Sleep AYOR

Boggle (the fuzzy blue thing in the picture) spent a good portion of last night sitting in the empty puppy crate and crying.  He has grown very accustomed to snuggling up at night next to whatever puppy in training is residing in my home and was especially fond of his most recent bunkmate, Apple (she let him sleep on top of her).  I told him he only had to wait one more night and a new trainee would be moving in.  I have always told Boggle that you, "Sleep At Your Own Risk."  He's never heeded to my warning and just walks into the crate and curls up to every puppy as if they've been lifelong friends.  Hopefully his next bunkmate, Barron, will be just as accepting of my crazy kitty!  Fingers crossed...  

Spooked

Last night I took Apple to a basketball game and a dance concert. She's been to several sporting events before (football, hockey, and basketball), and so the bouncing ball, lots of movement and loud noises were not a problem. She watched the game for a few minutes and then settled in for a nap. Content that the home team (go Beloit!) was well on the way to victory, we left the game at half time to cheer on dancers in their winter concert.

Of the two events, the dance recital was the one I was least worried about going in. Much to my surprise, shortly after the start of the first dance, Apple spooked. She sat up, heart racing, hackles up, and even let out a startled bark. I was thankful that a) I had a good handle on her leash, and b) the audience only paused for a short giggle before redirecting their attention back to the dancers. It took a few minutes, but Apple again settled down, and watched with intense focus, the remaining dances.

A day later, I'm still not sure what spooked my usually calm, collected pup. I think she was simply caught off-guard. Just another reminder of how important this socialization period is for our puppies as they continue to learn to expect and deal with the unexpected.

Three's Company

After reading Ace's sad story of being the lone coupon salesman in Janesville last weekend, I packed up my vest and puppy food and headed down to Janesville this Saturday for the OccuPaws' booth at Shopping & More in Whitewater and the Boston Store coupon sales in Janesville.
 

At Shopping & More, Bernie, Ace, and I formed quite a comedic trio.  We quickly became the 'babysitting' station as we were seasoned veterans at attracting children.  Ace got tons of belly rubs and kept making all the kids laugh.  Saddened by the lack of attention, I curled up and pouted behind the table.  This must have been an effective tactic because I quickly gained a small following.  Later in the afternoon, I took a break from looking cute and practiced some obedience skills.  I worked on commands from a distance as well as a few 'tricks' like retrieving my leash, picking up keys and finding doors.  Ace and his mom also showed me how to find tables, chairs and shopping carts.  So many new things to learn!


After spending the morning at Shopping & More, I hopped in the car and headed over to the Janesville Mall to sell Boston Store coupon booklets.  Ace and I were joined by Apple to form another trio.  We worked our tails off to sell the 11 remaining booklets.  I got thirsty midway through but Kelsey was negligent and forgot to pack my cool pink pop-up water dish.  Thankfully Ace has a creative and resourceful mom who fashioned a water dish out of a small Boston Store bag.  Many people smiled when they passed by and saw me drinking out of it.  I was just grateful it didn't spring a leak.

Exhausted after putting in a ten hour day, I took the car ride home as an opportunity to recharge my batteries.  As I slept, I dreamt about my three kids waiting for me back home and all of the exciting games we would play tonight.  A puppy's work is never done!

Running into Fall

Hi everyone! I'm Apple... It's been a while since I've written anything for the puppy blog - mom says we've been too busy. And, boy, have we ever!

Like Gypsy, I'm still going to college every day with mom, though I never see Gypsy there. I guess there must be more than one college in Wisconsin. Gypsy definitely has some good advice (and don't worry Gypsy, I get caught snoring sometimes, too!).

Aside from school, Mom's been really busy with running. She's fast (I think), but I'm faster! I wonder if she's ever going to take me on a run? Today, she went to cheer on lots of runners in the Haunted Hustle. Gordy, Barry, Biscuit and Divit were all there, but I didn't get to go. Boo hoo! It looks like they had so much fun!


I was lead cheer dog last weekend though - at a race in Door County. It was tiring work, let me tell you! I was so tired, I didn't even notice when Mom took this stupid picture of me sleeping in the car on the way home. I hope this doesn't show up in a graduation video - so embarrassing!!!

Well, that's all from me for now. Mom says it's time to go, but promises we'll write again soon.

Wags and kisses,

Apple