Monday, October 04, 2010


I love this picture of Farley with the cookie on his nose. It was a tough one to get. He’s know the trick for forever – hold the cookie on his nose until I release him, and then he flips it into the air and catches it. He’s been doing it for years. Well, I had the bright idea of taking a picture of one of the tester cookies on his nose. I tried at least 8 times on Friday night, but he kept flipping the cookie as soon as I let go (while holding the camera in front of my face, which is no easy thing to do!). He’s way too smart for me – I mean really, why wait for my command? I’m obviously not dropping the camera, so I couldn’t correct him. I finally got one shot (I’m sure the neighbors thought I was crazier than usual, as I’m threatening Farley with his life if he doesn’t hold that cookie while I focus and take the picture). It wasn’t a great shot, so I wanted to try again on Saturday. Hah! We went through the entire thing again . . . although fewer times, thank goodness.

Gracie is a doll as usual . . . so easy to live with. She did, however, get out of the yard the week before last? I had left work early to take Jack to the vet (his gums were all red and inflamed) and was working in the computer room at the back of the house. It was a beautiful day, so I had the door open, allowing the dogs to hang out outside if they wanted to. I was working away when the doorbell rang – it was a friend from down the street. He said to me “one of your dogs is running around the neighbourhood. Immediately I thought of Grace, as the boys are WAY too clingy to go anywhere without me. Sure enough, I go down the street and call her, and she comes running. She was totally happy and relaxed – she saw nothing wrong with exploring. Thank GOD it was mid-afternoon with very low traffic. It took me two days to find the gap in the fence. The Friday after that (Wednesday was the initial exploration) I was trimming dogs in the backyard, as it was gorgeous weather and my grooming area is not available for use right now. As I’m doing clipper work on Jack, I realize that Grace is nowhere to be seen. So I call her, and she sticks her head back in through the gap in the fence. I used my obedience jump board to block the gap.

The funny thing is, if I take her for a walk (just her, without the boys) she heels beautifully, even off-leash. Weird that she’d run away when in the yard, but that she wouldn’t seize the opportunity when off-leash.

Dogs are funny!