Puppy School - day 2

Hi guys!

First of all I just want to apologize for our absence lately.. it's just a bit too much going on at once with a puppy/training, trying to get things sorted in the new house and I'm back to Uni with several papers and stuff going on (one draft and one essay is already handed in so far this term).

It was the second practical night at puppy school today and we had fun!

Gummi in his car crate waiting for permission to come out




And this was why - much more fun outside with the other puppies!


More puppies!

We started out with a little walking session around the parking lot to get the puppies more used to being around each other. Then we did some leash work. Gummi did pretty good!


The weather people were on our side, too - that rain in the distance arrived just as we were getting into our cars and going back home. We got some thunder, though, which I'm sure was beneficial for the puppies (having fun and training with thunder in the background must be helpful in avoiding thunder phobia).


Then we did some "doggie zen" training - all the little bowls have treats in them and the puppies are not allowed to take it until given permission. Gummi had done some of this already, so we skipped the first few basic steps.


Our treat bowl with a yummy piece of raw lamb heart.


Even with me distracted with the camera he didn't try to take it without permission. He's getting really good! He's even better with permission to leave his crate - I can jump around and say other words and even his name and he won't come out until I give the actual cue!

Puppy School - day 1

Yesterday was the first day of Puppy School for Gummi (I got to spend an evening going through the theory last week). Of course it was raining.. And the weather report said rain all night..

Here the car is stuffed and ready to go! Gummi on the left, Bajas on the right. Bajas got to come along to meet some new people and just so he didn't have to stay behind.

A bag full of toys, treats, camera (few pix were taken as I only have so many hands and the mental capacities are also limited).

The trainer showing how to teach the hand target to a poodle puppy, they were six puppies in total. As you can see the asphalt is dry! Yay! It didn't rain the entire hour we were there, which was brilliant. We did some contact training (puppy earns clicks for looking at you, and then progressed to following when the owner walks backwards). Gummi already knew this pretty well, so it was nice to mainly focus on the new disturbances (crazy kids comes to mind - one of the puppies had two legged siblings that were.. ahem.. rather active). After the break we worked on the hand target. He knew this, too, so we got to up the difficulty a bit and he did pretty well.

Before we left for school I put on him the red rain suit so he'd get used to it (this shows the initial reaction pretty well). In the end he didn't need it, and by the time he'll need it again he'll most likely have outgrown it. Could have needed it on our walk today. It wasn't raining so I suggested a walk - in the middle of the forest it started to pour down. We were all completely soaked when we got home! But Gummi got to run and sniff, saw a horse (very exciting!), a biker and a few people out walking. Now we're ready for bed!

Ane

Puppy Socialization - Dog Show

Hi everyone! Mom went to our puppy class theory night on Wednesday and among other things they got a nice booklet with lots of stuff for us to work on. Mom and I were rather proud when we handed it to P.A. - he looked through it and said "But you've DONE lots of these things!?". Because yes, we had! But there was also lots of things we haven't mastered yet and one of the things on the socialization list was: take the puppy to a dog show. So, when Mom discovered there was a big dog show THIS weekend.. Well.. You can imagine.

This morning we got up early, drove to the station and found a train!


Once we reached Oslo we found a bus!

The bus driver was very nice, and chatted with Mom most of the way to the show. He talked about the dogs from his home village that guard the sheep and cattle. I also got to talk with a German lady. Neither of us speaks German, but she could scritch and kiss me just like anyone else.


Then we arrived at the craziest place I have ever been!


Did you SEE that thing, Mom? It smelled like a dog, but it looked like a walking mop!?


We saw very skinny whipped dogs.. (Whippets, Gummi, they're called Whippets!)


...dogs the size of houses (or at least a car)..


..dogs running over and under and through all sorts of stuff.. It truly was amazing. We walked through a lot of different little shops that sold yummies and toys and such, but Mom didn't get me anything. Unfair!! I got loads of kisses from people working there or walking by, and I spoke to lots of different dogs. An American Cocker Spaniel, a Bordeaux Dogge, a Whippet, a Boxer, a Jack Russel and probably some I've forgotten.


Then we got back on the bus and then the train and then the car and when we were driving home the rain started. Pretty good timing, huh?

Now it's time for a nap! Hope you've done some fun stuff this weekend, too. I hope there are more adventures in that booklet.

Kisses,
Gummi

Play Time!

Friends come in all shapes and sizes!




We apologize for the lousy pictures - Casper's furs seem to make the phone camera go crazy..

