Week 26 from Lex's View

Hello Friends,

Happy November 1st! This is the month of Thanksgiving, and each week, I'm going to list 3 things I'm grateful I have in my life.

1. I'm grateful to have a warm house to live in and that I'm not an "outside dog." I have a warm doggie bed to sleep on and a fireplace to soak up the heat.
2. I'm grateful to have lots of food to eat and that I'm never hungry...even if I try to fool mom on that sometimes...but that's just because I'm a Lab!!
3. I'm grateful to have the best family ever, both my human family and my doggie family. I love you, Daddy Maestro, Mommy Halsa, Brother Lucky, Sister Luna, Sister Liza, and Sister Latte (her name is now Sammie!). And of course, I love my "adopted big sister" Harlow. She's the best big sister ever!

Sunday Best!!





On Sunday, I had a kind of scary experience. Mom was petting me and she felt something on my ear. Upon a closer look, she discovered I had a tick in the corner of my ear. CREEPY! It's the tan/whiteish dot in the center of the picture. It was "engorged," which means it had been on me for a couple of days. If he thought I was a free buffet, he was wrong! Mom and my aunt helped get the tick off of me. This is why it's important to do a lot of body handling practice because we never know when a "real life" medical situation will come. I was a good boy and handled it well. I'm glad that mom found the tick when she did

Harlow and I love to take naps!



I went to this park that I don't go to often. There were many, many geese in this pond. I watched them for awhile, but they got boring before long.

Playground surfaces are great places to practice different footings!

A look at the view from a slide top!




I had great fun exploring in a new town! I went to this town for an outing with brother Lucky and sister Luna. Because they are in a different GEB region than I am, I decided to join for their class outing. Anyway, before the outing, I went exploring a little.



Just when I thought I could go on a boat ride....I realized there was no captain of the boat. Bummer!

Of course, mom  made me pose for pictures!

 



On this outing, I got to watch 2 different trains pass. They were super loud and really fast, but I did a very nice job watching.



 

 



Then, it was time for the class to start. There were lots of dogs all who are in training like me. What a lovely German Shepherd!



 

Look at what our mothers did to us!
L to R:
Me, Lucky, and Luna!



I got to say hi to Krista. She is a really cute nurse!



There were scarecrows all over the town! This one didn't have a head. I promise that I didn't eat it!!

This is the town horse. He was cool, but I really liked his hay. Good smelling stuff there!

After the outing, my siblings and I (plus my new German Shepherd friend, Krista!) went out for frozen yogurt. Okay, rephrase...we accompanied our mothers to the froyo place. We weren't able to taste even one spoonful. Anyhow, I settled nicely as mom selected her frozen yogurt and toppings.



We all waited very patiently for our moms to pay for their treats.




Hey mom, how does your froyo taste?



While the humans ate, Lucky and I had to catch up on a few things. Did you hear that my brother Lucky is moving out of the area? I'm going to miss him SO MUCH. At least, Luna and I will still be in the area together.



L to R:
Me, Lucky, Luna, Krista

So, I went to another park this week. A growing boy can never work enough on his balance and coordination!



Did I turn into a pumpkin? Oh...it's just how the sun is hitting my beautiful coat!



I went for a walk in town. Mom says she was very impressed with me because my loose leash walking skills were excellent. We just kept walking and walking because mom never had to stop to remind me not to pull on my leash. That made me happy to hear that mom is happy. Treats for everyone!!!!

I went to help at a Pre-Placement Class for new raisers and puppy sitters. Before hand, we walked around a bit. Look what I found?!
But Mom! It's water. I really want to go play in it!

Okay, I'll be a big boy and pose for a nice picture.

Look at this castle! I think Alexander the Great (that'd be me!) should have a castle like this.

After my walk, I went to this week's Pre-Placement Class. I was the demo dog and practice dog. All the people practiced their new skills on me, such as name response, follow me (walking nicely and following the handler around in various directions!), sit, etc. I did a great job, and the best part was that I got lots of rewards! My favorite game was the name response game. We started out with 2 of the new people, and they took turns saying my name. When I acknowledged them, I got treats, praise, and lots of pets. I got the hang of this game really fast, and then, the 3^rd girl joined the party. I did so well with 3 people that the 4^th person joined. It was so much fun, and I got really good at distinguishing who said my name! 

I practice riding nicely in the car a lot. It's good for me to practice riding in different places in the car and sometimes, in a crate in the car.

Lowe's
Where did the flowers and pumpkins go?

Something is wrong with Lowe's...it's turning into a forest!

I did a super, super good job in Lowe's.  I walked perfectly, and I did well at all my skills that Mom practiced with me.

I went to Wal-Mart with mom to get some pictures printed. It was really busy in Wal-Mart, and there were a ton of people. I really had to focus on not saying hi to the people. I did a good job, but it was hard work! Mom says that we need to practice some more with lots of people walking past us.

I settled as I waited for mom to put in her photo order. It was a good opportunity to people watch and not greet people. Except, I did greet one lady. She really loved me and thought I'm the most beautiful color.

In the checkout line, I stood nicely, and you guessed it...waited patiently!

Harlow and I took another nap!

Awwwww! Don't I have the sweetest big sister? She loves me, and I love her, too. She puts up with lots of growing puppies, including me!

Mom says that sometime soon there will be something called snow. I'm pretty sure I've never seen any before. Anyhow, mom says when it's really cold out, I'll have to wear booties to protect my feet. I didn't mind the booties at all and walked quite nicely in them. Mom says that some dogs gallop like horses. Not me! I'm not a horse!



In a week, I'll be officially 8 months old. When did that happen?! I went ahead and colored my 8 for my photoshoot. Okay....to give credit where credit is due...Mom colored it for me. Isn't she nice?!


Until Next Week,
Lex