Bob back at school and his 9 months.

Ok so I had a nice little week and a half long break from school now that we're back its pretty obvious that Bob is just as not used to early morning class as I am. I took him last Friday to my 8:00 class, however I didn't really give him a chance to release any energy before hand so he was a bit energetic during my 50 minute class. Haha, he kept rolling over and getting tangled in his leash and making noises - which is normal for him but only if he's been laying there for quite a while - like longer than an hour.. his restlessness started after only 5 minutes. So, today before class I got up and fed Bob 30 minutes earlier than usual that way he would have a bit of time to just run around and get those wiggles out haha. Well anyways, needless to say that on Friday his pulling issue was a bit more than normal, however today he did great! He pulled a bit on the way to class but on the way back he was really good. Well - point of all that is that hopefully now with a routine back in place Bob's walks will only get better.

Also, I missed his 8 month mark - so sorry there is no 8 things but he's 9 months now so I'll give this one a try - hopefully I can think of enough stuff lol.

Just give us the kong lady! 

1. Bob is now taller than Egypt and his head is much bigger lol.

2. He has become much more vocal lately - he used to not bark too much, only when he got really into playing with Egypt. Now he barks all the time - not so much when we're out working (the exception would be Macy's) now if he wants something he's gonna come up and bark in your face... He's good with his 'quiet' command though so just gotta work on it. :)

3. We moved his crate back into the room and he's getting lost again haha. Last time we moved his crate (out to the living room) he would automatically run to the  bedroom - now he automatically runs to the old spot which is a bed so technically he's doing what he's told (going to his bed) however I do make sure he gets into that crate... Good thing is though he now knows all the dog beds in the place as beds so no problems there.

Ignore the mattress, I was washing sheets :) 

4. Did you know crates taste good? Bob knows.

5. Bob's heel command is awesome!!! He's pretty much flawless with it - Pretty much because the only problem is I can't wear flip flops because when he gets too excited he steps on my feet and tries to scratch my toes off lol. He doesn't do it all the time - mainly during dinner and when he's sliding all over the tile.

6. Bob went to GDTx today and didn't freak out! You don't know how crazy he gets when we got there - seriously - all the smells and familiar people whom he knows all have treats in their pockets... Anyways, he didn't go crazy today which was awesome because I was uhh.. "compromised?" at the time - I'll have more on that story tomorrow (or Thursday) on that though :)

Ahhh, so comfy! 

7. Do you remember when Bob was making funny faces at me - well I don't remember if I wrote it or not but it was because he was sleeping against the door of his crate - I thought he did this because the crate was small. Well turns out he just likes to do that... He's a weird kid....

8. Bob slobbers a lot.. have I ever mentioned that? I'll have him do puppy push ups and stuff before meals and even though they don't last that long, he's got all these little drool puddles underneath him by the time he's done with it.. not to mention the strings of goo coming down from his ever growing jowls lol. Yes they have gotten bigger... probably because Egypt tries to stretch them out on a daily basis.

You taste good BFF! 

9. Bob and Egypt are pretty much BFFs now... really - she actually goes out of her way to play with him now. It's weird and kind of heart breaking... What is she going to do when he has to leave? What do your dogs do when they get attached?

Sorry to end on a semi-depressing note but I like ending with a good question! Answer away people!

Black out

Well not really - it was just a short 3 minute power outage in one of my classes. Regardless Bob was unaffected by it :) He didn't even move - this really surprised me because he'll look up if he hears the tiniest sound but didn't flinch at all when all the lights went out. No picture right now but there should be a good new blog post up tonight or maybe tomorrow morning - we'll see how tired I am after my run.

P.S. Darrell and I are still running in the half marathon (13.1 miles) in November. We still need lots of help raising support for Guide Dogs of Texas - who we are running with/for. Neither of us have reached our fundraising goal yet so tell your friends! Click here to donate and sponsor one of us if you would like to help us raise funds for GDTX!

Here is the link to my first blog post if you would like to read more information about it. 13.1 Miles to November. 

Quick funny story

So, I don't really have time to write a whole blog post - even though I do have a lot to say. But here is a pretty funny / slightly terrible story about Bob. Today was the first day of school so I didn't bring Bob to school because like I learned last semester - its simply just better to give a heads up. Plus its insanely crowded on the first day! Regardless - when I let Bob out of his crate at 9:00 this morning after I got home from class #1 he was a little more hyper than usual but that isn't the funny part of the story. So, he grabbed the first toy he saw and started running around like a crazy kid with it. Well apparently he didn't want to play with me because he ran into Erin's room, who by the way was still sleeping, and stuck the toy on her bed and asked her to play. Well, she was still sleeping and didn't want to play at that particular hour of the morning so she just rolled over and ignored him. Evidently Bob had a problem with this because he started barking at her lol. So, I had to run in there and get him out before he disturbed the sleeping beast too much. Not saying Erin is a beast - I just wouldn't want to be the reason for her waking up if you know what I mean. Poor Bob - he didn't get to play with Erin. But after a while I started recording him running around and going crazy - well guess what he decides to do once the camera turns on - he did nothing but stare at me. Good thing was I finally got his funny yawn on camera!



