(Practically) Wordless Wednesday: Beach Nerd

Who you callin' a beach nerd?!

The Beach: As Told by Athena

Hi guys!  Athena here.  You have probably noticed that my mom has taken an unusually long absence from writing posts on the blog.  This was because we spent four whole days at the beach!  Those of you who follow us on Facebook know about some of the fun things that I did while I was there.  Here's my take on this weekend's beach trip:

1.  I wasn't a big fan of the sand...or the o-shin either...

My mom and dad think that this trip to the beach was probably my very first time stepping my paws in the sand.  I was a little bit afraid because I just didn't know why that stuff was so squishy!  Here's documentation of my first touch of sand...

Mom couldn't stop laughing because I guess I looked pretty silly!  Then, my dad took me into a giant bathtub and my mom laughed some more.  They called the big bathtub the o-shin, and it had some very chilly water inside of it with big bath time bubbles.  I didn't know what to do in such a big tub, so I ate some of the bubbles...

First steps in the o-shin...so many bubbles!

See my little foam beard? =)

2.  I love the sand and the o-shin...oh, and don't forget the ChuckIt!

After my first visit to the big squishy bathtub o-shin place I started to like it...actually, I really LOOOOOVED it!  Did you know that you get to chase the favorite ChuckIt! ball extra far on a big beach? Yeah, I didn't know it either until it happened to me.  I got to chase my ball on the beach EVERY day for SO long!  My mom and dad chucked the ball over and over and over and over and over.  I never wanted the chucking to end!

3.  Decks are for o-shin watching and seagull stalking

The beach condo was on the third floor which meant that we had a deck for me to sit on.  It was my favorite place to be when I wasn't playing on the beach!  I watched the o-shin and the seagulls and the kitty cats and the doggy friends and the people and the moon.  Whenever I wasn't snugglin' or eating my food, I was on deck duty patrolling the neighborhood.  Mom and dad let me sit on the deck for as long as I wanted...except for the time that I started woofing at a fat kitty cat on the ground...I never did that again after the first time though because it meant I had to go on a "no more deck" time-out!

Observing the sunset from my beach deck

4.  Doggles are a girl's best friend!

I got to visit a doggy toy and treat palace (mom calls it a pet shop) while I was at the beach.  I was sniffing around and eating yummy duck treats from the nice man behind the counter when all of a sudden my mom started having an attack.  She was jumping up and down and waving at my dad screaming, "OH MY GOSH, they sell Doggles!  Like Two Pitties in the City!  We have to get some!"  The next thing I knew the nice man with the ducky treats was putting the Doggles on my face and my mom was so happy that I liked them that her and dad decided to buy them.  So, I wore them every day down to the o-shin.  All of a sudden it was like I was a movie star...

Stylin'

5.  After all of the fun in the big bathtub o-shin you have to get in the baby bathtub...

I didn't know that super fun beach time also meant super not fun bath time.  That's right.  Every-stinkin'-time I went in the big bathtub o-shin I had to go in the baby bathtub in the beach condo.  My mom and dad said that it wasn't a REAL bath because I only got rinsed off with water...no soap!  But, I thought it was a little bit TOO much like a real bath for my liking.  I was happy not to have itchy salt water skin any more though...

I had a bath three days in a row...talk about torture!

6.  I thought we were moving in...

Spending four days at the beach means that you are moving in, right?  WRONG!  I was all comfy and settled into the beach condo and my beach deck when my mom and dad started cleaning like mad people and we LEFT!  Just like that!  You would have thought they would have given me a little bit of notice.  I loved the beach so much I wanted to stay forever!

We are moving here, right?

Make sure to check back this week to hear my mom's side of the story, how Doggles made me famous, and see some more fun pictures from our beach trip!

Love, Athena

(Practically) Wordless Wednesday: Window Crack Sniffin'

I'm not interested in sticking my whole head out the car window like most of my doggy friends.  I prefer window crack sniffin' just like this...

