A Pig in the Poles

She hoped that I could be a therapy dog because I’m little, sweet, cute, and I know lots of tricks. But, that hasn’t happened because I’m still just a little too afraid of the world. Maybe it will happen someday for me, but in the meantime, I take agility classes for fun and entertainment. Unfortunately, I don’t bend through the weave poles like a border collie because I’m shaped like a pig. And I wouldn’t miss the weave pole entry on the first try if my teammate would just queue me correctly. Jeez, lady.
Here I am in my very first agility trial being sort of fast despite my pig-like physique. She seemed happy about the ribbons I won, but I didn’t really care. I’m a dog and I do it because it’s fun to run.

Dog-sized Christmas Tree

Today my family is getting out this stuff they call Christmas decorations and I'm helping. There's even a little tree just my size in the room where I sleep!



It's kind of exciting, but this decorating thing can make a girl tired!
-Grace

Bouncy Uba is BACK!

I thought it would never happen, but the doctor says I'm all better. My naughty knee has gone away for good. I still have to be nice to my new knee for a few more weeks, but I'm allowed to jump up on my mom's big bed and lie in the sun again.

I can run and play in the back yard, and go for walks and best of all go to training classes. We went for a walk in one of my favorite places to celebrate my new knee. I sniffed and sniffed everything and looked at the fat squirrels and it made me smile to be back out in the world.

I got really tired and had to lie down and pant for a long time when we got home. I kept on smiling because my new knee makes me very happy.

Thank you Dr. Sams and all the nice people at the Sams Clinic for taking such good care of me and helping me get my bounce back.

hugs,

Uba

Floppy Uba

Since my surgery I have learned that there is a new kind of Uba. Its called floppy Uba.

I think floppy Uba has something to do with this little bright pink treat that she says is helping my knee heal. Every morning on my breakfast there is one of the special pink treats.

Then, after breakfast my mom makes a little meat ball with a special treat tucked in the middle. She puts it in the fridge and my friends who come in the middle of the day to help me walk around the back yard on leash and check on the squirrel give it to me.

After I eat the pink treats I feel all floppy. My body is all heavy and I just want to rest in the sun. She says this is good for me because it lets my new knee get ready for all the fun I have planned. If my mom is home, she helps my floppy body get up on the bench in the sun so I can snuggle with Lulu. Lulu is always kind of floppy and I guess thats why her knees aren't naughty.

I sometimes even get floppy while I'm working on the blog, which is why its taken a little while for me to get this post ready.

My new knee feels really good when I try it out on my walks and when I do the things I'm not supposed to do because its been a long time since I had a pink treat. My mom says I have two more weeks until we go to see the doctor. Once the doctor has looked at my knee again I should be able to start having fun. Although being floppy Uba is ok, I can't wait to be bouncy and fun Uba again.

floppy hugs,

Uba

I'm a Canine Good Citizen!

Hi Everyone, it's me, Grace. You might remember that a couple of years ago I earned my Canine Good Citizen award with my foster dad. Well, my mom said to me about a month ago, "Hey Grace, I know you already know this stuff, but what do you say you and I take the Canine Good Citizen test again?" So I told her I would do it again, just for her if it would make her feel good.


So we practiced all these things like sitting, staying, coming, not pulling on the leash, and passing by dogs nicely without staring at them. I didn't mind it at all, because she gave me lots of treats for doing it.




This past weekend I went with my family to this place with a ton of dogs. They called it a "dog show", but there was no TV there. Anyway, I had to wait for a long time and finally, I heard them call my me and my mom's names and we went into this fenced area. There was a lady with a blue shirt and she told my mom to have me do all these things. She kept saying "nice" after I did them.




After about 10 minutes of doing what she asked me to do, my mom looked very happy and gave me a delicious beef tendon and told me we had passed the Canine Good Citizen test. It was a great day.

Road Trip!

This weekend we piled in the car with my bff Abbie the Golden Retriever, and headed south to San Luis Obispo for my first Nose Work competition. Nose Work is a dog sport and my job is to do what dogs are especially good at, using my nose. I train like K9 police detection dogs who search for drugs, but unlike police dogs, I search for the scent of birch oil on a q-tip, all for fun and sport.

