Class Withdrawal

Our most recent obedience classes ended a few weeks ago, and Jade is SOOOO BORED and depressed. Poor guy. We've been taking him out a lot and over to Patrick's to play with Ruby, but it's just not the same as class. It's great timing that we're moving into our apartment this weekend so we'll be able to go for lots of walks every day. He'll be a happy pup. Our next session (rally obedience!) starts up in two weeks, so I'm super excited for that!

Here are some photos from the other day. My mom and Kat came out to move some more stuff to the new house (Jade and I have been staying here until we move into the new apartment), and when they left, Jade wanted to go with them really badly. He scooted out the door and hopped right up into the driver's seat next to my sister, haha.

(PS. I know the coloring of these photos is weird.)

Despite the worried look on his face in the photo to the right (I know, he always looks worried), Jade (and I!) had fun today! Early this morning, our house was being shown so we brought him over to Patrick's parents' house with us around 9:30am. We made the very short walk to the playground at the nearby elementary school where we ran around and rolled in the grass. There were a bunch of little kids on the playground (it's a very cute park-like neighborhood), and they all came over and loved Jade up. I call him "The Love Sponge" because that's seriously what he is. He just soaks it up! :)

After our time in the schoolyard, we walked back to Patrick's where we layed in the grass some more while Patrick mowed the lawn for his mom, and then we went for a ride and came home.

Jade is so funny when we're in town because all the sights and sounds are so new to him, even though he has been visiting Patrick's house for five years now. He's always completely alert and has a difficult time relaxing.

Our new apartment is a block from the lake in Oswego (HUGE with two bedrooms, hardwoods, dining room and front porch! super cute!), and we have a gorgeous lakeside park (Breitbeck Park) on the North side of us, and we have the beautiful West Park on the South side of us! I can't WAIT to take him for lots of walks every day. It should help him become a lot more comfortable in the city. :)

Jade is officially a Canine Good Citizen! :)

Jade passed his CGC test last night! For those who do not know, CGC stands for Canine Good Citizen, which is a program run by the American Kennel Club promoting good manners, etc in dogs. It's a really fun program, and it's so great for dogs and their people to accomplish it together, so you should definitely check it out!

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/index.cfm

Not only did Jade pass, but our whole class passed!

Congratulations to Liz and Blue, Kit and Cinder and Lynda and Dottie! :) :)

Granted, there were only four of us, but still! It was really exciting! We are all so proud of each other and our dogs. It's very rewarding. After we had all tested and passed, we had a little party. The doggies played and bounced around and had fun. Linda (our amazingly awesome and sweet trainer) had brought some yummy cookies for us and some tasty treats for the doggies. She also surprised each pup with their own new big stuffed animal squeaky toy! I never buy stuffed animals for Jade because he tears them to shreds within a few minutes (he only has bones and hard rubber toys that last a long time), but last night when we got home, Patrick and I tried to help him understand that it's fun to just chew on the toy and squeak it rather then "killing it." He learned so quickly, and he has been carrying it around like his own little baby doll ever since. It's so cute. He brought it to bed last night and even brought it in the car with us this afternoon when we went for a ride, hehe. He's so cute.

Linda, thank you so much for the wonderful toy. Jade is so attached to it already! :)