SNIFFdogwear

Treats in a bottle

2007-08-08T23:41:00.000+12:00

To keep Brie entertained, we came up with a plan of putting small bits of liver treat into a drink bottle and letting her bash it around to get the treats out. At the start we thought that there was no way she would get it all out, but very quickly she had it all figured out, and was flipping to bottle in all sorts of directions to get at the tasty treats inside.

Improved hiding

2007-08-08T00:41:00.001+12:00

Previously, Brie has been very bad at hiding her treats. But when she received a greenie clone called a 'nylabone', she decided that it required some serious hiding.

Down the side of the TV is Brie's super secret, ultra safe location for keeping classified treats.

She thinks it's a great location, but she noticed us staring at her while she was hiding it, so she had to come back a minute later to move her precious to her next favourite stop, the kitchen floor.

In hiding

2007-08-04T00:46:00.000+12:00

Brie is a master of hiding. She thinks she is so clever when she finds a new spot to crawl up in, but we know where she is really. You just have to look for the tell tale signs.

Just chilling

2007-08-03T00:54:00.000+12:00

Brie is very good at chilling out. Sometimes she'll make a little cave out of cushions on the bed and chill out there, or sometimes she'll just find a nice spot on the couch to enjoy some more chill time. Afterwards, she is usually good for another chill session out in the sun, or if it's raining, she knows that she has plenty of other good chilling options.

Brie from the hood

2007-08-02T00:43:00.001+12:00

In order to maintain her credibility out on the mean streets, Brie occasionally dons her hoodie. This way, she knows she'll be looking sharp when she meets up with her homedogs.

Catching expert

2007-07-31T22:11:00.001+12:00

Well well well I never thought this day would come, but now Brie can catch!!! She is a little athletic poodle who knows how to catch her treats. But her specialized talent is very specific as she only knows the trajectory of one type of treat, and if it was lighter or heavier then she is just lost. Never the less, Brie is very proud of her new talent that she has mastered.

New favourite fruit

2007-07-30T22:31:00.000+12:00

We always knew that Brie enjoys eating fruit, but one fruit that she had never tried before was cherries. It turns out that she really really likes cherries, and once she had one for herself, she was very reluctant to let it go.

Cheese radar

2007-07-27T21:13:00.000+12:00

One of Brie's unique talents is her ability to detect cheese from great distance. She knows when the cheese has been taken out of the fridge from the other end of the house, while sleeping. Very impressive. Once the presence of cheese has been confirmed she begins her routine of good sits.

Meer kat

2007-07-26T20:03:00.000+12:00

Last night Brie watched a program on TV about meerkats. She was very interested in what they were doing, standing up and looking around all the time. I think she thought that this is what she must be, so she started acting like a meerkat. Which lasted for about 30 seconds.

Harry Potter fan

2007-07-25T19:08:00.000+12:00

After a long hour of sulking and pouting, Bries has found a way to improve the situation. If you can't beat them, join them huh Brie?

Brie's new nemesis

2007-07-24T19:08:00.000+12:00

Brie has been having a very difficult time trying to get attention ever since this new nemesis appeared on Saturday. Brie's new nemesis is none other than the new Harry Potter book. We are very very absorbed in the book, and every time Brie wants to play she has to wait until the end of the chapter. And if you know Brie, she isn't very good at waiting, so she does what she does best - maul people. Her plan of attack would have worked if it wasn't a Harry Potter book, so she resorted to sulking.

Brie pounce

2007-07-20T21:23:00.000+12:00

Brie has cat like tendencies which have been mentioned in previous posts. One of these tendencies is pouncing. When she see something suspicious like a moth or lint, she has to pounce. But there is a little thing that she needs to work on - timing . Her timing is awful, her chance of catching a bug is slim to none. I guess this is a good thing, as at least she isn't going to bring bugs inside.

Le Tour

2007-07-19T21:04:00.000+12:00

Brie was dozing away watching pretty French scenery from footage of le Tour de France, when this horrible thing happened. A golden retriever strolled out in front of a bike and collided with the incoming bike. The poor rider flew over the handle bars, but fortunately the doggie and the rider were ok afterwards. So after this sad incident Brie has a safety announcement to make that 'all the doggie fans should watch Tour de France on tele while lounging on a comfy couch just like Brie'.

At the table

2007-07-18T20:35:00.000+12:00

If there's one thing that Brie hates, it's being left out. So when we eat dinner, she insists on sitting at the table with us, even though she knows she's not allow to put her paws on the table. I'm not sure what she is thinking, but it's probably something like 'where's my plate?'. Don't you know Brie, your food is on the floor where you left it.

Luggage

2007-07-17T22:55:00.000+12:00

Brie has been taking her lamb ear everywhere. It's like her thing that she carries around, probably so that she knows she always has something to chew, should she feel the need. Or maybe it's because she always sees other people carrying things and doesn't want to feel left out. Either way, she is growing very attached to her little lamb ear, althrough she sometimes forgets and leaves it out on the deck. Are you ever going to finish your treat Brie?

Hiding treats

2007-07-16T20:16:00.000+12:00

When it comes to lamb ears, I think they're great because they doesn't smell much, but for Brie this makes them a low priority treat that she needs to attend to. So what does a poodle do? She has been trotting around the house with the lamb ear trying to find the right place to hide it. Her first attempt to hide it behind the couch wasn't so good, and it has been discovered so now she has to find another secretive spot. After some extensive poodle thinking, she decided to put it here. Yes in the middle of the room.

Rose scented poodle

2007-07-12T23:53:00.001+12:00

Brie was due for a trim, so she had a wash and little trim here and there, so she is now a rose scented poodle. The conditioner we use has a rose scent so on post-wash days she smells really nice. And also I find that regular trimming gets rid of damaged ends which reduces hair tangling and makes it a lot easier for us to brush her. But Brie doesn't care about any of that, she is just happy that she gets her post-grooming treats.

