Saturday, July 25, 2015

When Things Change...

It has been a while since I've written anything for my chronicles so I suppose it is time I updated stuff around here. 

I haven't been taking any classes since Grandma's teacher, Amanda from Smart Pups, is on maternity leave.  Congratulations Amanda and family!!

But not everything is happy around our house right now.


If you remember, not long after I arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Maggie passed away.  I hardly knew her so it didn't really affect me that much.  Plus I still had Penny, even though she and I were NOT going to be friends.  But I was hopeful even when she would snarl and snap.

Seriously, when we were out for potty breaks together Grandma would say "Now you be sweet," but she wasn't talking to me.  She was talking to Penny!

And then Penny got sick.  One night they all went for a ride, but Penny didn't come home with them.  I wandered around trying to find her, whining. No more Penny?  I was sad.

I've never been without a doggie friend.  There were dogs around when I was just a pup.  I had Odin the Great Dane and Riversong the Pug as playmates when I lived with Mom, and then Maggie and Penny when I moved here.  Maggie and Penny hated me but they were still part of my family.





Wednesday, June 3, 2015

One Week, Two Events...

It gets pretty boring around here.  I spend a lot of time doing this...


See?  Not very exciting.

Oh, sure, there are times when fun things happen.  We go for walks, or go for rides with Grandpa, or even go to doggie daycare.  But I spend the biggest part of my days lazing around.

And then there are times that out-of-the-ordinary fun things happen!

First of all, MY MOM CAME TO VISIT ME!!!




I didn't really recognize Mom at first because Grandpa had just finished torturing me (he calls it "give Cheesecake a bath" but that is just a code).  I had a very upset tummy so was already feeling rotten when Mom walked up, but when we got all settled down.... YAY! YAY! YAY!  MOM!!!!!

We were happy to be together again.  Almost like we hadn't been apart.  Only I had learned a lot since she last saw me and she was the one who had to catch up!

And then, while Mom was here,  I GRADUATED FROM LEASH WALKING CLASS! 

Showing off my skillz...



 
 
Momentarily forgetting my skillz...
 
 

My classmates were Maggie, Daisy, and Duke...




We all got switched around to other humans.  I really liked Duke's dad...




We had refreshments...


 

Grandma took over for part of the time.  She's the boss of me so I listen a little better to her when the commands are more complicated...


Off-leash walking...

Photo by Smart Pups, LLC

My diploma...



Family photo...


Photo by Smart Pups, LLC
 
Class photo...


Photo by Smart Pups, LLC
And on the way home from graduation, there was this rainbow.  I didn't notice it but Mom and Grandma were taking pictures of it so I thought it must be something special and thought I should include it, too.

 

After Mom went home and leash walking classes were over, life went back to normal.  I practice my commands, chase balls, chew on my toys, and try to convince Penny to play with me.  But mostly I do this...


Life can be ruff.
 

Friday, May 15, 2015

In Honor of My Grandpa on His Birthday...




Grandpa is always happy to take me for walks...



And for rides...





Grandpa misses me when he is at work all day so he INSISTS on giving me lots of love as soon as he gets home...



Really, he would sit and pet me for hours if I'd let him...


And on his days off, Grandpa likes to take naps with me on my loveseat...



When Levi and Liam come to play, Grandpa always encourages me to join the fun...




And when we're just doing nothing, doing nothing with Grandpa is the best!!!






Friday, April 17, 2015

On a Sunday Afternoon...

When Grandma and Grandpa walked out the door to go to church, I was already ready for them to be home.

I do not like to be left at home when they go places so  I use passive resistance when it is time to go into the crate.

Especially when they are in a hurry!

Yup.  I pretend to be asleep.  And if that doesn't work, I pretend that I am unable to get off the couch by myself.  And if that doesn't work, I try to convince them not to leave me by planting myself near one of the doors and look hopefully at them.

They're not buying it!

So, yeah, I like when they come home.

On this particular Sunday afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa brought home a surprise.

Levi and Liam!  Yay!

We played outside.  Liam and I played together mostly.  Levi was busy doing his own thing!

So Liam took me for a walk...



He fed me "landy-lines"...



I thanked him...




He took me for another walk...



Then I took him for one...



And here is Levi...



Then it was time for the boys to go home.  Grandma wanted a picture of the three amigos.  She had trouble getting us all to smile...


