Short Summer Do

The canines over at Life with Dogs are not the only ones with the gift of gab. Cabana offers her sage input from time to time when she's particularly inspired.




After about 6 months without getting a haircut, I finally decided I had enough length to warrant donating to Locks of Love, an organization that makes hairpieces for kids who have lost their hair due to illness. My hair feels pretty darn short, but it grows very quickly. My daughters have both donated their hair in years past, and I wanted to do it at least once in my life. Mission accomplished!!

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Practicing Nice!

Nice!! Nais. Nice. My mother-in-law in Tennessee might say, "Naaahhhs."

Nice is our new marker word for Guide Dogs for the Blind. It is used for certain behaviors, like Go to Bed, that will be rewarded with a treat. When the dog does what we are trying to teach, we mark the behavior with a clipped "Nice!", and then the dog gets a treat.

Right now, we are familiarizing our pups with the word "Nice!". When they hear the word, they know a treat is coming. So, there's no behavior or expectation associated with the word yet. They do nothing at all, we say the word and give the treat.

Today, during our walk around SB Lake, I stopped to practice "Nice!" with Cabana. We don't want the dog to lunge for the treat, so I also practiced holding the treat out a few inches from Cabana's nose for a few seconds before giving it to her. Cabana did great with this, waiting patiently for the treat to come to her, rather than moving forward to grab it.

We also stopped a few times during our walk for Cabana to practice sitting. When our CFR was here a few weeks ago, she noticed that Cabana tends to take a few meandering steps before sitting, sometimes wrapping herself around my leg to sit in front of me, rather than facing forward at my side. So I've been practicing this regularly with Cabana during our walks, and she has improved. She still takes those extra steps sometimes, but I think she's getting it, by George.

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Jolly Good to be Home

She's baaacckkk!! Our handful of a whippersnapper puppy came home last night after the weeklong swap. The raisers who had Cabana were gracious in their assessment of her--but I'm sure it wasn't an easy week for them. That raiser had her wisdom teeth pulled and then had final exams during the time Cabana was there--stressful even without a high-energy puppy visiting. It sounds like Cabana didn't do well on tie down, which is to be expected because we rarely put her on tie down, and then only for short periods of time. And Cabana was a little overzealous with their pet dogs who weren't enamored of Cabana's overly playful overtures.



When we got home last night, Cabana was beside herself. She could not settle down and panted constantly. I think she could smell Persia and might have thought there was still another dog in the house. Outside when relieving, she sniffed every inch of grass, wondering what the heck happened while she was not here. Not only were there Persia and Woofers' smells, but we had also ripped out our old rotten wooden deck last week, leaving a big ugly expanse of dirt and trash.

I think that maybe the stressful part of the swap for the dogs is going back home, rather than going to the new person's home. Going to the new person's home is exciting because there are new people, new toys, new smells. But it's when they go back home that they realize that the rugs were pulled out from under their feet, and who knows when it's going to happen again?! And to top it off, Cabana returns to find there was another dog here in her absence, chewing her toys and sleeping in her bed! What the heck!

But today, we dove back into our normal routine. Cabana still seemed a bit weird and wired this morning, but in the afternoon, she crashed and slept a ton. I also vacuumed and washed Cabana's toys to help remove vestiges of Persia's scent. Tonight she seems back to her normal self.

I learned a LOT from the swap, and I will be putting my new knowledge into practice. I will keep Cabana on tie down more often, just so she will know how to behave when tied down. And I am working on getting her to entertain and settle herself better. Persia is so great at that, and I now see that Cabana is so NOT! Also, I want to work on Cabana's responsiveness to commands. When I would ask Persia to sit or come, there was not a second's hesitation--she reacted immediately. Cabana is slow to respond, and I sometimes still have to do a hand-placed sit with Cabana, especially if there are distractions.

For all my concerns before the swap, I definitely got the easier end of the deal. It helped everyone become better puppy raisers, particularly me, and better puppies-in-training, too. So it WAS a good thing--but we don't want TOO much of a good thing, do we? ;)

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Tuesday Topics 13 - Luck of the Draw

When you bring a puppy into your home, whether as a family pet or a service dog in training, it's a crapshoot. You can research the breed, observe the litter, meet the sire and dam, read reports from the kennel/shelter--but who really knows what your dog is going to be like, what idiosyncracies will show up, what fears might be lurking in their heads. Puppy raisers get even less choice. At GDB, we can choose the gender and color, but the rest is left to chance. We don't even get to pick the name of the puppy!

