Twas The Day Before Christmas and All Through the Library...

Yesterday was a dream day for me!  Because I had overdosed on a pigs ear Tuesday, and had to go to the vet, mom brought me to work to watch over me...in her office, that is.  Dogs are not allowed in the library..unless they are therapy dogs.  I am a therapy dog to my mom because I bring smiles to her face and comfort her when she needs it.  But I guess that does not officially qualify for me being a therapy dog. I do want to be a REAL therapy dog sometime, though, so I can wear one of those cute vests and go everywhere with mom.

Anyway, it was really fun to bark at anyone who walked into her office (mom did not think this was fun) and be with mom all day.  Before the library opened she took pictures of me all over the place. This was exciting since I'm not allowed in there when something called PATRONS are there.  What the heck are patrons?!?!

We started out with the puppets while mom was singing the "I'm your puppet" song. That dates her. Sometimes mom is so weird! It's downright embarrassing.  But I guess I embarrass her every once in awhile too.

We went over to the Thomas the train table where all the great brio toys were.  I would have liked to stay there longer but mom was afraid I might try to chew the toys.  I hate to admit it, but I think she was right.

I tried to use the self check machine, but wasn't successful. It takes a little practice and there was no time for that. People were too busy to explain it to me.  

The children's library has so many great things to see.  I love the computers, the puppet stage, and the stuffed toys on the checkout desk.  People say I look like a stuffed toy.  I am not sure if that's a compliment or a put down.

I guess the library is best known for books.  I wonder why mom never reads to me? She reads to Grace and Luke all the time. I probably need to talk to her about that.  I may like being read to.

I didn't quite fit on this shelf.  Is this considered dog abuse?

Did you know that there is a coffee machine in the library?  And comfy chairs? People talk and drink coffee in the library!  I thought you had to whisper 

Well mom says it's time to CHECK OUT. I need to look into how to be a therapy dog so I can go to places like this when they're open.

Have a wonderful Christmas with your furry and non furry friends and family!

Christmas Time and Mom's Crazy Schedule

Ok, I am still a little miffed.  I shouldn't say STILL, I should say MORE.  My last post I told you that mom was too busy.  Well it's gotten worse.  I don't think she has had a day off for about 5 weeks.  I am not feeling sorry for HER, I am feeling sorry for ME!  Yesterday she really hurt my feelings by taking me to a petsitter while she did a newborn shoot.  She thought I might get in the way.  Can you believe that?!?!  Me, cute little 6 pound ME, get in the way of a 8 pound baby?  I think the baby and I could have posed together for some really cute pictures.

So today, mom was on her way to work and got sick to her stomach.  She thinks it was something she ate.  I begged her to please take a few pictures of me (since I love to pose). She was resistant but I dragged her out of bed for 15 minutes.  FIFTEEN MINUTES for my photoshoot!  Do you know how long the baby one took?!?!? THREE HOURS!  And I don't pee on the props (like almost all naked babies do) so there is no laundry to be done before or after my pictures.

I may use this first picture she took on my Christmas card this year:

I was looking at the pictures she took of the baby yesterday, and wanted her to use some of the same props:

Mom thinks the baby looks better in this bucket than I do.  That made me feel bad. Mom says you can't MAKE someone feel bad.  I think if I had put on the "My First Christmas" hat and spread the ornaments around, my picture would have looked just as cute.  What do you think?

I think the only reason I don't look as cute in this basket as the baby is because I need a haircut.  Mom says I look scraggly.  I think she is right.  I didn't notice it until I saw these pictures of myself.  Good thing I am getting a haircut on Saturday.

Well, I have to sign off for now.  Mom's last shoot before Christmas is on the 20th, so I probably won't get to post anything until after that.  Have a DOG GONE Great Christmas.  YES it is CHRISTmas, not just Holiday.  Mom taught me that. She teaches me lots of things but I teach her more...like unconditional love, patience, and loyalty.  I am better at those things than she is.

Mom has been way too busy!

Sorry it has been so long since I posted.  Mom has been crazy busy with photoshoots in the last month.  Everyone wants pictures before the holidays.  I tell her what to write in her blogs, but I don't know how to do anything on the computer so she has to do it for me. This is a drag waiting on her to have time.  So since my birthday I have done lots of fun things with family and friends, but have very few pictures to show for it.  Grace was admitted to the hospital 6 times in the last month, which has been sad for all of us. Last Saturday, though, she was at home and we had a blast playing outside and decorating the tree inside.  Grace and Luke were so much fun and I just loved being there. We rode around in Luke's little car and played in the play house.

Grace has made many new friends at Children's Hospital and some of them are my friends now too.  I really like Nati.

