(68) Roll Over, Roll Over

Today went screamin' by. Although we got up early, like a regular work day I had computer to do. Brad went to work and after a walk about to check out all the plants after the hard rains and the replanting, I got to work on the new project. Beeks was delighted to go running around the wet yard. The hostas seemed to survive the night although they look fairly limp. The great thing about hostas is that they are hardy and even if they don't perk up they will come back strong as ever next year. Today my friend came and picked up the hostas we dug up for her. They filled up the entire ladies Lawn cart. It was a hoot to see her drive away with her Jeep filled in green. I hope she made it home, she certainly couldn't see out the back window or have anyone ride with her.

Before I went upstairs to work I decided to give the dogs some sweet potato. These are the treats that we got on Saturday from the feed store. These specific sweet potatoes are chewier and look more like big dried apricots. The dogs love them. I cut one up in smaller strips and then decided to make them work for their treat. Taking them into the bedroom where there is carpet, I tried to put both dogs in a sit stay. They could smell the sweet potato and Beeks didn't want to stay, he kept hovering over me just waiting for a chance to steal a goodie. Max went down but was distracted by me waving my hand (trying to keep the food away from Beeker. At this point Max didn't have enough room to roll over which was what I was attempting to get them to do. Finally I stood up and moved them further away from each other and that helped a great deal. I gave the roll over command and Max moved his head in a circle, but left his body on his side. Another round of giving commands and motioning with my arm, and he rolled over.(I'm not as proficient as my mom at communicating this command) With Max this doesn't happen quickly or smoothly. He more or less roll so that his legs are up in the air and then when they are directly above him he flops over to the other side. It's somewhat comical. But here's the funniest part. After getting Max to roll over another two times, I moved on to Beeks. He was so eager to get the food that he couldn't stay down in a down. He kept getting up. So I'm saying, down, roll over, and he's focused on Me and I'm focused on him, and Max, rolls over. I couldn't believe it. What a hoot! I just gave Max the treat and told Beeks, "See? That's what I want you to do!". After laughing for about 5 minutes, I slowed down, got Beeks to down,stay and roll o-v-e-r. We practiced that two more times until the rest of the treat was gone and then play time was up!

I like doing this computer project especially when it goes smoothly. It makes time fly by. That's also the problem, My day can go so quickly. It's a good thing that I have my trusty dog to remind me when it is time for them to eat dinner. Beeks and Max keep me on their eating schedule so that I take breaks too. Whn Brad got home we took the dogs on the short figure eight. We all needed some exercise. Tonight Max struggled with ignoring the other dogs we passed and Beeks wanted to crane his neck to get a good look too. They always struggle on their walks when they haven't had one for a while or if they have been inside too long and are needy. Last night was a different story. Before it rained we grilled out and although is was already dark, we had both dogs off leash. We had them just sit with us as we sat out front. It was a perfect temperature for a perfect evening.