Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday, as Ember's "letter to management" would indicate was "a day and a half" so to speak.  For one thing, it was another of those super-hot days.  I think it topped out at 97℉, and Wednesday was to be about the same.  I heard one weather man mention the heat index, and I don't even want to think about it.  

Not supposed to chew on the Muddy Mat, Little One!  So trying it out again on Tuesday was a "fail".

Also not supposed to pull the cushion off the couch and gnaw on it.  Some days she is better about this than others.  Tuesday she got it off, and Mommy had to put it back together during one of her puppy naps.

The heat after Puppy Agility class (held at 5:30 p.m.) made it challenging to get Ember back into the car.  Black upholstery, black seat protector, charcoal fur?  Yeah, HOT!

I opened all the doors, poured some water into her folding dish, and put the highest value treats I had all over the back seat.  Even then I had to lift her up halfway, so that her nose was enticed to motivate her to follow it.  Bottom line, we got home ok.  

Real victory was that she didn't poop in the gym this time.  She did three rounds of agility runs, with two other dogs taking their turns.  She did very well (for her), only knocking the jump poles off twice).  I'm calling it a win.

The online "games" Collar grab was incorporated throughout the day, just normal actions.  "It's Yer Choice" (IYC for short) had two non-video recorded sessions.  Sometimes I have to choose where to spend my energy, and I'd just got home from my own workout with the trainer.  Do I take time to set up the camera, or do I interact with my dog?  I chose Ember.

The first round of IYC, the treat we were using was part of a banana.  I usually give her a few bits of my morning snack banana.  She did great generalizing from the cheese and chicken liver treats I had used on Monday.  Only a couple of tries to get it before she settled in to good choices.

We made mommy's lunch (she gets cucumber, tomato, and cottage cheese, in small amounts when Mommy has her own salad).  After lunch I boiled some eggs for future use, and I started to peel them.  Ember decided to put her paws up on the counter while I did and of course I removed the paws and told her to wait her turn.  After I'd peeled a couple of the eggs, I selected some chunks of shell with which to play IYC.

She was doing OK, but after the eggshell round, I was peeling some more. A bat poked himself up out of the garbage disposal (into which I was going to toss the shells).  I freaked out.  "Ember, come help Mommy with the bat!"

Of course, she did not.  Remembering how my husband had handled a bat that got into our house back in NY state, I grabbed a Rubbermaid container and clapped in over the exposed bat.  Said bat was opening its mouth and the teeth were showing.  Yikes.

I freely admit I would not make a good Buddhist!  Knowing that at least one rabid bat had been found and tested locally, I flipped on the disposal, ran the water... no more bat.  But now I have the heebie-jeebies in my own house!  I wonder if there are more bats... like above my head in the roof space?  

Ember thought this was great fun.  She grabbed the mate to the Rubbermaid container and ran off to the living room to chew it to smithereens.  Oh, she also nabbed a flyswatter that I had first chosen to deal with the bat, before I went to the plastic container.

Enough of the bat episode!  

Tuesday afternoon:  Ice melting on the deck. Unlike an earlier hot spell, I didn't have to have Ember on leash, workmen in the yard, etc.  I could just toss the ice all over the deck and let her choose which ones to play with.

Wednesday report

Ember went out on a long walk and had puppy nap number 1 before the vet visit.  We fit in two sessions of Game #2 IYC, one with cheese, one with bits of banana.  One before the vet visit, one after.  She did very well, but I messed up the camera setup so no video to upload!  Human error with the remote control.  I had three minutes of unusable hilarity because Ember knocked over the camera and then the angle didn't get her in the frame at all.  It amused me, but I pitched it.

The vet tech took blood.  They'll have results tomorrow and call me if they have any issues that would cause a delay in her surgery.  Oh, and she now tips the scales at 55 pounds.  Keeps on growing, this puppy shaped weed!  I have to deprive her of any food Friday morning before I drop her off at 7 a.m.  

Alicia came over after her workday.  It was way too hot to walk, so we demonstrated the game (for a bit) to show off Ember's smarts and put the fur-baby to bed until "last call".  Then Alicia went home and the thunderstorms hit.  Last I heard, power was out at Alicia's place, traffic lights were out on my son's commute home, and when I went outside to assess, I found big branches down in my neighbors' yards to the North and to the East.  Do you wonder about the work the landscape folks did on the drainage?  Well, it works, but it's not perfect.  I still have a big puddle.  I'll check again in the morning, to see if it persists that long.

