Happy Birthday Chris

We did very little training since last week's OccuPaws session and didn't take Marley anyplace. We had good intentions, but life got in the way and we were lazy. Our weekly OGDA training session requires us to get out and about.

Our next puppy, Banjo attended. He will be joining our household in twelve days. He is spending the next few days at Camp Morga to, hopefully, resolve a disturbing noise issue - he cries in his crate when separated from people and other canines.

All puppies and puppy raisers "Rallied" tonight. This means that we performed the dreaded rally obstacle course. The hardest part is translation of the rally-ese to our standard commands.

After some more regular obedience work we retired to the house for some birthday cake. It was our formal harness trainer's birthday. She brought cake for the puppy raisers and the puppies' indoor manners were tested. They are always in-training.

After some very good puppy behavior and a lot of blah blah blah, as Slick would say, the capes were pulled and it was indoor puppy play time. Carmen, the resident German Shepard, tried to keep order as Reggie, Marley, Cinder, and Banjo chased and tugged. Occasionally Banjo and Cinder would stop to wrestle, then ambush Marley as she walked by.

My observation from tonight's work was that we need a lot of work on the basics: SIT, DOWN, STAY via voice. The outcome of tonight's session was some tired puppies. And a late dinner for canines and humans alike.

Lying Low

Marley has been lying low the last few days.

Literally, we have moved her crate to the basement for a couple reasons. First because it was time for a change and second because it's cooler down there.

The move downstairs coincided with her transition to a different dog food. Wellness Dog Food has donated at least sixty bags of dog food for the puppies. This saves each puppy raiser $35 per month.

And figuratively, due to the change in food we haven't been out and about much. Not sure how the big girl was going to react to the dietary change. We stayed home on Saturday. Lisa and I spent the day doing yard work distributing nine yards of wood chips throughout the yard while Marley provided supervisory support.

Marley was very sick; her digestive system was not functioning normally. Another, good reason not to be out in public. Our first thought was the stress of the changes, but this morning we determined the cause to be our lack of supervision. She had eaten some wood that must have irritated her digestive organs causing undesirable outcomes.

After fasting for a day and purging the undesirable objects, all systems working properly today. Her transition to the new food is complete tomorrow as is her prednisone treatment. Fingers crossed that the rash stays away.


"The disposition of noble dogs is to be gentle with people they know and the opposite with those they don't know...How, then, can the dog be anything other than a lover of learning since it defines what's its own and what's alien." - Plato

Sunny Days

Hello fellow pups!


Did I have fun today!


I hung out at the Madison Farmer’s Market with my friends, Deegan, Canya, Geyser, Reggie, Marcie, Kathy, Theresa, Chris and my people Mark and Barb.

Mindy and Dan also stopped by with Jacob.

What could be better than be pet by all sorts of kids and adults, drink water, lay around and talk with my friends?

Ecstasy.

Slick

Hot Dog

The weather has been hot and sticky during the day, but cools off in the evenings. We try not to use the air conditioner and wait for it to cool down at night. Apparently, it doesn't cool off early enough for Marley. She needs to be cool.

She loves being with us and we are rarely out of her sight. However, the heat got the best of her today and she went downstairs to lie down on the cool tile floor all by herself. Her normal SuperGirl pose, legs out and back, gets the greatest amount of her belly in contact with the coolness. I interrupted her rest trying to get a good picture.


Labradors [are] lousy watchdogs. They usually bark when there is a stranger about, but it is an expression of unmitigated joy at the chance to meet somebody new, not a warning. - Norman Strung

More Puppy Raisers Needed

While the fifteen canines were cavorting in the backyard last night, there were nine more dogs in the house. The eight two day old babies were dining and Roxie was serving. Her litter consisted of two black males and six black females, all eagerly awaiting their chance to be a guide dog.

In eight weeks we will need eight new homes to raise puppies. Or four homes to raise two each. Or if you are really brave, one puppy raiser can raise all eight. Each puppy comes with a six month supply of puppy food and a guarantee that he or she will love you unconditionally.

If you think puppies are a lot of work and don't want to start with an eight week old baby, you may be able to convince one of the current puppy raisers to trade their housebroken, well-mannered dream for one of these rascals. Good Luck!

Magic

This is what you get if you take fifteen dogs ranging in age from three months to two years and throw them in a fenced in yard.


ABRACADABRA


Eleven dogs lying in the grass waiting their turn to be patted on the head. And ...
four out of control puppies wrestling amongst themselves and frequently tumbling over the good dogs.












