Flash loves the kittens

Flash accompanies me every morning and evening when I feed the kittens. He loves them, especially Bubba, who wraps himself around Flash's legs. The kittens are no longer afraid of the big dog and he no longer wants to chase them. The outdoor cats are another matter.

Pretty boy

Flash stays still long enough for me to take his picture.

An Outing for Flash

This morning Flash played Nana to the kittens. I brought them into the house while 50-50 was sleeping. See video.

This afternoon, we took Flash to Pine Valley for a hamburger and frosty. He got his own hamburger patty but had to share the French fries with us. I saved the last of my frosty for Flash...as far as we know, his first taste of ice cream. He loves ice cream, as do we all.

Flash and the Kittens

Flash goes into the kitten den every morning when I bring the food and let the kittens out of their crate. Bubba walks under Flash and bats at his legs while the other two kittens just skedaddle in opposite directions. Flash continues to be interested, but doesn't get aggressive, which is very, very good. He's mostly interested in their food.

On Wednesday, Flash had his last training session with Rachel. In June we will attend the night classes at Maverick Ranch so Flash can be certified as a Good Citizen.

Dog Meets Cat

Flash is such a sweet dog. I let him into the kitty playpen to see if he would try to eat the kittens--and he just laid down while the kittens investigated him. What a good doggie.

My Daddy's Back

Saturday evening Flash and I drove to town to pick up Dennis (Flash's Daddy), who had been on the East Coast for a week. I thought Flash would go crazy when he saw his Daddy, but he hung back a little as though he didn't remember him. That didn't last long.

New Toy

My sister brought some toys and bones for Flash. This is the Penguin toy after 5 minutes of play. He loved the toy, chased it, took it outside, brought it back and then I lost track of him. Big mistake.

Social Butterfly

I went on a horseback ride today and when I got back Mom, Angie and I went grocery shopping--so I didn't have much time with Flash today. I don't think he minded because he spent all day out and about with everyone at the ranch. He visited with Homero, Joanne and Shannon in the office, Gary and Angie who arrived at the ranch today, and of course he rand around with Honey until she just couldn't stand him anymore.

Flash is such a social butterfly.

Need a Ride?

Flash has been riding around all day with Homero in the Cushman golf cart. He loves it.

See him in the back.

Torture Collar

Yesterday I walked Flash with the pinch collar (torture) and he was perfect at heeling. Shows he can do it. Rachel, his trainer, says it's not a torture collar, it's a hearing aid. Ha.

Watch out for the cat

Poor Flash. He was only going to kiss 50-50 when she hooked his lip and started hissing at him. That wasn't nice. To Flash's credit he didn't react much at all-- just backed up until he unhooked from the cat. Poor Flash.

Heeling

On Saturday I took Flash out for a heeling lesson and he was a very bad doggie. So bad, in fact, that he tweaked my back or something because now every step I take results in a stab of pain. I managed to drive him to the vet's to get a bath, but someone had to take him in and out for me. Yikes.

They told me he was very good for the bath, though, so I'm happy about that. He was beautiful, too.

This morning he yanked out every toy in his box while I watched the Sunday morning news shows and worked on a stack of craft magazines that have been piling up. He tried to look pathetic.

New Game

We've been teaching Flash the names of his toys. His favorites are Pineapple, Wubba, Griggle, and Keys. He knows the first three pretty well; he likes to chew on Keys but probably doesn't associate the name yet.

So today I lined up the four toys on the floor and spent considerable time trying to get Flash to quit looking at the cookies I had ready and look instead at the line-up. It was very frustrating.

Finally, though, he did select the correct toys by name, even though he didn't exactly bring them back to me. This is the first day. I expect great things by the end of the week.

I love it when a plan comes together

This morning I was playing with Flash as I was getting dressed. I sent him out to find his Wubba toy and he dutifully came back with it. I threw it a few times and he brought it back, even giving it to me without too much tugging.

Then I threw it into the kitchen instead of the dining room where he was waiting, but he apparently didn't see where it went. He came back and gave me a questioning look: Where's my wubba? I got down next to him and aimed my hand just like we do for Go-Go's. Dang if it didn't work. He looked, saw it and went straight for it. Good boy!

I love it when a plan comes together.

No Lesson Today

Rachel, Flash's dog trainer, brought over her 3 kittens today and we spent our training hour playing with the kittens and getting their "house" in order.

We introduced Flash to the kittens and he was interested, but didn't try to eat them or anything. Later, he did eat some of their food, however.

Flash is getting good at ...

Flash is getting really good at the Cookie on the Nose trick. I put the cookie on his nose, say Leave It, wait and then say Okay! Then he tosses up the cookie, catches it in his mouth and eats it. Pretty good trick.

He's also very good at Catching. Dennis has been tossing him his toys and cookies. Now he's catching these things almost every time. He even caught the cookie I tossed to him.

He's getting much better at Heeling. He still pulls a little and forgets that we're walking together sometimes, but he does walk on a loose lead some of the time and sits almost every time I stop. I am very pleased at his progress.

Smart dog.