How To Get What You Want

This is the look I give when I want someone in my family to read my mind....

"Hmmmm, they say. Grace looks like she wants a new toy".

I have a blast unstuffing my new squeaky duck toy. It's no match for my chewing talents.

See, I told you! That look works every time. Grace :)

Uba, NW1

Five years ago I was pretty sure that all I would ever know was the plain concrete box I lived in. I was just a little pup, not even six months old, when they took me and my cousins away from the life we knew in the woods and put us in boxes. I started to forget who I was. I forgot about the woods I used to live in and that there was anything outside my box. Some of the other dogs forgot themselves before I did and believed that the box was all there was. Hector didn't forget and he would bark at the people that hosed us and our boxes and it would remind me that once I knew something other than the box.

Five years ago the kind man called Tim climbed up to my box, opened the door and asked me to come out. I was really scared because the box was me and I was the box. I couldn't remember what was outside the box.  Tim reached in and lifted me down to the ground and patted me with kind hands and that was the first day of my freedom. 

Freedom sounds wonderful, but when all you know is a box, freedom is overwhelming. My mom, Lulu, and all my friends spent a lot of time explaining to me that there is nothing to be scared of and that they would keep me safe. They called me “environmentally sensitive” and one friend who helps humans called veterans said I was like her patients who have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. With help I got brave at home, at pit ed class, in wild places and in a few other places, like Jonny's house. New places stayed scary.

One day we went to a new school where Audie's mom showed us a new game. I didn’t want to go inside the school or eat hot dogs. I was too scared to pay attention. We kept playing the game with the hot dogs and one day I was so interested in using my nose that I started to forget about being scared.  After lots of practice I learned to find birch oil, anise oil and clove oil instead of hot dogs and I got brave enough to look for the oils in different places. When I go to new places now I wonder if there might be a search to do and I don’t want to melt in to the ground so much.

This weekend I gave myself and my mom an early five years free present and earned my NW1 title. I got scared a few times, but I found all the oil and told my mom where it was. The judges gave me two special “Ps” which stands for pronounced and means I was extra good at working with my mom.   

Uba, NW1

This summer I was lucky enough to have my BFF Ivie Lu come over to play a few times. She's great. We take walks, wrestle, and lay around being lazy together. But there's one thing we do not have in common - that would be playing in the water. You see, Ivie loves the water and I do not. Here she is trying to convince me to get in the pool! "No way", I say!!

So I show her that the only thing the pool is good for is a big drink of water. -Grace

Just Call Me Super Dog

 This weekend I dressed up and went on a walk with all my friends incognito.

I thought that my outfit would let me enjoy the day quietly and the people would pay attention to my sister, Lulu, and my foster sister, Tallulah.

Thats Lulu on my left and Tallulah on my right.

My plan backfired a little. As we walked the people along the way kept calling me. "Super Dog! Super Dog!" they kept shouting. 

I have to admit it was cool to be Super Dog for a day!

hugs,
Uba

35 Years

Thirty five years ago - life changed. ( five in people years )

I left on a journey that took me many places.

I made many friends, held a few jobs, and found a family.

  

Things turned out just wonderful.

 So, today

I can't help leaping for joy

or running for joy...

or boucning for joy.

Well....to be honest - it all just makes me smile.

Wishing a Happy Thirty Five to all the pups and people out there.

-Jonny



My Precious

After dinner treat

the bouncy red rubber ball

it is mine all mine

I am a lucky dog.

hugs,

Uba

iFun Photos

Hi, it's me,Grace. I've been bored with all of this rain, so I resorted to taking silly pictures of myself with the iPad.


Grace The Polar Bear


Grace the Dachshund


Dizzy Grace


Piggy Grace


Gracie Twins

What do you think?

Squirrel Patrol

No, I have never caught one. Besides, she wouldn't let me if I could. But those irritatingly chatty squirrels live in the tall trees just beyond and mock me from above. So, I feel it is my responsibility, no, it's my duty, to volunteer for squirrel patrol in case they all decide to climb down and invade my lawn!

Happy Valentine's Day

My valentine understood me back in the early days when I didn't even understand myself. She taught me everything I know and helped me feel safe. She tolerates me even when I'm really bouncy. She lets me curl up next to her and use her ear as a blanket. I wouldn't be the dog I am without her.

Thank you for being my big sister, Lulu. I love you.

love,

Uba

Come and Meet Us!

In case you missed it, Jonny Justice, Teddles, and me, Uba, will be hanging out at AnnaBee's in Pacifica on Saturday, January 21st. We will be signing books and answering all your important questions. My good friend Sydney will be hanging out with us too.

Come and say hi, we can't wait to meet you!

Hugs,

Uba

Getting Strong and Bored

I have been working very hard on getting my strength back after my surgery. First I got to run around and play in the back yard and we started going for nice long walks. After a while Star came to stay with us. We played and went on walks and had a ton of fun together. I thought she would be a great foster sister, but then she went home with her new family.

Then I got really bored, and I spent a lot of time staring at my mom and talking to her about how I wanted my treadmill back and a foster sister.

I had to keep asking, but eventually she got the idea and bought my treadmill back. I am so happy that I can run and run and make myself handsome and buff again.

Then, this weekend, it got even better and a new foster sister came to stay. We are still deciding on her name, but I can tell you she is a superhero and it is going to be a whole lot of fun teaching her about the world.

Lesson number one for the new foster girl - keep your eyeballs out of my pictures!

Hugs,

Uba

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