Lightspeed

I took Ramses to the park today. Over the winter he has grown up, and evidently grown faster. Potentially faster than lightspeed.

At least now I understand his seemingly insatiable energy level inside. I thought I was just being lazy. It turns out he's a speed demon.

Look at how intense he is too. Poodles are definitely working dogs, he is serious about his play. He was also very serious about the bird he pointed to and then tried to get. Luckily it flew into some heavy woods and he didn't follow it. With the speed he was going he would have been in the next county before I could have reacted.

Goal for the summer: More exercise!

It Doesn't Look Like Much..

But it is!

I'm on my first sleeve. I am making progress on this cardigan. It's easier than I thought. Except for the fact I am the world's slowest Purler. Is that a word? I think that's a word. I am a slower purler than most. It takes me double the time. Now that I'm on the sleeves and working in the round it's going faster. Even with help.

Yarn? What yarn?

I don't see any yarn...

My Little Ponydoodle!

One reason I always wanted a poodle was because I do love dog grooming. I groom Ramses myself, and it's a work in progress all the time. Dog grooming is an art form along with a functional necessity when you have any dog with hair. I've been learning about dog grooming partially through websites, message boards and Youtube. In the process I've become great fans of some of the dogs that groomers use to showcase their artistic talents. My favorite to watch videos of is Lumi. Lumi is toy poodle, just a few weeks older than Ramses. Lumi is too cute for words. Every time I see a new picture or video I have to fight the urge to run over to New York and pet her, and potentially steal her.

Adding to Lumi's natural charm, is the fact that her mom Pam, who runs Pets By Pam Dog Grooming in Mattydale NY. Pam is a great artist, and also does a great job at training. If I was anywhere near NY I would be over there begging Pam to show me scissor skills and letting Lumi and Ramses play together. Lumi of course always looks amazing, but imagine my shock and surprise when I saw what Pam had managed to turn her into now! Lumi is a PONYDOODLE! A ponydoodle with PINK hair! Seriously, she's like a My Little Pony come to life. A My Little Ponydoodle! A pink and white one! I don't think there has ever been a cuter dog.

Yes, she's really a real dog!

Pink prancing proud ponydoodle!

Clearly this is her good side.

Or maybe this one is

My Little Ponydoodle!

If you want to see more pictures of Lumi you can check her out on her fanclub page, I mean Pets By Pam's facebook page...

Ramses 8 Months

And with another new haircut. This one my own creation. Having a poodle is definitely an exercise in artistic expression..

From Fuzzy Puppy to Elegant Poodle

Ramses got his first grown up trim today. I did it, obviously I wish to add poodle groomer to my vast resume of skills. Actually it's more that I just don't trust anyone with my dogs, and their grooming.

Here's Ramses a few weeks ago, fuzzy face and all

Here's his new poodle-do, trimmed face and the Scandinavian trim,
or rather a variation of that.

And he says either one is fine, what really matters is playing fetch!

Six Months!

Happy six month birthday Ramses!

Showing off his down stay

And his sit stay

It seems impossible bur Ramses is 6 months old today. He took time out of his busy retrieving, cat chewing, toy playing time to pose for a couple photos. Training has been on hold while he finishes teething. I don't think puppies learn much while their teeth are hurting. So we've just been playing games and reinforcing what he already knows. PS ~ yes the tree is still standing... Today.

Neptune's Sonatina

Evidently Neptune's dramatic personality is due in part to his artistic aspirations we were hindering. He has always loved listening to Devin play the piano and one day with a little encouragement started playing the piano, and now any time it's open runs over. This specific day he was a little upset over the fact that he wasn't allowed outside to chase the leaves so his music was a little dramatic. I do apologize for the last 30 seconds, I thought he was going to play more. I never seem to have the camera handy when he starts to play, will have to get another better video later. Ramses is also learning, evidently taking his resemblance to Rolf the dog seriously. Yes, only in our family could you find a piano playing cat - and poodle.

Nothing But Cute Puppy Photos

Awww, she's so cute.. (happy now Ramya?)

I know this picture is way dark, but look at what a happy puppy he was
with 3 new tennis balls!

After a bath

Wearing his topknot up

Seriously, enough with the pictures, look at all the toys!

