STICKS!

I love sticks!

Flyball

I had my very first flyball lesson today. Claire has been asking me about classes and talking about flyball for the past week, I had no idea what she meant...

So today, I went to the Coventry School for Dogs for my very first class of any kind in my life. (Claire never took me to obedience school. Well, I'm just that great of a dog and love to please. There is no need for a professional to teach Claire how to deal with me.) Anyway, here goes my first class...

There are three students, including myself, in the class. I am the smallest dog in the class. (of course!) When we first arrived, they had to lock me up so they can set up the equipments. I was a little nervous in the pen and I couldn't see Claire or Cameron due to my shortness. So after a good 10-15 minutes, I finally got to come out, and started learning.

There are four stations that we rotate.
The Box:
- At this station, all I had to do was to step onto the mat, and they gave me treats. Easy! Completed without any problem. They said they are going to make this harder in the next few classes, so I will see how they make this more challenging.

The Hurdle:
- At this station, I have to jump over a 8 inch hurdle. It wasn't terribly complicated. Once I jumped over, they gave me a treat. Yum! I think you are suppose to jump over 4 in a row. But they only had me jump over 2. After jumping over the first one, I kinda got distracted and didn't make it to the 2nd one.

The Cone:
- This station is BORING! Like, really, I have to keep circling an orange cone. I don't know what the purpose of this is...

The Other Box:
- This is a sloped box against a wall. You have to go up and come back down. (I think they prefer jump up and down) Claire told me a did a few good moves.

So there goes my first class. It was kinda exhausting. I still don't know what flyball is though. I am loving this for sure. I got so many treats today. Yum!!!! I'm looking forward to my next class in two weeks.

Oh, by the way, you can find out more information about my school here:
http://www.4dognightflyballclub.org/index.htm

My Biggest Fear - Party Blower

Apparently, either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday was Old Navy's 15th Birthday. And they were passing out party blowers along with a coupon when you walked into the store.

So Cameron and Claire came home with two party blowers, and the nightmare began...Both Karen and Claire blew the party blowers at my and Mickey's face. We were scared to death, and jumped and ran away. Of course, everyone was laughing so hard. And I said, "NOT FUNNY!" All day yesterday and today, I kept my distance with the blowers.

Yeah, so there goes my THANKS to OLD NAVY!

Apple Orchard

My family went to an apple orchard in Lisbon, MD this past weekend. That's about 30 minutes drive from our house. Unfortunately, I did not get to go since they don't allow dogs there. (sigh! I really wish I could have gone!)

They had a pretty fun morning picking apples, while I stayed home watching Mickey. Mickey is a temporary resident in our house. He is waiting to be adopted. (So if you want to find out more about him, check out his site here.) So they came home with 14 pounds of apple. Hmmm, YUMMMM! I LOVE APPLES! especially when they are topped with peanut butter.

I get to eat a few pieces of apple every time they cut one up. And since there are so many, I'm looking forward to eat some everyday for the next week or so. ::chomp, chomp, chomp::

Look at all these great looking green apples. Thank you so much for your hard work, Cameron! They are yummy-licious. Next time you go again, please pick more of these mutsu green apples! Thank you.

A few words...

Dear Family,

Thank you so much for keeping up with the daily brushing, allowing my hair to grow long on my body. And you don't let my high maintenance coat limit my outdoor exercises. I get to run on grass fields, get all wet, and you will dry me off with a comfy towel and brush out all the grass I picked up. I'm one lucky dog. Thank you for keeping me pretty.

Your dog,

Grooming

I hate grooming! but Claire loves it.

She sent me to Petco for grooming last Sunday. It took 4 hours! FOUR hours!!! The groomer didn't really give me much of a hair cut. I think Claire was kinda upset about that, after all, that was a lot of money spent on nothing!!!!! So maybe, Claire will cut down these stupid grooming sessions to ZERO every year. That would be nice.

The groomer kept telling me my family did a great job maintaining my coat. I guess it's a good thing I don't get a lot of mats on my body. I saw a few other dogs there, needed to be shaved off b/c of mats. How ugly?!

