Never a dull moment

Memories .... it's fun to look back and remember how far we have come; both dog and human. Yesterday was a wacky day and Haddie is feeling a little off sorts. When that happens, she becomes the cuddle pup that she was when she was itty-bitty. Her fur ruffles up all adorable and she'll get right up in your face for lots of love.

Haddie has had a Histiocytoma on the side of her left lip. Apparently they can go away on their own after hanging out for about 3 months. There is nothing pretty about it, and as it grew it became more obvious. There was an option to take it off with surgery, so I was just starting the process of going through procedures with CCI to get that accomplished. I was really hoping they would approve removal, rather than waiting any longer for the outcome of this "thing".

Nature took it's course and made the decision quick and easy. I didn't have time to go through the channels with CCI, because as I was packing for our upcoming extended vacation with Haddie by my feet in a perfect Down, the Histiocytoma burst right on my carpet. Ewww and Yuck don't even come close in description.

Puppy Raising is never dull.

A quick towel pressure on her lip, slowly walking her down the stairs to her kennel, dashing back up the stairs to clean my carpet quickly (whew, it came out!), calling the vet, loading her up in the car, sitting in the lobby while the vet took care of our puppy, two stitches later, we arrived home to resume packing.

Haddie has returned to her adorable look with out that bump hanging out. Amazing what a little bump can do to the cute factor of a puppy. Although it was short-term hectic, I am glad that it worked out the way it did. And the bill was significantly less than the original quote; she waved some of the cost as I think she took pity on me given the crazy situation and yuck factor. No matter, I'm a fan of this vet clinic!!

The rest of the day Haddie was just a love-bug. Finding every moment to get her sweet muzzle connected to us for kisses and hugs. Reminded me of her first days with us when she just wanted love and sweet attention.  That cute look of ears forward and fluffiness all over. Haddie turned into that sweetheart yesterday - a nice conclusion to some hectic time in our day.

What's Up?

Seems like my summer is not what I had daydreamed during those colder months of late winter. I had been wishing long morning walks in the sun with Haddie, perhaps running here and there (I have little running talent, but I daydream that I would do it), and taking wild adventures with Haddie to all over our area - parks galore, zoo trips, big city life, hikes in the woods, nonstop action with my kids and Haddie.

Where has the time gone?!

I am starring at one month and a hand full of days left of this summer and I have done very little on my daydream list. Granted, Haddie has experienced other things such as multiple road trips, hotel stays, attractions at different cities, restaurants, lakes, and many people that I had not thought would be on my summer list - so it has not gone all to waste. 

AND my little girl is starting to go back into Heat; which certainly was not on my mind for summer either. It's only been four months since the last, but apparently no professional on the medical or training side are concerned with her early bird status. I, on the other hand, would prefer she just moves on and either gets going with her Kennel visit, or enough already. Her attitude is certainly different - and that is one of the down sides of hosting a lil'girl puppy in training. 

We are continuing to show her who is boss and we mean what we say during this crazy naughty stage while her inside chemical balance is all wacky. However, I admit that I am so tempted sometimes to just let her be. Ya' know ... when she is running the backyard wildly without ears to hear commands that play time is over and she must get back into the house. With her defiant attitude, why do I insist that she come to me?! I  really don't want to deal with her once she is back by my side!

But kidding aside we try not to let our frustration get the best of us, and in the end Haddie gets more restrictions to help her stay the course of setting her up for positive responses, rather than giving her opportunities for negative. 

Then you get these adorable moments and know the crazy is all worth it. She will make a great companion to whomever gets her for forever. She is one cuddle buddy that adores attention. She will follow us anywhere and looks to us to get her tail wagging. Her eyes show her love for us, and I know that will transfer to that next person and family. No matter - she is still an incredible little girl with a huge heart. 

The Farm!

What a great experience our CCI 4-H team received last night. Instead of meeting at the kennel for class, we met at a public Farm Park; complete with animals, smells, and a wooded area for extra adventure. It was the best outing so far as a team.

