MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS 2009!

LOVE,

BIANCA, KRISTA AND MONTE

JACKSON & PATRICK ARE CASTOR & POLLUX PUPS OF WEEK!

Monte's cousins, Jackson and Patrick named PETS OF THE WEEK by Castor & Pollux Pet Works® !

Hurrah for the boys!

JULY'S YAPPY HOUR

July's Yappy Hour was an intimate affair attended by some cute pups! There were refreshments, picture taking, and new doggies to meet!

Monte had a great time specially with Daisy a new acquaintance. They ran around and chased each other all over Hollywood Paws. Monte loves and I mean loves going to Hollywood Paws not only to see the doggies, playing and frolicking but also to see his people pals like his trainers Joel and Byron as well as seeing his main man Gerrie. We also got to meet Gerrie's lovely wife and beautiful daughters.

Monte Gets Training #3

Monte gets training on sit/stay, down/stay, come and distance (30 feet)! Trainer Joel is the best!

Siesta Time!

Monte taking a nap!

CHILLIN' AFTER A LONG WEEKEND

Monte survived the fireworks and now it's back to training and Chillin'!

YAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

WISHING ALL OF YOU A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY WEEKEND!

YAPPY HOUR @ Hollywood Paws

Every third Saturday of the month the great folks at Hollywood Paws throw a delightful bash for doggies and their caregivers a.k.a. mommy and daddy called "YAPPY HOUR".

At the HP offices located in the Los Angeles Center Studios, pooches and humans alike came together from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to drink, eat and be merry!

There were contests to see who could stay the farthest away from their owner and not move until the command was given, and it was a very tight and close race.

The rest of the time was spent by both pooch and human alike getting to know each other, enjoying some refreshments, and showing off our precious treasures.


All the doggies got a goody bag to take home. Monte had a ball and can't wait till next time.

Monte Named Pet of the Week by Castor & Pollux Pet Works®

Our Monte was was named PET OF THE WEEK by Castor & Pollux Pet Works® !

In addition to being featured on their web site, Monte received a Castor & Pollux canvas bag filled with great products - ORGANIX® ORGANIC DOG COOKIES, RED ROVER™ ROPE & TENNIS BALLS WITH KNOTS, GOOD BUDDY® NATURAL BEEF JERKY STICKS, W.A.L.K.™ LEASH, and OUT SPOT!™. And if that was not enough, we got a bunch of discount coupons to buy Monte's food. Monte is thrilled!

In our area Castor & Pollux Pet Works® are available @ PetCo!

MONTE HAS A NEW UNCLE!

Monte has a new uncle. His named is Alopecia. "Al" for short. According to his mommy, Al is a very friendly, sweet boy.

MONTE'S AFTERNOON @ THE COMMONS

Monte, Krista and I went to the Commons after the class today.

We walked around, picked up a book, "Don't Shoot The Dog", on dog training at Barnes & Noble, and add had a bite to eat while sitting in a beautiful outdoor court.

Monte as always had a wonderful time, and exploring new areas. We even put him inside a Doonie and Burke "all weather leather" bag ! He loved every minute of it!

MONTE'S 1st CLASS

Monte had his first class today at Hollywood Paws.
His instructors were Byron and Clarissa. The first part was an overview of the methodology used at Hollywood Paws for successfully training happy, well behaved, productive doggies. That was followed by our first session -- hiting the mark.

While both Byron and Clarissa were there to demonstrate the proper techniques, Krista took center stage in following their lead.

Monte will be the returning for the workshops on Thursdays and Sundays in preparation for his next class which is scheduled for June 28.
In the mean time, we will be attending the"Yappi Hour" on the 21st to meet and mingle with other doggies and families.

Happy Birthday Krista!

Today - Monte's person Krista is celebrating her birthday! So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTA!

Monte Takes A Meeting At Hollywood Paws!

Monte took a meeting today with the folks at Hollywood Paws located in the Los Angeles Center Studios.

We had a three hour meeting with our new friend Gerri, a transplanted New Yorker of Cuban/Puerto Rican descent! He gave an overview of the various programs available, not only for work in television and movie productions, but also print ads.

The second phase of the meeting consisted of an evaluation of Monte's skills as well as our ability to reinforce their training between sessions. I know that Monte did a great job and I think that Krista and I were okay as well.

The last phase was the most fun for both Monte and ourselves. We were taken on a backlot tour of the Los Angeles Center Studios. Monte had a great time meeting cast and crew of current productions being filmed.

Monte's Visit with Martha at Marlinda Imperial Convalescent Home

Today Monte, Krista and I visited Martha at her home in Pasadena California.

My mother suffers from Parkinson's disease and is wheelchair bound. Her caregivers are wonderful and take very good care of her.Her favorite is Violeta. "V" treats my mother as if she was her own mom and guess what, she also has a daughter named Krista! Spelled the same way!

Anyway Monte's visit with the people at the convalescent home was very successful as Monte just loves people and people love Monte. He frolicked and played with the house guests for a couple of hours in the open courtyard of the home. He had a good time they had a good time and they can't wait to see him next time!

