, knowing there was something good coming my way as soon as mom was done.
Last chance, mom, this snow=boy is a melting!
I’m a lot bigger now…but mom made this snowman bigger too. That’s ok, the sun has already shrunk that ole snowman down to size!
I think it’s been about a thousand weeks in dog years since you’ve seen anything written by me! Mom keeps saying the world is bigger than me. But seriously. Does anyone believe that?
Hanging out with my dad
Anyway I thought I’d bring you up to date on what I’ve been doing. Which is pretty much always the same. Beg for supper beginning at 3:00 p.m. (sooner if I think my parents aren’t wearing watches).
Just checking on the time, dad.
Continue to beg until Mom gives in at 3:50.
Isn’t it time yet, mom?
Ask to go out. Eat snow instead of doing my job. Ask to go in.
Over there looks interesting.
Ask to go out to inspect my yard. Or bark at the neighbors. Whichever comes first.
Initiating my early morning alarm in case anyone isn’t up yet.
Sometimes I ask to go out very early in the morning. Sometimes mom is glad because she would have missed the sunrise.
I told you mom!
Mostly she is not glad. Did I mention barking?
Mom calls this her artsy image, titled “Dog in Snow.”
She also has been taking me to school. She seems to need the stimulation and mind expanding exercise. I go along to supervise.
I got extra treats to sit on this little stool that matched my leash.
We took a short little class where I got lots of treats. I liked the treats part.
I can do this, mom, if you just stay out of the way.
We are back to doing Rally classes now that the holidays are over. Mom forgot to go the first week. She turned into a slacker without a schedule while we were out of school.
Don’t forget the sit at the end, mom!
While we were there mom noticed the pretty photo opportunity, left from the last trial the week before. I wasn’t entered because mom says we are not ready.
It’s a winter wonderland! Just like our backyard!
I don’t know, mom, when are we going to be ready? I ask to go down to my basement every day and sometimes we do, just to practice our obedience. And get treats.
This one is easy, mom, just don’t turn too close to the cone. Leave room for me!
Mom says sometimes she thinks we’re ready and then I do something silly and she rethinks. There’s another trial in March. She thinks maybe she should try again.
I think I’ve got it mom. You just have to trust me.
But…will I be willing to work without treats in the ring? Mom’s been working on that…but she says I’m not reliable yet. Geeze mom, I’m only 3. Have you ever met a reliable 3 year old anything?
I get extra points for cuteness.
Other than school we’ve been playing in the snow. It snows all the time. The snow banks are bigger than me! Even the snow in my back yard is up to my shoulders.
Gonna need a wider trail.
I told mom I wasn’t going to run around and chase snowballs when the snow was that deep. Other dogs’ parents dig them a trail in the backyard to run around on. I suggested that to my mom. She looked at me and then we went inside.
Come on, mom!
I guess that’s not happening.
So let’s see…school….snow….supper. Yep, those are the three most important things going on in my life right now. The 3 S’s.
And naps. Sleep, starting with S of course, is important!
I hope you are all enjoying your winter. Mom says we could do with some sunshine so I reminded her of this day when the sun came out. She had forgotten. Sometimes the sun comes out here.
I remember there was this one day when the sun came out…
Hey! That’s another important S!
Talk later,
Your snow-girl, supper-hog and super all around ray of sunshine, Penny.
This morning I’m numbering the measures of the music we’re playing at our next concert. Which happens to be Friday, March 13th in case you need to put it in your calendar.
It’s our dinner fundraiser, where you pay to attend but we give you food and a silent auction in addition to a full concert. As soon as tickets are available I’ll let you know. Last year (our first) we sold out, so don’t delay!
It’s all fun music.
For your listening pleasure this year we’ll be doing show tunes. And that’s why numbering measures is giving me fits. Because as I’m counting along my mind starts to wander into the music. Then I start to hum and then I tend to mis-number the measures which defeats the whole purpose.
The first two pieces, Les Mis and Grease each had 216 measures! What are the odds of that?
I completed about half the music this morning, until my eyes were going bad and I was secretly glad when a certain fuzzy short member of the family poked me in the leg asking to go outside.
I might need a haircut too, mom. But only after I go outside, OK?
The media has hyped this storm for more than a week, warning us of brutal cold and inches, maybe feet, of new snow. And they haven’t been wrong, about the cold anyway. We’ll see about the snow tomorrow when ours is due to arrive.
Last week I dug Katie’s old boots out for Penny. Penny’s feet are bigger but I can still, with a lot of work, get them on her. We’ve been using them for a few days when she goes out to do her business. She’s not a fan.
Ready to go.
On most of our trips outside at least one, and generally two, boots fall off as she runs around in the snow looking for the perfect place. I collect the rogue boots and stuff them in my pocket and sigh, and when she’s done we race for the house.
Most of the time. Sometimes she stops mid race and holds up a paw. Once she tried to hold up three paws all at once and then just sat down in the snow, shivering. When that happens I pick her up and we race, as fast as I can with an additional 26 pounds, back to the house.
I don’t think she appreciates her mom nearly as much as she should.
I just don’t think this is the look I’m going for, mom!
Anyway today is different. When I woke up this morning about 6 a.m. my phone said it was -15F (-26C) and that it felt like -25 (-31.6C). I lay very still. Penny was still sound asleep, curled up next to me, and I didn’t want to wake her.
At 8 a.m. the temp outside was -18F (-27.7C)
Because when Penny wakes up the day has started and that means breakfast and going outside! I didn’t want to go outside.
For a moment I contemplated how I could get her to hold it all day. I soon gave up on that idea and started thinking about how to make this work safely for both of us. I figured out how I could layer up in running tights under jeans under windproof running plants. And long sleeved shirts under sweatshirts under the coat. And two pair of socks.
