New Years Resolution update: 1 down, 2 to go

My new years resolution is actually going even better than I thought! My resolution was to teach all of my pups to ride in the back of the truck. I had three main suspects, Cooper, Otis and Achilles. They had their various reasons for getting to ride in the back seat, each of which I have tried to tackle over the past few weeks. I am proud to report that Cooper has been converted to a backseat rider, Otis is making great progress and Achilles is next. Cooper has riden in the back of the truck to and from the park for 3 park trips now. He doesn't voluntarily get in, I have to hold his collar and walk him to the tailgate, but as soon as we get there, he leaps right in. He is such a good boy in the truck, he doesn't try to jump out when I load other dogs, he just rides quietly. He has been so good, he even got to increase his schedule from 3x/wk to 4x/wk! I couldn't accomodate that change before because I didn't have enough spots in my backseat on the other days.... All it took was the magic mozzarella and proscuitto (itty bitty minuscule pieces go a long ways!) from Trader Joe's! So proud of Coop!!!!

Otis has been a backseat rider because he just got too excited when he was in the back of the truck. He would start barking and screaming when we got to Montlake and still had at least 20 minutes until we got to the park. Once we were at the park, as soon as I even cracked open the tailgate window, he would launch over my head and jump out and start barking. Needless to say, it was a little chaotic and didn't set a good example for the other dogs. My solution was to start putting Otis in a crate in the back of the truck. So far, it has been working out great! He loves riding in the crate. I think it makes him much calmer.  It seems that Otis just really needs personal space and having a little distance from the other dogs really has made a difference. He goes in the crate even when it's just left open. He has been laying down the whole way to the park, only barks for a minute and is quiet when I ask him, and doesn't launch over my head when it's time to get out! Today he even got out of his crate, grabbed his ball, and quietly waited for me to let everyone out. We will have to see if this becomes a habit, but so far, I like what I'm seeing!

It's funny that with these two dogs, Cooper and Otis, I had just accepted their quirks about the back of the truck and gave into letting them ride in the front for over a year (or more). Once I set my mind to making a change, it hasn't been that hard!

Next up is Achilles. He is gladly launching into the back seat now, which is a huge improvement from me trying to shove his 160lbs in there against his will. At this point he is a little too comfortable with the back seat. As soon as I am confident Cooper is comfortable with the new routine, and Otis is more settled, I will start working on Achilles. In the meantime, he makes sure to let me know he is there!

Rowdy sibling walk

Bailey and Otis are basically brother and sister, they have spent more time together than apart in the last 3 years. They stay at each other's houses, spend holidays together and go on vacation together. They had me cracking up on our walk this morning. [gallery ids="1256,1257,1258,1254,1253,1251,1250,1252"]

New Years Resolution Part 2: Cooper

If this isn't the highlight of your day, I can't imagine what is. A HUGE thank you to Nancy's wonderful husband, John Holm, for his video editing skills and excellent song choice. The video I sent him was about 10% as cool as what he made it. [youtube=http://youtu.be/_6MoZaN8T9Q]

So, as illustrated by this video, Cooper hopped right into the truck under the influence of the magic cheese/prosciutto combo. The following times were a bit tougher to convince him about, then he decided it was a good idea to convince me to get in the back while he drive, but overall I would say it was a success!

We will definitely be revisiting this exercise as he could totally plow me down as soon as he decides he doesn't want to be in the back anymore. The goal is to convince him that the back is the place to be. Stay tuned!

Cozy Caves for Christmas - 50% off today!

If you have a dog that likes to burrow, a Cozy Cave is a must on your pup's Christmas list. Luckily for you, they are 50% off today on Doctor Foster and Smith website! Click here to get this amazing deal! No, I don't get anything for promoting this, I just like to share my excitement because I need to get Bambi one for the boat too! The cozy cave is like a pita pocket for dogs. It keeps them warm and cozy during the winter months and ideally keeps them out of your bed, unless you want them there :)

Bam and Harley like to share a cozy cave, but assuming you only have one dog, I'd suggest a small for a frenchie sized dog, a large for a Vizsla sized dog, and an XL for a doberman sized dog. I don't know why they don't have a medium...

