We’ve migrated

Bad Paige for not writing for so long. A quick catch up: Stuff happened.

More recently: Mom finished packing up all of the stuff in the den. It was getting weirder and weirder! Both my kittens and I were totally stressed out. I couldn’t figure out what she was doing or why.

Then the worst weekend in a long time happened. Saturday: Mom went away all day. This was really bad because I never have to stay home alone. Wonder dogs don’t stay home. Sunday: Mom was away again. The people told me that she was “down in the truck”. And this time, people kept taking my stuff. They were people I knew but they were stealing my stuff. Later they brought it to a new place and started to put it back the way it goes. Monday: I had to stay at the new den with Grandma while Mom was gone again. She says she went and cleaned up the old den really good so somebody else could live there. The point was she was gone.

Now, a week later, Mom has been unpacking boxes and stuff is starting to sit where it should go again. I know we’re staying here because Mom unpacked all the books. Mom and Dad own a crazy number of books so they only get unpacked when we’re staying for a while. I’m starting to feel at home again and am willing to just hang out. The first few days here I was really stressed out still and it took me a while to settle in. The best parts of the new den: I have a huge yard and we get to live with Grandma. Mom’s thrilled that we have a washing machine and a dishwasher (it’s not really that big of a deal).

This is me, in my backyard with my bone. You can see from this angle just how big my yard is.

I’m having such a good dog day

As those of you who follow me know, I’m not particularly of dogs at a distance when I’m on my leash. I have no problem saying hi to them. It’s when they are far away (or even close but far enough) that I get really upset.

Today was a great day for dogs!

When we went for a our walk this morning, there was a small grey dog coming towards us. Mom had me stop and we just waited. His owner had him cross the street while he was still a good distance away and then walked away from us. And I didn’t bark. We walked on our side of the street for a while, parallel to them. Mom kept stuffing kibbles in my mouth for watching the dog quietly. We watched until the dog disappeared behind a car on the corner. When he came back out on the other side of the cars, it was almost too much for me. Mom caught it before I got to actually barking and we briskly walked back the way we came with Mom telling me how good I did.

Our next dogs were in the waiting room at the vet’s office. The vet wanted to double check me after the chiro popping that she did on me a couple weeks ago. Good news: everything stayed in line and I’m in good shape. I’m feeling great. Because the vet had been away for a while, there was quite a wait to get in to see her. While we waited 3 dogs came and went from the waiting room. There was an old guy who really didn’t want to be there. I was good and didn’t invade his space. There was a sheltie who didn’t want to say hi but who I was very curious in. The owner kept trying to get her dog to come and say hi. When the dog got close I would sniff her but Mom kept reminding me that the dog wasn’t interested and I should keep my nose to myself. The owner of this dog was extremely rude to me. I was in a under at Mom’s  chair and this lady kept reaching under Mom’s legs to pat me! When I’m in that position, I think I’m working, vest or not. It’s a very professional position. People aren’t supposed to pat me like that. The third dog that came in was a Tibetan Mastiff. Mom couldn’t get over how cool his face looked. I sat up and barked at him as soon as he arrived. Only a couple barks. Just enough to make sure everybody knew what I thought. He investigated everything else for a few minutes but eventually he came to try and say hi to me. I wasn’t interested so I looked away from him. Mom was paying attention and gently pushed him away and told his owner that I wasn’t interested. I was relieved to leave the waiting room shortly after. Once I was done with the doctor, he was just going into an exam room. We waited for him to move his bulky self so that we could go past. Instead of following his Dad he tried to come to me. Some dogs! But I handled it very maturely.

As we were leaving the apartment to go to work, we passed a pug that lives there. I normally see this guy and he normally jumps all over my nose if I stick it too close to him. So I used some of the new skill I’ve been practising and walked right past him. When we got past, Mom and I threw a little party. I think I’m finally getting the hang of some of this dog stuff.