Anyway, now I smell like chai tea. we shall see how long this scent will last.


Look at my shinny hair. Tail wagging :)


side view. I have such cute nose ;)

My new friend - Raven

This is my new friend Raven. We met once back in June. And she slept over at my place for a week in late August.
She is so big, but don't let her size fool you. I was her boss for a week, yep, me tiny little shih tzu was a lab's boss. muhahahaha! She was very clumsy and destructive! She chewed and shredded all my toys. By the end of the week, my toy basket had nothing left in it. ::Sniffles:: Claire locked up my two favourite toys - namely Pink Sheep and Purple Hippo - so they wouldn't get torn apart by Raven.

We played tug-of-war a lot. I lost every time. Still, I enjoyed playing with her. I tried to put a video up here, but it didn't work, so I will have to send it to you if you want to see it, just leave me a comment.

I'm sure I will see her around some time. Her family likes me a lot.

I'm a guard dog!

Well, not really. But I like to watch the world through the front door. My family doesn't leave the front door open anymore b/c of the summer heat. Sometimes, they leave the door shut but unlock until bed time.


I was able to squeeze my nose through and got the door opened, so I can take a peek of the outside world.



Just enough space to fit my petite body.

Skill Improvement

Ever since Fagan showed me the art of a stick, I have been practicing everyday to perfect my skills. Every time I get out on the deck, I pledge for a stick. Claire is usually pretty good at giving me one when I ask for one. And I would chew, and spit, and chew, and spit. It's pretty awesome! It's best when Claire holds the stick for me. I can chew a little better.

Over Here, Birdy...

I know I wasn't crazy! I HEARD it everywhere!!!


Yesterday, I heard bird chirping over at the fireplace. So I went to investigate but didn't find anything. But I was convinced I could find it!!!! Of course, my family members thought I was just being a weird dog. But Marty was by my side (at least for a little bit).


I spent the whole afternoon staring at the aloe plant. I could hear the bird but it never came out of the aloe plant...BTW, this aloe plant has quite a strong spirit. I rarely see anyone water it ever since I moved into this house in May 2008. It was pushed to the corner b/c it kept tipping over. (probably needs a bigger pot!) But look at it, it grows bigger everyday. Kinda weird.

So today, during lunch time, I heard it again! But this time, it was at the foyer, near the a/c vent. Then I heard it at the door to the basement. Claire finally took me seriously and got Cameron to help with the investigation. So the three of us went to the basement. And THERE WAS THE BIRD!!!! Cameron and Claire were hitting the vent / ceiling with brooms, trying to get the bird to fly out of the backdoor. I was hoping that the bird could come down and play with me for a bit, and then be part of my dinner.

After maybe half an hour...they couldn't hear or see the bird and went back upstairs. AND, made me go up too! What the heck??? I wanted to stay down there with the bird! I knew it was still there. I could hear it!!!! With my access to the basement denied, the only thing I could do was to guard the basement door--for 3 hours.

Thank God, Claire and Cameron decided to look for the bird again in the basement. I was overjoyed! No luck again. As Claire and I were climbing the stairs back up to the first floor, the bird flew out of the door with us.


The bird at the foyer. (Our foyer area opens up to the second floor. So the bird was sitting at the window on the second floor, which means, we couldn't get close to it)


And it started flying. And flew to Karen's room. I was chasing after it from the first floor, up the stairs to the second floor, and into Karen's room. Karen and Cameron were trying to free the bird. I tried so hard to tell them, to catch the bird, so I can have my own pet. (and eventually eat it too!!! hehe)

They said bird flew out the window. I was in despair. I went back to Karen's room a few times just to make sure they didn't lie to me. ugh...so sad :(

Later on, I met Penelope, the guinea pig. But it was in the cage. At least I get to see it close, so I guess that's ok.

My New Hair Style

I got pigtails now! It's less annoying than a topknot. But I think I look less like a shih tzu. What do you think??? Claire likes it, so does Cameron.

