Wow! What a night!

This Halloween dealio is pretty cool. Young humans come to our door, I "go to my place", mom gives them treats, then I get to go say *hi* and they give me treats! What a great gig we got going... Treats for everyone! 

One of my favorite little treat givers was a little girl dressed up like me! No, not like a lobster, she was dressed like a puppy! She was small and had cute floppy ears, just like yours truly. Anyway, she made a beeline towards me like I was the winning lottery ticket! Kept saying "look at the puppy, look at the puppy"! 

I went to check her out, she grabbed me, squeezed me really tight, and squealed like one of my squeaky toys... At first I didn't know what to think - it kinda felt like when mom holds me...but it's also kinda weird ya know? Us dogs don't usually greet each other like that... However, I don't think it would have been a good idea to start sniffing each others rear ends...cuz I know you humans don't do that. 

Anyway, mom was paying attention, making sure I was minding my manners...watching my body language because sometimes I don't like being grabbed...right? Just like you, right? But this time I didn't mind it at all... Mostly because I could predict what was coming next, and was excited about it. Bam! there it was! Right in my face! A handful of treats.

So mom immediately rewarded me for being brave and allowing my little friend to handle me - then my puppy friend gave me some of the treats mom had. My little friend also got rewarded for playing nice - she got treats from mom. 

What a great night! I totally dig this holiday...I'm sure many of my other dog buddies would agree. I wonder why we can't do this every night? Hmm, something for this inquisitive canine to ponder... 

Pass the butter!

OMG, this is so humiliating...but not really. Just to bust a myth here, us dog's don't really "feel" the same way as you humans when it comes to "humiliation" "embarrassment" "shame" etc... there's enough of that for you all to deal with, so us dogs couldn't really care less... plus, our brains aren't developed that way... 

Why do I bring this up? That's easy... my mom the rockin' dog trainer and coach decided she wanted to "celebrate" this silly outlandish holiday you folks call "Halloween". All I know is you dress up weird and go around scaring people, knocking on doors and asking for treats!!! (uh, wait a minute... YOU ask for treats? Why are you all giving us dogs a hard time when we ask for treats...!!! I'll save that for another post...) 

   

Mom thought this would be the perfect time for me to practice my "go to your place" trick! That's one of the big behaviors she teaches in her classes at the studio and Ventura Community Education... 

The doorbell rings, I go to my little mat next to the door, she opens the door, as long as I sit still, I get a treat while the person at the door gets a treat... How easy is that? For both me and the kids at the door! This is what mom decided to dress me up in... ugh... she kept laughing, and I had this look on my face that she thought was soooo cute... But then she kept saying how she could use some melted butter... whatever... As long as I get my treats for wearing the stilly thing, I'll go along with it...I like to humor her. 

Hmm, I wonder what she'll dress me as next year? And I wonder if mom posted pictures of me on her blog too! Oh geez, what are others going to say! Something for this inquisitive canine to ponder... 

We have lift-off!!!

WOW! My mom the rockin' dog coach has just launched her brand-spankin' new awesome fabulous website! It's SO great! Talks about all her classes, workshops, and private training she offers... plus there's a brand new section where she answers many of the common questions you folks ask her... There's also a new way to register so you get your place in class early! First come first serve ya know... And then there's directions and her phone number... Oh, and there's a special place where she tells you all about her schooling, and how hard she worked to become the great rockin' dog coach she is... and The best part ;-) is I get to be on top of each page, looking at her with my big happy grin.  

I know she didn't do this all on her own... she had lots and lots of great help from her "dream team" - Miss. Lorrie, Miss. Emilia (Nellie's mom), Miss. Amber, Miss. Jill, Miss. Eileen...hmm, I think there may have been a few more... 

Anyway, I'm really proud of my mom... I wonder if dad is going to register me for another class, something for this inquisitive canine to ponder... 

Party ON!

