Adding to the Toy Inventory

My Mom is pretty great.  I might have mentioned this.  But here is evidence why:

These are my two newest toys in action.  The red thing is actually a Mother Bunny and the blue thing is a Tribble.  They are supposed to be indestructible.  I'm a little sad the bunny doesn't squeak, but the Tribble does!

Mom's been telling me all week that she has to go away for a few weeks, so I think this is her trying to win my love.  I'll be staying with the Keller Family while Mom is gone.  I'm excited, but don't tell Mom, I want her to think I'm sad that she's leaving..

What to do when Mom buys you new things:

You remember this:

Well, I prefer this.

Joke's on you, Mom!  HA!

I picnic like a Greyhound.

This weekend was the GEGR annual picnic!  Mom has been planning on going to this since she found out about it, and I knew something was up, I just know things.  Then again, Mom did finally clean, so maybe that was the biggest clue...

First off, Fright night we had company.  Diane brought her two pups, Snowy and CJ to stay the night.  We started the sleepover early!  

After everyone was fed and went taken out for business, we put on our best retired faces.

The next morning was like normal, kinda.  I woke Mom up at normal time, but she wasn't having that.  But with some incessant whining prodding, she was motivated.  Really, I just wanted to see what Snowy and CJ were up to, cause I heard them and knew they were already awake.

They left after getting breakfast and Mom and I went back to bed, which is our usual ritual on Saturday morning.  Finally, when Mom got up again, she started getting ready and packing our stuff.  I asked her if I was going and she reassured me that today was all about me and my peeps.

When we got there, there was so much excitement to be had!  I saw Miss Scarlet and Temporary Mom and Brother from when Mom went to Scotland.  I think they missed me!  I also saw Mr. George, who I've seen recently.  I tried to make sure I said hey to everyone at the picnic.

Mom took some pictures to share with you.

A gaggle of Greyhounds..  pretending to not be retired.

We were allowed to run free in color coded groups.  Certain colors were allowed to roam around (muzzle required, and NO ONE liked that!) at certain times.  Mom got caught in the middle of a running pack and I just pretended not to know her.  Silly Mom should know better than to stand in front of a speeding Greyhound (no bus pun intended).

They were running really fast.  I didn't run with the group though.  I was off attending to more important matters...
Like marking every tree/bush/tall grass spot possible.

The pools were set out for the hounds to cool off in.  Several pups were just laying in the pools.  I was just thirsty!

Chillin' my paws. 

Scarlet and I hung out for a while when I wasn't marking what was mine running around saying hey to everyone.  Temporary Brother gave me lots of pettins.  I had a super fun time just roaming around, even though I didn't like my muzzle being on.  I tried to tell Mom that a muzzle isn't part of retirement by rubbing my nose on her leg, but she said suck it up.

Every time Mom found me, I was at Lisa's door.  Lisa's house was the first place I ever received TLC, so I really, really wanted inside.  

Excuse me, I'm being good.  I already looked in the window, I know you're home.  Just let me in please!!!
PS.  It's hot out here and I'm retired.  Duh.

After my Temporary Family left, Mom decided to go exploring with me.  She took me to the real water area.  Mom and Dad both have taken me to the beach, but I wasn't a super huge fan...  but it didn't really seem like they were either.  But this girl was nice enough to hold my leash while I was in the water, and since she looked like she was enjoying it, I figured it was safe for me as well.

It is pretty hot out here and this water is nice.

OOOOOOO, that was cold on my happy place!

Nevermind, it's niiiiicccceeeee in here.

Look how far out I am, Mom!!!  Look!  Look!!

This was the deepest I went.  The water felt really nice and I couldn't figure out the zoom-zoomers that were driving by.
The girls were really enjoying the waves after they passed though!

After I got out of the water, my tongue slipped out of my mouth.  Mom caught it for blackmail.

Mom actually won a door prize at the picnic.. but she also bought some stuff!

Top Left: Red Mother Bunny.  "Red for NC State," said Mom.
Top Right:  Yellow knitted scarf and hat Mom picked out as her door prize.  She also got a box of treats which didn't make it in the photo.
Bottom, L to R: My new collar (it has a matching tag collar.. I'm like a real retired greyhound now!), my new Tribble (which I luuuuuuvvvvv because it squeaks), and Mom's new GEGR t-shirt.

Overall, we had a super time.  I think once we get to know more people, since we are just GEGR babies, the picnic will be more fun cause we'll be like one of the groupies!  Now, Mom also knows what to expect for next year.  Eventually, she'll become a pro and bring her own tent and maybe she'll even spoil me enough to buy me my own xpen.  She says probably not anytime soon, but I'm working on her....  I mean she did get me that big bed a few weeks ago AND she bought me a Mother Bunny today.. and a Tribble...  She's a pretty great Mommy, even without an xpen for me.

Peer Pressure...

After much peer pressure, Mom went out and bought me a new bed.

My initials thoughts:

Excuse me, Mom...  You put a foreign object on top of my bed....

The first night Mom piled my dalmatian blankie on top of the new bed to even get me to stand on it.  She even laid on it to show me how it's done.  She's a pretty silly Mommy.  She wasn't able to get a picture of me that first night because every time she moved, I was up and ready for action.  I mostly laid off of it, but I heard her say if I didn't start appreciating it, she was going to return it!

Is this how this works?

 Earlier today she caught me like this:

Mom says I'm getting the hang of it.

