Happy Day!

Another gorgeous, sunny day and Kolby and I had made plans to spend it with my dear friend. This is my buddy that met me about every-other-month with Haddie to go on outings that were training-related; all the while chatting away and getting caught up with life (since we live a few towns apart). She is an amazing friend. Always so supportive, always willing to be interrupted for me to capture a training moment with the puppy, and always providing fun conversation.

Although she had met Kolby prior, this was our first official social outing. We chose an outdoor mall and walked half of the time we spent together, and the other half of our date we ate lunch outside with Kolby; he held a Sit next to my chair (He must have very strong ab-muscles because he is very tight in his sit - no sloppiness shown - and can maintain it for an abnormally long amount of time for being so young).

A quick list of all of the things that I remember Kolby experiencing at one outdoor mall on a warm Spring Day ... in no particular order:

*A man with a leg disability and wheelchair bound approached me at lunch and asked to pet Kolby. OF COURSE!!! Kolby did not mind the movement of his chair, and rather enjoyed all of his attention. Although we did not talk CCI, there was a common connection and a proud look on the man's face as he wished Kolby good luck and goodbye.

*Steep stairs that were about 20 steps tall - a brief landing - and another 20 steps tall. My friend walked behind us and did play-by-play commentary of Kolby's step. It was funny. About every third step he would kick his back feet at the same time to the next step, and then would go up like a big boy taking each step with each foot, until the third step came around again, and he'd move his back legs up at the same time. Ha! He'll get it. So proud he made it without a fuss, and without pulling or lagging.

*We came upon a crow eating a chip on the ground about 8 feet from us. This one got Kolby's attention and he was so tempted to Bark. It was obvious in his facial features, but he held it together. The crow eventually flew away, and Kolby did a quick lunge - so we must work on that. I had him Sit as soon as he made the lunge motion, and he immediately responded (yay), but the crow did not come back.

*We gave him many opportunities to look over the ledge of the second story to street level - he was not impressed by heights. I don't even think he knew he was on a different level as he gave no reaction. There was a cute German Sheperd puppy below at one of our stops to peak over, and Kolby eventually spotted him; he did enjoy watching the puppy.

*Lots of walking on the loose leash with people passing on foot, and strollers too.

*A mini playground where Kolby climbed the graduated stairs to the top and sat next to the opening of the fire pole. He was about ready to go backwards over the edge (something he has done twice at the top of our stairs at home), so we will need to work on his spacial awareness.

*His first ride in an Elevator - and it was a Glass Elevator - double bonus points! He enjoyed looking out the window, and he did notice that we were moving, because his head moved with the motion of the outside as he sat looking out the floor to ceiling window. So cute. We rode it a few times before we did an exit.

*Smell of food, and sitting during lunch paying attention to me versus the dirty outdoor flooring. He never paid attention to the floor, that was good, but he liked to paw at my leg and a few times got his paws on my knees for a more up-close-and-personal-approach. Another item to add to the training To Do List.

*He went Hurry, the quickest one yet! And I chose a grate that was around a tree coming up from the sidewalk. I chose that spot because that was the only option at the time. I commanded a Hurry - he stood and stared off into the distance for a bit, and then he did his thing. Celebration. I think he might be getting this Hurry in Public thing.

*People. Many people passed, only a few asked to greet. The man in the wheelchair, a man with two walking sticks, and a little toddler boy. Kolby was the best with the toddler boy because Kolby did not lick at all. The other two he licked - add it to the list. Ohh, and one young lady I passed when I first arrived that didn't ask, but just bent down to pet Kolby as we passed, stating very enthusiastically, "I love labs!!" Ohh, okay, then by all means pet him without asking.

What a great day for Kolby. Enjoying his California Sun while not in California, taking a long walk through an outdoor mall, and enjoying some patience while I enjoyed lunch with my friend. A few things to work on, but no deal breakers.

Happy Day!!

First Bark

Everyone is in a great mood this week (for many reasons) but one is that the sun is out and claims have been made that we should reach 70 degrees. This is big news in our area - gladly accepted.

As I have stated before, our sleepy town is growing and I am just amazed at all that it has to offer my puppy and me now, which it never offered Haddie and me. I have to remind myself that once we exhaust our zip code, I will have to branch out and go to the neighboring cities like I did with Haddie to give Kolby those experiences too.

Kolby and I hit adventures early this morning. We went to the new and improved, much larger, Ma and Pa hardware store and meandered through the aisles. It was so fun. Kolby loves to check in while walking, which makes it easy to keep him right beside me. Hoping this early training will stick and he will continue his awesome loose leash skill without fuss as he grows.

I keep visualizing an 80 pound, tall, handsome black dog next to me - perfect motivation. There is no way I can fib in not having a loose leash - this has to always be top priority.

