The weekend after our trip to Sydney I went back to school for the second time in Intermediate. There was a really snappy Doberman in the class and he got a bit close to me and I snapped at him to make him stay away, the next thing I know I am told that to stay in school I have to go to Growl Class but he did not – it was absolutely not fair because he snapped first.
We had to go to Growl Class in addition to the other class which meant going twice a week. Growl Class was not fun because we had to do it in the cold in the dark with the lights on and the 10 other dogs in the class were mostly not very nice, particularly a really vicious Blue Heeler who tried to get me every time – I spent the whole class scared out of my skin. The only good thing was that I got lots of food treats and cuddles whenever other dogs came anywhere near me – we spent the classes practising getting closer and closer to other dogs without reacting. After 8 weeks of that I was more scared than ever and so Ailsa decided on a private tutor – he said I was the fastest reacting dog he had ever come across and I thought Ailsa would be proud of that but she was not – she thought it was a bad thing so she decided to take me to see a famous trainer called Steve in the Blue Mountains but we could not get in for a few months.
Ailsa finished a job in July and stayed at home with me for the next 3 months – that was so good because every day we went out in the car, to the shops, to the post office, to the market, to the lake for a walk. A new friend, Peter, came to stay with us because he was on holidays from China where he teaches people English. Ailsa and Peter taught me to play fetch with the ball and I love it – every day they would take me down to the dog club and we would have a game in one of the paddocks for an hour or more.
In October we had the ARF birthday party at our house – ARF stands for ACT Rescue and Foster and they rescue dogs from death row at the pounds and look after them in their own homes until the dogs find forever homes. They are really nice people and they make a big fuss of me whenever they come over to visit so I like them. It was really good because there were 40 doglovers and me so I got lots of attention and people kept slipping me little treats. Ailsa does some fundraising with ARF but she does not foster other dogs because she knows I would not like it.
By late November I had been with Ailsa for over 6 months and Peter had gone back to China. Dog school was on holiday until February so we had the summer for fun and we started doing a few trips together – I just love going in the car – we went to a few towns out West of here – just day trips looking for old glass and we went to the coast about 2 hours drive away where I got to play on the beach and run in and out of the waves and wave my tail at Grandma to say hello – Grandma is Ailsa’s Mum and she lives in New Zealand which is a long way away on the other side of the sea.
Ailsa said Christmas was coming and we would have more visitors – I like it when people come and stay and I entertain them just like Ailsa does. One day the boys up the road took me off to play in their garden with them and when they bought me home a big tree had grown in our living room and it was covered with lots of nice shiny things. I was really surprised because Ailsa is always complaining about how slowly plants in the garden are growing because Canberra has not had a lot of rain for several years. Just before I was born they had really bad bushfires and Ailsa’s house nearly burnt down so I don’t know how this tree grew so fast. I just loved the little shiny things on it – Ailsa said not to touch but I could not help myself and every night I took something off the tree and hid it for safety in my treasures shelf that Ailsa does not know about in the bottom of the bookcase. I got a big shock one night – there was a soft furry thing I had had my eye on and when I tried to pull it off the tree it started singing at me – Ailsa woke up and came out and told me it was a penguin which sings carols when you push its tummy and she told me not to be afraid of it.
One day Ailsa took me to the Pet’s Christmas Party at the RSPCA where we had icecream and I had a massage and I got to meet Father Christmas – he is a really important man who visits good children and dogs during the night on Christmas Eve and leaves them presents. I knew I had to be very good after that. My good behaviour must have worked because on Christmas Day when I woke up I had a lovely new kong, some new balls, a pile of dog treats and a special shiny red leather collar with white appliqué dog bones and a matching lead!
We had lots of people over for Christmas lunch – my old friend Mildred, Kris who came all the way from New Mexico to see me, Roderick who gives really good back rubs and Robin and her husband AJ and their little human puppy Toby who is 6 months old – I am Toby’s god dog. Babies like Toby are really interesting – they wriggle and make interesting noises and smell of all sorts of things. I’d like to play with him more but he is not big enough yet.