Before our OccuPaws class started, the canines were allowed a bit more free time. They were worked into a frenzy and then ...

ABRACADABRA

Our three resident Dog Whisperers took control of the class.

If it were only that simple.

The dogs earned a score of 7 out of ten. Given all the distractions, they performed better than the average house pet, but they still have a long way to go.





After the training exercises, it was physical examination time. Marley was hoisted on the table to have her belly, legs, and ears checked for the perplexing, unending rash. Next her teeth and bleeding gums checked out fine, but need daily brushing - that will be FUN for everyone involved.

Every dog went through this routine and earned a nice juicy bone upon successful completion of the torture table.

Puppy Heaven

Imagine yourself taking your dog for a walk in the middle of August. The temperature is more than eighty degrees. The humidity is approaching one hundred percent. A gentle breeze is the only cooling mechanism supplied by mother nature.You forgot to bring a water bottle.

Up ahead in the distance you see an oasis. Is it real? Can it possibly be true? What luck, it is real. Across the street twenty yards away is some ice. Not just a few cubes, but the flotsam jettisoned from a baseball team's cooler - a pile of cubes

You offer your big brown dog a cube to cool her off. She refuses. Oh no, is she too hot to take ice. Then without warning she plops her sixty-five pounds on top of the pile and smiles (AHHH). The ice cools her recently shaved belly as she lounges. Occasionally she grabs a cube and chomps on it as the cool water drips from her mouth. This must be puppy heaven in August.


"A dog wags its tail with its heart" - Martin Buxbaum

Short Humans

Hi there fellow pups!

Slick here!

Mom and dad have been taking my friend Deegan and I to our usual places, restaurants, parks, and Nikki’s house.

I went to a class at MATC with Nikki and Dale. I was asked to be very quiet for three hours while the class was held. After class, I got lots of pets from the other people that were taking the class. I did not listen very well in class, but the class was something about getting grants, giving grants, getting money,,, I did not quite understand all the human blah, blah, blah.

While at MATC for some reason I decided that elevators were sorta scary. I had been in them when I was a pup, but I think I have forgotten that the floor vibrates and doors shut me in. So mom and dad have been taking me to all sorts of different kinds of elevators. In and out, up and down. Deegan, my old pal does not seem to mind them. I think have decided once again that they are OK. But, mom is going to continue to ride on all sorts of elevators to make SURE that they don’t bother me.

My friend Evan has been holding onto my harness and walking with me. I have to make sure to walk slowly as he does not walk as fast as mom does sometimes. Deegan walks with him too.

Yesterday Jacob was over. He does not walk at all. But, he is fun to say “hi” to.

Deegan and I like to lay next to him while he pets us.

Mom says that if it is not quite so hot, we might to up to the Farmer’s market the 15th. I hope we do, it is a lot of fun.

Your friends,
Slick and Deegan

Double Header

Two baseball games in two days is what Marley calls a double header. We had two more tickets to the Mallards baseball game today. On the way to the ballpark we picked up some human food. Marley's was packed for after the game.

Just as we pulled into the parking lot it began raining cats - no dogs. So we tortured Marley by making her sit in the back seat and watch us eat. She didn't understand why the car was stopped and we didn't get out.

We should have stayed home because the Mallard players didn't show up for the game; they lost 5 to 0. As usual Marley made a lot of human friends, plenty of pets and a few kisses. This evening we sat in the top row and she could watch the activity behind us which kept her awake; otherwise she usually sleeps.

We saw another dog tonight, a real working dog. Marley behaved much better than last evening, one correction and she moved on. Later sightings of the black labrador were even better.

Her rash seems to have stabilized at a minor condition and her teeth are bleeding less from the nightly brushing. The flavored toothpaste seems to have helped her acceptance a bit. Marley only tolerates it for a fifteen seconds and then we fight.

All the storms the past couple days haven't bothered her. She is now sleeping as The Thunder Rolls.


“Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you’re never friendless ever, if you have a dog.” - Douglas Mallock

Mallards

We finally used the Mallards baseball tickets that we won at "Poker for Paws" this spring. After entering the ballpark we were stopped because dogs are not allowed. We couldn't blame security because we had stopped for a potty break and removed her cape so she looked like a regular dog.

Even though dogs are not allowed we saw two others at the game and they were obviously little pets. Marley really, really wanted to saw hello to the poodle.

Marley enjoyed our seats this evening because we were on the end of a row and she could look down and watch the people milling about. She laid quietly for most of the game even though it got very cramped. At one time she was facing away from the crowd and the poodle walked past. Marley heard the jingle of the poodle's collar and sprang to attention - only to receive a correction.