~Paige the Wonder Dog

Pup goes *POP*

It has been a very busy week around here. It all started last Thursday…

Mom has been worried about me for the last bit and rightly so. I took a stumble a bit ago and have been in pain ever since. While Mom was giving me pain killers to make me comfortable, it didn’t seem to be something that wanted to heal itself. Mom finally gave in and took me to the vet. She was so worried that I finally blew my knee. Good news: the knee seems to actually be tightening up on it’s own. But the vet still recommended that I see her partner. So we went back on Friday. The vet had me get up on the table and then started poking at my hips. She put pressure in the right spot and there was a pop back there! I burried my head a little bit tighter in Mom’s stomach. She was holding onto my collar like I wouldn’t have stood still on my own. Then the vet started to move around my arms and again she made something pop. She said we were done for the day and lowered the table. It took me a minute to realize it but I felt better. Forget better. I felt great!!! So I gave the vet my biggest smile to say thanks and let her know that I liked what ever it was that she did to me.

On Saturday Mom and I went out to celebrate. Right now all of the snow is melting and Mom says we can’t go to the park. But on Saturday we got to go and play dirtiest dog. And I totally won. I found a few good puddles and by running through them and stomping I ended up with muddy water on my back! and everywhere else. Little did I know that dirtiest dog was going to be followed by cleanest dog. It was bath day. So over to the big tub we went! Sad puppy. By the time I was partially dry I was so tired and getting sore again. Mom let me lay down on my side while she blew me out. Did I ever mention how good my Mom is? But she made me stand so she could scissor down my feathering. Mom keeps me trimmed up pretty good and she took off a little bit extra so I don’t magically attract quite so much dirt while the world melts.

Monday was our first Hope Heels group class. The wonder dogs are learning to take the bus. I told them all I knew about the bus and the people on the bus. I have taken the bus lots! Mom and I took it everyday while we went to classes last winter. I don’t like the bus but it will get you to where you need to be. We practiced how to get on a bus and off. The people role played on how to ask for a seat. More practice is scheduled for next Monday and we’re taking all the pups to practice with a real bus. I just have to remember not to bark at the busses. That would be embarrassing.

Wednesday Mom and I went to talk to a bunch of kids about service dogs. We explained what I do for Mom and why it’s important that the kids don’t pat me. Then the kids got a special treat and got to meet Boomer, our 12 week old puppy. I was so jealous. Boomer got to say hi to each kid. Turns out we were there because one of the girls in that class picked Boomer’s name. Mom handled it very well. She didn’t even have a breakdown when she was surprised by cameras being there. She was just happy that she did dress well enough that she would be okay for camera material. But they didn’t air us. Mom hunted all the news websites for video. You can see Boomer’s video via link on Hope Heels facebook page.

Wednesday evening Dad got home and we’ve just been hanging around since.

Time for me to go. We’re going to try to lure Dad to help pack some stuff for our migrate.

~Paige the Wonder Dog

A different species

Today was a very busy day.

After hanging around the house in the morning we went and dropped off a bunch of small pieces of paper to the new land lady. Mom called them cheques. She explained it as the little slips would make the land lady happy enough that we could live in her house that has a backyard. Humans do some strange things. I suggested that we paid her in snuggles and bones instead but Mom said this was better.

We went for a walk in the woods with OM. It was so good. I haven’t gotten a lot of off leash time because Mom is really worried about my knee and doesn’t want me running really hard to keep up with the other dogs. I’ll admit that it’s not a bad idea. I’ve been requesting that we use the elevator to go downstairs once in a while lately. I’m sore! Mom’s even been giving me painkillers once in a while. Don’t worry. They are doggy friendly ones. For those who don’t know: Dogs can’t have human painkillers. They are very dangerous for us so please don’t give them to your fur babies. But we had a great walk with OM. I ran and sniffed and wandered through the fresh snow. Mom and OM played a mean trick on me. When they turned around to go back to the car, they didn’t tell me. I looked around and they were missing. Happily it was a trail where you were going or coming and there were footprints in the snow for me to follow. I found them really quick and was very relieved. After that, I was looking for them often.

