Beach!

We got to go to the beach the other day. It was Lily's first time and she actually liked to go in the water. I don't like to go in the water...I'll get my feet wet a little bit but I'd much rather run around, dig in the sand, and chase bugs and birds!

Beach = Love.

Lazy Momma: Trip to Chicago

So Mom has been very, very lazy lately but we have been so busy! We went to Chicago for 5 days and well...Lily has taken up A LOT of Mom's time lately. Mom is still trying to give me lots of extra snuggles and kisses and attention but she's not trying hard enough!

We went to visit my Pomeranian buddies, Parker, Jack Jack, and Bebe Belle, and their Momma, my Auntie Katie, in Chicagoland last week. We had tons of fun! I rode on the airplane under the seat in front of Momma in my airplane bag. I was a very good girl in my bag. I never make a sound and people are always very surprised to hear that "there's a dog in there???"




While in Chicago we were very busy. I spent two days working at Parker's Pets (my buddy Parker's store):

It was pretty stressful for me so the second day I even had to go in the bathroom for a while. I did get some yummy doggy ice cream and a bully stick in there to keep me busy though.

We also went for walks and I got to meet two other puppies that we know from Dogster, Rondo and Gretta. Parker, Jack, and Bebe's grandma is doggy sitting for them while their Mom is in Bulgaria. Rondo, is a black and tan long haired Miniature Dachsund and, Gretta, is a Cocker Spaniel. I didn't like them at first but I got used to them after a bit. Here's a picture of us all:

Left to Right: Mia, Parker, Rondo, Bebe Belle, Gretta, Jack-Jack

It was nice having alone time with Mommy without Lily trying to get in the middle of us. I was so relaxed on the first night that I laid in bed like this:

We had a great time and lots of great food (dog and human alike). My favorite were the yummy bison ribs and Mommy's favorite was a yummy chicken dish at Mity Nice Grill.

We are all exhausted tonight so that is all for now. I'll try to bug Mom so that she'll post about today's agility class tomorrow!

Chicago!

Next week on Thursday, July 16, Mommy and I are going to fly on a plane to Chicago to visit my Auntie Katie for a few days. I've been to Chicago twice now. Once we drove and the other time (in January) we flew. Luckily, Southwest Airlines has started letting pets fly in the cabin. This is perfect because Southwest has cheap fares and has direct flights from Houston's Hobby Airport and Chicago's Midway Airport. Both of those airports are much closer to our house and Auntie Katie's house than the main Houston and Chicago airports.

We're going to stay for about 5 days and hang out. We'll probably also go to Indiana for a bit too. I get to visit my Pom buddies, Parker, Jack Jack, and Bebe Belle.

Lily is going to stay at home with Daddy. Hopefully they will make it through alive and the house won't be torn to shreds.

Parker and I in Galveston when he visited in March.

Beach Day!

Mia here...this morning Mommy, Daddy, and I went to the beach. We had so much fun! I spent lots of time running, digging, chasing bugs, and swimming.

Looking out at the water.

Bug Chasing!

Wet puppy!

Wet Mia

In motion.

Watching the men fix the trash cans.

Shake it off!

Mom got some video on her cell phone but unfortunately it's in a weird format that doesn't want to be uploaded anywhere.

Tomorrow I have my first private with our trainer to work on my reactiveness so I'm sure Mom will want to post about that. It's time for us to go to bed because we have to be over there first thing! Goodnight!

Rained Out

This morning we didn't get to go back to the beach because it was raining. So we probably won't get to go until next weekend sometime.

The rain had cleared by about 7:00 p.m. so we decided to go on a bike ride with Mia. We have a route that we ride through the neighborhood behind our apartment complex that ends at a park. The ride to the park and back is about 4.5 miles. Unfortunately, we went during peak dog walking hours and Mia was really stressed out and barking a lot at the other dogs. So we've decided that until we work on her reactivity we're going to have to stick to trails only (during the evenings at least) and steer clear of the neighborhoods.

Chase and I still got a good workout and she had fun when there weren't any dogs or cats around!

Getting ready to take off from the park.

Sniffing around at the park.

Must sniff this patch of long grass.

Resting while we put away the bikes.

Fun times!

Hidden Beach

Mia here...Today was such a fun day! My Auntie Katie ordered my bike trailer around noon on Tuesday and it was delivered on Wednesday afternoon! The apartment office is closed when Mommy gets home from work so she had to wait until this morning to go get the box.

We got a medium sized Hunter K9 pet bike trailer. Mommy said that the assembly was very easy (all of the pieces were together but the bike trailer had to be unfolded and had the wheels put on).

Before we left we loaded up on water bottles, my travel bowl, sunscreen, my 20 foot leash, and several towels. Then we hit the road. I was so excited to finally be going with them when they took their bikes out. It was a five minute drive to the park where we parked the car and then we got everything out of the car and set up and took off down the trails. I had a blast and as long as Daddy didn't get out of my sight I was happy! If he tried to go in front of Mommy I got worried and started whining.