Here's good

2007-07-11T20:53:00.000+12:00

When Brie was little she was much more managable. She was gentle and sweet and never caused trouble. Not at all like the little diva she is today. Also, being smaller she was able to sleep in some very strange places.

Brie vs. Storm

2007-07-10T19:22:00.000+12:00

Although Brie is getting more and more confident, today's storm was too much to handle for such a little poodle. She did her best, barking at all the noises and trying to scare it off, but after a while she got bored and wanted to play instead. Storm 1, Brie 0.

The Entertainer

2007-07-09T21:01:00.000+12:00

Brie is a natural entertainer, and she loves to have guests around so that she can be the center of attention. But after a long afternoon of playing she gets sleepy, even though she tries very hard to stay awake. And even when she does go to sleep, she makes sure it's right in the middle of the action.

5 paws down

2007-07-06T18:40:00.000+12:00

This is a new series pitched by Brie which involves Brie sampling doggie treats and rating them out of 5 paws. Well I guess she will make a good judge as she is really picky, so if you have any of those difficult doggies when it comes to treats, this might be useful.

The first on the list is one of the "Gourmet" series, "BOBBITS". The price is very reasonable and they come in packs of 7 to 8 I think, I never really counted so there may be 5 in each pack from the local supermarket. The good thing about it is that it makes no mess, and the smell isn't very offensive, and they last a long enough time to be her staying in treat. On the other hand, the sizes are very random and can be from 7 cm in length to 12cm, which is little bit too big for Brie, although she ate it and her appetite for dinner was reduced. Never the less, it's a good treat if you can look past the appearance.

When the rain stopped

2007-07-05T20:52:00.000+12:00

I finally managed to drag this lazy poodle off the couch and off for a walk, even though she was sleeping. We met a Jack Russel who was strolling the park, I think he was taking himself for a walk. Brie was impressed by his independence. Brie I hope it doesn't give you mischievous ideas.

Raining cats and dogs

2007-07-04T20:21:00.001+12:00

Well Brie has come far in terms of toilet training. She used to wait until the rain and thunder stopped, but today she went out bravely even though the rain was pouring and the thunder was going and did her business outside like a good little poodle. I'm so proud of you Brie, although I did have to hold the umbrella.

Couch potato

2007-07-03T20:27:00.000+12:00

So what's Brie been up to after coming back from her holiday? Well she has been a couch potato. Finding her hidden treats and munching them on the couch. Brie, we should be bit more active.

The last day

2007-07-02T20:35:00.000+12:00

Brie had to get up early to leave Christchurch, and she didn't like it. This was because it was freezing in the morning, and she had to wait outside the airport as dogs aren't allowed. Fortunately for Brie she found a nice warm place to wait.

Out and about

2007-06-30T20:02:00.000+12:00

So the next venue Brie scoped out was the local park, where she met another doggie called Flex, and strolled around the lake. She couldn't play fetch like the other dogs, but she had a fun time observing them. Maybe next time Brie.

Large four legged friends

2007-06-28T17:58:00.000+12:00

When you are at a farm, you have to meet horses. Well that's what we thought, since other dogs grow up with these large four legged friends, it doesn't faze them at all. But for Brie it was a whole new experience. I'm sure the horse was wondering what this white fluffy lamb like animal is.

Hazel nut orchard

2007-06-27T20:03:00.001+12:00

Going to Christchurch and visiting family was an eye opening experience for Brie, as one of the places she visited was a hazel nut orchard, where she run through rows and rows of trees and never got bored of it. With fallen leaves and nuts and zillions of other things to investigate, it was doggie amusement park. Billy and Poppy knew the way around showed all the hot spots to Brie.

Making friends

2007-06-26T20:10:00.000+12:00

Brie's mission in Christchurch was to socialise and get used to being around other dogs, which she was definitely able to achieve. One of the dogs she met is a jack russell called Billy. Billy is very friendly and got on well with Brie, even though Brie was a bit shy at first. I was hoping that they would play together, but even through they never really got past the sniffing stage it was is still a success for Brie as her usual behaviour would be to run away with her tail between her legs while squealing. See Brie, other dogs aren't that bad!

Back from holiday

2007-06-25T20:59:00.000+12:00

Brie is back from her little trip down south. She loved every bit of her vacation, where she met so many new friends, and improved on her doggie socialising skills. She also worked up some courage with cats. Now she is in full recovery mode, catching up on missed sleep. The adventure filled trip must have been very exhausting for little Brie. More to come on her trip to Christchurch.

3rd time unlucky

2007-06-22T18:19:00.000+12:00

Poor poor Brie, her attempt at some quiet sunbathing has failed miserable for the third day in a row. Her favorite spot was soaked, so she just had to make do with next best thing - on the bed. She still gets sunlight and the view, but maybe a little too much for her liking. Brie, do you need sunglasses, you are squinting so much you look like you have your eyes closed.
On the other hand, I have a little new finding about Brie. In past I read that if you yawn, your dog copies, and it is one way to calm the dog down. And it works sometimes, she doesn't calm down, but she definitely copies. So I was wondering that if I wiggle my nose, just like in "Bewitched", she might mimic me. Despite how poor my nose wiggling is, Brie still copies. It's rather fascinating I thought. I'm sure my biased observation isn't very scientific but give it a try!

Poodle in the Wind

2007-06-22T00:38:00.001+12:00

To make up for yesterday's lack of sunbathing, Brie went outside this morning to inhale the fresh morning air. Unfortuately, at the same time a huge gust of wind came blowing through the garden which nearly knocked her over. Brie has decided that she doesn't like the wind very much, so she came inside to wait until it was safe outside, but then it started raining. Poor Brie.

Grim and rainy

2007-06-21T00:45:00.000+12:00

Brie loves her routine, and when she wakes up in the morning she likes to do a bit of pre-breakfast sunbathing out on the deck, and then some post-breakfast sunbathing. She gazes out to her garden and absorbs the morning sunshine. However, today was one of those typically grim and wet winter days, and her morning routine was canceled. She isn't a happy poodle today.

