The adventures of SD Juno and SDIT Kaline (and their human, Colt).
Showing posts with label Wilson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wilson. Show all posts

31 July 2012

We are some tired puppies

I would've written yesterday, since it was a big day in the Life of Kaline: His very first day out with all the other dogs! But Dad, Juno and I ended up at the Giants game, which went extra innings ... so yeah, I needed sleep.

The first walk yesterday was with Teddy and Wilson, in Wilson's neighborhood. Poor Teddy had to be the buffer between the babies. Kaline is used to that walk, with multiple dogs, so that wasn't really much of a milestone. He was even kind of naughty. He and Wilson ratchet up each other's naughtiness. That's why I like Freddie's Saturday class as opposed to the usual puppy class (though, of course, if there was a Play & Learn happening now, we'd SO be there). Kaline isn't around a ton of other unruly puppies like himself, he's with a wide variety of dogs, most of whom are calm to one degree or another.

The second walk was the big deal—the five-pack going from The Willows neighborhood through downtown Palo Alto. Here, Kaline met Jett (Swissie), Max (McNab), and Xena (black Lab). I stuck the little man in the very middle of the pack. Juno and Max, my old hands, go on the outside, Xena and Jett on the inside.

Max fixed Kaline's backseat craziness in a quick second, by the way—this is why he's my No. 1 puppy wrangler. Kaline was romping about with Xena, which obviously is not very appropriate for the backseat of a car. I popped Max in there, he let out one or two really ugly sounding growls, and voila! Peace and quiet.

The walk went fairly well, for it being Kaline's first time. He had to be reminded about sitting when we stop (quite understandable), and forgot his manners a little at the flower shop, where all the dogs get treats (he jumped up to get the biscuit instead of staying in a sit). But he stayed in line with the other dogs, for the most part, and didn't lick Xena too excessively. Oh, who am I kidding, he was washing her ears every chance he got. She doesn't mind though, and well she shouldn't, considering she used to do it to everyone.

Juno did amazing at the Giants game. I almost made Dad leave early, and if you know us, you know that's freaking insane. We do not leave baseball games early, ever. But the game went so crazy long, and even though Juno wasn't really showing signs of her bladder exploding, I was worried about her because of her apparent early-onset incontinence. (The vet initially agreed it was a UTI, but then a culture showed no evidence of such, so the current conclusion is a bit of incontinence. Keeping a more rigid schedule of pee breaks seems to have this well in hand.)

However, being inside a ballpark with no in-out privileges kind of puts a crimp in the rigid schedule of pee breaks. It had been almost 7 hours since Juno's last chance to pee. And if Brandon Belt hadn't flied out to end the game when he did, we would have left before the end of the game. As soon as we got outside, we went to the handy gravel across the street and Juno immediately did No. 1 and No. 2. Good dog. 
Juno at the ballpark.
Her pulling on the harness was decent before the game (could've been better), but afterward was excellent. Fabulous even. I'm curious about why ... does she know that pre-game, basically we're practicing, and that post-game, I really need it? Or is she a doggie version of barn-sour, where she's just excited to go back to the car? The world may never know.

The barking when the dogs are together has gotten pretty ridiculous, so we've got a couple different things to try. First stage, removal of whichever dog instigates the barking (usually Juno). If that doesn't work, Binaka, sprayed in the mouth of the instigator. Last resort, e-collar for precisely timed corrections. So far this evening, Juno has been removed three times. It seems to be working, knock on wood.

Kaline and Juno went on a sort of training walk this morning to the park, which went okay. Juno did a lot better than her wee brother; he was just so distracted. We did a pack walk with Gracie, Baxter and Jett. (Just FYI, if Jett is on a walk, we go to downtown Palo Alto.) Kaline looked so cute between the two yellow Labs. For now at least, the very middle is a perfect spot for him.

Junebug did fabulous jumping today at training—three jumps all in a row, almost like flyball! Kaline obviously can't do that kind of thing. We did lots of handling with him, Kumbayayas, and worked on stand.

Kaline, Juno and Teddy during Kumbayayas.

20 July 2012

Bully stick!

After numerous nights of Kaline getting zoomies and subsequently starting barkfests with Juno, Mom finally gave in and let me get him a bully stick. She doesn't even object to the revolting smell—it bothers her immensely that it's a bull penis. Heehee.

Last night, a zoomies session stopped immediately and permanently—2-plus hours—with the introduction of the bully stick. Win. Although today he has loose poops. Hmm.

Kaline did great at training yesterday, again working on heeling (we did five-step halts), sit- and down-stays, and recalls, all around various other dogs. He had a marvelous time playing first with Lucky, our Golden Achiever, then Max, the new beagle.

