Pomp (with the potential for Circumstance)

So this is more than a little belated, but Abby's obedience class graduation was a few weeks ago. The trainer/teacher was FABULOUS and answered all our obsessive questions and is just really, really, really good with dogs (I'd hope that's a prereq for the job...).

To follow up on our post of a few months ago in which I said, "Of course we're convinced she'll be the star of her class" : Well...not so much, at first. On "heel" day, the teacher (Brian) was looking for a dog with whom to demonstrate, and he first used an older dog who already knew the gist of walking on a leash. Then, he needed to demonstrate the training process on a dog who would think that being in a circle of people on a leash meant doing "the happy dance." (Which is adorable: she wags her whole body and moves closer and closer to the person. It's offered to pretty much any person she sees after an extended absence (or for the first time). Colin has a song he sings to her that gets her going on her dance. It's profoundly cute.)

Whom does Brian go to first? Abby, of course.

She does learn incredibly quickly and had the idea of heel down within a few minutes. Sustaining it was another thing altogether, but now, weeks later, she does remarkably well. We're constantly amazed at how she seems to learn stuff overnight. We worked on heel one afternoon, with fairly good results, then went on a walk in the neighborhood a couple of days later and she was PERFECT on her leash for most of the walk. It was informal walking (not heeling), but the same idea was present.

Not to carry on too much (I am, after all, procrastinating getting back to work on my pile of end-of-semester papers...), but Abby finished the obedience class with flying colors. There wasn't a test exactly, but during the last class, they had to do a 10 minute-ish down while we walked around the room and tasty treats were put in front of her. And she was great at it (better than some other dogs in the class...). (Partly, I'm sure, b/c she hasn't had a meal that she didn't sit or down and stay for since the first week she came to us).

At any rate, she's doing very well. We did some off-leash hiking at the lake the other day, and she was perfect--running ahead or down to the lake, and when she noticed we weren't close enough to her, she came right back. Also, it was pretty early in the morning, and some geese were out in the water, and she freaked out. She waded in up to her undercarriage and stared at them, looking frantically back and forth at us for permission to go do that which she was bred to do: retrieve birds from the water. Alas, we had to call her back, and she obeyed, but it was pretty funny.

Ok. Her picture, and I'm off to papers. If I haven't spoken to any of my friends who check this in quite some time, it's because I have something like 20,000 words (65 pages) to write (and/or edit) before Tuesday. Luckily my classes are over, and I just get to write for the next several days. Which I'm actually looking forward too. And that, I suppose, makes me both a masochist and in just the right profession.

The two dogs to the left of Abby are her good buddies. The Golden next to her, Piper, and the unfathomably big Great Dane, Apollo (who's a big baby, but, his parents say, has DENTED THE FRONT DOOR from wagging his tail). Second in from the right is a Portuguese Water Dog, whom we were very impressed by, and the breed has made the short list for our next dog (years from now).

Swimming!!!

Abby and Woodruff had their first swim yesterday, and we had so much fun that we went again today! She's gone "wading" before (ie, chases something into the water, then is surprised to find herself wet), which is hysterical, since her little chicken legs show, but her top is still all fluff and puff. Yesterday, she went in whole hog. Christopher took pictures yesterday, and I hope to get copies soon.

Here are some pictures I took at today's swim; we went on a short hike to find this spot on the edge of Griffy Lake.

She is a retrieving fool! When poodles served a purpose (god knows how long ago that was...) they were water retrievers, so Abby's got it on both sides. She's been a bit of a stubborn ass of a dog regarding fetching in the back yard, so we were delighted to find that that's not a problem in the water. Not only was she all about fetching, she wanted to get all the sticks she could see, starting with the biggest. She damn near sank trying to pull out these enormous sticks (which someone, who shall remain nameless, kept throwing for her...)

















Another funny part of the afternoon was the Continuing Drama of the Big Stick. In our backyard, Abby and Woodruff have a favorite stick, and they chase each other around trying to gain control of it, and so forth, but after a few minutes of chase, they settle down and chew on it side by side (a la Lady and the Tramp) and it is so precious. So, down at the lake today, they found another desirable stick and commensed the game.

They are so cute together! In the backyard, they've started taking naps together, and at the dog park, all Woodruff wants to do is follow Abby around. At the lake, we'd throw a stick for Abby, and Woodruff would splash in up to his ankles, let Abby drag it back in, then pounce on her and, if he could wrest it from her, present it proudly to his daddies.

48 Railroad ties on the lawn, 48 railroad ties...Take one down...

Here's what 48 railroad ties looks like in our driveway. We're finally building the raised garden along the west side of the house. After several hours of logistical quibbling (cut short by the divine intervention of our neighbor Christopher, who actually has experience with gardening and landscaping), we settled on a plan and began to implement it. At which time, we had to stop working in the yard and go work on school stuff. So in the yard the ties shall remain. We're all set to resume work next weekend, though. Shouldn't take too long now...(famous last words).

Abby's New Beau

Well, our neighbors and good friends Colin and Christopher got a puppy last week. He's a pound pup, incredibly sweet, ever so smart, and Abby's new boyfriend. He's definitely part lab, and they think the other part might be Great Dane, which is hilarious, but a little daunting. This little guy has SO much energy and a good heart. He and Abby were instantly best friends, and they play together at least twice a day; that's a relief for both sets of parents, seeing as how they basically wear each other out. In a month or two, when we have 5 and 6 month old puppies on our hands, we'll be even more grateful for the arrangement. At any rate, we adore Woodruff, and we're enjoying spending time with the neighbors.