Grandparents are supposed to spoil grandchildren, and my parents definitely live up to that when it comes to their grandpuppy.

My parents have many years to wait before grandkids. I’m not married, and my two brothers are still in college. Cubbie, though, definitely gets treated like a grandchild.

When I first told my parents about Cubbie, they didn’t think it was a good idea for me to have a dog. They thought he would be too much work and too much money (all things parents are supposed to worry about). Then I came back to Oelwein for one of my best friend’s weddings in September of 2006. I had just gotten Cubbie three weeks prior. He was still very small, less than five pounds. I remember the first time my mom saw him. We just pulled into the driveway, I let Cubbie down and he started trotting up the sidewalk just as my mom walked outside. She instantly became Grammy.

Huckleberry and Cubbie

Cubbie soon got the run of my parents’ house. Compared to my apartment in Ottumwa, he had tons of space to run and lots of new rooms to explore. He had help from my family dog, Huckleberry. I’ll talk more about Huck in another blog. He had a few favorite spots to explore. One was my little brother’s room because he always leaves stuff on the floor. The other, was the cat’s litter box. Yes, as gross as it is, I will admit, Cubbie loved to dig in the cat litter box for “treasure.” My dad walked upstairs and found litter and “treasure” all over the carpet in my parent’s bedroom.

My mom immediately began playing and cuddling with Cubbie. She had a black poodle as a child, and would rub the dog’s paw to help her fall asleep at night. Cubbie lets her rub his paw, too. She loves it when he jumps on the couch with her and curls up. She also volunteers to hold bones for him. (For some reason, it’s sometimes too much work for him to hold onto the bone with his paws AND chew, so he likes people to hold it).

At stores my mom shops for dog toys. Cubbie even has a whole basket of toys that stays at my parents’ house. It is completely full of bones, some of my old shoes, balls and stuffed animals. She’s also obsessed with giving him treats. Everytime we get to Oelwein, she asks Cubbie if he wants a treat. I swear, Cubbie has gained 10 pounds simply because of my parents. When my dad gets home, he gives Cubbie milk bones, and not just one, but usually three to five. No matter how many times I tell my parents “NO,” it doesn’t matter.

I think it was my mom who actually started referring to her self as Grammy and the name stuck. That’s how Cubbie knows my parents: Grammy and Grampy. If I say, “Want to go to Grammy and Grampy’s?” He starts to bark and wag his tail and runs to the door. When we’re in the car driving to Oelwein, he knows when we’re close to my parents’. As we drive up the road by the house, he starts to look out the window, tail wagging, barely able to contain his excitement. When we pull in the driveway, he bolts from the car and runs straight for the door. Sometimes we get to my parents’ and no one is there. He runs from room to room looking for Grammy and Grampy.

My mom spoils Cubbie to no end, but that’s just who she is. My dad, on the other hand, would pretend he wasn’t a big fan of Cubbie, but that didn’t last long. Soon my dad and Cubbie became best buds. One reason, my dad likes to eat snacks, and he’s notorious for dropping crumbs everywhere. Cubbie learned this and began following my dad as he walked to the kitchen for food and back to the living room. Cubbie also loves riding in my dad’s truck. I think he likes how high up the vehicle is. Cubbie sits on the center console while he and my dad run errands.

Cubbie and Grampy

One of my favorite things is when Cubbie and my dad share a chair. My dad always sits in the same chair in the living room, one day Cubbie decided to join him. Dad slid over, and Cubbie now has a little corner he always sits in. More often than not, Cubbie goes to sleep next to Grampy, with his head hanging over the arm of the chair.

I have wonderful parents, and they are so amazing with Cubbie. They love playing with him, and they help me out so much. I know I always have a dog-sitter when I’m working long hours or need to go out of town. Cubbie loves it there, and he always comes back VERY worn out.

Posted under Cubbie stories

Sometimes dogs just do silly things. One of Cubbie’s silly traits is barking at random objects. When I vacuum, he always runs up to it at first and barks, then he runs away. While the vacuum is off, he’s a tough guy with bark, bark bark. But, as soon as the switch turns on, he is a wimp, wimp, wimp. If I even appear to move the vacuum in the same direction as Cubbie, he bolts. Usually he jumps on the couch or chair until I’m done.

