Reilly was disappointed that he didn't get to go help feed sheep this morning, but we also needed to deworm them, and I had one that looks to be developing summer pneumonia, so he had to be checked out and given antibiotics. Corralling the sheep into the catch pen could have gotten little Reilly trampled. So, he was made to stay outside the gate. He pouted for a bit, then went back to the house. He got a bath when we got inside; his first in the tub. It was easier than I thought, and he stood well in such a large space. It was hard bending for me, but I'll try him in my walk-in shower next time, since he stood so well. That way I won't have to lean over a tub, but can stand right next to him. He'll get taller fast.
I posted on a mastiff forum I'm a member of, about the limping, giving them all the details I could think of. The responses all leaned toward what I'm also leaning toward, but I will still get the vet to check and make sure. Panosteitis. I'm hoping that's it. While it could still make him not usable as a service dog if he has issues over a long period of time, it is the least likely of all possibilities to put him out of the job. And it's the most common cause of limping in large and giant breed pups, particularly male pups. That alone puts it higher on the list, but it's no guarantee. I'll cross my fingers now, and still wait until Tuesday.
I'm know I'm wishy-washy between paranoia and optimism. The prednisone emotional roller-coaster strikes again. But I work it out in worry, and let the professionals double-check behind me. The prednisone makes so many things harder, and helps so little. But it could be worse...in fact, it has been. And the dosage is getting reduced right now, so in a couple months I should be off the roller-coaster. And we'll see what's left! I can deal with both Prednisone Pollyanna and Prednisone Worry-wart.
Anna, he's one giant growth spurt. But the sleepiness evidenced yesterday was rather extreme. We'll see how he does today. Lots of things can make you tired. His appetite is still good, which is also important. And he's not on any supplements or high energy/protein/calcium foods.
Speaking of appetite....I think Chris may have solved the poop-eating problem. The carrots aren't fully digesting. There are chunks of carrot in his stools. Too darn attractive. So, he's off his beloved carrots for a few days, while we watch and see if this changes his behavior. If it does, then he'll be off carrots until he can hold it all night. Once he reaches that point, we can give them back, and just pick up the yard after him. But if he's pooping carrot-studded snack-poo during the night when we're asleep, there's nobody to stop him. It's a shame. "Carrot" is the word he knows best! I'll see how he feels about cucumbers in the meantime. I offered him plain rice this morning when the big Boys got their rice and eggs, but he was not interested at all. And he doesn't need the extra protein in the eggs. I need to find something he can have when they get their breakfast. Perhaps just a couple dog biscuits will make him happy.
He's done very well with company today. They are all at the pistol range behind the workshop, and he's sleeping through the shooting. He's been showing off his good company manners while they're here, though. No pottying inside, left Amy's flip-flops alone when told, hasn't been harassing Murph. Hard to tell if he's being good or just tired, but he's been asleep for several hours now. On the other hand, we did take them on a walk-about of the place as Amy wanted to see the sheep, so he made the rounds again as if for feeding but during the hot part of the day. A reason to be more tired today. Did a little limping, but not much. And he doesn't seem to be in the pain he was in yesterday, either. We'll see if that holds all day.
10:00 pm:
After the company left, Reilly turned back into a puppy. Just like kids after the company has gone home. Not dreadful, but funny. He didn't sleep so much today, and had maybe five minutes of acting like something hurt. I'm not the only wishy-washy one around here!
It's been a very long day today, so Reilly and I are headed of to bed. Tomorrow is another day.
Meg and Reilly
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
A morning outside
Poor Reilly has to stay outside all morning. Not completely alone; he has Jake and Murphy with him. None of them are happy about it.
Fireants. In my kitchen. In the dog kibble. I had to eject the dogs to spray, and they have to stay out until everything is clean. A hot morning with good shade from the maple tree right behind the house and lots of water is far better than ant spray. But none of them believe that! I spent the last couple hours moving things, washing them, tracking fire ant trails, getting bitten numerous times, and think I finally have them at bay. Chris is going to go under the house and see if there's a close mound to treat, although we have a super colony here on our little farm, so we can set them back but not kill them off. Inside, I just need to sweep and mop up the poison, but I needed a bit of a sit-down first. It's still not yet 9:30, so The Boys should all be able to come back in by 10:30 at the latest. Not too hot yet.
I was fixing breakfast for The Boys after feeding livestock this morning when my feet got attacked. I thought I had brought some in on my shoes, until I looked down and realized I was standing in a trail of fireants in my own kitchen. Horrors! I fed the guys quickly, then evicted them. Hurt their feelings, I did.
8:20 pm:
The Boys forgave me for evicting them this morning. Dogs are so forgiving.
Today, Reilly has slept. A lot. More than a puppy his age should be sleeping, and more than he normally does. He wakes up now and then, and wakes up to bells, and plays a bit and gets into things a bit....but mostly he's sleeping. More like when he came home at 8 weeks than he was a week ago. Don't know that I'd call it lethargy, as he does get up on his own, he's eating fine, will come running for the promise of carrot, but still....sleeping a lot. He also has acted as if he hurts, starting this afternoon late. Not continuously, but again, intermittently. If he's still acting like he hurts tomorrow I'll be calling the vet again to see what I can give him. He's too young to have to hurt. His life should be happy.I did move one of the big dog beds over near my computer, and he's happily taken it over. I need get another one just for him, but not yet. He's been destroying one of the older ones that lives on the front porch, I discovered. I rarely go on he front porch, as the steps up from the carport are difficult, and the front door is an attack door. But I figured it out today. We'll sort out beds. He's got his smaller bed right now, and it'll work just fine for a while yet.
Tomorrow our daughter comes to visit for the day, and Reilly will get to meet her for the first time. She's coming down from DC, and is on a busy schedule, but we'll get her and her boyfriend for the day, which will be nice. Hope she likes her new little brother! When she met Murphy and Jake, she told us that people who had human children shouldn't have child-surrogate pets. HA! She also complained that when she and her brother were little, they weren't allowed to put their feet on the furniture, and now we had dogs walking on it! As my friend Lisa says, "That's why they call it FURniture." Amy likes dogs, though, and Reilly is irresistible!
Since Reilly has slept most of the day away, there's not much else to report for today. We'll see how the next day goes. One day at a time.
Meg and Reilly
Fireants. In my kitchen. In the dog kibble. I had to eject the dogs to spray, and they have to stay out until everything is clean. A hot morning with good shade from the maple tree right behind the house and lots of water is far better than ant spray. But none of them believe that! I spent the last couple hours moving things, washing them, tracking fire ant trails, getting bitten numerous times, and think I finally have them at bay. Chris is going to go under the house and see if there's a close mound to treat, although we have a super colony here on our little farm, so we can set them back but not kill them off. Inside, I just need to sweep and mop up the poison, but I needed a bit of a sit-down first. It's still not yet 9:30, so The Boys should all be able to come back in by 10:30 at the latest. Not too hot yet.
I was fixing breakfast for The Boys after feeding livestock this morning when my feet got attacked. I thought I had brought some in on my shoes, until I looked down and realized I was standing in a trail of fireants in my own kitchen. Horrors! I fed the guys quickly, then evicted them. Hurt their feelings, I did.
8:20 pm:
The Boys forgave me for evicting them this morning. Dogs are so forgiving.
Today, Reilly has slept. A lot. More than a puppy his age should be sleeping, and more than he normally does. He wakes up now and then, and wakes up to bells, and plays a bit and gets into things a bit....but mostly he's sleeping. More like when he came home at 8 weeks than he was a week ago. Don't know that I'd call it lethargy, as he does get up on his own, he's eating fine, will come running for the promise of carrot, but still....sleeping a lot. He also has acted as if he hurts, starting this afternoon late. Not continuously, but again, intermittently. If he's still acting like he hurts tomorrow I'll be calling the vet again to see what I can give him. He's too young to have to hurt. His life should be happy.I did move one of the big dog beds over near my computer, and he's happily taken it over. I need get another one just for him, but not yet. He's been destroying one of the older ones that lives on the front porch, I discovered. I rarely go on he front porch, as the steps up from the carport are difficult, and the front door is an attack door. But I figured it out today. We'll sort out beds. He's got his smaller bed right now, and it'll work just fine for a while yet.
Tomorrow our daughter comes to visit for the day, and Reilly will get to meet her for the first time. She's coming down from DC, and is on a busy schedule, but we'll get her and her boyfriend for the day, which will be nice. Hope she likes her new little brother! When she met Murphy and Jake, she told us that people who had human children shouldn't have child-surrogate pets. HA! She also complained that when she and her brother were little, they weren't allowed to put their feet on the furniture, and now we had dogs walking on it! As my friend Lisa says, "That's why they call it FURniture." Amy likes dogs, though, and Reilly is irresistible!
Since Reilly has slept most of the day away, there's not much else to report for today. We'll see how the next day goes. One day at a time.
Meg and Reilly
Friday, July 29, 2011
Crickets and bells...and limping, oh My!
I took Reilly out last night just before bedtime, and realized that he's found something new. Crickets. He's the Great Hunter Of Crickets now. Stalking and pouncing like a cat. Over and over and over. There's lots of crickets out there, which surprises me. The half-grown chicks are still running everywhere like a small pack of velociraptors, so I'm surprised there are any crickets on the whole place! But there are, and Reilly thinks they are the most fun thing out there!
I talked him into coming inside, and put him to bed. About fifteen minutes later, the bells on the door in the mudroom where he's currently sleeping started ringing like crazy! I immediately went and let him outside and told him how wonderful he was for ringing the bells (although he was just playing in there...but hopefully he'll figure out cause-and-effect here.) Once outside, he went right back to cricket hunting. I couldn't get him to go potty. Ah, well. He went on the paper several times overnight but still, that's what it's for. Accidents inside during the day are very rare now.
We got up this morning and walked, a short walk just on the path up and down in front of the car. Not even around the ball field...and he started the limping again. He wasn't doing it when we got home. I'll be calling the vet this morning to see what they think about this. I'm hoping it's just growing pains, but if there's something wrong, it could be an instant wash-out on training him for mobility. He has to be sound for it. The odds when training a dog for service are never good; there are so many things that can go wrong. Large things, like the dog not being sound. Things that look like little things, like his vocalizations, which may or may not end up being an issue. Someone letting a door close on a puppy could give him a door-phobia (like Jake has) making it impossible for him to go through a door with a person. Chasing squirrels or cats. Being too protective of his person. Being too food oriented. Fear of loud noises, or cars, or.... or.... or...... So many things. The best you can do is do your homework and give it your best shot. We'll see how it goes. (I'm hoping it's just my natural paranoia speaking here, and he's just got growing pains.)
1:00 pm:
It took me half the day to get through to my vet's office, so I couldn't squeeze in an appointment today. I have a brace fitting on Monday, which can't be changed, so I can't take him then, so our appointment is Tuesday at 3:00. In the meantime, of course I'm looking stuff up. Lots of sites out there with information on limping in giant breed pups, as there are a lot of things that can cause it. Here's a fairly good one: http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/mastiff/mastiffarticle2.htm
Some are less problematic than others. Just about all of them will stop his training....dead in the water. So, while we're waiting to get this evaluated, no more park walks, not even short ones like we've been doing. While some of these conditions can benefit by exercise, most will not, and exercise is more likely to harm than lack of it.
I'm going to try to maintain a hopeful attitude. This is hard. If Reilly has some disease or disorder that keeps him from working, then we're done. It was a huge decision to try this with two adult dogs at home already. The dynamics are different when there are already dogs in the picture. There is no way I could get a fourth, particularly with the third a puppy still. And by the time Reilly is an adult, I will not physically be able to attempt this anyway. So, while I'm trying to remain hopeful, I'm always a pragmatic person who needs to plan ahead for every contingency, which means I still end up dwelling on every possible outcome. Which makes me a worrier.
Best case scenario is it's something transient. Real transient, like a splinter I've missed that just catches wrong sometimes. And of course worse case is something permanent, that causes him pain. There's lots of graduations in between that wouldn't be a big deal for a pet. But they might be here.
So...I will go somewhere else and worry quietly. And not comment on it again until his appointment.
11:15 pm:
Today, Reilly has been a little rascal. He's pooped and peed in the house, even on his bed! (It's because this morning I said he was going in the house only rarely. I jinxed us.) He's snuck off and gotten into things in our room, which he hasn't been going into at all. He's gotten shoes. He's done all the bad puppy things he can think of. And he's been so cute doing them it's hilarious. I caught him in my room with something...and he immediately dropped it and ran to his room. By the time I got there, he was lying on the floor looking angelic.
And, I bought toddler socks to try out on him today. I need bigger socks. But the idea will work as he's growing, as long as I get the type that have a good cuff at the ankle. And no heel to speak of.
See:
And, because I wanted to show you how smartly sneaky he can be, here's Reilly using a shoe as a pillow. Yes, I had piled my book bags in the corner and tossed my shoes over there, too. Bad of me, I know. But there they are.
If he'd stayed like this...no problem. But after a while, he figured that Mom wouldn't notice if he started playing with the shoe instead of sleeping on it.
But I did. This is his "NOT FAIR" pout:
But he left them alone, right where I put them on the bags.
And one more today, because I wanted you to see how big his feet are. You can compare to Murphy, who is, as I said before, between 90-95 pounds:
Murphy's right front foot has a sliver of floor showing between it and Reilly, at least the wide part does, so it's not squished up or covered up on the edge; you can see the width of his foot. Murphy is three and a half years old, so he's not growing any more. Reilly was 12 weeks yesterday (And weighed 30 pounds, by the way. I posted his weight on the page with his health stuff.) and Reilly will do a lot of growing. Those feet are pretty comparable in size now! Reilly has shorter toes right now, but that'll change.
Today I did manage to can a couple gallons of grape juice from our grapes. Perhaps Reilly was feeling neglected today, and decided to do foolish puppy things because of it. Ah well, it's always two steps forward and one step back when you're potty training a puppy. No worries. He'll catch on soon enough.
Someone did ask me today why I don't just crate train him. The answer to that is...I'd rather house train him than crate train him. If he's not smart enough to learn to behave in his own home, then how could he be smart enough to help take care of me in unfamiliar places? And that goes for all the dogs we've ever had. I'm not a fan of crates, although they can be a huge help when used right. Most people don't use them right, though. Dogs end up being locked in crates most of their lives. It's an easy trap to fall into, and I can see why. But it's one I'd rather stay away from. We want our dogs to be family, not cage pets. I do agree that all dogs should be familiar with crates in case they need to travel or be confined at the vet. But crate training isn't for us. I'll just clean up a bit longer, until he's old enough to sort it all out.
Meg and Reilly
I talked him into coming inside, and put him to bed. About fifteen minutes later, the bells on the door in the mudroom where he's currently sleeping started ringing like crazy! I immediately went and let him outside and told him how wonderful he was for ringing the bells (although he was just playing in there...but hopefully he'll figure out cause-and-effect here.) Once outside, he went right back to cricket hunting. I couldn't get him to go potty. Ah, well. He went on the paper several times overnight but still, that's what it's for. Accidents inside during the day are very rare now.
We got up this morning and walked, a short walk just on the path up and down in front of the car. Not even around the ball field...and he started the limping again. He wasn't doing it when we got home. I'll be calling the vet this morning to see what they think about this. I'm hoping it's just growing pains, but if there's something wrong, it could be an instant wash-out on training him for mobility. He has to be sound for it. The odds when training a dog for service are never good; there are so many things that can go wrong. Large things, like the dog not being sound. Things that look like little things, like his vocalizations, which may or may not end up being an issue. Someone letting a door close on a puppy could give him a door-phobia (like Jake has) making it impossible for him to go through a door with a person. Chasing squirrels or cats. Being too protective of his person. Being too food oriented. Fear of loud noises, or cars, or.... or.... or...... So many things. The best you can do is do your homework and give it your best shot. We'll see how it goes. (I'm hoping it's just my natural paranoia speaking here, and he's just got growing pains.)
