hurricane and Halloween...

Today is Halloween, and even though I don't exactly know what that means, I understand that Abbie is a little sad, because there is no trick or treating. Mom and Dad seemed worried about the other animals on the farm, especially the turkeys. A storm, which they are calling a "hurricane" is coming....

Mom, Dad, and Abbie all went down to the barn and tried to get things in order as much as they could. The turkeys didn't have any shelter from the wind....

So, they wrapped their pen in a big tarp. Dad said to Mom that at least it's "warm".. so they don't have to worry about the birds getting cold. But it's best to have them out of the wind. Everyone else will be fine being in the barn, and by the end of the day... we were all cozy and safe in the house.

The wind blew very strong (no it didn't knock down the windmill.. Mom and Dad laid it down on the ground). But we did loose power and so the generator had to be started. Mom is so happy for a generator.. being without power can be bothersome.. and I guess around here, the power can go out often.

We spent the day inside. My trips outside to potty were quick at best.. I don't mind the rain, but the wind was another thing. Mom was pleased that I know how to potty quickly...









So.. I have seen my first hurricane... and Mom said just knowing how to potty quickly in bad weather is a good thing...


add another one to my list....





life with.... Rylie....

a pumpkin outing

Well.. here I am, all dressed up, which means one thing for sure... we're off on another adventure!!! I love going out and about and seeing new things, I wonder what this trip will have to show me.










Abbie came with us, she was all dressed up too. Mom called it her "Halloween costume".. this is bound to be something special for sure.

When we arrived, there was a wonderful smell in the air, and as we rounded a corner, this was the first sight I saw. Now, I have seen pumpkins before, but this was different.

There were pumpkins everywhere!!! Hundreds and hundreds of them... no matter where you looked, there they were. I thought they were pretty great, and I was happy to hop up in this chair so  Mom could take a good picture of me with them.

I loved the smell them. Mom said it was fine for me to check them all out.

After we had been there for a little bit, we noticed that some people were coming around and lighting the pumpkins. Now, you could really get their wonderful smell, and as they began to glow, it made a very pretty sight.

Abbie was just as fascinated with them as I was. We spent a lot of time looking at each one. There were a lot of other people there too....

The place we were at is called "LL Beans"... it's a famous store and there was a big boot that Mom wanted to take our photos on. I always love to cuddle with Abbie, so I didn't mind being put up on the boot so we could pose.








Isn't this great fun??? I love you guys!!!!

There were so many pumpkins for us to pose with.

Of course, I got a lot of attention as well. People are so interested in the work that I am hoping to do, and they always like to stop and pet me, and talk with Mom. I love outings like this......

So, that's the story of my great pumpkin outing... and there will be more adventures ahead I am sure...





but for now, that's the life with.... Rylie

howl-een check in....

One thing about being a puppy, is every day is so exciting and there is always something new. This is my friend Marv, he's working on being a service puppy too... we're about the same age, but Marv is much bigger than I am......

Marv and his Mom Linda completed the puppy class and graduated!!! Here's they're photo, and it's just the first of many "graduations" to come!!!!!

I work in the classes too.. that is, when Mom can find someone to work with me. She's so busy teaching the classes that she can't work with me. But I know what to do... see here, I am doing my down stay (even when my friend beside me got up and left - I didn't even move). Mom was so happy with me......

And here, I did my down stay even when Rick stepped over me.... I know that I won't be stepped on, so I just stay liked I was suppose to.....

Here's Moxie.... she's doing her sit stay waiting to be called.......

We had some special activities in the house!!! I understand "Halloween" is coming up .. not too sure what that is all about, but there seems to be some excitement about it and plans for fun things. Abbie and her Mom took the pumpkins and craved them, and then roaster all the seeds inside. Those seeds sure smelled good roasting in the oven.. and the pumpkins looked kind of neat when they were lit up.

And then, it was time to go and see Dave again. Now, I'm not so sure what was with "dressing us up".. but all the humans got these fins, and put them on our backs. They said we were sharks and that we were going to surprise Dave with them...

Wearing the fins wasn't much different from wearing out vests... but the humans were all excited about it....

OK... we're ready to go and see what Dave thinks about all of this...

Moxie showing Dave her fin... I guess the joke is, Dave isn't a fan of sharks... and this Halloween thing is to "scare" people... so, were we trying to scare Dave with these....

Dave doesn't seem very scared to me... in fact he laughed and shook his head.... our silly humans!!!!!

Then it was talk time. Mom calls this the "round table"... we puppies know it's time to lay quietly and let them do their thing. It's also a time to rest a bit before heading out to training.. I remember this from last month.

