Evening in PV

Hardy was running around like a lunatic, playing with a big plastic soda bottle. David got the camcorder, so of course he immediately stopped playing and just sat down on the grass. Sigh.

The Dog Days of (Spring)

Hot day all around yesterday. Stayin' cool on the bathroom floor.

What could be better?

What could be better than the tiger and a sock, all at the same time?

A New Friend

A 5 month old female Rottie lives around the corner. Hardy and Zena met the other night, in front of our house. Sunny came out to join us. It was surprising that they all did very well on their leashes. No one got tangled up, and they were all happy and loving and only gently playful.

Another Bath

Hardy and I went to the self-serve bath place on the way back from dropping Molly and Hugo at the airport. Here he is all clean and beautiful. Now he is sound asleep, since he missed most of his morning nap.

Visitors

Sorry I've been MIA. Lots of company this weekend. Matt, Molly and her boyfriend Hugo arrived Friday night for Passover. Hardy really enjoyed the extra people. Saturday he was the happiest and most calm and content he's ever been. He seemed to just enjoy all the activity around him.

This morning, Matt was up early, so they played a bit, then Hardy stole Matt's sock (from where he had left it on his floor - well, what did he expect???) and took Matt on a long game of chase in an effort to get it back.

Activity upon my arrival

Here is Hardy heading back in from stalking my garden and shakin' up his toys when I come home from work.

Hangin' Out on a Hot Day

We hung out in the house most of the day, but did get a play-date with Sunny for almost an hour in the late afternoon, after the sun was no longer in her backyard. They played toreador with a yellow towel. This picture was taken while we were resting in Molly's room, where it was a bit cooler.

Ice on a hot day

It was 89 today, so I got some ice out to put in Hardy's water. I thought he might like to play with it, and it would cool off his water at the same time.



After making a huge mess all over the kitchen floor, we took the party outside. The bottom picture is a video, so just hit the go arrow and enjoy.

Keeping the Mouth Busy

Hardy likes to put everything in his mouth, so we have a variety of things for him to fuss with. We have several "kongs" in which we put some canned food that is similar in content to his kibble, and then freeze them. Here he is playing with his kong in the water today.

Trump's Beach

We tried to go down to the tide pools on the beach at the Trump National Golf Course, but with two more switchbacks on the trail left to go, Hardy started complaining so we turned back. He had been walking happily with a 6 month old yellow lab named Biscuit, but the journey was too rigorous. He managed to climb the trail all the way back up to the top though. It was a challenge even for me, so I'm proud of him.

OK, I did promise

This is a picture of Hardy and me lying on the floor, gearing ourselves up for a training session.

I did promise to get Hardy on video learning to stand and stay. I posted 3 to YouTube, and will post the links below (and will put one of the 3 here on the blog) but I have to say that the funniest thing that happened was:

While David and I were reviewing the 3 recordings, we had the sound on. I usually try to keep it very low, or mute, so Hardy doesn't get nuts over hearing dogs(namely Hardy) yipping and barking.

I didn't, however, have the sound low, and Hardy could hear the command on the video ("Hardy stay, stay, stay), and he stood stock still behind my stool here at my desk waiting to be released (not facing us, or anything, as he was on his way somewhere else at the time.) David and I laughed so hard we were crying.

Because he had done it, I got up quickly and did another stand/stay training once, so he could have his treat, and he did it the best he'd done yet. What a cutie pie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTaM6tPneHU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9GYPBTM6wQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTSDdvphwuQ

3 posts in one day

Ahhh.... so you can tell I have a day off, since this is my 3rd post of the day. This afternoon we worked on learning stay, with a word and a hand signal. He got it almost immediately. He is SO SMART. Oh, that's right - he is the smartest dog ever :) I'll try to get it on video tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a picture from this evening.

Handling

We've had preliminary conversations with Tug's dog handler, Anna Morgan, to show Hardy in July and August. If we both like it (meaning Hardy and we human folks) then we can keep it up. She is a lovely young woman and I had a chance to meet her in Scottsdale, and watched her with Tug. The shows in July and August are here in Southern California, so we thought that would be a good way to try things out.

Hardy and I went to the pet store today to get some treats and some stuff to spray on the furniture to keep him from chewing on it. He liked the store, because everyone wanted to play with him and give him treats; I thought it was a challenge, because there were all sorts of yummy things right at Hardy's level! He shoplifted a dog cookie before I could stop him! Actually, they knew about it, and encourage sampling, but I would have preferred it to have been given to him rather than have him swipe it.

We tried the bad-tasting stuff on the furniture, and he promptly licked it off. Oh well - it was worth a try.

Getting big!

Hardy went to the vet Wed for his shots, and weighs 21 pounds. He has started to ask to go out a bit, which is useful, and he has decided that walks are fun. I'm off for the weekend, so we'll try some new places to walk today, since he's up for it.

He still gets really nutty when I get home from work. Still yelling at me for having been away aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall day. I have to lock myself in the bathroom to change out of my work clothes. That does help him behave, as he is calmer when I emerge.

He and David go everywhere together. He can get in and out of the Corvette by himself. Last night he hopped up onto the sofa in Matt's room by himself (in pursuit of the cat). We'd been inviting him, but he wasn't at all interested. He stayed up there with us for about 2 minutes.

Back to Work

I've been back at work since Monday, and Hardy gets very excited when I get home. He takes a full 15 minutes to settle down, as if to say, "Where on earth have you been, and how could you have left me? David and I missed you!"

He and David have fun all day, taking drives, strolls around the neighborhood and under the trees by the post office in Malaga Cove, and snoozing. In the evening, the 3 of us are watching season 1 of Dexter on Showtime on Demand. Well, Hardy sleeps through it all.

Field trip

David, Molly and Hardy took a drive in the Corvette yesterday to enjoy the scenery.