We had about a 1.5 mile ride to the beach from where we parked. Mommy and I had never been to this beach before (Daddy just found it yesterday) and we were pleasantly surprised! The beach was really nice! It was very clean, there wasn't any litter around, and there weren't very many people there either. This beach was better too because it didn't have such high waves. (Unfortunately, Mom forgot her phone in the car so we didn't get any pictures but I'm sure we'll be going back again some time this weekend)

We stayed for about 45 minutes but then we had to leave so Mommy could get to work on time. I swam a little bit and we ran around for a while. I had tons of fun! I love the beach and now that we don't have to drive 30 minutes to get to one I'll get to go more often!

Riding around in the parking lot .
(Note: I am tethered in the trailer; I cannot jump out.)

That's all for now. Mom and I are going to go crash in our new king sized bed. It's sooo comfortable!

Bicycle

Mommy has decided that she is going to buy a bike for this summer so we can go on adventures!!

This is the trailer we are looking at getting to attach to her bike:

Hunter K9 Bike Trailer

I think it will be lots of fun. This way we can all ride the trails together and maybe even bring a picnic lunch. Or we can ride along the seawall in Galveston! It should be a fun time!

Mom is done with finals!! She is excited that she gets a little breather before she starts summer school on June 1st. She will be taking Intro to Clinical Psychology. Luckily, it is an online class so she won't have to drive all the way into downtown Houston for class everyday.

Mom also talked to my trainer at agility on Sunday and we are going to start my behavioral privates next week. I'll go once a week for 30 minutes or an hour (depending on how I do the first day) for as long as I need it and Mom can afford it. It's a bit pricey but she knows it will be worth it in the end!

We have been working on getting my yawn on cue. Tonight will be the third night we work on it. Mom may post a video sometime later this week showing my progression. I still don't quite get exactly what she wants me to do but I'm offering the behavior more often now!

That's all for now! Mom has to be at work at 10:00 so I better get to bed!

Trail Walkin'

Mia here...today Mommy and Daddy finally took some time out from studying and we went on a long walk through the trails that run along Armand Bayou near our house. It was a lot of fun but it was really hot and the trails were a lot longer than we expected. It was a fun little adventure though!

Mommy and Daddy had to carry me part of the way because I was getting really tired and because of this:

and this:

As we were walking the trails we came upon a few bridges:

We saw lots of birds (and even a snake swimming in the water, luckily it was far, far away!):

We ended up here:

There was also a park near the beach where we rested and took pictures with the bluebonnets:

At the end of the trail we took a picture in the pretty gazebo:

Afterward we all went for snow cones and I got my very own:

It was definitely a good time! Now I'm going to go sleep, probably for the rest of the night!

Mia's Monday Adventures

Mia goes over to my parents' house on days that I work to play and hang out with them. When she came home as a puppy I still lived with my parents. After about a year we moved out. My parents are really attached to her and like having her around so she gets to go over there about four days a week. They are retired so they are home with her most of the time and she also gets to run around and play with Emma (a terrier mix) and Kiba (a Corgi/Husky mix).

My younger sister, Mia's Auntie Jill, has been taking a class at a local community college this semester. My mom drives her to class and has been taking Mia with her. We have good family friends that live near the college so my mom usually goes over there to see them while Jillian is in class.

My mom's friend's mom, Hazel, is in the very late stages of Alzheimer's. A few weeks ago she was in a nursing home because she wasn't able to eat or drink anything (she has since come home but gone downhill again). My mom took Mia with her to visit her in the nursing home because they have always had a special bond.

When they arrived, Hazel, was slumped over in her chair. She was not responding to anything anyone was saying to her or anything going on around her. My Mom put Mia in her lap and she sat up, alert, and started petting her. After a while, my Mom picked Mia up and Hazel reached for her. So Mia spent a little while longer in her lap. Mia also got to visit with some other ladies who saw her and wanted to say hi. She did amazingly well with them too! My mom even said that Mia did not seem very nervous, if she was at all!

Needless to say, I was thrilled with how well she did. I have always thought she would make a great therapy dog (if we could just get over this darned reactiveness) and this has kind of given me a kick in the butt to get her into some behavioral privates. Hopefully, sometime in the (near) future she will earn her CGC and we will get certified with a therapy dog organization. I have done a lot of research on therapy dogs for my psychology classes and am so happy that therapy dog work is getting so popular. I am hoping that I can find a way to work dogs into my graduate research work (either in a nursing home or college/dorm setting).

This past Monday, Mia, got to go on her first boat ride! The same family friends live on a lake and have a Pontoon boat! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures. I wish my Mom had thought to take some with her cell phone but oh well!

Mia and her Nana.

Kiba (Husky/Corgi mix)

Emma (Terrier mix; she had a skin infection at the time but this is
the best picture I have of her because she is afraid of the camera.)