Overcoming Your Fears

  I know that I have been missing in action for a long time. I have been very busy making sure my house is as secure as a castle. With a new sister around my job has become even more of a burden. Around Christmas a new moving "thing" came into our house (I can't understand what my parents call it but it is some tall thingamajig). At first I was very scared of it and for good reason! Things would fall out of the sky and hit me! But after sleeping on the idea, I realized that I had to overcome my fear. And I was also seeing a trend that food often falls from this high place. So, yes a toy or cup might hit me, but I am also seeing a great opportunity.

I have reached the promised land! I have witnessed food falling from above. Manna from heaven, raining down like a gift. I have learned that it is best to face your fears head on because you might find out the result is better than you could have imagined.

So yes, in the past I went to extreme measures to get away from this thing, like jumping into the shower with my mom (that is a post in and of itself but I had good reason! It was scary!). I have turned over a new bone. However, I still stay on the pads of my paws just in case I do get hit by non-edible items!

it was a good day

i got to play with my girlfriend yesterday! it was so much fun!

So this is what I have to look foward to?!

My mom watches our neighbor's little boy twice a week (who is also my girlfriend Izzy's little brother). Mom is normally over at his house but last week he invaded my territory. Now, I am not sure, but I think that this is what is coming to my house soon and I am not going to tell you how I really feel about that! Mom says that if I do not have something nice to say then don't say it (or bark it) at all. I learned though that one afternoon with this little creature and my nose needs a break! He farts more than my dad!

But there are some good smells around him too, like the milk I wouldn't mind getting a bit of. I need to keep my eyes on this one, that is for sure! I did not really appreciate him taking so much of my mom's attention and did not like how much she held him. What does a dog have to do to get some love? I was happy to see him go home at the end of the day. But if he brings his sister over next time to play, I might let him come back more often. We'll have to talk about that.

It's My Birthday!!

Hi loyal readers! Mommy and Daddy let me get on the computer to tell you all that it's my birthday! I am finally one year old. It was a pretty fun day, and I got to see my parents a lot since mom had the day off and dad worked from home in the afternoon. Also, my birthday present was a ton of time to play with Izzy (she's my girlfriend and lives across the street). We got to play all over the house this afternoon and later in the evening, too! That was awesome. Here are some picture of us rough-housing. Feel free to send birthday gifts...I really like nylabones!

-Otis

Where's my Mommy?

hi everyone. i hope you liked reading about my tooth. i've lost 4 now, but the rest hurt so i've been chewing a lot. my new big teeth are coming in before my old teeth fall out!

but that's not why i wanted to talk to you. i wanted to let you know that my mommy all of a sudden isn't around all day. i miss her, but she comes home pretty happy, so that is good, and then she and dad play with me. where is she? well, she got this new thing called a JOB, where she goes sometimes during the day. i heard her say it's at someplace called Williams Sonoma Home, or something, but all i know is she was very excited about it and seems to enjoy it a lot so far. and she says she works close to dad's office too.


on a side note, i see my parents posted about that little girl Hayden coming over to play. well, i didn't really like that. she got ALL of the attention for a whole day! how is a puppy supposed to compete? i was pretty sad and don't like sharing. after she left, mom and dad gave me lots of backrubs, played tug of war, and we ran around the house to make up for it, which was fun.

ThE tOoTh FaIrY is cOmiNg to my HoUSe!

I lost my first tooth and it was a sharp one! I can’t wait to look under my bed and see what the tooth fairy is going to leave for me! I have another loose one that is going to come out soon and I am worried about getting a lisp, but as long as I can eat my puppy food I guess it doesn’t matter. Well, have a great weekend everyone and if the snow goes away maybe my grandparents will take me on another long walk (hint, hint)!

Big Boys Do Big Boy Things

Now that I am getting older I have to do more. I got my last set of shots this week so that I can play with other dogs! I also had my fun cast taken off, and dad wanted to keep it but they could only save a piece of it. He wants to hang it on the tree next year but I don't know if that will really happen (mom doesn't go for all of that stuff). Well, during all that time in the cast, I had forgotten that I had a fourth paw! I am starting to use it more and once I get going it is great to have four again, but I just can't remember it is there sometimes! Well, I got to see my best friend Wesley again and we played lots together! Well, that was fun to have him at my house and show him my room and all my toys! It was really cold this week and I tried out my new cape thanks to grandpa and grandma Steckbeck! It helped keep me warm and since I have had problems flying in the past this should help me grow in my ability to defy gravity! (The one with the "O" is my favorite and I think that it is the one that helps my fly the fastest!) Then this week I had my first haircut! It was a little scary and I didn't like it when my mom left but I was fine...she looked like she was going to cry though. Well, they did a good job and just cleaned me up. It was just to help me not be scared for when they really cut my hair.







