Winston is still learning to be friends with Elliott. He always goes for the ears though! He is still struggling to be friends with Carly. Elliott is tolerating him most of the time but still gives clear signals when he does not want to play. Winston still challenges them everyday! Today after Carly growled at him, Winston decided to lie down next to her and mimic her growling! Let me just say the boy did not go to the Dale Carnegie school "how to win friends and influence people!" He is full of himself!

Winston is helping Mark with his shoes. He is really good with the laces!

Mark took this adorable pic last week and Winston has really grown since then! Had to include this one though because how could I resist that adorable face?!

More earthdog, the mysterious portal and making friends

So, last night Mark was working with Winston and his tunnel training. (Basically there are 5 cardboard boxes taped to the floor in our great room with holes cut into them for Winston to enter and exit) Mark had placed several tempting treats inside the boxes to entice Winston and it worked!!! Winston was enticed... as was Elliott! I was not sure El was going to fit inside but he proved otherwise! What a great Earthdog in training! Winston has learned of the mysterious portal from which tasty tidbits are born! Here all 3 wait in line as delicious delicacies are doled out by mere mortals. If only Winston had opposable thumbs he could conquer the mere mortals.

Making friends! or wearing Winston as a hat!

Winston runs with the big dogs!

"It is tough work being this cute!" He looks like one of the toys!

Does this fur coat make my butt look big?

Winston has been with us for two weeks. We weighed him yesterday and he came in at 10 lb, 9 oz. Two weeks ago he weighed 7 lb, 10 oz. That's almost 1 1/2 lbs a week!

Asked to comment on this remarkable weight gain, Winston just said, "I'm in training. It's all muscle. I tell you they are working me like a dog. Now, please pass the Milk Bone Biscuits and maybe I'll have another Puppy Pepperoni".

Exclusive never before seen footage!!

This is a raw video clip that I caught through the kitchen window. After I let the dogs out, I went inside for a jacket and I caught this exclusive footage!!! Carly initiated playing with Winston and it looks like she had fun!! Then Elliott joined in, too!

Carly is the one with the red collar. Elliott is not wearing his collar because I took it off since Winston likes to grab him by the collar( he has not been brave enough to try that to Carly....yet!)

Forgive the wooden post in the shot but I was afraid to show myself while they were playing for fear Carly would stop playing!

This is a huge first for Carly and Winston. I am sure it will continue to be a struggle for her to like Winston but this was a big first step for Carly. Winston was soooooo happy!

Earthdog training pics

Winston's brother Elliott and sister Carly at their first Earthdog training. We all had a blast!

Winston loves pine cones! Rats are so-so but pine cones are cool!

Good place for a nap!
Winston made a new friend at Earthdog training!

Pine cones...yum!

Hey, I smell a rat or Intro to Earthdog 101

Many thanks today to Norma and Moon Mullins for hosting earthdog training. We loaded up the truck with Elliott, Carly and little Winston and drove to Moon and Norma Mullins' beautiful home in Fairhope for our first earthdog training day.

We started by introducing the dogs to a rat in a cage. The rat was ensconced in a protective cage of wooden dowels. The dogs could see the rat and try to bite it without hurting their teeth or the rat. Elliott and Carly found the rat in the trap extremely interesting and they tried their best to find a way into the cage. Winston sniffed the rat and then found a nearby pinecone that was more interesting than the rat. Oh well.

The next step in the training was to put the caged rat at the end of an 8 ft wooden tunnel. The dogs were shown the other end of the tunnel and encouraged to run the tunnel to the rat. The tunnel is only 9 inches square and looks really small. Carly tried it first and after a little coaxing entered the tunnel and engaged the rat at the end. She was very proud of herself and we were proud of her too. Elliott went next. I really doubted he would go into the tunnel but with just a little encouragement he ran through the tunnel and tried to bite the rat. Good job! Meanwhile, Winston found two cute little girls to play with, no doubt thinking he is going to get by in this world simply on his good looks and puppy charm.

The next step was the juniors’ tunnel. This tunnel was 30 feet long with 3 turns. Norma prepared this tunnel by laying a rat scent line on the ground and then covering the trail with the tunnel maze. I told Kelli we should probably quit while we were ahead. 30 feet in a little dark tunnel was no doubt too much for starters. A short straight tunnel is one thing, but a 30 foot tunnel with turns is quite another. However, Norma had other ideas for our dogs.


"Get your first dog up here, Mark", she commanded in her lightly British accent. I tried Elliott first since he showed the most zest in the first trial. Elliott ran the entire 30 feet, found the rat and engaged him. Wow! I was really surprised. Norma was very pleased.

Next we ran Carly. She made it to the first turn, got confused, turned around and came out. She wasn’t interested in going in the hole again, preferring to find the rat going over the top of the tunnel. Why go in a tunnel when there might be a better way? Well, rats (no pun intended)! Later, after Carly had a chance to rest, we tried her again and this time she went in the hole, navigated all three turns in the dark and found that wascally rat. I was very happy and Norma was pleased. Norma is a wonderful teacher for both the dogs and us.

Now it was time to watch the pros work. Norma changed the tunnel configuration to include an additional exit and an abandoned nest. She started her Border Terrier 20 feet from the hole on a rat scent trail. It took her Border about 3 seconds to reach the hole and 7 seconds to navigate the 30 feet of tunnel including the abandoned nest and backdoor exit . Once to the rat, her Border pawed and barked aggressively at the rat for 90 seconds. After 90 seconds, the rat was removed and Norma recalled her dog. In less than 15 seconds, the dog raced back to Norma and jumped in her arms. Now that was impressive!


Meanwhile, Winston enamored all the dog owners who were there to work their dogs. I would guess there were about 8 handlers and about 15 dogs. Everybody had a good time, especially the dogs. As Norma puts it, "This is Disneyworld for our dogs." We waved goodbye and all three dogs slept all the way home. What a great day! And many thanks to Norma and Moon Mullins for hosting the training.

Winston welcomes spring!

Winston learned about rain a few days ago and now he has discovered spring! First let me say that azaleas are poisonous to dogs and I would never let him eat them or leave him unattended with them. BTW, here is a link from the ASPCA about plants to avoid with pets: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/

So, Winston explored the flowers and found that many bugs and leaves were behind the bushes. I took a series of poses as he played.
We call this look his "Puss in Boots" look like the character from the"Shrek" sequels. He looks so sweet and innocent! Wait,though and the little terrier will soon emerge...barking, rolling and ratting!
"Who's there?!"

"I am the cutest puppy in the world!! Why can't Carly and Elliott see that and play with me?!"

Just had to share his cuteness!