Canine Alarm Clock

The other day I mentioned that Neva has quite the life, so I decided to take her to work. If I have to work on Sunday, the least she could do is tag along.

We walked in through the tunnels and up the stairs to my office/cube. My pudgy little girl did not enter the building unnoticed. After we had been working for ten minutes a security guard stopped by and said that he saw a dog on the camera and had to stop and say "Hello". I am guessing it was more to investigate why a dog was in the building.

She proved my point. As I worked for four hours, she napped. Her only interruption was a short trip outside where we rode the elevators, regular going down and the glass one going up. She hurried out as the doors opened, but didn't appear stressed, she just knew that we were on the move.

Neva has developed a bad habit that we need to stop otherwise her next puppy raiser will not be happy with us. She gets up every morning with Lisa for a quick outside potty and then eats breakfast. After eating she comes to my side of the bed, sits nicely and waits to be petted. If I don't hear her or see her, she will wake me with the thump, thump, thump of her tail. No need for an alarm clock anymore.

Of course I initiated this behavior a couple weeks ago. I called her to my bedside when my alarm went off, had her sit, rubbed her head, then down and rubbed her side while I prepared to face the day. Now she expects it everyday. Since Neva will be leaving on Thursday, maybe I will bring her into bed tomorrow morning to snuggle.

Fun Match

On Saturday Maddi went to the Rock County 4-H Fairgrounds to attend a Fun Match fundraiser for the Rock County 4-H Dog Project. The morning was spent watching the obedience run-throughs. It was good practice for Maddi to have to watch the other dogs working and walking right past her and have to ignore them. The afternoon was spent participating in the conformation run-throughs. Kathy took Maddi into the ring for the puppy 4-6 month class. Maddi did quite well considering the fact that we had never practiced this with her before. Of course, since you can have treats in this ring, Maddi was all attention.





Journey and Candy also joined in the fun in the show ring, but I could never seem to get a picture of Candy. Someone was always in the way or she was moving so much it was too blurry.
Maybe next time we can get her to be a little still.

Banished

Our Saturday began at The Dog Den, where we are always welcomed with open arms. Through their generosity, we attend training classes and playgroups free of charge. Neva, Banjo, Marley, and Cinder consider them the Best Pet Place in Madison and encourage your support in their quest to be named the Best Pet Place. If The Dog Den is voted Best Pet Place they will donate the profits from the day the winners are announced to the Dane County Humane Society!

Neva played hard and crashed as we drove down to Cuba City. She slept most of the afternoon. Oh how I envy her schedule: play, sleep, potty, nap, walk, nap, dinner, nap, ...

Today her dinner was delayed, as we attended Troy(2) and Rylee's(1) birthday party. It was held at a kid friendly location "Bouncy House", a perfect training event for Neva to get used to children.

Before the party we met a few young customers and Neva enjoyed their attention. However as Neva and I chaperoned a few birthday guests, we were asked to remain in the party room, banished to the party room. The rationale was that some children might have allergies, I reluctantly complied. After dinner and thinking about being "segregated", we entered the public facility, legal explanation in hand and ready for a confrontation - no problems.

Blind Retrievers

The Dane County puppy raisers met for some training. Most people attend dog training thinking that the dog will be trained. However, these sessions are really to train the raisers, so that they can train their puppies. Dog training requires more effort than an hour a week.

Although it seemed as if the primary objective of this session was to make the puppy raisers look foolish as they attempted to retrieve waste while blindfolded. We were mildly successful at retrieval, but excelled at looking foolish as we groped for our simulated poop. We should note that poop generally doesn't roll away. More importantly, the exercise reinforced the importance of training the dog to relieve himself on any surface, in one location, while being touched to locate the deposit site.

After our blindfolded retrieval, we practiced blindfolded recalls by calling the puppy from across the room. It's very different when not able to make eye contact with your puppy or tell if she has started to move, or if she is off visiting other dogs. This reinforced the importance of having the puppy touch you when they come to you.

Again these are things that we need to practice with our puppies everyday.

Of course the people aren't the only ones required to look/feel foolish. The puppies were also introduced to the comfort muzzle, which may be required in some of the states we visit. It is important to get them used to it before needed, because their first reaction is usually to paw at the apparatus or hop around trying to dislodge the foreign object.

Visitors

Neva welcomed two little visitors to our house the other day. Avery (4) and Lexie (6), our goddaughters spent the evening with us. They usually don't like our puppies; the canines are usually "too active".

