Summer Bed

We've been trying to keep the windows upstairs open and the air conditioner off this summer -- not difficult, since Toronto has been so cool and rainy this summer so far. But Chip seems to get pretty hot during the night, so I starting thinking about ways to help keep him cool. There are some "cooling" beds on the market, but I was afraid he would rip them open and eat anything that was in them to keep them cool.

Our shower upstairs is made of natural stone, and Chip started slipping into the bathroom when we weren't looking. We found him a few times sprawled out on the cool stone, which gave me an idea. I went to the home renovation store, Rona, and bought eight 12" x 12" polished granite tiles and laid them out on plywood next to my bed. Chip loves sleeping on them! They are nice and cool and smooth, and don't seem to move around on the plywood. He's happy -- and I'm happy!

Haiku!

A sudden thumping.

Chip wags his tail in his sleep.

In the dark, I smile.

Practical Living

This weekend, Chip and I started yet another class: Practical Living. There are only three other dogs in the class and the instructor is our favorite, so I'm hoping for great things. Puppy Kindergarten and Puppy Gymboree (agility) classes went well, but now Chip is big enough (36 pounds as of last Friday) that his pulling on the leash is about to dislocate my shoulder! I'm hoping that the Practical Living class -- which focuses on things like loose leash walking and how to stop dogs from jumping up on people -- will be a big help.

I was hoping to take Chip to the beach almost every day this summer, but with Toronto's garbage strike entering its third week, I'm afraid of what we might find down there -- especially in the form of chicken bones. So we'll stick close to home for the time being. And although we started the Family Dog class a few weeks ago, it just didn't work out. Twelve dogs and one instructor in a noisy, sound-reverberating hall is not a recipe for effective learning.

After the six-week Practical Living, assuming we complete it successfully, we'll be able to sign up for a real agility class! Woo hoo!