Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Happy Birthday Bandit

Today is Bandit's first birthday. Yes, it's been a year of: chewed up dog toys, throw rugs, pillows, blankets, lawn furniture cushions, antique pillow case, two dining room chairs, the pool bathroom, lazy boy chair AND countless plants and holes in the back yard. AND.... the living room window that she went through while barking at a small black kitten.
She'll probably add 20 more pounds to her now 100 pounds when she's done growing. She is a BIG DOG!
We bought her almost a year ago after our house got broken into and robbed. I picked her out and brought her home in a baby blanket. In the beginning she fit the cat door that was installed in the pool bathroom door. Now she uses an extra large pet door. The bathroom ::::shaking head:::: needs to be remodeled. We'll do that when she's finished growing up.
She loves to sneak up on the bed. It's really easy to know when a 100 pound dog is on the bed though :) She knows "sit" and "down" and "gimme paw" and her favorite "bye, bye." We can throw snacks at her from across the room and she catches them almost every time.
Oh my goodness .... when she barks, it is LOUD. The whole neighborhood is protected when she barks. But then again.... some of the things she barks at, well, are hilarious. I have a calendar on the wall by my desk. The calendar has pictures of Papillons - she barks at it every day. At night time when we turn on the lights in the game room, she barks at the reflections of the neon lights. Dogs can be so funny sometimes.
The last two weeks I've been training Trixie and Bandit to walk together on leashes at the same time. So far it is going ok. These are short walks in the alley where there are mininal distractions. We walked a bit farther yesterday. We walked by some doctor offices that were all glass. Bandit started to have a barking fit. I looked over and saw she was barking at her reflection in the glass.
So here we start year two. The first year was priceless ..... well, beside all the things she destroyed LOL.

5 comments:

Busy Bee Suz said...

I think you will only have about 2 more years of her puppiness. :)
I hope you and your home last.
Seems you adore her even with her destruction...that is the life of having a ball of fur/joy.

Rev. Paul said...

Dogs are a gift from God, I'm certain. It's nice to hear about how much Bandit means to you. Thanks for sharing.

Prospero said...

I think Bandit may be trying to tell you that she wants her own calendar of - well, bandits.

And, incidentally, Papillons make great guard dogs - intruders can easily die laughing.

Happy Birthday, Bandit.

Deb said...

Happy Birthday Bandit...

Susie said...

She is a big dog isn't she. I know I wouldn't go anywhere near your house with her around.