Multi-Tasking Morning Walk

There's nothing I like better than multi-tasking, which is one of the reasons I love my morning walk with Cabana. It's much-needed exercise for me, but here are some of the other things we accomplished this morning.

The tennis courts near our house are a great first stop. No one is playing tennis at 7am, so we have the courts to ourselves. Cabana does a perfect down-stay, while I take a quick turn around the courts to make sure there's nothing dangerous or tempting for Cabana to put in her mouth.


In the video above, Cabana expends some of her surplus energy. She loves to run around with her Wubba in her mouth. After she's drained some of that boundless energy, Cabana is much more pleasant on leash for the rest of our walk. We also practice kibble-induced recall--Cabana's great at that.

Lately, Cabana has been getting me all discombobulated when we go through certain doors. Automatic opening doors are fine, but when it's a push-open kind, like here, she tends to go around behind me to my right and dart out in front of me, making the leash get tangled around the back of my legs. I've almost fallen down a couple times! Maybe Cabana is afraid of getting hit by the door? I don't know. Here as we leave the courts, we practice going through a few times, making sure that Cabana stays on my left.

We also practice sitting straight on our walks. Our CFR Celeste told me a few months ago that being near a wall or fence will help Cabana to face forward. Cabana is much better about sitting straight now, but I have found that if we don't keep practicing things, she doesn't always retain them. So even though Cabana gets it now, I still try to practice a few times a week.


Of course, there's nothing more challenging for Cabana than dog distraction. We pass this man and his dog almost every day. For some reason, Cabana is EXTREMELY distracted by this little dog. Maybe because the man doesn't make his dog heel, so his dog always comes RIGHT up to Cabana and WON'T leave. I do my best to keep Cabana in a sit until he can coax his dog away. Sigh.


The grocery store is a couple blocks from my house, and I know we need milk for our morning cereal. So I brought Cabana's jacket along so we could make a quick stop. This refrigerated section gave Cabana SOOOO much trouble back when she was 5 months old (blogged here). I'm so glad there's not even a hint of that fear left.


The grocery checkers all know Cabana now and love to see her. Today, we get in Donna's line. She says Cabana is the cutest customer she'll have all day. Ain't it the truth!

Read more...

Phew, Cabana's Okay

Yesterday, we went to my husband's company picnic. Cabana came with us, along with her tie-down stake. For the eating part of the picnic, I found a nice, shady, somewhat debris-free patch of grass, a short distance from the picnic tables where we were sitting, and secured Cabana there.

In the car ride on the way home, we noticed that Cabana was drooling. Not just a little, but big gobs of thick saliva. The whole underside of her face and neck was soaking wet. At first, I thought it was that she had just had a big drink of water--but even at home that evening, she was like a leaky faucet. I could see the drips of drool falling off her jowls as she sat.

I called my puppy group leader, and she told me to check Cabana's gums, teeth, throat, for anything that might be lodged there. I couldn't find anything. I didn't think she had swallowed much, other than a bit of grass, because I had been watching her fairly closely at the picnic.

When I looked it up online, there were tons of reasons why a dog might have excessive drooling--a cracked tooth, something lodged in the throat, poisoning, eating a frog (!). We decided to check back in with my puppy group leader in a hour. If things were worse, then we'd take Cabana to the emergency vet.

Thankfully, after Cabana ate dinner, she seemed much better. The drooling lessened, and Cabana acted perfectly normal. This morning, Cabana did have some very dark poops, so I guess she did eat something that upset her stomach. But other than that, she is fine.

I have always been so grateful that we haven't had any reason to take Cabana to the vet (and now that Guide Dogs has a bunch of new rules and regulations about vet visits, I've been doubly glad). I feared that our luck had run out last night--but phew, medical disaster was averted.


On another topic, here's a photo of my daughters, coming back from walking Cabana. Dogs are MUCH more willing subjects than daughters, as you can see how they did everything possible to NOT allow me to get a good photo of them. But I get the last word, since I posted the photo anyway!!

Read more...

10 Things at 10 Months!

Cabana is 10 months old! She weighs 51 pounds--she's sweet and petite! Here she is at the same spot on the pier at SB Lake, now and when she was just 4 months old. Same silly sit and expression!