Go ahead and cross one thing off your holiday shopping list!

Drowned in Double Dog Park Trips

Whhewwww it was a wet one today! My second day back since the "dogwalker in a boot" saga and it was a full 8 hours of soggy doggy park trips and fun. Before I get into the exhilarating adventures of the dog park today, I have to share by amazing find with any of you who have suffered from wet, numb, filthy dog park hands. Dogwalkers, listen up, this may be as life changing for you as it was for me. These gloves, Atlas Snow Blower gloves, are the best gloves I have found, and believe me, I have been through many. They are completely waterproof with a cozy fleece lining. You can still bend your fingers and clip a leash, pick up a toy, and yes, even open a poop bag. The best part is, you can hose off your dogs and not worry about getting your hands wet and dirty at all! I know what you're thinking, getting your hands wet and dirty is not the end of the world, but when it is 36 degrees out and you have 6 filthy dogs to hose off, those fingers go numb really fast and it makes it pretty hard to work! I bought these gloves at City People's on the way to the dog park. I highly recommend them! Oh, and they are bright sexy orange ;)

Ok, on to the good stuff. We switched things up a bit this morning and I took Jambo and Pepper with my crew, they usually go with Nancy's. Pepper had fun chasing after Bonita's tail while Bonita was chasing Mokee for the frisbee. Jambo was stepping up and chasing Porter for the new rope/ball toy which I impulse purchased at City People's as well. I made it through an entire day without losing it, so it was a success! Porter and Dexter kept taking it and having a tug-o-war hold out where they just stood there and stared at one another with the toy in between them... Miles was super excited to catch the toy and have the whole crew chase him - he can really run fast when he has 7 dogs running after him! Coco made it through the whole park trip without rolling in a mud puddle - I was so proud of her! But then as we were walking out the gate to the truck, she ducked off to the puddle 15 yards away and flopped like a fish out of water, just enough to get a good coating. One of these days I am going to video her in action rather than try to get her to stop. Might as well provide some entertainment for all of us! I was really glad I had my new gloves at that moment. I took a few pictures, but it was so grey and cloudy nothing turned out very well... I really wanted to get a picture of Gracie and Porter, who looks like Gracie's mini-me!

Now for the afternoon trip... I picked up my trusty helper Michael and our little menace, Bam. We also got her sidekick, Violet. Our 2nd to last stop before the park was Cooper (yellow lab - not to be confused with Cooper black lab who was already in the back seat). Cooper's brother, Tucker, recently started going to the park as well, but they go on different days so they both get their own separate play time. This is one of those time it would be really nice to be able to talk to dogs and explain why this girl comes and takes them to the park but only takes one of them and why only one of them should be getting excited because the other one is about to get a door closed on their face.... Poor Tucker, hopefully it will make more sense tomorrow! I'm sure it won't, but at least he won't be the one getting the door closed on him!

By the time we got the park, it was absolutely dumping rain. It must have been refreshing for the dogs, because they were going 150%! It was like they all flipped a switch to Tasmanian devil mode (not really devils, you know what I mean). Luckily, they were a great group of retrievers (or at least dogs that like the game) so it was just pure running for an hour and a half. Those dogs got tired today! Considering I am just getting back into the rhythm of the park, my first big mistake today was forgetting to bring a squeaker toy for Sammy. To be honest, it crossed my mind on the way to the park, but I figured since I already stopped and bought my gloves and impromptu dog toy purchase for the day, I was not going to to buy another toy.... Probably not my best choice. When Sammy doesn't have a squeaky ball, he hounds every other dog that passes by with one. And by hound I mean he runs along side them with his big head right by their mouth, almost as if saying, "give it to me, you know you want to give it to me, come on, come on, come on!!!", which results in me going through a whole ringer of tricks to get the ball back. Over and over and over. Note to self: you DO need the squeaky. Even if just to keep in my bag as bribery, I can't go empty handed!

