How can I be in heat if it's snowing outside?

I'm writing long distance (via my PR mom). I'm taking a vacation!

The other day my mom said, "Kelda, you've grown up! You're not ready to go to puppy college yet, but you'd be ready to have puppies if CCI wanted you to." Well, I hadn't thought about a career change, but... whatever! I'm always up for adventure.

The next thing she said was: "For this, you get a treat - three weeks at the kennel!" Oh, yeah? I'd heard other opinions about the kennel.

So she drove two nylabones, a toy, a filled bone, and me out to the kennel. There are lots of dogs out here! I live next to a very friendly Golden Retriever. I have my own room. My suite falls short in the fabulous decor department, but it does have an attached private patio. The people are very nice. They're going to play with me and walk me and do a little cleaning up after me. This may not be too bad.

So I'll see you all in three weeks!

Here's how to celebrate the Super Bowl

So I started hearing the words Super Bowl, and I started wondering what was in it (the dish, I mean) for me.

No such luck. But it was all right, anyhow.

The Super Bowl, it turns out, is a people game in which grown men play with a ball, jump on top of one another, knock each other down, and run from one end of a big yard to the other.

Hey, we pups do that all the time!













If we knock one another around too much or start growling, our people take us home. But these humans went at it for hours, and nobody cared what kind of growls they made.

Apparently it's important, though - worth a party, at least. So I figured I'd better get ready for it. I prepared myself by watching...



...the Puppy Bowl.






Now, that was interesting.





I did get a little distracted. Maybe football isn't my thing.






Maybe track suits me better. (I like to do sprints.)


So then we went to the party, and, although I was hoping...

...to get a ball game going, it didn't work.



Gus liked the ball (just a big ol' ball - I didn't have one of those pointy ones), but he didn't care to run with it....









... and Rascal II liked telling me off. Just because it's his house.






Finally, we decided that what we really wanted to do was to be with the people.

I entertained them all when they got a little tired of the television. I ran up and down the steps (note, please: up and down the steps!) and wagged my tail at everybody. They couldn't have had a great party without me.


Next Super Bowl I'll be at puppy college in California, I hope (if I haven't - horrors! - flunked out). I'd like to plan a party for all of us advanced-training four-footies! Lots of balls, lots of running, lots of dog treats - it could be terrific.


Oh, before I go, take a look at this. Remember my friend who came over for the day because she didn't have a tag on her collar?

She came over again! See the tag? (Look closely at the edge of her collar on your left.) Isn't it beautiful? So she and I played for a while, and then my mom walked her around the block and took her home. Cool!

Of mice and MEE-YOWS...

Here's what I've been up to lately:

Kelda helps clean up the yard! A big (enormous!) tree blew down right after Christmas.







I didn't get in on the fun when the men came with their chain saws...





...but later on, when my PR dad started cleaning up the clutter, I saw a way I could really be of service.

After all, I want to be a service dog, don't I?







So I picked up leftover sticks and other items to carry out of the way.





Well, I intended to do that, but they were so much fun to carry I forgot about being helpful.











Funny thing. My dad didn't say thank you.









Kelda's buddy, Mr. Grey! He probably shouldn't be my buddy because he likes to get service-dogs-in-training into trouble.



In the pictures, he may seem to have a mean look, but he really likes me.


No, really, he does.











Kelda's buddy, Jasmine! Jasmine is a grown-up Lab - she and my older cousin Zebrina (who used to live here) were buddies. She's my buddy, too. Look - she has a pink nose just like I do! When she comes over, we play and play...



..and then she shows me all the places she and Zebrina used to dig in the yar... oops. Forget I said that. I wasn't supposed to tell.




Kelda doesn't jump so much! (??) My PR mom told me she noticed I was trying to be good about not jumping on people. Mom says it's especially important that I not jump, because I now weigh 57-1/2 pounds and that's a lot of jumping power. So I really, really tried the other day when her friends came. I only jumped a couple of times. Maybe three. Um, maybe four. But I was so excited to see them (they really like me) that I wiggled and ran around the house in circles and barked very loudly. My mom sighed....

