Kristin

I took this picture of Kristin a few minutes ago. We've been blocking off the family room from the living room with ex-pens so Kristin can have a bit more freedom in a larger area. She's been happier like this, I think, and I certainly am. Right now she's beside my chair sleeping as I write.

I think we've definitely made progress on relieving issues. Yesterday, right after relieving in her spot, we went for a walk around the block. Kristin started picking up pace a little bit, and when we reached the front yard she started pulling me a bit to her relieving spot. I gave her the command (seeing the inevitable) and she went again. I see this as progress because she waited to go until we got home.

I also know Kristin's schedule now, so I can plan outings between relieving needs. This weekend Kristin went to a restaurant, to Trader Joes, to Home Depot and to a committee meeting with Lyn. Last weekend she went to graduation and slept most of the time.



Kristin has an endearing personality. I feel like I've been bonding with her more and have really started to enjoy raising her.

In other news, son Kevin got a part in the upcoming play Pride and Prejudice. He's going to be Mr. Collins, which is the part he wanted.

Lyn discovered he's had some hearing loss and hearing aids are recommended. That makes us both feel old - and broke! Those things are expensive!

I am now working 2 shifts at the animal shelter - one shift with dogs, one with cats. The shelter got a truckful of dogs this weekend from San Bernardino and they took in about 60 dogs (increased # in trip because one of the dogs gave birth to puppies). San Bernardino has had a dog population explosion. Most of the dogs are small designer dogs, the result of public demand for small dogs like many celebrities have (i.e., Paris Hilton). Small dogs are being abandoned right and left and the humane society in SB has had to euthanize hundreds of dogs a week. This is mind boggling to me - first that people want to emulate Paris Hilton, and second that they'd abandon so many dogs!

I am also transporting a mini-Aussie this weekend. I visited her on Sunday and she's adorable, but horribly scared. Aussie's do not do well in shelters. I'm trying to figure out a way to bring her to my house for a night or two. It means farming out my own dogs to sitters though.

TGIF

I just got back from socializing cats at the shelter. I love my volunteer jobs! It is hard to be with cats week after week and not bring them home, but I've been surprised at what a joy it is to actually help facilitate adoptions. It really is a thrill when somebody takes a cat home. I'm trying to work in a dog socialization/adoption shift now, too.

Miss Kristin has made it through the last 3 days without an accident and I have actually successfully taken her on 1 or 2 quick errands. I don't feel confident taking her on long outings yet, and my leader feels she should not go to the outing tomorrow. What a relief! I may go meet everyone in the parking lot, but then we'll turn around and go home after we've said hello. I worry that Kristin is bored, but I really want to correct this relieving problem! At any rate, it looks like it's going to be a quiet weekend.

The dogs are telling me it's past time to eat. How do they know that?

Oh yeah - I joined this today. It seems like a worthwhile cause and something I certainly can do!

Ardella Post

Cathie came over to work with Ardella on Friday morning. We worked alone and then she worked with Karren and Annalynn at their house. It worked well because our dogs are really very different. Cathie said she could not change Ardella's personality, but if I work with Ardella with food rewards while walking in places like the periphery of the dog park or parks in general that I could help her feel more confident in these settings. We took a walk around the neighborhood with Cathie's beautiful black Belgian shepherd and Ardella was fine. We met an intact male dog on the walk who really wanted to come over and see our dogs, which was making Ardella uncomfortable. I was able to keep her attention and fed her duck frequently enough that she didn't really care about that other dog. Cathie called Ardella an "old soul" with a librarian personality. I think that's an accurate description of Ardella. Cathie thinks that Ardella will be a great mentor for puppies and even encouraged me to think about fostering retired guides. That really sounds like a good idea! I would like that!

