We spent some time in the dog park last week. It was pretty cold and windy but Ambrose and I have warm fur so it didn't really matter. In fact I really enjoy the cold - it makes me feel all skippy.
I love a good chase game that ends in some bashing and bitey face. Ambrose is usually happy to oblige. So off we ran. You can hear the wind in the video. Of course the best part is smashing into Barbara's knees. Ha! Her camera work leaves much to be desired but you get the idea.
After a breather we were ready for another run.
I am not sure why the cocker spaniel barked at us. Maybe he thought that we were having too much fun.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
A Year and a Day
It has been one year and one day since I came to live with Barbara and Niamh! This is Barbara's favorite picture of me when I was a puppy. I am trying to cuddle up to Niamh. I missed my brothers and sisters a lot at first and wanted Niamh to like me. You can see pictures of my parents and siblings at Albannach Gordons.
Barbara picked me out of litter because she really liked my temperament and my sweet, mushy face.
I've grown up quite a bit since then and I am very strong and fast.
But because I have had such a lot of socialization and training, I have stayed nice and sweet. I like everyone I meet, people and dogs. I have good play skills because Barbara exposed me to nice dogs when I was little. Scout and I like to play rough but we have a good time. Today we ran around the training center before we practiced our training. It is raining out so I couldn't go to the dog park.
It has been a great year. I have learned so much. I know Niamh makes fun of me on the blog but we really do get along very well and play a lot. She does yell at me though if I annoy her before breakfast when she is watching the deer in the woods.
Barbara thinks I am the sweetest boy and I give good smoochies. She has big plans for me in training. She says that I have to live up to my name which is Albannach Almost Famous. I just want to have fun and get lots of petting, praise and treats
I hope Niamh won't be such a blog hog and will let me post some more. Other than that, life is good.
Ambrose
Barbara picked me out of litter because she really liked my temperament and my sweet, mushy face.
I've grown up quite a bit since then and I am very strong and fast.
But because I have had such a lot of socialization and training, I have stayed nice and sweet. I like everyone I meet, people and dogs. I have good play skills because Barbara exposed me to nice dogs when I was little. Scout and I like to play rough but we have a good time. Today we ran around the training center before we practiced our training. It is raining out so I couldn't go to the dog park.
It has been a great year. I have learned so much. I know Niamh makes fun of me on the blog but we really do get along very well and play a lot. She does yell at me though if I annoy her before breakfast when she is watching the deer in the woods.
Barbara thinks I am the sweetest boy and I give good smoochies. She has big plans for me in training. She says that I have to live up to my name which is Albannach Almost Famous. I just want to have fun and get lots of petting, praise and treats
I hope Niamh won't be such a blog hog and will let me post some more. Other than that, life is good.
Ambrose
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Training Ambrose
Next week will be the 1st anniversary of Ambrose coming to live with us and be my brother. I am not sure that this is something to celebrate as it has been the longest year of my life!
He is growing up and getting to be quite a handsome boy but he is still a handful.
Fortunately Barbara makes sure he gets a lot of exercise. I like it when he goes to Scout's house so the two of them can run around like crazy and get some of their energy out. He is a lot easier to deal with if he has had enough exercise.
Of course Barbara keeps trying to train Ambrose. I have always felt that was an impossible dream but lately there are some glimmers of hope. We won't mention that he chased some deer earlier this week or that this morning he pulled Barbara down on the patio.
Ambrose is finally learning to settle on his mat.
We both have bath mats that we lie on as our special place. Barbara can take the mats with us when we go places so we can settle on them. Well, I can settle on mine because I am practically perfect. Ambrose is such a busy guy that this has been very difficult for him to do. But he is finally figuring out that he will get nice rewards the longer he lies down on his mat.
Now this may not seem like much, but what you don't see in this photo are the 5 other dogs in the class. That is very distracting for him as he is all about playing with other dogs. Ambrose is trying hard and maybe in another 7 years or so he will be trained.
He is growing up and getting to be quite a handsome boy but he is still a handful.
Fortunately Barbara makes sure he gets a lot of exercise. I like it when he goes to Scout's house so the two of them can run around like crazy and get some of their energy out. He is a lot easier to deal with if he has had enough exercise.
