My bags are packed. . . I'm ready to go

I am sitting here trying to think of anything that I have forgotten to pack for my long summer vacation. I am leaving tomorrow for Santa Barbara so that I can visit with the last pup I raised and her new family. I can't wait, I get to see her in 19 hours (roughly, if the trip goes smoothly) I can't wait to see Adeline again, and I really hope she remembers me. I even bought a few toys for her and her golden housemate, I am sure they will like those. After that I am going to San Jose to visit with family and then Fun Day on Saturday!! That should be fun, I loved it last year. Then I will play in California for a while before going to Oregon on the ninth and playing for a few day before Fun Day in Boring on Saturday. I have to leave right after fun day so that I can get home in time for my nephews baby blessing on Sunday. I am taking Vladd (my computer) so I will be able to post while I am on the road and can find internet access. I am so exited!! Can't wait to meet everyone there, see you in a few days!

"My legs are to long for my body!"

I swear Shermans legs just grew overnight. I woke up this morning to him sitting like this:
My goodness he looks awkward. I Love it! :)

Sherman and Hobbs

Brittany joined our puppy meeting this morning. It was a fun class, we met at the mall and worked on food distractions. I snapped a few pictures of the boys after the meeting. Hobbs makes Sherman look like a giant, I can't believe that Sherman was that small once. :) Hobbs is just perfect too, he is ready for that harness, and handsome to boot. *smiles* It was nice seeing and catching up with you Brittany! See ya at Fun Day!

Hobbs & Sherman

Cutie Hobbs

My b-day

Birthdays in my family are days that you spend with the parents. So, I was with my mom and dad all day long. It was fun. We went shopping, then saw the movie hairspray (which is hilarious and I recommend it to everyone!!!) then out to dinner and home for fireworks. Of course Sherman came along with us. He was great, I hardly noticed he was there, although he did make his opinion known about his feeling on shopping. Moaning and groaning and heaving great sighs. He made me laugh. It was a great b-day and I had a great time.
This is a pretty good picture displaying Shermans "love" of shopping. . . lol
Great day for the elevator to be out of order! Sherman looks very upset about being carried down the escalator. :) Good thing he is only 40 pounds. lol
Me, Sherman, and my mom after dinner.

Big Day

Since it is a Utah State holiday tomorrow (and also my b-day) I have today and tomorrow off of work! I decided to walk Sherman around my school campus since I am starting there again in a few weeks. He was great. He was checking things out as we went. He loved the water fall and was interested in the statues of people they have all around. He did his "pet me" dance in front of one of them. It was so funny, he got frustrated when it didn't pet him and we were on our way again. We went around all the offices, cafeteria, classrooms, library, and bookstore. I was very proud of him, he even ignored a piece of smooshed up bread on the ground (a first!) He looked at it and started leaning toward it and then when we got right up to it he stopped and looked and me and then kept walking. I was so very proud, he is starting to make more and more choices by himself and I know he will do great while we are both attending college. I know he will do wonderful with the added crouds and noises and teachers and rolling backpacks and all the above. I can't wait to start school again. (Is that wierd?) Here he is by our school mascot (the Wolverine. . . even though it looks like an evil weird looking bear or something.) This is the statue outside of the student center. Sherman is also growing like a weed. I took him the the vet to get an "official" weight on him and he is a whopping 40.3 pounds. (kinda pathetic I know, can you say mini-lab. . . lol) He is now almost as tall as Prudy, but he has a real long, tall and slender build.

Six Month B-day

I can't believe I almost forgot Shermans six month birthday! The time has gone by so fast. He has been here nearly four months and I couldn't have asked for a better puppy, he is a great!!! He has learned fast (most the time, still working on the not eating everything we come in contact with, darn those lab genes, lol), he has such a great little personality, I love when he tries to be the tough independant boy but when I sit on the floor can't resist a good cuddle with mom, He keeps me laughing at his antics, he has so many quirks that I can't keep track, and he is just a mellow litte go-with-the-flow type of dog and I LOVE him.
This was all him. He kept getting tangled up in his leash at work the other day and every time I would untangle him he would give me a glare and kick his back leg back over the leash. I finally stopped untangling him and he fell asleep like that for a few hours.

Short time visitor

Well, I have Berta here for a few days while her raiser is out of town. I have had her since Wednesday and she leaves tomorrow night. She is a really sweet dog and I have had a good time with her. Sherman likes her too because he is ignored by the other dogs in our house so he liked having her around because she was his buddy. :) They look kinda cute together too.

She is a very nice dog, and has such a cute expressive face with eyebrows that move a mile a minute.

The bad things that happen when you are bored. . .

