Cheap date

I discovered that Tali loves ice cubes out of the ice dispenser.  She will do any trick you want to get her mouth on one.  Now she has been a little iffy on the "back up" trick outside of the narrow hallway where she couldn't turn. but with an ice cube as bait she backed up all the way across the kitchen and halfway across the family room on command.  Problem solved!

..and White Saturday

Took Tali and Kodo up to the Cuyahoga Valley and hiked a couple miles on the towpath trail with my mom, dad, their dog, my sister, and one of her dogs.  No pics yet- all on my mom's camera at this point- but it was a fun time.  Weather was really nice too- sun was out and it wasn't too cold.

Edited- here is one of the pics.  We are on the station road bridge right by the towpath.

Tali's PAL

..just came in the mail today.  Now once we can get her calmed down and confident enough to get through a CGC test, we can look to start her on agility too.  :)

White Friday

Went up to the metroparks with my parents this afternoon for a dog hike.  A little cold, but it was a lot of fun.  2.5 miles-ish, so hoping the dogs sleep well tonight.

The Bernese Mountain Dog, Epitome of Grace and Beauty

Err....well..  beauty at least?

In one mad romping circuit of the backyard this morning, Tali managed to have her rear end slide out from under her when she hit a patch of ice on a sharp turn, and then 15 seconds later she bounced off the fence sideways.  Neither of these incidents slowed her down in the slightest.

It was only funny because she did no damage to herself in the process, and in fact didn't even seem to notice.  I admit I was giggling into my sleeve a bit.  Not out loud of course- don't want to hurt her feelings.  ;)

Thanksgiving

Spent Thanksgiving afternoon and evening with my family.  Tali got to meet Daphne, my parents' collie (who is actually a little bit smaller than she is).  She was a little nervous about it at first, but everyone settled in well I think.  Thanks to my parents for tolerating the disruption and the new dog hair spread everywhere!  :)

Not sure about this.  Her nose is shaped all funny!

  Obligatory posed picture of all three dogs:

 

Always feel safe when the brother is around!

Tali photobomb

Uncle Greg would look much better with a Bernese Mountain Dog in front of him!  Cuz who doesn't, really?

Lively crew

Everyone except me is taking Thanksgiving naps this morning.  And there was no turkey involved!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

From the entire furry family..  They don't often all stay within range of one photo at the same time.  So this may be a once-in-a-lifetime shot!  :)

Attempting to communicate

You can tell from the pic, but Tali's tail was wagging madly the whole time.  :)

Silly sleeper

Sound asleep with her tummy in the air and all her toys around her in a little heap.  Must have been a tiring day!

Snow-bunnies

Pics are a little blurry since it was darker out and they were moving VERY fast.  But I think you get the idea!

Almost-birthday

Just in case the actual birthday weather is horrible, I did a mini photo shoot with Kodo outside today.  It is REALLY cold, but it looks pretty.  :)

Cold day run

On the way out, she settles nicely and runs next to you.

Then on the way back, she grabs her leash in her mouth and sets HER pace!  5 out of 6 feet off the ground in this pic I think too!

Tug with daddy

More snuggles

Kisses

Remember when I said she is always licking Kodo's jowls?  Well I caught her in the act!  OK, the end of the act.  :)

Too early for the Easter bunny!

Silly princess

Called her name to get her attention for a portrait, and she stopped in mid-pant with her lip hooked over her tooth and a teeny bit of pink tongue sticking out.  Goofy smile!

Weather!

I actually found weather that Tali does not like to walk in!  High 30s and misty rain.  She was trying to turn around the whole 3/4 mile. 

Teaching 'back up'

This is a little trickier.  You need a narrow space where the dog doesn't have room to turn around..    Call the dog forward to you , then walk forward toward/into the dog, using the command.  When the dog backs up to get out of the way, say 'Good back up!' and treat.  You will need to work more on this before the dog will do the behavior out of the 'tunnel'- Tali is still working on that..  :)

Teaching 'Turn'

 Tricks- for those people who asked how we taught Kodo and now Tali some of the fun things they know.

'Turn' is a fairly simple command to teach.  Just use the treat/food to lead the dog around in a circle, saying the word, then say 'Good turn!' and treat as they complete it.  It only took Tali 4 or 5 repetitions before she was doing it without the lead-around.

Holding hands

New spot!

I changed up the baby gate so Kodo could get back to the landing (one of his favorite sleeping spots).  Apparently Tali is a fan of the stairs too.  I went out to check on them, and they had looks on their faces like they had been conspiring behind my back.  :)  It is funny that the bunny can sleep (or at least lie down) crosswise on one step.  Kodo needs at least two- one for his butt and one for his front.

 

Sleepy princess

Short absence

So I had to run some Friday errands today, so the dogs were  left along for about 2 hours.  I was curious to see how Tali would react to that.  Well, when I got home she was sleeping on the tile by Kodo!  Normally she is waiting at the garage door for me, and I can hear barking and jumping before I can even see her, but not this time.  Of course once I got in there was still crazy tail wagging, lots of smiling, panting, and weaving, a teeny bit of wolf-howling, and of course the ceremonial gnawing on the brother's ears..  but she was a lot calmer than she usually is when I get home from work, less frantic jumping and barking.  So maybe her normal reaction is less separation anxiety and more boredom with a little bit of I-have-to-use-the-backyard-really-bad!!!!  thrown in..  :)

Kong paste

The Artist

Tali managed to get one of the metal Kong paste cans (thinking the cats got on the counter and knocked it down first, but not sure).  When I got home, it looked like this.  She has the makings of a truly gifted sculptor..

Crocker Park

Spent the gorgeous afternoon at Crocker Park, eating Zoup and hanging out with the pups.  Got them lots of attention and stranger-pets too.  They are both tired again.  :)

Group hug

Another morning play session

 Again, they only look cute and snuggly here.  They were just taking a breather..

 

..before returning to this:

I think at least Kodo was tired from yesterday, he did most of his tugging lying down this morning.

Size comparison

The size difference between these two always makes me giggle. 

Run in the park

Brian and Kodo walked  (and took pictures) while Tali and I ran.  No pics of us this time.  I walk-ran for about 2 miles with her, then met back up with Brian and walked a cooldown with Kodo while Brian ran about a mile with Tali.  Hopefully both dogs should sleep well tonight!

Here is Kodo posing in the woods:

Dogpile

Trying to groom Kodo turned into a family affair.

Tug!

Playing again

There will be a lot of these pictures I am afraid.  First of all, they love playing together.  And second of all, they look so cute and silly when they do!  I have to run for my camera every time the grunt-growly noises start.  :)

They look all peaceful and snuggly here, don't they?

Wrong!!
They are only taking a breather between romping segments.  Within a couple seconds, that turned into this:

 

And then this.  At least Kodo maintained his height handicap by staying lying down for a bit.  He is almost as tall as she is standing that way anyway!

 

 Finally they ended up 'sharing' another one of the favorites.  This is a squeaky stuffie that was supposed to be for tough chewers.  You don't even want to ask how many times this poor thing has been to the stuffie-hospital, and that was even BEFORE Tali came along.  It looks a bit like the aliens from the Simpsons and has a squeaker in every tentacle.

Posing puppy

Since the bunny's registration was through ACA not AKC, we are planning on applying for AKC PAL (purebred alternative listing) for her in case we decide to head into agility training with her at some point.  For the application we needed to take 'mug shots'- a side and front-on photo of the full dog.  Getting her to stand still for them was certainly a challenge, but she turned out looking as beautiful as usual!  :)