Love It: Mighty Stuffies

Athena loves her stuffies, she especially loves her Mighty Toy Rabbit that we purchased at Costco for a very good price!

Unfortunately, Athena hasn't yet learned how to be gentle with her stuffies like Mr. B from Two Pitties in the City.  She mostly sits and picks at the weak spots and attempts to rip the fabric (she has succeeded at tearing off the poor rabbits teeth and is close to getting its tail off too).  When she's not fabric picking, she's zooming around the house giving the bunny whip lash.

This stuffy has a tuffness rating of '10' because of its multiple layers of flexible materials.  It also has one squeaker in the middle, but Athena can't even get it to squeak because the toy is so firm.  Overall, I think this toy stands up to its rating.  Although Athena has managed to create a few weak spots, she has yet to puncture the rabbit and get to the stuffing.  This toy stays out almost all of the time at our house and Athena plays with it multiple times a day.

The only warning that I would give about this toy is that is can turn an already klutzy dog into a little terror.  When Athena carries her bunny in her mouth she is sure to knock a few things around.  Objects especially get bonked when she does her crazy head whipping action with the rabbit in her mouth.  At least this toy doesn't injure us like the Nylabone!

Do your dogs pick at their stuffies and whip them around the house 'crazy horse style'?  How have you taught your dogs to be gentle with their stuffed toys?

Pinterest Inspiration: Halloween Costumes

Even though I have been preparing for Halloween since early September, I can now publicly admit my major excitement for the holiday since it's October 1st (you may have thought that I was just a liiiiiittle bit obsessed if I made too many Halloween posts prior to October).  I did manage to sneak in my DIY dog tutu tutorial though!

As an avid pinner on Pinterest, I have been searching the site for Halloween costume inspiration.  Seeing as this is Athena's first Halloween with us, I am determined to dress her in the fanciest costume in town!  Thanks to Pinterest, I have been able to pull together some ideas to create a DIY dog friendly Wonder Woman costume for Athena.

Here is the progress that I have made so far on her costume (cape & tutu):

Pinterest Inspiration: Wonder Woman Costumes

It can be tough to find inspiring pet costumes on the web, so I looked at kid costumes for my DIY inspiration.  If you couldn't tell already, I am all about adding a tutu to spice up a costume!  Here are some images snagged from my Halloween Costume Inspiration Pinterest board to help you get started on planning your dog's costume:

Pinterest Inspiration: Super Hero Costumes

Robin, Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman

Spiderman, Batman

Pinterest Inspiration: Book & Movie Character Costumes

Thing 1 & 2, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland

Bamm-Bamm, Pebbles

Peter Pan, Max from Where The Wild Things Are

Pinterest Inspiration: Spooky Costumes

Pumpkin, Pirate, Scarecrow

For even more Halloween costume inspiration check out my Pinterest board.  What are you planning for your dog's costume this Halloween and what was your inspiration?

Does Your Dog Have C.L.A.S.S.?

We're not afraid to admit that our dog doesn't...yet.  That is until we begin Canine Life and Social Skills (C.L.A.S.S.) training in two weeks.

I think I look like I got the class...

"So, what's C.L.A.S.S. training?" you might ask...

C.L.A.S.S. is a training program that focuses on positive reinforcement to strengthen the relationship between dog and owner.

The components of C.L.A.S.S. include:

• Assess Real-Life Skills
• Encourage Ongoing Training
• Expand Opportunities for Well-Behaved Pets
• Support Shelters/Rescues
• Educate Responsible Dog Ownership and Positive Reinforcement

Something that's different about this training than say, the basic training we received at Petco, is that there is a component of assessment.  Each dog and their owner is evaluated on their training skills learned in C.L.A.S.S. classes through a series of real-life activities.  The three C.L.A.S.S. assessment levels include:

• Bachelor's (B.A.) Level- Core life skills
• Master's (M.A.) Level- Life skills with distractions
• Doctorate (Ph.D.) Level- Team performance reliability

How classy is Athena?