We arrived in Cayucos, a few minutes outside of San Luis Obispo and took off to the beach for a quick swim. My bff Abbie dove into the ocean, so I followed. Apparently my brick-like physique is suited for sinking, not swimming. I’m sure glad she didn’t take off my leash. I shook the water out of my ears and decided it was much warmer and safer to watch the action from the sandy beach.


Back at the hotel, we crammed ourselves into the dog bath. I’m not fond of baths, but it felt good to get the sand out from between my toes.


Next day, I nailed three of four elements of the Nose Work trial. My interior, exterior, and vehicle searches were some of the fastest of the day. But I goofed on the container search so no title for me. Oop… maybe next time. I cheered for all my dog friends who were also trialing and I got lots of pets from their people. A couple of people who learned of my beginnings were surprised to see that I’m a content and friendly guy. I’m glad I met them and I’m glad to change minds.

We packed up and headed for home the next morning, stopping at two California missions to stretch our legs while our people read plaques screwed to walls (how strange is that!).


Back home, I hopped up on my chair and went to sleep. I have the life of a lucky dog.

Two Weeks With My New Knee

It has been almost two weeks since my surgery and it has been boring. I have destroyed two and a half beds and let myself out of my crate one time before she put carabiners on the door. Also, I have destroyed one hard plastic cone,

one nice soft cone that was borrowed and now my mom has to find a new one to replace it,

one horrible blue donut thing from my last post, one pair of pants,

and one stuffy. The stuffy was my reward for not destroying anything on Friday.

I have not removed any of my sutures though. I'm sure everyone will be proud of me for that.

Today my mom stayed home with me to talk on the phone, make faces at paper and stare at the computer all day. I got to go outside and spend some time helping her talk on the phone while staring at paper. It was nice and sunny so I nibbled on some grass,

checked on some of the plants,

and looked for my squirrel friend (without running over and looking up his tree).

Ubas are meant for bouncing and running and having fun. There is nothing fun about all this sitting around in crates. I feel a whole lot better, my knee isn't acting so naughty and I keep telling her I'm healed, but she doesn't believe me. She says I have WEEKS more to go before I can jump and twirl and leap and play with my flirt pole. I only had a tibial crest transposition, a wedge recession sulcoplasty and lateral fascial imbrication. Can someone please tell her that my knee is all better now?

hugs,

Uba

Why?

What did I do to deserve this?

I thought my leg was getting fixed. I didn't know it would get so broken first.

I can't even sit on the couch without a leash and my mom making sure I don't move around.

The only good thing about today is this nice card that came from Winnie.

Ow. Sigh. This is not what I had in mind.

Uba

My Naughty Knee

For a while now I have been having behavior problems with my right knee. Sometimes I tell my right knee that it is time to jump down the back stairs and chase the squirrel up his tree, and my knee says “nooooooo, I will not participate in that craziness. I am a boring and old knee and I do not want to have fun with my owner, the fabulous Uba”. This makes me pretty annoyed, but I go about my important work of bouncing and running and chasing and having fun and just carry my naughty knee along with me. I even dragged that naughty knee along when I got into the kitchen sink the other day to look for my red rubber ball.

When it is time to relax my naughty knee punishes me for not agreeing with it, and I have to rest it on a soft pillow so it stops yelling at me.

My mom took me and my naughty knee to my regular doctor and then to another special doctor so they could take pictures of it and tell it that it is a naughty knee. After a lot of people talking and looking at me walking and more talking about how my naughty knee is bad, the people have decided that I am going to get a new knee. I am really happy about this. I will have a new knee that will say “woo hoo! Lets chase things and jump and run and have fun!” and I won’t have to carry it around with me and then get yelled at by it later and rest it on a soft pillow.
My mom says it will take a long time for me to heal, just like it did when Lolo and Daisy got their new knees. I will have to wear a donut thing around my neck and I will have an itchy zipper and maybe I’ll even have to wear pants like Audie. I will also have to walk slowly on the boring slow and noisy treadmill instead of running on my most beloved TREADMILL!! I won’t be able to go to nose work class or to circus class and I will have to sit around in my crate and be bored. But then, after a really long time, once the doctors look at my leg again and take more pictures, I will be bionic, just like Lolo and Audie and Daisy.