Here is the link if you're unable to view it. Click Me.

Bob doesn't always yawn like this. He only yawns big in the morning but most of the time his noise is more high pitched and much shorter lol. Hope you enjoyed!

Bob at the mall equals tiny people overload.

Bob in front of our little booth at Macy's -
 he is next to the coin dog piggy bank that we
put out in order to help raise funds.
That one is the large one -
there is a small on table to the left. 

Well Bob has been to the mall before but today was a special day. First Bob and I weren't there to shop - which is not normal. Second there were tons of people at the mall - which is only semi normal but there were more people than normal this time. Want to know why? Because Bob and I volunteered to be at a booth set up by GDTX at Macy's to spread the word about our organization - oh did you now its tax free weekend?

 It was a pretty normal volunteer gig - you know stand there give out information on the program, tell people how they can volunteer.. and stop Bob from licking the faces off tiny child like people things... typical volunteer day haha.  It was actually a really experience for Bob with him getting to meet so many children and babies and different people. He has met people before but never to that capacity. He did bark a few times - once was a mom was kind of dancing around Bob with her baby trying to get him to pet him or something... she wasn't really dancing but from Bob's perspective she was practically teasing him with that baby lol.

One of the board members and I pose for a
picture - isn't Bob's face priceless!?
I wonder what he was looking at..

The other times that he barked (ehem.. 3 barks actually lol) was when one of the employees from GDTx brought his dog to the store - Autumn, who is actually a retired guide dog who became a guide dog ambassador with Larry, the puppy raising supervisor. So, Autumn is technically a pet but since she is a GD ambassador she gets to go out and represent for GDTx since she is still able to go out and do stuff like that. Anyways it was a really good day and Bob was good and worn out on the way home from saying hi to so many people..

If you blow this picture up you can see
the drool on his nose,licking all those
little hands is hard work!

However as soon as we got home he must have gotten his second wind or something because that boy went a little crazy.. you know how puppies do those labby loops around everywhere sometimes.. they do 3 to 4 laps and they're good.. Well Bob did his 3 to 4 laps, and then did it again, and then did it again, and then did it again.. he had his little case of labby loops every 5 minutes for about 2 hours... he pretty much went crazy and I'm pretty sure we have to get the carpet stretched now that his running has pulled it all up haha. Well, after a while it became time for Bob to be put up before his dinner so he wouldn't continue to go crazy and try to tackle Egypt in between all of his craziness... anyways point of that is he wasn't in his crate for more than 30 seconds and he was dead to the world.. I like him like that haha.

Bob and I pose - please ignore the ridiculous hair - it was hot.. don't judge me! 

Oh the temptation!!!

So today I was sitting on the couch not really doing much of anything and I witnessed something so astonishing, so eye-popping, so sad yet glorious at the same time I had to share haha. So, today Erin was eating some Campbell's Chunky potato and beef soup - well it had some mushrooms in it. Erin doesn't eat mushrooms - she hates them. So, she used my plate which previously had a hot dog on it to put her mushrooms when they came up. Well - these gravy covered mushrooms were just a bit too much for Bob - he kept coming over and air sniffing and running away when told to leave it. Well after a while when we thought he was over it he came and rested his head on the couch - his knose about half a foot away from the mushroom plate, and just sat there and sat there and sat there..... maybe he thought if he stared at it long enough he could have it... It was pretty pathetic needless to say. Well after some time of sitting and staring I guess he lost interest and just gave up. Just walked away and never came back... I have to admit it made me happy - he could have easily gotten those mushrooms with the gravy that smelled so good but never did - just sat and watched. Safe to say someone is growing up ;)

"Man I really wish I could have tasted those mushrooms!"

Too much of a good thing maybe?

I have been meaning to post but ever since my final (on Thursday) I seem to be doing so much stuff and when I get home I'm just not into posting up a blog lol. I mean right now it is 2:40 in the morning.... I wasn't going to do this but felt like I at least needed to give you one picture haha... Just so you know - things to come - Poppy: a very special dog at GDTx, Bob of course, I might show you my table if I ever finish.... For right now though - you'll just have to settle with the cutest face you have ever seen :)

Egypt actually had that kong - that is her tail in the background lol.  P.S. - isn't that face cutest face ever!!??

