Congratulations to Me!

Sorry, I haven't written in a few weeks folks, but Mom's been hogging the computer, again. C'mon, what's a dog gotta do to get a little computer time! Anyway, I wanna tell you about my good news. Mom and I went to dog show in Austin, TX and it was just us - no Tyler, no Lisa, just me and Mom. It was awesome. Mom and I haven't had time on our own like this, so it was so wonderful. We hung out with Mom's friends, Jeanie, Donna, Ariana and Sabrina, and their dogs.

Mom said I was there to work and you know what that means! Yes! Treats are coming my way. Oh, boy! Mom was tough this time around. She made me earn those cookies. We go to the ring and do our regular pre-work routine. I chill out in my crate and she stands around and talks. Uh-oh, she's in the ring now, that must mean it'll be time to go to work soon, I must be ready. And I am. I bring my best game. Put me in Mom, I'm ready!

Mom and I do some warm-up exercises and we're thinking as a team. I can feel it. I give her my best bounce before we go in the ring to show her I'm ready to go! The judge asks us if we're ready and Mom replies, "Yes, sir." and I hear those glorious, magnificent words, "Forward!" and Mom says, "Let's go!" Mom did really good; I think she's getting the hang of this Rally game. We cruised the ring and did everything the signs said. We had one or two small areas where I kinda got a little distracted, but Mom got me back in the game. No worries! We finish the course and Mom runs me over to the crate and mmmmm, gives me....mmmm...some....turkey....hot...dogs. Yummy! Mom is very happy about our run. She says we did a good job and I think so, too. And the judge agreed. He gave us a score of 98! This beat our 97 at the National! Yay!! We got to back in the ring again and do the clappy thing and we got another ribbon for 3rd place! Woohoo! Mom says to enjoy this while we can, cuz tomorrow we have to do it all over again.

Sunday comes and we do the same pre-work routine again. I chill while she chats. Then, I see her in the ring. Time to get ready. Mom looks a little nervous today as we're doing our warm-ups. She's trying to hide it, but I can tell. I act goofy to make her smile; it's gonna be okay Mom, I tell her. We get in the ring and the judge says, "Forward" and we go. We do pretty good although I got the feeling that Mom felt a little lost today (more than usual!). The course was a bit confusing and Mom had to stop a few times to see where we were supposed to go. Understandable, she doesn't want to repeat Cen-Tex last year where she missed a station and we didn't Q. I stick with her and we get through the course. Mom looks relieved and happy. She says I did great and best of all I get my reward - a mouth full of food! Yum! Yum! I love that part.

Mom checks the score and comes running over to me bursting with happiness. "We got a 95 Ted! Great job! Momma's proud of you." She says giving me a big hug. Of course, we were gonna do good, Mom, I told you not to fret. I say back to her giving her a big kiss. Best of all, we got another 3rd place. Mom told me that this was a challenging course and a lot dogs didn't Q. I'm very proud of Mom, she did a good job of keeping us on track.

As an extra reward for my hard work, Mom took me over to Pet Deli and bought me a beef strap. I was so happy and proud, I carried it all the way back to my crate in Jeanie's setup. My crate neighbor, Rosie the Great Pyrenees puppy, was not keen on me having the beef strap. She barked at me and wanted me to give it to her. I just turned around and gave the her the cold, hairy shoulder. I don't think so, missy! Rosie's cute; she looks like a big cotton ball, but she's not getting my trophy!

All in all, it was a great weekend. I really enjoyed my alone time with Mom. It helped my bond with her get a little stronger, I think. For all dogs, living in multi-dog houses, I strongly recommend getting some one-on-one time with your Mom or Dad. That's it from me, for now. Oh, before I go, Mom says she has me entered in a few more trials - sweet! More opportunities to work, I love it!

Bounce high my friends!

Tedi

WooHoo!

Howdee, y'all! I thought Tyler would never get off the computer. He gets on this thing and rambles. I had a fantastic day! Mom told me early this morning that I was "going to work". I love it when she says that! It makes the hair on my tail stand on end!

She got me down to the waiting area and I chilled out for a bit. Then, it was time to work. Something new this time, Daddy was here! Daddy came to watch me for the first time. It was great and I was going to make him proud. Mom did her course walking thing and I watched her intently for clues as to what we might be doing in there, but she didn't let on. Sneaky girl, but it would spoil the fun. We get in the ring and I hear that famous word, "Forward!" And we're off!

Mom did a wonderful job. She helped me read the signs and do what they said. Most of all, she helped me keep on course. Once we were done, I got a mouthful of turkey hot dog! Mmmmmm....jackpot! A definite sign I've done a good job. Mom said I did outstanding and Daddy was really proud of me.

Mom said our score was a 97! My highest score so far! Even better, we got to back into the ring and do the clapping thing. It's great being in there with all the dogs; I like dogs. Surprise! The judge called our number and we got another ribbon: a big, huge, yellow one! Mom said we got 3rd place. She was really happy, even more happy then she was before. We even got to do a picture with the judge.

I helped Mom clean up our stuff in the waiting area. When we got back to the room, she had a special surprise for me - a beef strap! Yum!Yum! I didn't mind babysitting Lisa although, I didn't really want to. After Tyler and Mom left, I took a nice long nap.

Reporting from Minnesota, bounce high my friends!

Tedi

Livin' It Up in Longview

Ok, so last time I posted, I told y'all about my experiences in Dallas. Well, this time, Mom took Tyler and I took to someplace called Longview, TX. It was a bit of a drive, but that doesn't matter much to me; I love the car. At first, it was all kinda confusing. Our setup was different at the show. Ordinarily, we're with our friend Jeanie and her dogs, but this time we were with Martha and the Aussies. I like Aussies and I love Martha. The BEST part was Tyler and I didn't have to stay at the show, we got to go back with Mom to the hotel at night. That was a big surprise!

