Growing Up

Over the weekend Hobey lost his last remaining puppy teeth.  Three of the four molars fell out during puppy playtime at the Dog Den.  He left a few red marks on his playmates and a trail of red on the floor, which I promptly wiped up.

This turned out to be perfect timing because he only had a four day supply of puppy food left.  He will be transitioning to adult food for the next week.  The recipes are very similar; the biggest difference is the size of the kibble.

Since we will be traveling again this weekend, we decided that it would be a good time for Hobey to spend some time without his canine companion; Monte is vacationing up north.  We have found that Hobey's ears work a lot better when he is not shadowing Monte.  On our walks, he explores on his own while maintaining visual contact with us and returning occasionally to check-in.

All Clear

Hobey received his freedom a week ago; no rabies, no more quarantine.

Three weeks after the "dog bite", my finger is still on the mend.  It should be back to normal in another seven days.

He has been making up for lost time: test drives, grocery shopping, Bucky Book pick-up & deliveries, office visits, and swimming.  He has grown to love the water.  Now our task is to keep him out of it.

The first of the month is always time for flea/tick treatment, heartworm medication, and puppy report.  This month we added nail trimming.

House Arrest

Hobey endured extra crate time this week while we completed our efforts at iCan Shine Bike Camp.  This allowed him to catch up on sleep with a late morning nap before the busy weekend.

We started early Friday afternoon with a visit to West Bend Insurance where he got some more elevator work.  Hobey walked the office, practicing his greetings with the twenty staff members who were still in the office.  He followed this with a restaurant nap while we ate a late lunch or early dinner.  Then Hobey endured a few more test drives, hopefully our last, before heading home.

Note:  without Monte around, Hobey seems a lot more lazy

Saturday was the usual with puppy playtime at The Dog Den.  He spent the time wrestling with the big dogs.  Actually, Hobey is becoming a big dog; he tipped the scales at 38 pounds.  We spent the last ten minutes cavorting with the smaller puppies.  He needs to be able to get along with all dogs and he did fine with the youngsters.

Sunday was quite eventful.  Hobey attended the final Madison Mallards baseball game of the season.  We greeted fans as they entered the stadium and Hobey and Dusty worked the crowd, during the game, to get contributions for the 50/50 raffle.  It was reported that people were more generous when the puppies tagged along. Dusty ended up carrying him most of the time which must have been quite a workout. This was preceded by the tailgate party at Erin's Snug.  He me his Custom Canine friends at the tailgate and we practiced LEAVING food on the floor.

The major incident of the day resulted in my visit to the emergency room. My finger was lacerated on a razor sharp point.  This occurred while Hobey was making friends with the lawnmower.  He was doing well so I started it and did a couple passes with Hobey following along at a safe distance.  He was in front of the  discharge getting covered with grass so I went to shoo him away and my finger caught his tooth.  The result was a 15 millimeter gash across my finger tip.  It was obvious that stitches would be required.

This was going to be a minor inconvenience until I retold my story to the doctor who described the injury as a dog bite.  I explained that the injury occurred when I hit the dog's tooth.  He repeated that the tooth broke the skin and caused the injury, therefore a dog bite.  Long story short, Animal Control was contacted and Hobey is quarantined for ten days.  Even though our four month old puppy is too young to have rabies (according to veterinarian), we have to take him to the vet three time during the next ten days to confirm this ($$). At least the quarantine is at our home.

Little Helper

This weekend we received a huge pile of wood chips.  They were waiting in the driveway when we returned from our weekend travels.  Hobey was very curious upon seeing the mountin and smelling the rotting wood.

After volunteering at the iCan Shine bicycling training on Monday, Hobey and I spent the afternoon spreading the chips around the yard.  Initially he pulled the debris and long sticks out of the pile.  I can only assume he was trying to help by turning the sticks into little bits.  Once the moving began, he followed the wheelbarrow throughout the yard picking up bits that fell out.  Everyone was exhausted by dinner time.

Tuesday, we attended the Night Out Against Crime in Lake Mills.  Hobey met his pal, Lebi, and a few other Custom Canine trainees. He was able to continue our work on calmly greeting people. He did fine for a four month old puppy; the only incident was a spilled water bowl on the gym floor.

Home Alone

Hobey spent the weekend in Arkdale, Wisconsin for our family reunion weekend.  We rented a condominium and he met the Dodds family.  The most different experience was a boat ride, on a pontoon boat.  He was not fazed and relaxed until we became bogged down in the mud and weeds.  While attempting to free ourselves, we all moved toward the front in order to lift the motor.  The boat pitched forward and a rush of water filled the floor and disturbed Hobey's resting.

