Announcing...

...for the past few months, I've had a job as a dog dog walker. Well now, I have my own business website at www.wagsnwords.com How exciting is that?

So now, I will be posting on this website and on that one, too. I'll try not to duplicate stories and pictures, but it's hard for a dog like me to sit at a computer all day so there may be some redundancy. I'll apologize now if such repetition occurs.

Meanwhile though, I'm pretty excited to be a business-dog =-)

Sunday's Recovery

I've had a busy week. Very busy. While you can't see my face in the above photography, the tangle of bodies should give you a pretty good idea how I spent my Friday. Gemma keeps me (and Monty, too) on my toes. She's fast, she's got sharp teeth, and she LOVES to chase, hold tightly to ears and tails and the back of legs.
Here she is chasing (and biting and grabbing) Perrito who is a magic carpet flying off of Gemma's back deck.
Perrito liked playing with Gemma, but only for a short while. He quickly tired and begged to go back into the house. Gemma, of course, had other ideas.
So she came back to our house where Monty and I taught her a thing or two about puppy play. In the above photo, she's lurking behing me (just beyond my tail) while I pounce after Monty. While the photograph ruins the depth perception, I am leaping about 2 feet off the ground in pursuit of my best friend.
Throughout our play session, Gemma mimicked Monty's every move. While she likes me, she LOVES Monty and just like me, hopes to one day aspire to his level of canine-a-tude.
Once we'd tired of playing, Gemma found toys of her own to play with (like this broom)...
...while Monty and I looked on wondering where she found such energy for her 3-months of age.
Monty rested on the porch while Gemma and I continued her lessons.
Eventually, even she tired out...
So today...Sunday...I am resting up from a long week of work. We hope to go skiing tomorrow as Momma Ann has the day off and there's fresh snow in the mountains. They'll be no Gemma and for that I am rather grateful, though I may have to convince my moms that Monty should join us. We'll see how I do with my powers of persuasion.

Okay, back to my nap.

Like Looking in a Mirror!

Genetics is an interesting subject, one I'm just delving into as I approach my second birthday. I am what is affectionately known as a "designer dog" -- bred purposefully with a labradoodle and a poodle to create me -- and F1B labradoodle. If you know anything about labradoodles you know we are a varied breed. Some of us are HUGE taking after the massive size of our standard poodle parentage or equally our massive lab genes. Some of us are small, some of us are curly, some of us have straight hair. Some of us love to fetch and swim (a lab trait) and some of us lounge and laugh (a poodle trait).

So when you look at this picture...
...you might think the two of us (me on the right, Ginger on the left) aren't related.

Oh, but we are! Ginger is my half sister. We share the same father, which might be really confusing if you know that our dad was a medium-sized poodle. Our mothers were sisters and first generation labradoodles meaning their parents were a poodle and a lab. But as distinctly different as Ginger and I may appear, look closely at our eyes and our noses and our mouths. Do you see it? We look alike if you take off our hair, don't we?

Ginger came over today for an unexpected visit. I haven't seen her for quite awhile, but I was quite happy when she raced through the front door. We played in the backyard and showed off our tricks to receive some yummy treats. It was a great way to end a busy day, which included the following...


...playing with Oshi and Perrito...


...holding onto my ears despite Gemma's persistence in grabbing them (in this last picture, for instance, she has my left ear in her mouth and is pulling it under my chin to the right side of my body...I must be a very patient dog...very patient)...

And then a visit with Ginger. Later, there is my nightly game of fetch with Monty. In many ways, Monty and I look more alike than I do with my half sister, but genetics are a complicated subject...one I will be getting back to soon.

New Friends

Okay, so Monty isn't a new friend, but Chloe is. She's a dog mom walked last week for the first time and we got to help walk this week. Chloe's nice though a bit particular about who gets to walk in front of her. She's part Corgi, which apparently is a herding dog so when we got to her house, she herded us onto her deck and made us stay there. We obeyed!
Monty and I ran around the park, off leash, while Chloe was kept on the leash (mom's not sure about her yet), but Chloe did her best to keep an eye on our antics. She barked at us every time we raced by, but the leash kept her from herding us into submission!
Earlier in the day, Monty and I got to play with Gemma only she met a new friend at the tennis courts -- a 9-month old, 80 pound black lab named Mocha. He was a wild dog, but once we all smelled each other, Gemma and Mocha fell in love with each other. Okay, even I'll admit that puppies are pretty cute!



Meanwhile, I got to run free at the park this evening and dance among the trees with a huge smile on my face...

The End of the Week

Grrrrrrrrrrr!
I know it's hard from this picture to imagine that Gemma and I are friends, but despite the teeth and the whites of the eyes, this is a photograph (albeit blurry) of submission and restraint. That I let Gemma crawl over my back is a sign of my willingness to submit to her and that I only showed my teeth and did not haul off an bite her calls upon my great restraint.

This past week of work was busy, but fun. Lots of dogs, a dabble of sunshine, and absolutely no rain (which for me means NO RED RAINCOAT!) We also met a few new dogs, chief among them was Shomei (like the Chinese dumpling)...a HUGE black and white labradoodle. You can't tell from this photo, but Shomei is larger than Monty and that's saying something!Another blurry photo, but mom was having to keep track of both me and Monty while holding the camera in one hand, walking us on our leashes, and trying to snap the picture without dropping the camera.

Hopefully Shomei's family will give us a call this weekend and we can sign her up for some time with us at Wags n' Words.

