The Hills Are Alive........ With The Sound of Howling.........

Have you all seen the video on You Tube where while the owners are away, they find out that their dog is playing their piano and singing?  Hilarious!

If you haven't seen it..............  here it is:



Zoey doesn't climb up on the piano bench and play and sing but.........you should see, or hear I should say what she does when The Native's start playing the piano.

I haven't been able to catch her on video yet.  The second she sees me she stops so to get this video I had to sit in another room without her knowing I was video taping her which is why it is just a black video.

For your viewing pleasure, while you listen to Zoey sing, you can look at this photo of where Zoey spends a lot of her day.  Going from window to window observing the outside world.



P.S.  The Native playing the piano so beautifully is Mr. M.

Mawwwwridge

Since November is the month of gratitude, I decided to do something fun for The Scout Master.  I came up with a list of 101 things that I love about and am grateful to him for.  I put it on his pillow for him to find.

As I was thinking of 101 things I started to think about marriage, any relationship actually, and how it is really easy to find the things we don't like.  To knit pick apart someone or something and focus on the negative things.  When we start to look for and focus on the negative things then that is all we start to see.  It's easy to tear apart a marriage or a relationship!  Easy peasy!!  If we want a relationship to fail then all we need to do is start thinking about ourselves and being selfish and finding fault with the other.  Simple!

I really enjoyed pondering and thinking about all of the things I love about The SM.  I took a couple of days and throughout the days as I would think about yet another thing I love about The SM I would jot it down.  Can you imagine how our relationships would be different if we spent everyday thinking about and pondering how grateful we are about the other person and what we love about them?  Magic!!

Try it!  I dare ya!  No, I double dog dare ya!

P.S.  I'm sorry Wabi.  Another video!!  It's the part in Princess Bride where the priest is mawwwwring Buttercup and Prince Disgusting.

Thought.........

This evening I started to think about the marathon I ran this summer and how frustrated I was with the outcome.  As I thought about it and the lessons I've learned through the experience I had another thought.  It was such a parable of how prayers are answered when we are going through difficult times.

Remember that as I started to struggle, I prayed over and over for help and felt that my prayers weren't being answered?  Remember how the thought kept going through my mind, "I'm closer than you know, reach up, I'll take your hand"?  I kept saying in my mind, "I'm looking but I can't find you!!  I'd take your hand but I can't find you"!!!  And then with a few miles left to go, my thick brain figured it out, my son Mr. C was right there next to me and so I leaned on him.

I thought this evening about how that is so often and typical of how our Father answers our prayers!  We go through something difficult and we are on our knees begging for help and we can't seem to find it.  We want a 'miracle'.  We want what ever it is that we are going through to go away right then and there.  For life to fix itself immediately and we go on our happy way.......

Have you ever felt this way?  I know you have.  We all have.  We wonder where He is.  Is he listening?  What we're going through is so hard!  We can't take more, please make it go away!

Looking back on times when I've felt this way and have gone through hard times, I see so many times that yes, He is there!  He does hear and answer my prayers.  Most of the time, it is through those who are around me.  We're surrounded by angels who are trying to take our hands if we'll but reach up.  Or in my case, just grab my hand because I'm too busy looking elsewhere to notice the angels around me.

I can't say that I loved the marathon experience that I had this past summer but I can say that I am loving the lessons that I keep learning from the experience.  This has been one of many........

On a funny ending note, my friend sent me this the other day.  Enjoy!

The Bark Stops Here!

Puppies.  Adorable right?  Zoe has been a bundle of fun and laughs and pure darlingness.  So much personality!  When she was tiny it was okay.  Well, sort of.  It's never okay to have bad manners but we all know how cute puppies are right?  When their two inches high and jumping up on us it's adorable!  Not so much when they are close to full grown and jumping on everyone that walks through the front door and every time they want attention....

Zoe has gotten not only obnoxious with her jumping on people but her barking!  Oh my goodness.  It is a high pitched pierce your ear drums and no matter how many times we've told her not to bark she hasn't listened.  With our other dogs a stern, "No bark" was enough to get them to stop.  Not Zoe!  She just laughs and tosses her cute puppy head and keeps on barking.  She's being a teenager.....

Do I dare admit that I seriously contemplated a shock collar?  I know!!  I'm sorry!  It's just, I have my eldest boy who works all night long and sleeps during the day and a shrill barking dog all day long hasn't endeared him to the puppy and quite frankly, my nerves were getting frayed so yes, the thought crossed my mind and I'm sorry!!!  Forgive me??  I didn't actually go and get one............  I did better than that which is what this post is actually about!

I was cleaning my book cases the other day and came across this book:

I'd totally forgotten about it!  I'd forgotten I had this book.  I'd bought this book when we had Julie and tried to implement what Jan Fennell was teaching but Levi would come behind me and undo everything I tried to do.  It was a disaster.  Levi has a habit of doing things like that.  This time around though, Levi is older and with a ton of my help, is sort of able to not undo what I am trying to do!

So, I've begun a serious 30 day program with Zoe.  We're on day 4.  Yesterday I started the 'intense' part.  Day 1 and 2 I started what is called the, "Amichien Bonding".  It has four parts.  One of the steps is where before I feed the dogs, I eat something in front of them first and then when I'm finished, I put down their bowls for them to eat.  As soon as they are done, I pick up their bowls.  This is all done quickly and without fuss.   Another step is has to do with separation and the five minute rule.  Anytime we are separated meaning a door is closed between us, when I enter back into the room with the dogs, I ignore them for five minutes.  Easier said then done when you have a puppy doing everything she can to draw your attention.  I'm not the only one that has to do these things by the way which is why you can see I failed miserably with Levi before with Julie.  Now, I can set the timer and he knows to wait until the timer goes off before he showers Zoe with affection.

Yesterday Zoe had been in her new 'training' for three days.  I started working with her on other things like her sitting, waiting, come, etc.  Here's where we really started to notice and things got cool.  I decided to focus on her barking.  Every time she'd bark and wouldn't stop when I told her "thank you" and reassured her with a pet that she'd done her job alerting me, I would without emotion or a care in the world (ha ha) would take her by the color and lead her into the hall where I'd shut the doors and she would sit in time out.  She'd sit in there for ten seconds and then I'd let her out ignoring her for five minutes.  When she'd bark again, I'd take her back into time out and go for 20 seconds, increasing the time each time, and again when she'd reenter the room ignore her for five minutes.

I did this for a couple of hours and you would not believe the difference!!!  I had a neighbor come over to the house last night and as he came through the door I warned him what to do.  Ignore the puppy!  She barked and jumped on him so I calmly took her to time out.  Waiting a few seconds, brought her back out and reminded my neighbor to ignore him, and Zoe walked into the room calm as can be and sniffed my neighbor and then walked away.

Today, Zoe continues to make progress.  It is so amazing to me how doing these simple things shows such a fast marked difference.

I don't know Jan Fennell but if you have a dog or dogs..........  I would suggest getting her book and also going to Youtube and watching several of her videos.  Amazing I tell ya!  Just amazing!