During the stay, he found that lounging on the cushy foot stools was better than the floor.  We encouraged this.  At home, he has extrapolated this to all our furniture.  Not a problem, but like other things, now we need to transition to "Only When Asked".

Before the weekend began, we dropped Monte off.  He will be camping at my parents house for the next two weeks.  This will give Hobey some alone time with us which he really needs.  At times, he seemed to be too bonded and reliant on Monte.

At home, he hasn't missed his canine companion and is developing more independence.

Bus Tour

Wednesday
The afternoon began with a farm visit.  The evening training class involved a bus ride.  We met up with Buck and took the free Madison Metro bus to the Memorial Union.  Well, that was the plan, but due to construction we were dropped off a few blocks away and walked through campus - practice walking nicely on a loose leash. 

Once at the Union, Hobey was presented with a crowd atmosphere. In addition to the people, he faced many animal and food distractions.  After greeting a few folks, we made our way to State Street and then back to the bus stop, which was the biggest challenge for the puppy - remaining in one spot with activity passing by.  At this age it is too much to expect a puppy to remain stationary.

Friday
Hobey has not seen our neighbor, who he regularly visits, for a couple weeks.  He suffered a broken femur and is rehabbing in Evansville Manor.  So we decided that a visit would be nice and it would provide good exposure to a new environment.  After his initial excitement, Hobey settled down and was not alarmed by any of the new sights/sounds.

Saturday
We continued Hobey's socialization at the weekly play group.  In preparation, we all went for a walk before to burn some energy. Again we started out with the older dogs where he met up with his old friend Parker.  At "halftime" we took a potty break and moved over to the younger dogs.  No issues this week and one milestone.  Hobey lost his first tooth.  We only noticed it after seeing the blood on the head of his playmate.

Hobey was exhausted and rested while we drove North for a birthday party.  After meeting hundreds of dogs, we met one that Hobey did not get along with:  Deja, a St Bernard puppy.  She is one week younger than Hobey.  He resisted her advances, but eventually could not tolerate them and offered an overzealous correction.  Not the time or place, I decided to avoid the situation and Hobey spent most of the day crated, which was good training, too.

Sunday
At times we have noticed a strong friendship between Hobey and Monte, which is good.  However, like most things there is a balance.  Sometimes he seems to dependent on Monte, so I walked them separately today.  This was needed because Hobey was constantly looking for his pal as we left on our walk.  After ten minutes, he figured out that he was alone and enjoyed our time.  He met up with a couple dogs and had friendly encounters.  This was a relief after the incident yesterday.

Hobey is doing well with the WAIT command that we started to introduce the OUT command.  Eventually he will learn to get out and stay out of the kitchen.

Chicago Part Two

Hobey's weekend began with his usual Saturday activity.  It started with outdoor play time with a few of his canine friends at The Dog Den.  After an hour, we moved inside for his last Puppy Socialization Class; he successfully graduated.  Then we "raced" home to finish packing for race weekend at Chicagoland.

Already tired, he slept through the three hour car ride to Joliet.  He was awakened briefly as we stopped at our hotel to drop off luggage.  As we walked to our room, he displayed a potential issue.  Walking past a couple rooms, he would start barking.  Not sure if his superior hearing noticed something that we did not.  Fortunately this behavior was not repeated throughout the rest of our visit.


At the race track, there was not much on track activity, but we did manage to test out his new Mutt Muffs.  They appeared to work.  We observed a practice session from the front row and his slumber wasn't disturbed by the noise.  The primary activity was a trackside party where Hobey was able to meet fellow spectators.  Our planning could have been improved with some puppy boots to protect Hobey's paws from the hot blacktop.  He didn't seem to mind, but it would have offered another level of protection.

Sunday, race day, was another long, hot day.  First, Hobey bordered a bus which took us to the infield.  We toured the pit area and visited victory lane.  While there qualifying began with cars loudly traveling around the track at 174 mph , we brought out the Mutt Muffs and used them as we walked around.

Hobey added to his meet/greet totals as we walked around the sponsor areas gathering as many freebies as we could before the race.  He met a few of the horses that were being used by security staff; he barked upon initially seeing them.

Although warm, the race presented an opportunity for our puppy to catch up on his nap time.  With 43 cars racing around the track, the sound is louder, so we actually put ear plugs in his ears before positioning the Mutt Muffs.

Melty

Hobey did not enjoy being outside when the temperatures were in the 80s.  He became a great search dog, looking for shady spots.  Being chocolate our Labrador melts in the heat.  So the last four days under a Heat Advisory with the heat index near 100 degrees have been intolerable.  Outside time and outings have been scaled back.

Although we have not modified our plans, Hobey has not accompanied us.  This kept him in the cool house and provided daily crate time.  During the day, trips outside have been quick.  "Go Potty", then back in the house, which has helped solidify the command.  Our walks to the park occur in the morning (5am) or late (11pm) and our two canines come home exhausted with tongues hanging out.  Hobey usually ends up lying on/near a register with cool air.