Hmm...if I'm going to wear pigtails more often, does that mean I need a new logo?? Karen, how about a cartoon Lilo with pigtails??

New Design!

Thanks to Karen, Lilo's blog got a face lift.

My Age??

Yesterday was Tucker's 4-year-old birthday. Claire was shocked to find out that I'm older than Tucker. So she inquired Nikki (Nikki adopted me before giving me to Claire) about my age...GUESS WHAT??? I am only 3 years old! The entire time I thought I was older than what I actually am.

No wonder I can't stand Grandpa Marty sometimes!

Lilo, the pill popper

Lilo is a very strange dog.
Lilo gets her heartworm pills on 15th of each month. I have completely forgotten about her pill until today. She already had breakfast, and her bowl has been washed. Being such a lazy person, I refused to put her bowl back on the floor. So I dropped her heartworm pill right in front of Lilo. And she ate it right away with joy!

A few weeks ago, we took Lilo to visit Bandit.

Bandit, being a normal dog, ate all her food but her heartworm pill. It's usually not a problem just leaving the pill in the bowl until the next meal since Bandit is the only dog at Cameron's parents' house.

Lilo usually heads towards the water bowl after the 45-minute car ride to Bandit's house. So this visit was no different. She went to get a drink, and spotted the pill right away in the food bowl. She was about to chomp it down but us humans were simply quicker and pulled the bowl from her.

When we had Fagan, he picked out his pill and spited it outside of the bowl, so we would not be able to find evidence of him not taking his medicines. well, too bad, we always put the pill back in the bowl and he unwillingly ate it.

I guess this is one thing that makes Lilo special :) I love you Lilo!

My 4-year-old Birthday Bash

My birthday was back on May 24th. I have been so busy during the past two months, and today, I finally got a chance to reflect on my birthday.

I don't actually know the exact date for my birthday. But I have been in this world for about 4 years according to the vet. I don't really remember much for a majority of my life. Isn't that pretty sad??? I was rescued in North Carolina. Nikki fell in love with me and adopted me in December 2007. She told me I was a breeder's dog. They got no use for me because they said I have genetic defects and my puppies came out blind.

Nikki gave me to Claire in May 2008 (and hence my birthday according to Claire). The past year has been great. Claire taught me many tricks during the first 2 months. Everyone praises me and thinks I'm a great dog. I'm working on growing out my hair, so I look more like a Shih Tzu. I get way too many baths in my opinion. (Claire doesn't like me stinky, but I just LOVE it) But I guess you need that to keep the hair clean...so much for being beautiful...

My family was so loving and organized a birthday party for me. They invited their friends, Fagan and Marty for my birthday party. Cameron is a great guy! He made me a very special cake. See, here's my awesome cake. I shared it with my best friend Fagan, and old man Marty.



The cake was totally nose-licking good. Just look at me and Fagan. We approved!


Cameron, you need to make me another cake for next year. Maybe different type of icing??!

Leeloo the Pug

On Sunday one of Claire's coworkers brought over her dog, a pug named Leeloo, which is a pretty unusual name. It comes from this old movie. Lilo is also from a movie so I guess there was that in common. Pugs also come from China just like Shih Tzus so that's two things in common. When Leeloo got to our house Marty, being a grumpy old man, barked incessantly at her, and that got Leeloo excited. Pugs though aren't designed to be able to breathe, so when she got excited she started gasping and wheezing, and sounded like she was going to pass out, it was pretty noisy. This of course only made Marty more grumpy and bark more, getting Leeloo to wheeze more, making Marty bark more, making Leeloo wheeze more, Making Marty bark more....... (it could go on forever like that I think.) Leeloo also was pretty hot, since being able to breathe is what cools dogs off, she couldn't really cool down, plus she was a little chubby and that might have insulated her to make her hotter. Besides just wheezing she made a lot of other weird noises while she wheezed, it was kind of entertaining to hear so many odd things come out of her. Eventually we took Marty on a really long walk and tired him out so he was calmer. After dinner Leeloo went home and the house was quiet again. I think Marty needs to learn how to get along with other dogs though, and not be so grouchy, but maybe he is just too old now. Maybe he'll be gone next time other dogs come over so that Lilo can have a more enjoyable playtime with dogs.

