Snow!!

Last week when we woke up our whole house and yard were covered with snow. This is California and things like this aren't supposed to happen here. Benny and Beatrix had fun tasting the white stuff.

I Can Do A Trick!

As an addition to his regular obedience training, I decided to teach Benny some tricks. In less that 10 minutes, I taught both Benny and Beatrix to shake a paw. Encouraged by my success, I went to Amazon to look for books about teaching dogs tricks. I now have my book with 101 tricks to teach. Many require much more ability and athleticism on my part than the dog's. We'll start slowly. Watch for more!

FAME

You wouldn't think that the life of a 9 month old puppy would be so busy that he wouldn't have time to blog, but it's true. I never have a spare moment what with walks, classes, visiting friends, going to work, chewing up things, teasing Beatrix, chewing up more things, and now this. I'm a cover boy! I'd better learn to write in case I have to do autographs.

Every year the Irish Terrier Club of Northern California prints a calender with local dogs as the stars. Much to my amazement, I was selected as this year's cover dog. Never mind the cute kids, it's me, the one in the center, who you should all be looking at.

Benny By The Bay

Benny has reached the big 3 - 0. No, not years, pounds. Maybe he'll start to fill out soon. Everything about him is long. His body reminds me of one of those extra long buses that have sort of an accordion pleat in the middle so they can turn. He continues to be a very cute but not a very typical looking Irish Terrier.

To celebrate my recent birthday (which in dog years would be an unfathomable number), Benny, Kathleen (human daughter), and I set off to introduce Benny to Pt. Isabel. I think it's the largest dog park in California. What makes Pt. Isabel so unique is that it sits right on San Francisco Bay so the views of SF and the bay are incredible. There is an inlet right through the middle of the park where dogs who wish can swim and play in the water. Benny was fascinated by the water, but in true Irish tradition, he would have none of it. Mud was fine but water - no way!

On any day there may be hundreds of dogs at Pt. Isabel. Benny was a bit overwhelmed at first but quickly decided that this place was o.k. He would run off, turn around to look for us, and then do his best to find us. Except for one rather amorous Schnauzer who wouldn't leave Benny alone, the boy had a great time.

Dog Days of Summer

After graduating from puppy class, Benny has had lots of free time this summer. He's flushed a rat out of a bush and he's kept busy in other ways too. He's perfected his digging skills and has also developed a special talent for sliting open stuffed animals to remove the stuffing and squeekers. He likes to eat the stuffing as if it were cotton candy. My long fingers really come in handy as I reach down his throat to retrieve hunks of stuffing. We've made frequent trips to the local pet stores searching for safe things to keep that little mouth busy. A friend gave me an antler and it has proven to be a great chew toy. Benny has barely dented it after many happy hours of chewing.

Benny also comes to work with me where he plays with his friend Daffodil, a golden retriever who is almost the same age. He loves his morning walk and I've found that if we've done at least 2 miles, Benny is willing to rest for a good part of the morning after we're home. I get a chance to get lots done and everyone is happy !

Graduation!

Benny and I have been lax about new postings because we've been so busy working on training. On Monday night, Benny graduated from his puppy class. He did such a good job and was always a joy to bring to class. We had some very difficult dogs in the class. Some were aggressive, several barked constantly, and some were just guilty of having terrible handlers. Right after we got our certificates, one of the dogs got loose from her owner and headed straight for Benny in full attack mode. I quickly reeled in his leash, she caught her dog, and Benny just brushed her off and came to me with a big tail wag. He can sit, down, sort of heel, stand for examination, go through a tunnel, sit while being petted (with help), go over a jump and come to me. His biggest problem now and I'm sure in future classes, will be to keep focused on what he's doing. Benny loves to sniff the floor so I have to work constantly on keeping his head up off the ground. The rest of August is vacation month but in September it will be back to school for Mr. Benny.

New Picture of My Sister Gemma

Well, good looks certainly run in the family!