Precision Pups!

Brando, Steve, and I have a special reason to look forward to Independence Day this year. As we did last year, we're going to be marching in the Coronado Parade. But this year, the participating CCI pups will include a puppy precision drill team.

Brando and I showed up at puppyraiser Pattie Urie's house last weekend to learn and practice the drills. We think the whole gang will look very sharp. We have signals to cue us to form two lines, criss-cross each other, then halt and run through a short but snappy set of commands (Sit, Down, Shake, Stay, etc.)

It promises to be a blast. Look for video here, hot on the heels of the big event!

Happy Birthday Brando!!!

He's one-year-old today! And such an obedient fellow, sitting so nicely with his birthday crown. No cake for him, because he's only supposed to eat dog food (ha!), but we did have a party of sorts. Riley and Cassidy, the two 11-year-old Golden Retrievers from next door, have been visiting us for the past few days, while their pack has been off in Las Vegas. Riley and Cassidy are very chill guys. They wag their tails, they smile, and mostly they just lay down and look around, or they nap. But they do lend a more festive air to the patio, and even if they won't wrestle with him and chase him around, as he would like, Brando seems to welcome their arrival every morning.

Only Brando was good enough to tolerate the party crown for long, though Tucker tolerated it briefly.

The game all pups love to play

I believe it's called Try to Bite the Other Guy's Head Off (Not Really!) Here Brando is playing it with Eva, Leslie and Craig's dog, who stayed with us two weekends ago. Brando loooooves this game. But Eva loves it even more. When he would get tired, she would bark at him and scratch his nose to try to provoke her into playing more.

Tucker, who's nowhere near as fond of the game, now that he's a geezer (in spirit, if not in years), just stayed with Eva Saturday and Sunday, while the human members of the pack were in LA for the book festival. But Brando got to go to Benjie's house, another mecca of puppy pleasure.

Progress Report

Brando has graduated from the CCI Basic instruction. Last week he and 5 classmates were tested and our teacher gave Brando 9s or 10s on everything he did -- a solid "A" performance!

He has now learned:

• Sit


• Down


• Wait


• Out


• Let's Go


• Drop


• Here


• Dress


• Roll


• Shake


• Stand


• Car


• Under


• Heel


• Side


• Off


• Speak

We start the Advanced class next week!

Brando Speaks!

I'm so proud of him! We could never get our last puppy, Yuli, to do this (on command, that is.)

Brando of the Desert

Brando ventured to the eastern reaches of San Diego County this weekend, where we gathered with some friends interested in hiking and photography. Tucker came too, and both dogs underwent a startling personality change. This was most pronounced in Tucker, normally a mild-mannered, even timid follow. But when we took him outside of the house where we were staying, he transformed into a Wild Dog, racing through the unfenced open space at 100 miles an hour, heedless of our demands that he rejoin our company. He intruded upon neighbors' properties, met a sleek Doberman named Duchess, fell in love, and (when we finally recaptured him) moaned to be allowed to rejoin her. Brando happily followed Tucker's lead, though was marginally quicker to return. After a few rounds of this foolishness, we took them outside ONLY on their leashes.


We had looked forward to hiking with our friends, and Saturday we happily set off for Palm Canyon (where we were looking forward to penetrating the region beyond the oasis). To our chagrin, we learned that dogs -- even leashed ones -- are not allowed anywhere in the park except on paved roads. I felt both bereft and irritated, as I had checked in my book of dog hikes in San Diego County (Leave Only Paw Prints, Sunbelt Publications) and came away with the impression that the park offered myriad hiking possibilities. Alas I had not read carefully enough. Dogs are only allowed on roads in the park, not on hiking trails. (Apparently, canines scare desert sheep.) This meant Steve and Tucker and Brando and I had to strike off on our own.


We wound up hiking through a section of Rancho Galleta, owned by an heir to the Avery labels fortune. Mr. Avery for the past few years has been commissioning an artist to create sculptures of prehistoric creatures on his land (a big chunk of the town, on which he generously welcomes the public to hike and camp). We decided we think the statues are cool.

What was not cool was the ubiquitous chollas cactus. Tucker got stuck several times, and even Brando (aka Mr. Teflon Coat) fell victim once. We decided probably dogs and deserts don't really mix well. So we won't all be back soon. Still, it was a memorable outing.

Recovered

Brando has totally recovered from his recent surgery. We celebrated the end of the year with our annual beach walk from the Scripps Pier up to 15th Street in Del Mar. Although it took more than five hours, Brando was a trooper, and particularly enjoyed smelling the delicious smells during our stop for pizza at Jake's.

We also began our Basic puppy instruction this past week, and Brando did well, as he was introduced to the Stand and Shake commands. Next up: Heel!

About the only bad thing he's doing is some digging in the yard. This is annoying to us, but apparently, he hasn't gotten that message yet.