Christmas, Come Again Soon

Christmas is just about the best thing that I can think of. We get to be with all of our family; we get to open gifts, bought and packaged with love. We get to eat special foods, and most of them are cookie-related. We even get to catch up with old friends. Whoever came up with Christmas did a fantastic job, but they made one mistake - they didn't plan Christmas to come often enough!

I had some amazing times over the past week, and I spent time with friends new and old. You saw my old across-the-fence friends in my last post, and then we went to visit some other neighbor dogs. These two sisters, both Scottie dogs, told me that they now sell odor free bully sticks, and I can't wait to get some. See, I love a good bully stick, but after I chew one, my mom doesn't think it's so great that everything (mostly my breath) smells like fish.

My New Jersey friends are the coolest puppies around, and now I can add Ogey to the list. Ogey belongs to some of my NJ friends, and he invited me to his dog park last week.

See how we're almost the same size? Ogey is a good friend!

Ogey's park is full of trees

Ogey looks a little bit like me; in fact, we could be cousins, because his parents said that he's partly a Corgi. I think that we could be related, because we love to do all the same things, like running really fast after tennis balls, sticks, and each other. I'd love to visit with Ogey at the park any time.

Then, I met Molly, my new Philadelphia friend. I think she has an advantage when it comes to obedience, because her dad is a puppy trainer. I still tried my best to show her my skills, and she played with me so kindly that I'm sure we'll be friends for life. Too bad mom forgot to bring out the camera during our visit.

On the move!

Ever since we got back to Connecticut, I've been really busy. See, I got all these great Christmas gifts that I have to play with, and I didn't have hardly any time to sleep during our whole visit to New Jersey, so I'm still catching up in dreamland.

Now that it's a New Year, I guess I should make some resolutions. One of my resolutions is to invite my park friends and other Connecticut puppies over to my house more often. I behave a little bit better now than I used to, so I think my mom will say "yes" if I start asking her to have friends over. Another resolution of mine is to keep my breath fresh. I can do this in two ways: by brushing my teeth more often, and by switching to odorless bully sticks. I plan to do both.

What are your New Year's resolutions? Let me tell you, I'm so glad that we're friends, and I hope that you enjoy reading my blog. Let's keep in touch, and won't you come over soon?

Christmas in New Jersey

Merry Christmas!!

Here I am in New Jersey with my family. Grandma and Grandpa have a big backyard, and these two doggies live across the fence, so we have been running up and down together all day.

I hope that you’re having as much fun as I am this Christmas! We’re visiting with everyone in the family, and I heard that tomorrow we get to chew paper.. I mean.. open presents. I just can’t wait. Here I am with my New Jersey friend Layla, telling each other what we hope that Santa will bring.

I told her that she should ask for an exercise machine, because she needs some more energy to keep up with me.

I hope that we can stay in New Jersey for a long time, because I am having so much fun with my friends and family. I am a very helpful puppy, too - I helped set up the train under the Christmas tree, and here I am helping with the chores in the kitchen.

Are you having fun this Christmas? Send me your photos! Tomorrow, I’ll show you all of the presents that I get. I hope you get everything that you asked for! Remember to tell your family that you love them for all of the wonderful things that they give you, like tug toys and meat drippings. Oh, I hope I get more tug toys from Santa..

Worst Day Ever

Well, I have some terrible news. Today is the worst day in history. My best friend Father Peter is on a plane now, officially retired, and flying back to Poland. I am going to miss him so much, so I'm writing a poem to him:

An Ode to Father Peter, the Best Friend of Corgi Puppy Margot

Oh, my friend Father Peter,

When you call, "Hey, Doggy!"

I can't run fast enough;

I wiggle my whole body.

I run to your gate -

For bread I can't wait,

Even when bread you bring me is soggy.

Oh, my friend Father Peter,

You tell me great things -

That I have beautiful glasses,

And that joy I bring.

I'll miss your kind songs,

Though I can't sing along.

To come see you I'd like to grow wings.

Oh, my friend Father Peter,

The best friend I could make,

Today I said goodbye,

Though my heart, it breaks.

I whined after you,

And I'll pine after you,

For no one else gives me cheesecakes.

