Well actually she is 3… But I figure toddler has spent a lot of time crawling around on all 4s (still does now even though she can walk on 2… I think she just likes hanging out with me), uses licks as a form of kisses and hey she can even do a sit, drop and stand on command. For this I am making the toddler an honorary dog and hence on her 3rd Birthday I’m celebrating her 21st.
Toddler was eating fried rice… it is a messy affair. Don’t worry mum I am here to help.
You may also note the carrots on the plate in the 1st picture. Mum told toddler she needed to eat the carrots before she could watch Dora…. guess who got the carrots. Do prefer toast but the toddler teamwork is working for me.
Time flies when you are having fun and it turns out it was 1 year ago today that I first put paws to keyboard with 1st World Dog. If you have never scrolled back that far then click here to check out my 1st ever blog where I Introduced Myself.
Things started off sporadically with the odd post here and there when something funny happened and mum & I had time to write it up… but I have to say we have got into a bit of a rhythm now.
Tuesday became Training Tip Tuesday with Training Tips 1st World Dog Style.
Donna from We Live In A Flat, who has been a wonderful help in the world of photography (note our early posts didn’t even have photos let alone funky ones with all sorts of stuff done too them) set us our My Best Photo Of The Week Challenge on a Wednesday.
And my favourite is that Friday became Foodie Friday… which I obviously have to taste test. A whole range of yummy treats are being discovered by mum and kept in 1st World Dog Recipe Book. And a big thanks to Roy & Molly’s Mum who kicked this off with the yummy pup cakes she made for the RSPCA Cupcake Fundraiser we did at training one day.
Definitely have to give a big Paws Up to the Friends of 1st World Dog who give us plenty of help and inspiration, especially with training tips. We are lucky to have some fantastic dogs and their owners who we get to train with regularly.
And thanks to all that training I write this post being Bohdi RA ET (yeah another story but mum spelt my name wrong with Dogs NSW… silly mum!) Across the last 12 months we started in the world of dog trialing and have gained our Rally Novice title (at the Sydney Royal), our Endurance Title (that was a lot of running) and most recently our Rally Advanced title. We have also started Agility trialing with some passes now in most Novice Classes but I have given mum plenty of grief with dropping bars and been nick named “One Bar Bodhi”. You can check out one of my agility runs here and there are plenty of other agility stories scattered within the blog.
Importantly 1st World Dog has given me the chance to share the fun of growing up with Toddler. At times toddler can be trying.. the thing with frogs really gets me. But all in all she is a good kid and is learning how to look after 1st World Dog through getting the food out of the containers and more recently pats and ball throwing.
And lastly we have also had fun finding all the other Dog Blogs out there… although our fav post has to go to Ruby and her City2Surf “adventure”. Ruby we love reading the mischief you get into!
A paws up to everyone who has pop by and read 1st World Dog over the past year. We hope it has made your tail wag. If you haven’t already and you enjoy reading our stories than subscribe over on the side there so you get an email when we post new stories. Or do the “like” on Facebook or “follow” on Pinterest or Instagram.
And we thought we should round off by sharing some baby photos…. ahhhh…. wasn’t I a cutie (this was also the stage I was a very good gardener).
After getting mum out of bed…
This involves a 5 Step Plan to get mum out of bed…
1. Nudge any body parts overhanging the bed.
2. Lick body parts overhanging the bed.
3. Hop on bed and try to lick face (mum usually tries to hide under cover at this point…. As her personal trainer I do not let her give up at this point).
4. Nudge under her arms to get some pats before the last step.
5. Lay across her stomach (ie over her bladder) until she gets up… Wiggle and roll at this point to speed up the process.
Enjoy the run and then don’t forget to provide further motivation if she lays on the floor to do stretches or any further exercise….
Sit ups means reach up and pat before I lick on the forehead.
Happy Sunday morning!!!
It’s Father’s Day today. I’ve heard dad say he likes duck… Thought I would share mine…
I started by tenderizing…
Proceeded to get the duck ready…
Someone said something about stuffing…
Although I’m not finding it that tasty…
All too hard. Need a nap…
Being a lovely Saturday mum took to the garden and of course I was in tow to assist.
