LeAnn, Lucy & Rusty!!'s Blog (11)

Rusty is growing so fast and he doesn't realize how big he is... he keeps trying to go to his old "hiding" places and he just doesn't fit anymore. I took a little nap the other day and didn't put Rusty in his crate... cuz he was sleeping by the bed... well, I woke up to him SCREAMING.. not whining.. SCREAMING.. I sat bolt upright, looked around, I can't see him.. I hop out of bed and run to the bedroom door.. no.. the screaming is coming from inside the bedroom... uhhhh... under the bed.. I… Continue

The Spring Training has really reminded me how important it is to teach my doggies tricks! Rusty and Lucy have both been through obedience and I guess I just got so focused on sit, down, heel, stay, etc. that I forgot the FUN of expanding that foundation of learning into the fun tricks!



So, today I got back on the Dogtrickacademy site and taught Rusty how to shake in about 10 minutes. How fun is that! He's so proud of himself. I'm gonna… Continue

See if you can recreate the picture of Rusty and Lucy below by completing the puzzle.. come on.. give it a try!

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Rusty's last night of puppy obedience was last night and he PASSED!! We filled out the paperwork for him to get his AKC S.T.A.R puppy certificate. Evidently, once I send in the paperwork he'll get an official certificate, a medallion and a magazine. Pretty cool! I've listed the things from the AKC site that we had to do in order to pass. Rusty LOVES obedience class so we've already signed up for the next class. YEAH RUSTY!



20 STEPS To Success: The AKC S.T.A.R. Puppysm… Continue

I went to an Agility Trial yesterday where this women told me Rusty looked like an Otterhound. I've never seen one so I didn't know if he did or not. Everytime I saw this woman yesterday she said the same thing "there's that cute dog that looks like an otterhound". So,, I looked it up... and ya know what?? He does sorta look like an otter hound

The Otterhound Club of America says "Otterhounds can make great pets, if -



- you have… Continue

Okay. I know better. I do. I have a soft crate for Rusty (the 4 month old) in my bedroom and his regular crate in the living room. He's outgrowing the soft crate and can't really stretch out like he likes too. Last night he finally figured out how to unzip it. After putting him back in 3 times - I finally just said forget it (yes, I should have though about safety pinning the zipper thingee but it was 2am!!!).. Anyhoo, I left him out.. with Lucy. He came over to the side of the bed and laid… Continue

Well, the class that "never gets rained out" - got rained out. I was disappointed but turned back and got the dogs from the dog sitter in Harrison and we were off to find some trails to hike in the rain! There is no smell quite like the smell of two doodles in a jeep!

Add to that that NONE of the trails in the Buffalo River State Parks allow dogs... and you get a fairly frustrating weekend. LOL Although, we didn't let a few roadblocks stop… Continue

Well, I'm gathering things together for my first camping trip with Lucy and Rusty together. We're going to a photography class in Arkansas being held by Tim Ernst. I am very excited. I found a place to board them while i'm in class. Then we're going to go exploring some of the waterfalls that are very popular in the spring. Lucy has her own backpack that i've been trying to desensitize her to without much luck... mmmmmm... Can't wait to see how this goes... wish me luck!

Lucy is officially a Canine Good Citizen!! It was touch and go... the week before the test we took the "mock" test and she did PERFECTLY... except for jumping in the greet parts... I guess that means it wasn't exactly perfect. The instructor said if we can get that under control in a week - she'll pass no problem. So, we spent 4 hours total in Petsmart and Petco over the weekend - greeting strangers and other dogs. Person after person. Dog after dog. By the end of the time, I was exhausted and… Continue

Okay.. I'm preparing my dishes for Thanksgiving and had laid out a stick of butter to soften - I thought!.. I got through with a couple of housekeeping chores and went back to the kitchen and the butter was gone... mmmmm... I thought I'd put a stick out to soften.. sigh.. go to the fridge to get a stick.. there's a stick missing from the box.. I DID put it out!! LUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCYYYYYYYYY... and she comes running with the greasiest beard you've ever seen!! Yes.. sigh.. she'd been counter… Continue

I keep telling my friends and family that Lucy is brilliant and it's me that's holding her back. They all smile warmly and say "uh huh". I decided to show my parents how smart Lucy is... so yesterday while I was at their house, I started teaching Lucy how to shake. We worked on it for about 15 minutes.. "shake" pick up her paw and hold it... then treat.. repeated about 15 times. My parent weren't all that impressed but by the last 4 "shakes" her paw was no longer "planted". Then about 2… Continue