Political Stuff

Hi Everyone

I know I hasn't bin blogging for everso long but what with having me Sister to look after and teaching her new things the year has just flown past.

However  - I has bin takin note of all this stuff goin on in Canberra and I am really sorry for you humans wot has to put up with such rot from the people that you expected to run the country in a proper manner. Instead you has a mob of power hungry wolves who spend most of their time trying to beat each other at stoopid games instead of concentrating (big word for me ! ) on the job at hand.
I am so sick of hearing the parents goin on about it and getting upset by it all that I have made a big decision. I am goin ter put me hat in the ring and contest for leadership. Yup - Skip for primeminister.

I think I pass all the requirements . I definitely have no nationality problems. Well - I have no idea who me Dad was but me Mum was an Aussie and I was born in Brisbane, so I reckon Dad would have been a Brisbane lad.

I don't have interests in any child minding centres. I actually don't own much at all except me den, which I would be happy to live in, so that being the case I would be happy to sell The Lodge to the highest bidder to raise revenue for more important things.  

I would save the country a heap of money as all I would ask for would be a couple of feeds a day for me and me cabinet. This would obviously support the farmers, who need all the help they can get.

I have a good education (another big word - See ? ) and I have a Level 6 obedience certificate . That is the Uni equivalent ( nuver big word ) of a Phd. Probably in public relations , so very good for a leader

I am involved in conservation . Here is a piccie of me and Tammy planting a tree . Well I think we were planting it - hard to say really ! Anyways , we love trees ( or I do - Tam squats , but she's a gal )

I am a keen supporter of the sports, so would make sure that funds were available for this. I love soccer but I is willing to help lesser sports too

Immigration and foreign affairs would be an easy one for me to organise as I has friends from all over the World (Germany, Labrador, China, Russia,the middle East, Afghanistan,Newfoundland,France, England etc )  and we have never have any trubbel problim getting on well. Just a matter of realising that we are all different and start learning from each other. Of course their barks are a bit weird but we just wag our tails and have a sniff and its all good. I guess sniffing butts is out  - shame about that - but I am sure we can find another way. We also don't want boat people drowning so Tammy would teach them doggy paddle. I don't go near water meself but she loves it. Have to have some border security though but Tam and me are experts at that so no probs.

Demonstrating doggy paddle

On guard duty

Education is important , so I would be allocating (nuver big word ) lots of money to that. Tam and me goes to school every Sunday and have learnt heaps. I have to help the little kids and sort them out when they are being stoopid. Being an Alpha dog is a huge responsibility so I think teachers should get more money.

Hospitals and health are very important too so I would look after that . Our Smokey cat was attacked by a wild cat last year and needed treatment and both Mum and Dad have been in hospital so I know how important it is. Nurses is just awesome. This is a piccie of Smokey resting up after his fight.He still walks with a limp poor old Smokes.

 
I think I would need Tammy as me deputy and Smokey as treasurer. He never shares anything so would keep a tight hold on the money. Just look at him refusing to give up Mum's shoes !

The three of us would have no trubbel at all imitating the attitude of  some present members if proceedings  get boring in the house.

So vote for me and you will get a fair and trustworthy cabinet . Anyways I am better looking than the alternatives that are on offer and more charismatic ( Ohhh another big word ! )
                                 
                                        I CAN'T WAIT TO GET ME TEETH INTO IT ! 

Life as a big bruver

Well life has certainly changed since Tammy came to live with us. I has lots to tell you.

It is great to have someone to play with or just hang out with all day. The parents is good but they don't do dog stuff. They were a bit worried that I might be too rough with Tammy but she is a real Tomboy. We play chasey but I'm faster than her so she grabs my back leg, pulls me down and sits on me. I kick her off and roll over. She grabs my ear. I grab her jowls and then we wrestle until we feel like playing chasey again at warp speed. The parents just shake their heads - I told you - they don't dig dog stuff !

She drags me down !

Then I'm after her ! She is so cheeky .

And wrestle again !

  However, being her big Brother is a BIG responsibility and I am trying to get her to study. Being a teenager she is pretty laid back and can be obnockshus- abnoxus - A pain in the bum. Mum woulden let me put pain in the arse !
 (Whoops - sorry Mum but you can edit that out ! Yes ? )  

Tammy wanted to major in water management but I told her "Water is wet and to be avoided at all cost" , but despite my gud advice she still insists on half drowning herself in the clam shell pool all the time. I humour her now and then by snorkelling for a leaf or splashing one paw in there - but for the love of dogs that stuff is WET !

