Gerritopolis (by: Gerrit)

You're not gonna believe where my puppy raiser took me today! She took me to this place where there were TONS of dogs. I've never seen so many dogs in my entire life! And, check this out... they all smelled... very fresh and clean!

I found out from my puppy raiser that the reason they all smelled so good was cause it was a dog show and the dogs had to look there very best. My puppy raiser told me that the dogs compete against each other and they can win ribbons for looking good. I asked her if I could win a ribbon too! She just laughed and said for me to win a ribbon she'd have to change my name to something like Sir Gerritopolis III. Huh? I asked. She tried to explain how show dogs have long fancy names and are bred specifically to be show dogs... kinda like I was bred specifically to be an assistance dog. But, I still didn't quite get it. All I know is that if I had to change my name to Gerritopolis in order to get a ribbon... I'd pass on the ribbon!

We went to the dog show with Nick's puppy raiser. Nick didn't get to go cause he was with his other puppy raisers today. Boy, oh boy I can't wait to tell him all about the dog show! The reason my puppy raiser took me there was to work on my dog distraction issue. Having this dog distraction issue was the best thing I ever decided to do cause I sure get to go go some neat places because of it! The dog show was way fun! I saw great big giant dogs called Great Danes (who looked as big as horses), fancy funny looking dogs called poodles (who had their butts shaved... seriously!), big shaggy dogs called Bouviers des Flandres (my puppy raiser had to help me spell that!), and sooooo much more! There were dogs EVERYWHERE!

And, you're not gonna believe this, but my puppy raiser told me that I was a REALLY good boy at the dog show! I didn't whine at all and I kept making eye contact with my puppy raiser and Nick's puppy raiser. They both rewarded me big time for this with yummy treats! My puppy raiser said that it was amazing how much better behaved I was at the dog show than I was at the event last week. Not only was I good around all the dogs, I was even a good boy when a bunch of kids came over to pet me!

My puppy raiser took a photo of me in front of a Best of Winners sign (above) cause she said today I was so good that I sure was a winner!!! As soon as I came home, I told Lucky and Carlo all about it! Lucky just shook her head and said, "You poor sap... haven't I taught you anything? If you are too good and you make it look like you no longer have a dog distraction issue, she won't take you to all those fun dog events all the time!"

I smiled, wagged my tail, and responded, "Oh, but I did learn from you Lucky! I may have been good around the dogs, but I was REALLY distracted when we visited the dog toy vendors. Those squeaky toys really got me going! Pet stores here we come!!!" :-)

Dog'gone Fun Event (by: Gerrit)

Today I got to go to an event called Doggun... Dog'gone Doggie... oh heck, I don't remember what it was called, I just know that it sure was Dog'gone fun!

I went there with my puppy raiser, my buddies, Nick and Idelle, and their puppy raisers. My puppy raiser told me on the drive to the event that we were going to work on dog distractions. Cool! I LOVE dog distractions! But, I never dreamed that there would be so many dog distractions at the event! It was awesome!

The event was held at a big park and there were dogs of all shapes and sizes. Big giant dogs and itty bitty yappy dogs. The whole thing was so exciting! The other dogs at the event were being tested on agility and obedience type stuff. We lucked out and didn't have to do any testing, but we did have to be good and observe... which, let me tell ya'... wasn't so easy! In fact, I think it was tougher than being tested. At least if you're being tested, it gives you something to take your mind off the fact that there are soooo many dogs... all of which look like they'd be so fun to play with!

My puppy raiser worked with me for awhile and then she gave me to Nick's puppy raiser so that she could work with me too. Both of them said I was really good... errr... ok, ok, maybe those weren't the exact words that came out of their mouths. But, I think maybe they said I was pretty good... cause I was pretty good... well, except for those times when I was just laying and observing. That's when I started to be sorta whiney. But, I just couldn't help it! It was sooooo much fun being around all those dogs! I just loved it, loved it, LOVED it!

Just to prove that I was good once in awhile, here is a photo of me being a good boy. I'm being so good that I'm not even noticing my tail being kinda funny!

After all the torturous observing of other dogs, my puppy raiser took some photos of us. Here I am with my buddies, Nick and Idelle. In case you can't really tell Nick and Idelle apart... Nick is the one with the drool. Hee hee... he's so funny! No wonder I love dogs so much... they are always doing funny stuff like this! How can I not get excited!

