A Trip back to KSDS

Boy what a weekend !  The week was kind of boring only one outing but we took a big trip back to Washington, Kansas for KSDS's Spring Graduation leaving Friday afternoon and coming back on Saturday evening.  Let me tell you about my adventures -

It started out on Thursday afternoon with a shower.  Mom said I had to leave my smells I like soooo much out here on the farmstead here and not on my fur.   Mom and I both got in our birthday suits and took a shower.  I asked her how come she didn't take a picture of herself in her birthday suit and only me and she said it was because I still have fur on when I am in my birthday suit.  I wasn't to pleased about the whole shower thing !  It was my first one.   

After we took our shower we headed out to our nail places.  I went first and had my toes trimmed then Mom went and had hers done.   Since it was a cool day I got to stay in the back of the Ford and chew on the special bone Mom bought for me.  I got to pick it out at Petsmart - My toe and nail place before we left.  I really don't like the smell of Mom's nail place and last time when I was there I kept getting up and walking around and made Mom mess up her nails.  We were kind of in a hurry so it worked out for the both of us.

Friday was the BIG day.  Mom went for her run at the lake we are moving back to then we packed our bags.  I watched carefully to make sure Mom got my food and all of my treats.  She packed her bag and after I had my pink pill we took off for our three hour drive to KSDS.  I was hoping to impress Mom and leave my breakfast in my tummy but things didn't work out that way. 

When we arrived Friday evening we stopped at KSDS and saw Larry along with the staff in the administrative offices then went and saw Letha and Deb over at the training center.  Mom and I were going to stay at a local hotel but Letha said we could stay with her and her husband and three dogs at their house.  My first sleep over !!!  After we settled in Mom and I went out to have dinner.   There wasn't any other KSDS people there so Mom ate alone but when we were leaving DeAnna and her Mom and Ferrari  were in the parking lot so we went back in and sat with them while they ate.   After dinner the rain had stopped so we headed over to the dog park and played for a bit before heading out for the sleep over.

THANK YOU LETHA  !!

Letha was sooo nice to us along with her hubby and her four legged kids.  They set up a bed for Mom and one for me.  We stayed in the basement and Mom said she had the best sleep she has had in days. I on the other hand was not to excited about my accommodations and made it kind of clear to Mom several times during the night.   I thought in a sleep over you got to sleep together not in two separate beds however, it was a deluxe kennel. 

Saturday morning we all got up and the grown ups had some coffee.  I had breakfast at Letha's house then we headed out for the graduation.  When we arrived there were some people and four legged friends there but they kept coming and kept coming till the training building was almost  FULL !   I saw one of my sisters - Miami but we really didn't get to play because this was business time.  There were soooooooo many puppies and dogs there that we had to sit kind of in the back for graduation so I couldn't see to much.  Mom tried to snap a picture but it was hard.

After graduation lunch was served.  I thought it was lunch time for me too and I kept trying to sneak a bite from the buffet table when Mom was trying to get a plate so Miami's Mom took me so Mom could fill her plate.  After Mom was finished eating we walked around visiting with everyone.  We met people we had come to know through the KSDS web site and blogs other puppy raisers do.   Mom and I got to meet a special friend who we have come to know through face book -  She was sooo nice and friendly.

                                 Her name was Anna !

We also met a couple who came to the graduation who have applied for a service dog.

After everyone visited for a while it was time to walk over to the new duplexes for the dedication.  There were lots of new people there that were not at the graduation.  I think they were some of the people who built them or donated money so they could be built.  Mom and I took a tour with the others who were there before going to the training center.  More treats but not for me.  I only got my pink pill for the drive home.  Glad to report that on the way home everything stayed in my tummy !

Dad was not home when we got home so Mom, Ruthie and I took a short nap then we unpacked.  Did some scanning with Dad out on the farmstead when he got home.  Today was hoping to spend time outside with Dad doing chores but it is misty outside and trying to rain.  Mom said it is a good day to stay in and bake cookies. 

                            I LOVE All of my Friends at KSDS !!



Where was my Mom this week ?

Mom was sure busy this week and wasn't around much so we didn't take any training trips for those teaching moments as Mom calls them.  This is normal for Ruthie - she always gets to stay home and do whatever she wants - but for me this was a first.  I thought I would like it more but I missed being with Mom and you can only take so many naps before that gets old. 

Mom had meetings Monday, Tuesday and Friday concerning things about either selling our farmstead or buying the new lake house.  She spent lots of hours in the office working with Ruthie and I vying for choice spots under her office desk.  Mom kicked us out several times because we would not settle down and were bugging her.  I was concerned that Mom would be on the computer all weekend and I wouldn't get to write on my blog but Mom and Dad are sleeping in since they went out last night and didn't get to bed till late.