The highlight of my day had to have been while I was hosing off the dogs (with my new super cool gloves), and Chesa came up while I was bent over hosing a dog and jumped up on my face, knocking off my glasses and somehow licking inside my mouth... GROSS! I tried to wipe off my mouth but then realized my new super cool gloves were actually just wiping more water/dirt on my face. I can't tell you how often I get back in the truck to find mud wiped across my face... and I always wonder how many people I encountered who opted to not tell me! I love Chesa, but not enough to make out with her. That was really more than I had bargained for today.

As I was getting orally assaulted, Michael couldn't stand to see his little frenchie babies so wet and cold, so he took them back to the truck, turned on the heat and wrapped them in a towel. Actually, tied them in a towel. Like a two little baguettes in a basket. He is ridiculous.

It was a very soggy day and the dogs were unusually rowdy, probably still working off some cabin fever from the snow days, but regardless, it felt so good to be back at the park. There is nothing like walking around an empty park playing with 8 of my best four-legged friends. The best part about when it rains, is the park is totally empty and nobody knows the extent of the conversations I have with my dogs.... Commands? Yeah right... We've had a lot of catching up to do! Looking forward to the rest of the week, rain or shine!

Adventures of BWP: Tuesday 11/8

It was such a beautiful day at the park. I would trade summer for an entire year of days like today. I know the exact moment when a puppy turns into a teenage - it's almost always the same. It happened to Rex today. As we walk from the water station to the gate to leave the park, all the dogs follow me in a nice little pack and we go through the gate and they jump in the truck. It's that moment when the "teenager" stops a few paces short of the gate and stares at me that I realize he's grown up. He realizes that he actually has a choice whether he follows me or not. It's when he actually considers the fact that there might be better things in the world than the scraps of treat left in my coat pocket. If he bolts, he just might be able to steal a few more minutes of precious play time. The older dogs, that have gone through the teenage days, know the golden rule: I always win :) Well Rex, let the games begin. Sweet little Gracie still thinks the most exciting thing in the world is about to happen when I call her - why do puppies have to grow up?

Tucker has been adjusting since his partner in crime, Stella, moved to Boston last week. The first couple trips were rough - he was clearly confused and didn't really know who to hang out with so he got kind of bully-ish. It's kind of like the kid in high school that got separated from his friends so tries to act super tough and mean so other kids don't think he's a loser. To help him adjust, I switched him to the afternoon group 2 days/wk, so he has a whole new crew to bond with, not just life without Stella. I know this may sound ridiculous, but those two were close. As soon as Stella's parents started packing up their place, two weeks before the move, Tucker started acting out. Stella didn't act funny until her last park trip when her house was literally empty of all belongings.

For the most part we had a really mellow time at the park on both trips. It wasn't too crowded, not too many mud puddles to avoid, we didn't lose any toys, we didn't steal too many toys, all around it was a good day! A special thanks to Bickie (Coco's mom) for making my favorite Quinoa salad today! She is so sweet - she makes my favorite salad every Tuesday because she knows it is my first long day of the week and that I never have time to get lunch! She makes my day every time - Thank you Bickie!!!

Outside of the dog park: Little Stella, the king charles cavalier, who goes on walks with Nancy, had to go to the emergency room last night. She was throwing up blood and they still have to run some more tests to see what it could be. She is on medication and is doing much better today after a few visits and lots of love from Nancy. Just a reminder that if you don't have pet insurance, right now is a great time to do it! I recommend Healthy Paws Pet Insurance, Trupanion, or Embrace.

Sometimes my clients say the funniest things about their dogs... since you all say them, I figured you might like to hear what other people say about their own dogs, so I would like to start a "client quote of the day" section. This will of course remain anonymous and I will take the dog's name out of it as well. To start us off, here is a quote that had me literally laughing out loud to myself in the car all day:

client quote of the day:

"(my dog would) steal a cookie from a kid and then knock the kid down in order to get a faster route to eating poop"

Don't forget to check out pictures of our day today on the ballwalkpark facebook page!

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