Sweet dreams with a puppy

On Friday, I was spending the night at a friend's house. It was a bit cold, and she had already gone to bed. She was asleep a few feet away from me, so I didn't want to make a bunch of noise getting up and opening the door in search of more blankets. Also in the room were Vinnie and my friend's dog, Mimi, and I knew that if I got out of bed, I would end up stepping on one or both of them, or at the very least, waking them up as well. Once they were awake, they would remember the existence of each other and start to rough house again, even though it was past 1am. Mimi loves her cousin Vinnie. And it's totally mutual.

But... I was cold. Usually at home, Vinnie sleeps by my feet, and on the super cold days, I cuddle up next to him and we sleep back to back. Body heat. So this time I decided to use him again. I whispered, "Vinnie?" and snapped my fingers as quietly as I could. I heard him stir a bit, and then slowly stand up from his warm and comfy bed. Seemingly sensing the sensitivity of the issue, Vinnie carefully and quietly crept over ... quite a feat for an otherwise boisterious 2-year old lab! He got about an inch away from me, his nose in front of mine, breathing steadily. "Lie down," I said, and he obediently tiptoed back to his bed! Well, he is super obedient... I guess I wasn't clear in my instructions. I called him back over and again he walked up to where my face was. "Lie down," I said again, but this time I reached up and grabbed his collar. Would he understand this time? Yes. He looked at me and then settled himself by my feet. Instant warmth. Sometimes it just takes a puppy.

Happy Birthday, Vinnie!

Vinnie turned 1 year old on November 2nd, and had a rockin’ and rollin’ party this past Saturday. It was a total blast.

I spent about 7 hours cleaning the house on Saturday, and Vinnie really didn’t know what to make of it. I told him that it was for his birthday party, but he probably wasn’t listening to a word I was saying.

On Saturday, he followed me from room to room, watching me vacuum, wipe down counters, do laundry, etc. He usually gets in a few quality naps during the day while my roommate and I are at work, but today he was unable to as he is a very nosy puppy and must know what I am up to at all times. He really did not understand why a) we were not either going to Canada to play with his cousin Mimi, or b) I was not heading off to work.

By about 3pm, he was starting to drag. He finally collapsed on the carpet, giving me this sad, tired, abused puppy expression. Poor little guy. But I really didn’t want him to fall asleep as I knew he would be super-extra hyper when the guests came. So I kept going over to him to pet him, give him treats, play with him… anything to keep him awake.

At about 5pm, his eyelids drooping beyond remedy, I let him take a little nap. I was feeling tired myself, but knew that if I fell asleep I wouldn’t hear people knocking at the door at 7pm.

People started showing up a little after 7, and Vinnie was overcome with joy. He had no idea why all these wonderful, fun people were coming into his home, bearing treats and toys, but he was all over it. He did not stop smiling all evening. Well, except for when he was trying out a new treat or toy. Then he was alternately ferocious, coy, eager, excited, … a friend gave him a delicious rawhide bone at one point, and it took him a full hour to get through it all. Afterwards, he made a beeline over to the water bowl and drank for 2 solid minutes. (I didn’t notice until it was all gone, but man, was that dry!)

At midnight, the party was not even close to being over, but I led Little Guy to his bed. He had such a good time. :)

Swimming

Vinnie is so cute when he swims. He gets this look of total concentration once he paddles to where his paws don’t touch anymore. We went swimming on Saturday with his cousin Mimi and his aunt. Like every other time, Mimi was panting and Vinnie had his mouth shut. Funny, because I love it when dogs have their tongues hanging out and Mimi's mom prefers when dogs are quiet and not panting everywhere . Anyway, Vinnie would saddle over just long enough to say hello, and probably to prove to me he was actually swimming and not just wading, and then he would take off again. I was so proud of him. I know dogs are natural swimmers, but I was still so happy and proud.