Bigger home ;)

So remember how I was telling Bob didn't like his tiny crate and needed a bigger home? Remember the funny faces? Well, a few days ago we swapped Bob's old crate at GDTX and got a bigger one. So, guess what Mr. Bob did today - he went into his crate, completely all on his own will to take a nap.... that has never ever happened before. The only time he has ever gone into his crate without me asking him to is sometimes after dinner - and it's only because he knows I'm going to tell him anyways...

Well - here are a few pictures if you don't believe me - I know - it's that crazy!!

Here is his old crate just incase you can't remember how tiny and cramped it became.

Here is Bob in his new crate ready to nap away...

The proof!!! He fell asleep in his crate all on his own accord! 

Here he is after sleeping for about 1.5 hours - he's asking if it is dinner time yet...

Just thought I would share that little happy story with you... :)

Bob and I had a "fun" experience at Wal-Mart today... First off, he did great in there, we have been working on his pulling lately and he didn't pull that much - well the only time he pulled was when he found a jalapeno popper underneath a shelf... but other than that he was pretty perfect. However - once we got outside he refused to step foot in the sunlight... I know it was because the pavement was hot and he didn't want to walk on it but he just down right would not move... I tried everything from treats to stupid noises and he just didn't want to walk in the sunlight... I finally had to leave him with my friend on one of the benches while I went and got my car.. they just sat there and he behaved very nicely for her :) and then hopped right into the car like nothing had even happened... Guess I have to find some good persuasion methods for next time.. Has this ever happened with anyone else? I'm going to call GDTX if he does it again to see what else I can do, other than offering him a medium rare sirloin with garlic butter...

Long Monday....

So today started out like any other day.. wake up at 6:45. Make it to class by 7:30... take an exam.. You know how that goes. lol. Well after I had gotten home and fed Bob, Darrell and I started working on getting some school stuff done. He wasn't able to register for a class that he needed so we had to figure that out. Also, there is a course showing up that I had gotten out of at the beginning of summer.. it just showed up recently and I'm not supposed to have it.. So I don't know if I'm going to be charged for it or not. Well while we were both on hold FOREVER with a few different people we decided to just go up to the school and get it taken care of. The lines aren't long at the moment because everybody just calls - and gets put on hold lol.

So, we load up the dogs and take off for what we thought was going to be a short trip to the school. Well, technically the office we went to first was a short trip, however, they couldn't help us and sent us to another office. They semi-helped us and then sent us to another office - its hot by the way... Well we go to this other office and meet Darrell's advisor along the way.. we still need to go to this office but she told us that we never needed to go to any other office at all.. just have to click some buttons and then reregister him for the course. Well ok - that takes care of Darrell's problem. More office going for my problem though.

Bob was doing pretty good throughout our little hike of the school. He needs some more work on his most recently learned finds though. He did pretty well after a little refresher - he is still reluctant to sit at his finds though - he'll go to them stand there and look at me like "where's my treat"? He is supposed to sit at all of his finds and he does most of the time, but his down steps are the hardest... I can just hear him thinking "What's the point? We're just going to go down them anyways...." lol turd. Well, we'll work through them... His pulling is getting a bit better too.. he doesn't so much pull anymore but does put more tension on the leash than I would like.. just gotta keep working lol! Well, here are a few pictures of our day at school.

Bob finding a stair case at the school. 

Bob at a down step - he was getting hot by this time lol.

Now, Bob getting tired on walks has its ups and downs - on one hand he walks slower and pulls less earning him more praise. On the other - his finds start to really go down hill.... After a while I would ask him to find me a seat and he took me to the trash can.... I asked for the trash can and he took me to a water fountain haha... Well, after we stopped by the office I needed to go too (Darrell had already gone to the car - no point in him following me around the school.... ) we stopped and Bob got some water - he was a bit better after this but kept trying to get the collapsible bowl that I had stuck in my purse - I don't think his thirst was completely quenched lol.

Bob's first bowl of water - he drank it all in about 2 seconds lol. 

Bob's second bowl of water he didn't get up to drink - look at that long crazy neck haha.

So, after the school and after a short break Erin asked if we wanted to go to Chili's - so we went :) haha. Nothing special on that trip - just normal. But he did get to work on leave-it with a french fry lol.

Bob doesn't quite fit under the chairs - ever - he's a stretch out kinda dog...  

See what I mean? I'm pretty sure he's incapable of curling into a ball..

This french fry threatened trouble.. we handled it though. 

Bob got a bath a few hours after we got home - he stank... I think it's his feet.. Darrell says he just stinks lol.

Close the shower curtain!!! Dang!