Muddy Ponds and Baths (by: Carlo)

My pal hasn't worked for the last four days... it's been awesome! We've gone on long walks every day, played in the backyard, watched movies, and hung out. It's been the absolute best time! She said that she's gotta work tomorrow, but that's ok cause I'm a little tired after today's outing.

Today Gerrit and I went to Hunter's home. Hunter is my BIG buddy with the HUGE backyard and ponds with mud in it. The last time I was at his house my pal said she's never in her life seen a dog so dirty as I was! I LOVE Hunter's muddy ponds!

I didn't get as dirty today, but boy oh boy did I have a good time! Gerrit was his usual self. He ran and ran and ran. That dude never stops. He also played keep away with sticks and toys that he found. I ran too, but not nearly as much as Gerrit. And, Hunter ran even less than me cause he's already 8 years old. But, he still played with us is in the muddy ponds... which was soooo much fun!

When we got home, the first thing my pal did was give us a bath. She said we couldn't step a single paw into the house until we were spotless. She also gave Lucky a bath. Lucky didn't go with us on our outing cause she sometimes gets a little pissy at Hunter cause Hunter doesn't accept the fact that she rules the roost. I asked Lucky once if Hunter's home was actually his roost... and she just glared at me and said that she rules the roost no matter whose home she's at. Personally, I think Lucky is a little scared of Hunter cause he's so gigantic. But, I would never ever tell Lucky that! Anyways, Lucky was a little peeved that she got a bath too. She hates baths. She grumbled that she didn't even play in the muddy pond... but, my pal said it didn't matter cause she was way overdue for a bath. So, Lucky sighed and put up with it... mostly because she knew if she put up with the bath she would get treats afterward. I LOVE baths cause of the after bath treats!

Anyways, I'm sorta glad that my pal is working tomorrow cause I sure am tired. I'm looking forward to napping ALL day...

Hellllllooooo Spring! (by: Carlo)

Good bye winter... and helllooooo spring!

The cold rainy days are finally behind us... and the sunny warm days of spring are finally here! That's all I've got to say about it cause I gotta get back to playing! See ya!

Sweet Boy (by: Carlo)

I sure am loving being a change of career dog and being back home with my pal (who was once my puppy raiser)! I'm finding that every single day I'm gettin' away with more and more. I think it helps that my pal thinks I'm super sweet... hence, her nickname for me "Sweet Boy". She sure is a sucker for my sweetness. Between being back home and being thought of as sweet... life is good... very good!

A few weeks ago I decided to put my sweetness to the test. One morning, when my pal was trying to sleep in, I did an "up" on the bed. For those of you not familiar with CCI lingo... "up" means I put my two front paws on something. The only catch is that CCI dogs aren't supposed to do an "up" unless they are told to do an "up". Well, since I'm technically no longer a CCI dog... I thought what the heck, and I did an "up" on the bed, right next to my pal's head! My pal slowly opened her eyes. She stared into my eyes as my tail wagged back and forth. "Oh Carlo", she said, "you really should not be doing that." And, then I saw what I was looking for. That hint of a smile and twinkle in her eyes. At that moment I knew I was golden! My tail wagged harder. "But you're so dang cute! My Sweet Boy...," she sighed as wrapped her arms around my head and gave me a big hug. Yes siree... I was golden! I was sparkling with sugary sweet success!

A few weeks went by where I continued to do an "up" on the bed on weekend mornings; and each time I had the same wonderful results. This weekend I decided to take things just a tad bit further. My pal was watching a movie Friday night. Lucky was hogging the prime spot... the pillow by the fireplace. Gerrit was sprawled on the floor, laying on his back with paws flopping everywhere. Both Lucky and Gerrit were sound asleep and lookin' very comfy. But, as hard as I tried I just couldn't get comfy. I glanced over at my pal. She was sitting on the couch wrapped in the softest looking blankie. She sure did look super comfy. Comfier even than Lucky and Gerrit! And, then I thought of something. I'm Sweet Boy! I can get away with stuff! So, I got up, walked over to my pal and did an "up" on the couch. My pal laughed and pet my head as she said, "Why hello, Sweet Boy."