After our walk, we went to a party. They had this really cool thing in a cage there. Mom called it a bird. Was it every neat. It kept saying  “hello pretty girl” to me. I was so curious about it. I kept getting closer and closer to it’s cage. It had a big cage. At one point I was standing up against the cage. The humans who live with the bird warned me against this activity. They said that the bird may want to borrow my nose. I don’t quite understand that idea. I think that bird stared at me as hard as I stared at it.

After all of that excitement, when we got to work at the store, I curled up on my mat and went right to sleep. I woke up just long enough to ask Mom for supper and then I crashed again. Now I have to go because we have to get the store cleaned up. Once that’s done, we get to go home. Then I can sleep in my big bed.

Good night all
~Paige the Wonder Dog

We’re migrating

There are big changes going on in my small world. Mom and OM (Other Mother – previously known as GrandmaMom) have been looking at new dens and have found a good one. Not sure why but we have to wait to actually migrate there. Mom says she has a lot to do before we migrate. She says she needs to put all of the stuff in the current den in boxes. All of my stuff is already packed – it’s normally kept in baskets. And the best part of the new den: I get my own back yard!!! And Mom says it’s a big one. I haven’t seen it so I can’t verify that. And we get to actually live with OM. I get to see her every day!

The other big change is that we aren’t going to that work place Mon-Fri any more. Mom says that they couldn’t keep paying us. The worst part of this: I have to use up the treats I have at home and don’t get any new ones. The worst part for Mom: We have to do the interviewing thing again. Mom hates interviews. I think she’s pretty great at them but I think some companies would hire her except for me. They don’t say it outright but I know I make it harder for Mom to find a job. It’s not terrible to not have to go to that office anymore. Mom didn’t like that job and it was taking more and more out of her everyday to go in. Before me, she would have stopped going quite a while ago. I’m so proud that I can lend Mom so much strength and courage. That’s why I’m a wonder dog instead of a regular dog.

Paige the Wonder Dog.

Some people just don’t listen

I’m so sad to have to write this because it highlights the bad manners of some people. Mom and I had a bad run in last night and here’s the story:

It was around midnight. Mom had stayed up with a book so she was just taking me out for my bed time walk. We both were tired. I’ve been having trouble with my knee and right then I was hurting enough that I suggested to Mom that we took the elevator downstairs. This is a big sign as I really don’t like to take the elevator downstairs. All the waiting.

Mom picked our route very carefully because she knew I wasn’t feeling good. I get a little bit more defensive about certain dogs being around when I’m sore. I don’t want to risk meeting an unfriendly dog when I’m feeling vulnerable. Usually I bark at them to keep away. Mom’s working at me so that I don’t bark at them if they are away. Dogs I know are okay to be around but I’ll ignore them a bit more if they’re being too hyper.

Just as our walk was ending, we ran into a strange guy. Mom and I waited far enough back so that he would have room to walk past us (it was a small trail because some people don’t know how to shovel their sidewalks). As he was walking towards us, he stared at me. I’m not a big fan of men, especially strangers after dark who act weird. The staring was too much! I barked. And what does he do? He lowers his head a bit and keeps staring. I felt so uncomfortable about this that I didn’t want him to come any closer to Mom and me. Then as he approached he leaned over me and went to put his hand on my head. He’s so lucky that it was with me, who was barking because I was nervous and wanted space, and not somebody who was barking because they were actually aggressive. Mom stepped between me and him and tried to get me to calm a bit as we backed up. But this guy kept approaching. Mom was telling him in human words and I was barking at him that we didn’t want him near us, that he was making us nervous. And still he kept coming. Usually Mom would turn us around and walk the other way so we can have some space but she didn’t want to turn her back on this guy. My barking eventually woke up the neighbours and them opening their door to see what was going is what seemed to diffuse the situation. Finally the guy moved on. After that, we were okay but Mom had trouble getting to sleep. She was pretty upset.

I think we both handled the situation like the rock stars that we were. I barked without escalating or being truly threatening and Mom stayed nice and calm through the whole thing.

