LabradorRodeo

I introduced Sonny to the vacuum cleaner the other day. I let him sniff it when it was just sitting there and unplugged, and then I let him approach it (read: a bunch of hopping around and play-bowing) when it was sitting there and running. He didn’t seem too afraid of it once I started moving it around to clean the stairs; in fact, he quickly grew bored with the whole lesson and decided to wander off in search of naughtiness, which resulted in my crating him until the chore was done.

But this Roomba is a different story. It moves by itself. Sonny sniffed it while it was docked and charging, and then I pushed the button. Once again, not terrified…but he looked upon it with what I would consider a healthy respect. Didn’t chase it, but was fascinated enough to watch it. He would move away when it got too close to him, but then he’d move cautiously toward it when it turned and rolled away from him.

To show him the Roomba is nothing to fear, I sat on the big dog bed and called him over to join me. I’m typing this as we sit here, calmly observing our helpful little robot dog-hair-sucker.

No sudden moves, Roomba. We are watching you.

We took Sonny to church with us for the first time today. He’s ten weeks old, so I wanted to keep things as easy for him as I could. We sat wayyyy in the back corner (near the door to the outside, just in case), and parked him at my feet between our pew and the one in front of us.

Of course, it was Communion Sunday, which always makes for a longer service. And it was our beloved interim pastor’s last day with us as well, so there was a special little presentation at the end. And then there was the annual holiday dinner afterward in the multipurpose room, where we purposely sat at the table farthest from the food lines and foot traffic…only to find ourselves dead center in front of a pair of speakers and a microphone for people to use in expressing appreciation for the pastor. I was prepared to take him out of the room if he showed any signs of “TOO MUCH!”

But you know what? Sonny was fantastic. He took a while to settle into the church service — mostly because this is the first time I’ve expected him to be quiet for a longer period of time in public — but once he did, he was solid (even if he did snore during communion). He had a couple of appropriate chew toys, and eventually got the hang of my placing him and re-placing him in a down. I took him out to relieve in the parking lot, which he was happy to do. Then I sat him under our lunch table and he figured that out as well (without even being too sniffy/floor-licky). He didn’t seem to care about music playing or people talking or kids running around or the wafting smells of food. AND everyone was really cooperative about not petting him or distracting him (sometimes that’s the hardest part).

I thought he’d be exhausted when we got home, but after an hour or so of running around and playing with Truman, he is finally, FINALLY asleep. He’s napping, Truman’s napping, the pack leader is napping, and I…well, I’d nap too, but I have things to do that can’t be done with wide-awake puppies in tow.

Hooray for my confident little dog!

Since Sonny’s still wee (lots of wee, as it turns out), training starts slowly. At ten weeks old (and 16.3 pounds at last weigh-in), he’s now made the typical transition from sleepy little snugglepuppy to bitey little piranha puppy. Here’s what we’re working on:

Housebreaking — pretty good. There have been a few little accidents, but nothing major, and we typically catch him in the (very speedy) act. Can I tell you how happy I am to have non-carpeted floors for a change? And as much as I’ve always sung the praises of Nature’s Miracle, I gotta tell ya, Simple Solution smells a heck of a lot better. And it’s cheaper.

His name — he seems to know it, and responds pretty well to being called unless there’s some really powerful distraction in the way (like Truman the Instigator). But I’ll bet the neighbors are tired of hearing me call “Sonnyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” in a high voice, clapping and making kissy noises.

Sit — this one’s coming along nicely. Like most puppies, he’s quickly learning anything associated with meal time.

Down — always more of a challenge than “sit,” but also coming along, with the help of a little kibble.

Stairs — though his legs are still short, he’s doing pretty well going up and down the front steps that lead to his potty spot (an unused parking place in front of our house). The steps are more like big landings, however, so he’s better at those than he is at the indoor stairs that lead to the second floor. They’re steep for such a little man, so we’re working on those in small increments. I’ll put him a couple of stairs up from the floor and encourage him to come down, or put him a couple of stairs from the top and encourage him to climb. They’re carpeted, so that helps. He’s seen Truman go up and down, so he knows it can be done. And for the last day or so, when I bring him inside from relieving and take off the leash, he’ll wander over and put his front paws on the first step, sometimes even climb two or three. Brave little puppy!