It is Saturday and I am hoping Dad will be taking us out to scan the farmstead and do our chores.  We didn't get to last weekend because it was icky weather.  We only have about four more weekends left to do chores with Dad before we move to the lake house. 

Our friendly UPS guy showed up this week and delivered my favorite package !
                                  My Science Diet food.

                         Watch for new and exciting news next week !

Changes on the Farmstead !

What a storm yesterday !!!  Mom and Dad's weather radio was beeping all day !!  The storm here on the farmstead came around dinner time.  Mom said it was a teaching moment since I have never been old enough to remember lighting and thunder and I need to not be scared.  As you can tell from the picture I passed with flying colors.   Dad went outside during the storm to make sure the water was not getting too close to the house.  It was like a river in the back yard.

Mom and Dad were soooooo excited this week that a family came to look at the farmstead and wanted to buy it.  They came on Monday night and before they left they said they wanted the house.   They came back on Thursday to bring their kids.  I heard them talking that their kids are involved in 4-H and the farmstead will be a GREAT place for them.  I hope they love to run and play here as much as Ruthie and I do.   Maybe before we move I will get a chance to show them all of the neat places to sniff and roll around in along with where all of the snack foods are.  I wonder at the lake if there will be deer and horse poo snacks ?  I don't like the duck poo snacks I ate one time there.  Ruthie and I still have some snacking time left since I heard Mom and Dad say we are not moving till the end of May.

Mom took me with her when she ran errands on Tuesday.   Ruthie again got to stay home.  We went to Penney's, Office Max, Walmart and Lowes.  It was musical cars again.  On Thursday Mom and I did a presentation on Service/Guide dogs.  Mom gave me a pink pill before we left because it was kind of a long drive to get there and everything stayed were it should.  Everyone was sooooo nice to me and I got a lot of attention.  After we left we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart but things didn't stay were they should have on that trip.  Mom was grateful though since I waited till we parked and got out of the car before I lost my cookies.  Those pink bags can be used for other things besides poo. 

Mom was really busy with house stuff this week so kind of got a break in those "training moments"  at home.  I thought I would like that but kind of missed being with Mom so I bugged her a lot by trying to get up on her lap.  Mom put up with me for some time but finally said enough is enough and I had to stop.  I then turned my attention to Dad and since he felt sorry for me I got to get up on his lap but he finally said enough is enough too and I had to stop. 

It is rainy again today so no time this weekend with Dad scanning the farmstead.  Mom said she is planning on baking today because of the icky weather and Dad said he is going to go visit Grandma Schense at the Care Center.  Maybe if I sweet talk Dad he will take me along ?


    Dad, Grandma Schense and Uncle Jeff

Easter is in the air !

Mom was busy with Easter this week.  I went along one day with soooo many in and outs in the car I thought we were playing musical cars.  We went to Lowe's, Walmart, Bed and Bath, Penney's and finally Petsmart.  Mom told me to hide my eyes at Petsmart so not sure what all she bought.  She did however buy a BIG bag of dog food for Ruthie.  She is on a special dog food that smells like fish when you open the bag.  I tried it once when no one was looking and I like my Science Diet much better. 

Mom worked out on the farmstead cleaning out the rest of the flower beds around the house along with the garden. Ruthie and I got to play outside while she did this.  Mom didn't use the big green machine to take the weeds out to the tree line but a yellow wheel barrel.  It tipped over once on the way out and Mom had a few words to say that I can not repeat here !  

The new Groomer came this week.  We didn't have to get in the car and drive there like before.  They come right to the house.  Ruthie went first and I watched from the front door then it was my turn.  The Groomer said Ruthie was an angel but I was acting a little childish but hey I am only 9 months old.  This Groomer trimmed my hair for the first time so I was a little frightened.  We both smelled nice and after we were done at the beauty shop No swimming at the lake when we went for a walk.  Mom wants us to smell nice for Easter plus she says Ruthie and I have a BIG presentation we are doing next week on Guide/Service dogs so it will be awhile before we get to go swimming again. 

Friday Mom cleaned house.  She made Ruthie and I stay in the mud room instead of the deck when she mopped the wood floors.  Last week when Ruthie and I were out there I decided to use the deck railing as a chew toy.  Mom and Dad were not happy campers !!!  Mom said when she was done cleaning she would take us out for a walk but instead Dad and Mom went out for dinner. 

It is a rainy and cool Saturday morning and Mom and Dad are reading the paper.  Dad said he was going to take us out to play before he went to work but that has been axed.  Mom was going to mow but now she said she might go to the store for a few last minute Easter things.  I thought she said the Easter  Bunny brings the surprises but Mom explained the Easter Bunny has helpers just like Santa does.  I hope I get to stay home like Ruthie does.  I still don't understand why she gets to stay home and do what she wants and I have to go with Mom. 

