Tinker Meets Ali!

Tinker FINALLY met miss Ali friday night and boy did they do sooo well!!! Ali is a typical friendly puppyish boxer and all she wanted to do was sniff Tink's butt and sniff her face. Tink just seemed to know that Ali was either a) a puppy, b) a rescue, c) very submissive, or d) all of the above because she didn't snap at her or get all upset the entire evening. (ok there was 1 snap but Ali was trying to play and you can't prove that Tink wasn't trying to play back in her own special way). And when Tink had enough, she would walk away and/or find me to be picked up a for a little bit. I love that she's giving more signs and we're learning how to read them better!

It was a great evening of food and games for us big kids
and a time of introductions and chaos for the doggies

Plato plates was around too, we don't want to forget him!
He was upstairs hiding under the bed (fireworks were going off)
while this picture was taken

Sleeping girl...

So much has happened! We'll slowly get to it all today!!! Tink's second therapy class went well too! We're officially working on "leave it" and by golly Tink just walks away or turns her body away from the treat (even liver and turkey!!!) what a smarty!!!

Nick says Tink's taking after her mommy and daddy; we're music therapists and she's going to be a doggy therapist : )

Sleepy girl! (she looks seal in this pic but i promise she's not!)

living the high life...

Tinker Starts Therapy Class

Let me start by saying Tinker is EXHAUSTED. She is konked out on the dining room floor...she never made it to her bed in the bedroom... : )

Tinker and I are doing an 8 week therapy class in preparation to take the Delta Society exam so she can be an animal assisted therapy dog (YAY!) Tonight we worked on greeting the other dogs and talking over the general places, requirements, organizations and so on and so forth. Tinker did excellent with the greeting, even with the puppy. However, she quietly but noticeably let me know when she had enough which is good. I just need to help her out and remove her from the situation when she tells me she's done.

LouAnn has the cutest little Frenchie Gabe and he wanted to be friends with Tinker!

I'm not quite sure where we want to volunteer, but the possibilities are endless. A reading program was suggested this evening, but i may also entertain a pediatrics unit or something too : ) we'll see what God has in store for us!

More pictures soon : )

Tink Graduates from Basic Obedience

If all of you could have seen the transformation that took place in this little girl from week 1 to week 4.... you would smile as only Tinker can make you!!! Her confidence is even stronger! We got out of the car and she ran around that field, and ran, and ran, i wasn't sure if she was going to stop!!! Hehe, Her sit and stay, down and stay, sitting for a greeting, and come are beautiful!!! Heel is doing pretty well and she's learning how to "take a bow." She also decided she wanted to greet every dog tonight and did so peacefully (and briefly to keep it that way!) She really loves having a job and doing it well! She went through several agility tunnels at the end of the session like a pro tonight too!

Here are some pictures that we took while we were working on sit stay and down stay : )

sloppy old lady sit

good to the last lick

I'm staying

Aren't I beautiful?!?!

You really want me to stay?

Still sitting....

I'm so proud of this girl

We're planning on taking the second level of obedience in June and i am currently looking into taking a class to have her certified as a therapy dog as well as to take her CGC exam. I'm really excited and she really appears to really enjoy it! So onward we go!

Belly rubs & Sleeping spots

All Tink basically has to do is roll over whenever she so chooses
and the mandatory belly rub follows.

Note the smile on her face in both of these pictures

I found Tinker fast alsleep next to her bed the other night,

but when i got the camera out this is what I was able to capture.

What a goofy girl but oh so pretty!

Bath Times

Well, little miss stinky pants finally got a bath tonight. The rain has subsided and its beautiful weather this weekend, so a nice bath followed by a bully did the trick. (After a nice long walk and a trip to the pet store!)

Tink actually got "adventuresome" and wandered around the bathtub...
away from the water. Coincidence?? nah....

Mommy, i'm wet, put the camera down and towel me off now!

Daddy's little girl...

Just thought these were cute and wanted to share...

Down on the Farm

Tink's perspective on our trip to Josh & Melissa's place


That's a pretty nice view, don't you think? A whole field full of percheron's. The field over THAT way is filled with some cows, but you can't see it from here.

Yup, i'm smart and i know it! I walked around this farm like i own it! i'm so proud and confident I even pooped with the big ones!

Mom & Mel are brushing the horses while Josh gets the harnesses ready. And daddy's just standing here taking my picture : ) The wagon ride was great supposedly, however i slept in the car where i was safe and comfy.

Yup, they're working hard and having fun! We explored the barn earlier and said hi to all the burgers and steaks that live down stairs. I woulda had me one, but mum held me back.

So instead, i took a bite out of this pretty girl Augusta. She was kinda breathing on me heavy and i had to let her know who was boss. She respects me now.
After the wagon ride, mom & Mel went for a ride and mum said something about wanting to take saint augusta home with us. I guess that means she likes her, but i know not as much as she likes me!

Tinker the Smartie Pants

Tinker once again did excellent in obedience class on tuesday. She not only excelled at the sit-stay, but also the down-stay, hold and come : )
Nick and i have been working with her at home too and she is so much fun! She's definitely putting the little pups to shame. As soon as she hears "stay" while she's down she shifts her weight slightly and gets comfy : ) So cute! We're thoroughly enjoying class and her confidence seems to be blooming just a little bit more too! i can't believe there are only 2 classes left! Then hopefully onto advanced and then her CGC test!

