Monte's Dream

Today was the annual OccuPaws volunteer picnic. It is an opportunity for all the current canines and puppy raisers to get together. We also see a few returning puppies and graduates.

One of our favorite puppies was in attendance. Neva was there with her "mom". It's so wonderful to see her all grown up after her difficult beginning. The only lingering effect of her near death experience is an occasional limp. We don't see her much since she lives in Illinois.


After lunch, each of the puppies and raises got to show their stuff. Each team was given fifteen seconds to complete as many obedience commands as possible. The winner was guide dog Dale, but Monte put in a respectable performance completing five commands in the allotted time: SIT, DOWN, STAND, COME, DRESS. If I only would have said STAY, before requesting him to come.

As the picnic ended, we inadvertently created Monte's Dream by emptying a full cooler of ice. Monte loves his ice cubes and comes running when the freezer door opens. It was a warm day and he couldn't resist the temptation. Monte sprawled out in the pile of ice cubes and then dug in the mud as they melted. Not guide dog behavior, but quite appropriate for an almost four month old puppy.

Great Lakes Pet Expo

Today we had lots of the OccuPaws dogs at the pet expo in Milwaukee. They all had a great time getting loved. We saw cats, ponies, and even some reptiles. I don't have many pictures, but Wilbur and the new black lab puppy were a huge hit. The older dogs, who are getting better and conserving themselves, maintained their greeting duties while the little ones napped.





Now that we're home, Promise is zonked. We've been practicing "Place", where she patiently stayed while I made myself dinner.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Neva update!

Its been almost 3 weeks now, with Neva, and she is still coughing. She was coughing a week before that at Jeff and Lisa's. We haven't been able to take her on ANY outings. She is missing class, and she can't even play with Toby next door. Thank goodness she has our boxer to play with. She is also loosing teeth like crazy, one yesterday and two this morning. Hopfully she will get over her cough soon, so she can get some socialization soon. Here Neva is thinking, I can't get on the couch, but I can get on this bench, when they are not looking.

Ernie and Jan

Neva rotation

As Jeff and Lisa mentioned, the wheel has rotated again. We now have 4 mo old Neva. The youngest one we have had so far. I was a little worried about getting a younger dog, but Neva has been with us two days now, and she is a very very sweet, gentle girl. After having Banjo who is ruff and tuff, its quit a change.

Neva has settled in good, she wined the first night a little but not since. Her first outing to the grocery store went great. I think she's a keeper at least for the next two months.

Ernie and Jan

Tug

Neva and our boxer Sadie are playing well together. Sadie is a lot more gental with Neva, than she was with Banjo. When Banjo and Sadie played they both growled and got really ruff.

Travelling Mentor

The Christmas holiday results a in huge change of routine for our dogs. Sleep and feeding schedules are erratic and exercise is minimal. Most of the days have been spent riding in the car where Deegan has gotten much better at lying down when the car is moving. Neva enjoyed the trips more than usual as she shared the back seat snuggling with her mentor, instead of lying on the front floorboard.

To celebrate the end of our holiday travels, we took a long walk this morning. Then they played with their Christmas presents, two rawhide candy canes. Though they are identical, the one not in their possession is always more desirable, so they trade off repeatedly.

Deegan acts as a mentor for both good and bad behaviors. He has helped her move freely around the neighborhood and traverse stairs without trepidation. Although gentle indoors, he plays a bit rough when outside. He is possessive of toys and, worst of all, will consume his own "presents".

Last night, they "went to bed" in the same crate, so we simply locked the door and let them be until morning. Neva is going to miss her mentor when he leaves.

Monthly Vet Visit

After three weeks with the UTI it was time for a visit to the veterinarian. In the meantime, our puppy, who just received a bordetella shot two weeks ago, seems to have picked up a mild case of (exercise induced) kennel cough a week later. To these ailments, we added her missing teeth and lumpy cheeks to the vet's list.

The UTI turned out to be a minor infection, but she has a lot of crystals which may be more diet related. We did get some antibiotics to treat the urinary tract infection, but the only treatment for kennel cough is cough suppressant. The cysts on her cheeks may be related to incoming teeth.

Neva's loss has been Deegan's gain. All of these maladies left the door open for Deegan to visit the dentist, hair salon, supermarket, drug store, and library. Except for being a little "creepy" Deegan behaved well on these outings.

