Freedom!

Today I got to be wild and crazy! I got to go to the park, but this wasn't just any park. In fact, it was way better than the other parks that Nichole has taken me too; it was huge! There was a big field, and we followed a trail through the grass; and I got to walk without my leash! I could stop and smell things, and that took alot of time, because every time I moved, there was a new smell. I stopped alot, and when I looked up each time, Nichole was way ahead of me, so I had to run really fast to catch up. I had alot of fun; we were walking for a long time. I was one tired puppy after our walk was done! Nichole said that I went on my first hike! That sounds exciting, and I can't wait for our next one!

~Colby

Da NaNaNa.......BATMAN!

Oooh man friends, do I have a cool thing to show you! Ryan and Nichole went to this crazy place called Super Skate last night, for their favorite radio station's "Skate Night".....something about rolling around on wheels. It sounds crazy to me. After that, they took me to the Pet Store! Wow, so many toys, and treats, and smells!! Nichole held me the whole time, and I was so scared and excited that I was shaking. She said I'm getting really big! They didn't find anything there, they were looking for a big toy like my bear. They made one more stop, and when they came back to the truck...I saw a HUGE play toy. They said his name is Batman..I really like his cape :). I had lots of fun chewing on him last night, I even picked him up and tried to run with him. Then, I stood on top of him while I chewed on my duck. It was quite a busy night!

~Colby

Busy Busy Busy

Hi friends! Sorry that it has taken me so long to write; it has been a very busy week. It all started last Thursday night when I got in trouble for making too much noise in my kennel; but I had a good reason! My teeth finally got strong enough that I can demolish my Nylabone, and so I did :). It tasted really good, and I did some serious damage to it. Mom said that's OK though. The part they didn't like was when I kept picking up my bone and dropping it against the kennel floor. They said it was loud, but I liked the noise :).

On Friday, Nichole was home with me most of the day; and she moved my favorite laundry pile. It disappeared, and then came back clean and nice, and she put them up on the shelf. Oh well, I'm sure the pile will re-appear soon! I love pulling socks from the pile.
Later on Friday, Ryan came home from work early. Ryan and Nichole packed up the truck, and we went for a long drive. They told me we were going to visit some family, Ryan's Grandpa they said. They said he was sick, in a place called the hospital. They sounded really sad; I sure liked hearing about him. He sounds like a really nice man who would share lots of head rubs and treats with me. Ryan told me that they told Grandpa they would try to sneak me in, but I don't think I pass as a pet therapy dog yet. Maybe someday!

On Friday night I got to meet Ryan's parents, they were really nice! I got some nice head rubs. I tried to steal some dinner from them, but that didn't work. So, I spilled my food all over the floor instead. You know, it's actually easier to eat it that way, when it's all spread out. Friday night I got to sleep next to Ryan and Nichole, in a new kennel. It was HUGE! It didn't have any sort of board up, so I got to use up the whole space. They even put a really comfy pad on it, I slept all night stretched out with my head on my bear, it was great! After another long car ride on Saturday, Ryan and Nichole left me in the car for a bit to go shopping. I like it when that happens, because usually there's more new smells they bring with them back into the truck! I got really hungry while they were gone, and I smelled my zip lock bag of food under Ryan's seat, so I dug it out and tore a hole in the plastic and ate my food. Ryan didn't like that trick very much, but he took me for a walk and some girls said I was the cutest puppy they had ever seen! It was a busy week, and I grew alot. I've gotten better at going for longer walks; and I learned how to stay a little better. I especially love it when Ryan carries me around. Have a great rest of the week friends, I'm going to go play outside for a while; if the neighbor dogs aren't out :).

~Colby

The Snow is Gone!