When I met him, Father Peter was carrying leftover bread to the birds and squirrels at the building across the street from my house, where he would go everyday. Then he started to save the best of everything just for me, his best friend. Once, he gave me a whole coconut donut. Now that he's gone, I want to put up a feeder for the birds and squirrels. They don't have such an easy time becoming best friends with people, like I do, so they're going to need some treats.

I guess I'll need extra treats, too, to get through this, the worst day ever. The day that my first ever best friend moved away.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..

So far, I just love Christmas. I got two early gifts: vitamins, and a mat for my food and water bowls. Mom and Dad said that I could have my mat before Christmas, because it's kind of a lame gift as far as I'm concerned. They also gave me my vitamins early because they might help my gunky allergy eyes. They're called "nuggets," and I heard that my aunts Sophie and Chloe in Missouri love nuggets, so I really like them.

flower girls

Now I can't wait for actual Christmas, because my family said that we're going to my favorite place in New Jersey to get even more presents.

Since I last posted, I've learned to jump up on all of our furniture and the benches in the park.

For my first Thanksgiving, I was most grateful for my big family and my kind neighbors. I got to have a ton of fun playing in my big fenced-in backyard in New Jersey, and I took a vacation of my own while Mom and Dad flew to Missouri for my aunt's special wedding day. I checked in on Wednesday to this cool puppy hotel in New Jersey, made a ton of new friends, and even had my own turkey dinner on Thanksgiving day! Mom and Dad got me a luxury package at the hotel, for lots of walks and a bedtime story on every day of my vacation, so I could relax just right while they flew to Missouri. I can't wait to drive to Ohio in a month or two to meet all of my Dad's family, especially the little ones who look so pretty as flower girls in my aunt's wedding photos.

Happy Halloween!!

I sure hope you've had as much fun today as I have!!

First, I saw my neighbor friends Doug and Father Peter, who always let me jump all over them. Father Peter says, "Shake my hand because you're my friend," and I jump up to give him kisses.

Then, I got to go to Daddy's office and meet all of his friends! Some of them recognized me from the pictures on his work computer, but I was in costume so probably not all of them even knew who I was. Here I am with my family in my Boo costume.

And here's Daddy in his Waldo outfit - he's been playing a Halloween computer game while we wait for trick-or-treat-ers:

While he's busy with that, I'm busy with the prize that I won as a champion of the PetSmart costume contest last week:

We've had eight kids come to our door tonight. Even though Mom seems kind of disappointed that we didn't have more, I'm just trying to figure out why we can't invite them all in to play with me.

A few of our visitors tonight recognize me from my silhouette on the front porch:

Pretty cool, huh?

Happy Halloween, everyone!!

My First Snow!!!

...Well, that I can remember, anyway...

I can't exactly remember if I saw snow as a newborn puppy, but that wouldn't count anyway.  This is my first REAL snow!

It tastes really good, and it's so fun to run in.  How come Mom and Dad don't want to stay out in it for very long?

Daddy has a hard time keeping up with me!

GoGo-Prints!

Champion, Model, Boo

Saturday was the biggest day!!!!

I graduated.. again! from a second puppy class!  At our last class on Saturday we had "field day" and graduation ceremony. I don't mean to brag, but my mom and dad are pretty proud of my superior skills, especially in loose-leash walking, now that I'm a graduate and field day champion.

Then, I got to come along for some family photos, taken by our very talented friend Emery.  It was a beautiful day for a walk by the river and for sunny photos that we'll use for Christmas cards and framing.

Sneak peek at our family portraits!

I'm really impressed with Emery, because I do not make it easy for anyone to take my picture, and she still managed to get my good side in a lot of shots.

My coolest trick - "Dance! Dance!" - in action

She didn't even need to use treats to make me look this pretty!

Since being beautiful is my full-time job, I guess I should start getting used to having my photo taken.

My day was not over after our photo adventure!  After a short nap while Mom finished my Halloween costume, we got all dressed up and went to PetSmart for - can you even believe it?! - MORE PICTURES!! We had another family photo taken, and this time I was in my own version of Boo's outfit from Monsters Inc.

Mom was extra proud of my win at the costume contest, because she worked hard making the costume by hand. Next year, I'll look even cooler, because she's getting better on her grandma's sewing machine.