Wow, this birthday party surely went to the dogs! What a great time I had! I love going to parties... especially when they're doggy birthday parties. Check out the photo with me checking out the spread... Okay, not one of my best moments - at least by your human standards - I find it ironic that dad was the one taking the picture. Hmm, I guess he thought it was more fun to take the picture of me up on the chair sniffing the snacks, than asking me to get down... Notice mom was busy doing something else... HA! The perfect time to sneak in and check out the yummy "pup-cakes" Miss. Lisa made for us doggies. 

It was Ferris Wheel's & Carnivals birthday! (yes, Miss. Lisa and Mr. James really gave them these names, they go by Ferris and Carni)... Anyway, they thought it would be fun to have a birthday party celebrating all of our dogginess... and it was a great time to be had - by canines and humans alike. 

There were lot's of other doggies there too, so I got to make lots of new friends! We were all running around, playing, swimming, doing all of our doggy stuff...young, old, big, small - it's so important that us dogs get out and play with other dogs. You humans are great to play with, but we need "dog time" too - it allows us to build our canine play skills, and to learn what is socially acceptable, and what isn't. Us dogs teach each other that... we learn dog-play best from each other - especially what's "legal play" and what isn't. So thanks Miss. Lisa and Mr. James for taking care of our needs...This is the kind of activity mom likes to have at her training studio here in Ventura. But she always enjoys going to other peoples places for fun times too... 

Check out all the great pictures that my mom took.
There are some of Ferris playing and eating his birthday hat! (Dude! That's so funny! I'm gonna try that next time mom sticks a hat on my head.) 

And there's one of Carni and Ferris taking a dip in the pool. Then there's me, Ferris, and Libby (Ferris' cousin) - she was dressed funny. 

Check out this other favorite of mine - I'm making friends with a really nice man who kept wanting to give me some of those pupcakes! See? he was paying attention to what I wanted! Oh, and hey, it was his idea! Not mine! I wasn't "begging" or anything, he just offered.... 

I'm no fool! Plus I didn't want to be rude :-) 

Anyway, if you ever have the chance to take your dog to a party, or better yet, throw your dog a party, it'll probably be the best party ever! We make our own fun, and you humans tend to enjoy watching that... I wonder when mom is going to throw a party? Hmm, something for this inquisitive canine to ponder... 

I "LOVE" tennis! Just like my dad!

Today was another great day! Why? because dad was playing tennis in Santa Barbara...one of my favorite places to go...My mom the dog coach had to work first - she was teaching one of her great doggy workshops at Ventura College... I believe on teaching us dogs how to walk on leash, greet you humans politely, and come to you when you call us... Well, as soon as she got home, we all headed to SB... Mom thought it would be a good idea to visit some of her friends while dad played tennis... They live near where dad was playing, and she wanted them to meet me, and vice versa... Wow! What nice people they are... plus, they're really good dog trainers too - although they probably don't realize that :-) 

You see, mom taught me this really cool behavior. She also teaches her students and their dogs this too - it's called "go to your place"... Which is the cue for me to go and sit or lie down on a little mat or rug. It gives me something to do, plus I stay out of the way...mom thinks it's annoying, getting under her feet and all. 

So we went to Linda, Jim, and Stevie's house....wow, really cool place. Huge yard for me to run amok in!!! Plus they allowed me to run around inside too - Well, as soon as Miss. Linda started cooking dinner, oh boy did I know what to do...mom taught me well, right??? You betcha, I went right over "to my place" just like at home... and Miss. Linda caught on really quickly - although she rewarded me much better than mom! She gave me all sorts of cheese samplers (she was making something called "macaroni and cheese") Man-oh-man-alive was I one lucky dog or what??? She also kept saying how good I was, and how cute I was.... all that positive reinforcement - let me tell you, mom had to drag me outta there to go home... Oh, and before you start to worry, please don't - Miss. Linda was very careful with me being so close to the stove and whatnot - she was watching out for me, making sure I was safe the whole time... 

Dad had fun too - he and his friend won their match... plus I got some ball chasing in after they were finished... Mom had a successful day with her workshop - plus she and I had fun and the Brinkman's... all in all a great day... I wonder when we're going back to visit? Hmm, something for this inquisitive canine to ponder... 

