Ball Practice

These shots were taken last week when Addie and I warmed up before class by playing with a ball in the yard, like we usually do. We practiced "catching" the ball.

Okay, my bad... still getting used to this whole "Hold camera. Keep dog in frame. Aim. Throw ball. Follow dog. Focus shot." thing.

Keeping her eyes on the ball at all times was Addie's strategy, for the most part.

Sometimes it worked

Other times...

...not so much.

And this is what happens when Addie stops watching the ball to look at a butterfly flying by... (sorry it's blurry)

Addie isn't always the beautiful, elegant Poodle that she seems to be. Sometimes, she looks like this.

And whenever there's a ball, we get this.

I've discovered how Addie can roll over so quickly. She goes face first, mouth agape. Every time.

Shakin' off

Looking beautiful

Dog Park

Addie and I finally made it out to our local dog park. After some confusing directions, we finally found it. It's pretty nice, fenced in all the way around and I don't even know how many acres. There is a big open area when you first walk in with picnic tables and room for dogs to play. Beyond that, is a big field of long grass and weeds. To the right and left there are paths to walk your dogs along off leash, which is nice.



We've been there are couple times now; seen a few people we knew, played with some cool dogs, explored the trails. I'm kind of concerned about Addie though. She was socialized really well as a puppy, and came from a good breeder as well. But she just doesn't have good manners around other dogs. She is pretty dominant - head up, tail up, kinda jumping on top of other dogs - but still seems really playful. She gets rough and wants to wrestle and chase when most dogs just want to sniff and move on. Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve her manners?

Anyway, I didn't get any pics of her with other dogs when I took the camera last, but next time I go I'll try to remember to take it. It has been fun for Addie, and I hope we can go more often in the future.
In the car....what do you think she is saying??

Visitors of the Furry Kind

I've been doing a lot of grooming this summer, of Addie and of other dogs. And of course, Addie always gets to "play" with the dogs that come over to get a haircut.


First was Zoe, the cute little apricot Toy Poodle. She's growing out really well and wasn't matted at all. She tolerates Addie, but doesn't really play with her. So it's more of a lesson in manners when Zoe visits. Zoe also got aqua blue toenails this time around. ; )

The other dog I groomed was my friend's 5 or 6 month old Cockapoo puppy (that's Cocker Spaniel x Poodle mix..) named Clara. She is absolutely adorable. She does pretty well for grooming, though being young she gets tired easily and wants to lie down on the table all the time. So these pics aren't the best. But she's cute. I don't have any pics of Addie and Clara together, but they actually played really well together, despite their size differences! It was fun for both of them.

Playing in the Yard

The hairball

We played ball

She was very proud of her retrieves.

...even if she faceplanted.

Poodle zoomies


She takes the ball in her paws like this... and takes it out of her mouth, readjusts, then puts it back in. She uses her paws like little monkey hands.


Why the long face?

So dramatic

Throw the freaking ball, mom...

She's not much of a girly-girl, but apparently she prefers pink. At some point I threw the normal ball and it landed near her pink ball...she decided the pink was better and brought that back instead.

*yaaaawnstretch*
(I actually commanded her to bow and she happened to yawn at the same time. hehe)

A happy Poodle.

New Theme

I got bored and went looking for new themes...and came across this from pyzam.com . It encompasses a lot of things Addie and I both love! Wide open spaces, nature, rain (looks like it's about to!) so I chose it. It's simple, clean, and happy. Let me know what you think.

Also, in other news.... I groomed Addie again, I like to do it often, especially now that I have time. I am very happy with how it turned out. Took pictures a few days after the fact, but it still shows her off. Yea. Enjoy

Groom Week

Yes, Addie got a haircut this past weekend... and yesterday I groomed her Toy Poodle "buddy" Zoe... unfortunately she was a bit matted so I had to take her down with a #4 stainless steel comb. But it is summer, and she runs around on the farm with her Golden Retriever brother. So here's Zoe. Sorry for poor quality, the lighting was bad. Also note her pink toenails...!





















....But it doesn't stop there. Today, I groomed a friend's dog, a Border Collie named Jersey. Of course, silly me forgot to take before pics of these two... oh well. She had a LOT of hair! She was very sweet though. However, I couldn't get her to stand up to take her picture! So here she is lying down.

Haircut 6/20

I groomed Addie this weekend...she was badly in need of a haircut! Unfortunately I had dropped my grooming shears and had to send them in to the company for about 2 weeks so it had been a while since she'd been groomed. But, I got to try out some new conditioner and detangling spray from Show Season which was nice, love the smell!

Anyway, it took a while because she had so much hair. But here are some pics!

(PS: to view the pictures at a normal size, click on it, it will come up really big, then right-click on it and click "View image." It will make the picture a nice viewing size.)



















She also got a new color for summer. (Note the toenails) They're a big hit at our obedience classes, and with random people on the street, or people who come to our house... =)

Addie Makes a Friend

I am currently dog-sitting for a family friend, and Sandy the Golden Retriever is staying with us for the next 2 days. Addie is having a ball...she LOVES other dogs, sometimes to a fault! However they've been playing really well and it's been fun for her. They're tired out and laying on the floor right now resting.
Here are a couple pics.



Oh boy....good thing I'm grooming her tomorrow!