Little monster

See the resemblance?

What are you going to be for Halloween?  Will you come to hand out candy with me? You just have to promise to let me lick the faces of all the trick-or-treaters.

Never Enough Belly Rubs

I'm so sorry that I've written so little this month! September is just flying by - we've been to New Jersey and several new parks..

Here I am at an Arboretum; it's right here and I love all the trails and rocky paths!

I've made all kinds of dog park friends, like Sally the beagle, who's the very best one..

You can see that this is not Sally, but my friend Lillie - we like to swim together, but she doesn't run very fast

And I'm back in school again! It's been tough to keep up with my blog, since I have to spend all my free time getting belly rubs. There can never be enough belly rubs, you know.

In school this year, I'm learning some really advanced skills. Partly because I love belly rubs so much, I'm getting pretty good at "roll over." Plus, I can already "heel" and it's only the third week of class! Mom is really excited that my new harness helps me walk without tugging on my leash. Here I am getting a little ride home with Dad from a walk in my new harness.

I like my harness just fine, but sometimes when it's hot I get too tired to walk all the way home

Don't you think my new collar looks great? Dad got it for me at the craft fair while we were visiting our New Jersey family. I'm very stylish in green, and I have a cool new flat tag now, too, so that I don't have to jangle while I walk around.

Now I'm getting ready for my first overnight at puppy camp this weekend while Mom and Dad celebrate their anniversary. It'll be tons of fun with all the friends that I've made there during camp days this month. I just hope that I can sleep at night without getting tucked in by my family.

My First Hurricane, and Blue

We weathered the storm!! How are you?! I've been thinking about all of my friends in New Jersey and other places, since I have so many friends, and hoping that everyone is okay. So far, Mom and Dad tell me that our loved ones are fine, and so are we. In fact, I only had to do two things to get through my first hurricane without any damage:

1) Sleep in on Mom and Dad's bed on Sunday; and
2) Inspect all of the branches and leaves and other things that don't belong, on our street and our driveway and our yard and everywhere!

Now that the storm is passed, I have to be really good this week, because of the following reasons:

1) Mom has to compete with everyone whose homes don't have power if she goes out to her usual cafes, so she's working at our house; and
2) I chewed through her laptop charger cable yesterday, so she can't work anywhere other than Daddy's desktop anyway. Oops.

Now, I don't have a very hard job, do I?

In fact, my job is great, because so far this week I get to take off a little time every day to hit the park. If you "like" me on facebook, then you already know that I made a new friend named Blue the other day at the park, and he looks like this:

Blue is great because he's a herding breed, too, and he's about my age, so he can run and turn and jump as fast as me. The only problem for me at first was that his legs are so long that he sort of bowls me over, and then I get tired and bite at him too much. Today, though, since it was our second time playing together, I think he got the idea about the leg thing, and he gave me some space so that we could both run together and roll around in the grass with each other. Then I learned to tell Mom when I'm ready for a rest, so that when other dogs run to us she can scoop me up. Here's how I tell her:

I'm not ready to make any commitments yet, but don't be surprised if someday Blue is my boyfriend. He definitely flirts with me more than with any other puppies at the park!

All of this crazy weather and park time has got me ready for extra belly rubs these days :) Who's in?!

The Dog Park, Continued

It's safe to say that the dog park is my new favorite place, especially now that Dad taught me to go in the pool!!

This is a video of the first time that Dad put me into the puppy pool at the park, and you can see how much I love to bite that water, just like I snap at the hose in our yard.  I already told my parents that I need one of these pools at home.. Can you imagine the fun we'll have with that AND the hose?!?

Anyway, sometimes there are a lot of dogs at the park, and sometimes not so many, but I don't mind either way.  I've been there lots of times now, and usually at least one person comes around to tell me how beautiful I am.  They bring dogs, too, but you know how I love new people more than anything.

Here's another video of the places where we puppies can chase each other at the park.  As you can plainly see, I have become an expert of jumping into and out of the pool whenever I want!

I'm also an expert lately at staying awake when I'm really tired, but Mom and Dad say that isn't a good thing, because I can't force myself to stay awake and concentrate on being good at the same time.  Mom's friends from college came to stay with her this week, and I loved them, but Mom said that people can't tell how much I love them when I nip their fingers too much.  Sorry, friends!  I'm growing up to be a big dog just as fast as I can!