More on her daily walk

2007-06-19T22:10:00.000+12:00

When it comes to walking she isn't picky on the route, so long as she gets to visit the park as that's her favourite destination. When I walk her by myself, she is kept on the leash, so that involves me running along with her, and despite how tiny she is she has a lot more energy then I have, so she has to put up with my slow jog, which she loves but she gets a bit frustrated.

Pee-mail

2007-06-18T23:30:00.000+12:00

Brie has a very doggie way of communicating with the other doggies in the neighbourhood - peemail. Her inbox is the letterbox in front of our house, where she likes to check if anyone has left her a mail, and sometimes she has outgoing mail of her own to deliver. This is one of Brie's favourite activities as she loves to keep up with what's going on outside the house.

Walkies Brie??

2007-06-15T20:01:00.000+12:00

Brie loves going for a walk, well once she gets going.She doesn't have an enthusiastic response which you expect from dogs. But once she hits the road she is trotting away with joy, and she has her eye set on one destination - her local park. See Brie, aren't you glad I woke you up??

Brie reporting back

2007-06-14T22:54:00.000+12:00

Our friendly neighbor Oxo (Labrador retriever) is a role model for Brie, and she always looks up to him. Oxo is very very good at recognising unwanted visitors, so Brie is learning the way of the guard dog from him. When he barks she knows that it's time for her to bark as well, but she warns us about other insignificant things, like some huge leaf on our deck, or a cat in her garden (yes, yes they may be hidden spies from evil land try to steel your cheese Brie).

One of the routine things she does every time she goes for her daily walk is to report to him on the way when she is leaving and when she arrives back. I bet Oxo thinks you are a funny looking fluff ball that's full of character.

Meeting more doggies

2007-06-13T19:34:00.000+12:00

Brie had a little encounter with two German shepherd yesterday. Although she acted like a drama queen and overreacted. The poor German shepherd puppy was so scared of this diva fluff ball that he had his tail between his legs. Their dad was very very understanding of Brie and after a little while she was even showing some interest in sniffing around and saying hi. Hopefully we can meet them again soon.A current addiction of Brie's is that she loves it when people talk into her little tube, she gets very excited and wants to see what's going on inside. I know it's a little crazy, but Brie is a little crazy poodle so it kind of make sense in a crazy poodle kind of way.

Cup of tea

2007-06-12T21:15:00.000+12:00

Brie gets away with anything when the camera is nearby.. Here she is sampling my cup of tea. Brie! You're not a teacup poodle.

Butterfly

2007-06-08T20:43:00.000+12:00

Brie found a new friend today, who she had a great time playing with. But unfortunately for Brie her new friend was a butterfly, who wasn't able to keep up with her rough playing. And she got told off for endangering the butterfly. Maybe you should be playing with someone your own size Brie!

Cute poodle??

2007-06-07T20:58:00.000+12:00

When Brie does something cute I usually rush to go and get the camera while trying not to disturb her, but when I run she usually runs along with me and ruins the Kodak moment. But today, Brie was doing a sequence of cute yawns, and the camera was right there, so I thought that I should seize this moment and capture this cute yawning poodle and show it to everyone so that I can say how cute she is. But instead, this is what I got. I think my action photography skills are a bit lacking.

Daddy's little girl

2007-06-06T20:05:00.000+12:00

Due to the recent temperature drop, Brie prefers to snuggle up to my husband instead of sleeping by herself when she naps. This is very sweet, but my husband has got it into his head that he is Brie's favourite parent. But I secretly know that he has been buying Brie's affection with cheese, sneaky!!

Brie can be really sweet when she is snuggling up, until she accidentally gets squished, then she is the biggest drama queen ever, expressing her irritation by giving an annoyed sigh.

Survival of the warmest

2007-06-05T21:50:00.000+12:00

These cold winter mornings have been very tough for Brie, and she has had to use all of her survival instincts to make it through. Her 'locate the warmest patch to sleep on' instinct has been working on overdrive, and she always manages to lie down exactly where I want to sleep. And just lately, she's also been fine tuning her 'sleeping in' instinct, and has become quite the expert at lazy mornings. Brie, you must be feeling quite proud of your winter abilities.

Oh what's that smell!!

2007-06-01T19:52:00.000+12:00

This morning while I was enjoying a nice hot cup of tea Brie curled up on my lap. And to my horror this awful smell lingered around Brie. She was a grass covered, icky stained and very smelly poodle. She must have rubbed something smelly on her back. Since I couldn't wash her right there and then, I put a jumper on her to contain the smell (which worked a little) and so that she couldn't spread that awful smell around the house.

Anyway, by the afternoon I finally had time to wash her, and give her an over due trim. She has more volume on her ears then ever, and the best part is that she is smelling nice and rosy.

Internal clock

2007-05-31T20:38:00.000+12:00

Brie has a strict internal clock that she like to follow, and she tries her best to enforce it on us. However it doesn't quite align with our schedules. She starts waiting for my husband to come home an hour early every day, and the same goes for her morning bathroom business. She wakes up exactly one hour earlier than we want to get up, and she insists on going to the toilet at that precise moment, even thought she just goes back to bed afterwards.

And it's not that Brie's internal clock ignores daylight savings as it's always set one hour early, so she is consistently one whole hour premature. She need to be reformatted, but we haven't figured out how to achieve that yet. She is like one of those annoying person who set the clock 5 minutes forward, and then claim that other people don't run on time.

What does Brie dream about?

2007-05-30T21:29:00.001+12:00

When Brie is sleeping she often has exciting dreams. We can tell, because she unknowingly acts out parts of her dream in real life. Yesterday she must have found a tasty bone in her dream, because she was making munching motions and sounds, while wagging her tail. It must have been a very good dream!