Now I don’t recommend stick chewing. Many people in the know say don’t let us dogs do it as bits can pierce inside our mouths and cause injury or get infected. Definitely don’t let us play fetch with sticks… Catching and running with stick in mouth… Need I saw more to the risks.
But I am a bit partial to liking to chew up a stick so every now and then mum lets me (especially if it means I stop dropping the ball at her feet when she is trying to garden). I do enjoy laying in the sun and crunching up a stick.
Mum went out last night. She got home late. I know because I barked at her when she eventually came down the front steps. I let her have a bit of a sleep in but enough was enough. Time for wake up.
Came in. Checked from side of bed, hmmm see some life. Hop up and start with little getting a little scratch behind ear. No further movement seemed to be happening. Progress to lying on mum.
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Again more scratches but no movement.
Walk over mum (sorry no photo… Was busy being careful where I stepped).
Don’t think this is looking promising.
Tried dad… Ahhh no hope. But no harm on lying on him and walking over him just in case.
Have compromised. Talk of Bayview after breakfast. Will do pats in bed and then adventure post breakfast.
These nights out compromising walks better not become a regular occurrence.
Might have to start training toddler as back up.
Mum was trying to work on some big report she was writing today… I was trying to help…
I wanted to see what she was working on….
Didn’t seem to be helping much so I moved to a different angle…
Arm rest was getting in the way…
I don’t think my assistance was being fully appreciated…
I love fetch but we always play fetch with a ball (although getting into a habit of loosing them at the moment – but another story) or fetching my favourite orange rubber car (snaffled from Poppy the pup next door – she didn’t appreciate it). Wanted to share this around about playing fetch with sticks. Sticks are handy as there is usually one about but can be very dangerous.
This is a bit heavier from a 1st World Dog perspective but appropriate in my 1st World Dog life. Mum runs her own business and works from home most days. That means I get to sit at her feet while she works…. or rip up paper from the paper bin if she leaves it on the floor.
Unknown to me (or mum) the other day (21st June to be exact) was International Take Your Dog To Work Day. OK I get that humans seem to have a day for everything these days but this one I like. While sometime I can be a distraction there us also a lot of good stuff that I bring to mum’s office. We happened across a review of this book “Secrets of a Working Dog” and I thought Bella had some good stuff….
Here are four lessons Bella thinks humans at work can learn from dogs.
1. Keep your eyes on the ball.
I like balls. In fact I am working on my Yoda-style skills when it comes to the balls. Mum can do the same thing in her work. When she is trying to do something specific she needs to focus. Turn off the distractions (yes I know helping me with 1st World Dog is fun mum… but focus) and break them into manageable chunks, completing each one before taking a break or moving onto the next. And then she gets stuff done and can move onto the next thing….
2. Play should be a part of every day.
When mum is working I like to check on her between each nap cycle. Often this means having a bit of playtime. It helps give her brain a rest and also helps her tap into her creative side. Playing like a dog means taking frequent breaks throughout each workday. If you are not lucky enough to share your office with a dog you can still take regular break and go for a walk, do some desk stretches or listen to music in between tasks.
3. Show appreciation.
I am good at showing appreciation. When my tail wags my whole body moves. Mum loves it when she comes home and I greet her at the door with my tail going. Humans unfortunately don’t have tails (design fault) but a simple Thank-You or even a simple gesture like a hand written note can really make a difference to other human’s perceptions.
4. Live in the present.
Even being a 1st World Dog with all the dilemmas that it brings I really just think about now. And often now consists of food, ball, scratches and sleep. OK so mum has to think of a few more things to ensure there are bones in the fridge and kibble in the container but still. Focusing on the now is how stuff happens. I think that is why mum enjoys that agility jumping stuff we do so well. Unless she is thinking only about the course we are doing it is a nightmare. Seriously if mum isn’t concentrating on just the agility course her arms can be pointing me anywhere… and don’t even start on where her feet and shoulders are sending me off to.
So a bit deep for 1st World Dog but hopefully helpful for all the humans reading it.
1st World Dog 