1:00 pm:
It took me half the day to get through to my vet's office, so I couldn't squeeze in an appointment today. I have a brace fitting on Monday, which can't be changed, so I can't take him then, so our appointment is Tuesday at 3:00. In the meantime, of course I'm looking stuff up. Lots of sites out there with information on limping in giant breed pups, as there are a lot of things that can cause it. Here's a fairly good one: http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/mastiff/mastiffarticle2.htm
Some are less problematic than others. Just about all of them will stop his training....dead in the water. So, while we're waiting to get this evaluated, no more park walks, not even short ones like we've been doing. While some of these conditions can benefit by exercise, most will not, and exercise is more likely to harm than lack of it.
I'm going to try to maintain a hopeful attitude. This is hard. If Reilly has some disease or disorder that keeps him from working, then we're done. It was a huge decision to try this with two adult dogs at home already. The dynamics are different when there are already dogs in the picture. There is no way I could get a fourth, particularly with the third a puppy still. And by the time Reilly is an adult, I will not physically be able to attempt this anyway. So, while I'm trying to remain hopeful, I'm always a pragmatic person who needs to plan ahead for every contingency, which means I still end up dwelling on every possible outcome. Which makes me a worrier.
Best case scenario is it's something transient. Real transient, like a splinter I've missed that just catches wrong sometimes. And of course worse case is something permanent, that causes him pain. There's lots of graduations in between that wouldn't be a big deal for a pet. But they might be here.
So...I will go somewhere else and worry quietly. And not comment on it again until his appointment.
11:15 pm:
Today, Reilly has been a little rascal. He's pooped and peed in the house, even on his bed! (It's because this morning I said he was going in the house only rarely. I jinxed us.) He's snuck off and gotten into things in our room, which he hasn't been going into at all. He's gotten shoes. He's done all the bad puppy things he can think of. And he's been so cute doing them it's hilarious. I caught him in my room with something...and he immediately dropped it and ran to his room. By the time I got there, he was lying on the floor looking angelic.
And, I bought toddler socks to try out on him today. I need bigger socks. But the idea will work as he's growing, as long as I get the type that have a good cuff at the ankle. And no heel to speak of.
See:
And, because I wanted to show you how smartly sneaky he can be, here's Reilly using a shoe as a pillow. Yes, I had piled my book bags in the corner and tossed my shoes over there, too. Bad of me, I know. But there they are.
If he'd stayed like this...no problem. But after a while, he figured that Mom wouldn't notice if he started playing with the shoe instead of sleeping on it.
But I did. This is his "NOT FAIR" pout:
But he left them alone, right where I put them on the bags.
And one more today, because I wanted you to see how big his feet are. You can compare to Murphy, who is, as I said before, between 90-95 pounds:
Today I did manage to can a couple gallons of grape juice from our grapes. Perhaps Reilly was feeling neglected today, and decided to do foolish puppy things because of it. Ah well, it's always two steps forward and one step back when you're potty training a puppy. No worries. He'll catch on soon enough.
Someone did ask me today why I don't just crate train him. The answer to that is...I'd rather house train him than crate train him. If he's not smart enough to learn to behave in his own home, then how could he be smart enough to help take care of me in unfamiliar places? And that goes for all the dogs we've ever had. I'm not a fan of crates, although they can be a huge help when used right. Most people don't use them right, though. Dogs end up being locked in crates most of their lives. It's an easy trap to fall into, and I can see why. But it's one I'd rather stay away from. We want our dogs to be family, not cage pets. I do agree that all dogs should be familiar with crates in case they need to travel or be confined at the vet. But crate training isn't for us. I'll just clean up a bit longer, until he's old enough to sort it all out.
Meg and Reilly
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Service dogs at work
This morning I had an appointment with Disability Support Services (DSS) on our campus. I had really anticipated some resistance to Reilly, which is why I started this so early. I should have known better. I've worked with these people serving disabled students, and they are good advocates for whatever is within the law. It was pointed out to me that not only is Reilly welcome when he's fully trained, but NC law allows him to come as an SDiT (Service Dog in Training), as long as he has manners and is not disruptive.
Our DSS also let me know that if I was unable to clean up after Reilly, that they would designate a potty area for him, out of traffic areas, and then the grounds crew would clean up after him. I will do the clean-up as long as bending is safe for me, but it's nice to know they are willing to go so far!
I was also informed that there will be two other service dogs on campus this fall. One is a guide dog, and I don't know about the second. That's all to the good. More dogs ends up being more acceptance in the long run. Since we're near a military installation, they are also expecting an increase in service animals from that area, including mobility mini-horses. I had actually considered a mini-horse at one point, but figured the dog would be easier. But for a big disabled soldier, a strong mini-horse makes sense. It would be much more useful for bracing a guy who's 200-250 pounds than any dog would be, with a much longer lifespan, to boot. I can't wait until we have some of those on campus!
This afternoon, Reilly and I went to the other pet shop to pick up rats and see the layout. I learned that I should check places out ahead of time if at all possible; at least until he's fully potty trained. Their walking area was too far across a parking lot for a puppy. I parked in the middle instead of by the building, but the hot pavement hurt his feet. He's going to need to learn to wear boots to protect his feet if I have to do much walking on pavements. I'll have to see what I can start him with, as fast as he's growing. Perhaps toddler or children's socks would work to start, just to have something on his feet. Not that they'd give him much protection, but they'd be practice. And shoot, they'd be better than barefoot. You can cook an egg on pavement in 100 degree weather in North Carolina! I bet I could design some custom knitwear for later. Fulled soles dipped in rubber (They make liquid rubber that you can dip things in and it dries quickly into a thin layer.) Tops knitted cotton, to be cooler. A warmer version for winter, as he's short-haired. I can do this. I remember waaaayyy back when I was working as a vet tech, we had a dog come in whose owner had taken him running, during the afternoon, on pavement. The dog had literally run the pads off his feet, and had bloody, raw, painful open places where his pads had been. Over fifty percent of the pads were gone. Took a long time to heal up. Reilly doesn't need this at all.
At any rate, after getting across the parking lot to the shop, we discovered that it was a great store. The best in town for dog supplies, as a matter of fact. Several different varieties of harnesses. If I hadn't purchased one yesterday, I would have tried on several today. As it is, I'll wait until he's ready for the next size, at which time he'll also be better at holding it, and will not have to walk across that parking lot! They also had a large variety of healthy treats, a larger variety of toys, bowls...everything. All the good brands of feed. I like this store. I don't like the location, but it'll be better for us later. And the staff was very helpful and pleasant. And not a single other dog in sight. I'm going to go back without Reilly and really look over those harnesses to see which looks the most comfortable. And find another water bowl for the car. The collapsible one is good, but a no-spill metal one would be even better. And I want to look over the beds they have. He'll need something practical in my office, but not so cushy that going to classrooms and waiting seems like a hardship.
So, today after chores Reilly spent the morning alone. I came home around noon and we had lunch, then went to the pet shop. Since then, Reilly has alternated between sleeping and pestering Murphy, or begging for carrots.
I would like to note that he did some limping today, at the pet shop...on his left foreleg instead of his right. Might have been the hot pavement, although I checked all his pads and there's no visible damage. Damage is not always visible, though. Only lasted a few minutes, then it was done. I'll be making sure he gets a full check his next visit, or before if need be.
I'm planning on walking tomorrow, but I'm going to find a shorter walk, just in case he starts limping again. I don't want to be on the far side of the ball field if he starts that. I think maybe just up and down a fifty yard stretch near the car would work better.
Meg and Reilly
Our DSS also let me know that if I was unable to clean up after Reilly, that they would designate a potty area for him, out of traffic areas, and then the grounds crew would clean up after him. I will do the clean-up as long as bending is safe for me, but it's nice to know they are willing to go so far!
I was also informed that there will be two other service dogs on campus this fall. One is a guide dog, and I don't know about the second. That's all to the good. More dogs ends up being more acceptance in the long run. Since we're near a military installation, they are also expecting an increase in service animals from that area, including mobility mini-horses. I had actually considered a mini-horse at one point, but figured the dog would be easier. But for a big disabled soldier, a strong mini-horse makes sense. It would be much more useful for bracing a guy who's 200-250 pounds than any dog would be, with a much longer lifespan, to boot. I can't wait until we have some of those on campus!
This afternoon, Reilly and I went to the other pet shop to pick up rats and see the layout. I learned that I should check places out ahead of time if at all possible; at least until he's fully potty trained. Their walking area was too far across a parking lot for a puppy. I parked in the middle instead of by the building, but the hot pavement hurt his feet. He's going to need to learn to wear boots to protect his feet if I have to do much walking on pavements. I'll have to see what I can start him with, as fast as he's growing. Perhaps toddler or children's socks would work to start, just to have something on his feet. Not that they'd give him much protection, but they'd be practice. And shoot, they'd be better than barefoot. You can cook an egg on pavement in 100 degree weather in North Carolina! I bet I could design some custom knitwear for later. Fulled soles dipped in rubber (They make liquid rubber that you can dip things in and it dries quickly into a thin layer.) Tops knitted cotton, to be cooler. A warmer version for winter, as he's short-haired. I can do this. I remember waaaayyy back when I was working as a vet tech, we had a dog come in whose owner had taken him running, during the afternoon, on pavement. The dog had literally run the pads off his feet, and had bloody, raw, painful open places where his pads had been. Over fifty percent of the pads were gone. Took a long time to heal up. Reilly doesn't need this at all.
At any rate, after getting across the parking lot to the shop, we discovered that it was a great store. The best in town for dog supplies, as a matter of fact. Several different varieties of harnesses. If I hadn't purchased one yesterday, I would have tried on several today. As it is, I'll wait until he's ready for the next size, at which time he'll also be better at holding it, and will not have to walk across that parking lot! They also had a large variety of healthy treats, a larger variety of toys, bowls...everything. All the good brands of feed. I like this store. I don't like the location, but it'll be better for us later. And the staff was very helpful and pleasant. And not a single other dog in sight. I'm going to go back without Reilly and really look over those harnesses to see which looks the most comfortable. And find another water bowl for the car. The collapsible one is good, but a no-spill metal one would be even better. And I want to look over the beds they have. He'll need something practical in my office, but not so cushy that going to classrooms and waiting seems like a hardship.
So, today after chores Reilly spent the morning alone. I came home around noon and we had lunch, then went to the pet shop. Since then, Reilly has alternated between sleeping and pestering Murphy, or begging for carrots.
I would like to note that he did some limping today, at the pet shop...on his left foreleg instead of his right. Might have been the hot pavement, although I checked all his pads and there's no visible damage. Damage is not always visible, though. Only lasted a few minutes, then it was done. I'll be making sure he gets a full check his next visit, or before if need be.
I'm planning on walking tomorrow, but I'm going to find a shorter walk, just in case he starts limping again. I don't want to be on the far side of the ball field if he starts that. I think maybe just up and down a fifty yard stretch near the car would work better.
Meg and Reilly
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
First store trips today
6:00 pm...
Reilly and I went to Tractor Supply this afternoon. He did better than my highest hopes! He peed before he got in the car. It's about a fifteen minute drive, so I asked him when we got there if he needed to go again, taking him onto the ground cover (no grass), but he didn't. Just to be safe, I kept our first visit short. We went inside, and he did fine with the electronic door. He acted like it was perfectly normal. He stayed with me to the first turn, as we headed back to the animal feeds and supplies. He paused by a rack of potato chips, but came instantly when I told him to. He paused again to smell a shirt, but again came when I told him to. In the doggie isle, he chose a John Deere green rope with two balls on it as his new toy. That one he'll keep in the car, as he needs something permanent in there for entertainment.
We walked back up to the register, and that's the first time Reilly left my side. A man ahead of us called him, and Reilly went happily. He was within loose leash range, so I didn't stop Reilly. Until he's wearing a working dog vest, it'll be awfully hard to say something to people who just want to admire your puppy, especially when said puppy is being so helpful. But we can learn. Once the man left, I told the cashier which feeds I needed, and she called it to the back for me. We stepped aside to wait, and I had Reilly sit. He did, and he stayed there, watching the next few people check out. No trying to go to anyone, no shying away from anything, just lots of interest. The young man bringing my feed brought it on a flatbed cart. This also didn't phase Reilly one bit! Nothing! And it was a rumbly one, too. He had to push it right in front of us for the cashier to ring up the feed and toy, but we paid, then went out so the man could put it in my car for me. I again checked to see if Reilly wanted a potty break, but he said no.
Then we went to the pet shop that carries the harnesses I like. Another ten minutes. Not much grass available, but I found a bit, and this time he went. We walked in through a manual door, and Reilly did fine with it, too. Neither of the doors phased him, and they were both glass with reflections, come to think of it. The smells in this place were more interesting, but Reilly walked with me to the back and we got a new harness and a new collar while we were at it. He's got about two more inches in his old collar, but might as well get one while I'm there. And I got some Flush Puppies dog poo bags...biodegradable! Yay! They aren't plastic, and can go in the trash or get flushed! That'll make me feel better.
He was a little more distracted by smells in here, and people too. He managed to lick one lady on her ankle before I could stop him. Thank goodness she didn't mind. I took him to the toy isle again, but he wasn't interested. He was interested in the treats and rawhides, but I wasn't getting those today. I need him to not pay attention to edibles in stores. However, when we checked out the cashier asked if he could have a treat. I asked if had chicken in it, and she said no, and showed me that they're homemade. They make them with oatmeal, apples and cinnamon with no meats. This time, I let him have one, since it wasn't something he was sniffing at. He ate it like a gentleman, and we left.
Tomorrow, I have to go to my meeting, but in the afternoon I think we're going to the other small pet shop to buy rats for Chris' snakes. That'll give us another outing and another place to test manners. And more new smells. In the car. Could be interesting. Wish me luck and good mojo on my meeting!
Shoveling Ferret...I don't know if I can hold one long enough to do the job. My parents have one; I'll try it out next visit and see if I can hold on to it. Good idea, thanks!
This evening Chris boosted Reilly up onto my lap, and he just snuggled for a long time. He's overflowing said lap, but didn't seem to mind. Just snuggled down and licked on my face and ears. I wish I could get on the floor with him. Won't be long before he'll be able to come get in bed with me though. :)
We need to get a king-sized bed. The queen we have now doesn't fit two adult humans and two adult dogs. Where are we going to put three doggies? And another sofa. The love seat holds two dogs or a dog and a person, but not three of anything. Time to move the rocking chairs out to make room.....
Reilly had a good day today. He showed he wasn't scared of new things like electronic doors and flatbed carts that rumble, that he wouldn't get into things in the stores, and that he was exceptionally well-behaved in public for a baby. A good day.
Meg and Reilly
Reilly and I went to Tractor Supply this afternoon. He did better than my highest hopes! He peed before he got in the car. It's about a fifteen minute drive, so I asked him when we got there if he needed to go again, taking him onto the ground cover (no grass), but he didn't. Just to be safe, I kept our first visit short. We went inside, and he did fine with the electronic door. He acted like it was perfectly normal. He stayed with me to the first turn, as we headed back to the animal feeds and supplies. He paused by a rack of potato chips, but came instantly when I told him to. He paused again to smell a shirt, but again came when I told him to. In the doggie isle, he chose a John Deere green rope with two balls on it as his new toy. That one he'll keep in the car, as he needs something permanent in there for entertainment.
We walked back up to the register, and that's the first time Reilly left my side. A man ahead of us called him, and Reilly went happily. He was within loose leash range, so I didn't stop Reilly. Until he's wearing a working dog vest, it'll be awfully hard to say something to people who just want to admire your puppy, especially when said puppy is being so helpful. But we can learn. Once the man left, I told the cashier which feeds I needed, and she called it to the back for me. We stepped aside to wait, and I had Reilly sit. He did, and he stayed there, watching the next few people check out. No trying to go to anyone, no shying away from anything, just lots of interest. The young man bringing my feed brought it on a flatbed cart. This also didn't phase Reilly one bit! Nothing! And it was a rumbly one, too. He had to push it right in front of us for the cashier to ring up the feed and toy, but we paid, then went out so the man could put it in my car for me. I again checked to see if Reilly wanted a potty break, but he said no.
