May begins!

I am mostly enjoying May so far! We've had more good things happening than bad (though of course the bad things make more interesting stories, I suppose).

I've been working on Random Retrieving with Kaline. We use objects I know he'll like, but we do it in odd places. Due to allergy stuff, I've gone out multiple times to buy different pills. They come in boxes, so once I pick my box and commit to buying it (obviously), I start practicing with it. First, Kaline has to do eager, non-chewy take it & hold. The take it is the very important part—he has to reach for the object. The holding he knows, and will do even with objects he doesn't like. Once he's done several good take its, then I drop it and have him do retrieves. I'm working on getting him to paw it less, and just pick it up.

The small cardboard pill boxes are very fun and easy for him. Then I decided to buy shampoo, and that was pretty amusing. He clearly wanted to practice with it, so we did the same exercises, but it was more difficult for him because it was much heavier and the bottle was smooth plastic. He was so determined though! It was really cute.

Kaline accompanied me to a baby shower over the weekend, and that was pretty much a disaster. He was super whiny and fidgety, even though I was able to let him run in this big pasture behind the house in the middle of it. By pet standards, I guess he was a good boy, but certainly not by my standards! It drove me nuts when people were telling me he was being such a good boy, when he was whining all the time and breaking downs constantly. Of course, as soon as we got home he curled up like a little angel and cuddled all evening. Figures.

He was much better the following morning, when we did the usual Sunday public access work. One of the many things I did wrong on Saturday at the shower was to be really tight on the leash all the time (there was a ton of food right at Kaline face level). That, naturally, made him pull all the more. So on Sunday, I tried to be very conscious of the leash and tried to keep it loose as much as possible. Shocker, Kaline hardly pulled at all.

In the afternoon, I took Juno out to meet Marissa and Macro for a socialization outing. We had lunch at Max's and then walked around Stanford Shopping Center. Macro was such a good little boy! He's a very relaxed little puppy. We took him and Juno into Needless Markup, where he was totally unfazed by the tiles and the escalator. He curled up for a doze near the escalator, actually. Nobody could keep their hands off him! He's so damn cute. Teehee!

Something else cute happened on Friday. It was really hot by our fourth walk, so on that walk, all the dogs wore shoes. It was freaking adorable. Many compliments.

Then today. We had our usual four walks, which were mostly nice (mostly because I found out that the "brother" of one of my dogs died, sadly. He was old, though, and it was very fast). Then we finished up the car upholstery saga.

Without going into too much detail, let's just say the car upholstery people don't understand the concepts of: customer service; people not being able to drive two cars at once; people having jobs that last past 4:00 in the afternoon; people not having chauffeurs/people on call to drive them places. My friend agreed to drive me to this place, thankfully. I took Juno rather than Kaline.

We got there, and inside the office was an enormous Labrador or Lab mix, barking its head off. Obviously I wasn't taking Juno into that tiny office with the dog acting that way, so I just waited awkwardly outside. Finally, someone came over to ask why I was there. I explained I was there to pick up the car. The guy goes into the office and leashes the dog, I assume to take it away somewhere while I conduct my business. Nope! He comes out, dog at the end of the leash and straining and bouncing, clearly intending to let the dog just run up into Juno's face.

I kept backing Juno up, asking the guy to keep the dog away from her. He responded by questioning whether she was really a service dog. I replied that all dogs value their personal space, and the majority of dogs really don't appreciate other dogs lunging into their faces. That only got me: “Oh, so she's an attack service dog?” At that point I just gave up, clearly a lost cause. The guy basically blocked the doorway with the dog, and luckily Juno remembered how to heel on the right, so I could be between her and the dog.

In the tiny office, the guy let the dog come over and sniff Juno, who showed admirable restraint and moved so that she was between me and my friend. It was just a metric ton of NOT OKAY. I am debating whether to post a scathing review on Yelp, haha.

Tonight we're going to a reading at Kepler's by one of my favorite authors, the hilarious science writer Mary Roach! It would probably be a good education experience for Kay ... But I want to just enjoy the hilarity! So Juno's going, hehe. We need our quality girl time anyhow.

Kaline's presents and a good outing

Kaline is making out like a bandit this Solstice. (Happy Solstice, everyone!) His presents just arrived, one right after the other—first a red Cloudchaser (because Juno's is grey), and then his Paco collar. I also got him a Halti, since we were having so many issues with the Infinity collar loosening constantly during the walks, but he doesn't consider it a present. It has a nice padded noseband though and it stays where it's supposed to when I put it on.

Kaline models his new collar. The people at Paco Collars did everything possible to make it nice for his neck.