The hotel room was lots of fun. It was a big room with lots of space for Tyler and I to play, although Mom told us we couldn't - something about it being bedtime and us being on the 3rd floor - whatever that means! This also meant more car rides, whoooweee!!!

Mom's performance in the ring was great! She did a good job. I think I might be getting the hang of this Rally game. Our score on the first day was an 82 and the second day was 87. The second day I had some distraction problems in the beginning, but got back on track. Mom was happy with how we did, she said I really worked with her. She says our scores were a little lower than the last time because of a few spots we need to polish. Polishing? I can just put a little dog slobber on that to spiff it up, right? Guess I'll have to see what she means by that.

Tyler got to be Kennel Dog. Mom says its good for him to chill out. She says he still needs to let those hormones get out of his system. Guess she must still be upset at him for the Dallas thing...dunno. And don't care! Ha! As long as she's happy with me, that's all I care about, since the cookies will be free-flowing this way. Not sure when we'll be back in the ring again. I hope its soon, though!

Bounce high my friends!

Tedi

My Weekend in the Big City

Howdy, y'all! Tedi here. As Tyler said, it's been crazy around our house. Mom's been dragging us to dog shows. I like dogs. Although, I don't get to play with them much. Tyler doesn't really play, he's a bit of a drag. Mom keeps apologizing for his lack of play skills. Lisa, well, she's an old girl and she doesn't play either.

Anywho, I want to tell you about my trip to the Big D. Yep, Dallas, I was in Dallas over the weekend making an appearance on Friday in the Rally ring with Mom. We had a great time. She fed me lots of treats outside the ring, of course. I still haven't figured out why I don't get them inside yet, but I suspect it has something to do with the Rally game. Mom was so happy with how we did, not sure I've ever seen her so happy. And you remember what I've said about her being happy! Oh, daddy! Was she ever giving me more pieces of chicken after we got out of the ring!?! Whew!!! Jackpot!!! It was great! And they kept coming as we sat and watched the other dogs go. Mom said we got a score of 95, we got to go back into the ring and get the clapping thing done. That's so great, too. Such excitement! Then, there's the green ribbon, I've got another one!

Mom calls me her Rally machine. I did make one mistake, but I was so excited to be there, I forgot where I was. I did it good the second time around though. She said our score was a 95 and that she didn't care she was just happy that we worked together as a team. I think we did, too. She did a good job of telling me what the signs said and making sure I understood what to do. The best part; we had fun doing it together!

Tyler ran on Saturday, even though I wanted to go sooo bad! He didn't do a good job. I could tell - Mom wasn't happy when she returned with him, plus he didn't get a green ribbon. Tyler has been doing Rally longer than I have, but I've got more green ribbons than him. He doesn't have a placement yet either (I've got 2). It's safe to say, you can never count us older guys out.

Bounce high my friends!

Tedi

P.S. Mom says my next gig is in 3 weeks. I can't wait!

Bragging on Myself

Hey everyBeardie,

Mom kept us from using her computer for the last couple of months. She said it was having "technical difficulties" - whatever that means in 2legged-speak. Well, we've finally been given permission to continue posting. And boy, do we have a lot to talk about!

Before Tyler gets on this thing and hogs it up, I have a brag...I got my Canine Good Citizens Certificate. Woohoo! Who would have thought? Me? The Tedmeister...getting his CGC, proving to the world that I'm something. I'm pretty proud of myself. Have to say Mom and Dad are really proud of me, too. Mom says I did it all on my own. Guess I did, but she helped a little. It was tough, too. We were in a barn and there were birds EVERYWHERE. The hard part was my stay. Mom put me in down-stay and said not to move - she also said she'd be back. And she did, she came back and was grinning from ear to ear! I didn't know 2legs could do that. Stays really aren't my thing and I did break it when I saw her, but she didn't seem to care. She was really happy and said I did good. I like it when she says that.

It made up for my earlier screw-up in the Rally ring that day, but that really wasn't my fault. My good friends, Aussies, were in the ring next door and they were having a party. It looked like fun, too! Everyone was cheering and clapping. I saw my good friend Martha in the ring with Gala, the Aussie puppy I've met several times. Gala's a cutie and she was there having a good time, too! I wanted to go over and see what the fuss was about - we can do Rally later, Mom! She didn't think so and was quite disappointed. I think I may have messed up as we didn't get to go back into the ring again at the end like we have in the past. Back in the ring is where you get cheers and claps and lots of pets. It's great! We didn't get that - Mom said only winners go in the ring. Guess we were LOSERS. Mom just put me back in the crate and then left. I could tell she was disappointed.

So getting my CGC put me back in the good again. I tried to do my best this time. Did I mention that I like that? Well, Mom took me over to my favorite store at the dog show and got me a beef strap thing. I was so happy and proud I carried it all the way back to my crate! Tyler was jealous...he kept wondering where his was. Dunno...guess you gotta earn it!

Now, I'm happy to announce that my name is Stargate's Spaghetti Cowboy, RN, CGC. The RN stands for Rally Novice. Mom and I got it together last year. Rally's fun and I like doing it with Mom. She can be a good handler when she's got her act together. If she's having a bad day, then we don't do as well. I forgave her for costing us 10 points at a trial and an NQ at another. I think we're even now as I've caused us to NQ twice now. It's give and take...she gives and I take! Cookies and treats, that is. Hahaha!

That's enough from me. Time to let the youngster on! Until next time...

Bounce high my friends!

Tedi