And at other times she wiggles her nose when she has found something smelly, or moves her ears around. But the worse one is when she sleep barks. I guess she must have seen the mailman in her dream.

Holiday plans

2007-05-29T19:10:00.000+12:00

We are planning a little trip down to Christchurch to visit some family, and Brie is also joining as on our holiday, as they have little doggies for Brie to meet and also fields for her to run around and stretch her little legs in.

Well everyday is a holiday day for Brie, but this one is special as it will be first time for Brie will be traveling by airplane. She doesn't know what "pet class" is, and she thinks she is travelling first class; planning to eat gourmet cheese from the cheese board and sipping some wine. But I'm sure she will be fine because she likes her crate, since she made it smell like lamb chops and it keeps her entertained for hours. Oh and it is temperature controlled too so you're not going to get cold. But you don't need to pack yet, it's not for weeks.

Grassy poodle

2007-05-28T19:31:00.000+12:00

The day after the mowing gets done is Brie's favourite. She investigates every inch of her lawn, and this is a huge task for a little poodle, so she gets really into it. She loves digging up new scents, and then rolling around in them. For us this means more bits of grass left around the house than usual, and naturally Brie just gets grassy. So I guess someone has to wash Brie, I hope the post-it will help.

Toy box

2007-05-25T20:26:00.000+12:00

As Brie got older, her stash of toys accumulated. We used to just throw everything into her house where she could nest among her toys. But it got to the point where Brie couldn't even fit into her own house. So we bought a couple boxes for her to store her things.

However, Brie has discovered a new game, which she likes to call 'lets empty out all the toys onto the floor'. It usually begins because she just must have that toy that's right at the bottom, but there are all these other toys in the way.

But it continues, as once she has the toy she has worked so hard to get she then decides that it wasn't the one that she really wanted. So at the end of the night we have one triumphant poodle playing with dozens of toys scattered around the lounge.

Want out

2007-05-24T22:48:00.000+12:00

Brie has discovered a new way of letting us know when she wants to go outside - scratching the wall next to the door with her paw. It's so sweet when she scratches then looks up to see if anybody noticed, and I feel like we are communicating so well together.

So when I let her out to do her business she usually initiates her toileting routine (Brie has a routine for everything) but is then immediately distracted by something; a neighbour, or a falling apple, or sometimes nothing in particular, but it all needs investigating. So off she goes charging around in the wet grass completely forgeting why she wanted to go out in the first place. And after a few minutes of mayhem she will come back inside, soaking wet and looking very proud of herself.

But then, a few minutes later, after she has been dried, a quiet scratching sound can be heard coming from the near the front door.. You better be going this time Brie.

In the begining

2007-05-23T20:35:00.000+12:00

Back when Brie was a tiny puppy she wasn't able to cause as much havoc as she would have liked. This was mostly because she hadn't quite got the hang of running around while waving a toy around like crazy. But she had also yet to develop her keen sense of mischief. So instead of bounding around off the deck and into the long grass like she does now she would sort of tumble down the tiny step and land upside on the lawn. This was usually followed by some frantic squirming to get back on her feet, followed by a cautious glace around to see if anybody noticed. I'm not sure she realised how cute she was back in her youth.

Keeping the seat warm.

2007-05-22T19:50:00.000+12:00

Brie loves sitting in the places which we have just occupied, like on couches or the bed. Unfortunately she also likes to occupy the dinning room chairs as well. Earlier on in her obedience training (or lack of obedience training) Brie and my husband made a deal that Brie would be allowed to sit on the chair but not to put a paw on the table. So she honors this deal faithfully, but when we leave the table and forget to put the seats back underneath, we often come back to see Brie defiantly seating on the table. Hmmm Brie I'm not done yet.

Brie's precious treasure

2007-05-21T20:00:00.000+12:00

Brie is a marrow bone biscuit addict, but for the first time she has been given a real lamb marrow bone, and she loves it! I'm pretty sure she doesn't think that the biscuit look-a-like comes anywhere near the real thing.

Ever since she got given one, she is taking it around everywhere, playing with it, biting and licking it. It is her new little treasure, her last treasure was a little stone that she dug up from the garden which hurt when she dropped it on my feet, so this is definitely an improvement.

Matching umbrella

2007-05-18T18:36:00.000+12:00

It seems like we have finally reached the wet and cold part of the year. This isn't a favourite season for Brie as she doesn't like her face getting rained on. You should see her annoyance when rain drops near her eyes.

Anyway, one of those interesting items I saw on the Internet was a "Dog Umbrella". I'm sure it seemed like a good idea when it was being designed, but when it comes to practicality I'm not sure it delivers. Like, what would happen when you have to pick up some doggie business off the ground or what if your dog likes to lead, would the umbrella still be on top of him? Lots of questions to be answered.

This is how Brie survived the winter last year.

Stubborn poodle

2007-05-17T20:50:00.000+12:00

Brie is very stubborn and doesn't like getting up in the morning. This is a good example of what happens to a poodle when she doesn't cooperate when I'm trying to make the bed. She usually finds her way out eventually, but she manages to mess up the duvet in the process, so I have to remake the bed.

I just folded those!

2007-05-16T20:18:00.000+12:00

Recently my husband has noticed many of the post get put in the "Mischief" category. But I can't put this post in any other category so we just have to add it to mischief, along with all the other misbehaving stories. I think this picture sums up what Brie did today. She had the whole bed all to herself, so I'm not sure why she has to bite her chew on top of the folded clean clothes.

Brie's morning routine

2007-05-15T16:46:00.000+12:00

During the morning rush at our house we have a particularly unhelpful poodle. She stays under the duvet for as long as possible, until she get kicked out as the bed has to be made. Then she does her routine stretches, then yawns which she insists on doing before going to the little girl's room.

This is so cute on weekend mornings but really it's rather untimely when she does it on busy mornings.