Mom penned a nice note to the neighbours to apologize for me barking so late at night. She described what happened and thanked them for opening the door to see what was going on. Hopefully they forgive me. How could they not? I’m fluffy and cute, even if I do need to be brushed.

Humans and dogs alike need to mind their manners so everybody can have good walks.

Paige the Wonder Dog

One crate gone

I don't remember if I told you but we had a few kennels that were donated to hope heels a bit ago. These things have been hanging around underneath our kitchen table. Last night we were able to give away the larger kennel. And do you know who it went to? BabyHalo. Baby my tail. He's a terrorist! I wonder if he belongs to one of those international organizations. He hung around for quite a while. Happily we were outside and he wasn't in my den! Mom played with him and talked with his people for a long time and I waited patiently as far away as I could get. Mom says he has potential to become a wonder dog but I'm not so sure. She promises that he'll grow out of this terrorist stage and then I can help show him the ropes. He's 4.5 months old now. I remember being more mature at that age. But for now he will be referred to as TerroristHalo.

I'm off to the park to meet my Hailey Girl and AuntyMaigen.
Paige the wonder dog

Sometimes "leave it" is so hard to do

When we went outside at lunch today I found 2 tasty things: A chunk of pizza bread and a pork chop bone. I gave the bread a "how dare you smell so good" look but I didn't approach it. I gave it lots of room. The pork chop bone I actually picked up for a moment. But I dropped it without Mom saying anything and walked away. It was tempting but it's not what good wonder dogs do.

In other "leave it" news, we went to the movies again. I'm getting so much better about the popcorn thing. We went and saw the new Underworld movie. Mom says she really enjoyed it but I didn't get to actually watch it. We sat where I couldn't see and it was one of those 3D movies and they have yet to make wonder dog 3D glasses. What I can tell you was that it was very loud for most of the movie. Not a good starter one for a Wonder Dog who is still in training but it didn't bother me at all. I even had a nap. I did start poking Mom at one point. She still doesn't why but it worked and she continued to watch the movie in peace and was none the wiser to what I saw. She doesn't always understand but she respects my professional judgement.

Paige the wonder dog.

Bath time–a picture story

Hanging out in the tub while my Furminator conditioner sets

Still waiting

Are we almost ready to rinse yet

Finally done in the tub

You think this is funny

All pretty but still grumpy. I’m so good at this that Mom doesn’t even have to tie me up while I’m on the grooming table.

You mean we get to go home?

Paige the wonder dog

Wintered Happened

For those of you who are from around here, you know that winter can be a long, brutal ordeal. This year, so far (cross your paws), it has been so mild. And I for one am loving it. It’s been right around the freezing point. There has been very little snow and even less reason for people to use that terrible salt stuff on their side walks.

A week ago, we got real winter conditions. It was so cold! Just about –40. I couldn’t even step outside without my boots on. Since I had my boots on, I even wore them around the mall.

He we are in this really cool store. Everything has sheep’s wool in it or on it or as part of it. The best part? They have these stuffed sheep all over the place. Mom had to work with me really hard to leave the sheep alone and focus on her instead. I reminded her that I was a herding breed. She reminded me that I’m a wonder dog and that’s much more important.

And that was all the winter we got. One week. There is still snow and it’s not Mexico here (I hear that it’s really warm there) but we’re back to the freezing mark and it’s nice to go outside.

Back seats simply aren't big enough!

Got to see my home girl Haylie today. Awesome! I don't think I ever get to spend enough time with her. I knew something special was up because Mom's alarm didn't go off this morning. I couldn't figure out why we were sleeping in but hey, we were sleeping in so I wasn't too worried. When it was time to get out the door this morning I was still dragging my paws. I figured we were going to work and I didn't really want to go to work today. But we went downstairs and I couldn't believe who was waiting in the lobby for me. Haylie!! I am one lucky dog! So what did I do? I said hi to her in the best way I knew how: I jumped up and punched her in her shoulders.

