Bummer - I'm sick.

Yep. I even had to go to the vet's office. First mom used a long grabby-thing and a plastic food container to catch a urine sample. That was definitely disturbing. She normally doesn't bug me when I'm peeing (in fact, she turns away to give me a little privacy). Then we went to the vet, where I had never been before, and they checked me out. They weighed me (I'm bigger, yay!) and said I have some bacteria in my urine. So, it's antibiotics and a few pain relievers.

• The good news: I take pills with cheese and peanut butter. Yumm!
• The bad news: I'm still kind of lethargic. I mean, I'll chase the cats, but I'm just not into it the way I normally am.

And, in all seriousness, Shadow hasn't been playing as hard or as much in daycare the last couple days. I'm glad I brought him in, even though I always worry that I'm over-reactive about my fur-kids. I know that if I didn't go to the vet, and he got sicker, I'd feel like a complete loser. Hopefully he will start to feel better soon and be ready to play chase & tag with the other dogs.

In other news, he has discovered shoes & how tasty-yummy-good they are. Slowly, but surely, he is teaching us to be tidy & put our stuff away. Laundry goes in the hamper now - or else it winds up in the family room. Shoes go in the closet & the closet door is closed - or else they wind up with bite marks. And when all else fails, we baby-gate him into the kitchen.

More pics from the Dog Park

Hey, the DSL connection got fast again.  So here are some pics of my new friends.  First is a dog who looks just like me, but she's much, much bigger.  She's a really big white german shepherd.

Next we have a couple pictures of me playing tug-o-war with some of the other dogs there.  We played with a stick & it was fun.  This is a little husky puppy who wanted to play.

And here we have a black lab & basset mix who started the game.  She is a beautiful dog, her eyes look so soulful and wise.

I think today I'm going to stay home & maybe play fetch in the yard.  After all, tomorrow is a Daycare Day, so I need to rest up.  I might take a nap with mom or dad later if I can talk them into it.

Plays well with others

We went to the dog park today.  OMG I love that place.  We dogs get to be off-leash and there are lots of other dogs to play with.  The play space is huge, an acre or so.  Some of it is wooded & some is wide open.  Today there were 2 great danes and a tiny yorkie, just to give you an idea of the variety.  It's so much fun.

They have tennis balls and sticks to play with.  But the most fun game is when we chase each other.  Here's a video of me in action, I'm the adorable white dog who is blazing fast :)

I met a couple other dogs who like to play tug of war.  Since I didn't bring my stuffed dragon, Puff, to the park we had to play with a stick.  It was great fun.

My DSL connection is super-slow, so I'll have to upload the other pics later.  There was another dog there that looked JUST like me, but she was 100 lbs or so (seriously).  We played together anyways, she was so much fun to play with.

My Job

My job is to PLAY at daycare. And I'm good at it. On daycare days I play with a bunch of other dogs. Sometimes they separate us by size, and I usually play with the other small dogs. I'm pretty big for the small dog area, but I play nicely so it's okay.

On other days they put all of us in a group because we all know eachother & even though some of the other dogs weigh 5x what I weigh, no one is at risk.

Daycare has inside play space and outside play space. The outside play yards are gravel, which is good because you can clean gravel. And clean stuff is good.

One of my mom's favorite things is getting to commute to work with me. I usually lay in the front seat (I wear a safety belt) and we listen to NPR together on the ride in to work. On the ride home I am too tired to listen to the radio, so I just sleep.

Sometimes we go to the local off-leash dog park on weekends. That lets me play with other dogs and make new friends. I really like that place, it's HUGE and there are a lot of people & dogs there.

My other jobs at home include things like rearranging furniture (especially my beds), sorting laundry, and making sure the cats get enough exercise.

These are a few of my favorite things

I've heard the best things in life are free.  And maybe that's true - I do love getting to catch my tail now and then.  But there are some doggone good things in life that aren't free.

First is Puff.  I should be specific, I really love GREEN Puff.  He was my first stuffed toy and he's just the greatest squeaky toy ever.  He can go in the washing machine.  I love him because there are so many different areas to chew on.  I can gnaw on his tiny ears, chew on the spines on his back, and really chomp on his head.  The squeaky part is in his belly.  Sometimes we play tug-of-war with Green Puff.  But usually we do that with Blue Puff because Blue's tail is longer.

As far as I know, all the dragons (green , blue, and yellow) live at PetSmart until they come home with us.  I don't have a yellow Puff yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll get one eventually.

Another of my favorite things is treats.  Call them cookies, snacks, training rewards, or jerky ... I love them.  My mom typically limits junk food, but when she's teaching me a new trick I get lots of it as a reward.  It's awesome & I will work really hard for these things.  These seem to be my favorite.  They are tasty & sort of soft, so they go down quickly.

These are some of the things I get treats for:

• Going into my crate when it's bedtime
• Sitting
• Laying down
• Shaking Paws
• Walking in a circle (silly, but I'm cute when I do it)
• Meeting new people

Mom has a list of a bunch of things she wants me to learn to do.  And I'm sure I'll get treats for each and every one someday.  She better start buying these things in bulk.

See you next time!

My Typical Week

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I go to doggie daycare.  I spend my time playing with other dogs at Camp Bow Wow in Greensboro.  I love it and when I get home I am very tired.

After playing with a bunch of other dogs all day I don't even want to play with my brother & sister.  Which is probably good, because they are cats & they don't really know how to play well.  My sister won't play hardly at all - she just gets mad & sulks.  My brother is 19 yrs old but at least he will sort of play with me.  He gets mad and lunges at me.  But I'm too fast, he hasn't caught me yet!  At least he hasn't hit me hard enough to really hurt.

On Tuesday & Thursday I stay home.  I usually work on a Kong that my mom stuffs with treats.  Sometimes I take it outside.  When I let it bounce down the deck stairs, the stuffing comes out quicker.  I like that.

Mainly I sleep on Tuesday & Thursday so that when mom & dad come home I can play with them.  They like to play, we play fetch a lot. 

I'm happy you're here! Have any cookies with ya?

My name is Shadow.  I was born sometime in February of 2008.  When I was less than a year old I wound up at a shelter because I wasn't what the breeder was hoping for.  Some nice people at ARFP (Animal Rescue and Foster Program) took me in and I lived with a GREAT foster mom for several weeks.  Then I met my mom & dad, and they adopted me.

I've lived with them for 5 weeks now and it's been a pretty good deal all around.  I'm cute & they have lots of snuggles & treats.

I wanted to start a blog for a few reasons:

• So Mom & Dad's relatives can see how adorable I am
• To keep my foster mom up to date on how I'm doing
• Because I'm a smart dog with a lot to say - can't you see it in my eyes?