Then we went to the pet shop that carries the harnesses I like. Another ten minutes. Not much grass available, but I found a bit, and this time he went. We walked in through a manual door, and Reilly did fine with it, too. Neither of the doors phased him, and they were both glass with reflections, come to think of it. The smells in this place were more interesting, but Reilly walked with me to the back and we got a new harness and a new collar while we were at it. He's got about two more inches in his old collar, but might as well get one while I'm there. And I got some Flush Puppies dog poo bags...biodegradable! Yay! They aren't plastic, and can go in the trash or get flushed! That'll make me feel better.
He was a little more distracted by smells in here, and people too. He managed to lick one lady on her ankle before I could stop him. Thank goodness she didn't mind. I took him to the toy isle again, but he wasn't interested. He was interested in the treats and rawhides, but I wasn't getting those today. I need him to not pay attention to edibles in stores. However, when we checked out the cashier asked if he could have a treat. I asked if had chicken in it, and she said no, and showed me that they're homemade. They make them with oatmeal, apples and cinnamon with no meats. This time, I let him have one, since it wasn't something he was sniffing at. He ate it like a gentleman, and we left.
Tomorrow, I have to go to my meeting, but in the afternoon I think we're going to the other small pet shop to buy rats for Chris' snakes. That'll give us another outing and another place to test manners. And more new smells. In the car. Could be interesting. Wish me luck and good mojo on my meeting!
Shoveling Ferret...I don't know if I can hold one long enough to do the job. My parents have one; I'll try it out next visit and see if I can hold on to it. Good idea, thanks!
This evening Chris boosted Reilly up onto my lap, and he just snuggled for a long time. He's overflowing said lap, but didn't seem to mind. Just snuggled down and licked on my face and ears. I wish I could get on the floor with him. Won't be long before he'll be able to come get in bed with me though. :)
We need to get a king-sized bed. The queen we have now doesn't fit two adult humans and two adult dogs. Where are we going to put three doggies? And another sofa. The love seat holds two dogs or a dog and a person, but not three of anything. Time to move the rocking chairs out to make room.....
Reilly had a good day today. He showed he wasn't scared of new things like electronic doors and flatbed carts that rumble, that he wouldn't get into things in the stores, and that he was exceptionally well-behaved in public for a baby. A good day.
Meg and Reilly
To limp, or not to limp, that is the question.
When we went for our walk on Monday, Reilly appeared to favor his right front foot for the last hundred yards. I checked his foot and found a bit of a red spot between his toes. I figured he'd stepped on something, or even had an insect bite bothering him. He didn't limp afterwards and I forgot it. Didn't even mention it on here, it was so thoroughly forgotten by the time I wrote. Today on our walk, he started intermittantly favoring that same foot. Not consistantly. And once we got home, he quit entirely. At this point, I'm wondering if it's not the harness putting pressure somewhere, although it's still loose enough. I switched his leash to his collar to get back to the car, in case. He doesn't show any signs of pain or irritation, or anything. Dang it. I know pups have growing pains like kids do, but I'll have him checked out anyway. Probably not until his next puppy visit, unless it becomes more frequent or more...anything. At this point it's very slight. Chris didn't notice until it was pointed out to him.
Oh, and Chris decided to go this morning, so I made him take a picture for this blog. Remember that it's 5:30 am. I'm not getting dressed up for a walk in the park at 5:30 am. It's cut-offs and a T-shirt for me. I'm wanting Reilly to learn to walk predominantly on my left side, which is where I use my cane. To walk him on the left, however, I have to put my cane on the right. The cane is for balance, so I can use it on either side, but it feels weird. You can just see the tip of it on the other side of me. With Reilly closer to the camera, he looks huge! But look how nicely he walks along. The leash is loose.
When we got home, we fed the livestock, then came in to fix breakfast for all the Boys. Here's another picture of Patience. You can see how much Reilly has grown! Remember that Murphy weighs between 90-95 pounds.
And despite the fact that Jake avoids Reilly in the house, I have discovered him playing with Reilly outside. I haven't been able to get a photo, because when I open the door, he stops. I tried taking one through the door, but my camera focuses on the glass, or on the screen if I leave the solid door open until they start back up. Jake is just running around him, with Reilly excitedly trying to catch him. A small game of "keep away", but they both seem to enjoy it. Both tails are going like crazy.
Just this for now,
Meg and Reilly
Oh, and Chris decided to go this morning, so I made him take a picture for this blog. Remember that it's 5:30 am. I'm not getting dressed up for a walk in the park at 5:30 am. It's cut-offs and a T-shirt for me. I'm wanting Reilly to learn to walk predominantly on my left side, which is where I use my cane. To walk him on the left, however, I have to put my cane on the right. The cane is for balance, so I can use it on either side, but it feels weird. You can just see the tip of it on the other side of me. With Reilly closer to the camera, he looks huge! But look how nicely he walks along. The leash is loose.
When we got home, we fed the livestock, then came in to fix breakfast for all the Boys. Here's another picture of Patience. You can see how much Reilly has grown! Remember that Murphy weighs between 90-95 pounds.
And despite the fact that Jake avoids Reilly in the house, I have discovered him playing with Reilly outside. I haven't been able to get a photo, because when I open the door, he stops. I tried taking one through the door, but my camera focuses on the glass, or on the screen if I leave the solid door open until they start back up. Jake is just running around him, with Reilly excitedly trying to catch him. A small game of "keep away", but they both seem to enjoy it. Both tails are going like crazy.
Just this for now,
Meg and Reilly
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
First and last
First time Reilly wanted on the sofa was today. He's watched the big dogs get up there, but he hasn't shown an interest. I haven't encouraged him, as it's a puppy-tooth-free safe-haven for Murphy and Jake. Particularly Jake. But I was sitting there, and he wanted to join me, so I boosted him up. He loved it. First, he tried to do the big dog thing, and use the arm of the sofa as a pillow:
He just couldn't get comfortable like that, though. His neck was all stretched out. So he decided to curl up like a puppy. I gave him a friend.
He got up again later, on request and with help. Woe unto Jake! He'd best go get in bed!
As far as "last" things, I think today is his last bath in the sink. He's grown a lot since his first one!
He stands so nicely for his bath. And his toothbrush. That's the red thing on the counter. Nobody wants stinky mastiff breath rolling in from the next table over in the restaurant! He got his nails trimmed today too. I don't have the hand strength to squeeze the clippers anymore, so I asked hubby to do it. He's not used to doing such things. He ended up quicking one hind toenail, which made Reilly yip, and made Chris feel bad. It wasn't by much and the bleeding stopped quickly, but it'll be a bit sore for a day or two. It didn't upset him though. After the initial yip, he was past it and made no objection to the rest of his nails being clipped.
The temps today were only in the high 80's! Murphy and Jake wanted to spend more time outside, and Reilly wanted to go too. I watched him through the window, as he went further from the house than he's gone by himself before. Maybe thirty feet! Getting braver all the time.
Today we did have one pee and one poop accident in the house, both in his room. Not bad at all for his age. Not bad at all. He'll be house trained in no time!
He's been acting his age today. He's been harassing Murphy and attempting total destruction on unsuspecting stuffed animals, on which he pounces in a very catlike manner with both front feet. Then he grabs them and shakes them, growling fiercely. In between those, he's been begging. For carrots. Vocally. He will whine and even bark for carrots, but not to go outside. Go figure. "MOM! You know they're in that big box! Get one for me while you're in there!" "WAIT! You forgot the carrot!" He's so funny with them. I don't care what kind of treat the Boys are getting, or what they have for breakfast. Give Reilly a carrot and he is thrilled to death.
I have mostly remembered today to make him sit and wait for permission to exit an open door. I forgot once or twice, but mostly we're doing it. It confused him to start, but by days end he's in less of a hurry to get through the door.
Tomorrow Reilly and I will go for our walk in the park without Chris. That'll give us more time to work on walking beside me on the same side instead of switching. Our current plan is to walk every other day, so as not to strain little puppy legs. Chris will join us on days he can. His work schedule varies. Once classes start back, we'll see what schedule works best. Although my earliest class is only 9:00 am, I'll have long days to be there. I'm only teaching three days a week, with several sections a day, plus office hours and prep. It's a lot of time on my feet for lectures and labs, although I have a break between classes, which is where I put my office hours. So I do alternate standing and sitting. (No, I will not teach sitting down. Boring.) Starting off getting tired may not work well. And I still have livestock to feed. I think I'll end up walking on non-teaching days. That'll be Wednesday, Friday and the weekend. We can either walk W/F/Sunday, or walk all four of them, as Reilly gets older and stronger.
Reilly is spending more and more time awake, and more and more time wanting attention, which is good and as it should be. He is quite vocal still, and demonstrates it more and more. This will be our biggest hurdle to overcome. (So far, anyway.) He can't be so vocal out in public. If he doesn't outgrow it, we'll have to cue it and not give the cues in public.
Tomorrow we'll be going to pick up that next size harness he needs. And maybe to Tractor Supply for some rabbit food. I want him to have his third set of shots before he goes into PetsMart. It's always full of dogs and unvaccinated puppies. The store that carries the harnesses I like is pet friendly, but I've only seen one dog in there, so we're less likely to run into one, especially during the day. And Tractor Supply is dog-friendly, but you rarely see one in there, either. We can buy a new toy there. I'll let him pick it out.
Another positive day. Life is good.
Meg and Reilly
As far as "last" things, I think today is his last bath in the sink. He's grown a lot since his first one!
The temps today were only in the high 80's! Murphy and Jake wanted to spend more time outside, and Reilly wanted to go too. I watched him through the window, as he went further from the house than he's gone by himself before. Maybe thirty feet! Getting braver all the time.
Today we did have one pee and one poop accident in the house, both in his room. Not bad at all for his age. Not bad at all. He'll be house trained in no time!
He's been acting his age today. He's been harassing Murphy and attempting total destruction on unsuspecting stuffed animals, on which he pounces in a very catlike manner with both front feet. Then he grabs them and shakes them, growling fiercely. In between those, he's been begging. For carrots. Vocally. He will whine and even bark for carrots, but not to go outside. Go figure. "MOM! You know they're in that big box! Get one for me while you're in there!" "WAIT! You forgot the carrot!" He's so funny with them. I don't care what kind of treat the Boys are getting, or what they have for breakfast. Give Reilly a carrot and he is thrilled to death.
I have mostly remembered today to make him sit and wait for permission to exit an open door. I forgot once or twice, but mostly we're doing it. It confused him to start, but by days end he's in less of a hurry to get through the door.
Tomorrow Reilly and I will go for our walk in the park without Chris. That'll give us more time to work on walking beside me on the same side instead of switching. Our current plan is to walk every other day, so as not to strain little puppy legs. Chris will join us on days he can. His work schedule varies. Once classes start back, we'll see what schedule works best. Although my earliest class is only 9:00 am, I'll have long days to be there. I'm only teaching three days a week, with several sections a day, plus office hours and prep. It's a lot of time on my feet for lectures and labs, although I have a break between classes, which is where I put my office hours. So I do alternate standing and sitting. (No, I will not teach sitting down. Boring.) Starting off getting tired may not work well. And I still have livestock to feed. I think I'll end up walking on non-teaching days. That'll be Wednesday, Friday and the weekend. We can either walk W/F/Sunday, or walk all four of them, as Reilly gets older and stronger.
Reilly is spending more and more time awake, and more and more time wanting attention, which is good and as it should be. He is quite vocal still, and demonstrates it more and more. This will be our biggest hurdle to overcome. (So far, anyway.) He can't be so vocal out in public. If he doesn't outgrow it, we'll have to cue it and not give the cues in public.
Tomorrow we'll be going to pick up that next size harness he needs. And maybe to Tractor Supply for some rabbit food. I want him to have his third set of shots before he goes into PetsMart. It's always full of dogs and unvaccinated puppies. The store that carries the harnesses I like is pet friendly, but I've only seen one dog in there, so we're less likely to run into one, especially during the day. And Tractor Supply is dog-friendly, but you rarely see one in there, either. We can buy a new toy there. I'll let him pick it out.
Another positive day. Life is good.
Meg and Reilly
Monday, July 25, 2011
Note to Anna
I have tried to comment to both of yours, but for some reason I can't post comments. Not holding my tongue right or something!
So, first, I'm glad you have your Taffy. And I'm glad she's got you!
I might try a version of your suggestion for the bells. I don't want to do a lot of treat-based training, but an initial use that's not continued could be quite useful. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm now thinking maybe something he'd have to lick off the bells, which would make them ring, but wouldn't take much of his time. I don't want him to forget what he bells meant! It takes a few minutes for him to chew up a baby carrot still. But something that smells good on there might make him check it out. I think they make spray stuff to go in Kong toys that might be useful. Or peanut butter.
And I'll remember that bells at Christmas could cause issues. That could be interesting.
Thanks for the comments. I'm rather amazed that people are reading this at all!
Edited to add...A-HA! Now I know who you are! I'm glad you got to see pictures of Lucky, then!
Meg and Reilly
So, first, I'm glad you have your Taffy. And I'm glad she's got you!
I might try a version of your suggestion for the bells. I don't want to do a lot of treat-based training, but an initial use that's not continued could be quite useful. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm now thinking maybe something he'd have to lick off the bells, which would make them ring, but wouldn't take much of his time. I don't want him to forget what he bells meant! It takes a few minutes for him to chew up a baby carrot still. But something that smells good on there might make him check it out. I think they make spray stuff to go in Kong toys that might be useful. Or peanut butter.
And I'll remember that bells at Christmas could cause issues. That could be interesting.
Thanks for the comments. I'm rather amazed that people are reading this at all!
Edited to add...A-HA! Now I know who you are! I'm glad you got to see pictures of Lucky, then!
Meg and Reilly
We learn something every day
Both of us do. Not just Reilly.
We'll start with me today. I learned not to take someone else's statement as fact, even if they appear to have far more experience in something than I do. I had been told, by someone who shall remain nameless, that North Carolina did not have Service Dog in Training laws. The federal laws cover service dogs, but they leave it up to the states to decide how they want to hande dogs in training. Some allow access, some don't. I was told NC didn't address it, which by default denies access.
But that's not true. NC has access for service dogs in training, with a permanent life-time license for the dog, which they also want for fully trained dogs. There are no fees for the license, and it's purpose to to facilitate access for the dog and handler, rather than being another hurdle to jump. I'll be checking on what I need to do to get this license for Reilly sometime this week, although he's certainly not ready to start accessing places. He should be potty-trained and have some basic manners, if for no other reason than he'll give service dogs a bad name if he's wild and pees everywhere. But it's nice to know he'll be allowed access to places as needed so he can train properly!
I found this info while I was looking up ADA and EEOC for my meeting with my workplace this week. I'm starting the formal ball rolling for getting him access to work in a year's time. Unlike ADA access, this also involves EEOC. Having Reilly at work isn't considered in the same light as for, say, taking him in Wal-mart with me. At work, he falls under "accomodations", which are different for each person, and worked out between employee and employer. In practice, denying a service dog is possible. It's not likely though, unless they can provide all the services he will in some other form. At any rate, I'm prepping for the meeting with a list of what Reilly is expected to do for me in a year's time, and then in two years time. Since he can't start mobility training until he's at least 18 months old, his other jobs will need to qualify him for work prior to that. By this time next year, I expect (hope?) Reilly to be: retrieving things I drop. Retrieving things I designate, either by name for common items or using a laser pointer or other directional signal. Opening doors using a rope with hook. This will be huge for lots of areas where we don't have electronic doors. For example, if I park by our backdoor at work, there is handicapped parking and a handicapped accessible electronic entrance door. However, just inside that door is a set of heavy double doors that do not have an electronic opening. So what good does it do me to try to come that way when opening the doors is a fight? Same thing with the bathrooms doors all across campus. They are mostly heavy doors. Well, to me they're heavy, but not so much to healthy folk, I guess. I could surely get them to install a lighter one on my floor, but then what do I do if I need to be in another building for a while? Walk back across campus? After Reilly is mature enough, he'll add to those by being able to carry a pack, and learn to stabilize me while walking. The pack weight depends on if he's also stabilizing me. Normally, a dog can carry up to 20% of his body weight in properly distributed packs. If he's doing other work, that gets cut in half. Now, Reilly is likely to be around 200 pounds. That means even with me using Reilly to help me balance, he could carry up to ten pounds at his mature projected weight. That's a lot. I doubt I'd ever need him to carry that much, but I will want him to carry his own water, face towel and othe things. Inside, he can leave his water in my office, but I'd like him to carry my books, like a good fella. :) That means my notebook to class, and exams and such on appropriate days. Far less than ten pounds. He could either pack it, or pull a small cart to class. Either way would work. Right now, on a daily basis I use a shoulder bag, which throws my balance off. On exam days, I pull a cart...which throws my balance off. I can't use a backpack. Having him do it and balance me at the same time..WIN! So, I'm getting my ducks in a row to get him to work. I might not win for fall 2012, but I can't see any way they can deny me after he starts actual mobility work.
