This was way too cool!!!

I had such an exciting day yesterday!!! Usually I stay in my crate all day, but the critter I call Joey left the door unlatched so I could roam around the house all by myself!!! That was way too cool!!! I got to play with toilet paper in both bathrooms, and even got to chew on something leathery in Joey's room.

I was sitting pleasantly for Mom when she came home to walk me - she seemed a bit surprised to see me sitting so nicely. I thought I was sitting so nice before, but I must have improved on that. I was so happy, I sang for Mom before we went on our walk. But, sadly, Mom forgot to leave the door on my crate unlatched when she went back to work so I had to stay in one place until everyone came home again.

Dad showed me how my ancestors were carried to the hunt in Africa. We would help by chasing animals for the hunters. The hunters would carry us to either make sure we had enough energy to run around, or to make sure we actually got to the hunting grounds and not go off after squirrels or bunnies. At least the hunters protected us from cheetahs! I got to nibble Dad's ear while he had me on his shoulders. That was fun.

There is another critter that now has a name. He noticed that puppies have "pie" in them, and I think I love pie, whatever they are. If other puppies have pies in them, then I should too. I am calling him MIKE, as in Means I Keep Eating "pie." MIKE is a friend of JOEY, and I like playing with him.

I met other Basenjis in the neighborhood - Remy and Logan. They are really good about staying in their own yard. Dad said something about an invisible fence, but I didn't see anything. He must be a bit crazy. I also met Jasmine and Sasha, two Malamute Huskies. I tried to take a delicious bone from Jasmine, but she didn't like that. Dad said I will need to remember not to do that again.

Dad said there is an interesting show called Nature on PBS. They will have an episode on the origin of dogs starting April 22. My breed is one of 14 that will be featured. The show is about how dogs changed the world. Part one is this Sunday, and part 2 will be the following Sunday.

What a weekend!!!

I finally met my cousin Riley in-per...er, um..in-dog on Sunday! He is really laid back. I spent the whole day on my leash, though - he had a bone in his crate that was unbelievably irresistable! No gate was going to keep me away from it. So, Dad had enough of this and kept me near him. It wasn't so bad - I did get lots of treats! When we got home, Mom fed me my favorite meal and somehow my food ended up in Joey's shoes. I hope no one noticed.

I also met a German Shepherd named Beth. She has a friend named Mac (Mac-Beth, get it?). Anyway, Beth got off her leash and came running toward me. It startled me, but she seemed fun. I was fine and was going back over to play with her, but Mom picked me up from behind and I was so startled by that I yelped! I got to meet Beth and Mac later on - they are so well behaved I think Dad wants me to be that way, too (hah!)

Dad has been training me in something called "Loose Leash Walking" which seems to mean I get to eat as I walk next to him. Mom and Dad kept me running between them for treats tonight - they were very happy that I listened so well. I took a walk with Dad afterward - this was the 4th one today, so I am pretty tuckered out. My walk with Mom and Joey was the most productive - I found something called a "Bait Fish" which I guess is safer to have in my mouth than the cigarette butts I found while walking with Dad this morning. Anyhoo, it is time to head o

GRRRR - I am a bear today

Mom and Dad and Joey took me for a walk in the woods today. I saw birds and squirrels and smelled pine trees and all sorts of interesting things. The most exciting part of the walk was being a bear. I got to do whatever bears do in the woods. My Dad chuckled when he said that. Mom rolled her eyes.

I have named the Critters!

It took me a month, but I finally came up with suitable names for the critters: The one with the scratchy face is DAD (Drives A Dog - as in drives a dog to the pet store, grandma & grandpa's etc) and the one with the long hair is MOM (Measures Out Meals - my meals!). There is a slightly smaller critter in the house I call JOEY (Just One Extra Yummy- treat, that is) who is much fun to be around, but he listens to Dad too much and doesn't feed me from the table. Mom doesn't either. But, I am irresistably cute (whatever that means).

I discovered the best thing on this whole wide world - Provolone cheese! Dad dropped a piece on the floor and I think I got it before he noticed. As luck would have it, he put some in my Kong but the pieces were too big to come out so I spent a whole hour working on it while Dad and Joey were gone. The next time Dad did this I did a better job and got all the pieces out.

I played with a new toy today. I love it!

Gotta run (and run and run and run)

Ok, so this is a dog blog?

Who ever said I was a dog? I don't bark (hardly ever), I don't shed, I get to sleep as much as I want - hmm, sounds rather catlike. OK, I am a dog. So there!

My name is Copper. I am a three-and-a-half month old Basenji. I have a cousin Riley, a cousin Cash, a cousin Gilda, and two grumpy uncles (actually, they are my cousins, but you wouldn't think so) named Huey and Crash. There is another one called Mouse - I don't know about that one. Also, there are a ton of two-legged critters that I like to be around - especially if they have kibbles, cantaloupe, apples, cheese (I love that stuff!!!), turkey bits (yum!) and Pupper-roni (I do anything for those!).

I really like the two legged critters who let me sleep on their laps when they aren't standing up. If they give me treats, that is even better. Strange thing is that I hear a clicking sound when they feed me for sitting, or peeing outside, or doing something called "Down." I have learned to sit at street corners (click and treat again), and to wait before going into the house (most of the time, anyway - click and treat again!). I get to sleep in a crate at night (it isn't so bad anymore) and I go into a warm bed with the critter with the scratchy face when the critter with the long hair goes into the room with the warm rain. This is the life!

I am taking classes at the Humane Society to learn how to be a puppy. I am the smallest in my class, except for Gus the Rat Terrier, my hero, who came to my rescue when the bigger dogs were pestering me too much. Otherwise, we are doing alot of fun tricks and getting lots of treats. I am getting by on my looks, I guess, although I don't really know what "cute" means.

Well, gotta go chew on something. I haven't gotten in too much trouble in the past 20 minutes or so (that string in the carpet was just irresistable!)

Take care!

Copper