Adler and I have a Talk

Yes, that's right. On Friday, Adler and I had a talk about being good. You see Tom went skiing for the weekend with his friends and so it was just Austen, Adler and I. That meant that I had to manage both of them including getting Adler out for her walks even when the weather was less than desirable as it was in Chicago this past weekend.

Let me just preface this by saying once again that I have to get all of my clothes on first - boots, coat, hat and grab my keys and cell phone as well as get Adler's collar on grab some treats and bags for her and then finally get Austen all bundled up to go outside. If I'm lucky, I get this all done in about five minutes without Austen screaming his head off.

Saturday - the bad weather hasn't hit yet in the morning so we bundle Austen up in his big, green snowsuit and tuck him snuggly in the Bugaboo. Adler walks like a champ next to the stroller for most of the way. I learn that it's not good to have her leash on the same hand that's on the stroller as sudden jerks of movement by Adler cause the Bugaboo to veer off course. Saturday evening the snow was starting to come down so we did a quick walk around the block and I promise Adler a longer walk on Sunday so we can get Austen out of the cold.

Sunday - Sunday comes and it's raining. Once again I promise Adler a longer walk later which she doesn't exactly get but she does get to romp in my mom's backyard in the snow for about 30 minutes which she absolutely loved. I think this more than made up for her short walks because as soon as we got home Sunday evening, the fresh air and the snow really got and she was fast asleep.

We got this breed for several reasons and Adler lived up to all of them this weekend including:

1. they are good with kids - my neices love her and named all their stuffed dogs Adler.

2. they are good-looking dogs - we still get stopped by people commenting about her beauty!

3. they are good dogs and easy to train - as evidenced this weekend.

We couldn't have asked for a better dog. Thanks, Addie!

Adler Steals Donald Duck

We knew it would happen sometime. Adler would have to learn to distinguish her toys from Austen's.

This past weekend, Austen received a Donald Duck doll from his grandparents. Of course when you squeeze the hand it talks like Donald Duck and says three different phrases in that raspy, duck voice. Adler was intrigued by this when we brought Donald home.

I placed Donald on top of Austen's Pottery Barn lion rocker telling Adler that this was not her toy and to stop licking Donald. She did. However, this morning Adler is nowhere in sight but I hear the faint jiggling of the tags on her collar down the hall in our bedroom. Sounds to me like she is playing with one of her toys, right?! Wrong. I call her and she comes bounding down our long hallway like a tiger who has just caught its prey - except she's a dog with a duck in her mouth. Yup, that's right. She had poor Donald by the throat and promptly drops him at my feet.

So I tell her no and place Donald back on his rocker. Later that afternoon I'm in Austen's room changing him. Adler follows me in there and I notice her quickly scamper out of the room. I thought I saw something white in her mouth too. I whip around the other way to glance at the lion rocker and sure enough Donald is missing! "Adler!," I yelled. She promptly drops Donald like a dead bird in the hallway and runs over to me to suck up.

Have I ever mentioned that Adler hates to be yelled at?! She immediately sits on your feet and tries to get back in your good graces. Of course with a face like Adler's, this takes only about 30 seconds.

Austen's Puppy

So how is Austen's puppy, Adler, doing? Many of you have asked me this question. She's doing fine. Again, not all that interested in Austen but she does like to give him lots of "kisses." In fact, Tom and I don't even have to give Austen a bath most days because Adler loves to lick his head and his hands!

When Austen cries, Adler retreats to the other room as if to say, "You're interrupting my beauty sleep." But when people come to visit, she's more than happy to receive Austen's share of the attention. Good thing our friends and family like Adler because she is relentless in demanding attention from anyone who comes over.

Just last week she emptied out her entire toy box on our friend Perry's lap - trying to get him to play with her. Sorry, Perry, you didn't know you were coming over to play with our dog!