Saturday, March 31, 2012

                     Walter the Lap Dog
                   
Walter wants to be a lap dog.  The fact that he's much bigger than the average lap is not a deterrent to him.  Maybe that's why he's been tearing up his beds and all his toys.  He's want to be on the sofa with us....

The other day, I walked into the den and saw that some things had been rearranged.  Walter had tugged on the blanket in his kennel, and he had dragged the kennel across the floor, pushing the Persian rug completely to the side.  The following picture is what the den is supposed to look like.

This reminded me of what happened when we first got our kittens from the shelter.  I came home and thought that a burglar had broken into the house.  The rocker glider and the lamp had been knocked over, and there was garbage all over the floor.  The kittens had been having a field day.  I asked the vet if I needed ritalin for the kittens, and he said I should just get more toys for them.  Ha!



Walter the Graduate
                     

After all the mischief that Walter has gotten into since we adopted him, he graduated from puppy training class today.  Isn't he cute?

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Shed Monster

When I went to Wal-Mart today, I found this thing called a ShedMonster.  It looked interesting and only cost nine bucks, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I have one long-haired cat, Violet, who gets mats in her hair.  What I've been doing is cutting her hair with the scissors.  That can be dangerous.

When I removed the packing, I found Violet, and the thing really works.  She let me brush her with it, and I got gobs of fur off of her.  Enough to make a kitten!
Walter the Chomper

I left my jacket on the sofa, and when I came back to that room, my jacket was on the floor.  There were two holes where there used to be buttons.  Big buttons....

I bought Walter a chew toy at Walt-Mart.  It was advertised as "tough," and it had three rings.  The middle ring was a really tough fabric, and the other two rings (one black and one red) were hard rubber or plastic.  Walter chewed up the fabric ring in ten minutes.  Stuffing was all over the floor - again....  The black ring took about the same amount of time for him to destroy it.  I threw away what was left of the fabric ring and the black ring.  Here he is with the red ring.  

I just looked at him next to my computer desk, and it's in pieces.  I think that took less than 10 minutes.  Good thing that toy didn't cost too much.
     

Walter cracks me up.  He was prancing and almost skipping around the house with that ring in his mouth.  He is good medicine!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Obedience Class

Walter had his obedience class yesterday.  My next door neighbor thinks we should get our money back because Walter jumps on everyone he meets.  He knows how to do: sit, stay, down, and sometimes, leave it.

Yesterday, he fell in love with another dog and tried to mate with her in front of the whole class.  Luckily, they were both neutered, but still.....

On the way home from obedience class, we stopped at U-Haul to get a moving pad for Walter.  I've been researching indestructible dog beds since he's destroyed two of them already, and someone said they'd bought their dog a moving pad for a bed because it was a lot cheaper.  So far, Walter seems to like his new bed.


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Walter and the Cat


I think the cat is getting used to Walter.  He jumps the baby gate just to see him.  Then they do their dog-and-cat-dance.  Walter goes up to him to play, and Henry, the cat, growls, hisses, and bops Walter upside his head.  The cat's claws aren't out - I know this because when I'm holding the cat and Walter comes right up to him, the cat swats me instead of Walter, so I've felt his hits.  I'm looking forward to the day when Walter and all the cats are great friends......
Bed Destroyed....Again


Walter tore up his bed tonight.  This is the second one he's had.  Can you imagine coming home to this?  What if he tore up the whole sofa and chair and all the pillows?  Yeah, that's why we put him in his crate when we leave the house.  This is the damage he does when you leave the room just for a little while.

When I saw my neighbors this afternoon, Walter ran up to them, and Bill said, "What about that obedience training class?  You should get your money back!"  Walter has a ways to go before he will be a good therapy dog....

Monday, March 12, 2012

Roast Beef

For the first time in my life, I made a pot roast.  And it was good!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Before and After

My friend, Debbie, came by to visit and to get her first introduction to Walter.  She brought him a little squeaky toy shark.  Walter was entranced with both Debbie and the squeaky toy, as you can see in the picture.

By 10:30 that night, Walter had torn up the toy.  He was so happy with himself.

I've heard that dogs will tear open their toys to find the squeaker inside, and that's exactly what he did.  I found the squeaker in the middle of all that stuffing on the rug, and it was bitten to pieces.  Luckily, I got to all of the stuff before he ate it....
Leaving on a Jet Plane

Remember that Peter, Paul, and Mary song, "I'm leaving on a jet plane," sing it with me now...

Anyway, I was watching the 25th reunion concert of Peter, Paul, and Mary on TV, and I was singing along with them.  Walter, who was in his crate sleeping, walked out to see what was going on.  I am not a good singer, and that is true.  But he didn't bite me to shut me up.  He just came up to me and leaned into me.  Then he went back into his crate.  I guess he was just wondering what that noise was that woke him up.....

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Leave It!


Walter is still a puppy, and so, like other youngsters, he explores the world by eating everything.  When we walk, he likes to pick things up in his mouth, and he holds it while he walks.  He picks up the grossest things.  I tell him "Leave it!" to get him to let go of the gross thing, but inevitably, I have to pry it out of his mouth.  This afternoon, he picked up a dead frog.  How gross is that?  My husband grabbed it out of his mouth and threw it.  Oy vey!  I told my husband that Walter is going to start thinking his name is "Leave it!"

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Finger Lights


I went to the grocery store this afternoon, and what did I see in one of the aisles but "Finger Lights!"  Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big kid at heart and love blinking things and lights, so of course, I had to buy these.  The teenaged cashier didn't say anything about them, but he kept calling me "mam."

I put them on and turned out the lights so I could wave them in Walter's face.  My husband told me that I was going to make the dog have a seizure, so I stopped.  But aren't they cool?

Monday, March 5, 2012

Walter's Smile

Doesn't this make you laugh?  He is so funny, even asleep and upside down.
Walter Stole the Cats' Bed


Everything is Walter's.  If it's there, it's his.  I think that's his philosophy.  He grabbed the cats' bed from the window seat, dragged it to the Persian rug (which he has been chewing on) and made it his own.  He makes me laugh every day.  I don't think the cats appreciated it thought.