Gummi Goes to Oslo

Hi guys! Gummi here! Yesterday Mom and I had lots of fun! The weather was nice and P.A. was working early, so we got up fairly early and caught his second train of the day in to Oslo. I didn't even know what was happening when Mom and I got in the car and down to the station (been there several times) but then we got onto this new train and we found P.A. there! Can you believe it? Here he is:




Mom sat down on this strange seat WAY up high so she could see out that high window. I eventually gave up climbing up there, though. And then the nice lady who was also working on this train came by and talked with me a bit, too.


Then we got off at the National Theater station, Oslo's only underground train station and one of the two down town stations.


We walked for a little while and took a little rest and I drank some water. Mom brought the clicker and a lot of hot dog pieces and I made her click it a whole lot of times for simple things like staying close and such.


It was very nice and sunny, and quite a few tourists were out and about.




So many nice places to sniff, too!


We took another break here by this fountain.


There were still many roses on the fountain from the ceremonies after the bombing and attack a few weeks ago.


Mom didn't get too many good pix of me, since I tended to stay too close to get very interesting pix.


I met quite a few of these strange little troll guys!




Then we arrived at the Central Station. Mom's job's offices are close by, so she dropped by to see if she could find an old colleague who is working there for a little while but she wasn't in. I met some of Mom's co-workers, though, and they were all dog people and happy to see me. At least three of them were on the ground getting kisses and giving me scritches at any given time. BOL!


This shopping mall is attached to the Central Station and we did a little work there with sitting nicely and waiting for my treats and walking nicely on lead and also in the station. Here Mom threw some treats for me to eat so she could get all of me in the photo. Haha!


Most malls don't really allow dogs, but the ones around the stations do which is great for training.


Can I come sit in your lap now, Mom? Can I?


Back on the train and ready to go home!


Mom had a treat for me in the freezer, too!


Yum! Egg ice cream!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Kisses,
Gummi

Casper's Garden Adventures

Gummi isn't the only one having adventures these days. I let Casper have a walk in the yard again yesterday and he had fun, though usually in slow motion.

Puppy adventures

Hi guys!

Mom and I did something really exciting yesterday! It had been av very miserable day - 9 degrees C and rain, rain and more rain. But come evening the rain stopped and Mom let me jump into my car crate. I love jumping into my car crate! Then we stopped and took a nice little walkie in a park I haven't been to before. And then - suddenly I saw this:


Can you believe it? All those staffies!


They did some ring craft stuff and some obedience and agility, too! I didn't really join in, because Mom said I needed to learn to relax and be calm around other doggies and people. But I got to talk to several of the humans and a couple of the dogs.


That cute red and white girl is called Nayeli and we had a great time playing together! Looks like I'll make even more friends in the future. It's so much fun having other dogs to play with. And we did some work, too. Mom is getting really good at clicking that clicky-thing and giving me nommies. I'll have her properly trained in no time!

Gummi's Kitty Toy Tutorial

We know some of you have already seen this on Facebook, but it's just too cute not to share!



This was something I LOVED to do when I was a puppy, too! Did/do you?

Bajas
PeeESS: I didn't show him the trick, he figured it out himself.

Come take a walk in our garden!

Today is a gray, wet and miserable day around here. So - we thought we'd take you for a virtual stroll around our garden to see what's going on there at the moment.

Our butterfly nasturtium! It's climbing on and alongside our Lemon Drop chillies.

Casper going for a walk in our garden.

Sometimes we help Mom in the flower beds. She's somehow not always as impressed as she should be!

Can you see Virus checking out the veg patch? We're starting to wonder if we're getting baby corn rather than corn this year, if anything at all. This gray summer has not helped it grow fast enough we think.

Our cucumber plant is very productive and Mom eats at least one of this "Miniature White" cucumbers every day!

The kitties love playing in the garden! And Bajas and Gummi enjoy each other's company even if they're separated by a fence. Gummi still thinks Bajas is a big stuffed toy from time to time, and unless closely supervised they are separated.

Virus loves Bajas, Bajas thinks Virus can be a bit annoying from time to time.. LOL!

Our feathered poppies, "Venus", are finally in bloom. Strange and funny more than pretty, perhaps, but we like them!

Bajas is a very good gardening assistant!

Pretty, pale yellow nasturtium "Ice Age" looks nice along the purple chillies of our "Filius Blue".

We hope to get ripe tomatoes before the cold autumn is here. We'll see..

At least the "Hundreds and Thousands" are providing tomatoes for us! They are really living up to their name :)

Hope you all have a nice Sunday!

Love,
the WriggleButts