 
 
Still not...
 



Nope...



Almost...



Nope again...



FINALLY!!!!!!...


And then there was just me.  My spot is between the car seats, but I wanted a better view so I took Liam's spot...




I sure do like those boys!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Doggie Daycare...

I heard them talking about going to a kennel.  I didn't know what a kennel was so I just assumed it didn't concern me.  All I really knew was we were going somewhere way too early.

I am NOT a morning person. 

I don't want to go for walks in the morning.  I don't want to practice commands in the morning.  And I certainly don't want to sit pretty to have my picture taken in the morning.

Oh, I like getting out of my crate at 5am when the alarm goes off so that I can perform some basic body functions, but then I want to be left alone to stretch out on the couch and sleep for a few more hours.  And please don't ask me to eat my breakfast before 8:30.  I'm just not that into it.

So why were we leaving the house at 8:00?

Doggie Daycare, that's why!

And why does Grandma have that stupid camera on her face at the crack of dawn?  Ugh!

Okay.  Okay.  I know 8am isn't the crack of dawn, but you get my point.  It was just too early for all that mess!

Despite my cranky mood, Grandma did get a good picture of me as I headed to the car...

No, I'm not happy in this picture but it is better than what I mostly felt like...




I really like going for car rides but I just couldn't get myself to wake up.  Yawn...



So why was I going to Doggie Daycare in the first place?  As Grandma explains it, the lady at Otter Tail Pet Resort requires that certain breeds of dog come and play for a day before they are accepted for an overnight stay. 

Grandma assumed that it was to check to see if I would be aggressive.  But Ms. Karen said  "Nope.  Aggressiveness we can handle (within reason).  It is the anxiety we need to look at.  I've never had a pit bull that didn't have some degree of separation anxiety.  If a dog can't relax when it is time to be in the kennel, they cannot stay with us overnight.  The constant barking stirs up the other dogs and we just can't allow that.  We wear them out as much as we possibly can so that they will be ready for a rest time, but some dogs just have so much anxiety that we can't exhaust them enough."

Grandma and Grandpa really like Otter Tail so they were hoping I would be a polite, quiet guest.

I had a blast!  I ran and ran and ran, and I played and played and played.  I even picked out my favorite playmate, a beagle.  I never did get his name.

Who needs names when a sniff can tell you most of what you need to know?  Am I right?

When they came to pick me up, Ms. Karen greeted Grandma and Grandpa outside the front door.  They were pretty sure it wasn't a good sign.  When Ms. Karen said "The good news is...", they knew it wasn't a good sign. 

So Ms. Karen explained to them that I was a model guest... until it was crate time.  The word "incessant" was used.  I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it didn't sound like a happy word.   She said "If Cheesecake weren't such a great dog, we would ask that you not bring her back to us.  But she is a WONDERFUL dog.  She is fun and smart and cute and loving.  So we are going to work something out."

She suggested Prozac and Valium. 

So I am going back for Doggie Daycare a couple more times before Grandma and Grandpa want me to stay overnight.  In the meantime Grandma is going to work even harder on getting me to be calm in my crate at home. 

I usually like homework.  I get treats for doing homework!  But this "Calm in the Crate" thing really gets on my nerves. 

Ms. Karen, if you are reading this... If I didn't like you and that beagle so much, I wouldn't be back.  But since you are so wonderful and kind and loving, I'm willing to work on it!

Monday, March 23, 2015

First Sleepover with Levi and Liam...

When Uncle Zack and Aunt 'Manda asked if  Levi and Liam could spend the night with us, Grandma wondered if I would misbehave.  Grandpa didn't seem very concerned. 

He never does.

So a slumber party happened!

After a little while of jumping and chasing and squealing, we all settled down.  Grandma kept telling me that I was a good girl.  And I was!  I didn't scratch or nip anyone. 

Even when Liam laid his head on my side for a short rest, I didn't move.  Not even a lick!

After we put on our jammies we watched TV...



And did this ...



I watched the boys play some more...



Liam read to us...


And we just sorta hung out...


I was ready to go to sleep before Levi and Liam were.  They were so wiggly that I finally gave up sleeping on the couch and got into my own bed.



(Grandma apologizes for the poor quality of the photos.  She hasn't learned how to adjust the settings on her camera yet.)