Lucy's Favorite Things...

...the flat fox

...Kong squeaky ball

A good tennis ball is like wine or cheese-the older the better!

I'm not sure which toy is actually her favorite.  Most of my dogs have loved soft toys best, but Lucy just adores a good tennis ball.  Kind of like Dug from Up.  Dug just cracks me up...

Ogden Nature Center

Last night Lucy and Mariko went on a field trip to the Ogden Nature Center.  There we joined some other Ogden/Weber CCI puppy raisers and walked the trails and practiced behaving.  The dogs had fun, but I think Lucy's favorite part was snuggling up to the AC vent on the car ride home!

Camping

We've been trying all summer to take the dogs on an overnight camping trip but because of bad weather or other commitments, it just never happened.  Last week, we were finally able to make a quick trip up Green Canyon.  Besides some whining in the kennel while we were setting up camp, Lucy seemed to have a good time.  It got pretty windy about 1 am, causing the tent to make tons of loud noises, which she slept right through (and which I didn't sleep through...).

In the morning we started to break down the tent, then realized we had never taken a picture-so, here it is :)  Yes, Cheri is in there somewhere!

Father's Day Outing

This past weekend was a little hectic for the four of us.  We drove down to the Ogden area Friday evening and spent every moment until late Sunday night visiting family and friends, running errands, and getting things ready for a family reunion that my immediate family is planning for next weekend.

Lucy's busiest day by far was Saturday.  In the afternoon, she, Shaun, and I ran around Ogden picking up items for the reunion Carnival I am overseeing.  After taking care of those errands, we went with my parents to the Ogden UTA station and rode the Front Runner down to Salt Lake so that we could have a little Father's Day celebration at City Creek.  Once we got loaded into the Front Runner and sat down, Lucy immediately relaxed right next to an AC vent and snoozed most of the ride.  (She told me that when we move she wants to have her own personal AC installed in her kennel.  I told her to keep dreaming ;))

After arriving in City Creek, we walked around some of the shops to check out all the pricey stores.  While it wasn't over crowded, it was decently busy and Lucy did a great job staying in the correct spot for her "let's go."  One nice thing about City Creek is that it's dog friendly-there are potty stations in numerous locations.

However, there is almost nowhere to actually toilet the dogs!  The potty stations with bags are right in the middle of everything and everyone and on really pretty floors.  Even on the bottom level there is a stream or creek running through, but with barely an edge for four little paws and nowhere that is "private."  While Lucy is so-so about toileting on surfaces other than grass (she'll often go on asphalt at Shaun's parents so that she doesn't mess up their lush lawn), I didn't feel comfortable taking her there in front of everybody.  So, unfortunately, finding a good location for her to do her business was a bit of a hassle.  Maybe we just weren't looking in the right places?  But, Lucy did great and held it the whole time until we could find an out of the way place.  

The main reason we went to City Creek, besides the fact that my parents hadn't been there yet, is because of the Cheesecake Factory.  

My dad absolutely LOVES desserts, so we figured the best gift for him was a jaunt down to get some fancy cheesecake.  Lucy would totally be a peanut butter addict if we let her, so she begged and begged me for a slice of this Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake.  Of course, I said no ;)

In retribution, she decided if I wouldn't buy her cheesecake, she would try to lick up all of the bread crumbs that were stuck in the grooves of the floor.  After about 15 minutes of trying to eat crumbs and Shaun and I intervening the best we could, she finally gave up.  However, besides this little block of pure bratty-ness, Lucy was fabulous before and after, taking everything in stride, even our mile long trek to the Front Runner station because Trax was closed down due to a car hitting one of the trains.  

Overall, it was a big day for Lucy, but she was a trooper and seemed to enjoy her night out on the town!

Slacking on the Job

For past week Lucy has been going to work full time with me.  Since she's here 8 hours a day, she's decided she may as well relax.  I will often find her snoozing with the leg of my chair as her pillow or hear her snoring softly under my drawers.  The other day I looked down to check on her, and I found this:

If you look closely, you can see a little pink tongue hanging out! 