Yesterday, Cubbie found a new object to bark at. We went back to Oelwein to surprise my mom for her birthday, and we decided to try out one of her Christmas presents from my youngest brother. It’s Charlie Brown, Woodstock and Snoopy singing music, and the heads move back and forth.

As soon as we turned it on, Cubbie went crazy. He jumped up on the end of the couch to be closer to it, and began barking non-stop. I’ve actually only heard him bark this fiercely one or two other times. He even showed his teeth a few times (but no growl). When the music stopped, and the heads stopped moving on the characters, he was fine. But as soon as we pushed the button to turn it on, there was crazy Cubbie again.

He very rarely barks at things. He usually tries to steal them and chew them up. For some reason, this singing Peanuts gift is his worst enemy. Cubbie was in attack position and would not stop barking. I couldn’t stop laughing. I’ve never seen him dislike something so much!

Posted under Cubbie stories

Obviously, Cubbie doesn’t understand the real meaning of Christmas, but he knows he gets to tear into wrapping paper and boxes and that’s good enough for him.

For Christmas we went back to Oelwein to my parents’ house. Our family tradition is to go to church, open presents and watch “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” on Christmas Eve.

When it came time for presents, Cubbie was helping everyone. He loves ripping wrapping paper, and he is the first one to know what someone gets because his nose is always in the box as soon as it opens.

This year Cubbie got a couple new stuffed toys from my mom and one of my brothers. In a matter of minutes, stuffing was already starting to fly. Since my mom knows how much Cubbie rips up his toys, she found some supposedly indestructible toys. So far so good, but we’ll see if they last. If they do last, I have a feeling Cubbie will get bored with them. His favorite part is the ripping and tearing.

I went to the University of Iowa and both my brothers go there now. One brother got my mom some soft, plush snowmen dressed in Iowa Hawkeye gear. Cubbie thought it was his toy. He tried to rip it away from my mom, and she tried holding it above her head, but Cubbie tried climbing and jumping. At one point, he got part of the santa hat in his mouth and we had to pry it out of his teeth. He definitely did not want to give up what he thought was his new toy!

Indestructible Toy

Overall, it was a great Christmas. Cubbie made out like a bandit. He got a stocking full of toys from the Cedar Bend Humane Society, plus a stocking full of toys from one of my friends, some dog treats and more toys from my mom. No, this dog isn’t spoiled one bit!

Between running back and forth from person to person (depending on whose turn it was to open a gift), Cubbie enjoyed chewing on his new toys and wrapping paper.

Cubbie sick of pictures

I was a little camera happy, and at one point, he actually closed his eyes when I took the picture. I think he blinked on purpose!

Despite the picture taking, he had fun and LOTS of new things to chew on.

Cubbie and I hope you had a very good Christmas as well.

Posted under Cubbie stories

I recently wrote about Cubbie’s new bad habit, begging and whining until I give him a bone to chew on. Overall, I have very little to complain about with Cubbie. He is a well-behaved, very loving dog, but he isn’t perfect.

He has two habits I can’t seem to break him of. So if you have any ideas, please let me know!

The first is barking. As a puppy, he never barked. Then, we stayed with my parents for a couple months while I transitioned to my rental house in Waterloo, and Cubbie suddenly learned to bark. I think he learned it from our family dog, Huckleberry. Huck was a great dog, but liked to bark at noises. Cubbie barks if he hears a knock or a car door shut or another dog. I’ve tried saying “no” everytime he barks, I’ve tried giving him a light touch with my fingers and I’ve tried making a loud clapping noise. Nothing has worked. Sometimes, I think he barks just to defy me. He always has to get the last word! If I try to make him stop, he has to bark just one more time.

His other bad habit is jumping on people when he first meets them. Cubbie loves people. Sometimes too much because he thinks everyone wants to play with him and give him attention. I don’t mind when he greets me excitedly after work, and my parents don’t mind when he sees them. To be honest, we probably encourage his bad behavior. I know you’re supposed to be calm and not make a big deal about it, but it’s hard not to be excited to see him.

His jumping bothers me around strangers or at the dog park, when I don’t know if people will respond well. I know some people might suggest kneeing Cubbie or something to keep him from jumping, but I don’t want to do that and I don’t want anyone else to do that to him. If I have leash on him, I use that to help keep him down. After an initial few minutes, he stays down on his own, but when he first meets someone, it’s as if he’s saying, “Notice me! Notice me! I’m down here!” Cubbie has to be one of the most spoiled dogs on Earth, but when he meets people he acts as if he’s never seen an ounce of attention in his life.