Grooming — we work on that in short sessions every day, with a brush provided by GDF that has soft bristles on one side and dull-tipped wire ones on the other. And this is all I’ll say about that: “Brush is FRIEND, not FOOD.”

Other house manners — this dog is a hoover. Wants to sniff, sniff, sniff EVERY FLOOR in the house, and eat every last molecule he finds. He also finds a number of forbidden furniture pieces and shoes delightful to the palate. Fortunately, he is actually deterred by bitter apple spray. But what I really need is a holster to carry the spray bottle in, because when the piranha strikes, it is inevitably in the other room.

He sure is a cute little thing, and he seems to be not only confident but also pretty sharp. I continue to give thanks, however, that he is not criminally insane like Truman was at that age…pretty sure I’d already lost a pint or so of blood by the time he was ten weeks old.

So far, we’ve had Sonny for about a week and a half, but he’s already had a number of adventures.

Just to get here, he had to travel by car all the way from Smithtown, NY, where GDF is located. That’s no mean feat for an eight-week-old puppy. My area coordinator said he was a good traveler.

He hasn’t had all his shots yet, so I’ve been carrying him into public places with me. Looking for a way to build your biceps? Carry a puppy through the grocery store.

So far he’s been to Trader Joe’s, Giant (twice!), Starbucks, and on a few brief car rides so he can get used to riding on the passenger side floor. He’s been to the vet, and I’ve even carried him on a couple of walks around the development where we live so he could sniff the air and get used to the sights and sounds of the neighborhood — cars, delivery trucks, other dogs, wind chimes, wind in the trees, etc.

Speaking of wind, I’d forgotten just how exciting wind can be when you’re housebreaking a highly distractible puppy.

“Busy busy, Sonny. Busy busy. Busy bu– NO, we don’t eat leaves. Give me that. Thank you. Busy busy. Busy busy. Busy bu– HEY now, enough with the spinning. Come on. I know you have to pee. No leaves. Give me…stop it. Hold still. Come on. BUSY BUSY….”

I swear there were three leaves in the entire parking lot, and every one of them blew into Sonny’s path. And then there was the day where it was nothing BUT leaves, blowing around and making noise and — I am not kidding when I tell you this — swirling right around us in a circle as I was trying to relieve him. It was also about 38 degrees that day, so you can imagine my level of patience with this whole process.

We’ve been having some car repairs and inspections done, so we’ve had just the one car between the two of us since Sonny got here, and it’s been nice to be able to deal with him while someone else is driving (he’s a pretty good traveler, but he’s at a very active age). I have yet to experience the fun of the first time driving by myself while little dog is on the floor but wanting to be in my lap. I have also yet to experience the magic of driving in snow or ice. And Sonny has yet to be introduced to sitting still under my chair during Bible study. On Thursday, we may experience all three of these things together. Wish me luck.

“What kind of dog is that?”

“He’s a Lab.”

“Really? He doesn’t look like a Lab! He looks like a Golden.”

“That’s just because he’s fuzzy. He’s only eight weeks old.”

“Is he part Shar Pei?”

“Nope. He’s wrinkly because he’s only eight weeks old. He’s just got a big Sonny suit. Full Labrador.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I forget just how many interesting moments you have when you raise puppies. I’ve had Sonny for less than a week now, and I’ve already had people challenge me about Sonny’s breed, distract him by whistling at him when I’m trying to get him to relieve, reach out to pet him when I’m carrying him in public, try to give me money to buy him dog food (because that cost is not covered by the guide dog school), and beg me — from the next checkout line over — to bring him to their house to play with their 18-month-old twins (whaaa…?).

I’ve known some weird dogs, but people are always much weirder. I realize that a lot of encounters are simply due to ignorance and that educating the public — graciously — is one of the responsibilities of a puppy raiser, but sometimes I am simply perplexed.

Guide dog handlers, I salute you. I’m sure you have some crazy stories.