Tonight is the end of our puppy swap. At our puppy meeting, Persia will go back to her raisers, and we'll bring Cabana back home with us. The swap was very good for our family--and for Persia, too, I think. I haven't heard anything about Cabana, so I will find out how she fared tonight. Hopefully, she didn't drive the other raisers too crazy. Cabana has the reputation of being the most difficult pup in our group, and I suppose it's an accurate one. Cabana wants to engage headlong with everyone and everything. Her personality is fun and infectious--but can also be a lot of work at times.

To say we took a liking to Persia is an understatement. My husband particularly. Persia is easygoing. She doesn't demand much attention, she willingly flops down and entertains herself, and she is super responsive to commands. Having Persia has helped me to see where we need more work with Cabana.

Seeing the differences between the two dogs makes me wonder how much of their personalities are nature vs. nurture. Of course, there's no "right" answer to this topic--it's a multi-faceted subject and a bit rambly in my mind, but it is something that I have pondered from the start of our puppy raising experience. Basically, do you "get what you get" or do you transform what you were given? And what makes you feel more connected to some dogs and not as much to others? What is the dynamic that makes some relationships between dog/human extra special?

Having no other dog experience to compare with, I naively thought my bond with Cabana was one-in-a-million--but now I see how limiting that would be. That's actually a good thing. One-in-a-million means that we would not be able to be happy with another dog and that Cabana would not be able to be happy with other humans. Now I know we can (quite easily) love and enjoy another dog, and hopefully, Cabana was as resilient as Persia this week in loving and trusting other humans. It's especially comforting, since Cabana will be going through a lot of transitions in the next year--going back to the kennels at Guide Dogs, working with trainers, and hopefully being partnered with someone who needs her. As the old song lyrics go, "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with." Although not as touching as having Cabana reserve her love only us, I hope Cabana will always be able to love the ones she's with. I'm quite certain she can.

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Newsworthy Walk

A trainer for Guide Dogs for the Blind happens to live in my neighborhood. I met him and his wife and CC German shepherd about a month ago when I was out walking Cabana. This morning, I ran into him again. He's always very welcoming of questions, of which I have plenty.

Today, in the course of our conversation, I asked him which puppies he had been working with. He told me to give him some names, and he would tell me whether he knew them. So I mentioned Lani, and he said that yes! He had been her trainer! He glowed about what a great dog she is and about the extensive testing she had to undergo to be selected as a breeder. He said she was a very sweet little dog and was amazed that I happened to mention her! I guess dog blogs make the world a bit smaller.

He also said he had been working with Accord and even mentioned the kink in Accord's tail. He said Accord was doing FABULOUSLY, as was Alioto, Accord's sibling.

My mind blanked on the names of other pups IFT and questions I could have talked to the trainer about, but hopefully, I'll see him again before too long.

**ADDENDUM 5/25/09: I saw the trainer's wife the following morning and she kindly allowed me to snap a photo of Dillon, their German shepherd. But the trainer wasn't there, so no more questions or reports today.

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Beastie Boy

Yesterday, my daughter's friend brought her dog Woofers over. Persia enjoyed playing with him, although he seemed more like a toy to her than a companion. I think Woofers marked every square foot of our backyard.

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Settling In

After 3 days, I think I've finally gotten used to Persia. I still miss Cabana, but I'm able to relax into our newly established relationship with Persia. At first, I felt like Persia didn't really like me. She didn't dislike me either, but she was neutral or ambivalent. Today, I feel like we've got a bond of sorts.

On the other hand, Persia has liked my husband from the start. She is always SO excited to see him (a bit too excited actually), jumping to greet him and waggling her tail furiously. I think Persia's usual dad must romp around with her, so she associates men with playtime and perhaps rough-housing.

The weather today is gorgeous, a "no-temp" day, meaning it's so pleasant you don't feel too hot or too cold--you don't even notice the temperature, hence "no-temp". Persia and I sat outside in our backyard while I replaced some buttons on a shirt, and it was so relaxing! Persia didn't try to chew anything, and she sat so calmly on the deck with me. Maybe this is her inner "slug" showing itself? Cabana is always busy, sniffing here, tasting there, so relaxing isn't a word I'd use to describe our outdoor time.

