her dog has a blog: March 2007

Saginaw Forest

Yesterday was quite warm and Buzz and I were not used to it! He was panting and tired and we couldn't go very far or very fast.

Today was nice without being too hot, so we went on a long hike through Saginaw Forest to Third Sister Lake!

Buzz was willing to go further into the water than in the fall, but he still doesn’t swim; he just wades.

Buzz doesn’t play fetch on land, but he loves getting a stick out of the water.

“Please throw the stick. Throw it. The stick should be thrown. Throw the stick.”

My favorite picture of the day!

Buzz can shake it. Shake it like a Polaroid picture!

He’s staring at the marsh just beyond…some truly strange noises were coming from there today…toads? birds? I really couldn’t say…

Playing with litter…

Tossing litter to himself and catching it as I look on laughing…

Crazy puppy caught mid-frolic...litter flying through the air...

Today, Buzz remembered what “Come!” means

But this is the look I got when I said “In the car!” : p

Ten Months Old

Buzz turned 10 months old on Saturday. He seems to be full grown (around 55 pounds) and he's really started to have a more mature personality. He's still super-friendly and nice to people, but has started to accept that he doesn't get to greet and cuddle every person. He seems to have fully accepted my leadership and no longer jumps on me or second-guesses me on important commands like "quiet." His recall is not 100% and he is slow to complete some commands, but it is all very workable. Buzz's house manners are almost 100% in place! He's been housebroken for several months, but he seems to have really internalized rules about what he is and isn't allowed to chew on, dig at, pull over, and sit on.
This month, Buzz started to show his disapproval for puppies. He was mean to several puppies at the park. So, for now, Buzz is not allowed to play at the park. I'm hoping that puppy-hating is a stage he'll get over and we'll be able to go to the park again in a few months. In the meantime, I'm going to put up a 25-foot stretch of fence in the yard so that the yard will be completely fenced and Buzz can have off-leash time at home and we can do some fun training in the yard.

On a funnier note: Buzz has learned that getting in the bath is a way to earn treats and has started to spontaneously offer this behavior.

A boy and his ball.

Buzz's Buddy

Milly lives just around the corner--she loves to play with Buzz and Buzz loves to play with her. Today, when I rang the doorbell at Milly's house, no one answered. Buzz did not give up hope, he stared at the door with his tail wagging for a good 30 seconds. Then, he sat down an stared at the door; I believe he sat because he was trying to be good and *make* Milly be home.

Celebrating the vernal equinox

Beauty, thy name is megapixels.

I have acquired a lightly used Rebel XT. 8 megapixels of fabulous fun! Here are some pictures from today. These were all taken with my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens.

Holding his tug toy.