Rip is a STAR!

Look at the sparkle in his eye... how can anyone deny that he's a star?

Even the AKC agrees!

Yes, Rip completed puppy class (The Husband took him to this class), then passed his STAR Puppy test on the last day of class.

This program is relatively new to the AKC, and contains tests/verifications on basic puppy care, puppy manners, and (very) basic obedience elements.  It's a nice precursor to the CGC, then on to obedience & agility titles if desired.  Sure, it's not an official title, but who wouldn't want a puppy who's a STAR?

Happy Howl-idays

We hope you all had a lovely, peaceful Christmas.

Iowa winter math

30 degrees + no wind = SUMMER!

Yesterday was a lovely, sunny day in my part of Iowa.  I put on the snow boots, snow pants, insulated coat, gloves, and wooly hat.  I grabbed the Trio and we set off for a long walk.  By the time I was a few steps away from the house, I realized that I was too warm.  I walked back and dropped off the hat and gloves.

Two blocks away, I walked by a neighbor who was outside shaking out his floor mats.  Wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  We smiled at each other and he said to me, "just like summer, isn't it?"  My answer was, "It really is, I didn't even need my wooly hat and gloves!"

Then I started to think.  When does 30 degrees start to feel balmy?

After weeks of snow and temps that didn't reach the legal drinking age.

Perching on the table isn't quite as much fun in the winter...

Our "summer" was short - we've had 8" of snow so far today...

This picture represents the pack well

Rip is a running, leaping blur.

Maggie is barking her opinion.

Ziggy is looking happy, sweet and calm.

Such is life with the Trio of Trouble.

"Oh, that didn't go exactly as I'd planned"

I have a new favorite phrase.

Today The Husband and I were cleaning up in the kitchen when I dropped the soap and knocked over a stack of dishes in the sink.  Instead of cursing or fretting, I said, "Oh, that didn't go exactly as I'd planned."

The Husband cracked up.

Then I started to think about other applications of the phrase.  Said with a slightly incredulous tone, it can be used to lighten up many situations (you have dogs, so you know the type  situations I mean).  You can even play around with where you put the emphasis during the phrase to best support the situation.

Some examples*:

You're in the ring and your brace team decides to frap during the off leash heeling.  Instead of looking mortified and feeling embarrassed, why not just look at the judge and say, "Oh, that didn't go exactly as I'd planned."?

OR

Your puppy gets loose during his STAR puppy test and goes to greet 3 other dogs standing outside the ring.  You could hang your head in shame, but why not just say, "Oh, that didn't go exactly as I'd planned."

If you're really disciplined with the phrase,  it can be used to lighten even more serious situations.  For example, if you are going too fast around a corner and put your car into a snow bank while pulling into your child's preschool.  When a helpful fellow motorist pulls over to help you, instead of apologizing for being stupid enough to try to take the corner so quickly, why not just say, "Oh, that didn't go exactly as I'd planned."

I encourage you to try the phrase.  You just might like it...

Disclaimer:
*Please note that none of these situations is fictitious.  Unfortunately I didn't use the phrase for any of them.

35 Cardis and 1 Pem

Today I got into the Christmas spirit and baked frosted sugar cookies using the cookie cutter I got from Cardi Claus.

The final tally is 35 cardigans and 1 pembroke (ok, it was meant to be 36 Cardis, but one of the tails broke off...).

We will be giving a dozen of them to our veterinarians as an end-of-year "thank you" from the Trio.  I'll also be taking a few to some "crazy dog friends" at work.  The rest will be happily eaten by The Husband, The Child, and me.

Maggie is mad that I didn't follow Penni's advice and make cardi cookies FOR the Cardis.  I promised her I'll do that during Christmas break.

Ready to go in the oven

The first batch is almost done

Frosted and ready to eat.

I tried to make one that was colored like a Cardi.

The Husband asked if The Child had decorated it.

Thanks, sweetie.  

I realize that my fallback career will not be decorating cookies.

What's a project without a helper corgi?

Rip hung out with me to "help" with baking and frosting.