I keep working on it. Hopefully one of these days I’ll have a quiet, non jumping dog!

Posted under Cubbie stories

If you’d like to donate to some animals in need, Animal Welfare Services in Waverly is in need of some supplies.

Here is what Priscilla Blanchard sent me:

We have a wish list at Walmart and Target (First Name: Animal Welfare
Last Name: Services) that you can access either in the stores or online.

IMMEDIATE NEEDS:

* Scoopfree Automatic Litter Box Replacement (PetSmart or PetCo)
* Senior or Kitten Canned Cat Food (6 oz size, Gramma cat eats one
or two every day)
* Whole Meals dog food, Large (PetSmart or PetCo)
* Just Born (or other Kitten Milk, dry or ready to pour)
* Money to pay VET BILLS ($600)

I would like one of those square cat beds at Walmart (and other places) for about $15. Gramma Cat needs a warmer bed even though I try to keep her warm. A heated cat bed would be great, but expensive.

Posted under Uncategorized

A reader let me know we have a a Flyball champion living in eastern Iowa! I had never heard of Flyball, but it seems Emma Jo is a natural. I’m hoping to catch up with Emma Jo in action once the weather gets better! Here is the email:

Danielle,
It is nice to see your pet blog. I thought you might want to know
that you have a canine athlete superstar right in Waverly, Iowa. My
mother’s dog Emma Jo was the single top point earner in the North
American Flyball Association (out of more than 13,000 dogs) in the year that
ended September 30, 2008. She was also named Regional Most Valuable
Player. Flyball is a 4 team dog racing sport!
More information about flyball is available at www.flyball.org

Emma Jo from Waverly

Posted under Pet Events

Cubbie on my dashboard (The car is parked).

Obviously, I love my dog very much, and I always will. But, I’ll admit he has some bad habits. To be completely honest, most of them are my fault.

About a month ago Cubbie and I started a new bad habit. One night I came home from work, and I was exhausted (I think it was a Tuesday, which means it was my Friday). Cubbie, though, really wanted to play. I sat on the couch, and he jumped into my lap and just looked me in the eyes. After a minute, he began whining. I said, “What?” Even though I knew he wanted to play. Instead of playing tug of war for a few minutes I got him a bone to chew on. I opened a can of worms.

Now, almost every night when I come home from work he jumps in my lap and whines and whines and whines until I say, “Do you want a bone?” Then he jumps down and literally runs to the kitchen cupboard. I created a monster.

Sometimes I feel like such a bad pet owner, but you know there are times when I’m trying to watch a movie with a friend or read a book and it’s easier if Cubbie is distracted. Like I said, I love my dog, but I’m not some superwoman and sometimes I take the easy way out. I’m horrible.

Anyway, last night Cubbie did the same routine. Whining and whining right in my face, but I needed to break the cycle. Instead, I tried ignoring him. It’s hard to ignore Cubbie. He HATES to be ignored (Maybe it’s a side effect of being an only child). Cubbie kept trying to get closer to me, and I kept turning my head away. We were pretty much nose to nose. Boy, he is stubborn, just like his mom. I tried making him go down to the floor, but he kept jumping back up on the couch. Eventually, I felt like I was a goalie in soccer trying to block Cubbie from all portions of the couch. He wasn’t happy.

Finally, after about 15 minutes, he jumped on the couch and sat down, without whining. Victory! For once I put my foot down and won. However, I can’t help but think I won this battle, but will lose the war.

Posted under Cubbie stories

When Cubbie was a few months old, I decided to enroll him in puppy class. I knew I wanted a well-behaved dog, so I figured I’d take advantage of all the help I could get!

We met once a week with a group of six other dogs. All the dogs were puppies, but Cubbie was definitely the smallest. One of his best friends in the class was a playful lab puppy. At the time, Cubbie only weighed about ten pounds and the lab already weighed more than 40 pounds!