Hi Friends!
Yesterday was so warm, that Nichole took me to the park for the afternoon to go play! It was really nice to run around and smell all the different smells! We went for a run up the hill to the playground, where I investigated the steps and a slide! I love going down slides! I haven't been able to climb back up them yet, but I sure am trying hard. I went down a couple of times, than we ran back down the hill. My feet go all dirty from the soggy ground, but it was fun to run through the mud! Nichole held me while we sat on a swing for a little bit; I sat still because I was a little afraid of a dog I saw on the other side of the park. It was a great day!

~Colby

Chew Toys

I really love this new chew toy. Ryan and Nichole bought it for me last weekend, and it's my new favorite. (next to my Bear of course) I figured out that when I pull the rubber part out, I get a very tasty treat!

You can find out more information about it here: Busy Buddy


~Colby

Weekend full of New

Hello Friends!! What a weekend I had! There were so many new things! It started on Friday morning, when I went to the Vet again. Nichole made me ride in my kennel in the car, instead of on her lap..something about it's hard to drive with me trying to eat her hair. I don't know, but her hair is fun to bite! The vet's office scares me still, there are so many unfamiliar smells, but Nichole holds me tight and tells me that it's OK. On our way back to an exam room, Nichole put me on a scale, and I weighed 17.8 pounds. I gained 10 pounds friends! I'm a healthy boy, or so I'm told.
Back in the exam room, the vet was really nice to me; until I had to get another shot, that wasn't fun. But, I got some really tasty treats. Then, he held my paws and clipped my toenails. That was really scary, I thought he was going to cut my toe off!!! But, it turned out OK, and I can walk on the cement alot easier now.

On Saturday, I got to ride in the truck with Ryan and Nichole. I was in the truck a long time on Saturday. I've gotten alot taller, and now I can stand up and put my front paws on the back of the front seat and watch what is going on, I can even rest my chin on Ryan and Nichole's shoulder (I can also reach Nichole's hair now). We stopped at lots of new places, and I got to explore a couple of parking lots and new smells. After one of the stops, Ryan and Nichole brought me a new toy!! It had treats in it, and they were yummy! I had to work pretty hard to get them out, but it makes me smarter!


Later on Saturday night, I heard the doorbell ring, and I learned that usually means someone is coming over. It was Ryan and Nichole's friends from Church. I've met them one time before, because I recognized their smell. But, this time there was another smell with them, it was another dog! It's the first dog I've met since my Mom and sisters. He was bigger than me, but really wanted to play. He seemed really nice and playful, but I was a little scared. I sat on Nichole's lap for a while, while the other dog smelled me, and I smelled him. I even got brave enough to lick his back paw while he was laying down. I could tell he wanted to play, and I wanted to also, but I'm not quite big enough to play with him yet. I "borrowed" his rope toy a couple of times, and ran with it under a chair, and he couldn't get to me!! He was very nice and patient with me too. He is part German shepherd I think, because he has ears just like me! I instigated some play time later when I felt more brave, but then I got scared when he answered back. When I was in the safety of Nichole's lap, I played a little bit. I really liked to put my paw on his head, and he let me. I hope that I can play with him again sometime!

Sunday was nice too, I got to ride in the truck with Ryan and Nichole to Church, and they came and let me out between their different services and activities...they sure are busy people! I got to play with my bear and new chew toy in the car, and it was really nice and cozy warm in the car. That was a nice change, usually Nichole blasts the heat to warm the car up before she goes inside anywhere. When Nichol was walking me around in the Church parking lot, she let me play in a HUGE puddle. I got to splash around, it was really fun!

Yesterday, a new thing happened. Nichole took me outside, and there was water coming out of the sky! Nichole said it was called rain, and I was very curious about it. I liked licking the water on the deck, and the rain kept falling on my ears and tickling them. Every time I felt one, I kept rubbing my ear with my paw because it tickled! The picture on top is me on the deck yesterday in the rain!

I hope you all had a fun weekend, full of new experiences and learning like I did!

~Colby

Going Down?

