cody bear’s friends

here’s cody bear saying, “what’s the big deal? i came back!”

that’s right, the new self-aware, hind-end-aware, not afraid to try anything thanks to agility class, mutt has found another way to outsmart the fencing. i don’t think he’s jumping….i think he’s shapeshifting.

since he last liberated himself from his ridiculously huge AND fun yard, i try to stay outside with him while he runs like a nut, sometimes up to an hour. last night i had work to do, but every five minutes i went out to see that he was still, in fact, running around like a crazy dog.

after 30 minutes or so of the 5 min checks, i go out, …no cody bear. i panic. i scream.

i try to find him in the alley, side street, he’s not in the pasture lot. crazy dog hears my screams, and comes home right away (thank you “really reliable recall” class)…to the front door, where i find him looking deeply concerned. “what is the big deal, i was JUST saying hi to friends!”

it was all i could do to greet him with love and joy. “glad you’re home. glad you came back. thanks for returning” pat pat pat. inside i wanted to scream and cry “do you KNOW what could have HAPPENED to you???”

a small task force is being assembled to work on this joy run problem. in the mean time, since cody bear cannot be denied his running time, (it is what he lives for) i brush my teeth outside, put shoes and socks on outside, comb hair and apply the moisturizers, last minute buttoning, phone calls. everything….outside.

….and YES….he is neutered, as i know people probably think he is getting out to make puppies. not my bear!

i’m just so thankful he came back.  in the few minutes he was gone, he could have really gone far….maybe he did actually.

i’m just glad he knows how to find home.  NOW…to NEVER let him escape AGAIN!

i forgot to tell you there were more pictures of last night’s agility class on his blog: poddler.wordpress.com

such a good day! (except for the whole mini-back injury thing…but i digress)

things at work are going ok. the new guy is nice, boss seems happy, i haven’t screwed anything lately. and…we got out early again!

which is great because i needed time to cut cheesy bites and get cody bear ready for agility class. (show up one hour early and run him run him run him)

i got there early and he seemed way distracted, but came around after some excitable running and jumping.

so class went great! perhaps because 3 dogs didn’t show up. and mostly, the teacher really paid attention to last weeks concerns and started the class out with a focus activity.

my favorite part: new equipment. cody was so scared of it…but…i had him watch the other dogs go through it and then he was awesome at it! you guys…dogs are SO SMART!

to sum it up…i’m sore, as i hurt my back at a freakish work accident, and…cody bear is a super star!

this is darby, a dog featured on our dogdailyphoto blog.  he is…cody bear’s teacher’s dog.  he is fast, fast, fast.  he is also super smart….which isn’t always good.  his poor mama HAS to take him to work with her or he will dismantle appliances!

quite the canine superhero, as checkers mentioned.  he’s fast, intellegent, has xray vision, jumps really high, has a magical wubba and an invisible crate!

 to find out why we’re so tired, you can catch cody bear’s blog later.  but, to sum it up…agility drained us emotionally and made us both unfashionably hungry.  here is a shot of cody bear, post agility class:

“please mommy, put more kibble in my molecuball.” oh, and here’s a bottle of wine…we’ll get to that…

but first, the dog.  alot of people take agility class to exercise their dogs.  i have to exercise my dog before and after agility class.   that’s fine, we love it, but….i’m super tired.

back to the wine….and how it relates to agility class.  so,….there was a dog fight tonight, cody bear was NOT involved. we were in a separate area, fortunately.  if there hadn’t been a fence dividing us, i know he would have pounced.  it taxed my nerves. so, maybe a person thinks they NEED a taste of the grape after that….

as it just so happens, last night i was shopping and i popped across that dog tail fire hydrant red!  so, needing a tibble after a spastic class of more unruly dogs and “missy comes” i popped open that screw top.  it was really tasty. so much better than the washington state merlot i chanced a few days ago.  muffled the raw dog nerve a bit, too. and of course the label is cute.

ok, if you’re interested in cody bear’s agility class:  poddler.wordpress.com 

what you see here? this is the look of a dog who is exhausted from his agility class….but wants me to open the door, put him in the car…and take him back for more!

ok, so….lets talk about agility class: (oh dear) as i have mentioned before,…cody is terrified of dogs. and, since there really are no PRIVATE agility classes…tonight was tough. lets break it down:

1. MISSY doesn’t listen to her owner and he doesn’t think she needs a leash. so, yes, missy is constantly running away from her guy, coming up to cody bear, eating the treats on his equipment and gettin’ in his space.