The two Farm Cats were not scared of the dozen dogs with vests. The kitties stood their ground, hunched back and all, but would not move. Thankfully our dogs have been trained not to lunge, otherwise there very well could have been some scratching going on. We don't own cats, and our neighborhood roaming cat is not to be trusted, so Haddie has never truly experienced cats outside of a kennel at a pet store.

The pig did not come near, and Haddie was not too impressed. It was a mighty big pig too! It eventually went into it's barn, and when my son and Haddie went to look inside, she was a tad more interested. I think maybe she could smell him better.

Haddie's favorite high reward treat is Chicken. So of course that is what we brought along for this particular adventure. My son fed Haddie chicken by the chickens. She was interested in these little critters, her tail was going in circles, however, she did pay close attention to my son who had the chicken in his hand.

The bunnies were adorable. Haddie looks equally as sweet peering into their sleeping quarters.

The cow started out in the middle of the pasture. It looks as if Haddie is calling him over. And eventually he did wander to the fence to stay for a good long while. Every dog was fantastic by the cow. At every class our trainers bring their 3 Dogs that are used to train our dogs. Last night's assignment was to get one of the Trainer Dogs to stand by your dog if your dog was having problems with the cow. The puppy would learn from the Trainer Dog on how to settle down and accept the cow. However, all the dogs did great and the Trainer Dogs did not have to be used.

But this little wee pup was different. She started off a little nervous, but then our Human Trainer held her, spoke to her, and just waited for the pup to settle and experience the cow. It was so cute!

And then this little yellow ray of sunshine had no fear! She just nuzzled right onto the cow's face. A-dor-able!!

We concluded the outing in the woods where the dogs had to perform a variety of tasks. The biggest challenge for Haddie was walking ON the log, sitting ON the log, and laying down ON the log. My son was more patient than I would have been, and Haddie did all three tasks in a relatively accurate amount of time (even though my camera ran out of memory space for all the photos. Boo!). I was so proud of both of them! They are such a great team.

I think my favorite part of the evening was seeing how my son would always wrap his arm around Haddie when she did an Up command. She was doing it all by herself, he wasn't holding her, but he was just wrapping his arm around here showing her how proud he was of her. I loved it!!

Ohhh, it is going to be so tough saying goodbye to Haddie in February!!! I am so happy we have so many photos documenting all of our memories. And memories last a lifetime.

Fashion Show

Random Summer Sillies ... My girl and I dressed up Haddie for pure entertainment yesterday. It was such a random moment that the only camera within arms reach was my girl's phone. The quality is not the best, but the laughter that ensued from the room was! Haddie, however, was not as amused, but held it together for our enjoyment.

Grocery Shopping

One of the best parts of summer outings with Haddie is having my children along to help.

My typical full week's worth of grocery shopping trips during the school year do not include Haddie ~ I simply do not have enough hands. Short excursions to the grocery aisle, or for the purpose of only training Haddie and not shopping, well those times are different.

However, this summer we are able to divide and conquer on those extra long weekly shopping outings. My girl pushes the cart and takes care of the list and calculator, while my son gathers the items, and I concentrate fully on training Haddie. It works perfectly!

We stumbled upon this mess of Chocolate Teddy Grahams in the snack aisle. My girl snapped the photo from her phone of Haddie obeying a great Down in the middle of the yummies. So happy Haddie has always succeeded in ignoring the floor.

For the car ride home, Haddie gets the perk of keeping an eye on the groceries. So tempting to some, but not to Haddie. Yay, Good Girl!!

Grocery Shopping is so much more enjoyable with Haddie by our side.

Haddie's First Lake

During our vacation, we took Haddie down the Highway to her first lake experience. The temps were HOT and we got out a little later than we had planned, but we followed through with the adventure. Perhaps not completely prepared with the appropriate long leash and swimming attire, it still proved to be a great experience for Haddie.

More lakes are in her future. She loved the experience!

She was quick to enter, but not completely confident to go very deep. I was proud, however, for the love of the adventure that she seemed to have on this "first".

She has never been a stick girl, partly because I have not encouraged it. I figured that love can fall into place if her Forever Family chooses, rather than me having to retrain the obsession with sticks should one occur.

She has fallen enough for her Frisbee (I had a plastic white plate out the other day, shaped to the size of her Frisbee - and she followed me around waiting for that thing to fly!!!), I figured she didn't need another obsession right now.