Stupid girl - She will drown ! 
Good job I is there to  watch her.

Much safer to have a dust bath.

Anyway after a lot of finks she decided to go wiv poo studies like I did, but she had a weird way of testing the stuff, she rolled in it ! Yuk - I was disgusted and very nearly gave up on her there and then, but finally she saw the light and did the good ole taste test like me. I've also shown her how to sniff things proply, but that is a mixed blessing as when I find a real intrestin smell she shoves her snoopy little snoz under mine an steals all the sniffs out of it. I jus go an pretend to find a betta one. 

These girl dogs are lazy they don't mark smells or pee on trees or anything so I has to do all the home guard stuff. Mind you she is handy as an early warning system . I don't bark much - as you know from when I got lost that time -  but being a girl she talks enuff for both of us.

She has been working very hard at obedience training and after only three classes wiv Aunty Heather she passed both her Level 1 and 2 tests. We had been practising at home every day so I reckon I must get some of the credit. Still - she did good and this week she passed her Level 3 so she is catching up wiv me. I'm learning los of new tricks and can do a weave around Mum's legs followed by a few spins and reverses. I has to be careful not to knock the ole girl over though. 

(Note from Mum - Not so much of the "ole girl" - rat bag !) 

Me an Mum wiv my Level 5 certificate - Aunty Heather even framed it for me - fanks .

Tammy and Mum wiv Tam's Level 1 and 2 Certificates

Tam practising at home wiv me making sure she does it right.

                                                                                                                           

Smokey and Tammy seem to have a thing about Mum's shoes . Smokes kidnaps em attacking anyone who tries to rescue em an Tam was found with her snoz buried in Mum's old slipper when Mum went out one day. Weird if you ask me but there's no accounting for tastes.

 We is all good mates though and usually end up at the end of the day sleeping in a circle in front of the telly with Mum and Dad.








 

On guard

Recently Tammy an me was minding our own business when I smelt something odd so we raced over to the fence to see it off. There were two big gwannas just sitting there looking at us so Tammy barked at them and I did my best squeaking but they took no notice and stayed there all afternoon which meant we had to be on guard duty for ages.

  

We reckoned they could of bin Alien spies  as Alien holes appeared in the yard next morning which had nothing to do with us obviously. 

And one evening we saw one of the turky gobblers walking along just in front of us very slowly but he suddenly picked up speed, started flapping and landed with a wallop in a tree. Never seen that before so I sat down with my mouth open and stared up at him,The parents had hysterics watching me as usual - They is so childish - but I was gob smacked - turky gobblers shouldn't do that !  I wanted to stay and see how he got down but they dragged me home. No fun at all.

Tammy met her first cidna and was all set to give it a poke with her nose but we told her it was not a good idea. She also saw the huge big hoppy roos and that made her all excited. She had to sit down for a minute to watch em . She is learning heaps and I suppose if we can call racing round like a mad dog while barking her head off "ornithology" she is doing okay for a bit of a kid. 

Sometimes she forgets who Dad is and gets all thingy and loud noises send her into a bit of a tizz. She reckons she is scared of being sent away or that someone will be cruel to her again. I keep telling her that Mum and Dad love us soooo much and that will never happen but it will take her a while to trust humans proply I fink. Well it took me over a year to be happy with jumping in or out of cars after being thrown out of one when I was a baby, so I understand and give her lots of licks and snuggle up to her when she gets frit and so do Mum and Dad. We is a happy family.

A pile of love 

  OOOOH YES - Crissmus was great. We got all dressed up for the KDOT Crissmus party. Mum thought that Tammy would be too scared to dress up but she was happy in antlers, bells and a big bow. I dressed up as Santa again an Mum an Dad had Santa hats on. We got heaps of pressies - some self destructed but we can still play with what is left of em. Mum made us some yummy bickies too. I helped her mix em and was chief taster and I reckon they tasted just as good before she baked em.

Tammy's first Chrismus pressie

Me showing Tammy how to open pressies

At the KDOT break up party

All dressed up for the party

We did have a bit of a problem with poor old Teddy . He simply blew up in the yard after having a bit of a romp with us . Mum took him off to emergency ward but he hasn't come back yet .

