dog days

Hi there, it's me again. Kiri the blogging Labrador. I thought you might like to know how an up-and-coming pup spends her days, so I had Mom take a few photos to share.

I start my day with Breakfast, which is The Way Things Should Be. I eat outdoors because my food tends to be pretty messy. (I'll talk more about what I eat another time, but just let it be known that I do NOT eat "dog food", nor should any self-respecting dog. I eat REAL food, the sort that, if Mom chose to cook it, she'd be willing to eat herself.) While I'm eating, Mom goes and feeds the other critters, then lets me run around in the horse pasture with her for a bit. Then I come in and hang out in the kitchen with my collection of really cool toys while she cooks breakfast for the Things and herself. The first few days I thought for sure she'd give me some of what she was making if I was really cute, but I eventually realized that there was no hope of that ever happening, so now I just mind my own business while she's busy.


Thing 1 often comes in to play with me while Mom cooks. He knows how to play my favorite game -- holding together -- really well. Some people call this game "tug", but really we're just sharing a toy. This game makes me wiggle and waggle and I get so happy about it that sometimes I groan. Thing 1 knows that if he steps into the kitchen with one of my toys, I'll bite onto that instead of onto his ankles or his clothes. (He learned that when I accidentally ripped his pajamas one morning -- oops! Sometimes I don't know my own strength!) After the Things and Mom eat, Mom trains me a bit. I'll talk a lot about what we're working on and how Mom goes about it in other posts. But in a nutshell Mom is a positive reinforcement trainer, which means that I get things I like (toys, games, belly rubs, treats) for doing things she wants me to. It's really, REALLY fun!

After our training time, I go out into my yard with a bone while the Things get their morning lessons. Mom says I'd probably go into my crate if it was bad weather out, but so far it's only been nice since I've lived here. (I think maybe I'm a good-luck weather dog....) This is a picture of my yard. Isn't it the awesomest?? It's a cool place to hang out, especially when I have something good to gnaw on. Sometimes Mom and the Things take my sheep-moving sisters for a walk up the road on leashes. I don't get to go on those walks -- Mom says it's only frustrating to try to walk puppies too much on leashes. For my walks, we romp in the pasture or in the woods without a leash on at all. That way I can run and frolic and lie down and jump around without pulling on a leash. Mom says it'll help keep me from learning to pull her around. I am NOT in training to be a sled dog!

After lessons, we either eat lunch (which happens in exactly the same order as breakfast), or we pack into the car and head out on an adventure. If we stay home for lunch, we get to have a 'rest time' after lunch, where we all climb into the big bed and the Things watch a program on the TV while Mom and I catch a nap. If we head out instead, the Things and I eat lunch and "rest" in the car, them by listening to a CD, me by napping in my crate. Mom doesn't get to rest on those days, 'cuz she has to drive. Poor Mom! Whenever we get where we're going, we're all rested up and ready to GO!

Where do we go in the afternoons? EVERYWHERE! Usually it involves visiting other people and Things, and most times it includes a doggy friend that I can play with. This is me and my Labradoodle friend, Beegu, playing in the woods yesterday. Sometimes we go places that Mom and the Things have to do stuff indoors, and I can't always go with them. In those cases, Mom parks in a nice shady spot and leaves me with a good bone to chew on, then checks on me and takes me for little walks during the afternoon. But there's always some fun for me afterwards -- a romp in the woods, play with a doggie friend, or running around with some Things. I'm always really tired by the time we head for home.

Some nights I go to Tails-U-Win! with Mom, and one night a week I even get to go to a puppy class of my own (which I'll also write more about another time!), but usually I go to hang out with Granny Annie or to help Mom with her classes. I like going there, all the people treat me like I'm really special and I have lots of dog friends there. On the nights when we stay home, we read stories in the big bed, or sometimes watch TV. I tend to get the "zoomies" about the time the Things are going to bed, so I go back out in my yard for an hour or two to get it out of my system. Then I come back in and crash on the big bed with Mom and Dad. At some point one of them must bring me to my crate in the dog room, because I always wake up in the morning surrounded by my sheep-moving sisters.

So that's a day in the life of me! I'd share some more stories with you, but tonight's a work night, I have to go get ready to help Mom train some other dogs, first at somebody's house, and then at Tails-U-Win! I'm also hoping for a chance to kiss Granny Annie and play with my Golden friend Tessie. I love work nights!

See ya!