Too bad for Mom but yippee for me!

Mom had a change in schedule today - but it was good for me... Means I lucked out by getting to go on a rockin' road trip with mom and dad... The wind wasn't so bad for me today, so we went out and about....had a really nice long walk and romp on the beach - I got my sniff-time and ball chasing in...plus met some nice doggies who were also out with their families... but the best part of course were the snacks.... not my snacks mind you, but mom and dad snacks...

They weren't allowed to bring me into the place, but they always bring me something... First I had spoonful, then I got to lick the containers! I got one from each mom AND dad! Plus, the containers were bigger than my head! Mom always said to never eat anything bigger than your head...but she never said anything about the size of the container. Phew, good thing for me. I wonder if mom or dad ever lick the container? Hmm, something for this inquisitive canine to ponder... 

Dorothy was right!!!

Yep, "there's no place like home" as Dorothy said... Last night was complete chaos! This wind is coo-coo crazy! I don't like the wind...it's scary to me... I hear all these weird noises and I don't know where they're coming from. I kept looking around trying to detect the source - but no luck. And frankly, maybe I didn't want to know where they were coming from...

Mom was great though. She is one savvy dog trainer and coach. She is really great at "reading me"... She knows that I communicate to her and dad primarily through my body language (sometimes I bark but that doesn't get me very far...she says I'm annoying when I do that)... Anyway, I communicated and mom listened! She knew immediately I was scared. Yep, me, Poncho - the one who has been known to take on garbage trucks and school buses is scared of the wind. Come on! It's loud, it causes weird noises to happen, and makes things fall from the sky!!! 

So, how does she know I'm scared? That's easy... first thing I do is cling to mom (dad too)... I like to keep my tail tucked under by butt and through my legs, my ears kinda go down and back, I tuck one side of my lip up (mom says I look like Elvis)... I might have one front paw raised if I'm sitting or standing...I also lick my lips a lot and throw a yawn or two in...not because I'm tired mind you. 

The real BIG signals for mom is 1) I ain't hungry! Can you believe it??? Nope, too scared to eat anything and 2) I'm trembly all over...can't stop shaking... You'd think I have the chills or something, but no...that's you humans, for us dogs it means somethings up! We're usually scared or sick. 

Well, mom was my saving grace last night. She picked up on it right away... loud windy noises, I stopped eating... She in turn placed me gently in her lap and cuddled me for the rest of the night...then took me to bed with her. I wonder what mom and dad do when they get scared? I wonder who takes care of them? Maybe each other? Hmm, something for this inquisitive canine to ponder...

Good friends and good times...!

I've been having lots of fun with my friends Elaine and Genae. They live next door. They're my mom and dad's friends too...but I'm getting to spend lots of time with them - especially since mom and dad are spending more time out and about on the town - working and whatnot.  

My mom the dog coach makes sure that if she and dad aren't available, they make arrangements for other people to take good care of me. Not that I can't be alone - but mom says because I'm a "social animal", if they need to leave me for a longer time it's better to have others come by and take care of me. She says it's not very fair to a dog to leave them locked up in the house all day without any mental or physical stimulation. 

So it's great that Elaine and Genae are our friends. They're SO much FUN! They come over and play with me, rub my belly, talk to me with those cute voices that make me smile inside...and they give me treats! I love when they come over. 

Genae and I get along really well - we both have lots in common. I love my mom and dad. She loves her mom and dad. I like to play, she likes to play. I like sports - ball, chase, tug, Flyball, agility - and she like sports - soccer, running, junior lifeguard, swimming, bike riding - but her favorite is ballet! She's really good at that. She gets to practice all the time - and now she's going to be learning all about something called the "Nutcracker" - not sure what that is, but I think it happens around the holidays - something tells me dogs aren't allowed at the show. Maybe she can show me pictures. 

Anyway, Genae and her mom Elaine have been coming by to play...and I've been having fun. It makes it a little easier when mom and dad aren't able to take me with them. I wonder when Genae is going to come over again? Hmm, something for this inquisitive canine to ponder.