The two girls

I had a couple of plans when we brought Haddie home on Wednesday. The main plan focused on our family pet; a six year old Beagle named Cora. She came to us at the age of two after retirement as a Champion Show dog and after her first litter of puppies. She is a dream dog to our family; we are very grateful for our connection.

When we vacation - she spends time back with her breeder. Sometimes as the solo beagle, other times with a handful of beagles, other times with just one other. She was an agility class dog for the first 18 months of being under our wing and proved to handle stranger-dogs with ease. But when it comes to welcoming another dog to our house, I was truly uncertain how the meeting and acceptance would go.

Reading about joining two dogs into a household, I decided upon a plan that worked best for our family. I am not sure if we followed it to the letter, I am sure I made up some of it as we went along, but thankfully it worked.

The two dogs were absent of each other for the first three full days. When Haddie was out, Cora was in her kennel in another area of the house. And vice versa. They smelled each other's belongings, but were not allowed to share each other's toy or bed. Cora did amazingly well, including putting up with any of Haddie's noisy fuss when Haddie transitioned to her kennel. Her barks were heard throughout the house, regardless of the fact that she could not be seen, Cora did not care. She did not copy, and she did not scratch the door where the noise was coming from. She ignored.

While this created a lot of juggling and forethought from the peeps in this house, I would do it again. It allowed time for Haddie to do several things; get to know us and bond as much as possible in three short days, learn to look at us when we called her name, and learned to come Here when we gave the command.

The meeting was last night. The breaking point was that we had had a family party to celebrate my soon-to-be birthday girl; and the dogs had had enough rotation during the day, it was hot, the party was over, the dogs needed energy released ... and well, we were just ready!!

My son leashed Cora while I had already been in the backyard leashed with Haddie. I think the best part was that neither dog made a sound. I was expecting Cora to give a few Beagle "Arooo's" at the youngster. But she did not. The worrisome part was when Cora decided on her own to lay down and roll over. Sigh. I was bummed. She had given up quickly on showing her right ownership to Top Dog in the house.

We came inside and separated the two in their kennels. I am no Dog Psychologist to know if that was what was really taking place (establishing Top Dog status) but I just expected more out of Cora. I know she is a sweet and caring dog by nature, but I just wasn't expecting that behavior from her so quickly. Haddie just looked at her shocked, and then I called Cora up before Haddie got any ideas of pinning her in a dog-friendly way.

Fast forward - by the end of the evening both dogs were at my feet, unleashed, paying no attention to one another. It helped greatly that both dogs are SOLD! on the Food Reward system. It kept their attention on me, rather than each other. Eventually one of the dogs would find a spot to lay down, and the other dog went about it's normal routine.

And the bonding time between Haddie and her Volunteer Raisers (us) to train her to know her name and find us on the Here command?  Proved to be Brilliant. I was able to call Haddie out of social time with Cora on the lawn and in the house every.single.time.

The two girls are friends. Whew!

Life is Good

My girl and I were working on the Here command with Haddie today. Sometimes training a working pup is so rewarding because you think that you actually did something grand - when in fact the pup is just that brilliant by herself. My girl and I were laughing, we were having so much fun that Haddie actually did what she was told to do over and over and over.

What a gem! She loves to work. She loves her peeps. She loves her rewards. Life is good.

Golf - first outing

Kindergarten Puppy Class is held on Wednesdays in our area - but unfortunately, we had a conflict last night in that our kiddos were wrapping up their private golf lessons, my husband had a meeting, and I could not be two places at once. We chose to complete golf and give Haddie a first outing.

I sat with her next to the golf cart car wash section of the course, with the kids' lesson on the hill. It was quiet of people. The sounds she heard and the things she observed were the hand held power washer rinsing off the golf carts, birds squawking nearby, the sound of the ball hitting golf clubs at the driving range to our left, and the golf ball machine that picked up all the balls. 

Haddie was fabulous. She would walk around me on her leach while I stayed put on the blanket. She would sit to observe. She never barked, or jumped. She just sat. When she got bored, she would switch her position. We took a short walk down the side of the building for a hurry break, and then she settled in the grass and fell asleep for thirty minutes. 

It was peaceful. We couldn't have asked for a better first day and puppy. I think the pictures snapped of her against the wheat looking grass and the sun nearly setting are gorgeous. I'm thankful for my quick point and shoot Lumix. It does okay when you are doing snaps one handed with a curious pup leashed in the other.  

The first hours

Haddie rode in the kennel on the way home, yelping only once as we began to move, perhaps thinking she was going to take off again with a jet engine. She settled quickly and fell asleep - per our kiddos looking behind the backseat repeatedly.

We had Cora in her kennel in our bedroom upstairs when we left the house this morning. It was the perfect place for her when we arrived home, as both dogs were out of sight and out of mind of one another. She did not make a peep - even though we forgot to close the bedroom door, and our house is not that large, nor sound proof.

Haddie explored, and took frequent breaks outside. She was showing off her knowledge of sit and hurry with ease. It was a welcomed surprise. We stuck to those two commands throughout the day, adding her name recognition which is not consistent just yet.

She met a hand-full of neighborhood kids that were eagerly awaiting her to wake up from her first nap. They rang the doorbell only a few times (wink), but that did not seem to bother Haddie, who was upstairs in our Bonus Room. She did go through spurts of whimpering, but we left her alone and she would settle herself down after stretches of on again, off again noise making.