Yesterday, my master Nichole took me for a long car ride. I took a nice nap, and when we stopped again, she got me out of the car and we were at a new place! There were alot of new smells, and it was not so cold when I got out of my kennel. She took me for a nice long walk. As we were walking, I noticed we were going toward this big...well, it had some stairs and that's all I knew. I learned it's called a playground..and that's what you do on it, play! My favorite! We went up the stairs, than Nichole went down this thing called a slide, and I thought it looked like fun, so I went down too! I did that twice, it was lots of fun. Than we walked back to the car, and there were some leaves blowing around in the wind. I pounced on them, I've gotten very good at that. There were some big scary trucks that drove by, and Nichole said they were for getting snow of the road. I don't know why you would want to do that, snow is so much fun to leap through!

I found a really nice stick too, and that was fun to chew on. Well, today we are going on another adventure, and I think I have to go to the place where I got a shot before, it's called the Vet. I'm not too sure about that place, but they do have really good treats!

Ears

So, my ears grew so fast, I couldn't hold them up very well anymore. And they sort of flopped over, but my two ears flopped over on different days. It feels kinda funny when I'm running around. But, if I listen really intently to something, I can manage to get it back up again.

I Really Love My Bear

This is the bear I told you about. I'm almost bigger than it now!

So, what about me?

How about a little about me…. I was born on November 30th near in Iowa. Learning to share was something that I had to discover right away, as I had 7 sisters! Can you believe it?! 7 of them, all picking on me. My Mom loved us and took very good care of us, showing us how to eat, walk, run, and even how to play! I really liked the play part of learning. We lived in a nice warm area in the garage. One day, about 3 weeks ago, some strangers came by. These strangers were pretty interesting; they picked me up, and stroked my fur. They even found this spot behind my ears to scratch that made my tail wag so hard it practically fell off! They smelled different, but they were very nice to me. They picked me up and put me on the garage floor, I think they wanted to play, but it was a really cold floor! All I could do was cry, my poor feet were cold. Then, the nice girl picked me up and petted me, I liked her a lot, and I really liked the boy too. Well, they put me back with my Mom and pesky sisters for a while, and the strangers went inside with the people that fed my Mom. After nibbling on some of my sisters, the strangers came back out to get me. The boy picked me up, and held me while the girl who fed my Mom gave me a nice pet on the head and said good-bye. Then, they took me outside! It was a scary place, but I was curious to see where we were going. The boy (who I learned is my master named Ryan) put me on warm blanket that was on the girl’s (who I learned is my master named Nichole) lap. I learned that we were in the Truck, and that we had a long drive to go home. I was pretty scared, but eventually I fell asleep. I woke up, and must not have digested my lunch very well, because I threw it up on Nichole’s sleeve…but it still smelled pretty yummy; so I ate it again.

Then, we stopped the truck, and Ryan picked up, and put me on the ground. It was really cold and white. That white stuff, snow I think is what you call it, was cold on my little feet. I think they wanted me to go to the bathroom. I tried really hard, but I was too scared. So, we got back in the truck and kept driving. Soon, the truck stopped and they told me that we were home. I’m not sure what it meant, but I was glad to be out of the moving truck.

We went inside the house, and I got to run around and smell everything!!! There were way too many smells to check out. Ryan and Nichole sat down on the floor with me, and showed me this giant fuzzy thing. At first, I thought it was another dog and I was a little scared. But, I learned that I can bite it and it does not bite me back! It's my Bear, and it's mine, no one else's. I am very nice about sharing it with Ryan and Nichole though.

I've been at my home now for 3 weeks and have learned that I'm supposed to out by this big glass door that I can see outside of when I have to go to the bathroom. And, when I sit on my rear I get a really yummy treat. I also learned that stairs are not so scary, and really fun to race down as fast as I can. That's all for now, see you soon friends!

First Post

Hello there! My name is Colby, and I am an "almost" 3-month-old German shepherd. My life has been quite an adventure so far, and I'm looking forward to sharing all that I experience with all of you!