Today he got to walk with Juno and Wilson in Wilson's lovely neighborhood. At home, he's getting big and clever enough to get up on the couches. One of them he can get to easily because he has a bed to use as a springboard. The other one, he has to clamber up on, which is hilarious to watch. It takes a while, but he's very determined.

On the difficult couch.
On the easy couch.

In other exciting news, we won a super awesome dog tag from the marvelous Jen, guardian of Elka the Doberman. It's been decided that Juno will get the tag, and I'll make it into some kind of SD tag to go on her two-inch wide 2Hounds Designs collar. I'm hoping to take a pretty picture of her in her big vest out in the common area tomorrow, and have that on the front of the tag.

Mom and I took the pups just barely into downtown Menlo Park this evening, and Kaline got to see some of the setup for the Connoisseurs' Market Fair, as well as meet some new people. He was quite a good boy, naturally. One guy just had to take a picture of him, cause he's so cute.

The cuddling has gone to new heights, now that Kaline has thwarted the no dogs on the furniture rule (which wasn't my rule in the first place, so I don't care). I'm absolutely loving it. First real day of obedience class tomorrow, oooh boy!


18 July 2012

Big boy at training

Kaline is running with the big dogs! Or at least getting treated more like one. Yesterday at training, he got tethered like everyone else, instead of put in the playpen (from which he is quite adept at escaping). Unlike everyone else, he had a tire with a rope, and a stuffed lobster to play with. He also got to participate more actively than before. Instead of just coming out for the Kumbayayas, he worked on some loose-leash walking around four or five dogs in down stays, as well as recalls, and “meet and greets” with all the tethered dogs.

He did pretty well! Our new strategy for recalls is to call him in, then make a ninety-degree turn either left or right so he has to follow me and still come in straight. I have no issues getting him not to rock back when I do that, so we'll keep on.

Juno really improved on her down stays yesterday—she didn't break nearly as often as she has been doing, so hooray! She did an excellent job as usual with the jumping (26 inches). I was really happy with her. But later that night, when we went to My Fair Lady, she leaked on her mat. Very worrisome. This is the second time in recent history that she has leaked on her mat. It's not like an accident, because she was calmly lying down when it happened. She doesn't know it's happening.

So today we went to the vet. Junebug got her favorite vet, Dr. Ulla, and she took a urine sample to test to see what we've got. I'm hoping for an easily cleared up UTI, rather than early-onset incontinence. Dr. Ulla was so sad she didn't get to see Kaline, that after we got home, we just set out on a walk with him and went back to the vet's office so she could meet him. (Dr. Ulla has a black and tan Doberman named Anchor.) No one was in, so we just let Kaline gambol around the office in his adorably clumsy way. Everyone was commenting on his lovely temperament and obvious confidence. Whee.

Kaline also got to go on his first real pack walk today, with Juno, Gracie and Wilson. Four-dog packs are my most common, although that will change when Kaline becomes a regular. (Five is my limit, and will become most common.) Wilson and Kaline will just egg each other on in silliness, so I put Gracie between them. She is only a year or so old, about the same age as Wilson, but you'd never know it. She is such an old hand when it comes to dealing with other dogs who need to learn the ropes. She was a fantastic buffer between the boys and made everything go far more smoothly.

Kaline of course did fine. I don't think he's going to have an issue with pack walking in the mental/emotional sense—it doesn't faze him. I just don't know where in the pack I'll put him when I've got Jett too! Normally in packs the least-trained/experienced dog goes on the extreme inside, but since I started with Jett, that's been His Spot, regardless of who else is walking. Mostly because even though he knows what's expected of him now, he can still unintentionally leave huge swipes of drool-slime on passersby if the opportunity presents itself. If I put Kaline to Jett's right though, I have a feeling he'll get smushed. He may end up in the middle, next to my No. 1 Puppy Wrangler Max. That'll be fun.

I shall leave you with a most adorable sequence of photos. Yesterday after training, we all came home tired as usual. Juno flopped on her blue bed, and after a few minutes, Kaline's eyes lit up: Snuggle Opportunity!

So brazenly, he marched over to Juno and curled up in the curve of her body. Then he started scootching around, trying to find the exact perfect spot with the absolute largest area of his body in contact with hers. Would it be better with his head over her neck, or against her shoulder? It was hilarious. Juno grumbled the whole time, naturally, then quieted once she realized he had no interest in chewing on her feet.

Most adorable picture ever, methinks!!

Last bit of news: I finally know Kaline's registered name! It's my first choice—Gatehouse As Time Goes By! Woohoo!