Then she comes in to announce to everyone that she did her little business. Which usually involves a lot of jumping on the bed with wet paws. Then she get carried out to get her paws dried, which she thinks is play time, followed by her demand for breakfast, which she sometimes doesn't touch until we leave. Oh Brie you are very cute but you could be little more helpful, I'm so sure most doggies don't sleep in every morning. (and go dry those paws)

Bit busy right now.

2007-05-14T18:05:00.001+12:00

Brie's is having a cheerful and upbeat day as a very nice reader suggested that Brie's poffy ears look more Princess Leia's buns. Yay that's an improvement from being called Micky mouse ears. After all Micky is a mouse and Leia is a Princess.Well anyway, Brie's treats have been downsized as the pig ear we gave her before took her too long to eat, so we had to put up with a drool covered pig ear left around the room. Which is a big fat no no, so instead I found her a lamb ear!!!
It's a quarter the size of a pig ear and also smells less, and Brie seem to enjoy it anyway despite the downsize. She is very busy chewing it away, she so busy that she didn't even come when I called her.

Poffy ears!

2007-05-11T19:17:00.000+12:00

Brie's fur is lot denser then when she first came to our house. So when I give her a trim we can do a lot more to it. I like giving Brie poffy ears, placed higher then her actual ear position with a lot more volume, kind of like a koala outline. But some people have said that she looks more like Micky mouse. Never the less, they are both cute anyway so I'm not complaining.

The adventurous life

2007-05-10T19:55:00.000+12:00

Brie is a big fan of Top Gear dog (TG), who is a labradoodle on the TV show 'Top Gear'. TG leads an exciting life with the crew of Top Gear going on adventures such as camping. Recently TG was herding up sheep, which Brie seemed quite interested in.

And I'm sure Brie would love to lead such an exciting life, but when it comes to getting out and doing such hard work Brie would prefers to lie in bed hiding. Brie! You should try it some time, it might be fun.

Great catch!

2007-05-09T19:03:00.000+12:00

I attempted to teach Brie to catch when she was a lot younger but failed. This was because she was so uncoordinated that she kept getting hit by her treat on the nose, or she would loose the treat and get sad about it, so I felt little sorry for her and I stopped the training.

But recently Coco's dad has been patient and has been teaching Brie to catch (after I complained that Brie can't catch like Coco). I must admit, at the start it was more like the treat was being dropped and Brie had her mouth open so it landed in her mouth, but now she can really catch it when the treat is traveling in projectile motion. She can really catch! She even hops up and catches it sometimes. Her success rate is rather low, but I think she finally understands the concept now. Oh Brie we are very very proud of you.

Where is my orange juice??

2007-05-08T19:19:00.000+12:00

When Brie is off in another room by herself it usually means one of two things, she is sleeping in the bedroom or she is up to no good. This happened last night and we were wondering were she was. To my horror, Brie was up on the office table looking guilty beside a half empty glass of orange juice!!!! Yes, Brie was drinking orange juice! My husband has a tendency to leave half drunk glasses and mugs around the room, and Brie decided to have a taste of it. I'm not sure who to be annoyed at; Brie who is looking very happy but guilty, or husband who doesn't think it is his fault.

This is a puppy photo of Brie that I just had to take a photo of, Yes I know I should be stopping her immediately instead of taking a picture of it, but it was really funny.

Good sit and the lazy sit

2007-05-07T18:31:00.000+12:00

Brie expresses herself through her various sitting positions. She has two primary positions that communicate her requirements. For example, when she thinks she deserves a treat, like when she has done her business outside, she comes inside and sits very neatly, like so -

But when she is feeling a little lazy she will relax and sprawl out a bit -But as soon as she smells a hint of food she will sit to attention and use her love beams to try to win a treat. Brie knows exactly how to get what she wants when she wants it.

George the Hero

2007-05-04T21:16:00.000+12:00

I'm sure many of you have heard about the brave Jack Russel George's story. Whose selfless act saved some small children from being attacked by two pit bulls, but lost his own life in process. I could not believe the story when I first heard about it, it is so tragic. Our thoughts goes out to his owner.

Honesty system

2007-05-03T18:07:00.000+12:00

We still give Brie a little treat every time she does goes to the toilet outside. This is something we did for her toilet training and it works well. Still, Brie is easily distracted and sometimes she forgets what she went out to do, we tend to give her the command again to try to get her attention back on the task at hand. Usually Brie prances into the house with joy after doing her business and she does her good sit (yes, she has two alternate sitting positions; lazy sit and the good "I want a treat" sit). But sometimes there are no witnesses to the process of her doing her business so we just go with the honesty system.

And I just have a little feeling that some specific poodle is violating the system lately, and claiming more treats then she deserves.

Another milestone

2007-05-02T22:47:00.000+12:00

Up until now Brie had been eating puppy kibble. But today is a big day as she has finally graduated onto fully grown dog kibble. The kibble pieces are much bigger than what she is used to so I was a bit worried that she would have difficulty eating them, but she pigged them down like they were made of cheese. I'm hoping this new found enthusiasm for kibble will last, and it's not just Brie getting excited by something new. Usually she is very reluctant to do even the most basic doggies tasks, like eating and excreting, requiring quite a lot of encouragement. Maybe this new lamb flavoured grown up dog kibble will help Brie take on her responsibilities like an adult.

Neat and tidy.

2007-05-01T19:40:00.000+12:00

When I used to take Brie to puppy play school the people there said that chicken necks are a perfect treat as they are cheap, they clean teeth and dogs love them. But this idea was unanimously voted off at our house as the thought of raw chicken necks left behind by Brie on my couch and bed everywhere was not something I was looking forward to. So I decide to give Brie unflavoured cooked lamb bones. Which she loved, still I don’t like the idea of Brie smearing lamb bits everywhere so I tend to give it to her in her crate. This was a huge success, Brie just stayed in the crate chewing away for ages. Then a couple days ago we used them as a staying at home treat, because she has to stay at home by herself. When I got home there was a distinct lamb aroma emanating from the cushions. Hmmm….. I don’t think Brie did her chewing in the crate.