Just one more thing to tell you about this week.  We kind of had a medical emergency this morning.  Dad was petting me and found a BIG fat bug on the back of my neck.  He called it a tick.  Mom got some special medical equipment and Dad removed it and flushed it away.  Mom said she will get some meds and put on Ruthie and I so this doens't happen again.  Dr. Dad !

                         Happy Easter

Everything is Turning Green !

It was in the 80's all week which meant Ruthie, me and Mom took several walks at the lake.  Lots of stick throwing and swimming along with digging in the sand.  Mom showed Ruthie and me the new house they bought at the lake but we will not get to move in right away.  Mom said when we move there we will just have to go to our own backyard to get to swim and play on the beach.  The only bad thing about swimming though is that Mom says we stink and have to spend time either in the mud room or deck till we dry off.   Mom had the carpet cleaned this week so NO dogs on the carpet if we are wet !  Mom called a New Groomer who comes to your house in a Van and does everything.  The Groomer is coming on Wednesday.  Mom is taking us to the lake today to swim because she said when we get groomed we will not be swimming till after Easter.  We need to smell nice for the Holiday.  I heard Mom say something about a BIG bunny coming and hiding eggs ?   Ruthie has done this before so I hope I find some and she doesn't get all of them ??

Mom and me took several trips this week which Mom calls training moments.  Our first one was to Nebraska Furniture Mart with Grandma Keuter.  Mom said I did a B+ job.  If I would have left my breakfast in my stomach instead of the Ford Mom would have given me an A.  Mom was proud of me though since when I deposited my breakfast I got up and went to the back of the Ford and deposited it on the ramp instead of on the back seat.  Made it much easier for Mom to clean up later. 

Our next trip was to pick up a  few groceries.  Short trip and everything stayed where is should.   Our next big trip was to the Omaha Home Show.  Mom gave me a pink pill and I am proud to say everything stayed where it should again.  Mom took me out just before we left and I made a deposit from the other end so Mom was glad we didn't have to worry about that.  The Home Show was in Downtown Omaha so it was a bit of a drive.  Grandma Keuter came along again.  Soooooo many people stopped and talked to us that we barely got through the Home Show before we had to leave.  Stopped and took a picture of some really nice people.

This week we had our first big storm come through.  I kind of remember them from last summer but I was just a puppy back then.  The sky turned dark and something called hail rained down.  It kind of looked like snow but it was hard.  We watched from inside the house because Mom said the hail would hurt if it hit us.  After the storm passed Ruthie and I went outside and investigated.  It was like eating snow cones.   We had to hurry because it was warm instead of cold and the snow cones were melting fast !

Saturday was another day out on the Farmstead.  It started early around 10:30 with Mom not finishing till around 5:00.  Dad helped a little in the morning but he left and went to visit Grandma Schense in Wahoo.   Mom was on the Big Green machine for a long time.  Ruthie and I hung out and played and napped.  When Mom came in we had dinner.  We were starving since being outside all day.   After dinner we stayed inside and rested till Dad got home.  Back out for a bit to scan the farmstead before turning in for the night.  Mom put my kennel away and I get to sleep in the mud room now with Ruthie.  Much more room plus I get to snuggle with her.

It is Sunday morning and Mom and Dad are reading the paper.  I heard Mom say later in the day we are going to the lake to walk and swim.  They are busy with the house this afternoon.  It is to be in the 90's today but the rest of the week I saw on the news back to normal temps.

                         Happy Easter ! 
                 The Bunny and I match !

News on the Farm !

This week was my Spring Break !  Mom and I took a break from training and spent lots and lots of time out on the Farmstead.   Things are coming up everywhere along with the trees blooming.  Many new smells and things to explore. 

During Spring Break I got to do things my Mom doesn't let me do normally.  The first one Ruthie gets to do all the time and my Mom yells at my Dad for letting her do it.  Dad calls it pre-wash.  Mom caught Dad letting us pre-wash so she grabbed the camera but said after Spring Break is over - NO More !!  After pre-wash Dad and I were put in Time Out to think over what we had done.  I kind of liked it because Dad got down on the floor with me and we snuggled for a while.

Also during Spring Break this week Ruthie, me and Mom went on lots of walks at the lake.  Didn't run into any of the new friends we met last week but still had plenty of fun walking the dike, swimming in the lake and digging in the sand.   Mom says I have become quite the swimmer and stick hogger.  This week instead of having to stay in the mud room to dry off we got to stay out on the deck so no nice candles. 