One more with his topknot

Ramses The Great

Ramses is 15 weeks old, and he's learning and changing so much. This week, we spent a lot of time at the park since the weather has been beautiful. When we're there we work on recalls, retrieving, and listening to whoever is directing him while people and dogs wander by.

All I can say is this puppy is FAST! Today, we were at a baseball field playing, and the other 2 dogs were exhausted, while Ramses was still running laps. You can tell he's leaving baby puppyhood behind. The nap thing definitely doesn't happen as much! But along with that comes sleeping through the night, and knowing what he can and can't chew on - at least a little bit!

This weekend we're going to have fun playing games, but I also want to get some spinning and knitting done. There is a situation brewing where the kids are going to have a massive need for warm clothing. I'll tell you about it later, but let's just say it's a situation involving outdoors, and November.Scarves and hats are in the works, along with my poor spinning which has been languishing on my wheel. I swear I will have that finished up by Sunday, no matter how tempting it is to play with the puppy! And speaking of, here are the weekly puppy pictures.

Puppy Love

Can I say how much I love this puppy? He is so much fun, so enthusiastic, and so, so smart!

Brush ME? I don't think so!

Today we went to the park for the first time. I believe socializing is best done in stages, so he has been carried a lot of places but walking is a new experience. So was playing fetch out of the house or backyard, and being off leash practicing recalls. He is one super tired puppy tonight!

Look how long his legs are getting

Best buddies, and tired buddies

I believe in purely positive training, and detest the new-old Dog Whisperer style of training. It may get results I mean if I hit you with a 2X4 while screaming in a foreign language you'd really quickly realize what in the world you were doing wrong. But you wouldn't like me very well - or what to do instead to make you happy. On the other hand, if I give you a treat, a smile, and make a big deal over when you do something right, you're going to love me, and repeat that behavior. Even if it's all in a foreign language. If you want to watch a great dog trainer at work, check out Victoria Stilwell and It's Me or the Dog on Animal Planet. Her methods are amazing, and she truly cares about the relationship between dog and human. Afterall, at it's core that is what training is, improving the relationship and friendship a dog gives you.

It has been so much fun for me, working with a puppy who is so open to things. Ramses is really sensitive, and wouldn't handle corrections well, but he is thriving with the treats, a clicker and plenty of fun. The past 2 weeks we have been working almost exclusively on recalls, the most important thing a puppy can learn. Today at the park, it was all about coming to front and sitting for turkey. This was so exciting for him and he generalized it really quickly.

I start by working in the house with few distractions. When the puppy comes I say good come, and give a treat. Next I call the puppy in an excited voice and back up so he's chasing me, then have him sit and treat. Once he's familiar with the word in the house we move outside. IF the puppy is less than 16 weeks old, I start off lead right away, and start playing chasing games. I call the puppy run the opposite way then treat and praise when they catch up. If they're older than 16 weeks I attach a light line and do the same thing. Why the age?? Most puppies older than 16 weeks are independent enough they may decide to go off on their own. Before 16 weeks they're fairly sure they need to stay by you. In my case, when I have an adult dog with a good recall, he added to the excitement by running to me for the treat too. Eventually we have races, to see who gets to me first to get the bigger treat. The entire point is to make it so much fun, and so exciting to come that doing the opposite isn't nearly as enticing. I NEVER call and leash them up and end the fun, and I NEVER EVER EVER call and correct a puppy or dog. Also never chasing a dog who is running away will keep them from finding out that chase works the opposite way.

Stop with the pictures and let us sleep!

From now on till the snow flies my goal is to get Ramses to a park every day to work on training. In addition to the recall, he needs to learn to generalize sit and down, and we're also working on generalizing retrieves since he has such a strong retrieve. Of course meeting people, dogs, and hearing lots of noises are also really important. And as a plus, he's so tired that he put himself to bed an hour early tonight. A tired puppy is a good puppy :).

Consternation

"Where is the puppy at? Did he go away finally?"

"Are you nuts? I'm not going to go see!"

"Fine! I'll go see where he is, I'm a gentleman - er cat"

"It's like having a tornado with teeth living here"

"Who, Me??"