Kelda meets a Fake Mouse! I hear there's a more famous Fake Mouse in California (that's someplace west of here). But we only went up the road to a birthday party at a noisy pizza place.

Here's the birthday girl, Megan...


...Here I am with one of her big sisters, Jenna...











...And... here's her other big sister, Katie.




(They're my PRs' granddaughters.)

Well... I know what a mouse is. I've learned that from my buddy, Mr. Grey, who has a speaking (sort of) acquaintance with several in the neighborhood.

And what did I find?


Well may you ask! This dude has the last name of Cheese, but I don't think cheese would melt in his mouth. He doesn't even smell like a mouse!

Pathetic!

Kelda rests from her labors!...

New Year's Resolutions

Happy 2009!



This is my very first New Year's Day. I've enjoyed the whole holiday season. I received some good presents (a dinosaur and a nylabone, and also a kong toy with tails).

We've had lots of people visit us, an we've visited them. If this is what a CCI service dog's life is like, I really wanna be one!


My cousins (are they my cousins? My PRs' children belong to them) came for three days. Here are Loki and Odin; they're handsome Norwegian Elkhound boys. We had a good time together. They chased squirrels, and I chased them.


They like ice cubes, too, just the way I do.






I'm told it's the time to make resolutions, so here are a few, and what I'm - really, what my PRs are - doing about them.


I RESOLVE to eat my food, not bolt it.

I do love mealtimes! But I still chow down too fast, so...

...my folks have given me something to help me. Yep, it's a rock. No, I don't eat it, silly! I just eat around it. It makes me take more time.



I RESOLVE not to jump on people. I like people, and I like jumping. Why not put them together? It's hard to remember not to. So...


You wouldn't want to drink out of this can. It has little baby rocks in it. My PRs don't throw it at me (although they may be tempted). But it makes a big noise when I start to jump on somebody. I don't like the noise, so I try not to jump. I wiggle instead. Hey, I have to do something!



I RESOLVE not to be a fraidy-MEE-YOW about stairs. I don't know why, but sometimes I look at a stairway and want to run in the other direction! If my people pick me up and put me on the steps, I'll do what I should. But I'm a big girl - I've almost outgrown my medium-sized CCI cape - and it's hard for them to pick me up. So... I'll try to be brave. Maybe. (No picture for this one - they have their hands full of me.)











I RESOLVE to wear my tags on my collar every time I go out. This is my new friend. She came to play with me because she decided to walk around the neighborhood without her tags. It took all day long to find out that she really lived just over on the next block. (I hope she'll come back. With her tags.)

I RESOLVE not to get into big trouble. Hey, this wasn't my fault!

Yes, I admit I've pulled up plants and jumped on the picnic table, but nothing like this! I tell ya, I didn't do it! It was the wind! Don't blame me!

The Twelve Doggy Dos and Don'ts of Christmas

I warn you that this is a long one. But, you see, I've been hearing about Christmas. It sounds good to me!

My PRs say Christmas is when my Creator came to earth as a human being. Personally, I think coming to earth as a dog would have been classier. But they say he knew what he was doing.

Lots of things are happening. I told you about the tree in the house. I have to leave the tree-sparklies alone so everyone else can enjoy them. I'm not to drink the water in the tree stand. Not even if I'm thirsty.



But I go to parties at other houses. Around the neighborhood, I see lots of lights; even deer have lights all over them. (My former neighborhood just had the regular kind.) At least, they look like deer.

I get to ride in the car more. I do lots of shopping with my PRs. The Post Office people know me on sight.

There is another part to Christmas. I'm not sure of the name; it sounds like "Sandy Paws" to me. My four-footed friends say this part is important if you like toys and treats. But this Paws character is like your PRs and your puppy class teacher: you're expected to be good!