This is technically still staying in the crate according to Brie because the bone is in the crate even though her bum is out.

Cold nights

2007-04-30T19:33:00.000+12:00

Now that the mornings are a bit colder Brie has come up with her own ways of keeping warm at night. Her personal favourite is to burrow herself deep into the duvet, where she goes hunting for warm spots. But sometimes when she is snuggling under the duvet she gets too hot, and has to emerge to much (self-generated) fanfare. Brie muzzling her way out of the duvet is one of the cutest things she does, and she is always so happy when she finally finds her way out.

Default chewing position

2007-04-27T19:36:00.000+12:00

Brie is very fond of her new chewing position, wedging herself between the couch and a cushion. Following her lamb ear, yesterday night she chewed her lick stick which she earned from the Jog the dog event. I still find it very hard to believe that this is a comfortable position to eat your treat Brie!! Anyway the annoying thing was that she didn't want to pick up her treat when she dropped it, instead she just give us a stare while waiting for the treat to be handed back to her, lazy Brie.

Defiant Brie

2007-04-26T20:40:00.000+12:00

Brie has shooed away the pesky ants and brought back the peace to her kibble.... well I would like to say that but it is far far far from the truth. Her morning kibble was covered by ants, as she is one of those doggies who take ages to finish their breakfast. She eats a little then leaves it, then she comes back to eat more later on. We have tried removing the bowl straight away but that didn't encourage her to eat in a short time at all. Brie is just hiding away from the ants today. Funny thing is her bum is spilling out from the other side.

ANZAC Day

2007-04-25T17:51:00.000+12:00

Brie is getting into the ANZAC day spirit and got herself a poppy yesterday. Her plan was to have a nice day off from her busy schedule and to wear her poppy. But... her poppy went missing!!! The prime suspect was my husband, so he went off looking around in the car where we saw it last. To his surprise, it was left on the hood of the car, outside in the rain. He quickly dried it with a hairdryer, but Brie knows that her poppy was left outside in the rain. She wasn't very impressed.

Invasion

2007-04-24T21:01:00.000+12:00

Brie's food bowl has been the victim of a malicious invasion of ants. The situation arose when our brave poodle warrior left some of her breakfast kibble, giving the ants the opportunity to attack. She has yet to notice that her food is being stolen out from under her keen nose, but maybe tomorrow, the poodle strikes back.
To be continued....

At the end of the day

2007-04-23T19:23:00.000+12:00

All weekend Brie has been woken up early and has been staying up late to accompany us cheering football matches. On top of that she had a blast playing with our friend, so by Sunday night she was exhausted. Usually she is a light and very picky sleeper, if we were to flinch a muscle while she sleeps on our lap she sighs away sounding very annoyed. However yesterday she was so deep in her sleep that she just didn't wake up, even we put a cushion or her soft toy on top of her. It was rather amusing. Oh and I think she liked it because it kept her warm.

Little trimming

2007-04-20T20:56:00.000+12:00

Brie was starting to get a bit difficult to brush so I gave her a wash and trim. When she gets dried with the hair dryer she gets a bit sleepy and she starts to sway from side to side. Today's cut was much like the last one with high and puffy ears and a teddy bear like muzzle, with rounded paws. Oh, and a slight waist to make her less like a log and more like a smart poodle. She's smelling flowery and less like the lawn now.

Guilt trip

2007-04-19T18:45:00.000+12:00

Brie's thoughts are very easy to read sometimes (apart from the occasional mixed message). When we are occupied with other things, Brie will try to get our attention by various means. This includes a high pitched yelp or a sequence of whining noises. And when all of her attempts fail, she usually go offs and plays by herself. But yesterday she decided to stick with her guilt trip gaze. Which sadly works so well. Oh Brie you know us so well.

Comfortable chewing.

2007-04-18T18:42:00.000+12:00

When it comes to chewing her treats Brie loves to do it on top of things. Sometime it's a foot, or a hand but usually on cushion. Yesterday night she manage to get herself wedged between some cushions and was sitting like a person. Despite how uncomfortable this might be for a dog, she continued with chewing her lamb ear for ages. I am always impressed with how cleverly she uses her paws, I think she can almost anything when food is involved.

French market

2007-04-17T14:11:00.000+12:00

More on the weekend's activity; On Saturday Brie, for first time, experienced the French market over in Parnell. Her little nose was on overdrive smelling left right and center. The market was filled with everything she likes, cheese, sausage, and salamis. I think Brie decided to embrace her French heritage by smelling delicious food (she was very disappointed when we had to leave).

Jog the dog

2007-04-15T15:37:00.000+12:00

Despite the weather forecast Sunday morning turned out to be perfect weather for Jog the Dog. It was the first time for Brie and she had a really exciting time. The day started with a walk around the park, they had a long and short walk (for small and elder dogs). Brie stuck to the short route as less dogs choose it and when many dogs are around Brie can't concentrate on her walk and starts circling around us instead.They give out one-size-fits all Purina checked bandannas, all the dogs from Newfoundlands to chihuahuas were wearing it with style. The first thing Brie did after receiving it was to take it off and stand on it so her bandanna had distinctive paw prints on it (disappointing manners Brie).Then Brie watched the splash dog competition and the police dog display on my husband's shoulder. It inspired Brie to do a little obstacle course and show off her tricks which she did very well for her first time. Never the less Brie's day was filled with excitement and she got to meet lots of dogs and even politely greeted a handful of them. I think Brie is making progress on becoming a more sociable dog.