4th of July Camp Out!

I hope all of you had a great celebration for Independence Day. I was left home alone while Claire and her friends went to watch firework last year. This year was a little different. I got to travel quite far to Cambridge, MD for to camp out on Choptank River.

I could not believe that after such a long car ride, the first thing that happened when I got out of the car was an attack by Cooper. What a mean dog?! Does he think I'm a rabbit or something??? (he came and attacked me a few more times later on that day. Ugh!!!!!!! How dare him pull hair out of my tail!)

Besides the attacks, it was quite fun being outside, with such a big yard to run around. And Phil fed me yummy steaks. I guess he was trying to make up for his Cooper's poor manner. Apology accepted!



Chilaxing in front of our tent. I got to sleep real close to everyone inside the tent.


I love walking on the sand. I was a bit nervous at first, but I adjusted pretty quickly. Golly (the nice dog) swam a whole lot. I don't think I am quite ready for that yet. After all, I hate getting baths. Plus, I heard lots of people saying something about "jello" swimming in the river. (Claire: it's not jello, it's jelly fish, Lilo!) Hmm...well, neither of them sound very tasty.


Oh, look here. Cameron and Claire were kind of strange. They went out to the water on this banana looking thing. (I'm not a big fan for banana. too mushy for my taste) They were so far away for so long. I was glad they came back.

I was sad to leave this place. First of all, they didn't feed me any burger while everyone was eating one for breakfast. Hello, I would love to eat a burger too!!!! And there were so many birds for me to chase. I was really hoping that if I refuse to get inside of Claire's car, I could stay for longer. Of course they carried me in.

Maybe I will get to go back one day.

- Lilo

Cartoon Bandit

After trying for couple days, I finally got the cartoon Bandit done. It's not easy to draw the cartoon Bandit since she is not very cute in real life. So it took me more time to make her to look cute in the cartoon. It is finally done after spending a whole afternoon and evening with her.

At first the cartoon Bandit was really really really ugly. I myself couldn't stand it at all. It was way too ugly. After many times of redrawing,the cartoon Bandit is finally done. Thanks for everyone's opinion on this. =]

Fagan與網球筒的牙齒印

尋日家姐為屋企進行清潔嘅時候發現因為冬天放係佢枱底好耐冇拎出嚟打嘅網球筒變成以上的樣子. 睇落去網球同行兇者有好大既牙齒印. 因為前陣子有好幾隻狗係屋企, 所以我地就以佢地既行徑去猜測到底行兇者係邊個.

疑兇１: 小Lilo
小Lilo係我地屋企已經1年多, 都冇乜點係家姐嘅枱下面.

疑兇２: Fagan
Fagan係我地屋企住咗1個月, 一開始嘅時候佢好自閉成日自己坐埋一二邊, 尤其係枱底同凳底.

疑兇３: Marty
Marty只係嚟咗我地屋企過咗1個禮拜, 好少見佢係家姐嘅枱底出現, 佢最鍾意就係係客廳後面嘅chair度坐.



最後總結:
最大機會係Fagan, 因為佢成日自己坐係枱底同凳底, 而且又鍾意玩tennis ball.

特別來賓 - 小野兔

尋日食完飯之後, 一如以往地坐係客廳上網睇下Facebook做下其他野. 突然間又聽到小Lilo係度"woo woo woo", 我心諗應該又係有其他人係度行過又或者係隔離屋剛剛返黎泊好車吧. 咁就慢慢地起身走去check吓到底發生乜事. 行到去門口既時候, 又見唔到有乜特別. 家姐都走埋過黎睇吓發生乜事, 之後家姐話我知原來我地門口對出有一隻小野兔係度呢. 由於我未係附近見過小野兔既關係, 所以就立即去拎我既相機影低呢一刻. 而小Lilo就坐係度睇住隻小野兔直到佢走為止.