But I'm still counting down the days until we get Cabana back...4 more days. I hope she's doing okay and not driving the other raisers too crazy. She's a whippersnapper, that one.

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Persia-nality

Persia is a sweet dog, and our time with her has been very smooth. I don't see much "slug" in her, though! She has a different kind of energy than Cabana, but she still seems plenty rambunctious and playful.

Persia's raisers told us to limit her water intake because she will drink and drink and drink, which can lead to accidents. And sure enough, Persia will drink every last drop I put in her bowl. She checks her water bowl often during the day, wanting more--and it's hard not to give it to her because I hate to think that she's thirsty. So I give her just a couple inches of water to drink at a time, rather than filling the bowl like I would with Cabana--and then I remind myself to take her out to relieve within the next half hour or so. And we've had no accidents thus far.

But talk about a fast eater--holy guacamole! I wouldn't have called Cabana a slow eater--Cabana eats her 1.5 cups of food in about a minute or so. But Persia eats her 2 cups of food in about 3 seconds. She doesn't seem to chew at all--she just inhales it.

Persia is quick--she can dash out the door in a millisecond. And she goes after flying insects and catches them in her mouth! Who needs a fly swatter with Persia around!

Another fun difference I've noticed is that Cabana will only lay on soft surfaces, while Persia doesn't seem to care what kind of surface she's on. When I'm showering, Cabana comes and lays on the bathmat in front of the shower. When I'm in the kitchen, Cabana comes and lays on the rug in front of the kitchen sink. But Persia will flop down on the tile or the wood.

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Ours for a Week - Persia

Last night, we brought home Persia! She is a 6 1/2 month old lab/golden cross. So far, she has been doing very well. I haven't seen much evidence of sluggishness yet (her raiser calls her a slug, not me), but we'll see what I think after we go for a walk.

It's so interesting to see the little ways that Persia is different from and also similar to Cabana. Since we haven't had a dog previously, I finally have something to compare against.

And I'm so surprised at how much I miss Cabana! But because she's been with me almost every waking moment since December, I guess it's to be expected--even though I somehow didn't expect it! Still, it IS nice to get an opportunity to miss her--like they say, you don't realize what you've got until you don't have it anymore. Last night, we handed Cabana over to Cherish's raisers, and she sat there with them like it was the most normal thing in the world. She's so resilient, I think she'll have no problems with the adjustment. And Cherish's raisers have raised a handful of dogs, so they know what they're doing a lot better than we do. I told them to fix all her problems this week and give us back a perfect dog!

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Tuesday Topics 12 - Puppy Swap!

Tonight at our puppy meeting, we will be starting a puppy swap. For GDB raisers, this is when you go home with a different puppy, in our case, for a full week. This exposes our puppies to a variety of people, lifestyles, routines, and outings. It will help us to see where our puppies need more work and will also probably point out where the raisers need more work, too.

This will be our first swap, and I have to say it's a bit nerve racking. A couple of days wouldn't be so tough, but a whole week is daunting. It feels a bit like airing your dirty laundry--who knows what issues will be brought to light?! But it's all in the name of learning and growing, and it will be good for Cabana, and unfortunately, good for me, too. (Just because it's good for me doesn't mean I have to like it, kind of like brussels sprouts--although I actually DO like brussels sprouts.)

Morrissey, the golden retriever in our group, has been career changed, so he will not be part of the swap. And Poppy isn't allowed to swap yet, being a recent transfer. So, the swap will consist of Cabana, Persia, Hamlin, Tara and Cherish. Wonder who we'll get. Our group seems so small suddenly!

Any tips for puppy swapping? I know I'm going to need all the help we can get!!

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I Believe in My Dog

I recently listened to the audiobook, This I Believe 2, which is an anthology of essays aired on NPR. One of the essays was written by a man who describes how he has become a better person because of his dog, Duncan. You can click here to read or listen to this essay. While you're there, I hope you will check out a few other essays as well. Some are funny, some are spiritual, some are heart-wrenching. All are interesting and thought-provoking.

I too believe that Cabana makes me a better person--which is why being a dog owner can sometimes be difficult for me! Growing and learning and changing aren't always pleasant--but when the opportunities to become better are the result of a sweet, fluffy, loving creature, the lessons are a bit more palatable. My struggle is in trying to slow down, enjoy life more, take advantage of the sunshine and scenery. Cabana makes me do those things, sometimes while I'm kicking and screaming against them inside--but when I manage to relent and let myself do nothing for even a few minutes, I realize that...it feels pretty good.

