Working-K9: April 2008 Posts

Friday, April 25, 2008
Summer is here

Ok so technically it may not be summer yet but I and my human agree that when the little lizards become active again at night, its summer. Obviously it's warm enough even after dark for the little cold blooded beasties, so it's pretty warm. Warm equals summer to us. It hasn't hit 100F yet but it's getting close.

Now if I could just talk my penny pinching human to turn the air conditioner on!!!

Thursday, April 24, 2008
Weeeeeee

Normally I wouldn't post something this frivolous but I was really bored one afternoon and decided to play with my rope toy. I often sit and tear at it. Preferably while sitting directly behind my human so the sound of fabric ripping will draw her attention. This usually results in me getting something. Sometimes she'll give me a bone to chew, sometimes she'll take me on a run, sometimes she just distracts me and takes the rope away but it's always something.

However this time I didn't feel like the usual fair. So I started to run through the house flipping the piece of rope haphazardly through the air. I hit a few walls with it, then a few chairs, then noticed my human glaring at me from around the corner so I darted out the doggie door.

Outside I could really pick up speed and fling that rope quite a distance. It was fun so I did this over and over running back and forth the length of the yard until I finally wore myself out. I was happy and my human was laughing at me.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Party Time. Excellent!

Last night was the PetSmart Birthday Party. I don't think it was PetSmart's birthday and I don't think it was any of us dogs or humans having a birthday so I'm not sure why it was called a birthday party unless they were just looking for a reason to have a party. If that's the case, someone should tell them they really don't need a reason for a party, just party hardy.

No matter the reason, it was still a party. Annie, Riyka and I were some of the older dogs attending the party. Most of the dogs were young puppies and we weren't allowed to get too crazy so the three of us mostly just watched.

The humans ate cake and chatted. The younger dogs played a little and then were taught the "high five" trick. That is one trick I'm not allowed to do anymore because I may have scratched a few too many people, including small children in my zestful attempts to show off. Now I'm strictly a no paws on people type of dog.

For the most part the party was rather relaxed. Not as many games as they have during the Halloween parties. However they did have a hat thing. Actually only Annie and I had hats. Apparently my human found out about the best hat competition while on the PetSmart website. She told Annies' human and the rest is history. We each had a custom made hat. I will admit Annies' was better than mine; of course mine was made while my human was sitting in the waiting rooms at the Mayo Clinic where she spent most of the day.

I did get a $5 gift card for showing off my hat, which was dubbed "The Vegas Hat". My human was sweet enough to use that gift cart to get more chew bones for me. I also got a small goodie bag with a few treats and another new bandanna in it.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Lost and Found

My daily runs are starting to get longer again. Due to the decrease in exercise over the colder and wetter winter months I need to build up each spring back to my 4-5 mile sprint. The other day we hit the four mile level and I was feeling great. Tiring a little but my stamina has been growing.

Just as we were about to reach the end of the run my human noticed the little dial that allows her to adjust the speed of her scooter was missing. It had popped off somewhere along the run and it was gone. This isn't just a minor inconvenience. Without that little knob it is very hard to adjust the speed of the motorized cart.

We did a little back tracking in an attempt to find it but I was starting to tire and the sun was setting. My human figured it was long gone and would probably be crushed by a car before we had time to go out again and find it. I agreed with her.

Even knowing there was little chance of finding such a tiny object over a span of a four mile loop she was determined to at least try to find it. This time she made me do the same run in the mid day sun. Something about better lighting but all I felt was the heat of the sun beating down on me.

We took this second trip a little slower than the first time as she constantly scanned the edge of the road for her little dial. I sniffed as stuff. I tried to get a little taste of a dead pigeon but she stopped me short and made me leave it alone. I just don't get it. I'm never allowed to check out neat stuff like that.

A little less than a mile from home she spotted something. Now she had spotted stuff before on this trip but quickly moved on. This time she stopped the scooter and took a closer look. To her astonishment it was the tiny dial and it was undamaged. I just glanced around trying to figure out why we stopped. She pointed it out to me; I looked and pulled a head. I wanted to keep going.