If you're not a puppy raiser already and are considering it, here are 10 things that I think it takes to be a puppy raiser. Although I'm not an expert, having been raising for only 8 months--nevertheless, here's my list:

1. Time - It requires that you give the pup some time each day, to go on walks, to do puppy handling, to play games, to train, to snuggle. It doesn't have to be hours and hours, but it is a daily commitment.

2. Lifestyle - Puppy raisers can have a myriad of job or life situations, but it needs to be one that is conducive to having a puppy around. If the puppy will be going to work with you, you'll need to work in a place where that will be okay. Other household pets are allowed, but of course, they shouldn't be aggressive toward the new pup. Many students have been given permission to take their puppies to school with them. The more you can keep the puppy around you during the day, the better training and exposure you can provide.

3. Repetition - As with a toddler, you'll need to be willing to do the same things over and over and over. It can take a long time for the pup to "get it", whether it's potty training or walking nicely on leash. Cabana loves to play tug-of-war, which can get a bit old! But she loves it so much, and even though it might be boring or we may not always feel like it, between the 4 of us in our family, we try to play it with her a couple times a day.

4. Ability to multi-task - This one is important. With a puppy around, you have to be able to do and think about several things at once. For instance, on a grocery store outing, you'll need to be able to find the kind of cereal you want while keeping the puppy from licking or knocking things over on shelves, navigate around people and objects, watch for tempting items on the floor (gum, candy, sticks, trash), anticipate the behavior of your puppy, and make an appropriate correction or give praise as needed.

5. Thick skin - You and your pup will attract a lot of attention wherever you go--so get ready for lots of stares and comments. Your puppy may do embarrassing things, like pee in the middle of the shopping mall, or try to lick someone's ice cream cone, or have a conniption fit in the middle of the park. And people can say and do thoughtless things. You'll need to roll with the punches.

6. An open heart - It's a challenge to be able to open your heart 100% to a puppy while knowing you're going to have to let her go.

7. Confidence - Your puppy needs you to be the pack leader. If you don't take charge, your puppy will--and that will make life difficult for everyone. I didn't have any prior experience with dogs, so the way I gained confidence in the beginning was by taking in as much information as possible. I read books about dog training, watched The Dog Whisperer and any other dog-related shows I could find. I watched other puppy raisers at group meetings and asked TONS of questions.

8. Family support - Everyone in the household needs to be on the same page. Even though only one person in the house may be the actual puppy raiser, the others should have general knowledge about what is allowed/not allowed. Being "on duty" 24/7 can be exhausting, and I don't know how I'd do it if my family members weren't here to support and help me.

9. Creative problem solving - Sometimes, it takes a bit of creativity to make things work for you. The crate, baby gate, tie-down and ex-pen are great tools, which can give variety and options, depending on the amount of freedom the puppy can handle. For example, I get a lot of work done while using the ex-pen as a barrier in my garage.

10. A dog blog - While not a true requirement, I have found dog blogs indispensable on my puppy raising journey. The past 8 months would all be a big blur if I didn't have this blog to look back through, and the support I receive here has been invaluable.

Did I forget anything crucial? If so, feel free to comment and add on.

For more information on being a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind, click here.

Read more...

Thumbs Up

Earlier this summer, my husband hit his thumb with a hammer, while building my wonderful vegetable planter boxes. A few choice words and a couple months later, it's still in the healing process. The nail is growing out, exposing the bottom of the dead nail.

This morning, Cabana kept sniffing and sniffing his nail, probably able to smell the dried blood between the nail layers. It reminded us of how some dogs have the ability to sniff out cancer and other unseen ailments. She even gave his thumb a few tender licks (Cabana isn't usually a big licker).


Then, she came over to check out my thumb nail! After finding nothing interesting with my thumbs, she went back over to my husband's and gave it some more attention. Wouldn't it be fascinating to know exactly what's going through her mind?!

Read more...

Cabana the Happy Camper

This past week, we went camping with a group of friends to Calaveras Big Trees State Park. It was a brand new experience for Cabana, as well as for us since we've never gone camping with a dog before.