The Dog Park

Today was my first visit to the Dog Park!!

It's not far from my house, so I was happy that we could go there on this Saturday afternoon, which is finally a bit cooler than it has been outside. I made friends really fast with this guy:

As you can see, this is an action shot of me taking the inside of a curve in our intense game of chase. His legs may be long, but I'm so fast that he never even won our game. Plus, he's just like me and can run only a little bit less than forever, so when we get tired we can come to a calm truce and still be friends. He's great.

And here's an action shot of his owner relaxing on a bench:

It turns out that this man may have the right idea with his relaxation technique, because, by looking really mean, he spares himself from conversation with any of the crazy folks who linger at the dog park's picnic table and tell weird stories about stray cats in the middle of the street and dog walking as a full-time career.

Anyway, the dog park is super fun, and now that I'm all worn out, Mom and Dad are going to try a new, hip restaurant with their neighbor friends. Thank goodness, they'll get out of here and let me get some rest!

One more thing before I head to bed in front of my fan. Thank you so much for your concern during my time of recovery from surgery. I even got Big Head Benji as a gift from my Missouri grandparents - he's a squeaky dog with a head way too big for the proportions of his body, kind of like me :) My scars are gone, and tomorrow I can finally take a bath, so recovery is going really well and nearly complete. I can't wait to run and jump again.. oh wait.. maybe I've been doing that this whole time even though I'm not supposed to..

Get Well Day

Appropriately enough, my dog days calendar had this little cartoon today:

Yep, I am now accepting sympathy cards and care packages during my recovery :)

24 hours post-surgery, things are going well. I'm such a strong, big dog - I don't even bother my stitches, and I haven't thrown up or anything!

Spay Day

Today is the day of my spay. I knew something was wrong when we all got up early.. We never leave the house together as a family before 8am! Here I am with Mom getting ready to go to the hospital. I don't look that happy because I didn't even get to have any breakfast.

Don't worry, though.. Surgery isn't all that bad. I came home feeling really sleepy, and I've been recovering on this red blanket that I used to love as a tiny puppy.

I'm still not quite sure what to do with myself. Times when I don't know what to do with myself are the times when I like to sit on someone's feet. It's very important to have good feet in puppy life.

Here I am with my Get Wellephant. Maybe you can't tell that he's an elephant from this picture, but just look at his front paw in my mouth, his trunk sticking straight up into the air, and his pom-pom tail right in front of my paw. His pretty pink ear is facing you, and his eyes are looking at the same thing that mine are looking at - Daddy!

I love Get Wellephant already; he's super soft on my great big teeth. If only I could stay awake to play with him more....

Happy Camper

Today was my first day at doggie day camp! I passed inspection and can return anytime to play with my new friends.

Don't you think this would a be a great album cover if I start a new band together with all of my camper friends? I'd have to be the singer, since I'm right in the front and have the best pitch for everything from whimpers to barks.

The only problem with having so many friends is that you never get a chance to rest with everybody around. Mom and Dad really missed me today, so they picked me up at lunch time, and by the time we got home I was ready to pass out in front of the fan. I'll be having some serious relaxation all afternoon today!!

Summer Fun

Hi! I want to post a couple of videos of the Summer fun I've gotten to have this year so far, so that you can all see my future as a dog-Olympics swimming champion.

I also want to say a big hello to my friends in class in Missouri!! Your teacher told me that you like to look at my blog sometimes, and I think it's really neat that you and I can keep in touch even though we live so far away from each other. You know, kids are my favorite kind of people - you have lots of energy, just like me, and I can jump high enough to lick your faces! I wish I could go to school with you, because you could play chase with me all day. That's what you guys do at school, right? Play?

I'm starting school again soon, but only the doggie kind. We don't use pencils and paper for learning, but if they gave me some at school I would find a way to play with them! Mom and Dad said that I have to be ready to spend the night at puppy camp soon. Sleeping away from home without my family might be a little bit scary, but I think it will be a lot of fun to meet new dogs. The more friends, the better! Plus, then Mom and Dad will be able to spend time with my Grandma and Grandpa from Missouri when they come to visit - I can't wait to meet them. Maybe they'll give me people food just like my other Grandma and Grandpa..