Of course Barbara keeps trying to train Ambrose. I have always felt that was an impossible dream but lately there are some glimmers of hope. We won't mention that he chased some deer earlier this week or that this morning he pulled Barbara down on the patio.
Ambrose is finally learning to settle on his mat.
We both have bath mats that we lie on as our special place. Barbara can take the mats with us when we go places so we can settle on them. Well, I can settle on mine because I am practically perfect. Ambrose is such a busy guy that this has been very difficult for him to do. But he is finally figuring out that he will get nice rewards the longer he lies down on his mat.
Now this may not seem like much, but what you don't see in this photo are the 5 other dogs in the class. That is very distracting for him as he is all about playing with other dogs. Ambrose is trying hard and maybe in another 7 years or so he will be trained.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
More Snow!
While we haven't had as much snow as our friends in Maryland, last night we got about 2 inches. We were quite excited to run around in it this morning. I'm glad we did because once the sun came out most of it melted.
Ambrose and I had a good chase game.
Then we bashed into each other and played some excellent bitey face.
We play rough but fair. All the bitey part is on the shoulders up and the play is pretty reciprocal. Sometimes I get Ambrose and sometimes he gets me.
I am embarrassed to tell you this, but I now know the reason Ambrose has snow on his nose. It is because he hunts for frozen poopsicles under the snow and then eats them!!! He is so disgusting! While I have been known to roll in lovely smelling dead things, I never eat poop. Ambrose never did either but I guess he thought it was flavored ice cubes. Barbara said many HBO words about this gross habit and even more when he threw up the poop all over his bed!
Doesn't he look so innocent? Of course I always knew he had puppy cooties and this just proves it. Barbara wanted to take a picture of us posing next to one another in the snow. You can see that I didn't not want to get close to him and risk getting his cooties on me.
Even though we had a great time in the snow, we are remembering our friends Penny, Poppy and Patches. We are so sorry for their terrible loss.
Give your person a big kiss, but not if you have eaten a poopsicle.
Ambrose and I had a good chase game.
Then we bashed into each other and played some excellent bitey face.
We play rough but fair. All the bitey part is on the shoulders up and the play is pretty reciprocal. Sometimes I get Ambrose and sometimes he gets me.
I am embarrassed to tell you this, but I now know the reason Ambrose has snow on his nose. It is because he hunts for frozen poopsicles under the snow and then eats them!!! He is so disgusting! While I have been known to roll in lovely smelling dead things, I never eat poop. Ambrose never did either but I guess he thought it was flavored ice cubes. Barbara said many HBO words about this gross habit and even more when he threw up the poop all over his bed!
Doesn't he look so innocent? Of course I always knew he had puppy cooties and this just proves it. Barbara wanted to take a picture of us posing next to one another in the snow. You can see that I didn't not want to get close to him and risk getting his cooties on me.
Even though we had a great time in the snow, we are remembering our friends Penny, Poppy and Patches. We are so sorry for their terrible loss.
Give your person a big kiss, but not if you have eaten a poopsicle.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Train Your Dog Results
We were so impressed with the quality of the entries we received for our Train Your Dog Photo Contest. All the photos showed great teamwork between you and your people. Barbara is always saying that training is something that you do with your dog, not to you dog. You guys proved that training is a fun way to spend time with your special person and build your relationship.
Ambrose and I had such a hard time making the placements. We loved all the tricks you and your people practice together. If we had a prize for the most creative use of treats, it would have had to go to Maggie and Mitch's dad for training with mini marshmallows! If we had a prize for the most dedicated team that braved the coldest weather to train it would have been a tie between Chef and Agatha and Archie. We decided that we would look for the photos that showed the best teamwork and relationship and the happiest dogs.
Those of you who voted in the Readers' Choice poll selected CODY
We love his trick and the way his person is supporting him to practice it. Congratulations Cody!
In 4th Place we chose FENWAY
He jumps with great enthusiasm and we like how his Ms. Alpha is using his frisbee as a reward in training. Notice how Fenway is focusing on her body language, the sign of great teamwork
In 3rd Place is SAMANTHA
We were blown away by the attention between Samantha and her person. It practically jumps off the page. She is working on her Novice obedience title and finds great joy in training and building the bond with her mom.
