The Secret Frisbee Dog

When The Trainer came over and she asked questions about Charlie, the toys he plays with came up. I told her about our every other day games of fetch with the tennis ball. When she learned how well Charlie retrieved she asked about Frisbees.

Oh no.

A short while after bringing Charlie home I had a frisbee in my hand. As soon as he saw it Charlie charged towards me, jumped up, took the frisbee out of my hand and immediatly started chewing, cracking the plastic in half and leaving me standing there like an idiot. A similar incident happened at the dog park, with somebody else's frisbee. Since Charlie will drop a ball or any other toy, but not a frisbee I concluded that this was unhealthy and mostly, embaressed the heck out of me. There would be no more frisbees for Charlie. I would avoid them at all costs.

So when the trainer brought up frisbees I immediatly said. "No, no frisbees. Never."

So I continued on like that. The Trainer actually said what I was doing was alright, avoiding the situation. Cause I mean, if I avoid it I will never have a problem, right?

But then I started thinking. When we first got Charlie I decided I was going to do a ton of stuff with him, and at first I had no idea what I was doing and everything was going horribly. You should have seen our first attempts at bike rides and rollerblading. If I was watching myself I'm sure I would have laughed my hind end off. Now, though, we can rollerblade and bike with no embaressing incidents. So when I was cleaning out my room and I found a cheap frisbee I thought, why not? Everything I've done with Charlie has changed since those first few months. Why can't he safely play with a frisbee?

So for the past month of so I've been working with Charlie on his frisbee... craziness.

So after lots and lots of work inside on retrieving the frisbee, bringing it back, and dropping it without chewing on it... last night for the fourth time Charlie and I went into our backyard and I threw the frisbee, he ran and caught it, and he brought it back and dropped it at my feet. And I threw it again.

Success!





P.S. My friend got a kitten :)



I am so lazy.

In the summertime I tend to wake up earlier then my friends, so I usually spend that time walking/biking Charlie. I like to bike him up to the dog park and play some fetch or just let him sniff around because nobody is usually there. Then the rest of the day Charlie is relaxed and just lays around the house.

Tomorrow school starts.

I've always wanted to be that person that woke up early before I leave and walked my dog for 30-60mins so that when I came home he is calmer, but let's be realistic here.

I already get up at 6:45 and I feel terrible saying it but... I don't think Charlie's cute little face is enough to get me up before 6:15. I'm lazy.

However, Charlie still does get a walk/run after school. And that dog is the laziest in the world. When I wake up in the morning he lifts his head, adjusts himself so he's more comfortable and goes back to sleep. He doesn't even get up when I leave the house. Sometimes to get him to go potty in the morning I have to lure him outside with treats and occasionally I just pick him up and set him on his feet. For an regularly energetic dog he is difficult on school mornings.

P.S. School starts tomorrow. Oh did I say that already? Maybe if I stop saying it, it wont ever happen...

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie.

Charlie has given up all daytime fly hunting, but apparently he does not like to be bugged after bedtime.

Oh, and excuse the mess, I'm getting rid of the dresser in my room so I took out everything and layed it all over my floor.

Well where do you want me to put it mom?

P.S. I just looked up at the first sentence and realized I put "bugged" (insert crazy laughter.)

Okay, it's funnier if you realize it yourselves...

Terribly sorry.

Things I want...

I was in either PetSmart or Petco (we were in both that day, so I forget which it was) two weeks ago with my mother, walking around looking at all of the cool lizards and other small animals I wish I could take home. Unfortunatly, with Charlie and Jaws I've apparently "reached my limit."

As we were looking at them I stated to my mother that at some point in my life I will own a reptile of some sort, because she can't do a thing about it once I move out. In response my mother says "do you ever realize that everything you want to do in life involves an animal in some way?"

I have friends, I swear.

So I decided for the past couple of weeks to keep a list of all the things I suddenly think of that I want to do in my life that I haven't already.

Here is what I came up with:

Skii- Yes I live in North Dakota.

Touch a shark

Hold a ferret
Get a charictature drawn of me.
Own a reptile of some sort.
Stick my hand through a dyson fan.