Before we headed out to the street, we got to take a little tour of the kennel. At some point in our training, we will spend some time at the kennel, so it's nice to have a look at it ahead of time.

Our trip today wasn't into the city, but to a mall instead. Mom has had me to a few stores, to look around, but this is my first time at working at the store. Moxie was more than ready to head in with her Dad....

I watched quietly to see what it is that I'm suppose to do... it doesn't look that hard if you ask me....

Oh, I see... like everywhere else... get there, and then practice being "quiet" while the humans talk and have a bit to eat. Is this what "service dog work is".... kind of boring at times!!!!!

Moxie and Rick came up with a better idea... they went to socialize with some folks. I would have liked that, but Mom thought "waiting" would be a better job for me today.

When we were done in the store, it was back outside. We sat for a little bit and watched the activities in the parking lot and many people going in and out stopped to talk with us. I like that part too....

The next store we went to was "scary"... it was a Halloween store and it had all kinds of strange things. I thought they all looked like big toys and I wouldn't have minded playing with them. Monty thought the same thing... this was a big spider that jumped out at you , actually my Mom wasn't too thrilled with that... but Monty and I, we were ready to grab that spider!!!!

Everywhere we turned, things jumped, or made strange noises, I thought it was rather silly. Moxie however, was not very happy with the zombie thing that popped up and growled at us. Her Dad had to show her that it wasn't real, but truthfully, none of us liked it, and Mom said, it wouldn't normally be a store she would have gone into.

I guess we just need to know that there are all kinds of strange things out there in the world, and our humans are just trying to prepare us for anything they can think of.



But the day was starting to get long, and I am still pretty little and was getting tired. I kept looking at Mom and telling her, it's time to go home... I've had enough city work....




the life of ....Rylie......

looking into the future...

This is a church... shhhh... you have to be very quiet in church... at least that is what my Mom told me as we went in. This is the first time that I have gone to church, and from what I understand it isn't our "usual" church.. but because I haven't been... I really don't know what that means. Mom said we were visiting this church for a very special reason....

So, I just did what Mom  needed me to do... lay quietly and watch to see what happens.

Monty and Kathleen were with us as well - so was Camille. Monty understood right away what "church" means, and he settled right down and was very quiet.... so I did the same thing, and Camille did too....But while we were "waiting".. I knew right away there was yet another dog in church......

And just as I was wondering "who" this other dog was.. she came to meet us!!! She was extremely happy and seemed to know Mom and Kathleen... they certainly knew her, because I her my Mom say "Hello G girl," and she gave this dog a big hug. I might have been a bit jealous, but this dog was so sweet and friendly that I liked her right away....

And "who" is she you might ask... well, it was Ginger!!! One of Mom's other "service puppies". She is all grown up and working as a REAL service dog (she wears a red vest)...and her job is a ministry dog!!! Mom and Kathleen wanted to visit Ginger in her church and see how she was doing...

Pastor Jane (Ginger's real mom) was so happy to see us all and we felt extremely welcomed in the church. Pastor Jane had so many stories to tell Mom about Ginger.. they have been very busy in their work. Mom just smiled and cried at the same time hearing all the stories about Ginger... she said that Ginger had the perfect job for herself.. and Mom hopes one day I will have the perfect job for me...




It was a great visit.. Ginger took us all around to meet the people of the church, we had a wonderful time. (Oh and Mom said the church service was excellent as well)....We even got a special blessing from Pastor Jane (and I have a collar tag to prove it)...
Next month Ginger and Pastor Jane have their official graduation at NEADS.. we can't wait to go and see them.. and Mom says to me "it's all about the RED vest Rylie!!!" (again not so sure what that means...) but either way... I enjoyed the trip, the company and meeting new friends.....and hope that we will have many more outings like this one!!!

the life of----- Rylie!!!!!

Moxie came to play..

My friend, Moxie, came to play the other day. That's one thing about being in the puppy program, there are other dogs that are my good friends, and I get to see them quite often. But on this day... it was Moxie's turn. I want to grow up and be just like her!!!! (and I like to copy all the things that she does!!!)

Rick, Moxie's Dad, was there too... (bummer!!!) because I know we would have played much "harder and rougher".. but Rick... he didn't allow any of that. He thinks that rough play is a bad idea and he kept a careful eye on the two of us!!!

Several times he reminded both Moxie and I to "play nice, play gentle"..... party pooper!!! But I guess he didn't want me to get "hurt" and I think that NEADS doesn't want us to learn to play "mean"....

He was much happier when we played games that looked like this... and ya know, it was just fun having Moxie over... so I guess any game that we can play together is good....




life with Rylie!!!!!