Neva was very calm as they entered the house and she kept a safe distance, not sure how to react to these strangers. She fled from the princess wearing a veil and clomping around in high heels. She wanted to play with the little human pretending to be a puppy, on all fours , but wasn't sure how to play with the purple puppy.

As you can see they eventually warmed up to each other. Neva needs more encounters with children, especially if she is being groomed to be a Children's Visual Companion Dog.

Neva has been on a partial raw food diet. We have been giving her diced beef and ground turkey. Tonight was her first encounter with chicken portions. She started with a thigh and a bit of dog food. She loves her dog food and picked the chicken out so she could finish the dog food; ten minutes later the thigh was gone, bones and all. Her second course was a chicken leg that didn't last nearly as long - two minutes tops.

Happy 1st Birthday, Cinder!!!!

~Born January 26, 2009~

Geyser loves Bowling Night!

Hi it's Geyser here! This is my first post. I've been busy as a full time teacher's assistant. I go with my Mom, Pam, to at least three school everyday. This means getting in and out of the car many times a day. I'm a pro at that skill but I'm kinda slow at times. Mostly I just settle into the passenger floor area and doze off but sometimes I like to watch Mom drive and look like a "cool dude".

Sometimes I get to play with little kids and sometimes I have to get through crowded hallways full of very big kids. They sure are noisy! But once we are in the room she is going to work in then I get some down time. I usually take a quick nap but sometimes I play with my toys.
I have my own toy bag that Mom brings along for me everywhere.

The work gig is OK but my favorite activity so far is Bowling Night every Monday. I have some adoring fans that play with me on and off all night while Mom takes her turn at bowling. I get to push around a bowling ball also but they won't let me get anywhere near that lane or those pins. How am I ever going to get good at this game?

I now have my own "bowling shirt" to match Mom and the other girls. It's actually a bandana because Mom has no sewing skills but I'm cool with that! We'll be taking a team picture next week. I'm now part of the Happy Schnapps Combo Team. I think the Tye Dye colors really look great on my black hair!I've had two play dates with my new friend Indi. He's a chocolate lab and has lots of energy. He is teaching me "tug o' war" and how to catch a frisbee. He's kind of a "frisbee hog" right now - showing off because he's so good at it already - but I'll catch up eventually once the weather gets better. Mom keeps saying we'll go to the Jefferson Dog Park but so far the weather has not cooperated. I did get a short walk in the rain on Sunday though - it was only sprinkling for pete's sake. I'm no wuss but I think my Mom is! I could be waiting awhile for that dog park visit.
Well, I guess I've talked way to much for my first blog. I've been with Pam and John now for almost a month so I had some catching up to do! My future blogs will be short and sweet - but with lots of pictures because Mom is a shutterbug. Oh well, good thing I'm such a handsome guy!

Bye for Now,
Geyser

Getting bigger

Woof Woof,

Well my newest pal is gone. Casey went back home to Marlette. She said she is done shopping. I miss her. She played softer with me than Harley. He plays rougher when he steps on me. I like girls!


After Casey left, Harley had to stay at home and I got to ride in the car thing in the front...but no seat for me - I had to sit on the floor with NO view!! Bummer. So I just protested once, got pushed off the seat and sat down and fell asleep on the floor.

Then we got to Nicole's and I played with the girls. I like girls! Then Nicole showed Mom where I need to be trimmed. I think I look great and don't need any touchups.


Whadya think?

Wilbur

My New Adventures

Hello guys....

Casey here. I have been having such a fun time with my new Mom in Middleton. We go everywhere together, and when she says "car" I jump in and settle down on the front seat floor like a good dog.

In just two weeks I have been to the Middleton Chamber breakfast, Madison Symphony Final Forte concert, the new Cooper's Tavern on opening night, Kid Disco at the Hilldale Great Dane Brew Pub (ahh, chasing after all the bubbles from the bubble machine was fun!), Olbrich Gardens, and LOTS of shopping. I even got to see the movie "Julie & Julia," but I must not have been hungry 'cause I slept through it all!

At the Lake Home and Cabin Show I found a wonderful log bed to




take a nap, I was so tired out from all the people gushing over me!


Having all this attention is pretty exhausting, let me tell you..... My buddy Harley and I got to attend the Middleton Chamber's Annual Celebration at the Marriott, where everyone gave us lots 'n lots of petting.