Where the water drains to the street.

The puddle it was supposed to drain from!

To the North of my yard, the branches spilling over into my yard.

To the East of my yard.

They were already out there with the chain saws doing cleanup this evening.

Life in Lincoln is a little disjointed tonight, with many folks cleaning up from those storms.  But life remains good.  Spark on!

Too much, too fast!

Oy, what a day!  Or two!  I am a poor, deprived puppy.  I have a hu-mom who escalates training too quickly, because she's learning new stuff.  Too many new things being introduced at once... like that snaky-legged tripod that came in a package on Monday afternoon.

This on top of Mom starting to video our training sessions.  Speaking of which, the training sessions are new.  Mom keeps grabbing my collar and giving me treats.  Not that I mind getting extra treats!

Monday morning during my puppy nap, the CAT came upstairs and flounced around the house and mom didn't even come downstairs when I barked and whined about it.

When she *did* come down, the cat came with her, and she let him outside before she let me out to chase him!

I almost had her convinced to leave food down for me all the time, and today, after hooking up with that online trainer, she stopped doing that.  I gobbled down my supper when she finally put it down at 3:30 p.m.  Even to get her to do that, I had to nibble on her ankles to remind her how hungry I was.

Can I get a trade-in?

Signed,

Ember

P.S. Life is still good.  And I really don't want to trade in my hu-mom!  After all, Mom did save us from that bat on Tuesday when it came up through the garbage disposal... how did it get in there, anyway?  Spark on!

Training transitions

 

The flowers are now blooming, only slightly shredded by Ember's puppy curiosity.  We have a cue:  "sniff but no nibble" that I use on her leash walks.  I now have a reason to use it inside the fenced back yard, too.

I started playing the first game with Ember on Sunday morning.  It's called The Collar Grab game, and if it sounds simple, it is.  I have seen several versions of it from various trainers.  Susan stresses the importance of the mechanics of treat delivery, in order to create the classic conditioning that associates the action of human grabbing the collar to "good things are going to happen" (I get a cookie!)

That's one of the reasons they want you to video your training sessions.  So, you can see the overall picture, then go back and watch again to focus on what the dog does, then go back a third time to focus on what YOU did.  Pretty standard learning tool these days.  Not what those of us "of a certain age" had back in our grade school days!  Welcome to the present!

One of my biggest transitions is that my home is not set up like those of the professional trainers.  I tried baby gates to "manage the environment" early on and discovered that my "little" lab could push them over when she was less than 4 months old.  I use closed doors.  This does not protect the major pieces of furniture.

I went through a "choose your battles" phase when I abandoned thinking about saving the cat tree and let her destroy it.  I still choose my battles but am trying to work my way to training her to make better choices.  Sometimes more successfully than others.  

Just now she's working at destroying an end table that I got cheap and used.  I try to distract her when she goes back to gnawing on it, but don't always get there in time to avoid further damage.  

She also fairly regularly strips the cushion off the couch (shuffling it out from under the pet protector and slipcover) and starting to dig with the goal of de-stuffing it.

There's only so much trainer energy in me, each day!

The phrase "this is why we can't have nice things" comes to mind.

Sunday afternoon I tried out the "Its Yer Choice" game.  It involves putting a collection of high value treats in your closed hand, letting the dog try to get at them, then going through an exchange of opening the fist to revealing the treats / closing the fist to protect them from the dog.  This is based on what the dog chooses to do.  Eventually, the goal is to get her to choose to leave those treats alone on your hand and wait for you to hand feed her single pieces.  We had a really good first session. We did not move beyond the first level of hand at my knee while sitting on a kitchen chair.  I tried getting lower, sitting on the floor, but had to back off.  The dog controls the pace of progress in this entire training.

Obviously, there's a lot to the mechanics of this game: how to brace your wrist on your knee so you don't turn the treat hand into prey in the dog's mind; how to position the hand so that it is level with or below the dog's head so that she truly is making the choice and can see what she's choosing.  The game escalates at the dog's pace.  When she gets good at the first level, you move the hand lower, until eventually it's on the ground.  Then the treats on the ground and you tent your hand over them, etc.  This game is to teach the dog self-control.  The dog is in control of her actions.  YOU control the resource she's wanting to get at.