Pet a sphynx- type of "hairless"cat.

See a Babino- The wiener dogs of cats.

Go to another NHL game- Okay, yes I've done this one but it was like 5 years ago.

Own a cockatiel- I want one very bad.
Write a letter to the editor that actually gets published- i'm working on my first attempt right now.

Own a Great Dane

Adopt a pitbull/pit mix.

Adopt a cat.

Teach a hamster to go through an agility course.

Hold a bunny.

Have a dog who can do agility and Frisbee- Very well.

So I realized that a majority of the things I want do have to do with animals, but I don't want to be known as the "Crazy animal lady." I'd accept "Awesome animal lady.." Is that wrong?

My friends, thankfully, put up with the random animal facts, and even enthusiastically come with me to the humane society to see the kittens or to adoption days at Petsmart to meet the dogs.

But I think I'm going to have to take a step back from everything I want to do and realize that I can't do it all at once or I am going to become overwhelmed. And that wont end well for anybody.

I guess all I'm wondering now is am I alone with a list like this?

P.S.

I just successfully completed day 8 as a vegetarian.

Becoming a Vegetarian.

I've been considering it for a while now. I don't eat a lot of meat especially recently because everytime I look at my plate I think about the animal that once was. I also don't even know where it came from or how the animal was treated.. how can I support something I don't know anything about?


I have trouble eating that.
Seriously.
How cute can one little thing be?



I'm not saying everyone in the world should stop eating meat. I'm not going to go all PETA on you. I really don't care what other people do, I just can't stand it myself.

So I'm becoming a vegetarian.

After I realized this was something I was interested in I did a lot of research and talked to my friend who is also a vegetarian. I found out there are a lot of health benefits so that was definatly a plus.

Of course, I don't do the grocery shopping, my parents do. I will probably have to start grocery shopping with them every week and picking up my own food because I do not expect my family to follow my choice. I also expect to be preparing most of my own meals, and even bringing my own to school (which I was considering anyways because I do not like standing in line and school food sucks. Seriously. worst. food. ever.)

Hopefully I'll be able to stick with it!

P.S. Charlie will continue to eat his dog food, which contains meat. Mostly because I think a vegetarian diet for a dog is insanity. (personal opinion, of course.)

On a night like tonight... and last night... and at least three out of seven days a week it seems when it is storming and Charlie is panting, pacing, drooling, whimpering, and overall stealing my few precious hours of sleep I like to try and think of how lucky I am.

When I was about to bring Charlie home my dad moved everything important to him to a place where Charlie couldn't reach, he hid his shoes, and everytime Charlie walked near a cable my dad was watching his every move. He expected Charlie to chew everything in sight and destroy the furniture as soon as he walked into the house. Charlie has never touched a shoe, cable, or even layed a tooth or paw on the furniture.



This was actually a day I realized how many stuffed animals I
had gotten when I was 10 and still had..
You can see them to the right.
They've been donated since then.



When we brought him home I made sure I could see Charlie at all times because I was positive he was not going to be potty trained and I'd have to clean up everything. He was completely potty trained. The only times he's had accidents were during storms (if I don't let him out right before they happen) and when he got a small case of the runs.



I have a few stuffed animals I've gotten when I was a child and kept including my giant stuffed gorilla, instead of ripping it apart Charlie slept with him. He completely ignores the smaller stuffed animal even though he will take a stuffed dog toy I give him and rip it to shreds in seconds.

Charlie isn't afraid of wheels either like a lot of dogs, which allows us to do so many things together like bike, rollerblade and skateboard, things that a lot of owner can not do.

Charlie LOVES car rides so it is never difficult to bring him on long rides to the lake or farm.

These are just a few of the things I try to remember on a night like tonight, when I am kept awake and in the morning when I am so sleep deprived I have to strain to complete the simplest tasks.

As much as I love to remember the things that make Charlie such a wonderful dog, I hope I can help him get over his storm anxiety a little more and maybe one day I can sleep through the thunder.

P.S. My friend had to drag me out of the humane society when we went to see the kittens and I think I'll be getting a kitten one day.