Next we had a fund raiser at the Boston Store, and so many children came by to pet us and give us hugs.

Oh, yea, we raised a lot of money for OccuPaws, too,



so I know I'll get a lot of special training now so I can grow up to be a good guide dog!



Tonight I am on an overnight to Barb and Mark's to see my real mommy again, Roxie, to tell her all about my adventures in Middleton!

Bye for now,
Casey

Janesville Boston Store

On Saturday, Maddi went to the Janesville Boston Store to sell coupon booklets for a fundraiser. She was a very good girl. We met up with Marlene, Juan and the two German shepherd puppies, Justice and Journey. This was the shepherds first outing and they did quite well as our selling time was their usual nap time they slept for a lot of it. It didn't stop people from petting them though. They didn't mind at all, they slept through a lot of the attention. We also met at least one new puppy raiser, maybe two.

Poor Maddi was upstaged by the babies for most of the time. Maddi is very good at her pathetic puppy face so she did get some attention. She didn't mind so much after her sister Finley showed up. Unfortunately the batteries in the camera died so I didn't get any pictures with Finley. Note to self, charge batteries before leaving house!

Neva's Final Exam

Our "pleasingly plump" little girl attended play time at The Dog Den. She saw a few of her old friends, human and canine. We arrived a bit early so we threw her in with the older dog before their session ended. Then the rest of the puppies showed up and Neva played chase-wrestle-bite until she collapsed in a heap just before playtime expired. It took every ounce of strength to stand up and "get dressed".

On the way to the mall for some more shopping, Neva rested. Her nap wasn't long enough, evidenced by her extremely slow pace. She isn't the most active pup, but this was painfully slow. She didn't mind our stopping to talk or shop as it allowed her to stretch out and relax.

Her lethargy was replaced by exuberance when she saw another puppy walking past us in the Boston Store. Geyser was on his way to sell Boston Store coupon books and he is either very focused when working or he didn't see Neva.

The evening itinerary included a Badger hockey game. Previously Neva had been working on ascending and descending stairs at the Kohl Center. Then three days before her scheduled final exam we did an early puppy switch. So tonight was her make-up exam. She passed the step test with flying colors and barely noticed the loud horn, which sounded four times as the Badgers defeated the #1 team in the country.

Neva has been going to hockey games since three months old. She has always handled loud noises much better than Cinder. This brings up another reason that it's good to rotate puppies. Not only do the dogs have different experiences, but the puppy raisers are better able to identify issues with their charge and take corrective action.

Boston Store - Madison

Wilbur and I got to meet up with Geyser and Casey at the Boston Store East today to sell Community Day booklets. They were very tasty - Wilbur and I split one for lunch! We got pet so much Wilbur and I fell asleep and wouldn't wake up. Fortunately Geyser and Casey stayed awake to get the love. There are more pictures if you click here.

Then I found out the bestest goodest news of all. Casey was coming to our house for a sleepover. Her Mom, Marlette, is going to be gone tomorrow so she came to play with us. Casey took about a whole 3 seconds to meet Stitch and Reggie and Roxie (her doggie Mommy) and then it was playtime.

Mom kept yelling something about no running inna house but we didn't care!

Wheeeee

Love,

Harley

Table for Three?

Cinder has been busy this week. She spent an evening in the mall shopping - walk, stand, walk, sit, walk, down. She also spent one day in the office with Lisa, attending two meetings - down, quiet, down.

We went to a Thai restaurant for Lisa's birthday and I think that Cinder caused some confusion. As we entered the restaurant, the hostess asked if we needed a "Table for three?" No, the dog can stay on the floor. The staff loved her, extra waitresses stopped by the table to say hello. Although they did forget to bring me a glass of water.

Yesterday we made a unscheduled trip down to Beloit. Cinder finally went into heat and Lisa couldn't get her down to Beloit fast enough. We are not without a puppy, however as we picked up our problem puppy, Neva. She is well behaved; she just has perpetual health issues. Our now pudgy little girl brought with her a couple bottles of medicine, vitamins, herbs, two cans of pumpkin, and fifteen pounds of meat.

Come Visit

Hi, Maddi and some of the other pups will be at the Janesville Boston Store in the Janesville Mall between noon and 2 pm on Saturday, January 23. Stop by and say hi for this fundraiser.

