Mike worked with Ollie for 15 minutes earlier this week to add laying on his side (we’re working our way up to a full roll) to his repertoire of tricks, and I swear he has a dell memory because the next morning he pulled his new trick off without a hitch on the first try.

I wish we could get some hotel deals on Auntie Barbara’s Bed, Bath & Biscuit. Ollie goes back for his four stay in a month this Monday, and at $35 a day, it’s starting to break the budget. The only thing that keeps us going back is that he gets lots of exercise while he’s there and the staff clearly loves him.

Oliver is a crazy puppy after he’s had a bath. I think the Stud Muffin cologne that I douse him with tickles his nose, which makes him rub all over the carpet and run in circles. He should win a Rolex Daytona for how fast he can make a figure eight around the apartment.

When Ollie was a puppy, giving him a bath was as bad as giving him his monthly pet supplements. He’d whine and wiggle and jump out of the tub. Now he takes a seat and enjoys the warm water.

All pet owners in our apartment complex got a scathing letter from management about keeping their pets away from the shrubbery when they are taken out to relieve themselves because all the bushes are starting to die. Being the good apartment dwellers that we are, we started to take Ollie on a different route to the grassy area, and now instead of peeing on the bushes, he pees on our neighbors teak outdoor furniture. That may or may not be an improvement, depending on who you talk to.

Ollie is back from another stay at the local Bed, Bath & Biscuit and he had yet another stellar review and they are looking forward to seeing him next week when I go to New York City.

It’s well established that Ollie barks at everyone, so I knew that he liked the Bed, Bath & Biscuit when I let him out of the car and he peed all over the rolled onto his back when he saw the lady that takes care of him so she could rub his stomach. She even called him her little “snuggle bunny”.

All the place needs is a kiddie pool with pool floats for Ollie to lounge on and the place would officially have everything a dog could want. And for $35 a night, they better be working on putting that pool in.

I was out and about this morning, and I couldn’t resist buying some things for the new puppy, including a fuzzy squeaky toy, a harness and collapsible water bowl for those long walks, and treats that are supposed to be the equivalent of bodybuilding supplements. I’m heart broken that I don’t know when I will get to meet the little guy, so I’m making up for it by spoiling him before he even arrives.

With any luck, there will be a new weiner dog in our family in a few weeks! My sister and her boyfriend are in the process of adopting the puppy in the background of the above picture, and it makes me want to get a new puppy, too.

They don’t have to plan any Las Vegas travel to go get the new puppy, but they do have to plan a day trip from New York to Pennsylvania to pick him up!

Ollie is such a smart little pup. He knows two commands…as long as you have treats. Sit and lay. We’re still working on come, roll over, and finding natural acne treatments. That last one is a real doozie.

I found this picture of Ollie from when he was about three months old, and besides being the most adorable weiner dog ever, he looks like he’s sitting in a circle in a drug treatment center about to admit to everyone that he’s an alcoholic. He has that combination of cute, guilt, and pathetic on his face.