In 2nd Place we selected HONEY
Honey and her person do lots of training together. We know that freestyle requires excellent communication between dog and person and it really shines through in this photo as they work together to perfect their skills. Honey likes the training because it makes her think, keeps her from being bored and builds her partnership with her person.
And the winner is CINNAMON!
Cinnamon looks so happy as she practices with her person and even though you can't see her person's face, you can tell by her body posture that she is supporting Cinnamon in their training. Cinnamon loves to learn new tricks for her dance routines.
Thank you all for participating in our contest. We are so glad to have met many new dog blogging friends and we will follow your training and adventures with great interest. If the winners email Barbara with their mailing addresses, she will send your prizes to you for us. You can email her at pawinhand@msn.com.
And thanks again to Mango and his momma for sanctioning our event through Mango Minster 2010!
Ambrose and I had such a hard time making the placements. We loved all the tricks you and your people practice together. If we had a prize for the most creative use of treats, it would have had to go to Maggie and Mitch's dad for training with mini marshmallows! If we had a prize for the most dedicated team that braved the coldest weather to train it would have been a tie between Chef and Agatha and Archie. We decided that we would look for the photos that showed the best teamwork and relationship and the happiest dogs.
Those of you who voted in the Readers' Choice poll selected CODY
We love his trick and the way his person is supporting him to practice it. Congratulations Cody!
In 4th Place we chose FENWAY
He jumps with great enthusiasm and we like how his Ms. Alpha is using his frisbee as a reward in training. Notice how Fenway is focusing on her body language, the sign of great teamwork
In 3rd Place is SAMANTHA
We were blown away by the attention between Samantha and her person. It practically jumps off the page. She is working on her Novice obedience title and finds great joy in training and building the bond with her mom.
In 2nd Place we selected HONEY
Honey and her person do lots of training together. We know that freestyle requires excellent communication between dog and person and it really shines through in this photo as they work together to perfect their skills. Honey likes the training because it makes her think, keeps her from being bored and builds her partnership with her person.
And the winner is CINNAMON!
Cinnamon looks so happy as she practices with her person and even though you can't see her person's face, you can tell by her body posture that she is supporting Cinnamon in their training. Cinnamon loves to learn new tricks for her dance routines.
Thank you all for participating in our contest. We are so glad to have met many new dog blogging friends and we will follow your training and adventures with great interest. If the winners email Barbara with their mailing addresses, she will send your prizes to you for us. You can email her at pawinhand@msn.com.
And thanks again to Mango and his momma for sanctioning our event through Mango Minster 2010!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Train Your Dog Entries
We are so excited that we have received 21 entries for our Train Your Dog Photo Contest which is an Official Mango Minster Sanctioned Event. Thanks to Mango and his momma for publicizing our contest. We are thrilled with the quality of the entries showing off smart and talented dogs and the relationship they have with their people.
Check out all the photos and their blogs. There are so many great entries that we've decided that we will offer a reader's choice award as well as placements for the top four training photos. You can vote for the reader's choice in the poll on the sidebar.
Agatha & Archie
Baby Rocket Dog
Buddy Black
Byron
Chef
Cinnamon
Cody
Dexter
Fenway
Frankie
Honey
Linguini
Ludo
Maggie & Mitch
Mango
Roy
Royal
Samantha
Toby
Tucker
Zena
Ambrose and I will pore over these photos looking for the best attention and relationship that you and your person show. Placements will be posted on Thursday. Thank you to all the participants. And a big thanks to Mango and his momma for doing all the work on Mango Minster 2010.
Check out all the photos and their blogs. There are so many great entries that we've decided that we will offer a reader's choice award as well as placements for the top four training photos. You can vote for the reader's choice in the poll on the sidebar.
Agatha & Archie
Baby Rocket Dog
Buddy Black
Byron
Chef
Cinnamon
Cody
Dexter
Fenway
Frankie
Honey
Linguini
Ludo
Maggie & Mitch
Mango
Roy
Royal
Samantha
Toby
Tucker
Zena
Ambrose and I will pore over these photos looking for the best attention and relationship that you and your person show. Placements will be posted on Thursday. Thank you to all the participants. And a big thanks to Mango and his momma for doing all the work on Mango Minster 2010.
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