We have a three-day weekend ahead of us. I keep hearing words of snow and skiing. Oh, how I hope that is true. I miss the snow. I miss it so much I will endure my booties and my RED RAINCOAT.

Okay, a few more pictures from the week...just 'cause we're all so cute...In this tractor picture (a popular spot for mom's photographs), I'm not as comfortable as I might appear. I'll admit it. I'm slightly afraid of heights and even though I'm only 2 feet off the ground, I can't look down at the ground. Instead, I look at mom and plead with her to be quick about it so I can get down. Gemma, on the other hand, is staring at the guy across the street in his front yard. She's nervous too, but to gain comfort, she leans against me. It comforts me as well.

Gemma staring me down before she attacks! She might look sweet, but she's a devil that one!

I even shared one of my favorite toys with her when she came to our house for a visit.
Of course, then we played ferocious with each other and practiced looking possessed. I think I pulled it off, don't you?

A New Face

This is Chloe. She's a new client. A Jack Russell/Welsh Corgi mix. I have yet to meet her, but mom took a photo of her today on their walk. Chloe was shy at first, or so I'm told, but once the word "walkie" was spoken, she was all cocked head and perky ears. I think I'm going to like her.

It was one helluva day. 6 dogs total. 7 walks (one extra with Quillette...not work, just for fun!). I only went on 5 of those walks, but still, I walk probably twice as far as mom. Plus we played fetch 3 times and that can wear any pooch out.

Here's my day in pictures:

Gemma gets a lesson on how to look cool for the camera.Everyone wants Monty's attention...he's so patient!
Oshi and Perdito taking mom for a walk up the block..."What's the orange thing up ahead, Oshi?"
Monty's head is a bit cut off, but he just told a joke and thought it was pretty funny. I did, too. Lucy, on the other hand, is focused solely on the ball.

See what I mean?
I'm off to bed for a good night's sleep. Not as much to do tomorrow and I'm glad of it!

The Pursuit of Puppiness

Before you play the video below, it's important to take note just who is pursuing whom. I, in other words, am an innocent calling upon my primal instincts of restraint and submission. This is, of course, all in the name of being a proper teacher.

TGIF

Okay, I'll admit it...Gemma is pretty darn cute, but don't let the above picture fool you. She's a handful, or in my case, a pawful. For being just three months old, she's got more energy than I've ever seen and most of that energy is directed at me. Only occasionally can I get her to pause and reflect...
...but it never lasts long. Once I move, she moves and no matter how fast I run or how quick my moves, she's right there pestering me with her sharp puppy teeth.
I'm not complaining. It's kind of fun to play with her. I'm teaching her how to chase, how to play fetch, and how to wrestle. She's getting the hang of it though I have to practice being patient and gentle.

Sometimes that's really hard for me especially when she does things like steal my toys.
Luckily for me, she has the attention span of a gnat and often loses interest within a minute so if I just hang back, I eventually get my toys back.
Today, the lessons continue. I'll spend another hour with Gemma, but I think Monty gets to go with us. At least, I know Monty is on our list of "clients" for the day. So are Oshi and Perdito. Gemma's going to be surprised by Monty's size, I think, but I don't think that will temper her persistent pestering. She'll learn though. Monty is not nearly as patient as I am.

It's been a busy week and I'm feeling it. I slept hard. Didn't move a muscle all night. I wanted to sleep in, but it's only Friday and on Fridays we don't sleep in. We get to work.

But tomorrow...tomorrow I sure hope we get to sleep in for awhile. I need it.

A Fashion Sense

My friend, Lucy, is a brave soul. She is asked to wear the latest fashions in an attempt to keep her warm and dry, but often those fashions are as far from canine-comfortable as one can get. Yesterday, with the flood of rain we've been experiencing of late, she had to wear this get-up: A yellow rain slicker that looked like an outfit a clown might wear.
She was a good sport and after a few fits of discomfort, she played fetch with her usual vim and verve.

Monty and I were impressed...

We did our best to make her feel comfortable, though we did worry about a strong gust of wind sending her into flight. She stayed low to the ground, though, and when we walked home, she huddled close to us for wind protection.

Meanwhile, this is my view, most days, of Oshi and Perdito who have sought higher ground in these hours of record flooding.

Today we walk Gemma and I have been warned to stay on my best behavior despite her lack of manners.

I'll do my best. I'll try to do my best.

A Blustery Day

I recently read a book titled "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" about a funny bear and his problems with the wind. I know how he feels. Yesterday was the windiest day I've ever experienced and it made my job as a dog dog walker all the more interesting.

I played with Lucy in the morning. Actually, Lucy played fetch over and over again and while I did my best to keep up with her, she wore me out in a matter of time. Mom got a great picture of her though...

She looks like a super hero in her red cape, doesn't she?

While we were playing, Harry stopped by to say hello. Harry is a nice old guy and as much as he'd like to have played with us, he's suffering from something called arthritis. Mom tried to explain it too me, but I don't get it. She said I would when I got older.
After Lucy, I got to meet Gemma. Here I was expecting a timid and docile puppy and who did I end up meeting? A holy terror or in this case, a holy terrier. She nipped and bit at me non-stop and jumped on my back when I least expected it. She never let me be, chasing me around the tennis courts endlessly annoying me...
...I eventually had to school her with my most vicious bark and growl. I'd simply run out of patience.Sure, she's running away in this photo, but trust me, she was back at it seconds later.

Docile my foot!