I had him pose for this picture. You would think by now he would be used to the camera/camera phone as we have taken hundreds of photos of him in the short month and a half of being together. But, he can still be easily distracted by it. In this case, he would not hold his Sit for anything. My guy, who thinks Sitting is the only way to go through life, would pop up just as I got the camera up and ready.

Eventually I became the Human Pez Dispenser and held treats to continue to encourage Stay. He must have interpreted it as a form of teasing, although I felt they were being offered quickly enough, because he let out a Bark! right there in the cute home interior section of the store as he was looking at me. I gave a swift Don't correction and he did not repeat.

He has made an amazing turn-around in his barking. What started out consistent and often and annoying his first few weeks with us, he has learned to channel into a very quiet, don't-talk-unless-asked puppy. He has proven that he has really been showing restraint and working hard at maintaining silence, because today's outburst shows it is still in him.

Ohh, Kolby - your First Bark in public wasn't as embarrassing as I had imagined it would be, but let's keep this your one and only. Those treats will keep coming for awesome behavior, I promise.

Tulip Day for Kolby

The Tulip Festivals in our part of the state are popular for the month of April. Located in farm country it is a little over 90 minutes to drive from our house to the fields. But the drive is always worth it, being a country girl at heart I could stay for days, but we only stayed for one.

Kolby experienced his first Street Fair in the town we stopped to grab lunch before heading to the fields. It was raining off and on when we arrived, but the experience of the different food tents, crowds of people, and loud Live music coming from the center square was a great first experience for Kolby. He did great and received a lot of Oohs and Ahhs.

One thing that Kolby is definitely teaching me is patience. He is not the fastest Hurry guy. And it is not because he is distracted, it is actually the opposite. He will just sit and stare at me. But I know that he knows the command - we use it at home every. single. time. he. goes. out. because he is in a secured part of our yard where he has to be escorted through the garage to get there - so it isn't like I just send him out the sliding door and leave him alone. He knows it.

And every time I offer the Hurry command, I not only want him to do it because I am headed indoors, but also because I know it is time.

So - we will stare and I will encourage and then I will move on and make him walk and get distracted about something else away from the first attempt. All the while I KNOW he has to go!

During this adventure, my hubby and kids left the two of us to get a table at this cute little cafe in the middle of the Street Fair. As the rain picked up, I continued walking with Kolby trying to find a new spot to command Hurry. No grass, gravel, or bark were anywhere to be found. So we ended up weaving through more Street Fair experiences until we found an alley. Cement would have to do. It did. He went just fine. Sigh.

But now I could relax, and we walked back the blocks to the Cafe to join my family already in lunch progress. Kolby held his Under the table the entire 45 minutes we were eating. He never went Down, but he Sat. The entire time. Sitting. Observing. Checking in with me and my girl. He attracted the attention of one sweet family who was sitting on the other side of the Cafe. We chatted for about 15 minutes about Puppy Raising. It was fun - all the while Kolby stayed in his Sit Under the table. Dream.

Moving on to our day, the rain poured buckets from the clouds as it was time to get back to our car to head to the fields. I will admit - I carried our 27 pound puppy three blocks to the car. There was soooo much rain, I thought he might have drown being so close to the pavement. Ha!!

No, I admit - I did not want a wet dog in our car (insert - long drive home after the fields). Next time when I don't have a choice when he is 35+ pounds - which will be soon - he will experience rain puddles and massive falling rain. Trust me, there will be plenty of next times.

We stopped at a large field where we could walk through the fields to get prime photos. Not every field is open like that. I am glad we stumbled upon this one. It was clearly marked NO DOGS in the fields, but with Kolby proudly wearing his Vest, I ignored the sign and continued forth with confidence. We passed many employees who could have stopped us, but nobody did.

The fields were Muddy, but the rain had stopped. Kolby enjoyed walking in the mud, and had no problems sitting in it for most of the photo shoot. My hubby continued on with his photo fun of the Tulips, while I walked Kolby back to the car that was parked in a field of grass. Kolby enjoyed smelling the Farm Air and drying his feet off in the field before heading back to his kennel and driving home.

Kolby enjoyed bath time when we returned home before retiring for bed.
It was such a fun family day with Kolby. He was quiet to and from and during all the drive times in his kennel, he ate his lunch standing in the cargo section of our car without getting distracted, he got to experience walking through large crowds, listening to Live music through loud speakers, Cafe behavior, rain drops, mud, and the scent of Farm.

We will have to return next year for his Big Boy Photos with the Tulips.

Beaming on the Inside

I was standing in the Veterinary lobby waiting for my invoice when a man parked in front and unloaded a very tall, lanky lab-mix of a cutie from his car. I knew they were headed in our direction, so I positioned Kolby (who was on leash due to being too big) between me and the counter. Kolby is not fully vaccinated, in fact he is behind schedule as of today - more later - so I did not want to mix this stranger, lanky lab with my sweet 14 week old Rock Star.