Closeup of his conchos and "rhinestones."

He and Juno look so freaking cute together in their semi-matching coats with their blinking lights on top. Worked great in the rain today. I still hate rain, even though now I have all waterproof gear (shoes, pants, jacket) and so do Juno and Kaline.

Ready to get out and start the pack walks.

Everyone had long afternoon naps, so when Mom asked if Kaline and I wanted to work in the mall while she shopped and did errands, we were raring to go. It was cold and intermittently wet, so he wore all his stuff, his jacket, his vest, his Halti, his new Paco collar. He looked so cute.

Kaline wearing ALL the gear.

And he was such a good boy! We went to Macy's, Bloomingdale's, the Gap, Nordstrom, Safeway and Kepler's (he went to Kepler's off-duty). He pulled a bit, and tried to rub off the Halti sometimes, but largely he was excellent. We were working on simple stuff: basic obedience when asked, not pulling, not sniffing things, and most of all, settling. He got lots of compliments on how handsome he is and how nicely he was behaving. No intrusive questions, just fun ones. The best was when a lady asked what we were working on today, and I gladly told her. "Oh, puppies," she said.

Settling by the shoe racks.

Ignoring Christmas food and candy.

Down stay next to the escalator.

Kaline hit all the handicap buttons and then as a finale, settled beautifully when we went for dinner at the cafe in Nordstrom. He settled immediately and he didn't get up again until we were almost ready to go. I think he was cold, even in his coat and lying on his cushy mat. I couldn't stop grinning, and that is not a state I have been in at all lately.

At dinner, being a little pro about quietly holding his down.

The little man was quite good in Safeway, though he was a little bit unsettled by these middle-school age boys marching around singing Christmas songs loudly and off key, in a strangely belligerent way. I have no idea what they were doing there—it was like their parents dropped them off and said, "Go amuse yourselves in Safeway, kids." I was kinda unsettled by their singing too. He got over it after a little while (and several treats).

Kepler's he was terrible because he just wanted to go back to the front and get more cookies. But he was off-duty and he'd been working nicely for a long time—it was obvious he'd had it. I was super proud of him for being such a stand-up little guy tonight!

Latest "news"

Well, we've had our first bit of rain the past few days, and thankfully, Kaline does not seem to be fazed by it. He heard his first thunder the other night—he boofed once, as if to say, "Go away!" and then decided he didn't really care anymore. Juno doesn't care either. Yay. Their predecessor, Angel, would attempt to dig through the floor to China whenever it thundered, or if fireworks were set off anywhere in the county.

Since the game, we've had a quiet week, just walks and training as usual. Kaline's gotten in a lot of leave it work—showed up a Golden Achiever a little bit at the park. It must be noted that the Golden Achiever hasn't had nearly as much practice, though.

Dad and I took the pups to the Tony LaRussa event at Kepler's, which was pretty fun. Juno was off-duty, Kaline was on-duty, as you can see from the picture. Kaline did well, although he started to lose it toward the end. He'd been working on holding a quiet down-stay for a really long time (for him), so it was understandable that he got restless. He whined a little; also tried to snuggle up to Juno, who objected a little loudly. "Is there a dog here?" asked Mr. LaRussa, sounding a little eager—he has an excellent organization, Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF). "Two!" I replied. Eventually I took Kaline in the back of the crowd and let him stretch his legs a bit. There were three pet dogs there as well (Kepler's is extremely and delightfully pet-friendly) so Kaline was definitely a bit distracted. He had a good time though, and was a good boy.

Because of the cold, we've been doing even more snuggling than normal. Can't complain about that! Today, Juno was on my chest and Kaline was between my feet, a nice little reversal of the usual order of things. Juno is still pissed off if Kaline "screws around" in the kitchen/family room (I have mocking quotes because her definition of screwing around encompasses such innocent acts as walking near her, or sniffing in a way she deems inappropriate, or touching her ever). However, whenever I unleash them from a walk, she'll wait for him at the top of the stairs and pounce, then gambol off invitingly so he'll come wrestle with her. The couches are all out of whack down there because they will bodyslam each other into them. Kaline always ends up with his ears and neck covered in Juno slobber, haha.

They do well in the car together when it's just them. Kaline is still having issues being settled when friends jump into the car. Friends who are not Max, that is; my beloved puppy wrangler enforces order most effectively. Today I found them snuggling adorably.

Isn't Kaline's Hallowe'en sweater cute?

I guess there's not too much news lately. Funk seems to have lifted, at least, and we've got a couple fun things planned for the weekend. Juno gets to see her bestest friend in the whole world, my former coworker Alex, tomorrow. Should be hilarious. Maybe I'll take video!

