Tiptoe Through The Tulips

Even though our awesome friend is all about puppy raising, I made some time when we had human-only time during our visit. Kolby has been to our favorite vacation destination which is only two hours from our driveway on many occasions over the last twelve months, so I opted to leave him with a Puppy Sitter while we ventured for the day to this wonderland with our out-of-town friend. 

In return, Kolby got to experience life with other dogs his size at our close friend's house. They have raised five Canine Companions with a great success rate, so I knew he was in great hands for his two night stay. I received a glowing report upon pickup. Yay, Kolby!!

The other hot spot in our area, and also two hours away but in the opposite direction, are countrysides covered in Tulip and Daffodil fields during the month of April. There is an annual festival that takes in the tourist who want that perfect photo op with the flowers. 

We took Kolby last year when he was just three months. The photos are in this blog under April 2013 for readers who want to go down memory lane. This year my sweet daughter, our dear friend, and Kolby spent the day driving, laughing, talking, and enjoying the fields. The highlight was meeting up with another amazing Canine Companions Puppy Raiser and best friend - the one who raises Kolby's girlfriend; Helaine. 

We first met for lunch, because I can't seem to be too far from food at any given time, and the dogs were so adorable under our table. Without question it took time for them to settle in and stop kissing and nuzzling each other, but they never broke their Down Stay in the process. After a few moments of greeting one another, they eventually just flopped their cute faces on top of each other and on our feet and snoozed while the two-legged girls chatted away. 

The fields seemed to be endless. The brilliance of color was amazing. And the kicker was that the pups were just adorable. I am so thankful for these photos. 

We encountered a very enduring and once in a lifetime moment while in the fields. A mother of a young boy who was being pushed in a wheelchair-stroller type of transportation came over to peak at the vests of Kolby and Helaine. "Yeah, that's what I thought, Canine Companions!! My son has been invited to attend Team Training at the beginning of May in Santa Rosa." Melt. 

What are the odds that we were standing in the middle of the country side, tiptoeing through the tulips, and we got to witness the following: in the mom's excitement she forgot that she had not yet shared with her son that he will be getting his very own Skilled Companion Dog in May. Because of his age, sharing this life changing adventure with her son too far in advance just wouldn't make sense. Three weeks is even too much time to wait in the big picture for this little one. So she had kept it a secret, waiting until it got much closer. 

Well, that didn't work so well on this day, because the mom was so excited and was sharing with us in front of her son who caught on rather quickly. It was adorable, he was so thrilled - and then he wanted to choose between Kolby and Helaine to take home!! So cute. 

What a very cool memory for all of us to carry forever - that we saw the delight and the change in this boy light up when he heard the news, and when he was loving our puppies in program. No doubt these dogs are made for a higher purpose than being pets. No doubt that Canine Companions has a true gift to give to others. No doubt that I am convinced that these dogs do make an incredible life changing difference to others. No doubt, I am blessed to be a volunteer with Canine Companions. 

Tiptoe Through The Tulips was a mighty perfect day!

Staycation!

We enjoyed a warm Spring Break last week by just staying home and enjoying the sites of our area. Our sweet and close friend from Canine Companions' and fellow Puppy Raiser (Graduate Skilled Companion Halo and current Puppy in Program Spunky) from California came for a visit. It was nice that she got to meet Kolby in person, and we all enjoyed our first day together visiting the big city.

Kolby has adventured to the city more extensively than Haddie ever did, so I really feel like he can check that social outing off his list. You kinda know when he feels like "been here, done that" when he acts like he's been there and done that. It is nice to reach that point with a Puppy in Program.

However, the newest addition to Kolby's city adventure was the gum wall, which is a thoroughly disgusting, yet unique, tradition of our city. Kolby looked just as disgusted as we were by the sweet, musty smell of the alley where it is located. Notice how he is not too impressed, nor interested in sitting down on the parts of gum that never made it to the wall. Fine choice, Mister!! Keep standing and we'll make this quick.

