The Dalmatian Diaries Blog

Browser is back in school. This time we're working on getting his Canine Good Citizen certification. Yay! It's a no-brainer for him - he's SUCH a good boy, but just being back in class is even better for him. He loves it. He loves the people, the dogs, the attention...and of course, the treats

We also measured him last week at class. He's 23 3/4" (he needs to be under 24" for conformation). I'm going to measure him at the end of the CGC class and go from there. I'm not going to go nuts trying to show him if he's going to go over the standard. I think he has amazing potential, however.

When Browser is done with this class, I want to get Widget back into agility.

Widget is now one year and one month old, and Browser has one month to go until his first birthday.

Browser really grew up all of a sudden. He had this puppy-ish face for the longest time, but now he's got the mature male snout. His front legs still seem a bit short. I'm hoping he'll have another growth spurt to even things out. He's definitely become VERY athletic over the last couple of months so hopefully it's all part of the growing process still.

Widget has been awesome. She's handling new situations better and better. It's been so hot (100+ for months now!) that we haven't gone on walks. I need to get her out in public again soon though. She does great at daycare, and even did great when they had their kids camp going on, but she needs new experiences on a regular basis.

Both pups will be going back to the vet in a few weeks. We'll be checking Browser's bladder for crystals and getting a full workup on Widget to make sure there are no adverse affects from her meds.

The pups have been home from daycare this week. They had been there all last week while we were on vacation so I thought it only fair to let them stay home this week. I have to say, they've been a joy to be around.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that they aren't always a joy. It's just that (and those of you who regularly read the blog know where I'm going with this) they can be a handful when you work from home. As crazy pups, it was a necessity to bring them to daycare while we tried to work. barking puppies + conference calls do not equal success!

But this week was different. They napped. They played. They napped again. They were happy. They were self-sufficient. I'd spend the first few hours of the morning with them. Usually sitting outside with the laptop while they explored the yard. Then it'd be naptime for a couple of hours - then repeat the process. I was able to get work done in my office even.

As sad as I am to see them growing up, I am glad to have survived the hardest part of puppyhood. Of course, these two made it easier - what good pups they are!

Well, the dotted duo have just received the highest honor in the animal kingdom... Yep, they got the Catitude Award. Typically the honor is reserved for cats who show the most CATitude online but this week the award was bestowed on our two spotties. Toonces, the cat behind the CATITUDES, spotted (pun intended) the potential for these two a while back and has been monitoring (and encouraging) their dotted demolition ways. Thank you, Toonces, for this prestigious award. If they actually got a trophy for this you can rest assured it would have been decapitated, shredded and buried in the back yard.