a box of dogs

The humans have a box that usually has people in it but today there were dogs in it. I knew because I heard them barking and so I did what I always do..I barked back which made the folks barklaugh a lot. The dogs in the box didn't hear me though, so I thought maybe I was wrong, maybe the dogs were outside so I went to the window to bark just in case. No answer, so I went to the back door but then I heard them bark in the box again so I ran back to the box again and I barked even louder but still no answer. This went on for a while.

The dog in the box never did answer me, But I've been watching the box real close just in case he comes back

The folks said that when we couldn't get to the dog park, we could just watch Animal Planet for exercise.

I don't get it.

stoopid spring

There was this thing outside that my Mom person was all worked up about. She called it "spring". She said we could open windows, that we didn't need coats. Hello? I never need a coat, OK? Then she said we had to get outside and I got all zoomie for a minute until she went and got that walking thing and put it on me. So this was not outside at the dog park, this was outside with the walking thing. Oh well.

First thing was that wacky dog next door that barks as soon as I put one paw near his fence. Big dog, big fence, big bark. Yeah, sure, come out here and bark that at me, stoopid dog. His Mom person came out and told him to stop being silly and then she came out from behind the fence and was singing "ooh puppy puppy hi quincy puppy". and she was petting me and scratching under my chin. Ha! Who's the best dog now? Not the stoopid dog barking behind a fence.

Then some people who live on the other side of the street brought over 2 big dogs to meet me. Doesn't anybody around here have dogs my size? These 2 giants came over and sniffed me and danced around me and all I could see from my height was stuff under the dogs which wasn't all that wonderful but it did make my sniffing easier to do. I could just stand there.

So. let me tell you about this spring thing. When I first moved to the city I thought it was like a punishment because the ground was all slippery and I couldn't run without all my legs going in the wrong direction which made the humans barklaugh but was not funny to me. Sometimes there was soft cold stuff, too, but I kind of liked that. You could stick your noise in it and run fast and make a tunnel. Then that went away and under that was gooey stuff that Mom always told me "nonomud!!"

I am never going to learn their language.

Anyway, today there was stuff in the ground. It looked like it could be food, but I wasn't allowed to eat it. So I thought maybe I could dig there, but no. It looked soft so I tried once to lay in a bunch of it and Mom dragged me out and said I was breaking the flowers. Flowers. Huh. Who knew? Whatever those are, you have to leave them where they are and you can't eat them. Just one more thing I can't have.

I did meet a hose today. That is a long thing that comes out from behind the house and has water coming out of it. A man was using it on his car for some reason. I'm thinking this is something I could either learn to love or hate.

So, I guess Spring is flowers, hoses and no coats. And some nonomud. Whatever that is. Maybe it's not so stoopid after all.

dog park! dog park!

Dog Park!!

Oh. sorry. I just got so excited. It was great. When we first got there it was all black dogs like me only way bigger. They came running at me so I flopped on my back and got quiet and hoped that would work like it's supposed to and it did!  Good thing. too, 'cause I would have been lunch. They sniffed me and let me run with them. We ran and ran and ran. No miracle walker!

The humans stood in a pack and barked at each other while we ran.  I don't know how you can be in a pack like that and stand still. Humans are weird. They don't sniff each other, either, so I'm not sure how they get to know each other. Maybe if they didn't wear pants over their butts all the time, they would get along better. Dogs understand these things.

One of the people in the human pack told my Mom that Catahoulas need a job. Here they go with that job thing again! I'm 3 months old, people. How old were you when you got a job, pack human? I think the dog park will be my job for a while. I'm pretty good at it.

I got a new treat when we got home. A hot dog. Really. It isn't a barking kind of dog and it was really good foods. I think we are going to be learning a new trick for me to do  so I can get more food dogs. Maybe it will be a job. That would be OK. I'll do a job if it gets me those food dogs. I think the job is called "stay", which means I get foods for doing nothing.

If you ask me, I think the humans need a job. 

how to get more foods

The zoomie trick isn't working so much at home. When we are at other places, I get foods for being zoomie. At home I get a timeout. Timeout means I have to go to the room where the folks keep the foods, but I don't get to have any. I have to figure this out.

But you can get foods by doing stuff you do all the time anyway. Like sitting down. And laying down. Today I got foods for putting my paw up in the air when Mom said "paw". The secret is to do it when they tell you. I mean, it's not like sitting down is any big deal or anything. But if you do it when they tell you to, they get all excited and give you foods.

The vet told the folks that I need to have a job. I have a job. I'm teaching them to hide their shoes. They leave them out, I take them. They hide them. Every day. same thing. Now they are starting to hide them before I take them. Another week and my job will be done. I wonder what the vet will say then.

If he says I need another job, I hope it means foods.

a street is not a park

I don't know a lot, but I'm learning. I know that while I was on the cold table with the pointy stick in my butt, the vet said I could go to the park now. I heard him. Park is a word I know.

So, when the folks took me to get a special thing for walking, I thought Yes! Park! (Of course, I also thought they said we were going to a dog bone-teek which got me excited for no reason, too.)The walking thing goes under me and around me. I do not like it. Mom likes it. She says it's a miracle. I hope we don't go to the dog bone-teek for any more miracles

She put the miracle walking thing on me and took me out but not to the park. We went on streets. Streets are not the park. The park doesn't make you put on walking miracles. I tried to chew the miracle off, but I just got my bottom mouth stuck in it and sort of walked on my head. Mom was barking that way she does when I do funny stuff but this wasn't funny. She stopped and unhooked me and said bad boy but she was still barking funny. When I bark, they tell me to shush. Just sayin'

We stopped and watched the lucky dogs in the park a few days ago. They were running. And nobody was stopping them. Now THAT is a miracle.

"vet" does not mean an old soldier

We went to the vet. Again. This is getting old. Same thing different day. Look in my ears, look at my teeth, look at things I haven't learned the name of yet. Bring out the pointy stick while I pretend I don't see it. Poke my butt, tell me I'm a good boy.

And they wonder why I get zoomy in the waiting room. Gee, I don't know. You go sit naked on a steel table and wait for the pointy stick.

The good thing about getting zoomy at the vet is that you get a lot of foods. Humans think that foods makes us behave. No. Foods makes us zoomy because when we get zoomy, we get foods. Personally, I can't see a good reason for being a "good boy" if there is no foods involved. The folks came prepared with foods today, just in case I got zoomy which of course I did right away on account of the foods. By the time we got in the little room with the cold table, they were stealing foods from the treat jar just to keep me quiet.

I think the training is going pretty well.