2. trixie, a GORGEOUS aussie, doesn’t like certain dogs. that being said: cody bear and trixie have never met, but we love that the trainer is predicting this WON’T be a love match and is requesting they stay apart.

3. a tiny corgi mix named ernie, cute as he may be, stares at dogs, and if they look back, she goes ape sh__ on their ___* yo!

4. we missed the first class due to our car problems, so everyone else knew how to do the high dog walk, the teeter totter and the crawl. (mind you…cody bear rocks new equipment. he’s all “i haven’t seen that. BRING IT ON!”

5. number five: the weirdest  tidbit of the night: we were on course near the end of class…things got a little out of hand…cody missed a jump…afterwards the teachers says “do you know what went wrong? you were too fast.”

what? meee? i’m NEVER too fast for ANYTHING….
ok, i get it know….i did try to move fast, and as a good dog, he was looking to me….

happy to report….the last run of the night….SO CLEAN. people…i suck at agility, but cody bear…well, he’s pretty good. he’d be awesome if other dogs weren’t around, but….he’s pretty good anyway.

to summarize: agility good, mom…not so good. dogs under control …good. dogs in cb’s space…not good. trainer…good!

it being a new class, and the camera being new, i didn’t get new pictures. next week, i promise!

thanks to rusty for the recommendation of the kong wubba!

had to buy cody bear today….as he was in a full page add for the local shelter!! i thought, “how better to reward cuteness with the perfect toy!?”

its great for fetch…

great for shaking…

that’s some rapid shaking motion cody bear!

hey wait…this thing squeaks, TOO!…

this wubba is cody bears new favorite toy!!!

i’m wondering if this is the perfect reward toy for cody bear’s agility training….

anyway, thanks dear rusty for the recommendation! i know i had a super wonderful time playing with cody bear and this new toy.

 i think the following picture illustrates the canine equivalent of “bags under your eyes”.

let me explain….

tonight was cody bear’s last “intro to agility” class….and he is BUSHED.  never mind the fact that he got to go home and eat and rest while i had to go meet with d to do my taxes and then go do xmas shopping so i could mail packages tomorrow.  as long as HE’s happy!

no seriously….as long as he’s happy.  there is nothing like seeing your dog have fun.  he was elated to be at agility class, stomping all over the equipment.  and i was having so much fun!  its good to be around dogs, and it is good to be around dog people.

not freaky dog people, mind you.  there are no dogs wearing bling in this class.  and i’m pretty certain that none of cody bear’s classmates are beneficiaries of huge estates.  if the ARE….he needs to start buttering up right away.

to sum it up:

we had fun and we had fun together.

the class and its participants were cool.

cody bear is very tired, but it is a sort of euphoric tired.  an “i ran like the wind, ate the treats, smelled the smells” tired.

cody bear, the sweet and gentle dog you have seen photographs of in resting and recumbent postures….well, he doesn’t start out that tired! up until now i have typically been posting pics of this little guy as he rests beside my desk at night. but, here is how be starts his day: by going h.o.p. (hell on paws) through the back yard. (the pics are blurry cuz…he’s goin’ h.o.p.! you can tell how fast my crazy dog is.

the pass:

a

the pounce:

full throttle cody bear:

joyful tail swishing:

cornering(note the paws digging in):

i love this dog, by the way! (note all 4 paws are off the ground)

crazy guy:

joyful dog….

i have a habit of saying things like “cody is moping today” or “cody bear is mad at me”, or even “cody bear is in a great mood”. i may be a tad bit anthropomorphic. and by a tad….i mean a great deal. i do believe my dog is happiest when he is running h.o.p., and i know he has moods and he has emotions. he feels guilty when he eats underwear or bills. he does. but here he is demonstrating his happy side. i love him.