A tricky boy!

Sometimes that boy of mine is just too smart!

As you know I have been trying to teach Middi to pick up 

 things that fall off my tray.

He thinks it is the best game in the world.

Now he picks up my glasses, pen, mobile phone,

house phone, treat bag! glasses, plastic bags, gloves

and even a wooden rolling pin.

Each time he returns an article to me,

he gets

a very tiny piece of cheese and a lot of praise.

Tonight  we played for a very long time 

and he was having a lot of fun.

When I was tired, I started talking to Gabe.

Middi was still rumbling around my chair,

as we watched, he started to pull my glove 

through the coffee cup hole, 

then he handed it to me and waited for his scrap of cheese!

He is such a cheeky boy, 

I wonder what he will do tomorrow.

A new experience

Chris often talks about the sport of agility,

 So when she said there was going to be a competition at Moorabbin

I decided to go and check it out.

Gabe was to take Middi in the car and Jess and I would go by train and then walk.

The weather was perfect --- blue sky and no wind.

Agility shows the bond between dog and handler.

The only controls you have are your voice, and hand signals.

The dog must follow a course, over hurdles, through tunnels,

up and down an "A frame",

across a dog walk, [which is a very high bridge],

over more jumps and through a hoop,

all this is done at top speed, so the handler needs to be as agile as the dog!

Here is Jess's photo of one course.

I forgot, the dog also must weave very quickly through a series of poles.

Unfortunately the picture is not very clear, so you need to look carefully.  :-))

Jess was in charge of the camera for the day, that meant most of the photos were of Kimmy and Jai!

I noticed Kimmy spent a lot of time enjoying Indie's lap.

But then again, Jai liked my tray, easy to see mum,

when you are up high!

One of the reasons we went to the trials,   

was to mingle with a lot of very energetic dogs,

and to see how Middi behaved, when taken from me.

The next pictures show him interacting with Sarah,

[ mum of the whippets -- Banjo and Spice]

As you can see, there were no separation problems.

Another task completed for Middi's 

"Public Access Assessment"

Last picture -------

See, I can manage all the dogs!!

It was a wonderful day,so many friendly people, 

all interested in the progress of a 

BIG BLACK POODLE BOY.

Thanks Chris, for making the day so enjoyable for all of us.

A sunny winters day.

 Friday turned out to be one of those balmy winter days,

that pop up unexpectedly in Melbourne.

Niki and I had the Moira bus,

so we decided to pay a surprise visit to Gabe,

at "Hausfrau" in Albert Park.

Midnight's new "Assistance dog" coat had just arrived and I wanted to show him off in it.

Isn't he handsome, now he is colour coordinated,

his collar and coat are both purple.

Albert Park is a very interesting suburb, 

it has both mansions and tiny "workers cottages", all of which are very expensive to buy!!!

We parked in St Vincents Place, 

a street of magnificent Victorian mansions,

built by miners who made their fortunes in the gold rush.

Look at this --------

and this ---

Nik and I felt a little out of place, and under dressed!!!

Lunch at Hausfrau was lovely,

we sat outside in the sun and watched the people go by.

Not a good photo of my assistance dog,

he should have been sleeping much closer to me.

I know I was slack, but I wanted him to have some of the sunshine too.

Middi looked wonderful today, 

I am sure he knew that everyone was looking at him because he walked with his head and tail up right by my side.

He can be a great ambassador for assistance dogs, when he is concentrating.

The last photo shows how we both felt at the end of the day,

very tired!!!!!!

Until next time ------ enjoy the sun!

Growing UP!

My boy is growing up so quickly now.

All of a sudden he seems to be cottoning on to things.

When we go out he behaves like an adult,

walks close to the chair, doesn't pull to be the leader,

or even lunge at other dogs. 

Walking has become a real joy for both of us,

well most of the time!

Now we are learning a lot of other things as well.

One of my big problems is knocking things of my chair and not being able to get them back.

Tonight Jess took these pictures,

they are not great to look at 

BUT

fetching my glove,

and the hardest of all - my slippery reading glasses.

I am such a proud mum.

At present, he is sitting near my chair,

not touching his treat bag,

it is full of home cooked dried liver,

his favourite treat.

Now he has dropped down , 

so I will give him a small piece of cheese as a reward.

What a darling boy he is.