This weekend me and my sisters were kind of bored so we decided to dye my hair. My parents are out of town and so I am watching them for the weekend so there was no little voice saying "NO!" lol I wanted my hair red (especially since my grandma is terribly dissapointed that she never had a red headed grandchild and there is about 45 of us) So we went to the store and were looking at the colors and decided that since my hair is so dark that we should bleach it first. (bad idea!) The box said that it would turn dark brown hair like mine to a lighter brown. So we put it in, it was supposed to sit for 30 minutes but after about 10 my sister looked at me and just screamed. I ran to the bathroom and it was bright yellow. We hurried and washed it out and this was the result. . .

(it is a good thing that I have a scense of humor or I would have been freaking out!) We had to wait for it to dry before we could put the red in so I was a blonde for a few hours. (I sure make a horribly ugly blonde) So, after it was dry we put the red in, it was supposed to be a darkish brownish nice looking red. But this is what became of that. . .
AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! The picture is nothing compared to how hideously bad it was. It was a bright, flaming, neon orangey red. B-A-D!!! We did it early on Sunday morning so didn't have time (or supplies) to fix it before church at 9am. So I went to church like that. After many stares and whisperings I decided to go home early and see if I could do anything for it. My sisters got home and told me that everyone in thier sunday school classes thought that it was awesome and that I should keep it. (YA, RIGHT!!) A few minutes later I got a call from a lady in my neighborhood. She asked it I wanted it that bright and I said, no. A while later there was a knock on my door and the lady was standing on my porch with a bag full of hair dye products and made a mixture to fix it. (thank goodness!) So we were able to fix it before I had to go to work that night. We took the lady back all of her stuff plus an entire enormous pan of chocolate chunk brownies. Can't thanks her enough!! So this is what I look like now, and I really like it. . .
It is like a burgundy now. (I love how you can see the shine from Sherman's eyes in the kennel behind me. Kinda makes me giggle.)

So that is my grand hair adventures, I have never dyed it before, well besides highlights. But it was fun and me and my sisters had a good laugh!

My confession. . .

My confession is this: I have NEVER read any of the Harry Potter books. . . until now. I have watched the movies so I know a bit about the story and stuff, but have not had the burning desire to pick up the books and read them. I always thought that it was too comercialized and so I didn't. Last week I went and saw the fifth movie with my little sisters, and I was confused. There was a bunch of new characters and info that they threw out that I got lost and had to ask my sisters a bunch of questions after the movie especially about Tonks and Luna and am sad that those characters weren't more evolved in the movie because they were my favorite. :) Anywho, I decided that I better read the books so I started the first one on Monday and just finished it. I think that is a record for me, I have NEVER finished a book that quick in my life. (slow reader, reading puts me to sleep, I get bored, I can't stand sitting for hours at a time, etc. . . :) I am really exited to read the rest of the books and I figure by the time I am done my three sisters, mom, dad, and cousin will all be done with our copy of the seventh book and I will be able to read all of them through. Well, I have to go start the second book now. . . . talk to you later

I'm Back!

Hey everyone,
I am back from my camping trip and it was so much fun. I really had a good time!

I picked up Sherman from the puppy-sitter and she gave him a glowing report I was very happy about that. She said that she was going to miss him. lol After that me and Sherman went to puppy class. It was a great class! Our CFR came from Colorado to lead our meeting and she did an awesome job. First we talked about problems some of the dogs were having and it was really interesting to hear all of her suggetions on fixing the problems. I also got to meet the two new babies that were picked up last week, Murray, and Maggie. They are siblings and are just the sweetest and cutest little pups. Murray is a darker red color and Maggie is a creamy carmel color, she is also as tiny as can be, and Murray is a really big guy and he is the fourth largest boy at birth. WHEW! Both did wonderful at the meeting! Anyway, we learned how to play with our dog on a long line. I loved learning that because I have never been shown it before. I loved the technique and when Barb took Sherman he did great. He was very responsive to her, and listened really well, and he really enjoyed the game. All the pups did great! Now I need to go out and get a long line, I have never really known how to use them before so never needed one. I am exited to be able to play outside with him and have more control over what he does! We also introduced the dogs to a weird surface. It was a piece of plywood and a 2x4 first we had the dogs just walk over them first and let the smaller pups sniff and investigate. Then the plywood was propped over the 2x4 like a ramp and the dogs walked over it again, and sniffed it again. Then she pulled the plywood over the 2x4 like a see-saw and the dogs walked over it again. This time a few of the dogs tried to walk around it, so Barb blocked one side and the raiser had to walk on the other to have the dog walk over it. Most of the dogs walked over it fine and then sped up on the other side when it went down. That is what Sherman did the first time so Barb had us do it again and the second time was great he didn't care that it was moving at all. All the dogs did great!

Gone til' Saturday. . .

Well, I am leaving for a camping trip tomorrow and will be gone until Saturday. I can't take Sherman since it is a young womens camp so I am dropping him at the puppy sitters tomorrow. This is the first time I will be away from him since I got him. :( I sure will miss him this week but I know he will have fun at the puppy-sitters house. So, I thought I would leave you with these clips until I get back. . .