 Hope he gets well soon.

See you next time
Happy New Year from me an Tam ( and the parents )

My Sister and other stuff

Hi everyone ,

Well such a lot has happened since I spoke to you last that I don't know where to start.

I am just so excited as I have a Sister now . Her name is Tammy and she is wonderful. This is one of them girlie glamour photos - she is good lookin' but this makes her look like a movie star. (which she isn't) 

She has had a lot of bad stuff happen to her and is a bit scared of things . Well acshully she was scared of everything at first and a mess, but she and Mum met at the RSPCA and they just fell in love. Tammy had to go to rehab. (No she wasn't on drugs - just scared stiff.) Anyway Aunty Denise at Silver Linings Pet Rescue looked after her for a while and helped her until Mum and Dad decided that they would like to adopt her 'cause Mum kept going on and on about her and crying ! 

At first Tam came for day visits to see if she would fit in okay . Smokey cat had to be asked if he liked her too. He just sniffed her and gave her the head butt of approval. She likes cats but I did warn her that they have sharp bits. I showed her around and gave her lots of licks. Bit disappointed at first as she wouldn't play for long and kept running off in a corner and laying down all frit. I asked the parents if her batteries were flat or something. Smokey got crabby one day and got up on his hind legs to give us both one of his best right crosses and left jabs. I ducked and ran for cover but poor Tam went into melt down ( I did warn her ! ) and it took a few more visits before she plucked up courage to face him again.  Then she came for a two night sleep over and we really had some fun.

                        Smokey made his peace with her and we all had a big love in with Mum one night.

Tammy moved in with us this week and it is sooo great to have someone to play with. I let her win some games because she's a girl and  I am a gentleman. She can't really run as fast as I do though and hasn't a clue about playing with toys so I am trying to teach her. However she does know all about Aliens hiding in the ground and we are  on constant watch. When we smell them we dig Alien holes to get at them.
 Haven't caught one yet - Probably because Mum keeps filling the holes up so we have to start all over 
                                                  again. She has no idea ! We are onto it though .

               




 I let her win this one.


                                                                           












                                          Digging out the Aliens











I have no idea how we ended up like this
                But it was fun !

                                





     She decided to eat my ear - but she was very 
                          gentle - it didn't hurt .








   Tammy has become addicted to Mum's walking boots and keeps nicking one and taking it outside for a play. I have told her that the parents take a dim view of that sort of thing but she just grins ! Must admit I enjoy seeing her happy and being cheeky after such a sad beginning.  Mum is hiding the boots now.  Tam has also developed a stealth attack method for sneaking Smokey's dinner. I have to admire her as she is so
                                                                     quiet about it.

Before Tammy came Dad and me was going for our evening walk and suddenly saw a big long green wriggly thing cross the track in front of us. It flung itself into a bush and then sort of tied itself in knots to shoot up the branches. It was totally weird .  I sat there in shock. Never seen anything do that before.
              Dad laughed at me which I thought a bit unkind as he hadn't seen that happen before either.   

Then me an' Mum were walking up the back of the paddock and I saw something black and shiny next to the track. It was pretty big and I remembered seeing them before and that they weren't to be played with so I just gave it a sniff. I was on my lead and Mum was real cool - Just said "Ooops" and pulled me to the other side and we hurried past it. We don't think it even saw us as it didn't move. Mum is sort of levi
                                  - levat - leevitat - hovering above the ground now on our walks !

Last weekend the parents took me to visit some poor dogs that were in gaol. I ran up and down saying hello and they were so happy that I had come to see them. The nice lady asked if I would like to have a look at one of the cells and I said I would . Next thing I know I was locked in there and the parents were waving goodbye.  I will not repeat what I said about them - but it had a comment about their birth status.    
                       They came back though and I jumped in the car before they could get away again.

Now for some stunning news  I HAVE PASSED MY LEVEL 5 OBEDIENCE TEST . YAY - I MADE IT.

Thanks to Auntie Heather at KDOT for being so patient and teaching Mum and Dad so well !  She will       now have me and Tammy to put up

I'm learning tricks now . This is one of them . I can't have the treat until Mum or Dad say I can. I  do go a bit cross eyed though !