Maura's Birthday Party

Claire took me to this very big house in Frederick. I was such a happy dog! There were so many people to sniff. Everyone thought I was the cutest thing ever. Oh, there was this one short person, she screamed at me a lot. She gave me treats and petted me (and I petted her back! Not a lot of people let me do that.) I think it was her big day, Claire said it was a 1 year old birthday party.

She also had a doggie cake! Looks kinda like me :) But I would rather not think about all these big people eating me...sounds quite painful!




So I think I'm great with kids, although a lot of websites said my breed isn't good with kids. I don't agree with that.


- Lilo

Cartoon Marty

Marty is an energetic 11-year-old rescued schnauzer. He looks really cute, but he is a jerk. BTW, he is not actually a friend of Lilo since he didn't want to play with Lilo at all when he was here. Anyways, I just wanted to draw a cutie for Marty. This looks more successful than the first one that I drew.

I have been working on this "Lilo and Friends" since last Thursday. I have so much fun on drawing this even though sis is so demanding on the cuties. I always try to work on the stuff that she asked for, but it may not work out right every time. However, it is still good to try out her ideas on the cuties to see whether there is any improvements. Hopefully, I can get Bandit cutie done soon. =]

Racquetball - not my bowl of water

This sport, I must say, it's pretty dangerous! Claire, Cameron, and Karen kept hitting this bouncing blue ball back and forth, and sometimes, the blue ball hit my face. Definitely did not have a very enjoyable experience with this bouncy ball. I learned to seek shelter from the sit out player pretty quickly. After all, my face is already pretty flat and I don't need it to be flatter.

Watching them play, or should I say, watching out for the ball.

- Lilo

Ｑ版Fagan

被家姐要求地用左2日既時間畫左Fagan既Ｑ版, 當中經過多次既檢核與修改, 最終完成而家眼前所見既Ｑ版Fagan. 由於只係同Fagan相處左4-5個禮拜, 而且影親相都唔係正面, 所以增加左畫佢既難度. 尤其係唔知點表達Fagan既嘴同埋佢唔係flat face. 最後呢2點都係由家姐提供意見, 然後我再去試畫後先至成功. 畫左出黎之後, 雖然我覺得Lilo比較可愛, 但Fagan都唔差啦.

Ｑ版小Lilo

某一日係去上health economics等待prof.黎既時候, 因為無聊既原故就係自己既notes上面試著畫小Lilo既Ｑ版. 由於我個人係用recycling paper drop notes既, 所以返到屋企就將畫好既Ｑ版小Lilo用僅有既program--photoshop變成電腦化. 我個人覺得畫得都OK似Lilo真狗, 而且都幾可愛. 不過第一代既Ｑ版小Lilo唔係咁既呢. 係一隻冇眼又冇嘴既狗. 完全係因為起初Lilo既頭髮冇而家咁長, 所以我地都唔係成日將佢頭髮紥起. 最新版本可愛超多. =]

Don't you want to be my friend???

Come on, Mr Goose! Swim over this direction please!!! I would really like to hang out with you.

I was gonna jump in that water to meet him, stupid Claire pulled me back. (BTW, I never took swimming lessons before, so I guess it was a good thing Claire held on to me) I don't get these big birds. They always make funny noises at me when all I wanted to do is just to say hi.

Fagan...

Fagan taught me how to play with a stick. It's amazing! see here, we were chewing on the same stick. He is such a nice friend. Now that I think about it, that was the last time we hung out on the deck.

I think I miss Fagan. I didn't really like him when Claire and Cameron first bought him home, but I grew to like him over the past 5 weeks. Sadly, he has been missing since Sunday. I wonder where he went. All I remembered was we all got into the car, traveled quite far, got out of the car. There were A LOT of dogs, some were fighting. It was so crazy. After a while, we got back in the car, but Fagan wasn't there, and we were off to Bandit's house.

I don't quite understand what's going on. What happened to Fagan? Did Claire give him away? Is she going to give me away too? I don't want to leave her, ever. Now I'm depressed.