Kaline has been busy!

Still trying to shake a really bad funk, hence the not writing. But Kaline has been quite busy doing all kinds of awesome things. Over the weekend, he did Borrone's and the Farmer's Market, as usual, but also did IKEA again. We also went to newly reopened Kepler's, which has an extremely shiny and fabulous floor—I was a teensy bit worried it might shake Kaline, but of course it didn't. Takes a lot more than a shiny floor to rattle this boy!

At Borrone's I was feeling all jangly and weird, probably because Kepler's had been so busy and in addition to all my friends working there, there were a bunch of new people too and I felt super awkward. Of his own accord, Kaline did a lap up and just stayed there until my waffle came; as soon as the waffle was gone, he was back up, and eventually started scrabbling his back feet—"Let me all the way up!" So I did, and he just leaned himself into my chest. I was so pleased with him! Not to mention, all kinds of people saw what he was doing, so their Doberman picture of the day was of a snuggler. Ambassadober!

He was awesome in the market too—by himself, he is doing extremely well. Great attention, very little sniffing around, just great. We also talked to a lady about the difference between SDs and ESAs; hopefully she'll get in contact again, because someone gave her tons of misinformation. Such as: ESAs are permitted to go on CalTrain, ESAs require special training, psychiatric service dogs are not recognized by San Mateo County, etc. I cannot stand people who give new SD people the wrong info! Starting off with a service dog is hard enough without others telling you things that are completely inaccurate. I feel so lucky that I was able to find groups where accuracy is of paramount importance and I was able to get spot-on information.

IKEA was pretty good too. We did a lot of "close" practice, because the parents were checking out all the model kitchens. It is pretty much my mom's fondest dream to remodel the kitchen, which anyone will admit was terribly set up and designed. I had a bag full of kibble, of course, so we'd go through the kitchens after Dad, and he'd have opened a bunch of drawers and cabinets at different levels. Then Kaline got to close everything! He only has trouble with low drawers, because he wants to use his feet—on a low drawer, feet are ineffective, and also I don't really want him to use his feet in the first place. High drawers were adorable, he'd push them like a seal bouncing a ball back to the trainer.

We also practiced under at different tables, settling on various interesting rugs (including one made of cowhide), sit and down stays, little recalls, etc. Kaline and I were pooped way before the parents were!

Then Monday night, Kaline got to go to his very first Major League baseball game! Normally when I go to a ballgame, I have extreme focus on the game: I get there when the gates open, I bring my scorebook, I keep score in my very detailed personal scoring system, and I basically do not leave my seat from first pitch to last pitch (unless I really have to go). So last night felt a little weird for me.

Hendrik and Sonja had invited just me, but then Sonja didn't feel well, so Dad came. We got to the park only a little while before first pitch. We introduced Kaline to our favorite ushers, Nick, Mark, Rod and Anthony, then went to the seats. Kaline was a little overwhelmed right at first. You don't think about it most of the time, but when you're with a puppy, you realize all of a sudden just how much sensory overload there can be at a ballpark. There are tons of people, food everywhere including all over the ground, it's inside but feels like you're outside (yes, I worry a lot that Kaline will have trouble with that distinction and think it's okay to eliminate in the concourse), it's loud and echoey, there's always something blaring from the speakers, etc.

But I'd brought Kaline's dinner, and that made everything okay.

He settled nicely under my seat on his cushy mat for about three or four innings. I didn't keep score, just focused on Kaline. And the Tigers game, playing on my phone, because they were about to clinch their division title. It was super hot during the day, so the night was warm and miraculously Kaline never shivered! (I brought the Cozy Horse coat for him anyway, and he wore it on the way out for visibility. ADORABLE.)

He started to get antsy after a while, so we got up and walked all over the ballpark, practicing attention and not sniffing/socializing. We did the inner ring, where we could still see the field, then did the concourse, which was louder and more crowded. Kaline was amazing. He was definitely interested in everything that was happening, but he was checking in constantly, both when I asked him to and on his own. At one point there was a huge cheer while we were in the concourse (the A's were about to clinch a playoff spot, so it was extra loud last night), and the sound was reverberating. Kaline's ears went flat against his head and he just got this look on his face like, "WHY?!" I got him to watch me, and instead of one kibble, gave him a handful. The rest of the night, when there was a big cheer, instead of wilting, Kaline would fix me with a stare: "Cheering! Where is my food?!" It didn't bother him again.