Those magical words meant my plan was working! So, as I was doing an "up", I slowly moved one back foot up, and then the other... until I was doing an "up" with all 4 paws on the couch! Now technically, in CCI lingo, this would no longer be considered an "up"... this would be a "jump"... but, as I said, I'm technically no longer a CCI dog. My pal's eyes got really big as she said "Carlo!". But, before she could utter another word, I plopped down right next to her! And, to my great delight, she just started laughing as she said, "I can't believe you just did that!". Well, you better believe I did it! After all, I am Sweet Boy!

I didn't want to push my success by overstaying my welcome. And, to be quite honest, there really wasn't all that much room on the couch and I started sliding off right away. So, I just let my body slide all the way off and plopped down right next to the couch... where I snuggled up next to my pal's feet. And, as I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep, I started dreaming about what "Sweet Boy" was going to try next.

Reading and Playing (by: Carlo)

Yesterday was filled with FUN stuff! It was the perfect day... I wish we could do that kind of stuff ALL the time, EVERY single day!

In the morning, my pal and her SGF took Lucky, me, and Gerrit on a long walk. Then, my pal took me to my very first R.E.A.D. session at the library. For those of you who don't know, my pal and I recently became an official registered R.E.A.D. Program team. R.E.A.D. (which stands for Reading Education Assistance Dog) is a program that started in 1999 to help improve the literacy skills of kids, by having them read to dogs! The idea behind the program is that kids will improve their reading skills if they read while doing something fun... and what's more fun than reading to a dog?! Plus, us dogs aren't like adults... we don't criticize kids or correct them for making mistakes. We just let them relax and be themselves!

When my pal and I first started looking into the R.E.A.D. program and going through the application process, I thought I was going to enjoy it... but, dang I had NO idea just how much I would enjoy it! It's awesome! There were 3 other R.E.A.D. teams at the library yesterday and each team got their very own blankie and pillows. We had two different sessions... so, two different kids read to me! "My" kids were a boy and a girl. They were sooooo nice. I put my paw on the girl's lap and she pet my paw the whole time she read to me. And, the boy... he kept selecting books about dogs that looked just like me! My favorite book was about a service dog named Buddy!

After the R.E.A.D. program ended we headed up to Tahoe with Gerrit, Nick, and Nick's puppy raiser. Every year our local chapter of CCI has an annual snow day event in Tahoe. The event is held at a puppy raiser's house... they have a HUGE back yard. This is the first year I got to go cause I think last year it was canceled because of a storm or something. Anyways, snow day is the bomb! There were about 40 dogs there and TONS of snow. We played, and played, and played. My pal did make us stop playing a few times... like when she took our portrait above in our cool blue bandannas (which we wore so that she could easily spot us among all the other yellow dogs playing). But, other than that, we PLAYED!

Gerrit, as usual, ran non-stop...

And, he played keep away games with snowballs... which made NO sense to me. This photo is of Gerrit (in the shadows) and Nick trying to take a snow ball away from some poor sap...

I, on the other hand, played more sophisticated games like dance revolution (without a Wii)...

And, I played football (minus a football)... yes, that is me getting body slammed...

After we got home from Tahoe, we all crashed! Sure am glad today is Sunday so we can all recuperate from yesterday's fun!

Rainy Day Blues (by: Gerrit)

Today it rained ALL day. Let me tell you... three dogs stuck in the house all day cause of the rain = NOT good. Actually, Lucky didn't seem to mind... she just slept all day and looked quite happy about it. But, Carlo and I... well, me mostly... were searching for fun things to do in the house!

The only thing that was mildly interesting (other than pouncing on Carlo so that he would start wrestling with me), was checking out what my puppy raiser was doing in her photo studio. She was playing some kinda game where she would balance a bunch of little sticks on top of each other. She said it was a game called jenga... and she was shooting photos of it for an assignment. I didn't get the whole balancing point of it... so, I picked one up and started chewing on it until my puppy raiser yelled "Gerrit, No!".

Carlo then came in to check out what was going on... his tail was wagging as he came up to the tower of little sticks and my puppy raiser yelled, "Carlo, freeze... don't move!" I watched all excited about what was going to happen next. But, Carlo did freeze. In fact, the whole thing ended up being sort of a let down cause then my puppy raiser said "back" and Carlo backed right on out of there without knocking over a single stick from the jenga stick tower. Geesh, Carlo is such an overachiever. So much for my fun!

Sigh. Will the rain ever stop?