Even though Athena has completed 7 weeks of basic obedience training and many people compliment us for how well she is trained, we will find out tomorrow just how classy she really is.  Before beginning the C.L.A.S.S. training we must first be evaluated to determine which level we will be placed in.  So, tomorrow we are going to meet our new trainer and take the Bachelor's (B.A.) level assessment.  Generally, here are the skills that we will be evaluated on (and my thoughts on how we will score):

• Wait at the door (there's a 50/50 chance we will score well on this one)
• Come and leashing up manners (come is iffy and leash up manners should be good)
• Loose leash walking and attention (eh, we shall see how Athena is feeling tomorrow...)
• Meet and greet (50/50...depending on how exciting the person is that she will be meeting...)
• Leave it (What will she have to leave?  Food, toys, people?  We will fail...)
• Wait for the food bowl (We've got this one 100%!)
• Stay (We better get 100% on this one too!)
• Settle (Yeah right)
• Give and take (YEAH RIGHT!)
• 2 Bonuses- rollover, spin, fetch, speak, or paw (We aren't honor students...)

As you can see I'm expecting a big ole' FAIL on this assessment.  Especially since the C.L.A.S.S. program prohibits the use of the Gentle Leader and we use this tool like a crutch!  Along with Athena's training assessment, we also have to pass the Student Knowledge Assessment multiple choice test about responsible dog ownership.

Even though I don't have high hopes for the assessment, I'm so excited that at the end of this new 6 week class we should be able to successfully complete all of the above skills!  In a way we are also happy that we can't use the Gentle Leader in the class or during assessments because it is our ultimate goal to have Athena trained on a flat collar.

Overall, we can't wait for this new set of classes to begin!  Have any of you gone through any C.L.A.S.S. training or something similar?  What did you think of it?

**All of the above information comes from the Canine Life and Social Skills student handbook.  You can check it out here for a full description of the training program**

Love It: ChuckIt! Ultra Ball Launcher

Athena love, love, loooovvveeesss to run!  She especially loves to run if she is chasing her beloved ChuckIt! Ultra Ball.  Because I can't throw for the life of me, we invested in the ChuckIt! Ultra Grip Ball Launcher to do the work for us.

This ball launcher is pretty amazing for multiple reasons:

1. The medium size fits regular-old tennis balls as well as the medium sized ChuckIt! Ultra Balls.
2. It's easy to play fetch with your dog without having a sore arm for days (yes, I am weak and get sore after only a few minutes of playing fetch with Athena!)
3. The launcher is advertised to throw the ball three times as far and I would totally agree with this
4. Athena gets so much more of an exercise when she has to run further to fetch the ball and bring it back
5. It provides a "no-slobber hands-free" pickup.  I would also add that it eliminates the need to constantly bend over to pick up the ball if your dog isn't so great at putting the ball in your hand (like Athena)

Another added bonus to this fancy ball launcher is that you can train your dog to carry it to the park for you if you insist on being hands-free like us.  Simply teach your dog the "bring it" command and they will happily carry the launcher the whole way to the park.  Just watch Athena carrying her launcher:

This ball launcher also doubles as a back scratcher (for you or your dog!).  I am such a kind parent that I always give Athena a little back scratch after a long game of fetch at the park.  She loves it.

Finally, as if Athena isn't weird enough, she enjoys attempting to put her own ball in the launcher for another round of fetch.  She will hold her ball in her mouth and try to push it into the launcher's ball holder.  It's amazing that she has actually been successful at loading the launcher on multiple occasions!  Sometimes her doggy ADHD kicks in though and she tries to steal the launcher away from me...

Alas, the ChuckIt! Ultra Launcher is still our BFF.  Have you tried any of the ChuckIt! ball launchers?