Boring Treadmill from Letti de Little on Vimeo.

I have been practicing on the boring treadmill so I know what to do when I have to use it while I’m “on drugs”. I don’t know how I could forget how to walk, but she says it might be hard for me to figure out after surgery because of the drugs, so I have to be all bored on the boring treadmill almost every day. My surgery is next Wednesday, but I am not nervous. I get to have all the fun I want now because she says it doesn’t matter if I hurt my naughty knee more. I’ll deal with the drugs and the boredom next week.

hugs,

Uba

Summer Gardening

Hi Everyone! The garden at my house hasn't been making very many fruits and vegetables lately, so I am trying to help it a little bit.
I hope you are having a great summer.
Grace

My Summer So Far

This summer has been a whole lot of fun so far. I've been going to nosework class and learning circus tricks. When I'm not at school we go for walks at my favorite park and sniff things and look at the squirrels there.

I get to play with my spring pole outside now its not raining all the time.

I've spent a little time doing famous dog stuff and hanging out with friends.

I look at the squirrel in the tree in the back yard every day and I've taught him how to bark just like me.

The only sad part of this summer was saying so long to Winnie when she went to her forever family. I love Winnie, but I'm really glad she found her family.

I wonder who my next foster sister will be? I can't wait to find out.

I hope you're enjoying your summer as much as I'm enjoying mine.

hugs,

Uba

Happy 4th of July!

From Grace!

A New Friend

So this weekend, I made a new freind. Her name is Cuda, and she is a very special dog.

She lives all the way on the other side of our big country. She came here with her people to be in a dog show. She also works hard to show people that you need to be responsible.

My dad said she took 3rd place in her dog show, but I think he is kidding me .....

I can tell she is a winner !!!!

- Jonny

My Social Life

I have been busy this month! I took my mom to Pit Ed a couple of weeks ago to show her the ropes and I got to see some of my special old Bad Rap friends.

I had a "dog sitter" experience this month, too. This man and lady called Aunt and Uncle came and stayed at my house while my family went away for a couple of days. At first I wasn't sure I was going to have fun with them, but once I saw that they had my magical purple leash I figured they must be great. Here I am wrestling with Uncle.



This is my friend Gordon. He belongs to a lady called Grandma. He's 15 years old and can't play much anymore so we lick each other's faces and sniff stuff on short walks. I really like him.



This is my neighbor, Cooper. Even though he is only 9 months old, he is giant. I kind of like him. He has good manners. I think he has potential. Here we are having some down time, but Cooper told me his dad's command for this is "chillax".



So, that's my report on my social life lately!
Grace

Happy Today

Walks in the park make me happy.

Everyone should do one thing, everyday, that makes them happy too.

Did you get your happy today ?

- Jonny

The Cone Zone

I had to go to the vet last week because of a bump on my leg. She worries about bumps and lumps so first she hauled my housemate Aldo to the vet to get poked and prodded. Then the next day, Aldo left the house without even getting breakfast and came back later that night as a big cone head. I thought it was pretty funny to grab Aldo’s cone and drag him around the house. That game didn’t get to last so long, since she apparently didn’t think it was all that funny. Then the next thing I knew, I’d joined the Cone Zone too. My bump was a Mast Cell tumor. It’s gone now, but the Cone is still stuck on my head and Aldo’s too. I don’t know how many more days I will be tormented with this plastic salad bowl on my head, but I’ll keep ramming her in the shins with mine until she takes it off for good.

Mailbox

Some dogs bark at the mail carrier and I admit, if I’m in the house and I hear the mailbox outside slam shut, I sometimes bark too. Today, we saw a mailbox just like ours, but it was upside down sideways. And how amazing it was! Who would have thought that the mail carrier would come up with such a creative idea, all for the convenience of dogs and their people. And here I thought they only walked up and down the street slamming mailbox doors!