See you next time .

Luv and licks

Skip

 Auntie Stef from Animals Anonymous Pet Sitting took this great photo when she was looking after me one day .I is sooo handsome ! (And modest with it.)

Road trips and stuff

I'm baaa aack !

  I've been very busy since my last post . What with Christmas and road trips and my birthday and training and helping the parents with their stuff my paws have been full

Christmas was great - lots of presents for me and lots of fun. Didn't really appreciate having to wear antlers again to amuse the folks so I refused to smile for the photo at home as you can see. Stupid Santas but I did enjoy the dress up for our KDOT (Kingaroy Dog Obedience Training)  break up party which was a hoot and I wore a Santa coat as well.

Here's me opening my presents. I did have a great time with that. Santa left me a big pile of stuff so I must have impressed him with my style last year.

I smell treats !

A new toy from my Aunty Donna

   After Christmas we went on a road trip to see my Niece "Ebony", you may remember that she visited us last year and I had promised her that I would go up to her place for a visit. I didn't know how far it was though - it took two days to get there. Dad stopped lots of  times for us to stretch our legs and at one stop Mum took me for a walk next to a big lot of water. I couldn't see where it finished it was sooo big. There were a lot of strange looking things rushing around sideways on the ground so I thought I would catch one to see what it was but every time I tried to grab one it just disappeared down a tiny hole. That was a bit weird. The parents laughed at me when I looked suprised which was very rude of them I thought so I gave them a dirty look. It was soooo boring in the car .

 This is my "are we there yet look".

And this is when I decided to take a turn at driving to relieve the boredom.

We finally arrived and I had a wonderful time with my two nieces "Ebony" and "Chelsea" - Here we are having a bit of a rest after playing ball. "Ebby" is guarding her ball- I didn't want it anyway so there !

This  is Chelsea - She is a sweetie .

When we got home there was a parcel waiting for me and that was another Chrissie present for me from Mum and Dad. It is a puzzle and it took me a couple of goes to work it out but as it involves finding treats I soon had it sussed. It now takes me less than five minutes to  finish. The cat reckoned he could do better than me but he isn't in the hunt .

Talking of the cat reminds me. Dad was going into town one day and left the car door open for a minute . When he and I went back it was lucky that he looked in the back as there was "Smokey" ready to go for a ride. I got in to push him out but he told me he was fed up with me getting all the trips. He would just be a nuisance though. He once climbed onto Dad's roof rack and Mum watched the truck go down the driveway with him standing on top. She tried to ring Dad to stop him but they were half way into town by the time Dad realised. "Smokes" wasn't worried though he just walked over to be lifted down. Must admit - he has some class that cat !

I have been pretty good so far this year - apart from one mad escape after a hoppy one evening but I did come back (eventually ) when Mum called me in a very determined voice. I had lost sight of the Hoppy thing anyway and it was nearly tea time.

There was that misunderstanding over Dad's socks though. I found this soft ball in the dining room after Mum had put the clean washing away so I took it into my yard for a bit of a play . I can tell you I was pretty suprised when it suddenly  burst open and turned into Dad's favourite pair of socks, so I left it where it was. Mum found them later and I got "a look" but I denied all knowledge of it and I think I got away with it. The socks were fine - just a bit dirty looking. The parents thought that probably those aliens were to blame as they are making holes in the backyard again.

And then there was my 2nd birthday. Yay !!!!  Lots more pressies and fun. I was very happy to get a new teddy friend as unfortunately my Christmas Ted had an accident and went into ICU but didn't survive. Apparently complete stomach and leg transplants are a bit dicey.Some teddies just don't have what it takes I'm afraid. Poor Teddy. Here are my birthday photos.

Me with my birthday cake

Remodelling my new Ted's ear as he didn't like the way it was.

Add Asking Mum to play "Toss the Ted"

 

 

Giving new "Ted" a cuddle after his ear reshaping.My other teddy is a bit jealous. 

 

                                            
                                            Now the bestest news. ----- Drum roll please.

I passed my Level 4 obedience test ! My friend Tasha and I both passed so big celebrations.  Here we are just after our test . Aunty Heather, our trainer, took this photo as she was so proud of us . Now we have to study to achieve our Level 5 certificates.

      

I told you I had been busy !!!

'bye for now