On Friday Mom and Dad had some exciting news to share with Ruthie and I.  Instead of us getting in the car and driving to the lake for walks and swimming we will now have a house at the lake.  It will be a month or two before they get the house but everyone is sooooooo excited !!!  Ruthie knows about lake living already - when they picked her up to raise as a Service Puppy they lived on the lake.  They moved to the Farmstead when she was about a year old.

Friday was my two legged sister Meghann's Open House launching her new web site and vintage clothes.  She will be blogging like me about exciting happenings in Omaha along with selling her vintage clothes on-line and in her loft studio.  Mom and Dad didn't let me go because they said they would be staying out past my bed time however Mom said she would take me there sometime for a training outing.  Aunna my other two legged sister came to the Open House and they went out for sushi after the Open House while Meghann went to the Omaha Fashion Show.  

It is the weekend and we spent almost all day outside yesterday.  We even had dinner outside.  Mom and Dad got out the big green machine and mowed the yard which is 3 of the 16 acres they live on along with hauling stuff down to the tree line.  Ruthie and I would follow dad on the machine and help.  Mom cleaned flower beds and trimmed plants.  I tried to help her several times by walking all over the beds trying to spread out the mulch but she didn't seem to appreciate it.   She chased me away. 

Towards the end of the day we all took a break before going in.  We went out to the barn and looked around.  It had been closed up for the winter.  Mom and Dad got out the rockers and relaxed on the front  porch of the barn.  I heard them say work out of the Farm is never done !  I don't think though they are doing to spend much time out there today because I heard Dad say he is taking a break and going for his first bike ride out on the bike trails.  He said I can't come because he bikes too fast for me to keep up. 

         Happy Spring Break to Eveyone !!

Maybe it is Summer in Nebraska

What can I say !!  It has been in the 80's all week ?  Many walks and outside adventures with Mom and Dad.  Some training moments - some of which went OK and others were a challenge. 

At beginning of the week Mom took Ruthie and I over to the lake twice to walk the dike and swim in the lake.  The water was kind of cold so Ruthie and I also did some sniffing and digging instead of swimming the whole time. 

Tuesday, Mom and me ran some errands.  It was in and out of the car four times with the last one being my favorite place Hy-Vee.  Mom I think was a little frustrated with me since I still get car sick and put up a stink getting in the car.  I am up to her tricking me with treats to get in so right now she is lifting me up and putting me in.  She is not a happy camper about that.  I also deposited my breakfast in the back seat right when we drove up to the house. 

Wednesday was my Grandma Keuter's birthday so me, Mom and my two legged sister Aunna went out to lunch.  I did leave my breakfast where it should be but left a deposit from the other end after lunch out on the lawn.  Mom had her pink bag and picked it up grossing out my sister.   Mom couldn't find a trash can so it was left in the back seat with me.

I didn't do very well with down/under the table.  Mom finally let me down/stay next to her chair and I did better.  We had a couple of people stop and talk to us and Mom let them pet me but I had to stay down.  One of the servers just would not leave me alone and was making it very hard to down/stay.   I just don't understand this down thing and why it is so important. 

After lunch Mom, me and Aunna went to a grocery store to help Aunna pick up some groceries.  If you don't remember she fractured her ankle last week and is wearing a soft cast.  Mom thought it would be a good training moment too.  Aunna road in the electric grocery cart and I went along with her.  We helped her load her groceries in her car then left with Mom forgetting the sack of groceries she bought out in the cart in the parking lot so when we got home we loaded up again and had to go back.  I didn't want to get back in the car but the good thing about it was Ruthie, me and Mom headed to the lake afterwards. 

Friday started out with something Mom called fog ?   When Mom let us out in the morning for "Hurry up" Ruthie and I almost got lost.  Mom couldn't see us - which meant no pictures of private moments - and was yelling at us to come in.  I liked the fog.  Ruthie and I played 'Hide and Seek"  Later in the day Mom took Ruthie and I back to the lake for a walk on the dike and some swimming.  This time around though we got to meet some new friends.  They were everywhere !!  Some big ones like me but there were some really small ones I have never seen before.  You had to be careful not to step on them.  We all swam in the lake, chased the sticks and balls in the water and on the dike along with much sniffing and some digging.  I hope we run into them again sometime when we are back out at the lake.  They were FUN !  I even heard Mom say one of them was Ruthie's old boyfriend.

It is Saturday morning and another Holiday ?  St Paddy's Day.  Mom said she needs to find Ruthie and I something green to wear so we won't get pinched.  Not sure what that is but Mom said it would hurt.  While waiting for Dad to take us out this morning Ruthie and I wrestled around in the living room.  Mom finally said enough is enough and separated us to our  own corners. 


                  Down for the Count !!

Last but not least - Thank you SCIENCE DIET 

for my shipment of Dog Food !!

Thank you UPS for shipping it !