Tricks

Every morning Rarf and I go to the park---VERY early, when I'd still rather be sleeping. But once I wake up, it's fun cause I can tear all over the place. Then we always practice tricks for a while. I'm really good at the whole sit, stand, down thing. I'm really good at "come,"---except if I see something terribly interesting. I do okay at "stay," but it's pretty boring. I'm learning "down" from a distance---that confused me for a while.

Lately Rarf has been throwing a ball so I can "get it," "bring," and "give." (I don't like "give" so much---why won't she just chase me???) I really just like running after the ball. This morning she pulled a sly one: she used a ball that squealed when I grabbed it. Scared the fur off me---I thought I hurt it!

My wicked best trick is "wait." Rarf says "wait" and I can stop and turn on a dime!

All growed up???

Alright; I've been 97 pounds for three months now. (Forget that 101 reading in November: that was obviously scale operator malfunction.) Does this mean that I'll never break 100? Does this mean that, at slightly over one year old, I've FINISHED GROWING? Does this mean that I'm the world's SMALLEST NEWF??? I may not have put on any weight since early October, but I swear I've grown taller. Hey you other Newf bloggers out there: can you tell me if I have some growing left to do? Perhaps a growth spurt at about a year and a half? Or is this IT??? Because right now I still FEEL a lot bigger than I am. (Although my extremely svelte, athletic, and attractive physique can certainly compensate for any size deficit---trust me on this.)

Christmas ornaments have interesting textures

I should know: I sampled most of the ones I could reach.

I don't get the whole Christmas tree thing anyway. I mean, we have a tree in our yard that looks almost the same. Shadow pees on it all of the time, and Rarf hangs toys off of it for me to pull on and chew on. But she and Joe cut a tree down, take it inside, hang things off it, and what happens when I chew on them? I get in trouble. And Shadow won't pee on the inside tree, the big wuss. Go figure.


By the way: this picture? NOT my idea.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm not exactly sure what a birthday is, but I have to say, I like it. Rarf has been making a big fuss over me all day. I had liver for breakfast, and we went to Petco and PetQuarters and got all kinds of treats.

Speaking of PetQuarters, we met a dog there who, well . . . I don't know. He was like me, kind of, but bigger, with white on him. Rarf called him a "landseer." His name was Buzz and I felt kinda funny around him. But his owners pulled him away so I didn't have a chance to really sniff him all over.

Anyway, here I am after getting brushed for my birthday, and then with my birthday present: the biggest tennis ball I have ever seen!!!

Me 'n Rosie

Have I told you about my buddy Rosie? At least, I REALLY REALLY want to be her buddy, but she has a really sharp beak and doesn't play by dog rules. She's also kind of spooky, because she flys. In the air. Really. And she talks to me. I don't mean normal dog talk like Shadow and Maggie---I mean she TALKS, just like Rarf. She tells me to sit, go lay down, and be quiet. When she's really perturbed she yells "No!" and bites my nose. Hard! I do think that we could be friends some day---I keep trying. I know she must really love me because she throws food on the floor for me. I'd love to let her ride around on my head, but I'm afraid she'd peck my eyes out!

Dark walks

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Hello to Amici, Desert Pups, and all you other wild and crazy dog bloggers!
I don't know what's going on, but Rarf always makes me go for walks when it's still dark in the morning now (when I'm still trying to get my beauty sleep!), and after it's dark at night. When it's light out, she's not home. And we don't go to the track any more, or the quarry: we seem to stay on sidewalks and streets with no fields for me to tear around. I don't get it. She doesn't seem too happy about it either. And I haven't been swimming much lately either.
On the other hand, she has been playing soccer and stick in the yard with me at lunchtime---and I have to say that I skunk her every time.
By the way, I got weighed at the vet this week and at 10 months old I am 97 svelte newfie pounds!

Rarf's new project

Rarf and Joe (that's what she calls him) have been driving to that hayfield a lot---where Chocolate, the brown, chubby lab lives---and they always take me with them. It's kind of frustrating, because every time I run across the road to see Chocolate, Rarf drags me back and then ties me up. Now and then she takes me to swim in the pond filled with cattails, but other than that, she doesn't let me have much fun. She and Joe spend a lot of time carrying stuff around and banging stuff together and won't let me help. They have a blog about it called Sunnywood, but it's nowhere near as good as my blog.