I don’t think I’ll come over there to get my boots mom. OK?
But for Pen? She was definitely going to have to wear her boots and even then I was going to carry her out to her spot so there was less time for ‘boots on the ground’ and the opportunity to lose one along the way.
She woke up at 7, had her breakfast and then looked at me expectantly. It took forever to get me dressed and her boots on her.
Well darn it anyway.
She was not excited about me carrying her out into the cold. It hurt to breath. I wasn’t excited to be out there either.
It’s a look.
I set her down and she, of course, couldn’t stay on the part of the yard we’ve packed down from numerous trips. No, she needed fresh fluffy deep snow to pee in. Which she soon found and immediately peed and peed and peed.
I was telling her good girl and hurry up all at the same time. The chill was seeping through my coat.
She finished and looked at me, grinned, and ran through the snow, leaped over the pile of shoveled snow at the driveway and then just stood there, looking around. I asked if maybe she’d like to go in?
This isn’t so bad, mom. Want to go for a walk?
Oh no mom! I have to do my other job, and that needs to be over there in the front yard where we haven’t walked before at all! You know, in the DEEP snow!
I sighed and followed her as she leaped over the pile of snow on the other side of the driveway and ran through the snow until she found the perfect spot.
I think it’s better just over here, mom, come on!
One boot came off. I collected it and told her to hurry up. She did.
So then I scooped her up and we trotted through the snow, over the piles, up the driveway and into the house. Success! She’s such a good dog!
I believe the proper fee for doing my stuff outside is three kibbles mom. Hurry up.
And just then then the sun came up.
A sign of coming warmth. We hope.
We’re not heading out there again until much later today, when we can hope that the sun will warm us up to at least 0F. A veritable heat wave.
Stay tuned for stories about snow tomorrow. I won’t ask you to read a whole post about Penny doing her business again anytime soon.
I have a bunch more bird pictures to edit. There are probably some good ones in there but I’m just not motivated. And if I don’t hurry up and get them done I’m pretty sure I’ll never do it. That would be bad because I have this rule that I can’t go out on a photo hunt if I haven’t even processed the ones I’ve already taken.
Silly rule.
From the ice storm we had last week.
Meanwhile, Penny and I have started back to school. It’s been almost a month since we’ve been in a class. I was concerned that she’d forgotten everything I’ve learned (she says she hasn’t learned anything other than how to manipulate me) and that I would have a wild child on my hands.
Turns out she was very happy to go do some Rally with me last Saturday morning at a scheduled fun match.
At the Saturday fun match.
She got to see other dogs and do some fun stuff (her favorite thing is to fly over the jumps) and get treats and she especially likes it when people come by and tell her she’s beautiful.
I guess mom and dad don’t do that enough.
Lots of shelties were there Saturday.
She did four runs on Saturday, 2 of them off leash. We’re still working on specific stuff, especially the no treats in the ring thing, but we both had fun. It felt good to get out together.
Monday night we started back at our regular Rally class. Two runs, both off leash, and she was a very good girl. She mostly focused on me instead of what was going on in the ring next to us, or within our own class members at the gate or coming or going out the back door.
And there was that jump she REALLY wanted to take, and we had to heel right past it. SO HARD!! But she did it both times. I was proud of her.
Impatiently waiting her turn.
Today she did the cutest thing. I realized during school that I hadn’t worked with her in our basement at all during the weeks long holiday and that we could have been even better in class if I had spent that time with her. So this afternoon while I was out in the kitchen and noticed her treats, I asked her if she wanted to work.
Yesterday we trained at Home Depot.
She immediately grinned and ran to the top of the basement stairs, looking over her shoulder at me. We haven’t worked down there in over a month but she knew exactly what she wanted to do. So down the stairs we bounced and we worked on heeling and figure 8s and waiting and sitting and staying and coming and some other stuff. She’s very focused until she figures out mom doesn’t carry any treats.
Her favorite place to be.
The hardest thing for her was when we were heeling back toward the jackpot treats sitting up on a cabinet. I hadn’t intended to jackpot her then, we just happened to be going that way, and she broke heel to run to the jackpot and I said “no, come here” and she reluctantly did. And then we turned around and heeled away from the jackpot! OH NO!!!! But she stuck with me and at the other end of the room I released her and we both went back to get her jackpot.
Yesterday’s walk at Katie’s park – with SUN!
That was really hard for her. I told her she was a good girl. I should probably tell her she’s beautiful while I’m at it too.
Penny here. I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you all Happy Holidays! And I would have done that sooner except my mom holds the keys to this blog and she’s pretty stingy with them.
And it’s not just the laptop she’s stingy with. I noticed a pile of Christmas presents over by the fireplace last week. I just knew they were for me. After all, who else in this household deserves presents more than me?
So I was very excited as we approached the magic day to find out what was inside all those boxes.
And do you know what? Not one, not ONE was for me! They were all for mom and daddy. Can you believe that?
Mom said I didn’t need anything, that whenever I did need something they went right out and got it for me so I didn’t have to wait. Well, she’s not wrong about that.
Still….
Mom did take me to Katie’s park on the one day that the weather was nice and she and I had a wonderful time. Most of these images are from that walk.
Don’t tell mom, but that was a pretty good present, all in itself. I’m ready for another walk at one of my parks, but mom says we have to wait until the sun comes out to melt all the ice around here. She says she’s afraid of falling, and she’s not sure I’d do a Lassie and go for help.
Well. If I got Christmas presents I might. Mom doesn’t always think about the larger picture.
Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful time and lots and lots of presents from the people and pets you love. And I hope you have a wonderful New Year too!
I don’t suppose I can expect presents for New Years Eve…
Change Is Hard 