The man stumbled in the door after his pulling Kangaroo of a Teen Dog and quickly noticed Kolby in a perfect Sit. His first comment was in disbelief that my dog was sitting still while his dog was bouncing; literally bouncing, and was no longer a full fledged puppy.

Kolby ventured out just a touch to get a better view, but he never lunged forward or solicited any attention. In typical Kolby style he just sat and watched.

It was about the time that I was typing in my pin number to the machine that the man asked to pet Kolby. I admit, certain areas in my life I can not multi-task. One being paying a bill, and watching Kolby with an appropriate greeting, next to a tap dancing dog. But I quickly said okay and focused enough to see Kolby go over to the man to offer up his sweet face for a quick rub. The over joyful dog stayed on the other side of the man.

I gave Kolby the Here command to get him back to my side, and he immediately obeyed (I was beaming on the inside), and he went back to sitting and watching the dog, and watching me, all the while the man was completely amazed that my obviously young puppy had no reaction to his towering jumping-bean.

Kolby was not wearing his vest, and I kept my secret that he was a Service Dog in Training to myself. I figured the man with the bouncing dog had too many other things on his mind to listen to me share about Puppy Raising for CCI. We live in a small enough town, I'm sure he will spot us training at some point between now and August 2014 ... and then my secret will be out and he'll not be as impressed.

But for the meantime, it was fun to beam on the inside while Kolby was a total Rock Star at the Vet.

Kolby was due for his second round of vaccine boosters today, but they have been put on hold for ten days. He was tested positive for Demodex, so he will sporting a nice orange gel at bedtime to clear it up. While my vet was surprised at the combo of Demodex with a 14 week old puppy, she was not concerned. It is an immune issue that will sort itself out with the help of medication. Because of an Awesome group of Puppy Raisers raising this fabulous K-Litter, I quickly learned today that Kolby's sister also tested positive for Demodex today (we take our Booster update schedules seriously, all the pups coincidentally saw their personal vets today). The extra-fun news of the vet visit is that Kolby weighs 26.5 pounds. WooHoo!!!

Good Listening

Today's adventure took us back to the new shopping center in our small town. I am finding it to be a great location to walk Kolby outside - with four corners of "highway" that intersect at this location. I use the term Highway because that is what each road is called, but I would say it is just a high-traffic street with big trucks, buses, and loud motorcyles frequenting often.

We included a fair amount of walking the sidewalks that meandered through the large parking lot and then parallel to the highway. Just at the right moment, a loud (firecracker-like) motorcycle cruised passed us popping his noise every few seconds. Kolby was not impressed, as he took a fighting stance in shock every time the cycle backfired.

The good news is that Kolby recovered nicely and each time looked at me for assistance. Such sweet eyes to look into - my favorite part of watching Kolby is him watching me.

We also took a walk through two stores. The first being a big box grocery-all-purpose store. I selected the door that entered into the Toy Department. While I saved pushing buttons that created noise and movements for another day, the agenda today was getting him used to walking up and down aisles, the reflections and shadows off of the very, very clean and shinny floor, and learning how to turn in to me to make a right turn, or away from me to make a left turn.

I continued to pass two kiddos who were riding in the shopping cart. The brothers would stop talking and just stare at Kolby - their mom busy paying attention to shopping duties, she never looked up. The boys kept talking to her about Kolby, just as we had vanished from their sight. Ha! Gotta love hearing the mom's reaction when she thinks the kids are joking because we have now moved on. Every time we passed them, the mom did not see us. A little Puppy Raiser humor.

The next stop was the boutique style pet store. After being witness to too many unfriendly dogs, because of the lack of integrity by their owners, at the big pet store chains, I refuse to take my dog and CCI puppies into those type of stores. I find more like-minded pet owners in stores that are run by Ma and Pa, or Feed Stores. I venture into those to give the puppies the same exposure.

Kolby went in and came out wagging his tail from the cute all natural pet boutique He was one proud and happy puppy to be able to visit a Pet Store. The agenda was letting him get familiar to all the smells that this Happiest Place on Earth provided Kolby. Loose leash throughout, my pup smelled e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g and we were the only ones in the store, so it gave him prime opportunity to stay focused on smelling.

He only licked once - the wrapped bones - but a quick Don't and his tongue went back into his mouth. Good Boy! I am so proud that he maintained a loose leash, and kept his sniffer on and his licker off. By the time he was done smelling, it was time to go. I did one final loop through each aisle to test him, and he chose to walk beside me rather than stopping to smell the food, the toys, the leashes, etc. etc. Yay! Allowing him time to observe and get his environment in check made it possible for him to walk through like a veteran.