We finished up Ardella's obedience class with flying colors on Saturday and Emily said she felt that Ardella was ready for the CGC test with a little practice. I still think I'd like to take the master's level obedience and let Ardella mature a little more. I'm thinking that therapy work or being a reading dog would be a good activity for Ardella, but I think she needs to get to the 18-month to 24-month mark to do that kind of training.

It's been an interesting week with Kristin. She's a very sweet dog with a lot of energy. She also has a relieving issue and is only allowed to walk down the street and back after she relieves. We've had a few accidents and I'm a little discouraged. We haven't done a lot of socializing and I was really looking forward to that. Kristin went to graduation with Lyn on Saturday and did well, but had an accident yesterday on a walk down the street. We're going to be riding Max this week with the club and I'm a little nervous about it. Meanwhile, we're doing what we can to work through the relieving problem. Has anyone ever successfully helped a dog through a relieving problem at the age of 9.5 months or older? I sure would love to hear your story if you did! Ardella was career changed for relieving problems at 10 months so I'm reliving those days with Kristin. We both need some work!

Pictures of Kristin

Here's pretty Kristin. She poses and looks straight at the camera. That's a trait I appreciate!





Kristin is a dog that is going to need a lot of toys. She's a power chewer and I don't think the 3 toys I bought her are going to last the week.



Kristin is hilarious with Goughnuts. She throws them around and entertains herself and bounces around like Roo from Winnie the Pooh.



Ardella and Kristin are getting acquainted. Kristin is actually pretty calm for Ardella and I think they'll get to be friends.

Kristin is sleeping snuggled against my feet as I write this. I like that about her, too.

Miss K

I think it's safe to tell Miss K's name. Her former raiser got a new puppy today and apparently was quite excited about that. Miss K's name is Kristin.

I picked her up at a drop-off point just a little while ago, and Kristin is a very petite, happy little girl who greeted us calmly. The puppy truck deliverers had taken her into the restaurant with them when they stopped for lunch and said she was great under the table. She's got a beautiful face and I'll take a picture when the camera battery is recharged.

I sat in the back seat with Kristin on the way home and she's very cuddly.

So far Kristin has met Ardella and Aidan (which went well) and I think Kristin and Ardella will get along. Aidan, too, but we need to keep him separated from Kristin initially because he tends to want to start chase games.

Kristin is now lying down beside Lyn while he watches the Super Bowl. I'm off to take a nap.

Chilled and Chillin'

I have a cold - a bummer because it prevented me from doing a lot of things I'd planned to do today (like attend a baby shower I'd been looking forward to attending). On the other hand, Ardella is with Karren for some scheduled overnights, Lyn is in Corvallis for the day and Tim is who knows where and I have had an entire day to lounge around, drink tea, eat toast, read and knit.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks came this week and I think that this book never really needed any promoting from me. It's hot! It's in the top 10 selling books at Amazon and everyone who reviews books is reviewing it. It's also very good and I haven't read a book that kept my attention like this in a long time.

I took Aidan to Animal Enrichment Center yesterday and was dismayed to find a sign on the door that AEC was closing its doors. This has colored my whole weekend. I don't know of any other kind of facility that is like AEC and I don't know where we will go for training now. They've been a wonderful support for 2 years and I will miss them so much! Plus, who knows where I'm going to find antlers for the dogs so easily!

Tomorrow is a big day for us. The puppy truck will be returning from Seattle tomorrow with a 9-month-old black Lab female for us to finish raising. We'll have her for a 2-week trial period, but I anticipate that we'll love her and want to finish raising her. I've heard she's a great dog. I want to be sensitive to the raisers she is leaving. I know it's hard for them - I've been there! The puppies don't belong to us raisers, we all know that, and sometimes putting a puppy in another home is required to make the puppy successful. We want our puppies to be successful, but it's still a disappointment when we can't raise them from beginning to return to training. I've bought a notebook and hope to take lots of pictures, but will wait at least a week to see what direction we're leaning towards to post anything on the blog and to reveal her name. For now, I'll refer to her as K.