I love how Kolby is just so easy-going. I am not predicting one way or the other in terms of a College Degree or College Drop-Out, but it is just nice to have had such an enjoyable and memorable time with him.

I will be sad to let him go, but really - I think that he will thrive under the direction of professional trainers. And should he decide he doesn't want to finish College, then I will really know that he just doesn't want to work for a living. I feel he is highly capable, but that doesn't mean he will want to do that. And Canine Companions knows how to read dogs to see which ones are asking for their exit papers, and which ones want their degree. And that will all be just fine.

Taking a dog in the city for an all day adventure is not an easy task, but it becomes much easier when the dog you are escorting is very wise and confident. I am so proud of Mister Kolby.

Thanks for such a great day, Kolby!! You made it easy to host our sweet friend.  And I have heard, she totally digs you (wink wink). 

Tub Time

My lack of constant blogging does not accurately reflect my lack of activities. Kolby and I have certainly been busy in 2014 thus far. The most recent adventure was Tub Time with his best friend and fellow Canine Companions puppy, Helaine.

We have an amazing ranch and feed store not far from our house. I know nothing about ranching or other animals outside of dogs, and even that is kinda limited to Labradors and Golden Retrievers, and even that still is shrunk to just service dogs in the making. But if I had a chance, I think it would be fun to work at this location; either in customer service, or a little more physically intensified as a barn yard worker dog trainer.

Kolby's buddy Helaine drove the two house to visit us.  The pups played in the backyard and it was so nice to see Kolby's maturity. The last time they played together was during "free play" back in the Fall during class time.

I know I have mentioned before that Kolby likes his paws; and he uses them frequently, almost like a Boxer Dog status. However, this weekend's play date proved that Kolby can keep his four paws on the ground. There was no over-exuberant pawing with his front paws and jumping on his best friend to show her his love. It was awesome.

They took turns playing with this ball, even though there was an identical one on the ground waiting for a puppy to play with. They played tug-of-war, and "walked" the other around while both gripping the ball. They took a walk through all the parts of the yard, and enjoyed their tongues hanging sideways with exhaustion.

We eventually took Kolby and Helaine, and her sweet puppy raiser, for a spin around our small town, and then over to the store. We looked at the baby chicks that were for sale before heading over to the Self Serve Dog Wash.

Talk about a fun outing!! I am hooked on this genius of an idea. I recently wrote an Editorial for our Chapter newsletter - I did a copy/paste here.

While I have running water, a tub, shampoo, and dog towels at home, there is something to be said for paying for your dog to get a bath at a business that will provide everything; including the clean up crew. Recently I took our Puppy in Program, KOLBY, to our local Self Serve Dog Wash. 

While I am not here to solicit free advertising for this local favorite of mine, if you want to know the name and location, drop me a question during puppy class. But there are a good handful of Self Serve Dog Washes in our area - so check out one close to you and get to know this beauty of an idea.

The room was empty when we walked in, usually there is a staff member on duty to assist, but since I had already gone through a test run with my pet Beagle in recent weeks, I knew the ropes. The entire experience proved to be great training for Kolby. Starting with the slide-out ramp and stairs to enter the tub.

Kolby immediately put his paws up on the ramp, but error number one on Puppy Raiser's part, was that I didn't secure the movement of the slide out, which caused it to shift just a bit when his weight was upon it. Kolby was not impressed. Once I got that figured out, we went for try number two, and Kolby walked smoothly up the ramp, onto the step, and into the tub. Securing the wall shut, adding the collar that was connected to the tub wall to Kolby, we were ready for action.

The hose is preset to a comfortable water temp and pressure, and with the quick flick of buttons, I had the option to choose between water, soap, or conditioner. Without the hassle of juggling turning on and off the water with half empty soap bottles falling every which way and adjusting the chemistry to create the perfect lather ratio as one does while bathing a puppy at home, a Self Serve Dog Wash creates instant success every time. Not to mention there are no awkward bending movements over a tub, or into a free standing shower. The tubs at a Serve Serve Dog Wash are of perfect standing height. 