A great morning adventure! We will round out our afternoon with a bath and detailed grooming.  

Wake Up Kolby!!

A few weeks ago I posted how Kolby is uber-slow at getting out of his kennel. I have tried so many times to get a video of his antics, but to no avail because 1) he picked up his pace to see the video camera, or 2) the room was too dark, mixed with a black dog, and the video produced nothing.

I shot this last week after his mid-morning nap. His kennel is moved to our laundry room during the night because it is warmer and more den-like for a good night's sleep. Then, the kennel is moved to the high traffic area of our house during the day where he learns to sleep and chill out while activity and life happens around him. 

Because the video camera was right in front of his face, this is still a much quicker Wake Up, Kolby than normal. No matter if he has been awake waiting for me to let him out, or if I come upon him barely awake, he does this slow-motion get-up every. single. time.

This big boy was the last to be born in his litter (if my memory serves me correctly) and it is no wonder!!! Poor Mamma Kanga - WAKE UP, KOLBY!!!

Love him. 

Kolby in the big city

The behind the scenes quick story is my twelve year old son is a Chef and has been cooking (thanks to the mentorship of my mom) since he was in Kindergarten. He dreams of owning his own restaurant; specifically (as of age twelve) a Food Truck. 

Today's plan was that my mom was treating my son and I to a Food Truck experience in the big city. She parked her car in our driveway, our car was loaded up with all-things Kolby (including Kolby), and we were off to the adventure of the waterfront and the Food Truck. 

After a few detours due to massive road construction, we landed in the correct location that was advertised about this particular food truck. We got our free parking pass at a Marina that was advertised as having free parking passes for the food truck, and casually happened to ask "Where is the Snowflake E** Food Truck parked?" The nice front desk lady looked it up and said, "Oh, I'm sorry - their website said they cancelled today due to weather." 

Sigh. 

It is no small feat to make the trek into the city, and the weather - while blistering cold and extremely windy - it was not raining, and THAT was a reason to be outside celebrating with lunch from a Truck. 

We continued to walk the Marina while we decided our next game plan. Kolby was a rock star with the wind blowing - his ears flapping, and large sheets of plastic blowing making a visual impact as well as loud noises. 

He held his sit fairly well for a lady to pet him; while he stood up, I was most impressed he did not Jump! Another lady felt it was her right to just pet him without asking - I will give her slack and think that perhaps she thought he was wearing a shirt/sweater due to the cold, as his back was facing the other way and she probably didn't even think that he might be working. But it was a bold, in your face pet, without any conversation between me and the lady, and Kolby held it together. That time he remained sitting. 

He walked on dock grates with water underneath. He walked over a Marina bridge with the water completely visible between the grate and on both sides of the railing. He walked on the Marina docks. Kolby was brilliant and did not pull on his leash, and would Sit when commanded, and check in with great eye contact. Yay!

When we were done visiting the small Marina, with two free hours of parking ahead of us, we didn't want to waste the park and drive aimlessly around town. While my mom and son jumped in the car to warm and decide our next destination, I fed Kolby and gave him a short walk. 

After much back and forth discussion, we decided on the main waterfront shopping area to walk-about. Knowing this was a high foot-traffic area, with stray dogs and perhaps not the most sanitary conditions, we chatted that I would hold Kolby while we walked (knowing that 25 pounds would get heavy quick); but I was up for the challenge. The humans just needed food! 

Circling the cobblestone street a few times to find parking, it gave more pause for us to decide what it was we were really going to do in this neck of the city. We eventually agreed that my mom and son would "jump out" of the car - while I continued to circle - in order to buy seafood for dinner, and quality cheese from the Amazing cheese store. We would communicate via cell phone for pickup. 

I only circled the street once and found myself a prime parking spot. Score!! I was so very tempted to get Kolby out and hold him, but the more stray dogs and large volume of people, I felt it would be best to not fall into temptation and just promise myself I would return with Kolby when he is fully vaccinated (and a little taller). 

Returning to the car, my son happy to have stopped into his favorite place in the city, my mom the trooper for escorting him, we were on our way to find lunch. We went closer to home where we knew  a guarantee of food selection and took Kolby in to order our food at a Teriyaki Take Out spot. He sat quietly in a Heel beside me in the very teeny, tiny lobby so he experienced the food smell, and how to manage his tail with all the foot traffic going in and out. 

wink

So while the day did not go as planned, what a FUN day to share the memory of our impromptu city trip with Kolby. I shared with my girl when we got home that it felt like we had an eighteen month old puppy at the end of our leash, not a thirteen week one. He was so very calm, and did everything asked of him in a very thoughtful manner. I have no doubt that Kolby enjoys working.