CCI Workshop

On Saturday, CCI's Southwest Puppy Program Manager and an instructor came to Utah to do an all day workshop.  While it makes for a long day, it's fun to catch up with other puppy raisers in Utah, refresh on training and puppy raising info, and learn new things.  And, of course, I love seeing all the puppies in program!  They are all labs, goldens, or lab-golden crosses, but they all look so different and have unique and fun personalities.

Shaun and I got there a little late and Lucy was a bit of a brat for the first hour or two (she just didn't want to settle down with all those four-legged friends hanging around to "play" with!) but after being restless for awhile in the morning, she decided that she was going to turn her brain back on and behave :)

Sleeping under the table

The workshop was held in Salt Lake at a puppy raiser's home.  The property is up a canyon in a beautiful area with a great view of the valley.  The main portion of the day was held in a large garage with a lunch break held by the pool.  While Lucy has never been swimming, she thought the water looked like a lot of fun!  

Lucy even got a chance to see her sister Lana again!  Both pups have a similar face shape (from their lovely mom of course :)), but Lana is still much lighter than Lucy, has a more lanky look, but is actually shorter.  

Lucy on the left, Lana on the right

Lucy and Lana's PRs

So, even though I've been to numerous CCI workshops over the years, I always learn or "realize" new things.  For example, I had always known that it was not okay for the pups to ride in the front seat of the car, but I thought it was fine for them to be in a "down" on the front seat floor.  Come to find out, I was wrong!  So, Lucy started riding in the back on the way home from the workshop.

She was tired after her long day, but didn't want to miss anything by sleeping

Sometimes being up in Logan can feel like its own little world (although we're so happy that Mariko's PR is part of CCI now!), and so it's good to get together with other CCI people and recommit myself to the program.  I am always reminded about things I can improve on.  So, in response to that, Shaun and I have decided to create a training log for Lucy (and Cheri too).  On the way home, we used some money we had left over on a gift card and bought some fun notebooks to record their info in.  Hopefully, this will help us to increase our skills as puppy raisers and dog owners in general!

Weave Poles

Some of you may know that Shaun and I started Zoomdog Agility and Sports Club a few years ago (which is where all the fun Cheri agility videos come from :)).  Since we'll be moving to Salt Lake in a couple of months, I have been slowly stepping out of the club and letting the committee members take more responsibility.  While it's sad to leave this behind, one of the perks has been that Cheri and I get to "audit" and assist in the flyball class while helping our new (and proficient) trainer get some more experience.  

Shaun and Lucy typically come and watch class, and every once in a while Lucy gets to try out some of the pieces of agility equipment.  Last night we took a video of Lucy learning the weave poles.  At the time this video was taken, she had only been through the poles about 10 times total and was already bobbing her head around the poles with minimal luring!  She's such a smart girl!

Lucy's Favorite (and not-so-favorite) Things...

...Suave's Natural Oatmeal Lotion  (Favorite)

...Repel Insect Repellent: 40% Deet (Not-so-favorite)

Lucy has this really terrible quirk of LICKING my legs after I put lotion on.  I, for obvious reasons, find it super annoying.  Of course, I do my best to prevent her little voracious tongue getting anywhere near my lotioned legs, but sometimes she hits the jackpot and is able to steal a few seconds worth of licks.  Jeez, puppies...

Cute, but with a glint of mischievousness...

However, the other day, Lucy's frustrating little habit turned on her.  The four of us were getting ready to go for an evening walk and since the mosquitoes think my blood is ambrosia or something, I have to wear at least 40% deet repellent.  Lucy, thinking that my legs were covered in tasty lotion, took a swipe and decided that not only is deet a good mosquito deterrent, but it's also a great puppy-tongue repellent!  Now, if we can just get everybody who wants to pet her to put the repellent on their hands first....