After the concourse we went to the gate where we'd come in, to see if they'd make an exception for us on the no re-entry policy. They waved us through, grinning: "You're not the only one who's needed to take a dog out tonight!" Yay. Kaline got his business done fairly quickly, and while he was out of his vest I just kind of played around with him a bit to loosen things up. Then we went back in and he was good under my seat basically the rest of the game. In the ninth I let him curl up on my lap. (He really has to curl now!)

Watching the game (sometime before our stadium circuit).

Obviously when the A's won and had their celebration, the whole Coliseum went apeshit. But Kaline now knew that loudness would get him treats, so he was completely unfazed by the whole thing. He was so great! He was a little pissed when I stuffed him into his coat at the end, but hey, people definitely noticed a bright blue and maize puppy trotting through the crowded concourse. I was very proud of my little guy.

In which no one gets bathed ...

Yeah, who saw that one coming? Everyone? Good. Happy five-month birthday to Kaline.

Nobody got a bath today (nobody who is also a dog), but both kids got to go on solo working outings, so that was good. And they both did very well. Dad took Juno on a long walk by herself this morning, so I could take Kaline with me to meet Mom at the Farmer's Market. We practiced on-leash recalls down the back street behind our house, and leave it whenever the opportunity arose. He walked so nicely right next to me. Unsurprisingly, he works far better on his own, when we can both focus on each other 100%.

Kaline did awesome at the market. People were actually commenting on his attention. Better enjoy it while I can, cause his brain might fall out when he hits seven months and his "Doberteens"! He hardly did any inappropriate sniffing, and did nice blocking when I positioned him. Oh yeah, and he was really on with the handicap buttons today! He was hitting them very squarely most of the time, and sometimes doing it even without me asking! Of course, I want him to wait for the cue, so we worked on doing calm sits before hitting the button, but still, it was cute. He'd lock in on the button from like 15 feet away and once he was in range, he'd leap at it to push it.

We did a lot of work in the market, going back to the car periodically to put more stuff in it so we didn't have to carry it around (we being my mom, haha). There were a couple pet dogs in the market, which annoyed me—I think all dogs should be allowed, but they have two big No Pets signs, one at either end, and I feel like they should either enforce it, or take down the signs. Inconsistency sucks.

Kaline also got to do the bagel store, where he was pretty awesome. They have pumpkin bagels now! I love October and November: baseball playoffs; Hallowe'en, the best holiday in the universe; and pumpkin everything. Also, if you're in a place with seasons (read: Michigan), incredibly beautiful fall leaves. Mmmm.

We came home to drop off our goodies and to pick up Junebug; then we headed to Borrone's. The place was hopping, as usual, and the only table we could find was in the sun. The dogs were fine—they got to lie in the table's considerable shadow—but we humans were frying. Still, a yummy breakfast.

We were next to a gorgeous 18-month-old Vizsla named Rusty at first, only 45 pounds which is small for a male. I thought he was a baby puppy like Kaline when we first saw him. I can't get enough of that rich orange-gold color. Later, two women (mother and daughter, we found out) arrived with a big young black-and-rust male Doberman! Both Kaline and I were staring at him, haha. He was still basically all legs, obviously very cuddly. Apparently he lives with a five-year-old brother-and-sister pair and a nine-month-old red male. Lots of land! If we had four Dobermans in this house no one would be able to move.

Cuddling at Borrone's.

After breakfast (or more properly, lunch) we ran into some of my old buddies from Kepler's, which is reopening on Tuesday! Everyone was in the half-finished store, working on stuff. We got to see Maggie, Mike, Nancy, Katie, Marilyn, Pam, the whole gang. Everyone was delighted to see the dogs, and they both basked in the attention. Maggie and Kaline were just all over each other, it was adorable. I told her she could do anything she wanted with him, basically, so she was playing with his feet, picking him up, all kinds of stuff. Kaline took it all calmly and happily, great practice for one day when he's working and some little kid comes up and touches his paw or tail or something.

Maggie and Kaline.

Finally we came home and everyone took a nap. Except maybe for Kaline, crazy puppy. Then for the late afternoon/early evening, he was in his crate and Juno came out with me and Mom. We went first to our local Ritz Camera store, which is closing and thus having big discounts on most stuff. And thus, amateur camera enthusiasts that we are, Mom and I got the Canon Rebel I've been coveting. I can't wait to try it out (it's charging now). We went to Walgreens, where Juno got to press the buttons and do various kinds of pulling and bracing. (By the end of our many-stop outing, I was getting numb and tingly from the knees down, ugh.) We went to Nordstrom's and Draeger's, then came home and collapsed.

Well, I did—Juno and Kaline had a big wrestling session downstairs. Yay. Unfortunately it seems not to have tired him out, as he's been a pill since then. Juno is wiped out.