Not another brother!!

Man! Did I have a busy weekend! Dad’s friends, Shawn and Elizabeth came to visit this weekend and they brought their dog Bart. Bart is a pretty good boy and didn’t try to start any fight or anything so I thought he was okay. Bart had just had surgery to remove some of his teeth- Ouch! You can see where they shaved Bart's leg to give him the sleepy juice.
Bart and Ollie really liked each other and I think Ollie was begging Shawn and Elizabeth to take me home and leave Bart with mom and dad. The only thing that Bart did that I didn’t like was get near my mom. I tried to tell him early on that she is my mom and not to even look at her. He tried a few times to steal her from me- but no way, man. I took action. A good growl and a few lunges let him know I was serious.
Sunday, Dad, Shawn and Elizabeth all went for a long bike ride. I was upset to see them go as you can see in the picture of me looking out of the window. I didn't care that they were leaving, but I did care that they seemed to leave and leave Bart. I was afraid I was getting another brother and God knows I don't need another brother!
Tonight is my first real night of Family Dog training. I get to show everyone the stuff I have been working on with mom. One of the stupid things is that I get a treat for touching my nose to her hand. I still have no idea where this is going and maybe I’ll find out more tonight. All I know is that mom prepares some very yummy treats for me. Chicken, scrambled eggs, and tuna fish you name it. I’m getting some good, good stuff. I’ll need to have a talk with this trainer lady to tell her that I don’t appreciate having to do these mediocre tricks to get a decent treat. I’ll let you all know how that goes.

There are worse things to eat than socks..want proof?

I've taken a lot of slack off of folks for my refined sock eating habit. We can't really call it a habit, but I have eaten a few socks in my days. I just want to say to everyone to get off my back! I'll tell you why. my good friend Axel has proven that there are worse things to eat. Axel told the story-
"Yesterday Mom and Dad took me to Lemon Hill and I saw this tasty looking thing on the ground, so I put it in my mouth, gave it a chew and down it went. Dad was waving his arms and Mom was positively wretching! They didn't seem to want me to enjoy this particular snack. I heard them call it a condom - don't have clue what that is, but it had a good rubbery taste. Mom and Dad told me I couldn't lick them for at least 24 hours! What could all the fuss be about?"
See what I mean? that's worse than a smelly sock. Besides, mom never said that I couldn't give her kisses after the sock. I do hope that Ax coughs up his find up soon and that he is okay. Yesterday the poor fellow lost his manhood- you know, those little fellows back there that let us make pups.
Fear not, dear Ax, things will get better soon!

What? Family Dog class? Hello.. I am already a family dog...geez!

Last night Mom decided to torment me with tuna fish. Seems all this talk about training lessons and Family Dog classes have led up to her finding new ways to harass me. Mom and Dad were talking “blah, blah, blah, treat, blah, blah, blah, tuna fish, blah, blah, blah, cheese” and then mom opened a can of tuna and a slice of cheese and put them on a plate for me, just me! Wait, hold on, that’s not how it went at all.

Mom put it on a plate and then put me in a chain collar and on a leash to go nowhere at all- just into the living room. She kept trying to get me to touch her hand with my nose, and then I’d get a piece of tuna. How completely stupid is that? What is this all about? I truly hope that this class doesn’t put more idiotic ideas in her head. She said that I get to go with her next week I’ll be sure to set the instructor straight then.

Brotherly love. Blah, blah, blah.

I think its called brotherly love. It's what Ollie and I don't share. Ollie is my brother and is much bigger than I am. I am older by about a year. Ollie is a Bearded Collie, a herding dog. Know what that means? It means that he is a complete control freak! You can see it in the photo. Here I am minding my own business, returning with the ball that mom threw for ME. And along comes Ollie running beside me and telling me what to do. I already know what to do! Ollie won't even let me pee or poop in peace. He thinks he needs to control me doing that too. Can't a guy get a break?

Ollie and I don't get along real well. Dad says we are not compatible because I am a terrierist, I mean terrier and because Ollie is a herding dog . Mom says it’s because we are both so spoiled; I am sure she meant to say that it is because Ollie is so spoiled.

Sometimes Ollie gets near mom and that makes me mad. Sometimes Ollie gets one of my toys and that makes me mad. Sometimes Ollie is in the same space that I am in and that makes me made too. Sometimes I hear Ollie grunt, sigh, whimper, moan, groan, breathe, bark or whatever and that makes me mad. He just plain makes me mad.

What I haven’t told you is how Ollie runs into me and knocks me for a loop. He thinks its funny, and I think that Dad does too because he never tells him not to do it. But let him do that in front of mom and she flies off the handle! Boy, does she get mad. No matter how many times Mom tells him not to, he still does it…..duh Ollie, that means stop!

Sometimes Ollie and I fight. Mom and Dad think they have it figured out. If the fight starts in the house, they figure I started it. If the fight starts outside, they figure Ollie started it. Hello…don’t you two know anything? Ollie starts all of the fights. Geez.

Oh, to be an only dog!

The after Christmas blues....

Christmas was pretty good. My grandma gave me the greatest gift; my very own squirrel. Now, mind you it’s not a real squirrel, and I know that despite these humans’ attempts at trying to trick us canines, but it has a really good tail that is almost like real. It was a really good gift. I got other gifts that were pretty good too, like my new tug of war toy that you see me and my dad playing with. Dad likes it if I play with him pretty hard.
One thing I didn't understand was when mom and dad came home with big bags of what I could easily smell were dog toys and they kept them from me. Later, I saw mom putting them in boxes and dad taking them off to the post office. Mom said they were going to needy Wires that live in Montreal. Come-on already...I am a needy wire. I need those toys. Geez. But, mom said those other dogs had it really bad and needed for us to show them that we love them, so off went my toys. I guess its okay.
The best part about Christmas was that mom and dad stayed at home with me for a whole week. Mom was around for naps and kisses and dad was available for play at almost any time. I did have a few busy days running to my grandparents, so I was glad when mom and dad headed off to the train museum in Pennsylvania so I could catch up on my rest. They are so high maintenance.
So, now mom and dad are back at work and I am back in my routine of being alone during the day. Yesterday I was feeling a bit grouchy about it. I liked it better when they were off and home with me. It kind of gives me the after Christmas blues.
I hope that all my family, friends and wiry friends had a wonderful holiday and happy New Year.

Slainte'. (Pronounced slahn-chuh is Irish for Cheers!)