Friday, February 27, 2009

We Keep Our Promises

Hi, all! Kharma here.

This video opened my mom's eyes to the possibilities beyond sit/lie down/rollover/bang. I'm glad because I get super treats whenever she works with me! For some reason, mom always cries when she watches this. She says love always makes her cry happy tears. Must be a human thing...


Here's my friend Xsara doing some cool tricks. Since Barby just added Tani to her family, does that make Silvia and Barby related?? I think it must because their dogs have learned such wonderful behaviors.


The cool thing about YouTube is that you can subscribe to these two channels and see all their new videos. Like La's TV commercial. Or new puppies acting silly. Or doggy tricks. Mom gets lots of cool ideas from YouTube.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Favorite Dog Blogs

Good dogs will always find each other--even in the blogosphere! Or should that be dogosphere?


Today we added our favorite daily reads sniffs, and got a big happy surprise! We knew that Barby was getting a new puppy, a pyr shep born on Christmas Day, to be Xsara's sister. We kept checking her blog hoping for photos of the new puppy but there hadn't been anything new since early February. We figured no news probably meant good news--the puppy was home and taking all her time--but we didn't know for sure. Until today when we added her blog to our list and realized she had just posted about Tani! We are grinning ear to ear with delight. New puppies are one of our favorite happenings. Welcome, Tani!

Tani, aka Desiree de Loubajac, is a half-sister of La and we can already see the resemblance. If you haven't met La, along with Lo, Bi and Bu--you'll have to check out LoLaBu Land. Their mom Silvia is an incredible and inventive trainer. Her specialty is happy dogs! Our dream is to one day have a seminar with her.

All these dog friends live far away in Europe, alas. We love them anyway and delight in their antics and successes.

Tune in tomorrow for our favorite YouTube videos featuring our friends!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Who She Smelled When I Returned

Airline miles make for a very cheap three-day weekend. Total cost to Albuquerque and back--$10! Gotta love it! Dogs don't get to fly, so Kharma had to stay home with Dad. I had plenty of canine company once I arrived.

First of all, Donner, the newest member of the family--New Mexico branch. Donner's a recent rescue--part golden, part lab. He wasn't too sure when I walked in the house after midnight and let out a few questioning woofs. I won him over with lots of rubs and sweet talk and frequent tuna fudge treats during my visit though.

He has a very wise look when he's at rest and grins nonstop when he's out on a hike. Well, nonstop smiles unless his best friend and partner is sitting on top of a twenty-foot granite outcrop without him. This look clearly said, "Dude! How'd you get up there and why didn't you invite me?"

He was much happier once he was up there too.He may be considered a "senior" in the adoption world, but he has enough energy to accompany his BFF on daily two mile morning runs. He's been known to chase the local deer herd through the hills before he decides to check back in with his main man.

He has a nice sit, a good down, and the beginnings of a spin. The rumbling lecture he gives after his partner takes off and abandons him for any length of time at all leaves no doubt that he's given his whole heart to my son. I wonder if Kharma could smell the love between them when she had her nose glued to my jeans when I got back?!

I know she was wondering why I didn't take her along to play with Romeo (that's him up on the rock with Donner and my son. Romeo may be a teacup poodle, but he has enough heart to hang with us during a three-hour hike up hill and down.

Kharma loves to steal his toys and play keep away during our visits. The two of them will run a circular pattern through the kitchen and around the living room over and over and over. When Romeo begins to give up, Kharma will slow down so he can catch up, usually staying just far enough ahead that Romeo can grab her tail plume but get nowhere near his stolen toy.

The last scent that I brought home was that of Juicy, the toy poodle pup. She's a cute fluffy apricot bundle of undisciplined energy. She's a member of our extended family and we were puppy-sitting for a couple of days. Donner not only tolerates her, but actually likes her--puppy craziness and all.

Here they are, cuddled up together on the pillow in front of the fireplace. Donner, you're such a good dog!





Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Her Third Bark-day Celebration

Kharma got a bath for her birthday.

(It may not have been her favorite present.)

By the time we were done, my flannel shirt, jeans and undies all were soaked and had to be tossed in the laundry hamper along with the two huge beach towels used to dry her off.

Kharma wasn't nuts about the hair dryer either. I eventually got smart and put it on the quiet setting and she settled down. By the time she was dry enough to carry back downstairs, Kharma had sparkling white stockinged feet and her fur was conditioned and softly shining. She was brushed from her freckled nose to her white tail plume. Even her purple daisy collar got a good cleaning.

I'm not a complete monster--I made her a nice batch of tuna fudge to celebrate and we've been taking it around to her best doggy pals for an extended birthday celebration. She got a new toy and she's had an entire week of exciting walks (no matter what the weather was doing).

There's no extra money for the agility DVD I've been wanting or for the agility class we'd planned. But...I did sign us up as members of the Musical Dog Sports Association (think Carolyn, Rookie and Grease) and we are excited to begin working on more tricks that we can incorporate into a freestyle routine.

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