I said in yesterday's blog with the video that I used a similar method to teach Ember not to bring the hose into the house.  I used the same methodology to teach Carl to leave sticks outside.  But with food, the mechanics for the human are more subtle.

On Monday morning's walk, we explored the northern section of the park, that Ember had not walked before.  We encountered two other dogs on leash, and we close to get off the path and sit and watch those two and their humans interact when they met.  I played the Collar Grab game with Ember, inserting several such grabs into our regular walking routine.

It was a longer walk than usual, and Ember got a little "couch cushion" assertive afterward, so she got crated for a bit while mom cleaned up after, etc.  Then I let her out while I cooked and ate my breakfast, and she started nodding off, as she usually does about that time of day, so she's back down for puppy nap #1.

The plan for the rest of Monday involves some more "Its Yer Choice" play.  Yesterday I played with chicken livers / chicken hearts as the high value treat.  I plan on doing one round with those today, and another with cubed cheese.  

The rest of the week we have my personal trainer on Tuesday and Thursday, Ember's agility class Tuesday evening, her pre-op vet visit on Wednesday, and her spay on Friday.  A busy week ahead!  I'm not going to try to race through the online training, and I have to come up with a plan for what I do with the "puppy class" versus "puppy agility" versus "online training".  She does still need interaction with real live dogs locally!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Testing... one, two...

 

Ember and the hose, let's see if it can be shared!

The online dog training program requires me to upload content to YouTube.  This is not part of that effort; this is just me seeing if I can master the skill of uploading and sharing a video!

I took this one this afternoon, of Ember, pulling the hose up the steps of the deck.  Again.  But she listened to me and didn't even try to bring it into the house.  We have had several sessions of what I now understand to be a form of the game "ItsYerChoice" as modified by the use of the sliding glass door, not my hand holding treats.

"Puppy may come inside.  Hose must stay outside."  Same way I trained Carl years ago, about sticks having to be played with outside.  Let me know if you can or can't see the video!

Life is Good.  Spark on!

August looms

 

Something is about to bloom, right on schedule.  Let me see if I can find last year's version of this plant.

Ah, yes, here it is blooming!

Not last year, but the 2020 version.

I made my eye appointment for mid-September.  A birthday of significance is coming up and that means the eyes have to be in good shape, as it's driver's license renewal time.  I believe that at 72 they make you take the actual drive test.  Sometime before that, I need to get myself over to the new location of the driver's testing station, to see what the local streets I'm likely to be asked to navigate are like these days.  I haven't been out to that neighborhood since 2018, I think it was.  About this time of year... beastly hot 5K/10K it was.

Saturday report

I washed my sheets.  The dog-schedule got shifted later due to Ember having some attitude issues over the harness.  She also had attitude over whether she would eat enough of her breakfast to fit my requirements for "first walk" time.

I took her outside and ran her about with a game of fetch to take some of the energy off.  Then I eventually wrestled her into the "old" vest, and we went out to leash walk.  Two episodes on the walk:  she picked up the remains of the crabapple she'd toyed with on Friday's walk and gnawed at it despite any cajoling or offering of alternative treats for about a block (once I got her off the grass).  Eventually she discarded the core and seeds, and we proceeded on the walk.

The second episode was close to the end of the walk.  She picked up one of those tiny bottles that energy drinks come in these days. She started chewing on it as we proceeded.  We made it through the running sprinklers on one yard and then BAM!  Zoomies.  She circled me four or five times, at speed, and I turned to keep up and to keep the leash straight.  I got a shade dizzy in the process.  

Then we got her calmed down.  Did the metal at the neck of the bottle "bite her back"?  Did the caffeine in whatever drops might have remained as residue kick in?  Or was it just plain puppy nutso energy, brought on by her growth phase?  I remember watching one of my dog trainer videos where they talked about the adolescent phase of puppy life when things like this might happen, and you never know the origin of the zoomies!

Regardless, we played "treats on the sidewalk" the remaining 100 yards or so to home.  I cooked breakfast, she got predictably sleepy, and I tucked her into crate time just before 8 a.m.  

The rest of the day unfolded, including a bit of a mommy nap during puppy nap #2.  This is beginning to be a "feature".  After supper, I was watching some more Susan Garrett and found she had a special going on her online training stuff.  I kept being drawn back to it over the remainder of the evening, and eventually decided, YES, I want to go all in on her "games" approach to dog training.  OMG, I joined it.  This is going to be a lot of work, but Ember is worthy of it.  