Waiting patiently

2007-04-13T18:34:00.000+12:00

Brie has a highly accurate internal clock mechanism. She often goes to her waiting position at 5:30 exactly. This involves getting on her watch tower (the back of the couch) to make sure that my husband comes home on time. Then when I open the door she gets really excited and her little fluffy tails moves at very high speed. This high speed tail action is rather lethal, once I was woken up by the fast beating of Brie's tail wagging on my face.

Unimpressed Brie

2007-04-12T20:26:00.000+12:00

Brie's day started with some casual lounging on the deck in the morning, however her cheerful day was interrupted by hail by the afternoon. Although she wanted to go outside to have her daily stroll she quickly changed her mind and decided to sulk on the bed instead. Don't worry Brie I'm sure we can go for a walk tomorrow.

Easter outing

2007-04-11T19:54:00.000+12:00

Over the Easter weekend we went up to the Western Springs park to let Brie stretch her little legs. She loved the little hills and the bridges, and the rest of it, well so we though. On the way back to the car Brie was spotted by a pukeko who frightened Brie. I'm sure the poor pukeko didn't know what was going on either. Then along came a bunny, which was so appropriate as this was Easter weekend, but as soon as Brie spotted the bunny, she was a bit frightened so she hid behind the our legs and sniffed at it from miles away. Nevertheless, Brie had a exciting time and the park is highly recommended for a afternoon stroll.

Afternoon with Coco

2007-04-10T20:28:00.000+12:00

Its been a couple of weeks since Coco was in an accident, and she has been recovering like a super dog. The only problem she is having now is that one of her rear legs is still in recovery, so she has to be on house rest. Coco doesn't believe that this is necessary and has being keen to go out and have a trot around the farm for a week now. So we decided to cheer her up with a little visit. I think both Coco and Brie had a exciting afternoon sniffing around Coco's garden.

Brie's hostile take over.

2007-04-05T19:58:00.000+12:00

Brie likes using a pillow when she sleeps. And if she can't she will utilise anything that's available. And if the only thing she has found was a mouse then she will sleep on it.

Well today first she decided to claim the mouse as hers by licking it all over (yes my mouse now officially needs cleaning). Then she decided to cuddle up and sleep on mouse. My husband thought this was so adorable, and kindly reminded me that Brie would be one little annoyed poodle if I wake her up. This is not a cute act, it's a hostile take over of my mouse!!!

And there was none

2007-04-04T21:52:00.000+12:00

It has been two weeks since the poor plant was introduced to the mayhem of Brie. The plant was once lively and full of flowers. However when I saw it today most of the flowers were eaten or attacked by a poodle-like predator. Hmm.... I wonder who it could be?

Wash day

2007-04-03T16:52:00.000+12:00

Well usually Brie is the sniffer and my husband is the sniffee, but the roles are reversed when it's coming up to wash day. We notice that we are unconsciously sniffing Brie every time she walks past. She usually she is so unaromatic that it is very noticeable when she starts getting a little smelly. Washing Brie is my little task and I thoroughly enjoy it, but Brie is a little uncooperative sometimes. But this time my husband was in the mood of washing Brie and I was a bit preoccupied. It was the first time he has washed Brie but she seemed to enjoy it very much.

Reverse Sneezing!!

2007-04-02T11:48:00.000+12:00

Brie has always had random episodes of struggling to breath. I felt a bit helpless as to what to do so we looked it up on the net and it is called “Reverse Sneezing”. It occurs in some small breeds of dog when the soft palate is irritated, they have trouble breathing in from the nose. The concern is that it may result in the dog panicing, but this can be solved by encouraging breathing from the mouth. And this can be achieved by stroking the throat.

And this worked so well that the panic stops instantaneously and I am very happy to be able to help. If the dog was to have reverse sneezing when by themselves it's not a problem because they can sort it out by themselves. The down side is that Brie loves getting her throat stroked so much that she is demanding it all the time. Another cat like behaviour she has acquired.

What would Brie do?

2007-03-30T20:01:00.000+12:00

This article came out yesterday about a dog saving her owners life by doing the Heimlich maneuver. Even though there is some doubt about whether the dog had the intention of dislodging the apple it is nevertheless a fascinating story.

And this got me thinking what would Brie do in the same situation. Well, in the previous case if I was in pain on the ground she has always came beside me but instead of comforting me she just expects to play. Hmm...... this is a not a positive sign, also as Brie is very fond of apples chances are that she would sniff my face trying to find out where the rest of the apples went. I think I better be careful when eating apples as the chances of Brie giving me the Heimlich maneuver are slim to none.

Too wet and windy for Brie

2007-03-29T18:41:00.000+12:00

This weather we are having is not very accommodating for Brie. The high pitched squeal of the wind gushing through and rattling branches scares Brie, so her bathroom outings are often cut short because our Brie lacks nerves.

So we have to usher Brie and accompany her on her outings, this usually consists of me or my husband carrying a giant golf umbrella above Brie. Sometime this works, and other times we end up doing a tour of the garden inch by inch.

Another lazy day of laying on the bed, we can go for a walk when he weather clears up a bit.

Preparation for the fun run/walk.

2007-03-28T19:44:00.000+12:00

Annual "Purina fun run/walk with your dog" is on again on 15th of April. Last year she was unable to attend because she was recovering from minor surgery. So we are all looking forward to go this year.

Although there is lots to be excited about Brie has been spending this grim day couped up inside because of the terrible weather. Her day consisted of lots of sleeping and hiding under the bed. She thinks she is great at hiding, but what she doesn't know is that her fluffy paws were sticking out and giving away her little hiding spot.

Brie is helpful????

