The bunny

So I've met the bunny next door - Cole, as he is called, is a little black fuzzy thing, that hops around the yard. I didn't know quite what to make of him the first time we met - I sniffed him, and as I do with pretty much everything that I discover, tried to put him in my mouth. For some reason, I wasn't allowed to do that.

The other day, I saw him sitting on the front porch with his human - I ran up to see, and got a good sniff in, but didn't try to taste him. I don't think I have the instinct that some of my other dog friends have, as they would go bananas if they got that close to a bunny. I know Lewis gets fixated on Cole, and Max tries to paw his way through the fence to get to him.

Anyhow, I like to sit on my deck and watch Cole hop around the yard - it looks like great fun... I wish I were down there chasing him around!

Mischa

The big mean kitty

Hi folks - sorry I haven't been posting too much, but I've really settled into a routine around here. Now that I sleep in the "mud room" and can come and go through my doggie door as I please, life is pretty good here. I get to go outside and pee/poop whenever I feel the urge, and I don't wake up Christine or Richie. Around 6:30-6:45 am (I don't know really, as I can't tell time) I hear them walking around upstairs. So I cry by my door until they let me come upstairs.

I have a great time running back and forth between eating my breakfast and trying to steal slippers, all the while Christine is trying to get ready for work. Sometimes, when Richie is working at home, I'll come upstairs and play or sleep in his office.

Here I am with my big mean kitty... ok, he doesn't look so mean with his head in my chompers, but these cats, well, you never really know what they're going to. I can't trust them as far as I could throw them. This one squeaks if I bite on him in just the right spot... I wonder if I catch a real one if it will squeak too? Apparently the big mean kitty is a tradition with us berners - see?

This is a picture of Paisley, Richie's sister's berner on one of the many overnight stays with him. Quite a resemblance, eh? Apparently, she was a bigger handful as a puppy than I am. I guess I had better step it up a bit... wouldn't want to make it too easy for these two.

I have got them trained pretty good however. I've got a number of ways to get cookies out of them - sit, lie down, shake (demonstrated by yours truly above) and bark (on commmand, of course). I'm going to start a few new ones soon, but I'm going to wait to show them off to that know-it-all Lewis... he thinks he's got good tricks. Just wait.

Mischa

(Editor's note: What Mischa thinks are "cookies" are just another brand of kibble - so the joke is on her!)

Hangin' out in the evenings

So after a hard day of playing with my pals Idaho or Daisy, and a couple of walks (one to Starbucks in the morning, and usually one later in the day around the block), I'm usually pretty tired in the evenings. Sometimes I get FRAP (frenetic random activity periods), where I'll go crazy and run around the house, barking and playing. But normally, I'm winding down by around 8 pm (I think, because I still can't tell time).

This is when I get my quality time - I like to sit in Christine's lap and get lots of hugs from her. I'm not sure how much she'll like me sitting in her lap when I'm 85 lbs however.

Talk to you cats later, gotta go to bed!

Mischa

One of my favourite hangouts

So I think my favourite place to hang out, is the deck. It gives me a great vantage point to see what is going on in the yard, and I can see what the bunny is up to next door (more on that sometime). I can also see what my girlfriend Idaho is doing over in her yard. I cry to get her attention, but sometimes she has her boyfriend, Grizzly, over to visit, and she doesn't pay any attention to me. Regardless, it's a great place to dine and there is usually water nearby.
I can even see what is going on inside by climbing into one of the deck chairs and peering into the window! You can see one of my new favourite chew toys in the background above - a waxed cardboard box. It's funny how my actual toys aren't as exciting as household items like margerine containers and plastic water bottles.

Mischa

What the heck is this?

So one sunny afternoon, Richie took the door off my "safe" area, and cut a doggie door in it for me. Apparently, I am going to eventually be ~24 inches tall at my shoulders, so this door was cut at a height that is a little bit too high for me to use right now.

However, a few days later, Richie made temporary stools that I could use to get in and out on my own. I didn't quite know what to make of it until a cookie appeared on each side of the door. It's a pretty simple equation: Mischa goes through the weird plastic flap = Mischa gets a cookie!

Now that I have my own way in and out, I am now sleeping at night in my safe area. This makes me and my humans happy - I get to go in and out when I need to (I pee early in the morning), and Richie and Christine get to sleep in (a little bit anyways).

Mischa

This is what happens when...

So I was having a little fun yesterday digging in the garden and playing in the hole I had made. This made Christine unhappy, as I got really dirty and muddy. This is the end result of that. I doubt that I will learn anything from this however.

Mischa

Cross-border puppy

Today, we went down to a little piece of the US of A, called Point Roberts. Christine's parents are building a cabin down there, so we went down to check things out. I had a great time, as there was lots of new things to smell and explore. I even met a retired police dog named Xena. She barked like a mean doggie and ran up to the fence, but I wasn't scared.

Then we went down to the beach, and I wandered around looking for the best place to poop. It was really fun watching Richie chase me around while I sniffed out the optimum spot. I think I am going to like going to the beach when I get older.

Today, I made a break-through in my efforts to get more cookies. I have already mastered "sit", "shake a paw", and "hurry-up" (my signal to go pee), but I found another way for these silly humans to give me treats. I simply slide my butt out and lie down, and I get a cookie and lots of excitement from Christine and Richie. Apparently, they think I'm responding to the command "down". I'm still making them work for the other stuff, but I'll get them trained up soon enough.

Mischa

A big walk to the park

This evening, we went for a walk (ok, we drove the 4 blocks to the park) around Queen Elizabeth gardens. We stopped at the duck pond, and I watched the ducks intently. Not really sure what to make of them, I kept on going. There was lots of smells and sounds that I hadn't ever encountered before, so I wasn't giving Richie any problems on the leash. We walked around the flower garden, and I sat down because I was tired!

On the way home, we ran into this big Great Pyrenees named Socrates. He is only 9 months old, but look at how big he is! He was really gentle, despite his huge size. I would have kicked his ass if I weren't so tired from my walk.Mischa

My longest walk ever

Today was another sunny day, so Richie and I did one of his favourite things - he sits on the front step, and I wander around on the front lawn. I was still beat from the day before, so I did a lot of napping in the back yard. Richie was in the garage doing something with the cars, so I wandered back and forth, looking for the best napping spot.

Then after I had my dinner, we went for a huge walk to get some Thai food takeout - it's about 6 blocks - but with my stubby little legs, it's pretty much a jog in each direction. Apparently I did really well, except for the last few blocks, I started to cry, so Richie carried me home. On the way, we ran into some more friends of Richie's that had come over to see me! All this action has me really pooped out!
Mischa