It's my kind of program, with a good deal of thinking and analysis of both the dog's behavior and the human's.  Wish me luck.

And now it's Sunday morning

I didn't get the blog posted yesterday... I was too busy with my "homework".  Today I will start playing the first game with Ember.  Hopefully I will have some time and energy to blog as well.  The first game is a simple one, but there's teaching material surrounding it, and that does take some time to go through.  

Here's hoping you have a peaceful Sunday and so do I!

Life is good!  Spark on!

Focus on The Prisoner

 

Such a cute little baby was my Prisoner.  Kitten #6, according to his vet papers.

Friday morning, I brushed out his fur, and managed to get him into the carrier for the drive to the vet's office for his 13-year-old checkup.  He's dropped half a pound, she says, compared to the last time he was in, but that's not bad for a cat his age, nothing to worry about.

She said his blood pressure (would you believe they measure that at the root of the tail?) was good for his age, too.

He is missing that one tooth, but no infection or inflammation around the site.  She observed that his lymph nodes are a little enlarged, particularly on the left, but to a lesser degree on the right, but she could find no evidence of an underlying cause.  I asked what likely causes might be.  She said a wound or a tumor, but she found no evidence of either.  It could be, she thought, an earlier wound that has healed, but left this behind and it is healing, too.  The plan is just to monitor.

He got his 3-year rabies booster, and a 3-year RCP vaccine, too.

Since he's eating, drinking, and eliminating, and doing his "new normal" activities, including being able to get away from the puppy... he's in good shape, says his vet.  This vet has seen him through a few bouts of various kitty hazards, and there's something to be said for that continuity.

He was a very calm kitty while they examined him, too.  Such a good cat!

Life is good, even if you have to share a house with a dog and an old lady!  Spark on!

In a two animal household

In safe places, both of them.

Ember knows that she must "let the kitty go".  Some days this message is stronger than others, and I do keep a wary eye on their interactions, for sure.  The past few days have unfolded much like this picture.  Ember shows interest in the kitty (who is on the other side of the door).  I open the lock, which alerts the kitty to get to high ground.  He heads that way.  I open the door a crack, exposing Ember's nose, and the cat completes his journey to a spot Ember cannot reach.

They remain within sight of each other, but Ember does not charge out the door or after the kitty.  Slowly, The Prisoner is winning this battle of "leave it" and Ember is winning the battle of impulse control.

This does not mean I'm going to stop watching over them carefully, at all.

A bright moon greeted us, pre-sunrise.  Sunrise has now retreated to 6:17 a.m.  "Dawn" is about half an hour before sunrise.  I have been trying to start our morning walkies at "quarter to sunrise".

Thursday morning's walk included some pets from a nice man getting into his truck to head for his work.  Ember got the zoomies!  I have no clue for sure as to what caused this particular episode... perhaps her harness got twisted and she was pinched when he bent down and stroked her?  Regardless, she calmed down and we made it home.  

We had a victory over the lawn sprinklers across the street today, walking by them while they were on.  When we got home, we had a brief game of fetch in the back yard for Ember to get a bit of running in.  She needs this faster-than-mom-can-go pace as part of her daily activity.

Another area of progress is playing tug with mom.  I've been using this as a distraction from messing with the slip covers and couch cushion.  First with the towel, and then with the long rope tug.  This morning, she got overexcited and her teeth hit my hand on the long rope tug, and I did just what the trainer said to do... called an end to that game.  For now.  And put the tug rope away.  But the couch remained "safe."

Ember got tired and went down for puppy nap #1 at 7:15 a.m.  This means she was in for 3 hours and 40 minutes by the time I went to my 10 a.m. workout, got home, and changed.  

It was already 86℉ when I got home, so the rest of the day it was short trips outside, fill the puppy pool, and short games of fetch.  We did go for a short second leash walk in the 3 p.m. hour, after puppy nap #2 when it was 94!  

Coming into the house with the AC regularly was a strategy for surviving the heat.  We chilled on the couch, with lots of pets, and she took naps, both in and outside of her "den". 

Summer is back!  It is nearly August, right?

Life is good.  Keep Sparking!

Sidewalk is the last piece.

 

This photo was taken Tuesday morning, before the landscapers picked up the cones, but after the concrete guys removed the Moulding and tamped the grass back down.  Ember and I took her walk #2 of the day across this little stretch, "middle" of the sidewalk, to avoid disturbing the edges.

