My neighbor, who has Shi-tzus (sp) calls the floor problem "scooty butt"
Anyway, thought this was really cute -- probably because, even though
mine is almost 15 weeks old and well over 30lbs, it describes her to a
tee. [you tell ME why Bermuda (ok St. Augustine) grass, roots and all, is
better than a nice bowl of kibble.... and we won't mention the growing
toilet paper fetish....]

enjoy!
-B
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            A WORD FROM THE CHEF
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Cooky celebrated his six-month birthday last week, and it occurred to
me that I haven't given you an update on his progress in quite a while.
 
He is basically full grown now and tips the scales at a healthy 22
pounds.  This would explain why I'm always slightly winded when I
carry him upstairs.  The house training continues to progress well,
and his indoor accidents are few and due as much to my inattentiveness
as to his lack of restraint.  He is on a schedule of about five walks
a day, and middle-of-the-night potty trips are a thing of the past.
 
He is becoming quite the little connoisseur of fresh herbs as he can't
resist taking a nip of the oregano, basil, thyme, sage, tarragon,
parsley, and rosemary we have growing in the garden.  Normally this
would give me great hope with regard to his culinary future, but he
also takes a nip of almost every other plant that crosses his path.
In Cooky's world, everything is edible.
 
Although I haven't started training him in earnest, he seems to be a
quick learner.  It took only three sessions for him to master "sit"
when bribed with a little piece of his dog food.  Even though he has
access to a big bowl of the same stuff all day, he'll do just about
anything to get one of those tiny nuggets as a reward.  I said he was
a quick learner, not smart.
 
As a consequence of his "sit" training, he now thinks that he can get
whatever he wants by sitting.  My mother gives him partially melted
ice cubes from her evening cocktail which he requests by staring at
her glass and sitting.  When he needs a walk, sometimes he'll signal
by jumping on the sofa or on my bed and sitting.  In Cooky's world,
sitting is good.
 
The only trouble he has with sitting is that my house has hardwood
floors throughout, and whenever he sits his furry little butt slides
on the floor so he either scoots across the room until he backs into
something stationary, or until his hind legs have moved such a
distance from his fore legs that he is in a prone position.  This
position never lasts long because it wasn't what he had in mind, so he
almost always stands up on all fours and sits again, thus beginning
the slide and scoot routine all over.  The floors have never been
cleaner.

--- Rachel's Little NET2FIDO Gate v 0.9.9.8 Alpha