So, what did Reilly learn today? That he's got more energy than he's been thinking up 'til now. That Murphy will rat him out in a heartbeat when he's in trouble. And that Murphy wil invite him to play, but he'd better play nice or he'll be abandoned. All good things to learn.
Today, he's been more hyper than normal...more like a 'regular' puppy. Which just means that he's gotten old enough to hav a bit more energy. His energy levels will go up, and the heat will go down...and I'll start back to work, all at the same time. Murphy's Law. (Actually, Murphy's formal name is "Murphy's Outlaw", in case you're interested.) We'll sort it out. Murphy is getting quicker about calling my attention to the leech Reilly can be on his throat. Reilly was verrrryyyy persistant today. But later when Reilly was behaving, Murphy brought a squeaky toy to him to play with him. When Reilly let go of the toy in favor of the throat, Murph dropped the toy and walked away. Reilly was confused. It was good for him.
So, we spent a bit more time working on sitting, which he's quite good at now. Some leash time at the park this morning, with few chances to try out stopping leash pulling. I also was forgetting to have him wait at the door when I open it, for permission to exit instead of slipping out as soon as he can. He needs to learn to wait, especially when getting out of a car. And to wait for me, for regular doors. So that's back in the day. We had some rain today, so more towel practice. At his age, he wants to eat the towel, but he'll outgrow that.
Another mostly quiet day for me, albeit a busy one for Murphy. Jake just gets on the sofa or bed and stays out of range. That won't work much longer!
Meg and Reilly
We'll start with me today. I learned not to take someone else's statement as fact, even if they appear to have far more experience in something than I do. I had been told, by someone who shall remain nameless, that North Carolina did not have Service Dog in Training laws. The federal laws cover service dogs, but they leave it up to the states to decide how they want to hande dogs in training. Some allow access, some don't. I was told NC didn't address it, which by default denies access.
But that's not true. NC has access for service dogs in training, with a permanent life-time license for the dog, which they also want for fully trained dogs. There are no fees for the license, and it's purpose to to facilitate access for the dog and handler, rather than being another hurdle to jump. I'll be checking on what I need to do to get this license for Reilly sometime this week, although he's certainly not ready to start accessing places. He should be potty-trained and have some basic manners, if for no other reason than he'll give service dogs a bad name if he's wild and pees everywhere. But it's nice to know he'll be allowed access to places as needed so he can train properly!
I found this info while I was looking up ADA and EEOC for my meeting with my workplace this week. I'm starting the formal ball rolling for getting him access to work in a year's time. Unlike ADA access, this also involves EEOC. Having Reilly at work isn't considered in the same light as for, say, taking him in Wal-mart with me. At work, he falls under "accomodations", which are different for each person, and worked out between employee and employer. In practice, denying a service dog is possible. It's not likely though, unless they can provide all the services he will in some other form. At any rate, I'm prepping for the meeting with a list of what Reilly is expected to do for me in a year's time, and then in two years time. Since he can't start mobility training until he's at least 18 months old, his other jobs will need to qualify him for work prior to that. By this time next year, I expect (hope?) Reilly to be: retrieving things I drop. Retrieving things I designate, either by name for common items or using a laser pointer or other directional signal. Opening doors using a rope with hook. This will be huge for lots of areas where we don't have electronic doors. For example, if I park by our backdoor at work, there is handicapped parking and a handicapped accessible electronic entrance door. However, just inside that door is a set of heavy double doors that do not have an electronic opening. So what good does it do me to try to come that way when opening the doors is a fight? Same thing with the bathrooms doors all across campus. They are mostly heavy doors. Well, to me they're heavy, but not so much to healthy folk, I guess. I could surely get them to install a lighter one on my floor, but then what do I do if I need to be in another building for a while? Walk back across campus? After Reilly is mature enough, he'll add to those by being able to carry a pack, and learn to stabilize me while walking. The pack weight depends on if he's also stabilizing me. Normally, a dog can carry up to 20% of his body weight in properly distributed packs. If he's doing other work, that gets cut in half. Now, Reilly is likely to be around 200 pounds. That means even with me using Reilly to help me balance, he could carry up to ten pounds at his mature projected weight. That's a lot. I doubt I'd ever need him to carry that much, but I will want him to carry his own water, face towel and othe things. Inside, he can leave his water in my office, but I'd like him to carry my books, like a good fella. :) That means my notebook to class, and exams and such on appropriate days. Far less than ten pounds. He could either pack it, or pull a small cart to class. Either way would work. Right now, on a daily basis I use a shoulder bag, which throws my balance off. On exam days, I pull a cart...which throws my balance off. I can't use a backpack. Having him do it and balance me at the same time..WIN! So, I'm getting my ducks in a row to get him to work. I might not win for fall 2012, but I can't see any way they can deny me after he starts actual mobility work.
So, what did Reilly learn today? That he's got more energy than he's been thinking up 'til now. That Murphy will rat him out in a heartbeat when he's in trouble. And that Murphy wil invite him to play, but he'd better play nice or he'll be abandoned. All good things to learn.
Today, he's been more hyper than normal...more like a 'regular' puppy. Which just means that he's gotten old enough to hav a bit more energy. His energy levels will go up, and the heat will go down...and I'll start back to work, all at the same time. Murphy's Law. (Actually, Murphy's formal name is "Murphy's Outlaw", in case you're interested.) We'll sort it out. Murphy is getting quicker about calling my attention to the leech Reilly can be on his throat. Reilly was verrrryyyy persistant today. But later when Reilly was behaving, Murphy brought a squeaky toy to him to play with him. When Reilly let go of the toy in favor of the throat, Murph dropped the toy and walked away. Reilly was confused. It was good for him.
So, we spent a bit more time working on sitting, which he's quite good at now. Some leash time at the park this morning, with few chances to try out stopping leash pulling. I also was forgetting to have him wait at the door when I open it, for permission to exit instead of slipping out as soon as he can. He needs to learn to wait, especially when getting out of a car. And to wait for me, for regular doors. So that's back in the day. We had some rain today, so more towel practice. At his age, he wants to eat the towel, but he'll outgrow that.
Another mostly quiet day for me, albeit a busy one for Murphy. Jake just gets on the sofa or bed and stays out of range. That won't work much longer!
Meg and Reilly
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Contemplative puppies
Reilly likes to think things through. You can see it on his face. Today, he's spent a lot of time trying to figure out why I don't understand that HE WANTS CARROTS when the refrigerator door opens. That's why that big box is there, right? Every time the door is opened, there he is at my feet. When I don't provide the carrot, his expression changes from expectant hope to abject puzzlement. Today he's taken to following me, trying to make his point. I'm trying to explain to him, using the "empty hands" gesture that we use with The Boys, that I have no carrot for him. He's trying to tell me he can see I have no carrot. He wants to know why I haven't gotten it! Now! Poor guy. He does need to learn, like we all had to, that we don't get what we want all the time.
We haven't used the baby gate to the back of the house for a day or two now, and Reilly does not go to the back, other than an excited following of a big dog...until he realizes where he is, and comes back to the front. The big dogs understand that Reilly isn't going back there, so they are using the back of the house as a puppy-free-zone, to escape puppy teeth. Murphy is also towing Reilly to me when he's getting too toothy on his neck, so I can tell him no. And Reilly is stopping when he's told now, although he might be back at it five minutes later. Or one minute; his memory is about the same as a two-year-old people-puppy. But definite improvement.
No pee accidents in the house during the day again. I'm still not catching him quickly enough for his mid-day poop, but when he starts and I call, "Outside!" he stops and runs to the door. He's got the idea just right already. He just doesn't know how to ask to go out. I'll have to show him that he can ring the bells, I think. Not just ring them myself, but show him he can do it, too. Something to work on this week.
Every day I am more impressed with this puppy of mine, more optomistic for his ability to do this huge job I'll be asking of him, and more amazed I lucked into the perfect puppy for me. He's bonding well to me, preferring to spend most of his day sleeping near me. As I type, he's lying on a towel at my feet. I spent a good deal of today in the kitchen, drying figs, making grape juice (the grapes are prolific this year!) and pureeing peaches to try different muffin recipes out. While I was in there, Reilly was, too. It won't be long before he'll be getting to sleep in the back with us. Once I can trust him on the carpet, he'll have free run of the house. Then he'll start learning to leave yarn alone.
Actually, he's wanted to chew on few things. We're still using my barn shoes as training shoes. All he wants to chew on are the laces. He's pulled around a few other shoes, but not chewed them. He's grabbed the rungs of my chair a couple times, but not seriously. The things he wants to chew on include Murphy's neck and ears, and my feet. No matter what inappropriate things he tries to chew, he gets them removed and replaced with a toy or rope. I'm sure he won't be so easily distracted when he starts teething, but I don't expect a dreadful teething, judging by the older dogs. Jake was worse than Murph, but neither were as bad as any other breed we've ever had. And both learned quickly that yarn or spinning fiber in any form was Not. For. Them. I'll bet Sir Reilly will learn even faster!
Tomorrow we plan to get back to morning walks. It was a long weekend, with that one-day drive to Georgia and back from here in North Carolina. It's getting harder and harder to recover from doing that. If it weren't for my sisters and dad, who try harder than they need to, to make things easier on me...even though they all have issues of their own...I probably wouldn't be able to do one-day trips. But it's good for Mom, and it's good for Dad, to have us all manage to come home now and then at the same time, so we do and we will as long as we can. Because family is important.
Just a couple weeks until fall semester starts back up. I'm going to hate leaving Reilly at home when I go to work this year. But until he's ready, he can't go with me. I won't be spending extra time there after my last class is out, that's for sure! I've got lots of office hours scheduled in between classes for my students if they need me, and they can always email me. Thank goodness for email!
Oh, I'll be taking Mr. Grows A. Lot to get another harness this week. He's about grown out of his. Again. I've been looking at the collars and halters we have, and think I need to donate all of them to a shelter or a resuce. None of my guys have been in the long enough to make them look used at all! If I didn't want a particular type of harness for Reilly, he could be using hand-me-downs now.
This evening, Reilly is totally involved in tryong to murderize one of the doggie stuffed critters....a squirrel. I'll have to remember to keep a close eye on the stuffies with a pup in the house. They don't last very long with puppies, and I can't have him getting to the stuffing. I think I'll do a once-over in the morning on all the toys and see how they're holding up. Bedtime early tonight, as we're walking in the morning before it gets hot.
Meg and Reilly
We haven't used the baby gate to the back of the house for a day or two now, and Reilly does not go to the back, other than an excited following of a big dog...until he realizes where he is, and comes back to the front. The big dogs understand that Reilly isn't going back there, so they are using the back of the house as a puppy-free-zone, to escape puppy teeth. Murphy is also towing Reilly to me when he's getting too toothy on his neck, so I can tell him no. And Reilly is stopping when he's told now, although he might be back at it five minutes later. Or one minute; his memory is about the same as a two-year-old people-puppy. But definite improvement.
No pee accidents in the house during the day again. I'm still not catching him quickly enough for his mid-day poop, but when he starts and I call, "Outside!" he stops and runs to the door. He's got the idea just right already. He just doesn't know how to ask to go out. I'll have to show him that he can ring the bells, I think. Not just ring them myself, but show him he can do it, too. Something to work on this week.
Every day I am more impressed with this puppy of mine, more optomistic for his ability to do this huge job I'll be asking of him, and more amazed I lucked into the perfect puppy for me. He's bonding well to me, preferring to spend most of his day sleeping near me. As I type, he's lying on a towel at my feet. I spent a good deal of today in the kitchen, drying figs, making grape juice (the grapes are prolific this year!) and pureeing peaches to try different muffin recipes out. While I was in there, Reilly was, too. It won't be long before he'll be getting to sleep in the back with us. Once I can trust him on the carpet, he'll have free run of the house. Then he'll start learning to leave yarn alone.
Actually, he's wanted to chew on few things. We're still using my barn shoes as training shoes. All he wants to chew on are the laces. He's pulled around a few other shoes, but not chewed them. He's grabbed the rungs of my chair a couple times, but not seriously. The things he wants to chew on include Murphy's neck and ears, and my feet. No matter what inappropriate things he tries to chew, he gets them removed and replaced with a toy or rope. I'm sure he won't be so easily distracted when he starts teething, but I don't expect a dreadful teething, judging by the older dogs. Jake was worse than Murph, but neither were as bad as any other breed we've ever had. And both learned quickly that yarn or spinning fiber in any form was Not. For. Them. I'll bet Sir Reilly will learn even faster!
Tomorrow we plan to get back to morning walks. It was a long weekend, with that one-day drive to Georgia and back from here in North Carolina. It's getting harder and harder to recover from doing that. If it weren't for my sisters and dad, who try harder than they need to, to make things easier on me...even though they all have issues of their own...I probably wouldn't be able to do one-day trips. But it's good for Mom, and it's good for Dad, to have us all manage to come home now and then at the same time, so we do and we will as long as we can. Because family is important.
Just a couple weeks until fall semester starts back up. I'm going to hate leaving Reilly at home when I go to work this year. But until he's ready, he can't go with me. I won't be spending extra time there after my last class is out, that's for sure! I've got lots of office hours scheduled in between classes for my students if they need me, and they can always email me. Thank goodness for email!
Oh, I'll be taking Mr. Grows A. Lot to get another harness this week. He's about grown out of his. Again. I've been looking at the collars and halters we have, and think I need to donate all of them to a shelter or a resuce. None of my guys have been in the long enough to make them look used at all! If I didn't want a particular type of harness for Reilly, he could be using hand-me-downs now.
This evening, Reilly is totally involved in tryong to murderize one of the doggie stuffed critters....a squirrel. I'll have to remember to keep a close eye on the stuffies with a pup in the house. They don't last very long with puppies, and I can't have him getting to the stuffing. I think I'll do a once-over in the morning on all the toys and see how they're holding up. Bedtime early tonight, as we're walking in the morning before it gets hot.
Meg and Reilly
Picture day!
I've got a few to share from yesterday, plus I remembered to take the camera when we fed the sheep this morning.
This is Lucky, the dog my parents recently got as a rescue. Poor doggie has been beaten by someone, and is learning now that people at his new house actually like him, and are only reaching for him to pet him. He's liking it.
Lucky was very pleased to meet Reilly.
He was also intrigued by Reilly's bed. I told him when Reilly outgrew it, he could have it.
This morning, Reilly decided to imitate a Sphinx, which he does well, I think.
Then we went to feed the sheep. Reilly can't wait to go in, and the lambs can't wait to get food!
Once inside, Reilly says hello while I get feed from the bin. This is him with Murdock, the oldest and largest of the lambs. Today, Reilly tried to talk him into playing, but Murdock was having none of it.
So then he tried sweet-talking Cocoa Puff, who didn't mind getting his ears licked at all. Trixie watches carefully, although she's the least likely to talk to Reilly.
This is Lucky, the dog my parents recently got as a rescue. Poor doggie has been beaten by someone, and is learning now that people at his new house actually like him, and are only reaching for him to pet him. He's liking it.