I think camping might be Cabana's idea of heaven--loads of people to enjoy, squirrels and chipmunks bounding past, endless trees and shrubs to sniff. She could hardly contain her joy. Of course, we did keep her either on leash or in her ex-pen. (Our friends were amazed that Cabana never tries to escape from her ex-pen. She doesn't have a clue that she is quite capable of jumping over it--but sshhh, she never needs to know!) She didn't really mind the ex-pen because there was a lot of activity around to entertain her--but on leash, that's when she couldn't contain herself and pulled like the dickens no matter what.

Being a bit of a neat-nick, I TRIED to keep Cabana clean. I put a straw mat in her ex-pen to keep her from wallowing in dirt. My efforts were altogether futile.

Later, I gave up and just let her lay down in the dirt. After all, when you're already covered in dirt, what's a little bit more?

Running through the middle of the campground was a beautiful meadow. And how thoughtful--they had built a wooden path so we could easily walk through it. A wildfire was raging somewhere in the area--you can see the smokey haze in this photo.

But the best part for Cabana was when we hiked to a river. Because dogs are technically not allowed on the trails (silly rule, if you ask me), we had Cabana wear her jacket, just in case someone gave us a hard time. Now there's a perk for being a guide dog in training! But shortly after we got to the river, we took the jacket off since we weren't on the trail anymore and no one seemed to be monitoring us anyway.

Cabana had a blast, dashing about in the cold water. She couldn't decide whether to run, drink, or shake--so she often did all three at the same time. She even went into a deeper section and REALLY swam--but she only did that once. We tried to coax her out there a second time, but she wasn't buying it again. She definitely prefers being where she can stand as opposed to totally immersed.

But the best part of camping, at least in my book, is getting back home, where you can get CLEAN and sleep in a soft bed. Cabana spent quite a few hours napping on her own soft bed this afternoon--I think she appreciates those things, too!

Read more...

Becky's Guide Dog Etiquette Contest

Many of you may already be familiar with Becky's blog, Cruisin' with Cricket. Becky's goal is to raise awareness about blindness, retinitis pigmentosa, and guide dog etiquette. I have learned so much from following her blog. And as a puppy raiser, I am motivated to do my best for Cabana's future partner by reading about Becky's experiences with Cricket.

Becky and I are supporting and promoting one another in her current Giveaway. She will be giving away a cork wristlet with matching key fob and coin pouch. These are all items that I made personally, using cork fabric, a beautiful leather-like fabric that is animal- and eco-friendly. (Cork fabric is also a great vegan alternative to leather, in addition to being stain- and water-resistant.)



Please stop by her site and leave a comment or question about your experience with guide dogs or guide dog etiquette. She's hoping to get at least 50 comments, so please add your input! A random winner will be chosen to receive my handmade items.

Read more...

Empty Poop Bags - What a Relief!

A couple months ago, Cabana started the habit of needing to poop on our morning walks. Even though she goes poop first thing in the morning and we go for a walk only about an hour later, the walking was making her need to go again. If I tried to make her go before our walk, I'd just wait and wait and wait on our lawn with her--but she needed the walking to stimulate her bowels.

On our walks, Cabana would show signs of needing to relieve, like pulling over toward patches of grass or walking in a zigzagging fashion. When she started behaving like that, I would look for a good place (i.e., not someone's fastidiously manicured lawn), then I would give the command, and she would go. She was very good about waiting for permission.

However, my puppy group leader said that we needed to help Cabana be even more controlled about her relieving. And we needed to break that habit, because she was needing to relieve 9 times out of 10 (she's got a regular little system!). So we picked a designated spot on our route where she could relieve if necessary. She would not be allowed to relieve anywhere on our walks except there.

It took a couple weeks, but Cabana was able to handle that. We had a lot of success with that plan. If Cabana needed to go before or after we had reached that spot, I would give an emphatic "No!" (I think in the manual, it says you should act like she's about to go poop on white carpeting) and I would make her sit for a minute or so. The urge would pass, and we would continue our walk.

Now Cabana rarely even uses her designated spot to poop. I still stop there and ask her to do her business. Sometimes, she'll pee there, but it has been weeks and weeks since she's needed to poop on our walks.

So I come home with an empty poop bag...and a happy tired pup!

Read more...