Monte's Day at the SEPULVEDA BASIN OFF-LEASH DOG PARK

Monte was a happy puppy today when he visited the SEPULVEDA BASIN OFF-LEASH DOG PARK for a couple hours of fun and frolic!

He made a new friend with a doggie named Sherman, a Jack Russell terrier that was rescued from the streets. Sherman's people were a cute young couple, he works at Trader Joe's in Reseda, and have had Sherman for the past couple of months.

As always Monte ran, froliced, sniffed dog's, greeted all the new doggies at the gate and all in all had great time for two hours!

Here is a photo show of Monte at the park today: Monte at the Park

Doggie Day Camp for Monte

Today Monte went to Doggie Day Camp at PetSmart in Canoga Park. Both Krista and I had to be out all day and we like to take our puppy there so he can frolic, and play, and have fun with other cute doggies.

That PetSmart Doggie Day Camp is really cool and the minute that Monte gets out of the car he can't wait to get inside. This PetSmart is only a mile and a half from our home and it's very convenient for either Krista or I dropped the Monte boy for a day of play and extra special activities.

When Krista picked him up at 8 p.m. she was greeted with a happy doggie and an exemplary report on his behavior! We know our Monte boy always behaves (most of the time) but more importantly we know he gets along well with other dogs as well as other people.

NUTS FOR MUTTS

Today was a huge day for Monte! It was his first Dog Show - NUTS FOR MUTTS. It was put on by great organization named "New Leash on Life". It was at Pierce College Stadium in Woodland Hills California.

This is like the Westminster dog show for mutts. The categories included best kisser, friendliest dog, cutest puppy, mystery breed and others. Monte was signed up for friendliest dog at 9:30 a.m. and then cutest puppy at 11:55 a.m. Monte was wonderful at his first ever show and he was selected as one of the ten finalists for both cutest puppy and friendliest dog.

Auntie Sarah and Patrick joined us for the preliminary round of cutest puppy at 11:55 a.m. Patrick was just wonderful and everybody thought he was just a beautiful cute little Chihuahua pup. Even though he could not compete since he is purebred and not a rescue he was the hit of the outside areas!

The first final round was for cutest puppy and Mr. Monte was named Second Place in the finals! By this time, it was already 1:30 p.m., Monte was pretty spent but we waited around for the finals of the friendliest dog and although he did not place he was given a special recognition by the MC comedian Debra Wilson who thought Monte was the bomb!

All in all it was an incredible day for all of us! Monte, Auntie Sarah, Patrick and I had a ball not only with the competitions but also visiting the booths of the many vendors that sponsor this great event! Our favorite vendor was Castor & Pollux Pet Works ! Monte loved the Organix dog cookies. They were peanut butter flavored and he enjoyed them tremendously! The ladies from Castor & Pollux Pet Works® loved Monte as well. And were very impressed with how he would sit for a treat! When we got home we fed Monte Organix canine formula made with chicken, brown rice, and flax. Monte loved it and today were going to go get some at Whole Foods Market.

"New Leash on Life" does a wonderful job and we're glad that we have become members.

Monte's in a Magazine

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

One of Monte's People

Monte Saw His Sister Mattie!

Monte went for his post op appointment and ran in to his birth sister Mattie! We walked in and her owner Jerry asked "did you adopt @ Beagles and Buddies?" Of course they were from the same litter!

Now you have to understand the Monte boy weighs 9.25 lbs. - Mattie weighs 22 POUNDS! They totally look alike and so it is funny to see size difference!

Puppy Park @ Sepulveda Basin

Monte met cousins Jack and Patrick @ a great no leash park in the SFV @ the Sepulveda basin. The boys had a great time and I think the Monte boy was happy to see his cousins and his Auntie Sarah!

Monte of course made friends with all the doggies and the men! We met some cool doggies and spent 2 hours running, fetching, tug of waring, etc!

Hopefully we will go back on Friday.

Two Week SummaryI'

Well, Monte is going home tomorrow. He has learned a lot and is doing really well. I'm just going to include a whole bunch of pictures in this post.

This one is Jackson and Monte playing tug. That bottle (a gift from Honnie!) Is Jack's absolute favourite toy. It took Jack a little bit to learn to share nicely, but in the end he go it.

The Second Picture - Monte actually got his head stuck int he dog slipper. I thought it was pretty funny. Sadly, my picture is slightly mis-timed. You get the idea.

Monte was TIRED and found himself prime sleeping location. The blanket was fresh out of the dryer and warm. To be honest, I'm pretty sure Monte moved the pillows to suit his needs - they are never like that.

Jack was jealous that Monte had the best sleeping spot... but let him be.

Jack and Monte patiently wait for their training turns. I usually work with one dog at a time, keeping the others in the pen. This way there aren't other puppies causing distractions or stealing well earned treats! (Patrick is a BAD treat stealer!)

The rest of the pictures are just the boys suntanning. I would like to point out that the dogs think the camera means "come" and will rarely stay put while taking photos. This sun photos involved me putting the dogs on the black mat, and giving them all a down and stay command. Obviously they all listened quite well.

The tricky part was getting them to all look at the camera. It was not easy.

SUCCESS!!