I’m not much of a toy guy.  It’s a rare occasion when I grab one of the chew toys that my sisters seem to love and I tend to rip up any plush toys that I get a hold of.  There is one kind of toy though that I really like and it’s a shark or a lobster made out of fabric that has a plastic bottle inside.  Every time that Wen brings one home, I make sure that I grab it first, so that I can bite it over and over.  There’s just something about a toy that squeaks and crunches when you bite down on it and I like to bite on it incessantly, making it squeak and crunch like crazy!  Eventually, the bottle flattens out, so the squeaker stops squeaking and it barely crunches any more and that’s when I start tearing the fabric covering apart and at that point, Wen takes it and the toy always ends up in the trash.  It’s fun while it lasts though, even though that’s not for very long!

Happy Father’s Day!  Here’s hoping that all the dads out there have a wonderful day!!

It’s a sunny day!  Of course, every day is a sunny day when your name is Sunny and my thirteen year old sister, Sunny is certainly living proof.  She may often be described as a ditzy blonde, but the rest of us Scotties know that Sunny is the queen and we all respect her and we don’t challenge her (and her lightening fast bite)!  Yes, it’s a sunny day and if truth be told, after Sunny had a close call with a life-threatening gall bladder issue a year and a half ago, we’re all happy to have sunny days and we hope for many many more!

Hockey is big at our house!  Even though Wen’s favorite NHL team, the Colorado Avalanche, lost in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, she has been following the team that she grew up with, the St. Louis Blues.  Last night, after an exciting back and forth series, the Blues won Game 7 of the finals and they are the Stanley Cup Champions for the first time in their 52 year history.  Needless to say, not only are the people in St. Louis incredibly excited, but we celebrated the monumental win at our house too.  Well done, Blues!!!

Not only do we Scotties enjoy our backyard, but we also like to sit on the deck and just look around.  We watch for birds and squirrels and listen to other dogs’ barking conversations in the neighborhood.  Sometimes, we jump up on the bench or the deck chairs to get an even better view of what is going on.  Decks aren’t only for people, you know.  We dogs like a little deck action too!

We Scotties are really enjoying our backyard cruising!  This time of year, the birds are singing, the squirrels are providing free entertainment as they run across the top of our fence, the flowers are blooming with their interesting smells, and we have a nice carpet of soft green grass.  Of course, a nice looking backyard patch of grass only means one thing to us Scotties–a perfect place to do our backyard business and dig holes!

All four of us seem to be up for the challenge, because we are obsessed with digging and dirt and every time that Wen goes outside, she spots at least one freshly dug hole in her precious grass.  Yep, we would hate to see her get bored, so we constantly keep her busy repairing our holes with new dirt and grass seed.  She puts little wire fences around the repaired spots to keep us from digging at them, so we have our own Scottie obstacle course to run around.

As new grass grows in, the little fences move to other spots where we have dug, so the Scottie obstacle course keeps changing, which keeps us on our toes.

Ah, backyard cruising in an ever changing environment with birds, squirrels, flowers, hole digging, and an obstacle course–you gotta love it!  Also, Wen likes to throw balls and Frisbees around the backyard for us Scotties to chase after.  We’re not exactly retrievers, but we’re always up for the chase!  And sometimes for an added bonus, Wen turns on the hose and we chase after the stream of water with snapping jaws until she squirts us a good one.  I have to say that this time of year beats the heck out of snowy winter days!

 

This is Reporter Riley, reporting the news from my backyard.  Spring has sprung here in the backyard and the lilacs are in full bloom.

Ah, just smell those lilacs!

Wait a minute–breaking news!  There seems to be an intruder in the backyard and I believe it’s a squirrel.

I’ve got my eye on you, Mr. Squirrel and I will report your every move.  Well, look at that–he seems to be heading towards the neighbors’ yard.

And now, back to the news.

Yeaterday was my birthday and I am now officially six years old.  We celebrated with lots of special treats and I was surprised with presents of plush toys, chew toys, and a bag of yummy treats.  I did have to wear a silly hat for Wen to take my birthday picture, but it wasn’t for very long, so it was okay.  All in all, we had a great day!  Happy Birthday to me!

Back in the day, Corky was about five years old when Wen decided to take her to obedience class.  The trainer offered free classes for the employees of the veterinary clinic where Wen worked and since they recommended the trainer to their clients, Wen thought that Corky would be a good test of the trainer’s skills, since Corky was her most spunky and headstrong Scottie.

It was an outdoor group class and the first night, Corky was ready to take on all of the other dogs, even though some were quite large.  One of the reasons that they were there was because Corky had bitten a couple of dogs on their noses when they got in her face, so Wen thought that Corky could use some work on her manners!

The first few classes, Corky did fairly well, learning the basic commands, but eventually she became harder and harder to train, until the trainer called her out, put a pinch collar on her, and all of a sudden, Corky was a new dog, because the gentle pressure of the collar kept her attention.  After that, it wasn’t such a struggle for Wen to practice the commands with Corky and she actually graduated the class as one of the better students.

Attending obedience class with Corky was a real learning experience for both of them and Wen was really glad for the experience.  Corky learned some manners and Wen learned all kinds of valuable tips on how to work with her dog.  After all, obedience class is as much for the people as the dogs!

 

I swear, if it weren’t for Sadie, I’d rarely get into trouble!  It’s as though she sits there and thinks up stuff to do that Wen will disapprove of and although whatever it is seems like a good idea at the time, we usually get busted and ultimately get in trouble.

Just the other day, when Wen was working out in the yard and we Scotties were hanging out in the living room, Sadie spotted a bag of Cheetos that was lying on the table by the couch.  Somebody had inadvertantly left it there, so it was easy pickings for the Scottie crew!  Sadie jumped up and knocked the bag onto the floor and before you know it, Scottie noses were inside the bag, after we ripped it open.  Yes, we were having a fine feast until the patio door opened and Wen walked in and discovered what we had been up to.  Naturally, she had to grab the Cheetos bag away from us, but then she realized that we were trying to get something from under the couch, so she got down on the floor to take a look.  What was under there?  Well, Cheetos, of course and we were trying to cram our heads underneath the couch to grab them.  Unfortunately for us, Wen’s arm was longer than our noses and she cleaned up all of the Cheetos that we couldn’t reach.

The bag and the Cheetos from underneath the couch all went into the trash (What a waste!) and Wen wasn’t exactly pleased with us, so she didn’t offer us a treat after our Cheetosfest, even though we all lined up by the kitchen counter where the treat jar sits.  Thanks, Sadie, your little plan got us in trouble again!  (Too bad that Wen didn’t stay outside longer.  Those Cheetos were good and we would have licked that bag clean!)