It's raining today.  This is my very first time seeing rain.  It's interesting to watch from inside, but I just hate going out in it.  Mom rigged this artificial grass up in the garage so I could go to the bathroom without getting wet.  That's fine but I miss my walks.  

Happy Birthday to ME and the 5 Love Languages

I am really excited! This Friday, November 14th, is my first birthday!  I can't believe how time flies.  It seems like yesterday I was just born!  I've been thinking about what I would like for my birthday, and mom asked me what my love language is.  I didn't have a clue what she was talking about so she had to explain it to me...There are 5 love languages.  Maybe if I go over them one by one I can figure out what my primary (I just learned that word today) love language is and then mom will know what to get me for my birthday:

1.  Physical Touch-Guess that means tummy rubs, hugs, and kisses.  I get lots of those all the time.
2.  Words of Affirmation-things like "Good Dog!"  "You did it" This is when I go to the bathroom outside.
3.  Receiving Gifts-I like pigs ears, balls, and stuffed toys. Also, anything soft and furry to rest on.     My favorite toy right now is my hedgehog. I had a monkey that I really liked but I blew it today.  For the first time in my entire life I ruined a toy; chewed the stuffing out.  Mom says I can't be trusted anymore.  I don't think those are words of affirmation.

4. Quality time-This would be mom taking me on walks, throwing the ball, chasing me around the yard, and all those really fun things!
5. Acts of Service-Mom carrying me when she thinks I could be walking, (I absolutely LOVE to be carried) getting a pet sitter for me at night when she has a photoshoot instead of leaving me alone.

I had to think about this for awhile because I like all of them.  But I decided that my favorite is quality time.  I just love spending time with mom, and it really doesn't matter what we are doing. I even like it when she takes pictures of me!  Just as long as we are together.

So much for leaves

You may have read in my previous blogs that I have a few problems, including a leaf fetish. When mom takes me out for walks I go for every leaf I see.  She finds it quite annoying.  This habit has improved a bit over the last few months, but I am still struggling with the desire to chase and eat leaves.

Mom thought that since I had a thing with leaves, she would try to pose me with some.  The last few days on our walks she's been collecting leaves that she finds on the ground.  Tonight she thought it might be fun to pose me in her collection.  Was she in for a surprise!  I absolutely hated it--I wouldn't smile and kept jumping out of the picture.  This was a big shock to mom because I am generally so good at doing what she wants.  But these were dry and prickly, and sitting in a pile of these was so terribly uncomfortable! You can tell by the look on my face I wasn't happy. And as much as I love leaves, I didn't even try to eat one.

This may have stopped me from eating leaves permanently.  Time will tell.  If it did, mom may be telling others how to cure their animals of a bad habit--just saturate them with whatever it is they are obsessed with.  

Two good things happened this week, though.  I got to be in the "Behind the Scenes" portion of 805 Living magazine this month.  Mom has been shooting for them for 10 years, but this is the first time I got in the magazine. The blurb even gave a link to my blog, so I feel really special.

But the best thing was seeing Grace and Luke today.  It was loads of fun! Grace fed me from her hand.  They played blocks, did crafts, and read books while I snuck around and chewed their toys that I found on the ground. I hope they don't mind that there's a few chunks out of some of their things. I just couldn't help it.  They were having so much fun and I needed something to do. A dog needs to do dog things.  

Time for a Decision. I need your help!

We're down to the wire here, and tomorrow is halloween and I have not decided which costume to wear. This is a really hard choice:

I know which one is the LEAST comfortable, but I don't want to sway your vote. Actually, I hate them all, but I only have to wear one for a couple of hours when I go trick or treating.  All I can say is, I am really happy that I don't have a mom who thinks it's cute or fun to dress up dogs like this on a regular basis. 

Mom is going to throw away all the candy I get because she said it's not good for dogs. I heard her say that to a friend.  She didn't think I was listening. Does she actually think it's any better for PEOPLE?!?!  I saw her eating a bunch of candy last night but she'd be mad if she knew I was telling everyone.  Why don't people give away dog treats on halloween?  Maybe I should write a letter to the editor of Dog World or some publication and suggest that.  People could put a little paw picture on their front doors to let people know that they have treats for dogs. You know, we have needs too and I am thinking about becoming an animal rights activist. 

Mom says it is really hard to post comments on my blog, so you may need to email me through her to tell her which costume you think I ought to wear:  judi@judibumsteadphotography.com.

Gotta go. Need to chase those black cats so they don't scare you tomorrow night.

COWGIRL TINK

This is the most ridiculous thing in the whole world.  You can tell by the look on my face that I am not happy with this.  But mom doesn't seem to care.  This stupid hat is choking me and squishing my ear.  What is she thinking-- That it's halloween or something?!?! Actually, I do have several halloween costumes that I will be modeling for you next week to help me decide which one to wear when I go trick or treating.  But that's next week...

