September, forward!

 

Do I have enough toys?  I think not!

Mom tried to do something clever, attaching a leash to one of my holee-rollers, but I really prefer to chew on the leash, not tug on the ball.

So now, Mom is working on doing something she hadn't done in years:  braiding shoestrings.  Why?  To make dog toys!  Specifically, custom tug toys, so she and Ember can learn to play tug safely.  The commercially produced ones do not have the specific qualities I want.  Yep.  Been watching videos again!

Ember went down for a short puppy nap, because her groomer drop off time was 9 a.m. While she was getting her "special" bath and her nails trimmed, I did what I wanted to do:  reconfigured the XPen to expose a portion of the parlor for human use!

Alicia and I might just test it out if she remembers it is Wednesday and comes for her usual visit after her workday.

(She did, and we did.)

Also new today, one of those "whimsical" purchases I am wont to make at times arrived.  Ember met the new "garden bench" when she came home.  She barked at it.  

Note the cute little bandana they put on her after her "diva" appointment.  Tony tells me if the vet wants her treated with the shampoo more frequently, like a bath a week or something, they do have reduced rates for that kind of multiple appointments. Obviously, will monitor progress of the spots, and if we don't see enough progress, I'll ask the vet about it.

The Prisoner had "met" the bench earlier and was unimpressed.  It's really quite small, suitable for a child to sit on, or for me to use as a seat while weeding.

I gave Ember her "salad" when she got home.  This was the fourth trip in a row where she did NOT want to get in the car to come home.  Puppy class last Friday, visit to son's house on Sunday, the Vet on Tuesday, and now the Groomer on Wednesday.  

Today's reluctance was complicated by my failing to put on the treat pouch before heading over to collect her.  I tried the water bottle.  I had taken her current favorite stuffed toy (the orange iguana).  I tried putting a towel from the trunk into the back seat (she likes towels).  No dice on any of them.  Finally, I recruited one of the employees to help me convince Ember to get in, and she lifted the front while I hefted her hind quarters!  

I have to wonder whether the car sickness feeds into this reluctance.  She's usually quite eager to get into the car on the way out, but on the way back, not so much.

That bandana stayed on through her puppy nap, but it came off in the back yard shortly after getting up and getting active.  Tony must tie good bandana knots!

Thursday morning we played in the yard.  Mom didn't even offer a harness try on.  But we went outside and listened to all the morning sounds, like the garbage trucks and the birds.  We watched the sky lighten.  We took care of business.

Inside, Mommy gave Ember a peanut butter treat with you-know-what (her meds) tucked inside.  Ember lapped it up.  Then she got her "chow".  We played the "hot zone" game to exercise the puppy mind, and we chased balls (I can't say retrieved, because she's not big on bringing them back to me) in the backyard.

Despite the relatively "new" routine of yard play instead of leash walk (part of this is the new configuration of the house... we can't get to the front door without hazard of a chew-trigger), Ember settled into her puppy nap on schedule.

Mommy had to remove the dog statue due to Ember chewing on it and knocking it over to boot.  Mom was concerned it might break.  She tucked it into the garage overnight and is trying it in the river rock on the South Side of the house today (Thursday).  It might migrate around the yard for a while before being declared to be in its permanent home.

Chopped down some of the suckers off the tree on that South side, too.  They come back every year.  I might get them cleared every other year, but they do come back.  This year with all the watering I did, maybe more than usual!

Now it's time for Mom to head out to the grocery store.  Bananas and blueberries are always on the list.  

Life is good.  Keep on Sparkin'!