Cinder's Transition

Jeff has been very busy lately, so as the smartest in the house, I decided to write my own post...From Cinder: I have been enjoying my time back at the Arndts, though anybody who knows me knows I make fun wherever I am! They continue to insist on me only pottying when they tell me to go when we are out for walks or before an outing, and I have finally decided to comply--you have to pick your battles with these humans, you know? I still don't know why they snatch up my droppings and tie them up in a horrible plastic bag. Why can't they just let them be,they just don't get how delectable those are when they freeze a bit--yummy! Again, no use fighting it.

Anyhoo, I got to accompany Lisa on an outing to her office for 2 meetings, which I thought would be great fun...booorrrriiinnggg! Lisa was going to snap my picture but I spent 4 hours laying under a table sleeping and she said that would be a pretty boring picture--you don't have to tell me, I lived it! She even brought "treats" in because it was her birthday, but not one of those nice ladies would share their goodies, but they did say I was very polite and so beautiful (thank you, but don't any of you have a ball in those bags you carry?!). My 1-year birthday is next week (26th), I would be happy to bring some of my most delectable treats, but for some reason humans scrunch up their faces and start talking very fast and loud when they see me partaking in these treats, so maybe I'll just keep them for myself!

My time with the Arndts was suddenly cut short on Thurs when Lisa discovered something, I am not sure what, but she said "Oh Oh," and rushed off to call Marlene and then Jeff got home and we were on our way to Beloit where I will be a camper at my original home, Camp Morga. I heard something about me being a "big girl" now. Anyway, I get to spend time with a pack of dogs, including my half sister Promise and some little brats Marlene has running around here (one has really poofy hair!), then there's Envy who seems to be kind of a loner but I think she has a sore ear so I'll let her be, and finally there is Skeeter who is little but she is a real big---well, let's just say she seems very grumpy, so I will try to steer clear of her while I'm here or bug her relentlessly until she plays with me! As long as Marlene feeds me,I'll be fine, I'll get lots of play time with other dogs which is the MOST fun thing to do in the whole wide world,and maybe I will be back at the Arndts again after all this "big girl" business is through--for some reason, some salty peanuts and a chocolate bar sound really tasty right now...Bye, Cinder

Out and About

Arf, Gruff

Hi, this is Wilbur typing again. I'm getting to go more places and do more things. Mom says it's because I'm getting pretty good at being "regular"...what ever that is. She is just so happy when I do my business just before we go inside someplace. Well, I guess whatever makes her happy.

So I got to go with Harley to meet up with Casey and Marlette at Scatz's in Middleton for another training session and a human lunch. The three of us tried to be good under the table together, but it was tough. Casey figured if she didn't look at us, we would leave her alone...right.

Then we went to Adams Advertising to thank them for the billboard stuff and to let them meet us. We went all around the building and people pet us a lot and took pictures of us and everything. I sat closer to the camera so I look bigger than Harley! :-)

Then we came home and played until Mom said "enough playing" so we had to be good....right.

Wilbur

Near Mounds on Stoughton Road

Sign faces south on the west side of Highway 51, south of Mounds and Farm and Fleet. Thanks to ADAMS OUTDOOR ADVERTISING for their grant that made this possible.

Watch for this sign in other Madison Locations throughout the year.

It's real, but where?

The billboard is real - OccuPaws first venture into the big time, thanks to a grant from Adams Ourdoor Advertising.

Now just the business names have been blocked and it is in Madison somewhere...can you find it?

Where Oh Where is Harley??

My First Real Outing

Hi Woofs!!!

Wilbur here with a report on my first real, live extended outing. I got to go with Harley to Lukenbooth's to watch Mom and Dad eat human food. I would have been sad not to get anything to eat, but a lot of people at a big long table said Awww when I came in. I dunno why, my name is Wilbur, not Awww. Anyhow, Mom took me over there and said this is Wilbur, not Awww. Funny thing, humans are not real smart. They just kept calling me Awww.






When we got done we went home and Harley got dressed AGAIN to go out without me this time. Why didn't they take me, I was soooo good. :-(

Wilbur



Woof, Woof!


My turn now. Like Wilbur said, I got to go to the mall and meet up with Casey and his Mom Marlette for some more walking and stuff. There was a scarey big monster yellow cone thingie that jumped and made noise when dad touched it. It took us a little while, but pretty soon we made friends with it.

Then we went to the moving stairs and sat next to them and watched them move and felt the platform vibrate. We did good, but Dad said we were too young to ride the stairs so we rode the little moving room...kewl!!