Haddie found the sticks floating in the water and enjoyed bobbing for them. She would carry them back to shore for me to toss back into the water. Or, she would chomp on the sticks to break them up, drop them into the water to float around her, and then start bobbing again. She was adorable.

Wet and definitely cooled off - Haddie went back to the Condo to dry out and sleep while the two-leggeds on the trip went to the outdoor public pool.

Haddie's First Lake will not be the only lake she will experience this summer. Yay, Haddie!!!

Haddie's Vacation!

Haddie went on vacation with us for a three day weekend! Our first time traveling with her for an overnight stay away from home.

We visit this cute town in the valley of Mountains twice a year. Once during the winter school break right after Christmas, and the other time during the summer right after the 4th of July. All things Snow related in the Winter, and all things Sun related in the Summer. Hooking up with a Condo-style place that sits on Front Street overlooking the town, we have found it to be the best local vacation for the last ten years!

We know the owners of this place, so sometimes it works out to get extra perks - like staying later than normal check-out time if there is not a booking for our specific room the next day. That was the case for this weekend. It felt extra long as a result; perfect!

When we arrived, the owners were cleaning the rooms that were currently vacant to be ready for the next guests. I was not sure how they would feel about Haddie, but we were going to do one of those "Ask for Forgiveness" situations rather than ask for prior permission.

The female owner was all smiles and wide eyed with glee to see Haddie. Her dear friend Puppy Raises for Guide Dogs in a bordering state and she knew all about Puppy Raising through her - and was in love with Haddie instantly. Whew! The two of us had a nice lengthy talk about Puppy Raising while my family unloaded the car - great timing! Ha!

The temps soared to the high 90's, so we finally got to experience "the rest of the country" and what if feels like to have a pup in the heat. Yes, it was a juggling act. We planned our days around Haddie, but it worked out perfect for us as well.

Early morning and late night walks through town, short hikes in the woods before Noon, and Frozen Yogurt outings before bed. During the heat of the day, she enjoyed napping in her kennel in the Air Conditioned Condo while we played at the outdoor public pool.

I figured the one thing that Haddie would learn to succeed in during our vacation was going up and down stairs with out racing. I am kicking myself for not taking a picture, but there were two staircases both outdoors leading from the Alley where we park to the Condo up above all the storefronts.

The one we usually take are wooden stairs, somewhat see-through to the floor below, and exposed to the sunlight - about four flights of 10 stairs a piece on a steep incline/decline. The second staircase is completely covered, which makes it exceptionally dark. There were about six flights of seven stairs each to this staircase which made it much more gradual.

Well, it took me until the second day to remember the covered staircase, so the entire first day Haddie spent on the steep, open staircase going in and out of the condo for every outing and bathroom break. Yes, it was crazy! Poor girl was trying so hard to overcome her fear, not pull, not race, and not look down all at the same time while panting up a storm in the 90+ heat. She started out as a C- in quality, but by the end of the weekend, she was at a strong B+.  I consider that success for Haddie! We will keep working stairs.

I found a small patch of gravel next to the Alley garbage cans where she did all of her business. It was so convenient considering the only other patch of non-cement for Haddie was around the corner and down the street to the Front Street Park. I know the pups have to be able to do their business on any surface, and Haddie has done her business on cement before, but I just don't think it is very polite for others - especially in the heat, and this Alley is more of a walk-through to get from one section of town to the other. I was so happy to find this tiny patch of gravel so close. It was certainly handy.

That is where we met Velvet - a six month old Puppy in Training with Guide Dogs of America. She was adorable and it was so fun to bump into them and watch how each of us made our dogs hold a Sit while we talked. Aww, great puppies!! Go Velvet!!

Haddie enjoyed her experience in a new town. She was her typical self, just a tad slower due to the heat. She loved the Air Conditioned buildings of shops, restaurants, and our home away from home. And - she LOVED one other thing that we treated her to, but I will save that for the next post.

This year she will be old enough to enjoy our Winter Vacation at this same place. Another extreme weather condition for her to experience - lots of cold and snow.