When I realized we weren't moving until I fetched the item I relented and grabbed the little piece of plastic and spit it out in to her lap very quickly. Plastic that has been sitting on the road all night and day doesn't taste good after all. Now that dead pigeon may have tasted good but I'll likely never be allowed to find out.

With the little dial safely in her purse we headed home and I retired to a long nap on a nice and cool tile floor.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Buzz Buzz Buzz

One afternoon my human was out for only a few hours. When she returned she discovered that a small starter hive of bees had decided to move in to the car port. Actually they moved in to a gap in the wall so they were actually between the walls of the house. This is not good.

At first she worried that they were the aggressive African bees but after some time she realized that they weren't those type of bees. A friend came over to spray some bee killer hoping it would flush them out and make them move on to another location. It didn't work and much to her surprise he didn't get stung once.

So the next day she called Atomic Pest Control. They specialize in bees and they came out that afternoon. They wouldn't let her watch them work from outside the house. Probably fearing for her safety but if you know my human she has little fear and much to everyone's shock she has little to fear. Is she simply that lucky or is it a gift? Who knows.

Anyways she couldn't watch so she couldn't get photos of them in action but I can tell you they wore full bee suits. They sprayed, put something in the gap and told her to have the gap caulked shut in 7 days. She paid the bill and they left. I know nothing of money personally, but she seemed very pleased with the cost given the quick service and how effective their service was.

The bees are all gone now. Life is back to normal.

Monday, April 14, 2008
Running with Riyka

Riykas' human decided she needed a little reprieve from the kennel for a few hours. He had been working so many hours all week and he felt guilt leaving her kenneled all the time. So one afternoon he called my human and asked if he could drop Riyka off for a few hours. Naturally she said yes.

For those of you who don't know; Riyka is a Belgian Malinois. They are very active working dogs. In fact she's more hyper than I am. Like me she is very driven to work and like yours truly she is a service dog.

After her human left my human kept Riyka in the kennel for about 20 minutes per the instructions she was given. My human Riyka her a few biscuits, chatted with her and then released her. As expected she darted around the house looking for her owner then followed my human and me out to the back yard. She jumped on my human a few times, again it was an expected response and she was ready.

Then Riyka relaxed a bit and we ran around the back yard while my human cheered us on. This was also the first time Riyka had ever been left here so my human was diligent about watching her as she does for any new dog until she learned that dogs behaviors.

Finally she left us to our own devices and we played. Drank lots of water and played some more. All the while taking many short breaks to rest and cool down. When my human disappeared to her office we followed. I think Riyka was a little shocked that my human didn't spend copious amounts of time with us. After seeing that my human wasn't going to leave, she again relaxed and the play resumed.

As usual though my human did emerge from her office eventually with the camera in tow and started snapping pics of us. Knowing that Riyka likes to jump on people she did her best to not excite Riyka too much. I on the other hand trying every cute trick I could think of to get Riyka to come wrestle with me.

I think she had fun and my human seemed to enjoy watching us too.

Sunday, April 13, 2008
Desert Dog Police K-9 Trials

This weekend was the Desert Dog Police K-9 Trials in Scottsdale. We didn't go Saturday because we found out about this event too late but we attended Sunday for many hours. It was very sunny and hot to boot.

Annie and Gretchen rode with my human and I. Charlie and his friend, who is in town for the weekend, joined us later.

Naturally watching the police dogs in action was an exhilarating experience to say the least. Because we missed the first day's trials we only got to see the field search and the guard and attack maneuvers.

For the search portion I kept trying to tell the dogs via telepathy that the guy was hiding in the big trailer but they must not have been too receptive. Only a few actually found him. I was good and didn't bark once.

Then the Phoenix Police helicopter circled the stadium and landed in the field! It was very loud but wow was it cool! Then the cop and his K-9 partner jumped out. The K-9 sprung forward and tackled the helpless human stuck in that bulky bite suit. After the agitator (the guy in the bite suit) was subdued the K-9 and his human partner jumped back the helicopter and flew away.