Then after much tail wagging, it was time to go on an adventure. The downfall? Our Mom's decided that we should car pool. The back seat in AuntyMaigen's car is not 2 collies big. I don't mind too much. I'm pushy enough to be able to get enough seat to be comfy. It just means that Haylie doesn't get a lot of seat. AuntyMaigen says she's getting a new car and it's going to have one seat for Haylie and one for me. No more sharing. I'm cool with that.

We went down to Now! Radio this morning and picked up some money that they are giving to Hope Heels. While we went in vested up and well behaved, we quickly talked our way out of the vests and got to hang out with radio hosts. I like to talk. Maybe I should think of a career in radio. Mom is poking me and reminding me to say thank you. So: Thank you Now! Radio and Crash and Mars.

After a quick stop at the bank (Haylie and I had to make sure that money got into Hope Heel's bank account) we went to the dog park. And we ran and ran and ran. We ran into a couple other dogs and their people had 2 of the stick/ball things. So we chased balls all over the park. Okay. Haylie chased the ball and I chased her. I don't understand her desire to pick things up in her mouth.

Now we're at work. But it's okay. I have a crazy comfy bed! And a big bowl of water. Now I need a nap and Mom's pushing me off the computer. Something about needing to do work while at work

Puppy Luvs
Wonder dog Paige.

Movie Theater Popcorn… Drool!

Dad came home again. And typically when Dad is home we get to go and see a movie. I like going to the movies. That box that Mom watches at home doesn’t make much sense to me. But there is something different about the movie theatre. I can watch the picture and hear the sound. I like watching movies! And Mom and Dad usually sit where I can see between the seats. I only have one complaint. The newer theaters have great deep pads on the seats and they leave no room under them for wonder dogs. Designers never take us wonder dogs into consideration when they build a place.

The best thing about the theatre is the popcorn. It smells so good and it’s so salty and tasty. Except I’m not supposed to eat it. It’s one of those forbidden foods. *sad puppy* I’m getting better at ignoring it. But it’s hard. Mom was working with me at looking away from the yummy stuff. Look away and get a pocket cookie and Mom’s approval. Not a terrible deal but the popcorn is so good.

We went and saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie. I thought it was very good. Lots of action, running, fighting and special effects. They kept slowing the camera down so you could really appreciate the explosions or catch small details. I hope they make a third one soon. That guy is such a hoot. And you’re never quite sure who he is or where he is because of his wonderful disguises. I’ll give it 4 barks out of 5.

Apples and Cheese

Mom and I had a snack today. Okay. Mom had a snack and I made cute faces until she gave me some. We were having granny smith apples and cheese. Yummy cheese but those apples are a little tart! So Mom only gave me a small piece of apple. She said I had to eat my apple before I could have any cheese. I tired it but it wasn’t my favorite. So I tried to hide it. I tried to hide it under the long fur in my arm but Mom dug it out and offered it to me again. (Not as gross as it sounds. My arms were just brushed so there wasn’t residual yuckies in them). I tried to use my paw to push it to the far side of my body and Mom found it again. Darn she’s good at this. So I sucked it up and ate it. It actually wasn’t that bad. And then I got the cheese. I got a piece of cheese even bigger than that piece of apple. (Note from Mom: It was a small piece of apple and a small piece of cheese. I’m not over spoiling wonder dog.) I agree Mom. I’m not too spoiled. More cheese please.

Wonder dog Paige.

Casual Fridays

We've made it through another week of work. To get back into work mode after our time off, Mom made me wear my vest all week. She says I did so well that I didn't have to wear it today. She gets to wear her jeans and I get to leave my vest in the drawer.

We had lots go on this week. Here are a few snippets:

We walked to the bus a few times this week during our lunch hour. Mom says I'm getting much better with them. I can get a lot closer to a stationary bus. A moving bus still has to be pretty far away and I still tense up a little bit when they go past but Mom says they are closer. I don't know if I believe her entirely on the distance stuff. Her eyes don't always judge distance too well. And she thinks I'm starting to generalize to large trucks and such. So she thinks.