So, to help us all be good, here - according to my canine buddies - are some dos and don'ts for this season:

1) Do let people enjoy you. Be friendly. Shake your paw if you're asked. Don't jump on people, especially short people like puppies... er, children (you could hurt them). Do let folks scratch you behind the ears if your people say it's all right.

2) Do let the people, not you, sit on the furniture. It isn't just because of our impeccable good manners. They look stupid sitting on the floor. We look better. And we can get up more easily, too.


3) Don't whine if your people put you in your crate or tether you to a chair during parties (do you see my leash tied to the sofa leg?). Do just sit there sweetly, looking as cute and pathetic as you can. You'll get a lot of "awwws" that way!



4) Don't chase the MEE-YOWs around the Christmas tree, even if they tease you. Knock the tree over and your people will be really upset. Do pose by it nicely, and someone will probably take your picture. If the MEE-YOWs want to get themselves into trouble, stay well away.


5) Don't eat the Christmas decorations. Sandy Paws might get upset. Your people definitely will. Besides that, you could get a major tummy ache. You don't know what those things are made of.

6) Speaking of eating (or not eating), don't eat tinsel or "icicles." Those are stringy things that some people hang all over the tree. It's all shiny and looks like fun. But it messes up your insides big time. No matter how much you enjoy visiting your vet's office, you won't like that trip!



7) Don't eat electric cords, either. How can I explain this? There are tempting little chewy-plastic-coated wire thingies between each light on the tree. There are bigger chewy-plastic-coated wire thingies like that on the floor, too. Do not chew on them! You might suddenly meet your Creator in person, and your family will cry.



8) Do eat doggy treats; don't eat people treats. My PR mom loves a treat called chocolate, but she won't give me any. She told me why. For us dogs (and MEE-YOWs, too), chocolate is poison. Other poison treats are raisins, grapes, and macadamia nuts. Don't eat any of those, not even a little bit! See #7 for what can happen.

9) Don't eat string, ribbon, wrapping paper, balloons, house plants, children's toys, the new gloves your PR was just given, or sharp objects. Doing those things is just plain silly. (I'm not saying I wouldn't try it - I'm just telling you what my buddies say.) Do, however, save your wonderful mouth for those chew toys they are going to give you. People, you'd better come through on this.


10) Do - if your people want to give you a special food treat - ask for veggies. Veggies are good! I like carrots best. Baby ones. Cut julienne style, thank you very much.




11) Do ask your people to get you a Christmas bandana. It makes you look as festive as everybody around you. Don't thank them by chewing on it. Chewing on it only makes it look tacky. A bandana is good. That and a Nylabone. Chew only on the Nylabone. Maybe with a little peanut butter on it. Mmmm, yes.

12) Everything is more at Christmastime - sights, sounds, smells, people. Maybe we won't get as many walks or as many naps as we're used to. It's easy to end up with a big case of stress. Do... try NOT to! Our body language will tell. We delightful dogs don't speak people (and people don't speak dog), but we're probably getting stressed out if we yawn a lot, or lick our bottoms a lot, or drool a lot, or keep our ears or tail down, or have a funny look in our eyes, or chew things we know we shouldn't, or, um, do you-know-what in the house (!), or run out the front door without permission. Remember, Christmas is just for a short time, and life is still good! Soon everything will settle down and we can take our naps again.

Do you want your people to know more about how to make Christmas merry for you? They can try these online places for starters:

http://dog-care.suite101.com/article.cfm/dangers_of_chocolate_for_dogs
http://www.csst.org/canine_stress.html
http://dog-training.suite101.com/article.cfm/dogs_suffer_stress_too
http://dogs.about.com/od/dogcarebasics/a/xmas_safety.htm

My four-footed friends and I wish you a Meowy Christmas and a Yappy New Year! (Yeah, I know that's old, but it's new to me, and I like it!)