Workout with the trainer felt good, I had missed all last week, half because of the hot water heater, the other half because of another commitment of his.  

Wednesday morning the plumbing inspector signed off on the rework on the hot water heater gas line connection.

At 11, we have Ember's puppy class.  We both look forward to the after work visit from her Aunt Alicia. As always, we'll see how energetic Ember is or isn't when the time arrives.

Thursday another personal trainer day for me.  Friday The Prisoner has his first "office visit" with his vet since before the pandemic.  During the pandemic it was "drop off only", and even after, there were a couple of visits that were drop off.  This time I want to be there to have the conversation with the vet, because he's "getting up there" at 13, and I perceive him getting thinner.  I've been feeding him canned food twice a day, plus allowing him to free feed on dry food.  We'll see what the vet thinks.

Next week we have Ember's vet visits (2).  I'll have to see what I schedule for her in terms of training.  She's been such a good pup the past few days, knock wood, I don't want to jinx it!

Look how long she's getting from tip to tail when she stretches out!  My little measuring tape "estimates" that at about 44 inches between the nose and the tip of the tail.  You could also estimate by counting the tiles, which are 4 inches the narrow way, and it still comes out to 44 inches.

Wednesday morning, the crew came to add dirt to the edges and tamp it all in.  I hope they put down some grass seed, too.

Life continues to be good.  Spark on!

A better toy Beaver!

 

Now THIS looks like a beaver, Mom!

I could not resist, with beavers and bunnies on the brain, when I walked into Menard's this morning, in search of a chair to put out on the deck.

Looks like a chew toy to Ember!

I had to put the chair away shortly after I first put it out, because guess who could not keep her teeth off it.  She loves the beaver!

While I was out doing my errands, the phone chirped.  The plumber was ready to come out and fix what the inspector flagged.

I had time once I got home to take Ember for a short second walk up the block and back before he arrived, though.

Then I enticed her back into her den, plying her with peanut butter and whipped cream.  The plumber is now gone, and re-inspection is scheduled for Wednesday morning.  Always something, eh?

The moon wasn't quite set when Ember and I walked earlier on Monday morning.  The sun hadn't quite come up yet, either.  It was peaceful morning's walk, as summer progresses.  Days that are cool in the morning and warm but not unbearable in the afternoon are to be prized.

Tuesday morning also dawned cool and damp.  It promises to become steamy.  Ember had a nice long walk through the park and around the block, for 0.93 miles.  She showed off her good manners for other people a couple of times during the session, then did a bit of running in the back yard to complete her quota of "active" for the morning.  She fell asleep on the floor as I cooked my breakfast, and I left her there snoozing until about 8 a.m., when I lured her into her "den" so I could get ready and go have my own trainer workout.

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

A chill Sunday, although it did get warm

Somebody is still recovering from her very active Saturday with Carl.  Here you see her chilling on the couch with her hu-mom, in front of the TV.  Not sure what that is on the screen.  I flipped around a lot.

We had a couple of very good leash-manners walks.  Mom went on a grocery run in between, where she once again spent more on the animals than on her own groceries.

I brought home another toy for Ember.  The receipt says it is a beaver, but it looked like a bunny to me when I picked it.  She has three "bunnies", now.

Left to right in order of acquisition, the "blanket" bunny came with Ember when she moved in with me, back in March.  The Blue Bunny was a new thing a couple of weeks ago, as I'm investing in toys that she can chew on instead of chewing on me or the furniture.  The one on the right is new today.  

Looking at it with the perspective of what it said on the receipt, I can force cast it as a beaver, but it still looks very "bunny" to me, except for the tail.  But that tail does not scream "beaver" to me either.

I let Ember nap outside the crate after walk #2, from about noon to 2, that's when the TV watching snap was taken.  In fact, I nodded off for a few minutes during that session.

But I needed to deal with trash bags, and that is something that historically Ember has been a pill around, so I tucked her in.  She didn't want to go, but she didn't put up much of a fight, either.  I'm thinking I need to get some laundry started, too.

When I let her out again, and we had another brief afternoon time of outside the crate.  She was calm and left the kitty alone even with the sliding door open and clear line of sight to kitty's perch.

We went out and played a bit of fetch, and she did her business, both kinds before coming back in.  