Speaking of my Grandpa from NJ, here I am with him, playing at the side of the pool. This is what I do with the hose, too - I bite the water!

I want to leave you with just one more video, of one of the ways that I have fun while I'm at my house in Connecticut. I think God gave dogs tails because he knew we would always want a friend nearby for chasing..

I hope you're all having a fun Summer, too!

I Almost Forgot..

I almost forgot to tell you about my graduation from puppy class!!!!!

I was so proud when they gave me this puppy class diploma, and I told Mom and Dad that I needed to have a whole photo shoot with it to be sure that we got my best side. They left it on the table when everyone came over on the night of my graduation, so that all of my new friends could see how smart I am. All the guests thought they were coming over for a housewarming, but I know the truth.. I even got presents at this party, so it must have been for me!

Here's my favorite gift from the party a few weeks ago - his name is Slinky Dog, and he rattles around my nose when we play tug together:

Thanks to all of my new friends for celebrating my graduation with me! They should make bumper stickers for our car, "Proud parent of a Bandilane Puppy School honor student.."

Vacation

You guys must really be wondering where I've been!! A whole month since my last post!!!! I do apologize for the long silence - I've just been so busy with all the growing up that I have to do.

Last weekend we went on a vacation to my Gramma and Grandpa's house in New Jersey. I've basically been sleeping ever since we got back to Connecticut, because there's always so much to do in New Jersey, and I don't want to miss a thing!

Here I am in my life jacket. Mom and Dad got it for me, because my grandparents have a pool outside. I only jumped in once (well, twice if you count the first time that I tumbled in by accident..) - I can swim, but I just don't know if I like to yet. It sure feels nice to cool off on the top step of the pool with some floating toys, though. The life jacket was handy for that first (accidental) dive into the pool, but I don't think I'll need it again until I'm on a boat someday. These little legs can take a girl far..

It's so strange to be in Gramma and Grandpa's yard - I don't have to be on a leash! The first time I went out there, I had to wonder what to do with myself and where it would be okay to do business, since nobody had me tied down. Once I got used to it, though, I did really great and even improved my skills of coming when called.

This weekend I'm off on another adventure - this will be my first time in a hotel! More news coming soon..

It's Not Punk Rock 'Til the Punk Rockers Say It's Punk Rock

Daddy says that when I grow up, I can make all kinds of noises with guitars like he does.  He's already helping me to learn how to operate distortion pedals!

At first, I wasn't sure what was going on when Daddy plugged in his new amp and started playing, but I am now able to sit right at his feet while he plays.  Daddy says that even though he could never love me less or more, he really loves that I don't run from his playing anymore.

Other than learning to rock out, I have also been learning a lot of new tricks!  I know how to sit, lay down, wait/stay, leave things, and I'm slowly learning to give, though that's the hardest one...  This week, we started working on shaking hands, but I haven't quite gotten that one down yet.

I'm also learning to be by myself longer, whether it's napping in my crate, laying in the kitchen, or playing in my "play yard" in the living room.  I don't really like being by myself, but it does allow my Mommy and Daddy to do things they want to do like go to concerts which they did on Friday night.  Daddy said that I have to tell everyone that Electric Six rules.  That's where the name of this post came from.  Anyway, I think it all comes back to my personal motto: "Play Hard, Nap Hard."

My senses are also getting a lot stronger.  I smell and hear things that I never noticed before, which makes my walks take longer when I stop to smell things every few feet.  Mommy and Daddy also have a harder time hiding food from me, even though I can still barely get up to the coffee table.

Also, my teeth are getting bigger, which means that daddy doesn't let me chew on him as much.  I don't like that change very much, but he did give me a deer antler that he bought from my training place, and I love gnawing on it!

And, of course, there are always new toys...

In two weeks, I'm having a big party.  Mommy also said something about it being to warm our house, or something like that, but I think the house is warm enough with the hot summer days, so I don't know what that is about.  All I know is that there will be lots of people coming to see me, and I can't wait!

There will be more adventures before then, though, so stay tuned...