Once my Mister was smelling squeaky clean and the suds had disappeared, the dryer hose became the next opportunity for great training. This particular place had a hose that reached into the tub, so I did not have to get my soaked puppy out of the tub and over to the drying table. Having him contained dripping wet was fine by me.

I found that the high powered noise of the dryer was bothersome for Kolby. It was definitely something he was not used to, but it didn't take long before he settled into acceptance. I found that securing his ear closed with a gentle, yet firm grip on the side I was working on helped him tremendously. Soon he became the fluffy quarter Golden that he has in him.

A swift exit back through the open wall of the tub, down the one step, and onto the ramp, Kolby was strutting his good looks out of the Self Serve Dog Wash just like a Prince crowned Homecoming King during half time at a high school football game. And I got to walk away from the drips of water on the floor, and the dog hair in the tub (which could have been made into its own small animal).

I am sold. Kolby will be enjoying his monthly bath experience at the doggie spa until he returns to Canine Companions in August. And then ~ he will be ready for their professional tubs and dryers that are set very similar to the Self Serve Dog Wash.

Happy April!

Kolby's Best Friend

The staff from Canine Companions Santa Rosa Campus, whom all of our region directly reports to in our volunteering role as Puppy Raisers, came to our area a few weekends ago. They put on a very nice presentation over many topics and it was nice to enjoy that with my close Canine Companions friends.

Photo Credit: Helaine's PR

With the weather blowing sideways of rain and snow (thankfully it did not stick because I was a good trek from home) Kolby and I enjoyed the day next to his girlfriend, Helaine, and my best buddy, her Puppy Raiser. The puppies were amazing ~ they slept the day away by our feet, many times only remembering they were there by their cute antics towards one another.

Here are some pictures ~ it really says it all. At first greeting they really need to get their wiggles and excitement out of the way with lots of kissing and tail wags. They really only perform this high level of jubilation with each other, rarely do they "care" about any other puppy or dog. It is very sweet and nothing to be concerned over, because really - even working dogs need to have their love affairs.

The rest of their time together is always a mix of letting each other be solo, and cuddling up really close and quietly with each other. The slow movements of their paws on the other's face, or wrapped around the other's neck while sleeping, or back to back resting is just so heartwarming. They truly are best of friends.

Photo Credit Helaine's PR

In a perfect world - Kolby and Helaine will both graduate. One will go to a single woman, and one will go to a single man, and the two will be at Team Training at the same time, at the same location. They will meet and fall in love, knowing very clearly that their puppies are already in love, and then they too will begin to date once Team Training is over. Soon, a ring will be placed and they will wed ... and Kolby and Helaine will live together too ~ Happily Ever After.

After all, why not dream perfection for the lives of two best friends!

Siblings!

It is amazing the similarities between Kolby and his sister when the two live over 1200 miles apart. I would have guessed that nurture would override nature when speaking of dogs, but in this case nature won. While both Handlers are training the dogs to perform the same list of commands, the similarities in personality is what I am referring to. And that is something, I am learning, is very nature based. A dog's personality in a large extent comes by way of genes (my own non-scientific thought). 

Photo credit to Jennifer, Kira's PR

Kira is a petite version of Kolby, shorter by inches and weighing 20 pounds lighter, she really is the girly side of Mister. The mannerisms of the two were amazingly very similar and it was interesting to see the two of them reunite. They met us on the sidewalk and when the two pups saw each other, they immediately stopped as if they were looking into a mirror. Slowly their tails began to wag as they approached, and while they didn't go over-the-top crazy for one another, you could tell that they sensed they remembered. 

Photo credit to Jennifer, Kira's PR

Kira and Kolby worked well together during the photo op and it was sad to say goodbye when it was time for them to head back home. I am very confident that Kira will move forward to change lives and make a huge impact for her Forever Person ~ she is a very capable and well trained puppy already, and there are many, many more months of training ahead of her. She truly is a rock star. 

Thank you, J & K, for your visit and sharing the love. I hope we can meet again with K & K. 

