Ike and his new partner. I think it’s love.
Category Archives: O.P.P. (other people’s pups)
News From the Doodle
Today I heard terrific news about IkeyDoodle.
After going in for formal training at GDA last November, Ike decided he didn’t want to be a guide dog. After a week at home with his puppy raisers, he went to Canine Support Teams, where he has since been showing everybody what he’s made of.
Kari tells me that he is retrieving, turning lights on and off, opening and closing doors, and being used for stability…and that he is scheduled to be matched with the team training class that begins next week and finishes on March 3.
Sometimes a little career change is all it takes to find your place in life. Go Ikey go!!!
Posted in Career Change, Doodles, O.P.P. (other people's pups)
Lomax’s Sister Kandy
Lomax’s sister, little miss Kandy, is now a breeder for GDA — so the wiggliness of his line will live on! She’s beautiful and smart and lovable, just like the rest of her brothers and sisters, and she will no doubt produce many successful guides for GDA. I’m very proud of her.
I had the opportunity to spend a little time with her recently, which was a joy. She is as full of life and love and happiness as Lomax is, that’s for sure. Look at that smile!
Posted in Breeders, O.P.P. (other people's pups)
Snuggles and Snorts: The World According to Paige
My friends and fellow raisers Amy and Matt, in addition to rejoicing about their soon-to-graduate Guide Dog Liam AND preparing for their soon-to-arrive Puppy In Training Tai, are also fostering Paige.
Paige was re-homed after a year, and has made tremendous progress in her few short months with her new handlers. I watched her for just a few days a couple of weeks ago, so I could give Matt and Amy my perspective. She’s a very good girl, and did well in both my office and home environments.
What can I tell you about Paige? For one thing, she’s beautiful, and quite skilled at giving the “puppydog eyes” in an effort to gain sympathy despite her fairly charmed life. Her coat is thick and lustrous, her features wide and solid like an English Lab. She graciously received compliments wherever we went.
Secondly, she rivals Wrio in terms of pure noise pollution. I wanted to get the two of them together for a snort-off. She is also a snorer. And then there’s the belching. This is one of the many reasons M & A refer to her as their “delicate flower.”
But my favorite thing about Miss Paige is that she is the cuddliest dog ever. She’s laid back, she’s snuggly, she wants to be near you. I took her to my friend’s house for a “girls’ night in” evening of board games and food and shrieking with laughter, and Paige hardly budged all night. And she was more than willing to cuddle with the hostess:
Posted in O.P.P. (other people's pups)
The Wreturn of Wrio
I have a special place in my heart for this little firecracker.
I call her names like “Snortles” and “GruntyPig.” She is constantly grunting and snorting, even while fully conscious. And I’ve already mentioned the snoring that my roomie hears from the other side of the wall shared by our bedrooms.
She has a monogrammed tail. See the “W” for “Wrio?”
Wrio also likes to lay her head on things that could not possibly be comfortable:
* the metal base of a floor lamp
* the base of my rolling office chair at work
* the base of my rolling office chair at home
* the wooden crossbar of a TV tray
* the bottom bookshelf
* a chewed and prickly Nylabone
She’s mischievous, too. I’d take something away from her and set it safely out of reach on the half wall that separates my kitchen from my living room, and five minutes later, as soon as my back was turned, she’d have it again. My roommate defended her when I accused Wrio of jumping up onto the couch to retrieve the forbidden object.
Until, that is, I pointed out the four little dents in the cushion where her stealthy feet had been. Amy was scandalized. There is some serious Scarlett O’Hara in this dog — “Look how lovely and innocent I appear to be! Why, I couldn’t possibly be guilty of such a thing!”
And why is she so fun to dress up?
Posted in O.P.P. (other people's pups)
Ember, the Multi-Tasking FrogDog
There are so many things I love about Ember, a sweet and silly Lab/Golden Retriever cross who — unlike the Labradoodles I’d just watched before I puppysat her — had very little concept of graceful motion. The first time I let her go downstairs off leash, I was a little afraid my apartment neighbors were going to kill me for making so much noise. Ka-da-KLUNK! Ker-KLUNK! Ka-BOOM-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP-BANG!
