Ours for a Year: puppysitting

Showing posts with label puppysitting. Show all posts

A Day with Dagan

>> Sunday, March 13, 2011 – dagan, dog park friends, puppysitting

Dagan's humans had an all-day meeting on Saturday, so he got to come spend the whole day with us. Dagan is a big, handsome boy who used to be a puppy-in-training for Guide Dogs for the Blind, but with his recent career-changed status, he could come enjoy his new pet privileges at our favorite dog park.

We even got to play for a while with Dagan's partner in crime, Katra, an 8-month old yellow lab in training with Canine Companions (click here to read about their most recent crime). CCI dogs are allowed to do some things that Guide Dogs pups aren't, like go to dog parks, chase balls, and be off leash. And I guess all dogs are allowed to parade around with sticks!

Cabana was super excited to have new labby pals at the park.

And even more excited for her new friends to meet up with her old friends. No, you're not seeing double. That's Katra and Amie on the left (blue collar), and Cabana and Kona are on the right. Amie and Kona are our slightly pit-bull friends that look almost identical but have no blood relationship (but they do share the same owners).

Cabana played frisbee tug with Dagan for a while...

...until 3.5-month-old golden retriever Dorado showed up and tried to show Dagan how it's done.

Dorado wants to play tug with everything. He even tried to play tug by grabbing a mouthful of MY hair--ouch!

Cabana loved having Dagan here for the day. Dagan, we hope you'll come visit us again soon!

Razz-ma-Tazzle

>> Friday, October 8, 2010 – puppysitting, tazzle

Yesterday, we got to puppysit for Guide Dog puppy Tazzle. She is 9-months old, very sweet-natured, and slightly goofy.

Even though her name is Tazzle, quite the doozy of a name, I think her name should be Zig-Zaggle, because she has a very distinct zig zag pattern in her fur, running down her back. Cabana and Tazzle had a great time playing together. They were pretty evenly matched for size, so in their tug-of-war games, they walked around in a lot of side-by-side circles, both unable to get the toy away from the other.

Tazzle also has a very long tongue, don't you think?! And she liked to use it, too, licking our faces and hands. Cabana doesn't ever lick us, so it was kind of nice to get a few sloppy kisses. It's interesting to see the differences in dogs, but I'll always be rather biased toward you-know-who.

A Day with the Neighbor Lady

>> Sunday, August 15, 2010 – dog owner worries, puppysitting, yellow dog winery

Yesterday was my husband's company picnic. Because the morning is spent on rented boats in a middle of a lake, dogs are not allowed to come. We'd be gone a long time, about 8 hours. Although I think Cabana could have held her bladder all that time, our neighbor two doors down adores Cabana and had been offering to watch Cabana for us, so I decided to take her up on the offer.

This neighbor is an older woman who used to have two doxies a while back. So she has some dog experience, but I was still really worried about leaving Cabana in her care. On one hand, I thought, why am I acting like an overprotective mother leaving her infant with a babysitter for the first time? But on the other hand, my excessive worrying made me realize that I was letting this neighbor watch Cabana as a favor to HER, rather than feeling she was doing a favor for us.

But I had already made the arrangements, and I knew this woman was REALLY looking forward to watching Cabana. I typed out a page of instructions and asked her to PLEASE not give Cabana too many treats (this neighbor keeps a whole tray of Milk Bones on her coffee table--I don't think any other dogs come over to her house, so I guess they're just meant for Cabana, in case we stop by).

I also told her that we had walked Cabana already and that I'd prefer that she not take Cabana anywhere (I had horrible visions of Cabana getting run over while in this woman's care, and then we'd have to move away because I'd be much too distraught to live near this neighbor anymore.)

We got home and picked Cabana up--and guess what? Cabana was fine! She wasn't road pizza, she hadn't swallowed poison, and the neighbor was all in one piece, too.

On our way home from the picnic, we passed this winery. It made me think of our little yellow dog, and I stepped on the gas pedal a little more firmly. Just a little.

One Dog is Enough

>> Thursday, June 17, 2010 – petfinder, puppysitting, two dog family

I appreciated all the valuable input on my last post, regarding whether to get a second dog. It amazed me how many bloggers have (or have had) multiple dogs, which made me realize I'm not alone in my canine craziness! It was a hard decision, though, because I had gotten somewhat attached to a potential dog on Petfinder. It's astounding how quickly you can bond to a photo and a one paragraph description.

But we decided now is not the right time for us to add another dog to our family. Our cat Angie is over 15-years old, and although she's doing well with Cabana, we felt we should let her live out her senior years in relative peace. Also, our older daughter will be going to college in a year, and with that will come financial changes, as well as lots of travel, depending on where she ends up. Those financial changes may also lead to a job change for me, maybe one that doesn't allow me to work from home.

For now, I'll continue to work on obedience with Cabana--I'm still hoping she'll become a therapy dog or a reading buddy for children. Of course, she'll still get plenty of playtime with canine buddies at the park, with occasional sleepovers from Guide Dog or friends' puppysittees. In July, we're looking forward to a long puppysitting visit from GDB puppy, Dagan! So for now, I think we're getting the best of both the one-dog and two-dog worlds.

In the meantime, I will NOT allow myself to look at Petfinder. Cripes, that's going to take some major willpower.

Baby, Baby, He's Just a Plaything

>> Wednesday, April 28, 2010 – cabana, guide dog puppy, montego, puppysitting

Aahhh, a few minutes of peace and quiet while both dogs snore noisily behind my computer chair. Think I might be able to get a good 20 minutes to write this post?

Montego is soft, cuddly, and CALM! Oh my gosh, his temperament is incredible--happy, easygoing, "chill" is just the best word for this little guy. He'd like nothing better than to flop down on the ground and chew some of Cabana's Nylabones. (Can you see the size of his paws in this photo? They are immense and SOLID--it's not just fluffy fur making them look big.)

Unfortunately, Cabana can't seem to leave him alone. She thinks he's the new toy I brought home for her private entertainment. And she'd like nothing better than to chew on him, all day!

And that means, of course, that Montego has to chew back.

This photo is blurry, but Montego's face is so cute, I thought I'd post it anyway. You can just see Cabana in the corner behind him--she's on tie down, so he can play in peace for a few minutes.

As for last night's sleeping arrangements, Montego slept on tie down next to our bed, while Cabana stayed downstairs. I think I might have slept for an hour or two--Montego wasn't noisy, but the sound of his breathing was enough to keep me awake! We didn't attempt to put him in the crate. He'd only been in our house for a couple hours, and with the new surroundings, I didn't want to cause any more stress than needed.

I fed Montego his breakfast in the crate this morning (this little stinker gets 4.5 cups a day!). Around 11am, neither dog had napped all morning, so I knew Montego was super tired. I put a few kibbles in his crate and he went right in. After I closed the door, he barked and fussed for maybe 3 minutes, but then, he konked right out. Cabana and I took a nap on the couch where he could see us. So I think a little bit of progress was made. We'll take it slow and play it by ear. Hopefully, the hardest part is behind us.