With not much else to do, we ramped up our work on the WAIT command.  Hobey is eager to please and seems to have caught on quickly.  He waits to be released before going outside and before attacking his food bowl.

Happy Birthday COOPER

Learning WAIT

Friday:  After two late nights, the humans in the house needed a rest day.  We all enjoyed a lazy day.

Saturday:  Our day began with a walk to the park.  This was in preparation for puppy play group.  Although most people view this as exercise time, I have found that Hobey, and others, enjoy better interactions with less energy.  He also played with the teenagers prior to moving over to the younger/smaller group.

After a week off, our training class resumed. We started with puppy push-ups and then worked on walking nicely, on and off leash.  The last test was a blind recall; we hid behind a wall and asked Hobey to COME.  After brief confusion he determined where our voices were coming from and quickly found our hideout.  At home we are beginning to work on WAIT/STAY.

Sunday:  Today was a fun day.  We took the dogs up North to a secluded/secure location and met some canine friends.  The dogs wrestled each other, waded in the pool, chased balls, dug in the dirt, and followed us as we picked blueberries.  They was non-stop activity for four hours.

At home, the dogs needed a quick bath and then enjoyed some additional water playtime.  As you can see in the photo, Monte has joined us in teaching Hobey to WAIT.

Lights/Sirens

Another long day for Hobey followed by another late dinner.  He attended the annual Lights and Sirens event in Watertown.  It is a great outing to greet people, add fifty to his total, and get exposure to the sirens of emergency vehicles in a controlled environment.  We approached from a distance which uncreased the volume while we looked for any signs of discomfort or uneasiness. Eventually the sirens just became background noise and we hardly noticed it.

Hobey did spend some time in police custody.  Lisa spoke with the officer who explained that he was under arrest for excessive cuteness.  Guilty as charged, but sentenced to time served then released.

After the event we all, including Hobey, went to a restaurant for dinner.  We brought along two cups of kibble; he appreciated not having to wait until we returned home.

Second City Concert

Hobey's visit to Chicago began with a ride on the "L".  Initially he readied himself to disembark every time the train stopped.  By the tenth stop, he had figured out that we were not going anyplace and he settled down for a short rest.  Arriving at our destination, he bounded up the three flights of stairs which took us to the surface in the Windy City.

The half mile walk to Grant Park provided multiple opportunities to master the sidewalk grates, some of which Lisa even avoided.  Our fearless puppy handled all the obstacles getting to the park like a champ.  He amazes us each and every day with his confidence.

After selecting our location, our true test began - keeping our charge cool and hydrated.  This was our biggest concern when preparing for the day's outing.  So we had packed three large water bottles and his favorite bowl.  One thing that we should have packed was an umbrella to shield him from the sun.  We used the backpacks and our bodies to create shade.

After the concert, the crowd's exit was slow  and we decided to wait until the hoard was reduced to minimize the risk of getting Hobey stepped on.   Many others took the same approach and this was the perfect arrangement for greeting people.  Once again Hobey met over 100 different people of many different races.  It took us an hour to exit the concert and walk the half mile back to the train because we were repeated stopped by greeter. Every time we stopped a small group would form.

Tired and educated about the train, Hobey rested the whole ride back - about 20 stops.

Dog Days of Summer

Summer has finally come to Wisconsin.  Hobey is not a big fan of the hot weather.  He is our cold seeking missile; he is always looking for cool shady ground to lie down.  Therefore I knew that our trip to the Farmers Market would be a hard day, especially after an hour of playtime.

We met his pal Lebi at the corner and walked with the crowd for half a block before we moved to the grass to find shade.  Hobey and I planned to take the shortcut around the square following the others.  Soon Lebi joined us and we ended up spending more time socializing with children and adults.   One new friend, Brian Adams, was a photographer who shared this photo.

Hobey then napped on the cool floor in the restaurant before returning home for his lunch and a longer nap in his bed.
 


Sunday was another warm day.  In the afternoon, we took Hobey to Sun Prairie for a visit with his mom, Caia and her family.  They played and romped before settling down when Caia was able to provide some much needed motherly advice/correction.  Mom was able to secure and maintain possession of the Frisbee.

Fair Day

Our annual visit to the Stoughton Fair.  It's a chance to meet and greet  a lot of people as we walked the midway.  We were stopped numerous times for a petting frenzy.  Hobey is still mouthing, so kids tend to keep there distance.  We continue to work on this.















The highlight of the outing is always roaming around the barns and introducing Hobey to cows, horses, sheep, goals, pigs, ..  He handled it better than any other dog that we have taken there.