Anyway, that is enough for now – typing is hard on the paws – next time I will tell you about my birthday.
We had to go to Growl Class in addition to the other class which meant going twice a week. Growl Class was not fun because we had to do it in the cold in the dark with the lights on and the 10 other dogs in the class were mostly not very nice, particularly a really vicious Blue Heeler who tried to get me every time – I spent the whole class scared out of my skin. The only good thing was that I got lots of food treats and cuddles whenever other dogs came anywhere near me – we spent the classes practising getting closer and closer to other dogs without reacting. After 8 weeks of that I was more scared than ever and so Ailsa decided on a private tutor – he said I was the fastest reacting dog he had ever come across and I thought Ailsa would be proud of that but she was not – she thought it was a bad thing so she decided to take me to see a famous trainer called Steve in the Blue Mountains but we could not get in for a few months.
Ailsa finished a job in July and stayed at home with me for the next 3 months – that was so good because every day we went out in the car, to the shops, to the post office, to the market, to the lake for a walk. A new friend, Peter, came to stay with us because he was on holidays from China where he teaches people English. Ailsa and Peter taught me to play fetch with the ball and I love it – every day they would take me down to the dog club and we would have a game in one of the paddocks for an hour or more.
In October we had the ARF birthday party at our house – ARF stands for ACT Rescue and Foster and they rescue dogs from death row at the pounds and look after them in their own homes until the dogs find forever homes. They are really nice people and they make a big fuss of me whenever they come over to visit so I like them. It was really good because there were 40 doglovers and me so I got lots of attention and people kept slipping me little treats. Ailsa does some fundraising with ARF but she does not foster other dogs because she knows I would not like it.
By late November I had been with Ailsa for over 6 months and Peter had gone back to China. Dog school was on holiday until February so we had the summer for fun and we started doing a few trips together – I just love going in the car – we went to a few towns out West of here – just day trips looking for old glass and we went to the coast about 2 hours drive away where I got to play on the beach and run in and out of the waves and wave my tail at Grandma to say hello – Grandma is Ailsa’s Mum and she lives in New Zealand which is a long way away on the other side of the sea.
Ailsa said Christmas was coming and we would have more visitors – I like it when people come and stay and I entertain them just like Ailsa does. One day the boys up the road took me off to play in their garden with them and when they bought me home a big tree had grown in our living room and it was covered with lots of nice shiny things. I was really surprised because Ailsa is always complaining about how slowly plants in the garden are growing because Canberra has not had a lot of rain for several years. Just before I was born they had really bad bushfires and Ailsa’s house nearly burnt down so I don’t know how this tree grew so fast. I just loved the little shiny things on it – Ailsa said not to touch but I could not help myself and every night I took something off the tree and hid it for safety in my treasures shelf that Ailsa does not know about in the bottom of the bookcase. I got a big shock one night – there was a soft furry thing I had had my eye on and when I tried to pull it off the tree it started singing at me – Ailsa woke up and came out and told me it was a penguin which sings carols when you push its tummy and she told me not to be afraid of it.
One day Ailsa took me to the Pet’s Christmas Party at the RSPCA where we had icecream and I had a massage and I got to meet Father Christmas – he is a really important man who visits good children and dogs during the night on Christmas Eve and leaves them presents. I knew I had to be very good after that. My good behaviour must have worked because on Christmas Day when I woke up I had a lovely new kong, some new balls, a pile of dog treats and a special shiny red leather collar with white appliqué dog bones and a matching lead!
We had lots of people over for Christmas lunch – my old friend Mildred, Kris who came all the way from New Mexico to see me, Roderick who gives really good back rubs and Robin and her husband AJ and their little human puppy Toby who is 6 months old – I am Toby’s god dog. Babies like Toby are really interesting – they wriggle and make interesting noises and smell of all sorts of things. I’d like to play with him more but he is not big enough yet.
Anyway, that is enough for now – typing is hard on the paws – next time I will tell you about my birthday.
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