Sh*t my dog eats

As I've had many posts recently about Rip ripping into various items, I feel like I should change the title of my blog to "Sh*t my dog eats."

Here's the most unexpected, or perhaps most amusing, thing he's eaten so far.

My bra. 

Yes, my dog ate my bra.  Now mind you, this is not just any bra.  It's my most expensive, most comfortable, and (previously) most often worn bra. 

Now take a close look at where he chose to tear it up.  If this conformation/obedience thing doesn't work out for him, I think the boy's got a career at Fredrick's of Hollywood...

Naughty indeed.

Travel Tuesday: San Diego!!

FINALLY I get smart when planning business travel, and hit the right geography at the right time of year.  Yesterday I left home - where the temp was below zero, and landed in San Diego, where the temp on arrival at 7-something PM was 70 degrees!!  Lovely, beautiful, balmy weather!

This morning it was a bit cooler, but my meetings started in late morning, so I had a chance to go to the beach.  The ocean and beach are special, and especially appreciated when one lives in Iowa.  Here are a few pics from this morning (before the fog burned off).

A bit of a grey morning, but lovely regardless.

The sound of the sea, the fresh sea air....

In the grey light, the rocks looked beautiful

I thought these 3 were sweet. 

And I loved the patterns in the sand.

These patterns in the sand were even more impressive

Looking for breakfast

Another local resident

In the afternoon it cleared off to a gorgeous blue sky.  We even got to eat lunch outside!  What a treat for a midwesterner in December!

Tomorrow it's back to the office for some meetings.  I'm hoping to finish up early enough to hit the beach for sunset...

Remind me again why I live in Iowa?

A vacation to see Denzil. Errr I mean to see my family...

Such a sweet, sweet dog

Last week The Husband, Child, and I went back to SW Washington to have a week of holiday celebrations with my family.  As I've mentioned before, an added bonus of visiting The Family is that we get to see Denzil.

Unfortunately Denz was not doing well when we got there.  He was very happy, but toe-touching lame on his right rear.  Apparently the day before we arrived,  he went outside  and came in lame.  Who knows what he was up to.

After a couple of days of rest Denz showed no improvement, so my Dad and I took Denz to the vet.  Diagnosis - just a bad flare-up of his arthritis.  The vet gave him some extra pain meds (compatible w/ his regular Deramaxx), and he had a laser treatment.  This seemed to help him feel more comfortable, but he still wasn't pain-free.

This week Denz went back to the vet for a tooth cleaning.  We had the vet take another set of knee x-rays while Denzil was "out."  The good news is that the vet didn't see much of a change in the past year or so.  And, apparently, this last bout of lameness was relatively short-lived, as my Dad tells me Denzil is doing well enough to rejoin my Dad on their daily walks...

Denzil in "his" 1.5 acre yard.

Apparently he likes to just lay in the yard and look at the critters.

Naughty by name; naughty by nature

The blog post title is The Husband's favorite quote when referring to Rip.

In case you're wondering if Rip is living up to his name, here's what happened when I was out of the room for mere moments....

Maybe mom won't notice the ripping noise.

After all, she is down the hall...

Maggie says, "Move away from me. 

 I want nothing to do with your naughtiness."

Ok then, I'll just settle in to chewing.

Lest you think that this bag is the only bag that suffered, I also found these "victims"lying on the floor:

Bag #2

The Child's school papers.

"The dog ate my homework" applies here...

Mr. Naughtypants did himself proud while I was putting The Child to bed!

Cardi Claus came!

Many thanks to Laura, Ricky, and the Lyberty Gang for a great Cardi Claus package!

Cardi Claus was good to us!

The Trio got many yummy treats and I got a Cardi cookie cutter.  The (human) Child saw it and decided that we're making Cardi Christmas cookies this weekend!

Here's The Trio's reaction:

Treats!  Treats! Treats! I can't contain myself!

Mr. Naughtypants will have the whole stocking, thank you!

And, meanwhile, the dogs that I've trained....

Please mom, please.  We're giving you our best stares....