She’s pretty good-sized, which makes it hard to be puppy-like and exuberant without doing some damage, at least to the peace and quiet of an otherwise silent stairwell.
Ember makes me laugh.
She’s an expert at the “FrogDog” position:
But Ember is also a world record holder for the number of toys she can hold in her mouth at any given time. She never seems satisfied with just one. Just one toy in her mouth is only acceptable when she’s petitioning you to play with her or to let her have additional toys.
What she prefers to do is get one toy in her mouth that can scoot way to the back and perhaps sit over her muzzle — like this tire, or the Nylabone Ring, for example — and then busy herself picking up other toys with the front of her mouth, like so:
The record? At my apartment, the record was six toys. I had stuffed the Holee Roller ball with a few toys, and she had picked up the tire, the Roller-full, and a light plush toy all at the same time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to the camera fast enough to capture the moment.
Posted in Career Change, Goldadors, O.P.P. (other people's pups)
Ingrid "Crazy Legs" Bouvier
After I turned in Lomax last August, I went on a puppy sitting jag that lasted several weeks. One day I realized I’d had more time with other people’s dogs than with no dog at all, and I needed a break. I haven’t often, therefore, watched anyone’s pup since about November (when I was busy writing a novel), in an attempt to get through the holidays with some semblance of sanity, as well as to prepare for the arrival of a new puppy.
I wasn’t blogging much during that time, choosing instead to concentrate on enjoying everyone else’s dogs and to spend my free time doing things in the real world. But I did take some photos! We’ll begin with Ingrid.
You’ve already read a little about Ingrid, lovely Labradoodle and sister to Ike (who has since decided he doesn’t want to be a guide dog but is now training at Canine Support Teams). Ingrid is sweet, like her brother, but also a real comedy act on four legs. My roommate fell in love with her immediately because Ingrid was just so…silly. The way she ran and played was hilarious, all legs and spring. I thought she should guard for the Lakers, because she looks good in purple and has mastered the art of forcing a five-second violation — you should have seen her try to prevent my roommate from leaving the room.
Anyway, one evening during Ingrid’s visit, Wrio‘s puppy raisers asked me if I could watch her for a few hours. Knowing my roommate was out for the weekend, but feeling confident, I thought, “How hard could it be?”
I had been warned that Ingrid could be a bit… not aggressive, but perhaps firm… with smaller or younger dogs. But the girls got along famously, I must say. So famously, in fact, that it was difficult to keep them separated in a down/stay for any length of time.
And guess who was the instigator? Ingrid was not the only one who slept soundly after Wrio went home that night.
Posted in Doodles, O.P.P. (other people's pups)
Instant Jacuzzi
When Harvey’s happy, he blows bubbles in his water dish.
Note the tray beneath the dish, which I foolishly thought would contain any spillage. I did not consider Harvey’s frequent “Are you watching?” over-the-shoulder head tosses.
Not pictured: my bathroom floor, which is now a quarter-inch deep hazmat zone of black dog hair floating on slobbery water.
Thank God I left the toilet lid down.
Posted in O.P.P. (other people's pups)
“Little” Harvey
While I’m waiting for Lomax, I’m puppysitting Harvey, who is also one year old…but weighs about 90 pounds (that’s about a 35-pound difference). He’s got short legs and a broad chest, and a huuuuge head. It’s a good thing he’s so laid back.
What a sweet, silly, lovable oaf he is! Amy likens him to a horse, due to his tendency to prance and snort and toss his head when he’s in a playful mood. The downstairs neighbors must hate me.
The stories his puppy raiser told me are priceless. When their family takes Harvey for a walk, the cat goes too (don’t ask me how they managed THAT). But the cat knows that when Harvey’s wearing his GDA “Puppy in Training” jacket, he’s at work and can’t retaliate…so the cat will swat at Harvey’s hiney and attack his tail, and all Harvey can do is give him a dirty look.
Until they get home, that is, when Harvey can pick up the cat by the scruff of its neck and carry it around like a puppy.
If I weren’t getting my own dog this weekend, I’d just not answer the door when the MacKenzies come to pick this one up. I mean, look at his sweet floppy face! Tim and I decided that if Harvey were a blues musician, his name would be “MooshyFace Jackson.”
Posted in O.P.P. (other people's pups)
LabradorRodeo 