Lucky was very pleased to meet Reilly.
He was also intrigued by Reilly's bed. I told him when Reilly outgrew it, he could have it.
This morning, Reilly decided to imitate a Sphinx, which he does well, I think.
Then we went to feed the sheep. Reilly can't wait to go in, and the lambs can't wait to get food!
Once inside, Reilly says hello while I get feed from the bin. This is him with Murdock, the oldest and largest of the lambs. Today, Reilly tried to talk him into playing, but Murdock was having none of it.
So then he tried sweet-talking Cocoa Puff, who didn't mind getting his ears licked at all. Trixie watches carefully, although she's the least likely to talk to Reilly.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The impressions we make.
Today was our trip to my parents house, two states and four hours away. Reilly is quite the seasoned traveler now. He understands well in this heat wave that the car is air-conditioned, and he likes the car.
Chris had additional things to do so had to leave at 4:00am in the pickup. Reilly and I left at 6:50 in my car. It's the first trip we've taken with just Reilly and me, and we were an hour into the trip before it dawned on me that I had a problem that I hadn't dealt with yet. I had no one to tag-team with for bathroom breaks. Leaving Reilly in the car in these temps is dangerous. So I had to do some thinking before my bladder exploded.
Normally when we stop, we take Reilly out immediately and the humans take turns going to the bathroom. So I wanted to take Reilly first. But then I realized that wasn't going to work. The car would be heating up while I walked him, then I still had to go. Too long. I had to go first so the car would remain cool longer. When I sorted this out, I chose my stop, then cranked my excellent air-conditioner up to get the car really cold. I was shivering. Reilly was sleeping. We pulled in, I got out as quickly as possible, and moved as rapidly as I could. I'd already decided that if there were a line, we'd go to the next exit and try again. But there was no line, so I got back to the car quickly. I opened the door, and it was still nicely cool inside, with a comfortable, sleeping puppy. Whew. He got a potty break too, and we got back on the road. I did the same again half-way on the return trip...and the lock on the bathroom stall broke...yes, it broke...and I got locked inside the stall! Locked IN! The peg would not come out! This was at a rest stop outside Columbia, South Carolina. Luckily for me, the place was crowded. I hollered and said I needed help, and I had a crowd of women working at the door. In the meantime, I was thinking about trying to crawl under the door...knowing I couldn't get off the ground. I was also peering at the helpful women, trying to choose based on looks alone who to give my car keys to, and ask them to get Reilly's leash out of my purse on the front seat and rescue him. Luckily, one woman got the peg to slide with her keys before I had to take desperate action. And the car was still cool when I got back. I was probably locked inside less than three minutes, but it was a looooonnng three minutes!
Reilly did really well at my parents. Their recently rescued dog, Lucky, came to meet Reilly. He was thrilled to see another doggie, but wasn't the least bit pushy. Such a nice warm-up to strangers for Reilly. I kept Reilly leashed until I decided I could trust them, which didn't take as long as I anticipated. Reilly went inside with me and acted as if he'd lived there all his life, too. Mostly, however, we all stayed on the air-conditioned sunroom/porch. At one point, someone let Reilly slip back through the door into the house with them. I went to the door as he was heading to the back of the house, and called him to come back out with me, telling him it wasn't his room. He immediately turned around and came back outside. HA! Smartest puppy in the world. At least, my dad now thinks so! He was wowed by how well Reilly listens at 11 weeks old, and was bragging on him to everyone. My younger sister was impressed with how mellow mastiff pups are. She didn't get to spend much time with Murphy or Jake when they were young, so really didn't have an idea of how they are.
Reilly spent most of the day doing his favorite things. Sleeping and growing. He didn't have a single accident all day, even though he was in yet another new place. He was thrilled that carrots can be found there just like at home, and I was thrilled that everyone listened to me and followed Reilly's rules. Mean rules such as nobody being allowed to feed him or give him treats other than Chris and me. Everyone likes to treat a puppy, and nobody could. Reilly needs to learn that food comes to him only in his bowl, or from our hands. Only. He can't take it from others, nor pick it up from the ground. A toddler walking by in a restaurant with a cookie in his hand could be construed as offering the cookie to a dog his size, therefore he can't be allowed to believe such things could possibly be for him. So we start young. (But he'll get lots of good stuff from us!)
We also ended up meeting my brother-in-law's dogs, Jewel. She was not as nice as Lucky. She started off nice, but when he reach for an ear, she snapped at him. She didn't connect, and I don't believe she really tried to; she was warning him. However, his reaction was good. He jumped back out of her range, but didn't run, cower, or do anything submisive to her. He also didn't try to retaliate, boss her, get aggressive in any way, or anything on the opposite extreme. He pulled back out of snapping range, then pricked his ears and watched her, tail still wagging. And that impressed me.
Dad also had decided by the end of the day that he needed to go adopt a second dog, because Lucky would like a companion.
I did manage a few pictures of Lucky and Reilly, although I don't know if any are good. I'll check tomorrow. For some reason, I'm tired today. I'll dig the camera out of my bag and see what I got tomorrow.
Meg and Reilly
Chris had additional things to do so had to leave at 4:00am in the pickup. Reilly and I left at 6:50 in my car. It's the first trip we've taken with just Reilly and me, and we were an hour into the trip before it dawned on me that I had a problem that I hadn't dealt with yet. I had no one to tag-team with for bathroom breaks. Leaving Reilly in the car in these temps is dangerous. So I had to do some thinking before my bladder exploded.
Normally when we stop, we take Reilly out immediately and the humans take turns going to the bathroom. So I wanted to take Reilly first. But then I realized that wasn't going to work. The car would be heating up while I walked him, then I still had to go. Too long. I had to go first so the car would remain cool longer. When I sorted this out, I chose my stop, then cranked my excellent air-conditioner up to get the car really cold. I was shivering. Reilly was sleeping. We pulled in, I got out as quickly as possible, and moved as rapidly as I could. I'd already decided that if there were a line, we'd go to the next exit and try again. But there was no line, so I got back to the car quickly. I opened the door, and it was still nicely cool inside, with a comfortable, sleeping puppy. Whew. He got a potty break too, and we got back on the road. I did the same again half-way on the return trip...and the lock on the bathroom stall broke...yes, it broke...and I got locked inside the stall! Locked IN! The peg would not come out! This was at a rest stop outside Columbia, South Carolina. Luckily for me, the place was crowded. I hollered and said I needed help, and I had a crowd of women working at the door. In the meantime, I was thinking about trying to crawl under the door...knowing I couldn't get off the ground. I was also peering at the helpful women, trying to choose based on looks alone who to give my car keys to, and ask them to get Reilly's leash out of my purse on the front seat and rescue him. Luckily, one woman got the peg to slide with her keys before I had to take desperate action. And the car was still cool when I got back. I was probably locked inside less than three minutes, but it was a looooonnng three minutes!
Reilly did really well at my parents. Their recently rescued dog, Lucky, came to meet Reilly. He was thrilled to see another doggie, but wasn't the least bit pushy. Such a nice warm-up to strangers for Reilly. I kept Reilly leashed until I decided I could trust them, which didn't take as long as I anticipated. Reilly went inside with me and acted as if he'd lived there all his life, too. Mostly, however, we all stayed on the air-conditioned sunroom/porch. At one point, someone let Reilly slip back through the door into the house with them. I went to the door as he was heading to the back of the house, and called him to come back out with me, telling him it wasn't his room. He immediately turned around and came back outside. HA! Smartest puppy in the world. At least, my dad now thinks so! He was wowed by how well Reilly listens at 11 weeks old, and was bragging on him to everyone. My younger sister was impressed with how mellow mastiff pups are. She didn't get to spend much time with Murphy or Jake when they were young, so really didn't have an idea of how they are.
Reilly spent most of the day doing his favorite things. Sleeping and growing. He didn't have a single accident all day, even though he was in yet another new place. He was thrilled that carrots can be found there just like at home, and I was thrilled that everyone listened to me and followed Reilly's rules. Mean rules such as nobody being allowed to feed him or give him treats other than Chris and me. Everyone likes to treat a puppy, and nobody could. Reilly needs to learn that food comes to him only in his bowl, or from our hands. Only. He can't take it from others, nor pick it up from the ground. A toddler walking by in a restaurant with a cookie in his hand could be construed as offering the cookie to a dog his size, therefore he can't be allowed to believe such things could possibly be for him. So we start young. (But he'll get lots of good stuff from us!)
We also ended up meeting my brother-in-law's dogs, Jewel. She was not as nice as Lucky. She started off nice, but when he reach for an ear, she snapped at him. She didn't connect, and I don't believe she really tried to; she was warning him. However, his reaction was good. He jumped back out of her range, but didn't run, cower, or do anything submisive to her. He also didn't try to retaliate, boss her, get aggressive in any way, or anything on the opposite extreme. He pulled back out of snapping range, then pricked his ears and watched her, tail still wagging. And that impressed me.
Dad also had decided by the end of the day that he needed to go adopt a second dog, because Lucky would like a companion.
I did manage a few pictures of Lucky and Reilly, although I don't know if any are good. I'll check tomorrow. For some reason, I'm tired today. I'll dig the camera out of my bag and see what I got tomorrow.
Meg and Reilly
Friday, July 22, 2011
Home alone
Today, Reilly had to spend most of his day alone, for the first time. Poor pup. He did pretty well, though. I had to leave at 6:30 am for a three hour drive to my neuromuscular doc. So the livestock got fed at dawn as usual, and I made sure Reilly got plenty of run-around time this morning so he was tired when I left. Chris put extra paper down for him. And since the big dogs had to stay inside today too, as the temps were over 100, never mind the heat index, Chris came home midday to let everyone out for a bit. Reilly didn't have any accidents...until after I came home. Still, he's doing quite well overall on the house training.
It's really funny, because we've kept one door to the back of the house closed and the other baby-gated, mostly. If someone leaves the door open by accident and Reilly goes to the back, we use the line from "Turner and Hootch"..."This is not your room!" and he turns and comes back out to the front of the house. Today after I got home, I didn't bother putting the gate up, and he would look through but not go through. He doesn't think he has permission to go there, even though the other dogs do. Mastiffs have a tendency to follow rules, to the extent that they understand them. At this point, Reilly is understanding that the back of the house is off limits to him, and is abiding by that rule. As his house training progresses and his "territory" expands, I'll need to give him formal permission to go where he thinks he can't. His interpretation of the rules as he sees them at 11 weeks is pretty good though. He's a very smart puppy!
Chris did weigh him for me this afternoon, and he was 24 pounds on our scale. That was 36 hours after the vet weigh-in, so they're pretty close to each other.
Didn't work on anything today. Won't do much tomorrow either, as he has another trip to take. This time, he goes to Georgia, to my parents house. I'm taking a crate, in case we need to separate him from their dog, or just give him a break from all the people.
Meg and Reilly...on a partial day off!
It's really funny, because we've kept one door to the back of the house closed and the other baby-gated, mostly. If someone leaves the door open by accident and Reilly goes to the back, we use the line from "Turner and Hootch"..."This is not your room!" and he turns and comes back out to the front of the house. Today after I got home, I didn't bother putting the gate up, and he would look through but not go through. He doesn't think he has permission to go there, even though the other dogs do. Mastiffs have a tendency to follow rules, to the extent that they understand them. At this point, Reilly is understanding that the back of the house is off limits to him, and is abiding by that rule. As his house training progresses and his "territory" expands, I'll need to give him formal permission to go where he thinks he can't. His interpretation of the rules as he sees them at 11 weeks is pretty good though. He's a very smart puppy!
Chris did weigh him for me this afternoon, and he was 24 pounds on our scale. That was 36 hours after the vet weigh-in, so they're pretty close to each other.
Didn't work on anything today. Won't do much tomorrow either, as he has another trip to take. This time, he goes to Georgia, to my parents house. I'm taking a crate, in case we need to separate him from their dog, or just give him a break from all the people.
Meg and Reilly...on a partial day off!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Second shots today
Reilly had his vet visit today. He weighed 23.4 pounds officially. When Chris gets home today, I'll have him weigh Reilly on our bathroom scales, so we can get a comparison. I can only pick up half of him at a time now. ;p
He did very well today. There were two dogs in the waiting room when we went in. He was interested in looking at them for a minute, but then decided to get on with his disrupted nap. He neither tried to go visit them nor tried to get away from them; just walked along with me, sat and looked, then went to sleep. He behaved very nicely in the exam room, too. And sat on their floor scale without being distressed by the slight wobble those things have. They did a recheck on a fresh fecal sample and found no coccidia. We hadn't found it on him before, and he's had no symptoms, but I wanted a double-check, just to be sure. He did get treated for it after a couple littermates had it, but with nasties like coccidia, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Next visit on August 11, three weeks from today!
Another scorcher day, with all of us just trying to stay cool. Not much outside time at all. Did a little work on "come" and "sit". I think Reilly actually asked to go out once. He was playing with a toy, got up and headed to "his room" and thereby the back door, then paused and sat down and stared at me. I asked him if he wanted to go outside. He is recognizing that word now. When I asked the question, he got up and went on to his room and straight to the door, tail wagging. Communication between species...it's a great thing!
He's getting a bit more energetic, and part of that involves serious harrassment of Murphy. He'll latch on to Murphy's throat like a bulldog pup. Our ever tolerant Murphy just asks to go outside to get away from him, but Murph isn't very heat tolerant, so allowing him to stay out isn't a good thing. And Reilly must learn. So I'm having to watch and stop Reilly from using Murph as a chew toy. Murph won't tell him to stop. But Reilly is at least stopping when told to, and then he hangs his head dejectedly and walks into the kitchen and collapses on the floor like a disciplined two year old, with a heavy sigh. Gee, Mom, you spoil all the good fun.
So, some word recognition, shots and check-up, continuing progress on house-training, and some protection for Murphy. I forgot to have Chris weigh Reilly! Whoopsie. I don't know if we'll have time for it tomorrow before he leaves.
Oh, and someone asked me today, so I figured I'd put it in here, too. Yes, I am healing from my fall. I still am very aware that I damaged some stuff, but it's getting better and soon will be only a memory.
Meg and Reilly
He did very well today. There were two dogs in the waiting room when we went in. He was interested in looking at them for a minute, but then decided to get on with his disrupted nap. He neither tried to go visit them nor tried to get away from them; just walked along with me, sat and looked, then went to sleep. He behaved very nicely in the exam room, too. And sat on their floor scale without being distressed by the slight wobble those things have. They did a recheck on a fresh fecal sample and found no coccidia. We hadn't found it on him before, and he's had no symptoms, but I wanted a double-check, just to be sure. He did get treated for it after a couple littermates had it, but with nasties like coccidia, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Next visit on August 11, three weeks from today!
Another scorcher day, with all of us just trying to stay cool. Not much outside time at all. Did a little work on "come" and "sit". I think Reilly actually asked to go out once. He was playing with a toy, got up and headed to "his room" and thereby the back door, then paused and sat down and stared at me. I asked him if he wanted to go outside. He is recognizing that word now. When I asked the question, he got up and went on to his room and straight to the door, tail wagging. Communication between species...it's a great thing!
He's getting a bit more energetic, and part of that involves serious harrassment of Murphy. He'll latch on to Murphy's throat like a bulldog pup. Our ever tolerant Murphy just asks to go outside to get away from him, but Murph isn't very heat tolerant, so allowing him to stay out isn't a good thing. And Reilly must learn. So I'm having to watch and stop Reilly from using Murph as a chew toy. Murph won't tell him to stop. But Reilly is at least stopping when told to, and then he hangs his head dejectedly and walks into the kitchen and collapses on the floor like a disciplined two year old, with a heavy sigh. Gee, Mom, you spoil all the good fun.
So, some word recognition, shots and check-up, continuing progress on house-training, and some protection for Murphy. I forgot to have Chris weigh Reilly! Whoopsie. I don't know if we'll have time for it tomorrow before he leaves.