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Unwanted Male Suitor

At SB Lake where Cabana and I like to walk, there are baby ducks and baby swans. So cute! These photos are not very good. Next time we go there, I may lug my big camera with me, instead of the little cheapomatic one I used for these shots.

Another time I wished for my camera was yesterday morning, when I decided to take Cabana for a quick walk before taking my older daughter to school. About half a mile from our house, we came across a little chihuahua-like dog. He had no leash, no collar, and no human. He skittered across the street to us and sniffed at Cabana. He repeatedly and nervously came up to us and then would dash back into the street. He obviously had no concept about getting hit by a car. Unfortunately, the place where we saw him is a thoroughfare for 3 neighborhood schools, and I knew that in the next hour, there would be lots of harried moms and dads driving by. It seemed only a matter of time before this little dog became road pizza.

I was in a quandary about what to do! I tried to pet him, but he would not allow me to get close enough. He wasn't at all afraid of Cabana and seemed to have taken a fancy to her, proceeding to get frisky on her hindquarters. (This dog was so tiny, though, he wasn't anywhere within reach.) I saw a woman standing in front of her house nearby, so I asked if she might have an extra leash or piece of rope, so I could try to bring the dog to a shelter, and hopefully, the owners (if there are owners) would be able to find him. She said she'd seen that dog for several days now, but she hadn't been successful in catching him either. She brought me a leash and some treats--but he was so fast and skittish, and he wasn't interested in the treats at all. He was, however, still VERY interested in Cabana.

Finally, so much time had elapsed, and I was going to be late getting home to drive my daughter to school. So I told the other woman I had to give up, and Cabana and I started to walk back home.

Well, that little stalker followed us all the way home, sniffing Cabana's behind the whole way. This made it very difficult for Cabana, Miss Dog Distracted herself, to walk. She kept turning around, no matter how much I tried to keep us going forward. In frustration, she kept biting on her leash (but she never tried to jump up or bite me--a great sign that her "episodes" are a thing of the past). I tried shooing the little dog away, but he was doggedly determined to follow us. In desperation, I picked Cabana up and tried to gain some distance that way. But at 44 pounds, I couldn't carry her for long.

At my wits end, I realized I needed to calm down. And sure enough, Cabana sensed my energy, and she calmed down, too. She stopped turning around, and we were able to make it back home.

Once there, the chihuahua followed us into the garage, peed on a bag of books I had sitting there, and then scampered back out to the street again. I didn't want my daughter to be late for school, so I put Cabana in the car, and we dashed off to school. After I dropped my daughter off, I came back and canvassed the neighborhood, looking for the stray--but he was nowhere to be found.

I hope that little bugger is okay. He was a cutie--I wish I had had my camera with me to get a picture of him. But oh well. Maybe the next time I walk in that direction, I'll bring my camera, and a spare leash, just in case.

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Tuesday Topics 11 - Spoiled Rotten?

These days, it's as easy to spoil your dog as it is to spoil your children. What DON'T they have for dogs these days? Swarovski crystal-embedded dog collars, gourmet dog food, feather canopy dog beds, haute couture dog clothes...the list is endless!

Because Guide Dogs has a lot of strict rules for puppy raisers, it's a bit more difficult for us to spoil our dogs. But I sometimes wonder if I spoil Cabana in subtle ways. If Cabana were a pet, I wouldn't be concerned at all. But as a guide dog puppy in training, I'd hate for my spoiling to lead to spoiling her career as a service dog.

Here are my guilty pleasures. Because Cabana isn't allowed on furniture, I always sit with her on the floor when watching TV. If I don't sit on the floor with her, then my husband does. Cabana doesn't complain when we don't sit with her--but we don't really give her much opportunity to complain because we do it pretty automatically. Also, I hold her bones for her so she can chew on them easier. Not all the time, but it's frequently the case.

Are there ways in which you spoil your dog? Will my habits spoil Cabana? Will they make life difficult for her blind partner in the future? Or maybe even cause her to flunk out in formal training? I'll brace myself for the answer....