The class was called a “clicker” class. Each of us owners received our own plastic clickers (mine was shaped like an alligator). From what I remember, we would say a command like “sit” and when the puppy did the command we clicked the clicker and gave our puppy a tiny piece of hot dog. The puppies began to associate the click with food–a good thing. I remember there was a trick when using the clicker, you had to click and at virtually the same time give the hot dog piece so the dogs made the association between the clicker and getting a treat. It took some getting used to on my part, but Cubbie seemed to respond well.

Within six weeks he learned how to sit, lie down, stay, and come. Granted, he was great in class, but the real world is another story. He’s still great at sit and lie down, but stay and come are based on distractions. If other dogs or people or squirrels are around–Cubbie does what he wants.

Cubbie and I would train with the clicker at home, but slowly phased it out during the course of about six months. I definitely credit the clicker with Cubbie’s basic training. I also credit the class for making him a social dog. I really wanted a dog who would get along with other people and other dogs. I think going to class once a week with people and their pets really helped. At certain points during the class we’d take the leashes off and let the puppies play. They deserved to have a little fun between training. Sometimes it would get rough, and I would get scared because Cubbie was so small, but the teacher made me realize Cubbie would respond if another dog was hurting him.

Cubbie graduated at the top of his clicker class (my dad still doesn’t believe me), but his competition wasn’t that stiff. Cubbie has a pretty good attention span and he picks up on things quickly. Sometimes, I think Cubbie is actually too smart for his own good! Overall, Cubbie is very well-behaved (I might be slightly partial), but he does have a few bad habits. I’ll tell you about those next time.

I was reminded of our experience with the clicker class because someone sent me this website about the Good Dog Center in Decorah. I’ve thought about signing Cubbie up for agility classes before. He has great energy, and I think he’d like the sense of accomplishment.

Connie Apling with K-9 Playhouse in Waterloo offers dog daycare, plus lots of training classes. I met Connie this summer when her place was flooded, and she also donated to the Cubbie Tails Dog Walk fundraiser for the Cedar Bend Humane Society. Maybe one of these days Cubbie and I will sign up for agility training. I think it’s important to challenge dogs AND wear them out!

Posted under Obedience and Training

If you still have Christmas shopping to do, check out this website: www.petgive.com.

There a lots of stores donating a portion of sales to pet charities. You sign up for which charity you want to donate, and then you’ll see a list of participating stores and what percentage of your purchase goes to help pets.

I believe the only one in Iowa is the Animal Rescue League of Iowa in Des Moines. There are LOTS of popular stores: Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Dillards (just to name a small few). So if you plan on shopping at these stores anyway, why not help animals too?

Posted under Pet Events

Sometimes I swear Cubbie could sleep for 14 hours straight, but there are times when he wants to play and he won’t take no for an answer. He has a full toy basket in the corner of the living room. It’s so funny to watch him stick his head in there and dig around for just the right toy. He goes back and forth with which toys he wants to play with, but typically he chooses anything he can rip up.

Cubbie starting his attack

He absolutely loves it when I bring home a new stuffed animal. You’d think it was the greatest accomplishment in the world when he rips all the stuffing out. He just sits on the floor in the middle of all the stuffing, and I really think he’s smiling. If a toy squeaks, trust me, not for long. He attacks it and doesn’t let up. Once Cubbie gets a tiny rip, the toy has no chance of survival.

After going through a couple toys in one day, I opted to go with the cheapest stuffed animals I could find! Some might wonder why I keep buying stuffed animals if they just end up in the trash, destroyed. Well, Cubbie seems so excited when he’s pulling all the stuffing out. I don’t want to take that away from. He has fun, and I have fun watchin him.

Another favorite game is “Pull Me Around the Carpet, Mom.” Anything Cubbie can latch his teeth into, he wants you to drag him around. He is so goofy and goes limp while you pull him. I call it the “frog” position. His back legs go behind him like a frog swimming. He is obsessed with this game. I think it started when I got a robe for Christmas about three years ago, and Cubbie thought the part that ties around the waist was for him. He began pulling, I began pulling to get it back and then he just went to his belly. Ever since, he loves to have me pull him around. I don’t have a very large living room, and it’s the only room in my rental house with carpet, so I end up going back and forth and back and forth in this tiny little space. I actually get dizzy. Cubbie, though, acts like he could go all day with me pulling him around the carpet. He’s a silly little frog.

Cubbie as a frogger

Posted under Cubbie stories