Now if I just roached, I'm sure she'd never be mad at me again...

PS.  This is the biggest one she could find at PetCo and she found it on sale for $78!  The cover is removable for washing, which was very important to her.  Not that I get stinky, so I'm not sure why she was worried.

PPS.  I'm sure if times got rough and she couldn't sleep on her "cloud" (what Mom calls her bed), I could let her borrow mine.   I love her that much!

Celtic Festival!

Mom got back on a Friday evening from Scotland and met Temporary Mom in Prince Frederick for my pass off.  I remembered Mom, but I ignored her so she would calm down before I gave her any love.

Mom brought us home and then we hung out for a little bit and went to bed.  She was pretty tired since she'd started her day at 08 in Scotland time and ended her day at 10pm Eastern time (which is 5 hours behind Scotland, so her day was 29 hours long instead of 24!).

We got up at my usual time and went out on a walk.  Mom fed me and then we went back to bed for a nap.  We got up later and Mom put on some weird clothes and said we were going to the Celtic Festival.  I didn't know what that meant, but she said WE, so that meant I was going somewhere!  Getting in the car isn't my favoritest thing ever, but I loooooove putting my nose out the window to smell new smells!!

The MD Celtic Festival is held at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum.  It's a good excuse for people to dress in plaid (or just dress up in Mom's case) and go listen to men in skirts grunt while they throw trees or play their honky-horns (Mom says they are called Bagpipes).  But, the coolest part is that GEGR was there!  So I got to hang out with some of my brethren.

This also means that I got lots of pettins and treats and attention!!  All my favorite things!  Mom always tells me when we go to events that I have to get love from other people, because she loves me at home, but when we go out, its other people's job to love me...  I'm irresistible, so this works out.

Soon after being let into the pin with my homies, I smelled something that needed to peed on, so I was going about my business when a lady started shrieking.  Apparently, I'd "leaked" on her foot.  Mom apologized over and over while she gave the poor lady some paper towels to wipe off her foot.  I didn't get what the big deal was.. I'd just made her smell like me better.  After that incident, things went smoothly.

Mom got some pics to share with you though!

This little girl had a peanut butter cracker.  It was delicious.  New BFF.

Why are we ALL so attentive?  There's a lady you can't see in the photo who had a turkey leg...
NOMNOMNOM, DELICIOUS SMELLS, PLEASE SHARE!!!

They were cold, since the weather got a little chilly.  But they shared nicely!

Mom was astonished to see me do an actual SIT.  I learned it from watching the other pups, but I won't do it at home.

Look at that UUUUGGGGEEEEE dog!  He's a very distant cousin of mine, an Irish Wolfhound.

Mom took a picture with the puppy to demonstrate how big he is!
She's also advertising for GEGR with the trailer in the background!  :)

This was the final event of the day.  ALL the clansmen/women gathered and marched and played their instruments.  It was pretty cool to see, but we didn't stay for the whole thing because it started to rain and because they interrupted the music with boring announcements.

I was very glad that Mom was home.  Temporary Mom said that I'd started to get anxious after the 2 week mark, but she also said that since I'm an only-dog, that might have had something to do with it.  After the Celtic Festival, I was exhausted and I came home and showed Mom what my retirement was all about!

Going to the dog park..

Dear Dog Park Mommies and Daddies,

For the sake of my Mom's sanity (and potentially your doggie's well-being)..  if your dog isn't well-behaved, please keep it away from her.  She had to come home this afternoon and take a shower and change clothes because one of the neighborhood dogs who was also in the dog park with us.  She kept jumping on Mommy.  Mom had dirty paw prints all over her, and while that was a sign of love from the other doggy, Mom didn't appreciate it one bit!  From my experience, Mom prefers gentle kisses.. even if you have bad breath.  I tried to tell the other doggy that, but she wasn't listening to me.

Mom was NOT very happy.  Mom said to me (I think she was talkin to me, since no one else was around) on the walk home, "If I have to control your dog because you can't, you don't need to have a dog."
So please other Dog Park Mommies and Daddies, know how to control your dog before you go into the park with others.  It's one thing to try to play with the other doggies, but to jump on the humans?  NOT COOL!  Especially MY human!

PS.  Down doesn't mean NO.  My Mommy tells me NO often.  She's not afraid to yell it either.  I know when she yells NO, she means serious business.  I stop what I'm doing immediately and look at her.  Sometimes, when she just says no normal, I don't hear her until she repeats what she wants me to do a few times.  It's a game I like to play with her to see how many times she'll repeat a command.  So far, I'm up to... well I can't really count, but its a LOT!

It usually goes like this:  Phil, go to your house.  (I look at her like what did you say?)  No, Phil, go to your house.  (I start towards my house, but I get about halfway there then back up to the rug).  Phil, NO, go to your house!  (I put my front paws on the slippy floor).  Go to your house Phil, you can do it.  (Finally, I slowly make it to my house.  I have to put on a good show for Mom so she knows how much the floors "scare" me).  Good boy, Phil!  Ok, now stay.

I'm really good at stay because usually if I stay in my house and out of Mom's way while she's fixing me dinner, she makes it quicker AND doesn't spill it.

She's a pretty good Mom, so please Please PLEASEEEEEEE... have good doggy manners around her.  She's spoiled by my good manners... So its really my fault.  But she can't help how much she loves me.. Have you looked at me?  You can't help but to love me too.  Promise.

This is what being good looks like.  It's not a bad idea to practice this.