Everybody loves the Tinker doggie: Tinker starts Obedience Class

In my effort to have more fun in life, I decided to sign Tink and myself up for basic obedience training. (not sure if that equals more fun for her, but thats another story). ANYWAYS, tonight was our first night and lets just say not only did she do very well, every body loves her!
The class worked on (introduced) sit, sit and look, down, down and look, leave it and shake. Tink and i worked on sit, down, and shake. She did excellent sitting and laying down on a cold concrete surface (i'll be bringing a blanket next week : )
She was nervous at the beginning with all those puppies yipping and barking, but she did settle in after we started and she started working.
People just couldn't believe how confident she is and what a sweetheart she is!!! I'm not even going to imagine how many treats she had! Between training and people giving them to her because she is cute, she had more than her fair share! (she will be getting 1/2 rations of dinner for the next several tues nights!)
There was one other BT there, more "poo" crosses than i care to mention, a stocky boxer, rotties, and the most unique, a rescue great pyranese, basset hound mix!
We had a lot of fun tonight and i look forward to three more weeks of fun, learning, and of course doting on my baby girl.

Welcome Home Ali!

CONGRATULATIONS MATT, AMANDA, & PLATO on your new addition, ALI!!!!! Tink, Nick, and I are so excited for your new boxer rescue!!!! We can't wait to see pics of her and more importantly we can't wait to SEE HER!!! Lots of fun times ahead!

WELCOME HOME MISS ALI!!!!

Tink's first sleep over

Tinker stayed over at Matt, Amanda, and Plato's this past wednesday through saturday while Nick and I went to Ocean City MD for the regional Music Therapy Conference. While I knew she would be fine, i was still nervous. But i took confidence in the fact that not only did she know Matt and Amanda, that she showed excitement when we visited with them and she knew their house.
We traveled over to their house with snuggle ball, little bed, duffle bag of blankets,leash, food, snacks, kong, liver treats, peanutbutter, etc... We put all her things in place and quietly left as Amanda took Tink and Plato outside to play.
NOTHING BUT GREAT REPORTS THE WHOLE TIME WE WERE GONE! Matt & Amanda were great and called us and we called them and they shared funny stories of how she was doing and how she had settled in. She transitioned in very well and even nested on Plato's pile of toys : ) When company came over, she settled in on someone's lap for the entire evening : ) She walked through the city, spent lots of time outside exploring and basically had a great doggie vacation.

Surprisingly enough, i didn't miss her as much as I thought i would while we were gone. However, it all hit when i quietly walked back into the house and she raised her little head sniffing to find out who was there.... boy was she a happy little girl : ) And i was a very happy girl too : )

Last night she slept in bed with us and she stayed snuggled in my arms the entire night, her head up against my shoulders, her back against my belly....we were both in heaven ; )

Thank you sooooo much Matt & Amanda & of course Plato for opening your home and taking the time to take care of our precious little one.

Nothing phases this little girl. She is absolutely perfect for me and Nick.

Happy Berfday Mum

2day is mi mums berfday and i jus wanted to let tha werld no. i luv her verry much an wanted to publickly show my aprishiashun. so HAPPY BERFDAY MUMMY!!!

Pawsabilities

Nick, Tink & I went to Pawsabilities at the Farm Show Complex today!!! It supports Keystones Susquehanna Service Dogs. It was a great time! We met up with Matt, Amanda & of course Plato and we also met Kristen, Kirk & little Chloe (who is adorable!!!)

Chloe loves everyone and just wanted to shower Tink with some kisses!

Chloe's like "who is this lady?!?!"

Tinker cleaned house with treats and food samples. She snagged a huge amount of samples from Nature's Variety and from By Nature. Both foods look really good and i'm interested in seeing how they work for her. Ironically By Nature is a Blue Seal food manufactured right in Londonderry, NH. She literally stole 2 cookies from the bag while i was looking through it. Dry food, canned food, gravies, cookies... you name it we have some!!! She also got a dried beef chew which she held in her mouth like a cigar for 5 min while we stood there talking with the Nature's variety rep. That was rather humorous...

Tink did great walking around with so many other dogs around. She was definitely timid at first (i was too for pete's sake!) but by the afternoon she was walking around confident as can be (i alternated between carrying her and letting her walk just bc there were sooo many dogs & obstacles around.) She also learned that lots of vendor's would give her treats once they saw her and heard her sad little story.... one vendor gave her this all natural salmon jerky type treat which she scarfed. Another had a huge biscuit which she made sure she got it all!

There were so many other BT's there! It was really neat! There were lots of games and such for the dogs to take part in, but doggie limbo didn't seem to be the best match for the lil stinker ; ) And once again everyone who met her was just amazed as how easy going & laid back she was...

What a fun family event!!! When we came home Tink promptly chewed on the beef stick and then decided she wanted to go for a walk... we walked around out back and she actually cantered for a little bit and didn't pick up her leg at all!!! She is feeling and acting so good on the longevity!!!

And now she's settling in for a little nap.....

Bully Heaven

So grandpa Thomes isn't happy with the lack of posts lately... I decided some nice bully pics of me would do the trick!

mmmm, bully trance eye

Just move along and leave me be...

mmm, thats the stuff

Look at my shiny coat, ain't i beeeutiful?!!?