2007-03-27T15:01:00.000+12:00

I knew Brie would get muddy all over so I had a plan!!! - to make her wear jumper this time. There was a deffinate reduction in the amount of dirt she carried into the house. Anyway, Brie had got it into her head that she was great at helping when it comes to gardening. So this is what she calls helpful:

Brie: "I'll help I'll help"

B: "I know, you want me to dig here"

B: "and a bit more digging over here"

B: "oh look, a cricket...must get that cricket"

Gardening Pt II

2007-03-26T19:36:00.000+12:00

Over the weekend thanks to the good weather we got a lot of gardening done, and this includes Brie too. Brie might say she is she is an expert at gardening, but I may not use that particular word when I describe Brie's gardening skills. Brie always investigates the new recruit to our garden, and this usually includes extensive sniffing to add the new scent profile to her database.Brie is very fond of our new ground cover. Not only does she enjoy sniffing it, but she decided to munch on the all the little white flowers. By the time we planted them they were all out of flowers. I have to teach her the difference between flowers and the veggies.

Sulky little poodle

2007-03-23T17:41:00.000+12:00

When we are busy Brie doesn't like it and she tries every tactic she knows to get our attention. This includes sitting like a good girl, tapping on the chair and even meowing like a cat. Yesterday all her little tricks failed and she went away.

After I was done with my work I went to find Brie and she was sulking on the bed with her teddy bear. I Even tried to play with her she was very uninterested, I think she is playing the guilt trip card.

My sweet sweet basil.

2007-03-22T20:17:00.000+12:00

I compulsively bought some basil seeds thinking that it would be nice to have some herbs in my garden. To my joy it is growing pretty well, I guess this is expected as it is a simple plant, but I'm excited to add them to salad and pasta.

Recently I spotted Brie also attending to the basil, so far she has only sniffed it and had a lick of it but I have a suspicious feeling that when it gets bigger she might munch on it. I guess I should be happy knowing that Brie can't water them or fertilise them because it is placed in a raised pot.

USB Poodle 2.0

2007-03-21T21:18:00.000+12:00

This multipurpose, wireless roaming device is compatible with Windows, Mac and selected dog breeds. Features an intense gaze and requires constant attention. Shuts down randomly and requires 18 hours per day to charge. During charging disturbances will be noted and unimpressed glare may result. Runs on two bowls of kibble, but may need some cheese and/or apple pieces to aid refueling. Will conveniently stand on keyboard when you are typing. Must be kept away from food, glasses and tissues while in wireless mode. Comes with an abundance of selective memory. Primary purpose - unknown.

Creature comforts

2007-03-20T20:59:00.000+12:00

Brie knows that the only place a poodle should rest is on a nice comfy bed. And in order to feel comfortable on a nice bed a poodle requires certain items. These items include raw hide chews, soft toys and maybe something to eat, like a marrowbone treat. What Brie doesn't realise is that waking up to cold, wet, chewed up bits of raw hide and suspicious crumb patches (that Brie has tried to hide by licking up) isn't very nice. I know it's you Brie so you can stop pretending you're innocent!

On her own

2007-03-19T17:11:00.000+12:00

Brie is very good at staying in. Before she joined our family I read up on how to raise a dog who is comfortable on it's own at home when the owner leaves. So we trained her from a young age and she seems to take care of herself when we are not there.

Even when we are not there we can usually tell what Brie has being up to on her own. This is not because I set up a Brie-cam at home (I'm not that over protective of Brie) but she leaves trails and these can be spotted with keen eyes.

When I arrive home I am usually greeted with a sprinkle of toys and raw hide chews that Brie has been attending to around the house. Also, on the bed or the couch she leaves footprints and a bum crater. Usually a bum crater is accompanied by wet raw hide and is found in the middle of the bed along with pillows and cushions. I think that while we are gone she is lounging around in the center of the bed enjoying the luxury of having the bed all to herself.

Brie's way of appreciation

2007-03-16T15:31:00.000+13:00

Brie loves parcels and letters arriving, she always has to investigate them using all her senses. She considers letters a little less exciting as she never received an eatable letter. The most recent parcel that arrived contained a little cushion for Brie amongst other non-Brie related things. As soon as she spotted a fluffy pink Brie-sized cushion she loved it and decided to carry it around everywhere.However later she decided to maul the cushion instead of cuddling up to it. I guess she figured that was more fun. Oh well, Brie seemed like the cushion very much.Especially the ribbons. Who can blame her, all the girls like ribbons, but I'm not sure if other girls would chew on them.

Beef ribs

2007-03-15T20:18:00.000+13:00

When there is nobody around the house to play with Brie needs entertainment while she guards the house. So we have been giving her a beef rib to chew on during the day. This turned out to be a very effect method of keeping her mind occupied. A little too effective even, as once we have given her the rib, she runs off, only to return a few minutes later to check if we have gone and it's safe to chew it in the lounge. She even gets excited when she sees us getting ready to leave, instead of being sad. I thought you loved us more than ribs Brie!

Grim day

2007-03-14T18:26:00.000+13:00

After last night's black out I'm convinced that our location has more power cuts than the rest of Auckland. The only source of entertainment in our house without power is Brie, so she got reluctantly trained under candlelight. This gave her a new challenge - find fallen treat in the dark.

This morning I was recovering from the flu and feeling pretty rotten in the bed. When Brie got up and snuggled up beside me I was overwhelmed with Brie's affection and her concern that my eyes where watering, well, the only thing watering was my nose, but they could have been. While I was pondering how fortunate I was to have Brie to cheer me up, she twisted and rolled onto her back!?... then I realised that she just wanted a tummy rub.It ok, I know you just have an unconventional way of expressing your concern, I know.

Huge relief

2007-03-13T20:09:00.000+13:00

Last night we had a message from Coco's family that she had been hit by a car. Apparently the gate unlocked in the strong wind. This was a huge cause of concern for us and we were very worried about her.

Luckily, she is not too badly hurt, some bruising and scratching, and a chipped canine. She had a day of thorough check ups and the vet has confirmed that she has not even a single bone broken. Brie, I think your friend Coco is either a super dog or just a very lucky dog. Either way she is recovering in the comfort of her home. Get well soon, we'll be visiting as soon as you get better.

Coco during intense chewing. She can't get enough of her bone (pre-accident).