Tip: We recently corrected her loose stool by administering probiotics.

Revenge

As mentioned in earlier posts, Neva is relentless in staying close to and tormenting Deegan. He has proven to be extremely patient and tolerant with the little black beast. How would you like to have a 24 x 7 shadow with teeth? We occasionally find him in his crate searching for some peace/quiet and alone time. Eventually Neva locates her "big brother" and cozies up next to him.

Deegan is a high energy dog and is always ready to go outside, and walk. He is disappointed when he realizes that we are only out for a potty break and not a walk around the neighborhood.

To accomodate him the last few days, we have taken Deegan and Neva to the high school football field to run around in the snow and let him be a dog. He transforms from a mild mannered guide dog into crazy canine. It is surrounded by fence, so he can't escape.

This also provides Deegan with an opportunity to exact revenge on the little black beast. He gets his revenge by either holding her down in the snow and biting her limbs or by running full speed at Neva, only to veer off at the last moment. When Neva guesses wrong, moving into his path, she is sent rolling head over tail in the snow. She then gets up and chases after him until he turns and repeats the scenario.

Bodyguard

Three days into his "vacation", Deegan has adjusted to our routine, we have learned how to work with him, and Neva has taken on the role of bodyguard. She apparently thinks that Deegan needs assistance in his new environment; she shadows him every where he goes. She is either lying on him or biting him (lip,leg, ear, tail), not a very good bodyguard.

As usual Saturday started with play time at The Dog Den (new website). Neva was a very active participant, however, Deegan was relegated to observer. He watched the puppies from the penalty box and was just minding his own business when a puppy came up to the fence and urinated into his area. Lisa had to clean it up even though it wasn't her fault.

Near the end of play time, I took Deegan into the big puppy play area where Neva was terrorizing the other canines. Deegan appreciated the break. He remained on leash as we practiced SIT, DOWN, and STAY with puppy distractions. He did good given that fact that dogs seem to be his most difficult challenge.

What's worse than Christmas shopping on the Saturday before Christmas?
Shopping the Saturday before Christmas with two dogs in tow.

Actually it wasn't that bad. We stopped at Mounds which took at least thirty minutes to pick up a bag of food and two leashes. Our dynamic duo accompanied us to Target for a few gifts and household items - in and out in less than thirty minutes. The crowds weren't bad, just a lot of puppy greetings.

Our final stop was the veterinarian's office for a weight check. Neva weighs 32 pounds and Deegan tipped the scales at 69 pounds, well under the seventy-two pound threshold for a doggy diet.

Broken Rule

After releasing Buddy for adoption, we have had a rule: Only one dog in the house. The rule lasted less than a year. We acquired an additional canine guest on a temporary basis.

We are dog sitting Deegan for the next few weeks, while his trainer is out of town. He has completed puppy training and is essentially on vacation prior to formal training and assignment as a guide dog or companion dog. He will be officially evaluated by a trainer after Christmas.

We picked Deegan up at training class in Janesville, expecting a "perfect" dog. During class, he seemed to be very close to perfect. However, after having him home for (a brief) twenty-four hours, he is not as perfect as we thought. He is not comfortable and is testing us or maybe we are being tested by Marlene. I am ready to send him back. His discipline has evaporated and his house manners need work.

Only one of us wants to keep him. Neva enjoys having a big brother around. Not so sure that the feeling is mutual. The pesky puppy is constantly following him around, licking his face, and biting his cheeks/paws. Deegan has been very patient and earned a few more days.

Last Class

Our roly poly frightened little black dog has disappeared and has been replaced with a happy go lucky, normal black lab puppy. She walked all the way to the park yesterday with minimal fear - actually leading me most of the way.

Unfortunately Neva is still suffering from a urinary tract infection which she shares with at least one of the local rabbits. The cranberry tablets have only stabilized the infection. As I mentioned, we did not limit her outings, however, we were extremely careful not to go too long without access for potty. To her credit, she has proven to be 100% housebroken. She has been waking us up at night to get outside. If things don't improve soon, we will have to make our monthly visit to the veterinarian.

In an attempt to avoid a trip to the vet, one of our outings this weekend was to Farm n Fleet to pick up some puppy medicine. Neva needed bordetella and lepto something or other. We administered the bordetella nasally without issue, but we haven't been brave enough to try the Parvo-Distemper-Lepto injection. Trimming her nails is difficult enough.