After a short intermission and a trip to the concession stand for a ball park frank (yes a hot dog) and a soda the event started up again. I'd like to point out here that while the food was within easy reach of me the entire time, I didn't devour it. In fact my tongue only popped out unexpectedly a few times. Once my human was mostly finished she did share the bun with me. Not what I was hoping for but you can't win �em all.

The next trail consisted of the dog escorting the prisoner with the police officer, then going after another assailant when he attacked the cop, then chase down and stop the first guy from wandering off and out of custody. These dogs are good and were more than happy to attack the instant he or she was needed. After a short jog across the field they were confronted by a pseudo-bad guy armed with a leaf blower used to scare the dog off from the attack. It didn't work. Most of the K-9s were quick to jump the guy and he surrendered. Finally the K-9 was asked to run after a guy shooting (blanks) at the officer. Naturally they did but the assailant gave up once the dog began the charge and the officer recalled the K-9. Some of the K-9s did very well at this. Some still attacked the bad guy which did cost the team points in the trials.

After seeing all of this I offered to become a police K-9. My human however didn't think licking an assailant in to submission would work all that well. I guess I have to settle for being a service dog, but a damn good one.

Saturday, April 12, 2008
Kids, Dogs and Pizza. Oh My!

We met up with the Arizona Goldens group once again. This time we met for dinner at the Organ Stop Pizza restaurant. I, nor my human, had ever been there before so it was quite the experience. I must admit the temptation to nibble and lick the dropped goodies on the floor was impossible to resist. I love pizza!!! So I did get corrected on several occasions. Actually all us dogs did.

We sat under the table and waited for the humans to finish their pizza while trying to chat over the extremely loud noise coming from the pipe organ. There was a short break in the music as the man playing the pipe organ descended in to the floor for a short intermission. With the lights, the dancing puppets and the music, it was all very cool if you ask me.

We did a little fetching on command with all the added distractions. At one point a little kid ran up and grabbed me. I was very good throughout the ordeal and maintained my composure. Since the boys dad saw what happened and didn't correct the child my human stepped in to stop the child as he lunged for me a second time after having briefly moved to grab Annie. She was nice to the kid but wouldn't let him come in contact with my fluffy soft fur so he gave up and wandered back to his dad.

As an extra special event my human had friends from Iowa passing through Phoenix on their way home so they joined us for the dinner. They actually pulled in to our drive way as my human was putting my vest on to head out so they followed. Being the diligent tourists that they were they took photos of the restaurant and naturally of us adorable working dogs. Who could resist?

Their little boy was also very excited to see so many dogs but they had prepped him for the nights' events and he knew he wasn't allowed to touch us. I knew he really wanted to thought, I could see the longing in his eyes. After we got home and my vest was off he was allowed to pet met and gave me a wonderful belly rub. They stayed the night with us but were up and off again before my weary human dragged herself out of bed the next day. She figured that would happen; she knew they wanted to get an early start on their long journey home. I guess Iowa is quite the distance from Arizona but I'm just a dog so these things mean little to me.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008
I Feel Pretty

I do get bathed regularly. In fact I get a simple bath about once a month. You see I like to roll in the dirt and stomp in the mud at every available opportunity. I'm a dirty dog; very dirty. Every three months or so I get a special visit from Scrub-A-Dub Doggie, they are a mobile grooming service. I'm personally not keen on this experience, I actually like being dirty but the joy my cleanliness brings to my human makes it worth while.

Since I am groomed regularly and most everyone in the neighborhood sees how stunning I look once all the dirt has been removed everyone has decided to get in on the action. Several of the neighborhood dogs are now on my grooming schedule and the mobile groomer parks outside my house and he does one dog after another. This last time he did four dogs including myself. Each time we seem to get more and more jumping on the band wagon. Before too long he'll be spending one entire day in this neighborhood. There are many dogs around here and they are all just as dirty as me.

Now as you enjoy some of my pics, allow me to entertain you with a little song.