We were doing all of our bank runs yesterday and I had one bad stop. But there were barking dogs in the car right there. I couldn't help it. Mom waited for me to calm down but she had to get the banking done. When I couldn't get my barking under control, Mom put me back in the car!!! I couldn't believe it! She put me in the car and went into the bank without me! She was really quick in there but she came out a little frazzled. Poor Mom. I over behaved for all of the other stops.

We went to the park for lunch today. You would not believe how icy it is. Nobody remind the weather gods that it's January here on the Alberta Prairies. They haven't sent the cold or the snow yet. We've actually had freezing rain! But we need a few days of sun shine with a wind to be able to melt that dangerous ice and then suck up the moisture (for those of you who don't know it: The ground is frozen solid here and won't absorb any water). I slipped on the ice. It hurt. It still does. Don't tell Mom, 'kay. I'm trying really hard to hide it but I think she knows. All of my paws tried to go in different directions! The good news is that past the ice there was an area where we can all play on less icy ground. So I sucked it up and ran my little puppy heart out.

And now I've slept all afternoon. Mom even let me roll over on my back! She never lets me do that when I'm working. She says it's not very lady like. But it's so comfortable!

Mom says we get to go home now so I have to get my paws off the keyboard.
Paige the Wonder Dog

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Now that I'm back at work, I managed to sneak onto the computer while Mom was eating her lunch.
I hope that everybody had a great holiday season and got spoiled rotten. While I am typically spoiled rotten, I surprisingly had a very unspoiled Christmas. Nobody brought me anything!!! Mom says that I get enough during the rest of the year that I didn't need anything special. I tried to argue but Mom stayed firm on her opinion. Nothing for the dog. The cats didn't get anything special either and they aren't as spoiled as I am typically so I don't feel entirely terrible.

Dad made it home for Christmas. It was so nice to see him. And his work gave him a few days off more than he usually gets when he's home. But not long enough. He didn't even make it to the new years party.

I had to stay home alone twice over the holidays. Just Dad went out with Mom! She tells me that they are looking for a new den for us. I have to stay home because the people who currently live in the dens they are looking at might not like dogs. She says it's important to do this right because they are going to pay a lot of money for this new den and they have to make sure it's the right one. It's going to be worth it because I'm promised to have a lot of room to throw collie parties and my own back yard. I can go hang out outside when ever I feel like it. I can't wait! Don't tell Mom but I took full advantage of my time home alone. I had a couple of great naps on the couch!

On Saturday (New Years eve), I got to go shopping with Mom. We went to the mall on the last Saturday of boxing week. For Mom, this is quite the feat! She says she would have never been able to do that before I got good at my job. We went clothes shopping. Ugh!! I hate buying human clothing. Wonder slowly around the store. I can't talk to anybody and I can't even smell the clothing. Then I have to lay in the change room while Mom tries everything on. Happily, the people at the store were super helpful and Mom found the jeans that she needed. We also went to the smelliest store I've ever been to. It smelled so good in there but a little over whelming! Mom bought lots of hand soap and was thrilled at the deal that she got. I don't get it.

After the mall we went to my store. We had to get food and litter for my cats. And yummy pork bones for me. See, spoiled!

We went to a New Years Eve party at one of Mom's friend's house. It was great to just get to hang out with all the people without my vest on. There is this little dog that lives at that house who has no manners. I have been crazy understanding with this dog. You have no idea. She follows me around with her nose practically in my tail. Literally. And she doesn't understand all the normal "don't" signals. So I finally shouted it at her. I lost it. I turned around really quickly and touched her with my teeth. Thankfully I only had to do it once. She stopped following me around, thank dog! There were a couple times I had to gently remind her that I didn't want her doing it but she understood much smaller signs. Mom was actually proud of me that I stood up to this dog and made myself understood. I thought I was going to be in so much trouble. Touching with your teeth is not good manners. I hope that little white monster remembers our discussion next time I go over there.   I really don't want to ever have to shout at her again.

Mom is shooing me off the computer. She says she has more cheques to write for work. I'll write again soon.
Paige the Wonderdog.