My new hair is so soft!

so this is what the holidays are like...i'm tired!

sorry for not letting you know how i am but i have been really busy. my parents have taken me all over the place for christmas and i have just been able to catch my breath after all the excitement! first we went up to meet my uncle wesley and grandma marilyn and grandpa stew. it was so much fun there since they let me run around and jump on wesley (that is until this white fluffy dog barked at me to stop). wesley is my new best friend but i don't think he likes me all that much. but grandma marilyn loved on me sooo much that i wasn't sure i wanted to leave. she said that she was going to keep me and that if mom and dad were ever mean to me that i was to call her and she would come right down and save me...so far i don't think that that is going to be a problem since i have worked my parents around my little white paw! well, we played and wesley and i shared food and treats!

then we left michigan and went to west lafayette where there were two more dogs! this time i was at grandma and grandpa smiley's house. they have poco and bailey who i am sure are nice dogs but they bark a lot and didn't want to play with a new puppy. it was a full christmas day with lots of people and lots of smells. i got to see my first friend hayden again! that was great and she let me chase her! she has great toys that fit right in my mouth too.

then it was back down to indianapolis to see my grandma and grandpa steckbeck and their two cats. the cats are twice the size of me and i think that they like me ok (that is, their tails didn't get as big this time as they had before)!

then i got to go see my uncle brett and morgan. i like running around there big basement and that was a big deal since dogs don't come into that house. mom made sure i was extra good and went to the bathroom outside all the time!

after all that i was so tired from being social (well maybe i could have gone to a few more parties)!

I Can't Wait for Show n' Tell!

So, I was clearly trying to show off my newest talent of flying to my parents, but it didn't go as well as I had planned. After reading one of my dad's graphic novels it had seemed simple enough. Just jump from a high place, and fly through the air, right? Well, I need to work on my cat like landing, to say the least. It didn't go so well. Dad wasn't happy and mom was crying (she is such a softy) as we trekked out into the snow. They took me to a doggy hospital, and I got some fun drugs...something called "more-feen"...it was very nice. Well, after some X-rays we found out that I just had a sprain/strain. My parents were very smiley, but it was still kind of a fog for me. I sure hope I wasn't drooling like a big dog! Well, after the doctor told my mom I couldn't run, mom laughed, and said that was impossible? So the doctor got creative and put a splint on me and now they let me play! I sure hope that you can see all my pups signatures through the fun colors! Another ten days of this and then I wont have to run on three legs or have a bag put on me every time I go pee! Dad is calling me Tiny Tim and saying that I am the most expensive Christmas decoration that they have! So if you see me you'll have to sign my cast so I can show n' tell it at school! Well, I have had a "ruff" day and am off for another nap.

More Thankful Than Ever!

So we spent the holiday with my Grandma Sara's side of the family at their 6th annual State Park Thanksgiving trip. I met a lot of new relatives like uncle Wyatt, uncle Brett, Grandpa Jerry, and I loved aunt Scout but she lives in Oregon and I wont see her much. But, I did get to go on my first hike! I was too slow for everybody and tried to pick up every leaf, so mom made me ride in dad's backpack, which is OK since it smells like him and all the places it has been (like Thailand which is where they met). Anyway, everyone thought that I did a great job hiking and didn't wiggle in the backpack at all. Hey, I tried to keep my eyes open but it all starts looking the same...tree after tree and since I can't hike my leg yet on them they don't interest me too much...I just like the leaves! Thanks to Grandma who let me out for a while to walk (that is until the hill got too steep for her and she had to pass me back to mom). Grandma never liked puppies until me...mom says that I must be really special if Grandma loves me so much. I like Grandma because she is always letting me out of my cage so that I can get into trouble...that is until mom sees me eating something so enticing from the floor! So we got back home Saturday and I was forced to take a bath before I was allowed on the couch, I guess that is the price I pay for hiking! So I am very thankful this year, just like my parents, for my family and my toys (since it is the only thing they let me chew now)!

This is me...doing what I love to do best when I am killing the time while my parents are forcing me in the yard and telling me to "go pee!" Still can't figure out what they are wanting but it is fun to watch them...and chew....