City Piers and Parks

Kolby has been in our household for one entire year. The time has gone by so quickly ~ we are on a one hand count in months until Kolby returns to California. During the month of February, we had some adventures that I am now just getting to post.

The kids had a Mid-Winter Break in February that lasted for a week. On somewhat of an impromptu moment, my girl and her friend asked to go to the big city and I seized the opportunity to make it an outing for Kolby too.

This was about his third time on the Pier and I will say that he rocked it. We went to the same location for lunch that I took my friend while visiting from Montana back in October. At that time Kolby was up and down and just would not settle while we ate. This time, I am so proud at his steadfast ability to hold a command. He stayed in his Down the entire lunch time ~ despite the amount of people walking past and the volume of little tiny birds flying in the outdoor picnic area. He was curious about the birds, but never moved to get closer or to become their friend. 

There is one particular hang out spot for larger sea birds - Seagulls - and Kolby was definitely fascinated by their noise and large flapping wings that basically dive bomb any spectator. Kolby maintained the Sit command and would occasionally look at me for guidance. 

Shop walking and Pier walking ended us at a park that overlooked a working train track. While we were walking toward the park, a cargo train passed us while we were on the opposite side of the street. It was loud and Kolby didn't even seem to notice. By the time we got to the park, another cargo train was passing underneath and Kolby just looked over the slates in the bridge and didn't mind the movement below him. 

Kolby is not fearful of heights - he can peer over bridges and walkways and second, third, fourth story floors with no issue. I am very happy he has always been confident in his surroundings. 

Kolby rocked the big city ~ his best city trip to date. I am so proud of his easy going nature, and his ability to listen and follow commands. He still needs encouragement in some areas, but in the end he will work through the situation and get the task completed. For example, jumping onto something is not his forte. He will do it, but we are still motivating him. 

I love the pictures we take on Kolby Outings ~ a memory that will always last. 

6 months

Recently I counted on my fingers that we have 6 months remaining with our Mister and now we are down to 5 months (one hand) and some weeks because another seven days have passed since the last count. The feeling of "there are so many more things I want to accomplish before he leaves" is settling in at an alarming rate and expedited nature. For those that do not Puppy Raise, you may be thinking ... "Uhhh, drama ... five months is a long time!" Let me reassure you, no. it. is. not.

My goodness, it felt like Kolby just arrived and we are already nearing his one year anniversary in our house. As with children, the more you have the more life travels at a quicker pace, and puppy raising #2 went much faster than puppy raising #1. I know what to expect and how this all works now, I think that is why the wheels are set at mach speed. Not fair. 

But I will tell you what is fair ~ days like today when we are cuddled together with Kolby on the floor and he is completely content. He too knows the routine and expectations and we are kinda sailing on the same page now. Or, also like today, when my son decided that the rain storm outside meant play time inside and enjoyed an exhausting game of Hide and Seek with Kolby. The laughter was addictive for the humans in the house witnessing the fiasco, and the sideways, hanging out tongue was proof that Kolby was enjoying it too.

Side note: I always thought Kolby's nose was very good at locating things, things I hadn't even noticed are scouted out by Kolby. I have figured in the back of my mind that if he is not suited for Canine Companions, then maybe a transfer to the Police Academy for Bomb Sniffing would be up his alley. That dream building has come to a complete stop per today's Hide and Seek episodes. The silly dog could not find my son any of the time. Oh please, Oh please, Oh please just stick with Canine Companions, Mister!!

So while bomb sniffing may never be in his future, one thing is for sure - Kolby is the most patient and loveablist dog I have ever raised. He is genuinely a people person, as I have said many times, and his people skills are what will win over the hearts of his trainers. No matter his chosen Career ... with or without Canine Companions ... he will make his people proud. He will brighten someones day by just being with them. 

Right now he is curled up - by choice - at my feet as I type. Completely relaxed and content. What a good friend. 

So 6 months and counting will be filled with continued socialization, solid command work, and plenty of lovable time with our Mister.