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingSherman loves to pounce on his toys, this time he pounced himself into the wall and then came over for some love. I laughed so hard!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingThis is Lucy, this afternoon we watched her run around like a psycho. She was chasing a fly it was so funny she went for a half an hour before stopping. I only taped a small part.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Sherman goes crazy. . . I am going to miss my funny boy!

Why. . .

Why do people have to make you feel guilty about raising puppies?

Three different times today people stoped me and were asking about Adeline, and telling me how horrible it was of me to give her back. The one that bugged me the most was a lady who stopped me in Wal-mart and said:
Lady: You got a new one.
Me: Ya this is Sherman.
Lady: Oh, I miss the old one, she was cuter, don't you.
Me: Of course I miss her, but she is on to bigger and better.
Lady: So which one do you like the most?
Me: (pause. . . I was surprised by the question as I had never been asked that before) I love them both for different reasons and they both have little quirks that annoyed me. They are like kids and each has their own personality, strengths and weaknesses, it is hard to say if I like one over another.
Lady: I could never raise puppies and give them away. I love dogs to much to do that to them!
Me: (stunned silence. . . didn't she understand that the whole point of raising these dogs is to help someone that needs them?!?!?)
Lady: Well, isn't it hard on the dog to get used to you for 18 months and then just send them packing with people and places they don't know.
Me: No, these dogs usually adapt well to all situations and people. They just love to please whoever is on the other side of the leash. Most of what we do is teach basic commands and socialize them so they get used to being everywhere so that makes the transition a lot easier.
Lady: Well, I hope your yellow one is in a good home. (I ran into her a while before when Sherman was too young to go out and so she new Adeline was cc'd)
Me: She is living with the women who raised her for a few months before I got her.
Lady: Oh, good.

and then she walked away. Some people just erk me the wrong way. GGRRRRRR!!!

Phase report

It has been a while since I posted the phase reports so here goes:

Adeline's Sibs:
Adeline cc'd for fear issues
Albright Phase 9 almost there!!!!!!!!
Alya Dissapeared in phase 4, I assume she was cc'd :(
Anna Phase 4
Argyle Phase 8
Artemis Graduated as a guide 6/30!!!!!!!!!!!!
Avani Phase 3
Avery Graduated as a guide 6/30!!!!!!!!!!!
Amigo never showed up on the phase report and they are all 21 months old now so I assume he was an early cc.

Glennies Sibs:
Cortez Phase 10, ready to be a guide :)
Gaucho Dissapeard in phase 5, I assume he was cc'd
Giovanna Breeder!!
Glenetta Dissapeared in phase 8, dunno, I think she was cc'd, but she could be a guide. . .
Glennie cc'd for stress on outings

Homies Kids:
Rae Breeder!!!
Rally Phase 2
Rebel Phase 2
Renna Phase 10, could be placed any day now. Crossing my fingers for her!
Rose Phase 8
Russ Phase 8
Radar Early cc before going IFT not sure the reason

Happy 4th of July!!!

Just wanted to write a quick note saying HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!

A day at the Movies.

Yesterday I got off work early because of the holiday (still have to work today though AARRGG!!!) so I decided to take my three little sisters to a movie. Of course Sherman went with me and he did fantastic. I always try to get to movies reasonably early especially if I have my PIT's with me so that I am not crawling over people with them. Anyway, so we got to the theatre and as soon as we walked inside there is popcorn covering the floor. Sherman didn't even look at it, I was so proud. We went into the movie and picked out our seats, layed out my little blanket that I carry around in my car, just in case. (Prudy got puked on in a theatre, Tahoma got in some soda, and a pup I was sitting for layed in a big wad of gum. So now I carry a blanket to theatres to avoid getting in icky, sticky stuff) Sherman layed down and the movie started. There was this little girl sitting in front of us who thought that it was fun to throw popcorn at Sherman. He did eat the first piece but after a correction and my hand crammed down his throat to retract said piece of popcorn he didn't try to eat any more that the girl was tossing. She got bored after a while and stopped, I was a little perturbed but didn't say anything because I didn't want to disturb the movie goers. The best part was after the movie was over and we got up to leave and were walking down the stairs and were serenaded with ooh's and aah's and "I didn't know there was a dog in here" I gave Sherman a pat on the head and told him what a good boy he was.

This went much better than some past theatre experiences. I took Tahoma to a Harry Potter movie while I had her and during a loud banging scene she decided to jump up and bark at the mean man on the screen. And at another movie before it even started someone stepped on Prudy and she screamed like it was her great death scene. (Prudy has always been a bit of a drama queen) Both instances followed with people saying "OMG, I think there is a dog in here!" "Did you hear that, there is a dog here." That is embarrassing.
So needless to say I am very proud of this boy and look forward to more new experiences with him. I know he will do great, he has taken everything I have thrown at him in stride and always impresses me!