Tatum Tot Spice

This is me eating my yummer dinner… oh wait, actually, it’s me licking out Tony’s bowl, his is green and mine is yellow. Because he leaves lots behind and I can finish it up (if Lucy or Levi doesn’t get to it first!).

Yesterday I was really tired all day long. I didn’t want to play much and just slept most of the day. It’s because Tuesday night when the Mum took me to that lesson with the really nice lady who gives me treats, she made me work hard! They want me to learn how to sit closer to the Mum (this kinda bugs me because I’m not used to hoomans that much). They want me to gather up my back feet in when I sit, so I kinda sit forward. And then when I stand up, they want me to push my back feet behind me. They calls it a ‘kick back stand’ and I guess if I get in the practice of doing it now it’ll become so natural that I’ll do it when we go do obedience whatever that is.

Then last night The Mum made me do it all over again! Except last night there were really fun puppies there, too. There was a little brown and black puppy that someone said a dumb person thought was a Labrador Doberman mix.. but she’s really a Rottweiler and she’s so cute I loved to play with her! Then there was a bigger fuzzy puppy who everyone was giggling at her butt when she walked. He he. She’s called a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy and I wanted to play with her too!

But anyway I thought hard about the up sitz and the kick back standz and I think I got it pretty good, in just a day, and I got lots of treat and they told me I’m so smart (which I already knew, thank you very much) because I was getting it so good already.

The people get amazed at how quick I learn but duh, I’m a collie you know, and they don’t have to teach me things too much more than a couple of times before I know what they mean! And the people aren’t so bad. They are actually kinda fun to get treats from and play with. Though I still look away from the Mum when she tries to give me those silly monkey hugs. What does she think I am, a monkey! Duh, I’m a collie!

(The Mum just told me not to call anyone dumb. They are just uneducated on doggies. Whatever!)

Me and my brother Chase waiting in our pen at Obedience Practice.
Wordless Wednesday

Well even though the Mum didn’t take me out at all yesterday, she sure made up for it today! I was going to have the Mum show a picture but she says the camera is all the way upstairs, and we are all sitting on the couch blogging or sleeping and no one wants to go aaaalll the way upstairs for it.

Anyway the Mum checked her email this morning and her trainer said that obedience lessons start at 9am today. So! She fed us and showered and off we went. Oh, but before that I had to wake her up, because she was sleeping in the morning and sleeping is no fun in the morning, playing is! And so I jumped on her when she was in bed and it was just the exact minute she sat up and BAMB my forehead hit her forehead and ouch it hurt both of us! But she just laughed and got out of bed.

So we got up and had breakfast and then went out for obedience. I didn’t get to do much but watch Chase and the Mum practice their weird things they do. At the end, though, I got to get out and play with my new border collie friend! He is 9 months old and man he liked running around! And then I got to go to the fun mat the Mum has set up, and do our sits and downs and stuff. And I even ran around and played with her some, and walked next to her following a treat. She said it’s called ‘heeling’ but I only did it for a couple seconds at a time and boy those treats are good!

Then me and Angel went to the flyball captain’s house ’cause she does an icky thing.. she gives dogs baths and brushes and makes them pretty… and that’s not so bad but we didn’t have that done. We had our toenails clipped! It was awful! But the Captain lady said we were not so bad and I have to admit it does feel better to have shorter toenails. Even though I hate my feet touched! The Mum says she wants to me to get used to a thing called dremmel but the noise is so loud…

Then we stopped by PetCo which is scary but Angel came so it wasn’t so bad. Then we got to go home and take a big long nap before dinner.

Whew! It was a long day and the laptop hasn’t been on until now so I can blog about my day. And now I just want to sleep! Tomorrow the Mum says we are going to go to our super nice obedience instructor for something called a Private Lesson so she can make sure she teaches me all the right stuff right from the beginning so she doesn’t have to fix anything later. But I don’t know why she would have to fix anything because I’m pretty perfect just the way I am!

Okay so what is this thing the Mum wants me to wear? She says that two people she likes and respects have told her to get me to wear one of these Halti thingamajigs. I have never seen a horse but the Mum says that it makes me look like a very cute horse.

Not sure I want to be a horse.

I don’t like it much on my nose but when the Mum puts it on the really cool clicker noise goes off that means I’m going to get some of my favorite treats, and so I can eat the treats when I wear the Halti nose thingy. But when the treats stop I want to rub it off, as I don’t like how it feels. The Mum says that it is supposed to comfort me when we are in a stressfull place like where there is lots of wood and people and things, she calls it the Home Depot store. So comforting is good I guess. Chase likes to wear his and he says it’s cool because it means we get to go out and do fun stuff.

For now the Mum is just putting it on me a little at a time so I can get used to it, and giving me treats, and getting used to this thingamajig might take a while.