Then after Casey looked at himself inna mirror thingie, the Dick's Sporting Goods bossman guy came over to see us. He pets real nice so I let him rub my tummy and then he pet us both...kewl!!

Then we sat in the Court of Food while all the humans blah blah blahed for hours...very unkewl!!

Bye,

Harley

NEVA OUT CANDY IN

Neva's cough wasn't getting any better, so yesterday Marlene calls and wants Neva to come stay with her for awhile.
So we now have Candy staying with us. Which at 3 months old is the youngest dog we have had..
She has a urine problem, so she stays mostly in the kitchen, as I don't trust her quit yet, too long on the carpet, unless she has just been out.

I will miss Neva tho, she is a very sweet girl.
hopfully we will get her back.
Candy is very sweet also, I do love the fact, no more hair everywhere, and she smells good.

Ernie and Jan

Winter wonderland walk.

Today I took Maddi for a walk in the local park. The hoarfrost was so pretty. Unfortunately, most of the frost had fallen off some of the trees & branches. Maddi had a good time walking in the woods on the trail in the park.



As you can see, we did find a couple of trees that still had a lot of frost on them. Maddi did not really want to stand still and pose for pictures.


Maddi would have rather sniffed and explored the woods some more. I however, forgot to wear my boots and my toes were getting cold in the snow with only tennis shoes on.

Her favorite thing to do is climb to the top of the snowbanks and look around at everything.

Twice the Fun

Another Saturday begins with play time at The Dog Den. One hour of running around, sniffing, and jumping over other dogs is plenty and generally tires a puppy out.

This morning we received an expected visitor. Banjo's family had a wrestling tournament in town and dropped him off for the day. He accompanied us to play time. Cinder has been playing with the adult group (over 12 months) and Banjo fit right in.

Cinder was very nimble today as both hunter and prey. Our two charges would seek each other out for some Labrador wrestling.Both dogs also worked on DOWN STAY when they needed a timeout.

Still going strong after hour one, we stayed for the puppy group. Halfway through the second hour they tired - standing around with tongues hanging out. Thinking they were ready for a nap, we returned home, however, they were getting a second wind, tugging and stealing toys. More activity as we walked over to view human wrestling where the puppies drew considerable attention from the human youngsters.

Only after our visitor left did Cinder settle down and relax. I would guess that Banjo slept well on his journey home.

Fun

Wowwie,

Harley says I get to play with the computer and type and stuff!! Neato!! We all got to play outside together inna snow and everything with Roxie - she's nice. I can't run as fast as the other dogs but at least I take better pictures :-)

When we got done playing and I was all wet and like a stinky wet dog smell, Mom says "get dressed" so I went to my crate, but Mom said you too Wilbur, you get to go too! Whee, is that cool or what. I didn't know what get to go means but it's with Harley so let's go.

Harley got to ride on the floor in the front seat and I hadda ride it a tiny, cramped crate. Boo hiss, no fair!

After a zillion miles I think we came to a big building with lots of girls in it. Mom called them Brownies but they didn't smell like chocolate or nuthin'. Harley and me charged in and tried to kiss every single one of the girls. Being blond, I was the most popular.

Then they invited the cub scouts to come in and meet us too. Eveybody sat on the floor and listened to boring human blah blah blah until finally the humans said the kids could pet us again - that was the best part.

Then Debbie, Sonny's Mom, had everyone all get ready for a big picture. We all had to smile at the Kitty, Kitty's in the room. I didn't see them but they must have been there cuz everyone kept saying Kitty Kitty.

I think there are some more pictures if you click here.

All for now,

Wilbur

Not Super Smart

We took Cinder to her first training class at The Dog Den. Thinking that she was a super smart dog, we debated between the advanced or intermediate, finally opting for the intermediate class. The focus of class is to "proof" or solidify the basic obedience commands: SIT, DOWN, STAY, COME, LEAVE IT. We just wanted to practice with her ultimate distraction - Other Canines.

We started giving commands as usual, facing the dog - no problem. Then we tried commands while turned away from the dog, seated in a chair, and from five yards away. It's amazing what a difference changing the routine and position make.

The class turned out to be a good fit because Cinder isn't as advanced as we thought she was. She doesn't know her verbal commands as well as we believed. Instead she is picking up on hand signals and body movement. In her desire to please, she is sometimes just guessing or running through what has "worked" in the past. She definitely need sto work on LEAVE IT also.

This will be a good learning opportunity for Cinder and her puppy raisers.