While Haddie was in her kennel with the door shut to the Bonus Room, Cora was out exploring. Eventually the two will meet, but not today. She sniffed the entire house, and would keep running back upstairs to check the door where the puppy noise was coming from. But she never barked, and she didn't scratch the door like she usually does when a door is closed. It could be a sign that she could care less, or that she was freaked out by the noise from the other side of the door, and really wasn't ready to find out!

Cora did, however, get a plush rabbit toy from us and a cute blue monkey that squeaks from my parents. Cora decided the blue monkey was the perfect toy to run through the house with squeaking over and over and over. I guess she is letting that "thing" behind the Bonus Room Door know that She is the four legged in charge around here.

Haddie and I spent a lot of time exploring our backyard. She seemed to gravitate towards the outdoors. She eventually settled into the grass and just looked at me. And then her eyes got droopy. And then she closed them all the way. It was time for another kennel nap. This time, she did not make a peep when I closed the door and left. Yay!

Highlight: I vacuumed our piano room after some rearranging this afternoon; to accommodate a bed and tie-down for Haddie while I teach lessons. The highlight was that the ...
Vacuum + Haddie = Success!

Oh, I promise not to give the play-by-play of every day! 

Welcome, Haddie!!

The cuteness arrived this morning at Alaska Airlines Cargo building. We were greeted by Caryn and Dan, a very nice and supportive welcoming team. They are volunteer Puppy Raisers with CCI and are working with their third dog (if I remember correctly).

They had great tips and tricks for us, and gave us a sweet welcome bag of dog food, a toy, a cuddly-soft pink blanket, and the all important poopy-scooper-bags. Not only that, but Caryn was so kind to jump right in and clean out Haddie's kennel while we bonded and took Haddie for a potty break.  It was so nice to have an experienced couple welcoming us and helping us pickup Haddie!! It made for an extra festive moment.

Where do I begin ... pictures ... and stories will come later ....

Upon arriving home we found a surprise Welcome Home Haddie sign, toys on the kitchen table for Haddie and Cora, (people) Puppy Chow and homemade frosted Puppy Cookies, and silver balloons .... from my awesome parents. It was a true surprise and so appreciated! My mom included a mirror on the sign and Haddie went right to it with her nose touching her reflection. It was so cute, but too quick for a picture.

Sigh - the butterflies are gone and we have our friend home. Now we can start our friendship and positive working team. Ya!

The Wait

We are less than 48 hours away until we are responsible for a very cute furry friend. The kids and I have been gathering supplies here and there over the summer, but today we completed the suggested must have's from CCI.

Our adorable beagle inspected every purchase and didn't seem to mind about a new brand of dog food smell, but had an opinion about the large dog bed. It is still positioned on the kitchen table. I'm not real sure where to put it, and I would rather she not be in it. The less she claims of CCI's items as hers, perhaps the better.

I know the bed will swallow up the tiny pup, but I also know that they grow fast. It was a deal at the store and it matches the colors in our house (most important, right?), so I had to purchase when we saw it. Now, just where to put it.

We are planning to use the wisdom of the nice woman that did our interview at our house in June. She suggested the more times we claim out loud and in our head that this puppy is not ours, the easier it will be to turn in upon completion of Puppy Raising. It still will be difficult and emotional, but it takes away some of the sting.

So, we have purchased all leashes and collars in the CCI blue color with this advice in mind. Consistently reminding us that this is CCI's dog and has the potential of being a Super Star one day upon graduation. Our beagle's accessory colors have always been black - matching her markings.

We are constantly talking about the CCI Puppy, not Our Puppy. We are already calling her Friend, versus Our Girl. We are setting our mind on the fact that we are Volunteering, we are not owning or keeping.

I wanted to write some of these thoughts down before the cuteness arrives - in order for me to come back and remind myself if necessary.

The Wait has been fun - but I want the Journey to begin ... we are ready.

Our CCI Call

Our last vacation of the summer started today. A road trip over the mountains to a warmer climate with proven sunshine, lake water, beaches, outdoor pools, and every hour spent relaxing. No plans. Our perfect way to wind down our summer before the kids resume to school the day after Labor Day. 

We had just rounded our first hour mark on the drive when my cell phone rang. A call from Canine Companions for Independence. Eeek - this could be something fun!

Our caller was wondering if we would be interested in raising a female that could be shipped out next week. She had a puppy ready, but didn't give any additional information. Our family had originally stated female on our paperwork, but then added male to our home interview. I casually asked about the prospects of a male pup, and she was kind enough to say that she would check, and give us a call back later today. 

While we waited - our car was flooded with opinions and excitement. While we were driving through one of the Canyons on our trek, my cell service was unavailable. Eventually my phone beeped in with a voice mail, she had called while my cell was out of service. She had left a message that there would be a yellow male available two weeks later on September 14th. 

We chatted through more Canyons, unavailable to get cell service, but allowing us more time to list our Pros and Cons of male versus female. In the end we determined that, like people, every dog is indeed different and we should just back off on the control of this one. Afterall, this is not our dog, we are Raisers for a short amount of time in the big scheme of a dog's life.

I finally called her back once we reached our destination:

View from our deck and return call

I did not even ask additional questions about the male, I just said we had a family meeting and we would like to raise the female that she had originally offered. 

Done. Yaaay!

Her name is Haddie, she was born on June 24th, to parents Waverly and Hickman. She is a full yellow lab. Paperwork is being sent for shipment on August 31st, so we have a lot of fun and hard work ahead of us as soon as we park our car in the garage at the end of this vacation. We are all smiles.

Oh, and the CCI rep stated three times over our two phone conversations that, "She's really cute!" But I suspect that all CCI Puppies are really cute!