I cooked and ate my own supper while she chewed on a chew stick.  

Then this happened:  she went into her crate and pulled out the pupsicle, and brought it to me.  I looked at her:  "You want me to put a dollop of whipped cream on it?"

I did so, put it back in the way back of the crate, and she trotted right in, four paws and the tail.  She's a tired puppy and ready for routine to be observed!

Life is Good!

Keep on Sparking!

Spotlight on Carl

Carl was a very good boy staying with Grandma and Ember on Saturday.  Here are a selection of photos to demonstrate.

While Ember is in crate for puppy nap #2, flopping on Grandma's bed.  She joined him shortly after for a co-nap.

On squirrel patrol!  Personality difference:  Ember has never barked at a squirrel.  Carl considers them mortal enemies to be fended off by loud protests!  He also barked at and chased off a woodpecker that knocked on the house despite the fixes.

Posing for Grandma

Defending against "puppy energy".  Ember is looking big enough to match Carl as they tussle these days.

Detective work in the back yard

Showing off his sandy muzzle after playing in the sandbox with Ember.

Sharing the water bowl on the deck

Sand sticks to slobber.  Did you know?

His parents came to collect him and Ember collapsed in a tired heap.  Awesome job, Carl!

Life is Good!  Spark on!

 

A busy Friday and a doggy Saturday

The plumbing inspector showed up as scheduled at 9 a.m.  He inspected both the shower conversion and the hot water heater installation.  He signed off on the shower, but found the gas line hookup for the hot water heater to be not up to code.  Therefore, I will have another visit coming from the plumber!  AND another inspection visit!

The bug guy arrived about 11 a.m., and quite proficiently 1) helped me lure Ember into her crate for puppy nap #2, 2) treated the inside of the house entirely, from basement to upper story, 3) treated the outside of the house, with special focus on the deck railing where those yellow jackets were harassing the animals.  He came back to the door afterward to let me know that there could be some yellow jackets come back to the nest over the next few hours, dying after the colony as a whole, since they were out foraging when he knocked the nest down and treated it.  "Keep the pets away for about 45 minutes if you can"... from the outside treatment.  The inside treatment is eco-friendly, and we had removed any pet food (human food too) and water from wherever was being treated.

The cement truck drove up in the early afternoon.

The work crew was clearly experienced with one another.  Each one took on his role with precision, right down to business.  Not a lot of talk.  It was like watching a ballet.

Then it was like icing a cake, smoothing everything out!

And in the end, it is out there drying and setting.  Keep the puppy paws away!

The water softener salt delivery brought up the rear, taking two bags from Sam, the first female tech I've had from this firm.  She did pamper Ember a bit while I signed off on the delivery.  I gave her treats with which to ply the pup.

Ember ran out of steam not too long after and went "to bed" in her crate at about 4:30 p.m. while I had my supper.

Saturday shuffle

Ember's morning walk was a bit on the short side, due to the early arrival time for Carl.  Both dogs were super excited about this visit, although they have no clue about time or anything of that nature.

My son, as he was leaving, both dogs rolling about having a blast, said, "This may be the first time he doesn't even notice I'm leaving!"  

Anyway, they wore each other out in short order, but Ember doesn't always realize when she's worn out.    

She was having nothing to do with the idea of going into the den.  Not even whipped cream and extra treats could outdo having a real live Carl to wrestle with!

Eventually, I shut Carl out in the back yard, on the deck, while I lured her into her crate for puppy nap #1, at about 8 a.m.

She fussed about her confinement longer than usual, but I just went about my business (like updating this blog entry).

 

I let Carl back in to chill on his own, with a treat.  Now I have to scoot, as Carl is barking.  Cross your fingers for us.

Life is Good.  Spark on!

 

A quiet Thursday

 

Look... the guys came to frame up the sidewalk for concrete Thursday afternoon.  Ember wanted to go out and "supervise" but this crew did not seem to welcome her presence, so we went back into the backyard and played a little fetch.

It looks very nice at this point, but it will look much better once the concrete is poured (hopefully tomorrow afternoon).

Friday is going to be a day of comings and goings here in Emberville.  We not only have the bug guys (scheduled for between 10 a.m. and noon), but also the plumbing inspector (scheduled for 9 a.m.) and a delivery of water softener salt, which is not scheduled, they just call when they are getting close to our neighborhood.