Oh, and someone asked me today, so I figured I'd put it in here, too. Yes, I am healing from my fall. I still am very aware that I damaged some stuff, but it's getting better and soon will be only a memory.
Meg and Reilly
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
After the rain
We had a nice storm last night. It started after I put Reilly to bed. Since Murphy is afraid of thunder, I have been watching Reilly for signs of noise-fear. He's heard fireworks and gunfire, but both from a distance. I had no control over the volume of the thunder. I did not want to go check on him, as that could have given him the idea that I expected him to be nervous. I listened, and I peeked at him, and he showed no signs of noticing the thunder. Yay!
Murphy, on the other hand, was in my side of the bed when I went to get in. So was Jake, but just because he likes the bed.
I did some research on teaching a pup not to leash pull and found quite a bit of information, a lot of it contradictory. Everything from using pinch collars and yanking the dog off their feet (not happening here!) to using food as a deterrent. (also not happening here.) The best thing I found was some basic guidelines on changing what you're doing. When the pup pulls ahead, they can't watch you. So, you stop as soon as the leash tightens up, and switch directions. They also were treating and clicking with this, which is not something I want to incorporate, but just the redirection should be a huge help. I'll be using that if Reilly continues to try to pull. We won't get far on our walks, but that's not the purpose of them.
And yes, I do know that using treats and clickers is the current popular way to train a dog. However, I want to stay away from tangible-reward trainig as much as possible. Dogs have been trained for centuries to work for their pack alpha (their person), with the positive-reinforcement reward being verbal praise and affection. It can work just fine. And a common problem I've seen discussed time and again on the assistance dog groups I'm a member of is that treat trained dogs don't work well if they aren't hungry or don't like the treat! So using a motivation that may not motivate is self-defeating, in my mind. I also don't want to use clickers. I walk with forearm crutch(es), and I'll be holding a leash. How can I use a clicker? It's not practical for me. Reilly needs to bond to me as the alpha in his life, and work just for the praise, affection, and puppy-hugs. I think we're doing good so far.
This morning I had to make a fresh pot of rice, and The Boys all waited patiently for breakfast.
Right after I took this, Reilly got up to go chew on poor patient Murphy's ears. And it dawned on me. We sprayed Murphy's ears with bitter apple to break Jake of licking them. He was licking ears so much, he was giving Murph a fungal infection! So I pulled the bitter apple spray back out, and Chris sprayed Murphs ears again. Reilly also tugs his lips, but we can't spray those, as then Murph'd be eating the stuff. But amazingly enough, Reilly quit trying to chew on those ears pretty quickly this morning! The look on his face was priceless, but I was cooking breakfast eggs by then and didn't have the camera ready anymore. I'm getting better with the camera, but I'm not there yet!
Now, why didn't I remember the bitter apple spray a week ago when the Tasmanian Devil first started to come out?
I also did some thinking on yesterday's success with no potty accidents. I'm better at watching for him to wake up, for starters. But I also took up the paper during the day yesterday, and I think that made a difference. A couple times I let him out, he had whined, although not near a door or anything; just whined. And when I rang the bells to go out, he came immediately. So he might soon make the connections between going potty outside and asking to go out in some fashion. He's pretty consistant about coming when he hears the bells. In fact, although Murphy and I are the only ones that ring them, all three dogs come when they hear them. Not bad for two weeks. I need to add a string of bells to the front door. They are currently only on the back and side doors.
Reilly did use the paper before I got up this morning, but I took it up and washed the floor, and will only put more down if I leave and at night from now on. We'll see how that works. I think we're doing remarkably well. I can count non-paper accidents on my fingers, and we've caught most of the more recent ones in progress and scooted him outside to finish. In his room, he only goes on the paper, or close to...his feet would have been on the paper, and he really doesn't have the spacial sense to know that the pee or poop isn't on there too. So we're improving every day.
Tomorrow he turns 11 weeks old, and has his second set of puppy shots. And an official weigh-in. I'll weigh him at home too, and see how much different my bathroom scales are. I know they aren't the most accurate; they're a little light. (Works for me, until I get weighed in at my docs!) He's grown a lot in the last week, learned a lot, seen a lot.
Oh, and I also figured out part of the issue with yesterday's trip and the trip to Joe's. I'm interrupting his beauty sleep. It's easy to forget because of his size, but he still needs to sleep most of the day. During a large part of the day, he only ges up to eat and go potty, and then he crashes back out. I gave him other things to do...which he wasn't up for. Add the heat into the equation, and no wonder he didn't want to participate! I need to remember how young he is, instead of how big he is, and not push him too hard. Patience, patience.
On Friday, he'll have his first day where he'll be alone for most of it. I have to go to a doc appointment in Charlotte, which is three hours away. So, six hours driving time, plus at least an hour there, and another stop or two. (If I'm going that far, I'm hitting a yarn store while there!) Say eight hours without me. Chris says he'll go to work super early, so he can come home and let all the doggies out. It's supposed to be 103 degrees Friday, so the big dogs will need to stay indoors all day, too. And while they can hold it just fine, it's always nice to have the opportunity to go if you want it. So, if Chris goes in at 5:00, he'll be home early afternoon. And he's driving to Georgia Friday afternoon, maybe even before I get home. I'll follow to Georgia on Saturday, with Reilly, for a family gather at my parents. Everyone is looking forward to meeting Reilly, but I'm betting he'll mostly sleep. They have a glassed in and air-conditioned large porch, so it's a safe place to put his bed and bowls, where an accident won't hurt anything. Plus, he'll be out of the getting-stepped-on zone. Still, it'll be another car ride, another new place, with similar things...Dad has poultry and goats...and another new dog or two to meet. My parents have a recently adopted GSD/Corgi mix (Very interesting look, that.) who was an abused dog. He's been slow to comprend that everyone he meets at his new home is wanting to pet him, but it's finally dawned on him that people there actually like him! He's been fine with the chickens, too. It'll be the first new dog he's met since they got him, so we'll have to proceed very carefully, for both Lucky and Reilly's sakes. Reilly may also get to meet my brother-in-law's beagle, Jewel. She's a lot more boisterous, so we'll need to make sure Reilly doesn't get overwhelmed by her, but she's friendly. Still, these are dogs which he'll see on a fairly regular basis. They will react better to him as a puppy, since they are adults, and can get used to him as he grows. We'll just need to be careful they don't scare him. My sister has another dog I'll need to be even more careful with. He's a rescue, too, and he looks like a min-pin with a long tail. He's told Murphy and Jake they are second class citizens, and they believe him. While I certainly understand his need to be boss in his own territory, I can't let it extend to being snappy with Reilly. I may well wait to introduce him to Fitz until he's older...and taller than Fitz. That'll give him a slight advantage. Next trip down, for this one, I think. We'll stick with mellow dogs and friendly-though-boisterous dogs this time. If I even have time for both. It's four hours each way, and I can't stay the night; our Boys at home will need us.
At the end of the day now, and it was a quiet one. Reilly went in and out with the big dogs today, responding to the bells even if he was asleep when Murphy rang. Only one inside accident today, on the paper, when I was out for three hours. Pee only; all poops outdoors for two days now. Yay! Progress! That means that pretty soon I won't be reporting on where Reilly goes potty! Hurrah!
We worked a small amount on sitting today, but not much. We mostly worked on staying out of the 100 degree weather we're back up to. Reilly has just gone to bed, and I will follow soon. Even the mornings are hot this week, so we won't be going to the park to walk tomorrow. We'll just get the grapes picked instead.
He is getting braver about where he can go. When I'm here, I put a baby gate up so he can't go down the hall into the carpeted bedrooms. He has access to mudroom, kitchen, dining room, living room and foyer. Although he occasionally goes into all of them, he had mostly been staying in the mudroom ("his" room) with forays into the kitchen to eat from the bog dog bowls. The past two days he's moved into the kitchen more, and even is venturing to spend more time with me in the dining room. (Where my laptop currently is).
Tomorrow is his vet appointment. He's grown a lot since his last one. We'll see how much!
Meg and Reilly
Murphy, on the other hand, was in my side of the bed when I went to get in. So was Jake, but just because he likes the bed.
I did some research on teaching a pup not to leash pull and found quite a bit of information, a lot of it contradictory. Everything from using pinch collars and yanking the dog off their feet (not happening here!) to using food as a deterrent. (also not happening here.) The best thing I found was some basic guidelines on changing what you're doing. When the pup pulls ahead, they can't watch you. So, you stop as soon as the leash tightens up, and switch directions. They also were treating and clicking with this, which is not something I want to incorporate, but just the redirection should be a huge help. I'll be using that if Reilly continues to try to pull. We won't get far on our walks, but that's not the purpose of them.
And yes, I do know that using treats and clickers is the current popular way to train a dog. However, I want to stay away from tangible-reward trainig as much as possible. Dogs have been trained for centuries to work for their pack alpha (their person), with the positive-reinforcement reward being verbal praise and affection. It can work just fine. And a common problem I've seen discussed time and again on the assistance dog groups I'm a member of is that treat trained dogs don't work well if they aren't hungry or don't like the treat! So using a motivation that may not motivate is self-defeating, in my mind. I also don't want to use clickers. I walk with forearm crutch(es), and I'll be holding a leash. How can I use a clicker? It's not practical for me. Reilly needs to bond to me as the alpha in his life, and work just for the praise, affection, and puppy-hugs. I think we're doing good so far.
This morning I had to make a fresh pot of rice, and The Boys all waited patiently for breakfast.
Right after I took this, Reilly got up to go chew on poor patient Murphy's ears. And it dawned on me. We sprayed Murphy's ears with bitter apple to break Jake of licking them. He was licking ears so much, he was giving Murph a fungal infection! So I pulled the bitter apple spray back out, and Chris sprayed Murphs ears again. Reilly also tugs his lips, but we can't spray those, as then Murph'd be eating the stuff. But amazingly enough, Reilly quit trying to chew on those ears pretty quickly this morning! The look on his face was priceless, but I was cooking breakfast eggs by then and didn't have the camera ready anymore. I'm getting better with the camera, but I'm not there yet!
Now, why didn't I remember the bitter apple spray a week ago when the Tasmanian Devil first started to come out?
I also did some thinking on yesterday's success with no potty accidents. I'm better at watching for him to wake up, for starters. But I also took up the paper during the day yesterday, and I think that made a difference. A couple times I let him out, he had whined, although not near a door or anything; just whined. And when I rang the bells to go out, he came immediately. So he might soon make the connections between going potty outside and asking to go out in some fashion. He's pretty consistant about coming when he hears the bells. In fact, although Murphy and I are the only ones that ring them, all three dogs come when they hear them. Not bad for two weeks. I need to add a string of bells to the front door. They are currently only on the back and side doors.
Reilly did use the paper before I got up this morning, but I took it up and washed the floor, and will only put more down if I leave and at night from now on. We'll see how that works. I think we're doing remarkably well. I can count non-paper accidents on my fingers, and we've caught most of the more recent ones in progress and scooted him outside to finish. In his room, he only goes on the paper, or close to...his feet would have been on the paper, and he really doesn't have the spacial sense to know that the pee or poop isn't on there too. So we're improving every day.
Tomorrow he turns 11 weeks old, and has his second set of puppy shots. And an official weigh-in. I'll weigh him at home too, and see how much different my bathroom scales are. I know they aren't the most accurate; they're a little light. (Works for me, until I get weighed in at my docs!) He's grown a lot in the last week, learned a lot, seen a lot.
Oh, and I also figured out part of the issue with yesterday's trip and the trip to Joe's. I'm interrupting his beauty sleep. It's easy to forget because of his size, but he still needs to sleep most of the day. During a large part of the day, he only ges up to eat and go potty, and then he crashes back out. I gave him other things to do...which he wasn't up for. Add the heat into the equation, and no wonder he didn't want to participate! I need to remember how young he is, instead of how big he is, and not push him too hard. Patience, patience.
On Friday, he'll have his first day where he'll be alone for most of it. I have to go to a doc appointment in Charlotte, which is three hours away. So, six hours driving time, plus at least an hour there, and another stop or two. (If I'm going that far, I'm hitting a yarn store while there!) Say eight hours without me. Chris says he'll go to work super early, so he can come home and let all the doggies out. It's supposed to be 103 degrees Friday, so the big dogs will need to stay indoors all day, too. And while they can hold it just fine, it's always nice to have the opportunity to go if you want it. So, if Chris goes in at 5:00, he'll be home early afternoon. And he's driving to Georgia Friday afternoon, maybe even before I get home. I'll follow to Georgia on Saturday, with Reilly, for a family gather at my parents. Everyone is looking forward to meeting Reilly, but I'm betting he'll mostly sleep. They have a glassed in and air-conditioned large porch, so it's a safe place to put his bed and bowls, where an accident won't hurt anything. Plus, he'll be out of the getting-stepped-on zone. Still, it'll be another car ride, another new place, with similar things...Dad has poultry and goats...and another new dog or two to meet. My parents have a recently adopted GSD/Corgi mix (Very interesting look, that.) who was an abused dog. He's been slow to comprend that everyone he meets at his new home is wanting to pet him, but it's finally dawned on him that people there actually like him! He's been fine with the chickens, too. It'll be the first new dog he's met since they got him, so we'll have to proceed very carefully, for both Lucky and Reilly's sakes. Reilly may also get to meet my brother-in-law's beagle, Jewel. She's a lot more boisterous, so we'll need to make sure Reilly doesn't get overwhelmed by her, but she's friendly. Still, these are dogs which he'll see on a fairly regular basis. They will react better to him as a puppy, since they are adults, and can get used to him as he grows. We'll just need to be careful they don't scare him. My sister has another dog I'll need to be even more careful with. He's a rescue, too, and he looks like a min-pin with a long tail. He's told Murphy and Jake they are second class citizens, and they believe him. While I certainly understand his need to be boss in his own territory, I can't let it extend to being snappy with Reilly. I may well wait to introduce him to Fitz until he's older...and taller than Fitz. That'll give him a slight advantage. Next trip down, for this one, I think. We'll stick with mellow dogs and friendly-though-boisterous dogs this time. If I even have time for both. It's four hours each way, and I can't stay the night; our Boys at home will need us.
At the end of the day now, and it was a quiet one. Reilly went in and out with the big dogs today, responding to the bells even if he was asleep when Murphy rang. Only one inside accident today, on the paper, when I was out for three hours. Pee only; all poops outdoors for two days now. Yay! Progress! That means that pretty soon I won't be reporting on where Reilly goes potty! Hurrah!
We worked a small amount on sitting today, but not much. We mostly worked on staying out of the 100 degree weather we're back up to. Reilly has just gone to bed, and I will follow soon. Even the mornings are hot this week, so we won't be going to the park to walk tomorrow. We'll just get the grapes picked instead.
He is getting braver about where he can go. When I'm here, I put a baby gate up so he can't go down the hall into the carpeted bedrooms. He has access to mudroom, kitchen, dining room, living room and foyer. Although he occasionally goes into all of them, he had mostly been staying in the mudroom ("his" room) with forays into the kitchen to eat from the bog dog bowls. The past two days he's moved into the kitchen more, and even is venturing to spend more time with me in the dining room. (Where my laptop currently is).
Tomorrow is his vet appointment. He's grown a lot since his last one. We'll see how much!
Meg and Reilly
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
An accident-free day!
All kinds of accidents! No falling down, and not a single potty-break indoors today. We're all learning!
Today we still got up and went for our short walk in the park, getting there about 5:30 am. I was tempted to stay home, since I was wonderfully sore this morning, but knew the walk would help loosen me up. I could tell when I got up more precisely what hurt. Wow.
Reilly was awake and quietly waiting for me.
At the park, he was pulling on his leash for the first time, trying to keep up with Murphy. I had to constantly correct him. I tried moving the lead from harness to collar, but when it was on the collar, he just wanted to eat it, and that didn't get us anywhere. We ended up having Murphy go further ahead, but that's a temporary respite. Reilly needs to learn rather quickly not to pull, so I need to do a bit of research on proper methods to discourage that. It won't wait for puppy school.
