Suspicious Sightings

Hmmm....knowing that Lyle claims to be severely allergic to cats, does anyone notice anything odd about these photos?

Winter Playtime

Bev is staying with us for Christmas and Sly is happy to have a playmate.

No Fair!

Sly: But, but, that's MY tennis ball.

Truvy: No, that USE TO BE your tennis ball. The claws indicate it's mine now.

The weather outside is frightful

But the fire is so delightful


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Training at the Hardware Store

We had to run by the hardware store last night, so took time out to do some training with Sly.

They were remodeling their kitchen area so we borrowed their ladder to practice "up" and "under."

A half-empty shelf provided a triple challenge for an "under," being slick, noisy, and a tight space.

Thanks to Judy for taking photos and for creating other training challenges we didn't capture in pictures.

Virtual Hunting

I've never seen the cats pay much attention to the TV before, but after helping with the festivities of decorating the tree, I caught Truvy watching for about ten minutes.

An elephant? A bit ambitious maybe.

Baby elephant. Only marginally better.

A bird. Well, that's more likely, but that's a vary large and strange bird. 

Best stick to your canned food, Truv.

Decorated, Finally

The Christmas tree finally made it out of the bucket of water in the back room and into its place in the living room.

The most honest ornament.

Mantle decorated, too.

Truvy actually pulled the little antlers out of the ornament box so I assumed she wanted to wear them.

Her expression would suggest otherwise.

And off they came.

Snow in the City

Lyle was in the city today, hopefully Christmas shopping for me, and sent this photo he took of one the rainbow pylons that welcomes you to the Lakeview neighborhood. I think the combination of snow, light and natural berries in the tree against the contemporary sculpture backdrop is pretty neat.

Dog Blanket

The trainers, huddled in the CCI play yard, said it was cold enough to require a "dog blanket." There are at least a couple of Goldens in the crowd. Perhaps one is Lilly? 

Sly's first day of errands

Sly has only recently "gone public" and today was the first day I attempted to do errands mixed with training in a variety of places. We did his bi-weekly weight check at the vet's. I love how he walks straight to the scale and sits down on it without having to be directed. Then off to Menards we went. He had never been anywhere that busy and with so many distractions and novel things. He started off a bit bewildered but I was impressed by how quickly he began to understand what I expected of him. We had a nice practice session going up and down the open-backed stairs to the second floor. We repeated it many times until he could maintain a pace identical to mine, regardless of my speed (not something natural for dogs to do). Apparently we were intriguing as I caught a number of people pausing to watch and a few who made nice comments. We ran into Dee and Shirley from the dog club and they were perfect for practicing having people pet him while he remained composed.

Next stop was Petsmart. In addition to working around all the treats and animals, he practiced going in and out of kennels and doghouses, and going to a bed on the floor on command.

We stopped by Country Market for a few dinner items. They are always so nice in there and ask how the dogs are doing. I didn't intend to buy a Christmas tree today, but theirs are always the best and they had a little one that I really liked so we grabbed it. I don't know when it'll actually make it into the living room, but at least it's here. It's currently drinking from a bucket of water in my office, where the temperature is cooler.

After stopping by Janes and replacing her car battery, we headed off to Starbucks so I could do some computer work for the shop. Sly must have been mentally exhausted because he fell asleep pretty quickly. It was chilly by the windows and he curled up in a ball, wedging his face agains the metal window trim. It sure didn't look comfortable, but he stayed in the same position for over an hour so it must not have been too bad.