Saturday will be the big challenge of Carl arriving at 6:30 a.m. and staying until 6 p.m. while my son and his wife go to a funeral service several hours' drive away.  It will be a good solid test of our future hopes of having the dogs share quarters when one owner or the other has commitments or travel.

How two dogs with two separate sets of needs and rules will survive sharing one human... Ember normally takes 3 crate naps in a day... we shall see how that holds up under the temptation of having the big dog present.  Carl is used to being allowed pretty much free rein at Grandma's house but being handed the toys.  Ember now has her bin of always available toys, which Carl will clearly be able to find and nab, too.  So far in each of their shared visits they have not shown any signs of "resource guarding" as one online trainer I tune in to calls it.

Both have pretty good manners as far as letting me cook and waiting their turns for their share (I always make sure there is at least a little that is their share).  I'll see if they eat each other's dog food, etc. and if they are good at recognizing the need for a break in play and "go to your corner".  Carl doesn't have a "corner" at my house, but Ember definitely does (her den/crate).  Thank goodness I now have the fenced back yard available to separate the two if needed!

If necessary, plan B is to call in the reserves, in the form of my daughter in law's parents, who would willingly "dog-sit" Carl at his own house if things go South here.  I am hopeful that things will go well.  And I am really glad that my son will be able to attend this particular funeral.

If it turns out I don't have time to blog again until Sunday, well, I figure you'll all understand!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Birthday party fun

Would you believe that I went down this slide?  Those are the birthday boy's legs coming out into the foam pit there, but I was the first one down it.  I then had trouble extricating myself from the pit!  My butt was the lowest part of my body, and I didn't have the wingspan to reach the grab bars, or the abs strength to get my legs under me.  Everyone was laughing so hard; nobody took a picture!  My son waded in and helped leverage me to my feet so I could wade my way to the ladder out!

Not bad for a 71-year-old gal!  The sign said adults should be prepared to help children out of the pit, but they didn't say anything about little old ladies.  Perhaps they don't think we do these things?

There was also a zip line (there's video but no stills).  In short, it was a lot of fun, and I didn't mind coming in last. 

The kids decided they wanted to try "soccer pool" after the golf game.  The birthday boy won at both games, golf and pool.

The birthday cake was an apricot torte, and it was deliciously worth every single calorie!

Life is good!  Keep on Sparking!

Wednesday is puppy class day

Helping Mom with the pool moving, before the plumber came on Tuesday.

Wednesday is puppy class day, and Ember did well.  She was joined by the six-month-old litter mates, Boston and _____.  (Having a senior moment).  They are physically a bit bigger than Ember, and so it was a great day for puppy play time, especially given that she had to be confined longer than normal on Tuesday.

When we got home, she went to nap in her "den", and I came upstairs where I fell into a deep sleep nap!  Got up about 3 p.m., and Ember was reluctant to go out on the deck, due to the yellow jackets.  They must have stung her one of these past few days, at least.  We went out on leash in front of the house and she took care of business there.

But when we came back in, I opened the deck door to take the filled poo bag out to the outside garbage, and she followed me.  She got stung again on the way back in!  I'm glad the bug guy is coming on Friday.  Those yellow jackets are our top priority to take care of!

I have changed up the toy box arrangement, due to Ember now being able to grab the toy box off the dining room table.  Only she wasn't satisfied with pulling out a toy, she wanted to chew on that soft-sided toy box.  I put it away and substituted with a plastic laundry basket.  In it I placed the toys she's allowed to play with "any time", as opposed to the ones she's only allowed to play with "under supervision".

Ember has her own ideas about how to use the toy bin, though.  She still wants to gnaw on the basket!  She turns it upside down and imprisons the toys under it while she chews.  Oh, well!

The supervision only toys are now stored in a bin in a closed-door room.

Alicia came over after her workday and we went on a "pack walk" with Ember, just around a block, but the weather has moderated, and it felt good out there.

A neighbor who is one of Ember's fans came out to greet and pet her, and that made her day complete.  She did a toy/treat puzzle when we got back from the walk, and then was bedded back down in her "den" until "last call".

I'm now going to cut this a bit short, as the nap cut into my editing time.  I'm off to a small gather to help celebrate 40 years ago today, when I welcomed my son into the world.  I can go back to that day so easily in my mind.  Every mother can do this... 

Life is good.  Life is precious.  Take care of yours and encourage those you love to do the same.  Spark on!