Once home, she freaked out (barking, hackles raised) because I was wearing a bandana. Marley and I made friends. Apparently she doesn't like people wearing things on their head.


"My dog is usually pleased with what I do, because she is not infected with the concept of what I "should" be doing." - Lonzo Idolswine

Test Postponed

The rain put a damper on our plans this evening. We were going to go to the car races at Madison International Speedway, but they were canceled because of the rain. Our noise tolerance test for the ChicagoLand races had to be postponed until next weekend.

This meant that instead of DOWN STAY while cars zoomed around the track and make a lot of noise Marley had to go to the grocery store HEELing and SITting. We met a few people that were very interested in guide dogs which slowed us down a bit, but it's always fun talking about our special dogs.

I have been brushing and massaging Marley's gums; it appears to be reducing the amount of bleeding. Her prednisone dosage has stopped which may also be a contributing factor to the improvement to her bleeding gums. However, Marley's rash is reappearing.

We did stop and buy puppy teeth cleaning supplies at WalMart for $4. The flavored tooth paste will hopefully elicit some excitement, instead of fear, when she sees the toothbrush.

Graduation

Marley, or should I say we, successfully completed her intermediate obedience class at The Dog Den. We were a bit worried how it would go because before class even started, Marley was fearful of our trainer whose sunglasses were on top of her head.

Today's class was a culmination of five long hard weeks of training the Puppy Raisers. The final exam was held outside to provide even more distraction. However, Marley was on her best behavior. Her award for the class was the "Calmest Labrador Puppy in the World".

Our most troubling exercise in the past classes has been having Marley walk nice and heel by my side. She was almost perfect tonight. When I slipped the end of the leash in my pocket and she continued HEELing, the trainer mentioned to Lisa that she was just showing off today. She did try to walk up the slide as we passed by.

The proud puppy raisers were even surprised when she mastered the elusive STAND STAY.

Marley's strength has been her STAY ability. She far surpassed her classmates. Today was no exception as she avoided distractions while I walked around the yard. She only shifted her position when offered a large dog biscuit from the trainer.

Her only significant lapse came when we attempted a recall with the trainer with large dog biscuit was between us. The first time she stopped and sat down and stared longingly at the trainer, PLEASE. We tried a second time and she veered away from the temptation and trotted to me - lesson learned. But for how long?

Hygiene

The last few days have been uneventful, just getting ready for the last intermediate puppy class, Marley's graduation day. We have been practicing DOWN, STAND, LEAVE IT, COME, SIT, STAY, TOUCH, greetings, PLACE, HEEL, and WAIT, all with mild/medium distractions in class. All of them come in handy in the real world.

We didn't have our OccuPaws session this evening, so he held our own individualized puppy class for Marley. Out of all the commands Marley needs the most work on her recall. She will come, but she is not very excited - this must improve.

After her work, Marley jumped in the pool and laid down to cool off. A quick bite to eat, rest, a potty walk and then Tuesday night hygiene. She got her nails trimmed, hair combed, and teeth brushed. She has had two dark spots on her teeth that I started to clean. The least bit of contact and they started bleeding. Hopefully she has some teeth coming in, we don't need any more puppy drama for a while.


Man could learn much from his dog: to be a true friend, to be faithful, and to appreciate those who love him.

Bowling = Sleep

Marley's rash has cleared up completely and she has begun a taper off the steroid. So except for the side effects of the medication life is good. The combination of steroids and antihistamines have left our happy and playful puppy mellow and lethargic which people seem to appreciate. In just the last seven days we have had four individuals offer to adopt her if she flunks out. another side effect is that she drinks and urinates copious amounts.

Today was the fourth annual OccuPaws Bowling fundraiser. All the students were there and most of the alumni. Marley is excited to see other canines, but whether it was the medication or good training, she was quite disciplined when meeting her brethren. She was good even with the annoying little puppies jumping on her head and biting her feet. It was also a good opportunity to meet a lot of strange people - different people.

We caught up with Cinder. She looks well and behaved wonderfully. We can't wait to get her back in November. Her puppy raiser indicated that she has a high prey drive which is all too common for Labradors. If they could only breed that out of them :-)

We checked up on our next charge, Banjo. It is funny when from a calm state he bolts at full speed, for no apparent reason. Being three months old, Banjo has three speeds: chase, calm, and sleep.


“I’d be happy to have my biography be the stories of my dogs. To me, to live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness.” - Thomas McGuane