Shadow of a Boo

Sometimes I, who is Boo, wonder whatever Orianna will do without me. I teach her all kinds of stuff (Drop, not to chase cats, most effective way to get peanut butter out of kong). True, she sometimes annoys me, but I have to take the newbies under my wing (paw). How else would she learn. But then, I know in several months she'll have to strike out on her own (don't know why I talk about this now...she still has a while!) and I wonder what she will do then. She will not have dog to follow around and annoy. Will be hard. She will have to annoy kennelmate, instead, most likely.

Hey, It's Sawyer, and I'm glad I'm not Kekah...Orianna follows her everywhere she goes. So, I sit up here, watching safely and amusing myself at Kekah's plight. Here's the story that goes with the picture at the top: Kekah NEVER goes into a crate anymore, not since she was released from CCI. She's never needed to. Anyway, the other day, Orianna was following her and wouldn't stop trying to play. Kekah was tired, I could tell...I know the look well, since I have it on my own face most of the time. Anyway, she went into Orianna's crate to try to get away from her...I think she was hoping Mom would shut her in there so at least in the crate she'd have some peace. Nope. Orianna went right on in with her! Well, Roxie would post, but apparently she's busy bathing. She'll catch it next time. Goodnight!

Learning Drop in One Easy Step

Teaching a dog who is not-so-food motivated can prove to be a challenge at times, but fortunately, I have some convenient help. And so here is the story of Orianna learning the "Drop" command.

We'd been working on it several days with no fruit. If Orianna had a toy, it was far more interesting to her than whatever I was offering, be it another toy or a treat, etc. I was getting frustrated, so decided to take a little break. I put Orianna in her crate and gave both she and Kekah (who is not in crate at this point) nylabones. Kekah, intuitive little sucker that she is, walks toward me with her nylabone in her mouth, looking at me like, "I know Drop! Say it, say it!" So, I said it. And Kekah dropped the bone into my hand. Keep in mind, we are right in front of Orianna's crate, and Orianna has seemed to be watching Kekah intently, which I am finding fairly amusing at this point, because her admiring gaze reminds me of how I used to look at my big sister when I was younger. Anyway, Kekah and I do the drop a few more times, and I close Kekah in the bedroom and take Orianna out of the crate to practice some more.

Well, right off the bat, I say drop, and she drops the tire toy she is playing with. I think, "No way!" I encourage her to play with another toy, and then I say drop again. She drops it in record time. At this point I'm sure this couldn't have worked, but I do it a while longer. Later in the day, I ask her drop something else, pretty sure she will have forgotten. Nope! She dropped it. And now she is doing the Drop anytime I tell her.

I, who is Kekah, don't know why Mom acts so surprised. I know what I'm doing. Hee,hee,hee
:-)

2008--Year of the Dog!

Okay, so maybe I made that whole "Year of the Dog" thing up...I really have no idea. But in our house, it is year of the dog! YAY! It is past midnight and so is 2008, and I, Orianna am excited about ringing in the new year. 2007 was a busy year for me, so let's recap, shall we?

May 28, 2007...I was born! My sisters and brothers and I came into the world where we spent eight weeks with our mom, Senta and our breeder/caretaker Martha before heading out to find our places in the world

July 25, 2007...next stop, Macon, Georgia! I get my official nickname, "Annabelle" and meet my new friend Kekah. They drank a lot of sweet tea, and it was H-O-T, much more so than where I came from. I don't know about this...

August 2007...my first puppy classes, where I work on sit, down, and let's go. I have to wear that silly nosinator (or gentle leader, as some call it). Upside: I get a lot of treats!

September 2007...I learn that football in the South is like a religion, and everyone here eat, sleeps, and breathes it. My Daddy gives me a toy football, which I still like to play with.

October 2007...I dress up as Thing Two for Halloween and move out of Mom and Dad's bedroom and into my big-girl crate in the living room. I now know several commands and have stopped trying steal things off of the coffee table.

November 2007...I take my first public outings (other than puppy class) and wear my big girl cape, which had to have the strap sewn a little tighter to fit me because I am so small. Yep, I'm a little girl :-) I also had my big girl vaccines!

December 2007...SANTA CAME!!!!!! And he brought me a FROGGIE for Christmas!!! And yes, Georgia has gotten to me...I can't wait to watch the Dawgs play in the Sugar Bowl tomorrow, and I now say things like, "bless your heart" and "y'all". What can I say? A lot of humans down here wear shirts that say GRITS: Girls Raised in the South. Yep, that's me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE! GOODNIGHT! Love, Orianna and the gang