We got home and fed the livestock. Reilly so much prefers visiting the sheep to the poultry. It makes me wonder what he's thinking in his little immature puppy brain. Does he prefer the sheep because they are mammals? Quieter? Smell more interesting? Because he can get up close to them? It'd be fun to know, but I guess I never will.
All the dogs went back to sleep after breakfast...rice, eggs and broth for the big guys, and a carrot to keep Reilly happy. He doesn't need the extra protein. Shortly after noon, I needed to go to a friend's house, about an hour north, and Reilly went with me. Ricky and Carolyn have a sheep farm, lots of free-range poultry including species I don't have, and other dogs. We visit back and forth a lot, and it would be good to have Reilly comfortable there.
When I got there, the first thing I did was pour water into a collapsible bowl for him, which he was happy to have. Then we headed down to the sheep barns. We hadn't gone ten feet before Reilly started telling me that it was HOT, and he wanted the AIR CONDITIONING!! Yes it was hot. I was pouring sweat. But it wasn't going to kill either of us to be out for fifteen minutes. At least, that's what I told him. He didn't believe me. We continued on, as I particularly wanted Reilly to meet Sugar, the Border Collie that is half pet and half working dog. Such a sweet dog. Part way to her, the livestock guard dogs (Great Pyrenees) spotted Reilly and barked the alarm. Reilly froze. He looked. He said he wanted to go back the car. I told him I would protect him from those dogs, but we were going on. He didn't like it. It was HOT and there were dogs telling him he was in their territory. But he came when told to, and walked with me to meet Sugar. Sugar, he liked. He would have loved to have jumped on her like he does Murphy. But she wasn't as happy to meet him. Oh, she was the perfect lady, but she'd had a litter of pups in the spring. She knew exactly what puppies were all about, and she was having none of it. She did not want responsibility for another one! She hid behind her people and tried to figure out how to greet me without getting near Reilly, while he watched her attentively, my hand holding his harness. Finally, she came to say hi and sniffed noses with Reilly. He wasn't allowed to greet her roughly, and he did well. After a few minutes, we decided that was enough and headed back to my car. I poured him fresh water, which he drank, and then he proceeded to lie down on the collapsible water bowl, and try to get inside it. "MOM!!! it's HOT!" Yes, it was hot. Not hot enough for that, silly puppy. But I poured some on him anyway, just in case, and cranked up the car so the a/c could cool it back down. And in a few minutes, I got him back inside on his bed. My friends laughed at me for cooling the car down for him, but it was for both of us. The level of prednisone I'm on makes me sweat so much I felt like I was melting. It was in my eyes so I was having trouble seeing, and I was breathing rivulets of sweat, which is not fun. So me getting into a pre-cooled car was better, too!
They unloaded the tapestry loom I was dropping off, and Reilly and I headed home. When we got there, and I unloaded "Sir Reilly The HOT Puppy", he decided it was playtime, and started running around like a crazy pup. In the same heat he had told me was going to kill him. I don't get it. Maybe he was just glad to come home! And he kept going when we finally came inside, too!
I did take him to the wading pool today. I put his front feet in, then his back feet. He wasn't impressed. He wasn't upset either, he just walked back out and went on with the sniffing he had been doing before I so rudely interrupted him.
Things I noticed in particular today:
He knows where the carrots come from. Today, even if Reilly had been fast asleep, if I opened the fridge, I could look down into soulful eyes. No jumping around or active begging, just hope. Twice I told him to sit, he did, and I rewarded him with the carrot. The rest of the time he got our "empty hands" signal we use with The Boys. Showing them open, spread hands, front and back. They know that means I don't have anything for them. That's one signal he'll need to learn.
He can no longer walk through the railing on the carport. His head goes through, and his shoulders will go through, one at the time. But his hips will not go through. He figured all that out, too. But instead of pitching a fit about being stuck, he immediately backed out of the railing! Good boy! Then he had to think of another way to get to my side. He sat and stared at me for a minute. Then I walked down to the end and stuck my head around. He stared for another ten seconds, then leapt into the air and ran to me, all happy.
And not a single accident in the house all day. It was a good day.
Meg and Reilly
Today we still got up and went for our short walk in the park, getting there about 5:30 am. I was tempted to stay home, since I was wonderfully sore this morning, but knew the walk would help loosen me up. I could tell when I got up more precisely what hurt. Wow.
Reilly was awake and quietly waiting for me.
At the park, he was pulling on his leash for the first time, trying to keep up with Murphy. I had to constantly correct him. I tried moving the lead from harness to collar, but when it was on the collar, he just wanted to eat it, and that didn't get us anywhere. We ended up having Murphy go further ahead, but that's a temporary respite. Reilly needs to learn rather quickly not to pull, so I need to do a bit of research on proper methods to discourage that. It won't wait for puppy school.
We got home and fed the livestock. Reilly so much prefers visiting the sheep to the poultry. It makes me wonder what he's thinking in his little immature puppy brain. Does he prefer the sheep because they are mammals? Quieter? Smell more interesting? Because he can get up close to them? It'd be fun to know, but I guess I never will.
All the dogs went back to sleep after breakfast...rice, eggs and broth for the big guys, and a carrot to keep Reilly happy. He doesn't need the extra protein. Shortly after noon, I needed to go to a friend's house, about an hour north, and Reilly went with me. Ricky and Carolyn have a sheep farm, lots of free-range poultry including species I don't have, and other dogs. We visit back and forth a lot, and it would be good to have Reilly comfortable there.
When I got there, the first thing I did was pour water into a collapsible bowl for him, which he was happy to have. Then we headed down to the sheep barns. We hadn't gone ten feet before Reilly started telling me that it was HOT, and he wanted the AIR CONDITIONING!! Yes it was hot. I was pouring sweat. But it wasn't going to kill either of us to be out for fifteen minutes. At least, that's what I told him. He didn't believe me. We continued on, as I particularly wanted Reilly to meet Sugar, the Border Collie that is half pet and half working dog. Such a sweet dog. Part way to her, the livestock guard dogs (Great Pyrenees) spotted Reilly and barked the alarm. Reilly froze. He looked. He said he wanted to go back the car. I told him I would protect him from those dogs, but we were going on. He didn't like it. It was HOT and there were dogs telling him he was in their territory. But he came when told to, and walked with me to meet Sugar. Sugar, he liked. He would have loved to have jumped on her like he does Murphy. But she wasn't as happy to meet him. Oh, she was the perfect lady, but she'd had a litter of pups in the spring. She knew exactly what puppies were all about, and she was having none of it. She did not want responsibility for another one! She hid behind her people and tried to figure out how to greet me without getting near Reilly, while he watched her attentively, my hand holding his harness. Finally, she came to say hi and sniffed noses with Reilly. He wasn't allowed to greet her roughly, and he did well. After a few minutes, we decided that was enough and headed back to my car. I poured him fresh water, which he drank, and then he proceeded to lie down on the collapsible water bowl, and try to get inside it. "MOM!!! it's HOT!" Yes, it was hot. Not hot enough for that, silly puppy. But I poured some on him anyway, just in case, and cranked up the car so the a/c could cool it back down. And in a few minutes, I got him back inside on his bed. My friends laughed at me for cooling the car down for him, but it was for both of us. The level of prednisone I'm on makes me sweat so much I felt like I was melting. It was in my eyes so I was having trouble seeing, and I was breathing rivulets of sweat, which is not fun. So me getting into a pre-cooled car was better, too!
They unloaded the tapestry loom I was dropping off, and Reilly and I headed home. When we got there, and I unloaded "Sir Reilly The HOT Puppy", he decided it was playtime, and started running around like a crazy pup. In the same heat he had told me was going to kill him. I don't get it. Maybe he was just glad to come home! And he kept going when we finally came inside, too!
I did take him to the wading pool today. I put his front feet in, then his back feet. He wasn't impressed. He wasn't upset either, he just walked back out and went on with the sniffing he had been doing before I so rudely interrupted him.
Things I noticed in particular today:
He knows where the carrots come from. Today, even if Reilly had been fast asleep, if I opened the fridge, I could look down into soulful eyes. No jumping around or active begging, just hope. Twice I told him to sit, he did, and I rewarded him with the carrot. The rest of the time he got our "empty hands" signal we use with The Boys. Showing them open, spread hands, front and back. They know that means I don't have anything for them. That's one signal he'll need to learn.
He can no longer walk through the railing on the carport. His head goes through, and his shoulders will go through, one at the time. But his hips will not go through. He figured all that out, too. But instead of pitching a fit about being stuck, he immediately backed out of the railing! Good boy! Then he had to think of another way to get to my side. He sat and stared at me for a minute. Then I walked down to the end and stuck my head around. He stared for another ten seconds, then leapt into the air and ran to me, all happy.
And not a single accident in the house all day. It was a good day.
Meg and Reilly
Monday, July 18, 2011
Home again, home again
Reilly is no worse for wear after his confusing day of yesterday. He's his normal happy self this morning. He joined us to feed the livestock at the barn, then went back to the house to wait. I dropped the eggs off at the house as usual, and reminded him that we had to feed the sheep, then headed out front. He came running. I walked back by a different pathway this morning, but Reilly insisted on going back the way we had been doing it! I see that I need to change paths more often, so he doesn't get set in his ways at the tender age of ten weeks old.
He did show me his first real problem this morning. He made...and ate...his own breakfast this morning, all by himself. Ugh. I know they make something I can give him to make his poop unappealing, so I'll have to speak to Doc about it when he goes for his second shots this week. He does not need to eat poo. But the signs on the paper were unmistakable. There had been poo deposited on that paper, but it was nowhere to be found. Ergo....it was breakfast. Must solve this issue before it becomes a subscription.
I've found that I still can't post a comment to this blog, so I am unable to respond to the comments that people have made. I need to get a computer savvy person to help me out on this. In the meantime, I just want you to know that the comments are appreciated. I'm rather astounded that there are people out there reading about my puppy house-training tales of adventure. But thank you. It will keep me focused to know that somewhere out there someone wanted to know what happened to Reilly today.
9:30 pm;
The Tasmanian Devil tried to come back today. Reilly had Jake and Murphy wanting to spend as much time outside as they could, as he kept trying to hang himself from their lips by his teeth. When someone went to pet him, he started chewing on them. He did calm down later in the day, but it took a while. Each time he tries to chew on me, I redirect him to a toy. When he chews on one of the big dogs, I do the same. When he quits taking the toy, then he gets told it's time to go outside, or to his room...a different view helps. He'll outgrow it; they mostly do. It's just not the most fun stage.
In the late morning, Margie came by to visit her birdies, but not to take them home, as family obligations will call her away for a bit. Much easier to not stress the birds by moving them twice, just a couple days apart. So, Margie came, and got to meet and play with Reilly...and get chewed by him. He got more sit-while-the-car-moves practice when she left.
Afterwards, I needed to run some errands, so Reilly went to his room, the big dogs got the rest of the house, and I took off. I picked up what I need and came home. After letting all the dogs outside, I unloaded the car. It takes me two to three times the trips that it used to, as I can carry much less than I used to be able to. It also throws my balance off, so I must be careful. I got it all inside though, and the grocery part put away. Murphy asked to come in, so I let him in. Jake also asked, but he had to get out of his wading pool to do so, so I told him to drip-dry a bit first! Then I headed to the back door to collect Reilly. I stepped down the single step into the mudroom...and my weaker knee folded up on me. Knee damaged, ankle damaged, and "something" gave in my upper thigh as I folded up, plus I hit my head on the door frame on the way down, although not seriously. So there I lay, on the floor. Murphy came to keep me company. My cell phone rang, in the kitchen. I couldn't answer it.
My muscles are so weak that I can not get up from the floor by myself, even undamaged. This is one of the reasons a dog will be helpful. When grown, Reilly can help keep me from ending up on the floor!
I typed up this next section twice, and the computer ate it somehow while posting. So I'll try again...
After I lay there for a bit and took damage assessment, I was pleased to note that although things hurt, no bones were broken. Yay! But I still hurt, and I was still on the floor. I used my arms to pull myself up to sit on the step I'd fallen down. My purse was on the end of the kitchen counter, so I reached up and got it and retrieved my cell phone. Step one complete. If I had been wearing jeans my phone would have been in my pocket, but I had on a dress with no pockets.
I looked at the two handles Chris had installed on the door frame for me to use to help pull myself up that step. I tried to use them to get up, twice. It didn't work, and I quit rather than wear myself out on that. Then I scooted back down the step and over to the back door. There are more steps there. Just three and they're shallow, but they had more hieght than the kitchen step and were a lot closer than the other doors. I got the door open, got my legs out and grabbed the single handle installed on that door frame. It took me a couple tries, but I managed to get to my feet. That's when the pain really showed up. Ankle, knee and thigh, oh my!
I reached inside the door and grabbed two crutches, because there was no way one was going to work. Managed to get back up the steps into the house, get the dogs inside, and Jake dried off somewhat. Got to my laptop on the dining table. For the life of me I could not remember whether I needed ice or heat on my injuries! something I normally know by heart was escaping my brain. So I got on the CB forum and asked. They gave me a quick response, but expressed concern that I'd had a blow to the head and wasn't thinking straight. I was chalking it up to the frustration of the whole incident. But I went to get ice. Then I called Chris to ask him to keep his phone handy in case I needed him. He was on his way home though, so no worries. When he arrived, he augmented the little ice I had managed to get, hovered with a worried expression, and was glad of anything I could ask him to do for me. And he took over the dogs for the rest of the day.
So today is more about me than Reilly, but it does show the value of a trained mobility service dog. I would have been less likely to fall, had I had one. And if I had fallen, such a dog could bring me phone or purse with phone. Or fetch help. They also make a paw-pad alarm button, just for dogs to learn to step on, on command, to call emergency personal. Doggy 911, if you will. If I had arm strength, he could be trained to allow me to use his body to pull up on, but I think that is pretty hard use for a dog, so I don't think I'd do it even if I could. It's not all about me. But there are a tremendous number of things that he could do to either prevent something like this from occurring, or alleviate the results when it does. Let's hope this one is the last one for some time.
I had planned on taking Reilly back in the pool today, but that got postponed. Perhaps tomorrow. I intend to go do a short walk with him in the morning, even though I'll likely be stiff and even more sore. It'll loosen me up, I hope. And Reilly needs the walk. So I'm going to wake up the lovely puppy sleeping on a towel near my feet, have him go potty, and then we're both going to bed. It's been another long day.
Meg and Reilly
He did show me his first real problem this morning. He made...and ate...his own breakfast this morning, all by himself. Ugh. I know they make something I can give him to make his poop unappealing, so I'll have to speak to Doc about it when he goes for his second shots this week. He does not need to eat poo. But the signs on the paper were unmistakable. There had been poo deposited on that paper, but it was nowhere to be found. Ergo....it was breakfast. Must solve this issue before it becomes a subscription.
I've found that I still can't post a comment to this blog, so I am unable to respond to the comments that people have made. I need to get a computer savvy person to help me out on this. In the meantime, I just want you to know that the comments are appreciated. I'm rather astounded that there are people out there reading about my puppy house-training tales of adventure. But thank you. It will keep me focused to know that somewhere out there someone wanted to know what happened to Reilly today.
9:30 pm;
The Tasmanian Devil tried to come back today. Reilly had Jake and Murphy wanting to spend as much time outside as they could, as he kept trying to hang himself from their lips by his teeth. When someone went to pet him, he started chewing on them. He did calm down later in the day, but it took a while. Each time he tries to chew on me, I redirect him to a toy. When he chews on one of the big dogs, I do the same. When he quits taking the toy, then he gets told it's time to go outside, or to his room...a different view helps. He'll outgrow it; they mostly do. It's just not the most fun stage.
In the late morning, Margie came by to visit her birdies, but not to take them home, as family obligations will call her away for a bit. Much easier to not stress the birds by moving them twice, just a couple days apart. So, Margie came, and got to meet and play with Reilly...and get chewed by him. He got more sit-while-the-car-moves practice when she left.