I feel pretty,
Oh, so pretty,
I feel pretty and witty and bright!
And I pity
Any girl who isn't me tonight.

I feel charming,
Oh, so charming
It's alarming how charming I feel!
And so pretty
That I hardly can believe I'm real.

Sunday, April 06, 2008
Yard sale

Well this has been a busy week. Mostly for my human as I've been slacking off due to a minor muscle pull in the leg. I guess wrestling with Raine was a bit too much for me this time. So while I've been taking it easy my human spent the week getting ready for the yard sale.

This yard sale was again for a few friends of her, though she did sell a few things in the sale too. Last weekend items started arriving in the carport and she starting selling some of the items off early to friends and neighbors. In fact by the time Friday rolled around for the start of the actual yard sale she had already sold off many items. I told you my human was a business woman, she does know how to sell and she does it well.

Friday morning we got up before the sun and started working. My human "dog proofed" the house by blocking off most of the house so we dogs couldn't get in to too much trouble while unsupervised. Even the bird Pogo was moved in to the office to keep her safely away from any canine antics.

It wasn't long before Annie came over with her human in tow. Annie and I played while the humans worked. Annie then broke my doggie door. She always does this; I don't know what she has against my doggie door.

Then Riyka came along with her human and we all had fun playing while the humans chatted and worked. It was a long day for all of us. I had fun, the humans looked exhausted. My human tried to nap that afternoon but the phone and neighbor kids kept waking her so she gave up.

My human & I were in bed early that night then much to my surprise she made me get up before dawn once again. Once was fun but this was getting crazy and I don't think she slept well. She kind of looked like a zombie when we got up. As before she blocked off the house and hid all the goodies just before the other humans and dogs appeared.

This time however Riyka and her human came in after a few hours and took over the sofa for a much needed nap. To keep Annie and myself from annoying them too much we were leashed and taken outside with our humans and got to play with the neighbor kids a bit. The Saturday sale must have been slow because they packed up early. Riyka and her human left after fixing my doggie door so Gretchen and my human cleaned up and went out to lunch.

After the last of our company left my human got out the shop vac and went to town on the dog hair covered floor. The hair was clumped in spots and drifted like tumbleweed across the tile floor. After cleaning, she returned phone calls, sold more items from her advertisements online, worked on her clients' sites, answered e-mails then took a one hour nap. About that time the neighbor kids' birthday party started and there was no point in trying to sleep from that point on.

Today she sold a few more items from her internet ads and cleaned house before letting me use the computer to post this blog. We are both ready to sleep for the next 12 hours.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Raine came for a visit

It's been awhile since Raine was over for a visit so my human was kind enough to set up some time for us to be together. It was total craziness right from the start, which as you all know is perfectly normal.

He may be an older dog but he's still quite spry and handles my rambunctious nature better than most. We spent the better part of the first two days wrestling around in the back yard. Since the weather was nice my human enforced the "no wrestling in the house" rule. That was ok with us.

Along with my human we went on one or two long runs a day. The first run was rather short, Raine was a little outta shape but he did a lot better by the third and forth days. One of our short walks took place with Annie, Gretchen and Charlie. Now if only Riyka had been there it would have been a real party.

With all the running and wrestling it was only a matter of time before Raine called a time out and passed out on the sofa for awhile. He looked so cute laying there totally dead to the world. In fact after taking this photo my human did check to make sure I hadn't actually given him a heart attack. Then told me I had to leave him be so he could rest before I actually did him in. *huff* I may be spunky but I'm hardly lethal!

We also accompanied my human to the store a few times. We were both model service dogs. Ok so that's not totally true. Raine did sniff a ladies butt at the bank before my human could stop him. Thankfully the lady didn't mind and petted him. I tried to get in a little sniff at the nest person but my human caught me before I could strike.

Naturally my human posed us for a few nice photos. Well as nice as they could be considering we had been rolling in the dirt and drooling all over each other for a few days.

One of these photos reminded her of the American Gothic painting so much so that she decided to make her own, using us. I just don't know what I'm doing to do with her. She's so weird sometimes.