Going Shopping

We took Winston to another Pet Smart a few miles away for an outing. This is a newer store so it is a little bit nicer than the store where we took puppy classes.  Here, Winston is framed in the photo of what surely must be dog nirvana!

Mark gave Winston a boost so Winston could get a good view of the cats at PetSmart. We would like for Winston to meet a cat face to face. We want him to have exposure to the great big world but having a cat in a house full of cat naive terriers is so not a good idea! Guess we will have to stick to the window shopping variety of cats. 

Next, we let Winston try on some things...

Winston remembered the bull dog at the beach and his life jacket so he thought he would try one on, too! 

Mark checked out some grooming supplies as Winston waited patiently. 

Winston had fun shopping and meeting some new people but it looks like he is ready for a nap!

Growing up

This pic is a little hard to make out but this is Winston: running with the big dogs! We are starting out for a walk. 

Winston has made so much progress! We have been working on "fading the lure" for his training. Winston does great on our walks with barely any treats now!

Mark helps Winston be a good canine citizen! 

I think Mark is trying to tell me something....hmmm, I wonder what?!!

At the halfway point, we stopped at the park so Winston could have a drink.  

Nice cool drink...

                        Winston is such a happy little doggie! He has a pretty good life, too!

Take your dog to work day 2010!

Today was "Take Your Dog To Work Day 2010!! "Winston is an old hat at going to work with his Dad but he made sure to take advantage of the opportunity!

Winston even helped out around the office. I am thinking he has a career in paper shredding!

Even Elliott went in to the office today, too. Here he waits patiently for Mark to deliver his estimated tax liability. 

Back at home, Elliott resumed his role as family doctor and checked out Winston's ears. He thought they could use cleaning.  

Winston chilling in the back yard! 

Pool Time!

We bought Winston a kiddie pool so he can stay cool this long hot summer!

At first he thought it was an enormous water bowl!

Winston thinks the pool is pretty cool!

Tennis balls make the pool even more fun!

Winston says "come on in, the water is fine!"

He likes to dunk his nose underwater!

The only thing that is more fun than swimming, is drying off with the towel!

Cutie Pie!

I had to travel to Orlando for work and this is what greeted me at the airport tonight!!! Mark and Winston picked me up!

Winston was playing with the pet bed. I think he wants to play hide and seek!

"Hi, Mom!!! You found me!"

I am so happy to be home with my little family!

Graduation Day: Puppy Obedience Undergraduate Degrees

We started the class with 8 puppies. Only 4 finished. The rigors of puppy training were just too much for lesser dogs. This is the story of the best of the best.

Dexter was the first to receive his dipolma. Asked what was in store for the future, Dexter said his goal was to live at home and stay in school for the rest of his life. Smart dog, that Dexter.

Jasmine was next and was so happy to be graduating that she could not stop dancing and was unavailable for comment.

Brendee fell asleep during the ceremony and when awakened to ask about her future, she replied that she would sleep on it.

Our beloved Winston was the last, but not least. Asked what his future holds, Winston replied that he just wanted to continue to be the best dog in whole world! Well done, Winston, well done.

Winston the Stud Muffin

Life is a Beach

We live in Florida and you don’t have to travel very far in any direction before you find water. It is important that Winston not be afraid of water and know how to swim in case he should accidentally fall off a pier or into a river. Also, water is a lot of fun and a very effective way to keep your cool.

It is early summer and the temperatures this weekend were stifling. Kelli found a dog park/beach not far from the house and thought it would be fun and educational for Winston to head out to the beach. Winston liked the idea so we packed up the car and headed for the doggie beach. This beach is part of a park on one of the popular bayous. The water is brackish and the waves are provided by boat traffic.

This was our first time to the doggie beach and we were surprised by the number of big dogs romping in the water. The breed de jour was the popular lab along with numerous goldens and other large dogs. Even at 22 lbs, Winston was about the smallest dog there. We thought Winston might be scared, but he commented that most of the dogs only had about 100 lbs on him and he would be gentle with them.

We let Winston go and he carefully inspected the water and waded in with some trepidation. Then he tried to bite an incoming wave and started coughing. Rule 1: Always stop breathing when biting water. Soon Winston got the hang of it and was romping through the water and even swimming. He was having a really fun time.

Meanwhile the BIG dogs were chasing Frisbees and Winston wanted to join in the fun, but the BIG dogs were much too fast swimmers for him. So Winston did the next best thing and stole the Frisbee once the BIG dogs retrieved it.

There was a bulldog wearing what looked like a Frisbee and Winston started to pull it off his back, but luckily he had the common sense to leave this guy’s Frisbee alone.

After Winston wore us out, we washed him up and headed home. Man, I wish my parents had taken me to the beach when I was 5 months old!