Afterwards, I needed to run some errands, so Reilly went to his room, the big dogs got the rest of the house, and I took off. I picked up what I need and came home. After letting all the dogs outside, I unloaded the car. It takes me two to three times the trips that it used to, as I can carry much less than I used to be able to. It also throws my balance off, so I must be careful. I got it all inside though, and the grocery part put away. Murphy asked to come in, so I let him in. Jake also asked, but he had to get out of his wading pool to do so, so I told him to drip-dry a bit first! Then I headed to the back door to collect Reilly. I stepped down the single step into the mudroom...and my weaker knee folded up on me. Knee damaged, ankle damaged, and "something" gave in my upper thigh as I folded up, plus I hit my head on the door frame on the way down, although not seriously. So there I lay, on the floor. Murphy came to keep me company. My cell phone rang, in the kitchen. I couldn't answer it.
My muscles are so weak that I can not get up from the floor by myself, even undamaged. This is one of the reasons a dog will be helpful. When grown, Reilly can help keep me from ending up on the floor!
I typed up this next section twice, and the computer ate it somehow while posting. So I'll try again...
After I lay there for a bit and took damage assessment, I was pleased to note that although things hurt, no bones were broken. Yay! But I still hurt, and I was still on the floor. I used my arms to pull myself up to sit on the step I'd fallen down. My purse was on the end of the kitchen counter, so I reached up and got it and retrieved my cell phone. Step one complete. If I had been wearing jeans my phone would have been in my pocket, but I had on a dress with no pockets.
I looked at the two handles Chris had installed on the door frame for me to use to help pull myself up that step. I tried to use them to get up, twice. It didn't work, and I quit rather than wear myself out on that. Then I scooted back down the step and over to the back door. There are more steps there. Just three and they're shallow, but they had more hieght than the kitchen step and were a lot closer than the other doors. I got the door open, got my legs out and grabbed the single handle installed on that door frame. It took me a couple tries, but I managed to get to my feet. That's when the pain really showed up. Ankle, knee and thigh, oh my!
I reached inside the door and grabbed two crutches, because there was no way one was going to work. Managed to get back up the steps into the house, get the dogs inside, and Jake dried off somewhat. Got to my laptop on the dining table. For the life of me I could not remember whether I needed ice or heat on my injuries! something I normally know by heart was escaping my brain. So I got on the CB forum and asked. They gave me a quick response, but expressed concern that I'd had a blow to the head and wasn't thinking straight. I was chalking it up to the frustration of the whole incident. But I went to get ice. Then I called Chris to ask him to keep his phone handy in case I needed him. He was on his way home though, so no worries. When he arrived, he augmented the little ice I had managed to get, hovered with a worried expression, and was glad of anything I could ask him to do for me. And he took over the dogs for the rest of the day.
So today is more about me than Reilly, but it does show the value of a trained mobility service dog. I would have been less likely to fall, had I had one. And if I had fallen, such a dog could bring me phone or purse with phone. Or fetch help. They also make a paw-pad alarm button, just for dogs to learn to step on, on command, to call emergency personal. Doggy 911, if you will. If I had arm strength, he could be trained to allow me to use his body to pull up on, but I think that is pretty hard use for a dog, so I don't think I'd do it even if I could. It's not all about me. But there are a tremendous number of things that he could do to either prevent something like this from occurring, or alleviate the results when it does. Let's hope this one is the last one for some time.
I had planned on taking Reilly back in the pool today, but that got postponed. Perhaps tomorrow. I intend to go do a short walk with him in the morning, even though I'll likely be stiff and even more sore. It'll loosen me up, I hope. And Reilly needs the walk. So I'm going to wake up the lovely puppy sleeping on a towel near my feet, have him go potty, and then we're both going to bed. It's been another long day.
Meg and Reilly
Sunday, July 17, 2011
The second shoe
I've been babysitting a small flock of nine Lady Gouldian finches for a friend for a bit. When she left, I was still talking about my search for a puppy. She returned yesterday to find that I had acquired the perfect puppy while she was gone. I was telling her how scarily eerie it has been, lucking into Reilly. All the small things that had to come together, that all did just that, and perfectly. Like a jigsaw puzzle. I told her I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. There has to be Something that goes wrong...doesn't there?
Margie said I was wrong. She said that finding Reilly WAS the other shoe dropping. That all my looking and research and the litters I had to bypass was the first shoe. Reilly is the finale.
So, today we went on a four hour drive (not 3.5) to my son's place. We loaded all the stuff Joe forgot to take when he moved out. Or at least, what is reasonable to fit into my car. And a cooler of lamb from our flock. And all the stuff Reilly needed. Bed in place, toys, towels....it was like traveling with a baby. But he rode like a champ, as expected. When we got there, he wasn't so sure. he knew it was a strange house. And there were strange smells. A raccoon had gotten into Joe's trash the night before, so lots of wild smells. And a shiny thing that looked kinda scary on the porch. It was a snow shovel someone had given Joe, but Reilly didn't know. Once Chris turned it over, he was ready to walk past it, but not until then. He was just going to sit and stare at it. The landlady stopped by to check on the upstairs unit, where the tenant had just moved out, and she brought a happily unruly, fat boxer with her. The big girl was thrilled to rush up to Reilly...who was not so thrilled. Nor was I. Reilly did well under the circumstances, and the big ole girl wasn't pushy with him; just wanted to check him out. But that was a bit too much for Sir Reilly in such a strange place. The boxers mom called her away though, so Reilly didn't have too much time to dwell on it or react much. And then she was gone. Once we got inside, I put down food and water, and Reilly made himself at home. I realized I left the (charged!) camera in the car, but since we were going to take Joe out to lunch after Reilly settled, I figured we could do some pictures after lunch. So, we set up the bathroom as Reilly's room for our lunch. He was pleased to see his bed go down, and snuggled right in with one of his toys. And we went off to lunch, and to pick up a supply of groceries for Joe, so he has a base to start with in his new digs. Then we headed back. We pulled in, Joe unlocked, and I went to let Reilly out while the guys unloaded groceries. Reilly was asleep, but I dragged him out anyway, as a few drops were falling. By the time we got outside, it was raining. Harder than Reilly had seen to date. He hasn't minded the light rains we've stepped out in, but this one he minded. I didn't really blame him; I got soaked too. He refused to go potty in the rain, so we ended up returning indoors after a toweling off. And it continued to rain. And my raincoat was in the car. So was the camera. It was still raining when we left, and Reilly still wouldn't potty in the rain. And I never got any pictures of the cool little place Joe had found for himself.
We pulled over as soon as we'd left the rain behind us so Reilly could go, which he did. And then he slept the rest of the way home. When we got out of the car, he was thrilled to see Murphy and Jake, and pretty much did to them what the boxer had done to him, except more so!
Reilly spent an hour playing, and then was ready to go to bed again. We won't walk tomorrow, so he has a break, but will on Tuesday.
Things he did today that are particularly noteworthy:
He recognizes my car.
He understood "load up," and went to the door each time we reentered the car, sometimes putting his feet on the door frame.
He expected Joe's door to swing on a left-hand hinge, the way ours do. It doesn't, and that confused him.
Not much else to write tonight. It's been a full day.
Meg and Reilly
Margie said I was wrong. She said that finding Reilly WAS the other shoe dropping. That all my looking and research and the litters I had to bypass was the first shoe. Reilly is the finale.
So, today we went on a four hour drive (not 3.5) to my son's place. We loaded all the stuff Joe forgot to take when he moved out. Or at least, what is reasonable to fit into my car. And a cooler of lamb from our flock. And all the stuff Reilly needed. Bed in place, toys, towels....it was like traveling with a baby. But he rode like a champ, as expected. When we got there, he wasn't so sure. he knew it was a strange house. And there were strange smells. A raccoon had gotten into Joe's trash the night before, so lots of wild smells. And a shiny thing that looked kinda scary on the porch. It was a snow shovel someone had given Joe, but Reilly didn't know. Once Chris turned it over, he was ready to walk past it, but not until then. He was just going to sit and stare at it. The landlady stopped by to check on the upstairs unit, where the tenant had just moved out, and she brought a happily unruly, fat boxer with her. The big girl was thrilled to rush up to Reilly...who was not so thrilled. Nor was I. Reilly did well under the circumstances, and the big ole girl wasn't pushy with him; just wanted to check him out. But that was a bit too much for Sir Reilly in such a strange place. The boxers mom called her away though, so Reilly didn't have too much time to dwell on it or react much. And then she was gone. Once we got inside, I put down food and water, and Reilly made himself at home. I realized I left the (charged!) camera in the car, but since we were going to take Joe out to lunch after Reilly settled, I figured we could do some pictures after lunch. So, we set up the bathroom as Reilly's room for our lunch. He was pleased to see his bed go down, and snuggled right in with one of his toys. And we went off to lunch, and to pick up a supply of groceries for Joe, so he has a base to start with in his new digs. Then we headed back. We pulled in, Joe unlocked, and I went to let Reilly out while the guys unloaded groceries. Reilly was asleep, but I dragged him out anyway, as a few drops were falling. By the time we got outside, it was raining. Harder than Reilly had seen to date. He hasn't minded the light rains we've stepped out in, but this one he minded. I didn't really blame him; I got soaked too. He refused to go potty in the rain, so we ended up returning indoors after a toweling off. And it continued to rain. And my raincoat was in the car. So was the camera. It was still raining when we left, and Reilly still wouldn't potty in the rain. And I never got any pictures of the cool little place Joe had found for himself.
We pulled over as soon as we'd left the rain behind us so Reilly could go, which he did. And then he slept the rest of the way home. When we got out of the car, he was thrilled to see Murphy and Jake, and pretty much did to them what the boxer had done to him, except more so!
Reilly spent an hour playing, and then was ready to go to bed again. We won't walk tomorrow, so he has a break, but will on Tuesday.
Things he did today that are particularly noteworthy:
He recognizes my car.
He understood "load up," and went to the door each time we reentered the car, sometimes putting his feet on the door frame.
He expected Joe's door to swing on a left-hand hinge, the way ours do. It doesn't, and that confused him.
Not much else to write tonight. It's been a full day.
Meg and Reilly
Saturday, July 16, 2011
A clean, fresh start
Got up at 5:00 this morning to let Reilly out. As soon as I rang his bells, he jumped up and came to the door to go out. I let him go by himself, and cleaned up "his room" while he was outside. I had washed his bed, and given him a pillow for the night, so had to put his bed back together.
Then...Reilly got the bath he should have gotten yesterday. He does so well in the sink. This is an over sized sink, and he won't fit into it very much longer, but we'll use it as long as we can. He's learning what "stand" means in here. Kinda hard to wash a puppy who's sitting or lying down. So a bath, a flea combing...got three of the little nasties!...and then learning to love being toweled.
Then...Reilly got the bath he should have gotten yesterday. He does so well in the sink. This is an over sized sink, and he won't fit into it very much longer, but we'll use it as long as we can. He's learning what "stand" means in here. Kinda hard to wash a puppy who's sitting or lying down. So a bath, a flea combing...got three of the little nasties!...and then learning to love being toweled.
After the bath he went to get back in his bed, but I rang his bells and he jumped back up and came to the door. Then he went out and peed and pooped like a big dog. He got a few minutes rest before we all headed out to feed the livestock. He likes the sheep the best, I think. He always goes into the pasture now, and stays right with me...except when he's trying to see if sheep poo is edible. That stuff is attractive to doggies! Although they don't share parasites through that route, still not a good diet addition, so he must be discouraged from snacking on such things. Sometimes when I tell him no, he does the selectively deaf thing and ignores me, but if I touch him, he instantly changes back to his good self.
Our helpful teenager arrived at 7:30, got a quick tour, and we got to work. By 3:30 the hen house was cleaned out, the wisteria tamed into submission (huge chore there), all the rabbit cages pressure washed and extras stored, all the deadfall and what Chris cut off the fence this morning is at the bonfire pit, although we'll need a very still, damp day to get all that burnt safely. And somewhere in there we had lunch, too. Then a bit of time listening to old Eric Clapton and Skinner tunes (from a 14 year-old!), and now Chris and John are out at the pistol range behind the workshop, testing out some .22's. We did get permission from his parents, but Chris is a concealed carry instructor, so they were fine with it. Murphy was not. He hates gunfire, thunder, loud noises in general. He saw the guns come out, and ran to get in my lap as I was sitting in my chair spinning. He unceremoniously pushed my spinning wheel out of the way, and climbed right up. I ended up having to be rescued...and the guns were still in the house! Nobody had shot a single one. He parked right under my feet, while Jake was hanging out elsewhere, and Reilly was wandering around looking for something to do.
Chris filled up Jake's wading pool, and earlier today Reilly discovered him stretched out in it. He was fascinated. He likes the water, but as far as I know he hasn't seen so much at once. I talked him into stepping in, so I could make sure he was plenty tall enough, just in case he got near it when we weren't' there. It only comes up mid-back on him. Still, he shouldn't be around it alone for some time. We'll be driving to Boone to visit my son for the day tomorrow, so he can't check the pool out again, but Monday I'll take him back to it, and this time I'll take the camera. I'm bad about the camera, I know. I'm working on it! I'll take the camera to Boone, as Reilly is going with us. From now on he will go with me everywhere it is legal for him to do so. This will be his longest drive since his coming home day, but he'll get good rest in the middle. From here, it's about 3.5 hours one way. Piece of cake for our experienced traveler.
He has not been the Tasmanian Devil all day today, although he's had a couple moments. He's been learning "come" and "sit" very nicely, though. He's quite a quick study! He's mostly been playing in the back yard, through which I've been moving a lot, as some of my chores have been outdoors and others indoors. Each time I've come near, I've called him, using "come". He's so pleased to see me stop to visit that he does come, for which he gets praised. And when he arrives, he gets told to sit, and he does. Smart, smart puppy.
He did get his first startle today. Bob the tom turkey came out into the yard. Now, Bob would never be people aggressive, but he's taken to chasing the big dogs in the last year or so. (Bob is actually six years old...he's a fixture here at Hollow Oak Farm!) We are careful to have two of us when Reilly goes into Bob's pastures, simply because I can't move fast enough to protect Reilly. Not that Bob is super fast or really dangerous...we don't tolerate dangerous animals here. The big dogs can easily evade him; he's too big and fat to move fast. But a puppy could be in danger. And if I try to move fast, I fall down. Since I have a tendency to break on impact, I do try to limit my falling down.
Now, here was Bob, in the backyard, eyeing my little Reilly. And swelling, thrumming, and wing-scraping. All very threatening. And Reilly knew it. He didn't whine, or cringe, or show any real fear. He watched for a minute, but when Bob kept approaching and got louder, Reilly simply told me it was time to go in now, thankyouverymuch! And I told him he was smart, and we did as he requested. Sometimes, retreat is the best move. Not running away, mind; retreat. Two different things.
A good long later nap, and Reilly and I then had more specific practice on "come" and "sit" outside this evening. And he made a new discovery. Shadows. Shadows that move! His very own shadow that moves. it was fascinating to him. He watched it, he stalked it, he pounced on it like a cat. It was a distraction to our coming and sitting, but a funny one, and he did well on practice. Such a good puppy!
We're all packed and ready to go on our day-trip. I will have my purse and my knitting. Chris will have his wallet. Reilly will have his bed, a tie-lead, water, food, bowls, towels, toys, paper towels, harness and leash. Reminds me of when the kids were little! I will stick a crate in too, but he'll mostly be riding with a tie lead as he grows, so we'll start that tomorrow. My Honda Element has lots of cargo tie-downs, thank goodness, so it's easy to do a tie-lead. We do not want a puppy projectile if someone hits the brakes, nor do we want one when he's 200 pounds. Very bad for the windshield, not to mention the dog. And anything in between. So comfortable riding, but safe riding, is the goal. He can learn that young, while he's easily influenced.
After a long day, Reilly is heading to bed so he can be up and on the road early. We'll feed the livestock at dawn, and be ready to roll! See you late tomorrow. With pictures...I'd better go charge the camera!
Meg and Reilly
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