It was time for Neva's puppy class at The Dog Den. It was bittersweet being the last class, remembering where we started and how much she has learned in six weeks. We worked to solidify the old commands and introduced the LEAVE IT command. The trainer commented how different she is; wild and crazy during play times, then calm and focused when training (and a very quick learner).

A new exercise this evening was walking your puppy while holding a full glass of water in the same hand as the leash. Of course the goal being to have your puppy under control so as not to spill any liquid.

Neva and Lisa were the best in class :-)

Snow Training

After our first real snowfall a week ago, Neva was afraid of shovels and didn't like snow deeper than an inch. She avoided snow by walking next to the house and she ran away anytime the shovel was deployed. So we worked on making friends with the snow shovels and getting her to romp in the deep stuff (three inches).

The most recent blizzard brought seventeen inches of snow to our doorstep with no way to avoid it. A foot and a half of snow provides many training opportunities. Neva spent a couple hours supervising my shoveling. Accustomed to the scraping and movements of the shovel, she began to think of it as a chew toy that throws snowballs that need to be chased, broken apart, and gobbled up.

She has no fear of the two feet high snow banks and attempts to summit them and take a shortcut to the door. She is relegated to hopping since the snow is taller than she is. After cutting a narrow path down the sidewalk, I turned around and we worked on the BACK command. Too high to jump up and too narrow to turn around, Neva was forced to backup. This technique also works when I break a fresh trail or we use our potty paths.

Neva's most favorite natural wintertime gift are icicles. When she is a very good girl or I need a lure (and out of kibble), we let her bring them in the house. She pushes it around the floor, pouncing on it until it breaks, then she wonders where it goes after it melts.

WATCH - Good Girl

At Neva's puppy class we introduced WAIT and HEEL. We practiced WATCH, SIT, DOWN, SETTLE, COME, calm greeting, and walking on loose leash. Neva performed all tasks admirably, with minimal luring. She also took first place in musical SIT and second place in musical DOWN. Our work really shows during these classes.

Happy Birthday to Neva and her litter mates, Sparta, Maddi, Sonny, Casey, and Finley. They are four months old today.

Goals

Our goal for the last three weeks was for Neva to ascend and descend stairs at the Kohl Center this weekend. It was a partial success. She was willing and able to ascend and descend, once she allowed herself to get started. The difficult part was getting her to the stairs. One time I slid her across the floor to the first step and then she went up like a champ. Neva's issue with steps is more mental than physical

Housebreaking was another goal of ours and I thought she had mastered it. Friday night she had a few accidents. This issue turned out to be more physical than mental. We had noticed more frequent urination; on Saturday she went five times in ten minutes. Yes, she appears to have a urinary tract infection (UTI), so we resupplied our Crancaps. After two days, she is doing a little better.

The UTI creates an unpredictable potty situation. Well aware of the risks, we didn't curtail her outings, but were diligent about frequent, almost excessive, trips outside. Neva's weekend visits to the grocery, playtime, drug store, hockey game, mall (3 hrs), and restaurant went off without any mishaps. It must be something in the water because the puppies under our care are always getting sick.

"Tail" of Two Dogs

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

At the first training class of the week, at The Dog Den, Neva excels and is the best in class. She has begun to DOWN without a lure, has a solid COME, and is quickly picking up on the walk at my side. She also runs to her BED on command, waits for an OK to eat or exit her crate, and I think she is potty trained (99.9%). This is all good for a puppy less than four months old.

Our second class of the week was an OccuPaws class. Meeting all the requirements of a OGDA four month old, however, Neva is still lagging behind the others. Her litter mates have shown progress on BACKing up, STAYing, and HEELing. Neva does play very well with others (as seen above sharing a toy with her sister and brothers).

Although she is quite distracted by the other canines in class, her performance has more to do with her inept puppy raisers. We need to step it up or risk having another of our puppies flunk out.

The first snowfall of the year is always interesting, but can't compare to the first ever exposure to snow. Experiencing these firsts with your puppy keeps you young at heart - it's priceless.

Neva loved frolicking in and "drinking" the fluffy frozen water. It must have gotten in her ears as she rolled around because she couldn't hear me call her into the house.
Oi Vay, puppies and their selective hearing.