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.