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Spring Cleaning

Judging from the blogs of other puppy raisers and dog owners, the spring sunshine means time for a good spring puppy cleaning. It is quite overdue for Cabana, but the last couple weeks have been chilly and rainy here. I didn't want muddy paws to spoil the results of a freshly cleaned doggy, so I waited until the rainy spell passed.

This was Cabana's first bath in the tub. Up until now, I've been hoisting her into the kitchen sink. Now weighing 44 pounds, those days are over. I put on shorts and a t-shirt and got in there with her, so I could shut the sliding doors and keep any watery messes contained.

Cabana seemed to enjoy being in the bathtub. She liked lapping up the water coming out of the faucet and stood patiently while I lathered her all over.


I bought a new shampoo because the cheapo stuff I had before smelled awful. It was lavender fragrance, which I normally like--but mixed in with eau de wet dog, it wasn't a good combo. Plus, I felt like I had to use tons of it, and it still wouldn't lather or spread around. This new shampoo by Earthbath is FABULOUS. It smells great, lathers copiously, has a nice thick consistency, and best of all, doesn't contain soap, so it won't dry out Cabana's skin. Although a couple more dollars than the previous bottle, it was worth every penny!


After the morning's excitement, a clean and naked (i.e. collarless) Cabana lays sleeping and drying in the sun.

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Happy 7 Months to Cabana

Cabana turned 7 months old yesterday, so here's my list of 7 things I'm enjoying about her lately.

1. She matches my carpet and floors (beige and pergo).
2. She doesn't get upset when I say that's enough and take away a toy. (We can't play tug-of-war ALL day.)
3. She loves to go shopping--that's my girl!
4. She doesn't have episodes when we're walking anymore. (Yippee!!)
5. She ADORES getting Furminated.
6. She perks up faster than lightning when I push the code buttons to open the gate at work. (She knows she'll get to play with the other doggies there.)
7. When she's not at home and not in our car, she just can't miss out on anything--even if she's exhausted, she stays awake in case there's the slightest action.

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Tuesday Topics 10 - Bloggin' the Dog

When I first started this blog, my purpose was to keep it as a journal for myself. I didn't expect anyone else to read it, although I did hope to be able to share it with Cabana's future partner someday as a "baby album" of her puppyhood.

As a mom, I know how easy it is to say, I'm always going to remember when my baby started crawling or first walked up steps or had her first haircut, etc. But 14 and 15 years later, I can't remember worth a darn! Thankfully, I have it documented in scrapbooks and baby record books.

Along those lines, this blog was a place to keep a record of when Cabana's baby teeth started falling out and when she stopped eating every piece of tanbark (not to imply that these are related phenomena). And of course, I wanted to witness Cabana's physical growth by taking pictures often.

But along the blogging way, I became acquainted with the fabulous resource of fellow dog bloggers and puppy raisers! A supportive network of people who love their dogs and take the time to give advice (and sometimes correction, which as a first time puppy raiser, I gratefully receive), and ALWAYS share encouragement and camaraderie.

For today's Tuesday Topic, I'd love to hear about why you blog. (And if you don't, then why NOT?!) If you are a puppy raiser, do you ever tell people you meet who take an interest in your puppy about your blog? Has anything out of the ordinary (good or bad) happened as a result of your blog? Do you sometimes feel like you are slightly addicted to blogging? (Who me? No way!)

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Fondness for Kids

Yesterday (Saturday), we stopped at a school playground that's on one of our walking routes. I took a tip from Lisa & Ellie and snapped this photo of Cabana at the top of a slide. I love Cabana's quizzical look and raised eyebrow in this photo.

Cabana was fine with walking around on the equipment and on the spongy playground surface. Sometimes we pass this playground when school is in session and the kids are out at recess. I hope she'll end up in a home with primary school kids because I can tell how much she adores them.

Also yesterday, we went to Target. A little girl (maybe 8-years old) was with her dad there, and I heard them talking about Cabana as we passed. The dad was explaining that Cabana is training to be a guide dog. I smiled at them, but we didn't stop. About 10 minutes later, Cabana must have recognized the same girl and her dad coming in our direction from way down the central aisle of the store. On her own, Cabana immediately plopped herself into a sit, looking straight at the little girl. It was like Cabana was saying, "I'm ready and doing what I'm supposed to so that THIS TIME you will stop and pet me!" The girl did stop and was captivated by Cabana, who was very sweet and let herself be petted without any rambunctiousness. It was an "awwww" moment.

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