Mom walked into her studio yesterday and found me resting on this horse

Mom decided that since I was showing an interest in horses, NOW was the time to introduce me to riding. Mom had a bunch of horses when she lived in Santa Ynez. This was my first try at getting on. Well, what do you expect from a novice?!?!?

Something's not right about this

2nd try was much better.  At least now I am facing the right direction

I was really starting to feel a little confident when mom said we needed to put it up a notch.  She sat me on a horse that was STANDING.  Are you proud of me?  I'm starting to feel good about this.

THEN I thought, ok, I am young, which means I think I can do ANYTHING!  Mom said she used to think she could do anything when she was young too.  She used to ride bareback at a full gallop.  But that was only after a couple of glasses of wine. I don't drink.  I'm underage.  11 months.

Anyway, This was my first try at TRICK RIDING. And this was without any wine.  I think I could have a future in this.  

Well, gotta go.  Happy trails!

GREAT WEEKEND!!!

I have had a wonderful weekend so far.  Last night I went to Uncle Devan's baseball game at the park and played with Grace and Luke.  Then today,  mom and I got up at the crack of dawn to go to Ventura to photograph the Color Run 5K just for fun!  We went with Auntie Tina. Here we are playing around before the race:

There were thousands of people at the Color Run. Some were friends and coworkers of mom's and their families:

The most exciting part of the run was when they sprayed paint on everyone:

This was the purple station.  People were really into this.  There were four color stations--yellow, pink, purple and blue.  I got a little of the pink and the blue on my face by sniffing for food on the ground. Overspray of the paint.  I am a mess tonight.  Besides the colors, I walked for about an hour and a half on pavement and got super dirty. I went to Lazy Dogs for dinner and I was so filthy that I didn't get fawned over. This was a first. My self esteem is suffering. I guess I need to work on liking myself for who I am inside rather than my appearance.

The bottom line is, it's time for a bath tomorrow. Ugh! Just the thought of water makes me nervous.  Are there any alternative ways to get clean?!?!?

I May Need Therapy

A couple of posts ago, the one  "Bummer Week for a Puppy" I mentioned briefly that I may need therapy.  Admitting this to all of you got me to thinking.  As long as this is no longer a secret, I may as well talk about it some more. I hope you don't think less of me after I bare my soul.  I'm kind of a "let it all hang out" kind of a puppy.  I think I got that from my mom.

The most glaring thing I am struggling with is the fact that I am 11 months old and still not totally housebroken.  This is embarrassing to admit.  It's not something I like to talk about, and it certainly does not make my mom happy.  I know what I am supposed to do, but sometimes I just can't seem to do it.  Mom thinks it's a psychological problem rather than a physical one.

Another bad thing is that I grab anything that is on the ground.  I think it's because I am so tiny and things are right in my face.  I eat leaves, toys, socks, shoes, anything leather.  This does not make mom happy either, and when I do this she tells me I have an impulse control disorder.  I will have to look that one up to see what it means.  I know it's not a compliment.

There are more things I need to work on, but I don't want to overwhelm you with my problems.  Mom said that I need to end this blog on a positive note, so I am going to tell you what I do really well:

Fetching:  I am a fantastic fetcher.  I chase the ball and actually DROP IT for whoever is throwing it at me.  I guess all dogs don't drop it.  Mom gets pretty excited when I do that.

Going places:  I am an excellent traveler.  Except for mom's day job, I go everywhere with her, and people rarely know I am there.

Posing:  This is what I do best.  Mom picks up her camera and I just shine! I look straight at the camera and just FREEZE in the position mom puts me in. She thinks it's pretty amazing. She thinks I should be an actress. I think I need to be 100% housebroken first though.  Can you imagine walking onto a movie set and having an accident on the floor?!?!?  Wow, that would be my last job!

Here are some examples of my posing skills from the last two weeks:

Well, I guess I better sign off now.  I am going to google my problem areas to see where I can get the help I need.  Any suggestions??? And, thanks for listening.  I feel better having talked about it.

Bark and Park at Conejo Creek Park yesterday

Yesterday mom took me to Bark and Park.  I felt more secure around the stuffed animals than I did around the big dogs. They were really mellow.

Then I saw these dogs GETTING IN the little kiddie pools!!!  Can you belive they actually LIKE water?????  This first one even put his mouth in the water.  I was really scared and thought he was trying to commit suicide or something! I was about ready to call 911 but then he jumped out of the pool. What a relief!

There were all kinds of dogs loving this stuff.  I need to ask someone why some dogs like water and others hate it. I have a panic attack even when I hear the bathtub faucet turned on.