He even barks in his sleep.
Category Archives: O.P.P. (other people’s pups)
Canine Indiscretions
Trooper has been better behaved this morning, content for the most part to lie quietly beneath my desk, hidden by the cubicle wall that separates this office into two little rooms.
He does occasionally wander out, though, to sprawl beside my chair. As long as he’s quiet, I don’t pay too much attention…until I hear a comment from a passerby.
“Well, THAT’S a pretty picture.”
Modest Trooper, snoozing comfortably on his back in a pose reminiscent of an untressed Thanksgiving turkey, is apparently visible from the waist down to everyone in the hallway.
Chained to My Desk
This week I’m watching Trooper again; I haven’t spent much time with him since he was a wee ten-week-old potbellied pup. He’s now six months and wee no longer! He’s very strong. He’s very “mouthy.” And he likes to bark.
The Troop spent a few days up at the GDA kennel before I started caring for him. Madeline, his vacationing puppy raiser for whom I’m dog- and housesitting, will no doubt be thrilled to learn that he left a generous yet unnoticed gift for her in the back bedroom. It was nearly four days before I found it myself…better to discover by smell than by step, I always say.
Today finds me on my first day at work with the little tyke. A brand-new executive assistant has moved in to share an office with li’l ol’ part-timer me, so there’s all manner of change afoot here. This new employee presumably did not know upon her hiring that she would be A.) sharing an office, and B.) in residence with El Barko. Welcome to your new job!
Trooper wants to follow me everywhere, which is fine at home but not so good when I have to go to, say, the fax machine or the printer or the kitchen or the ladies’ room. The first time I tried to get up this morning, he went to the end of his tie-down and sat there, staring at the door. I gave him a firm but wary “stay” command. Really, he could do nothing BUT “stay” at that point, since there was no more lead.
But he could also make his displeasure known throughout the land.
Sorry, new officemate, for the barking while you were on the phone with a person who I hope was not our company president.
But Can She Type?
Kandy is one smart cookie, just like her brother Liam.
I was sitting on the couch, tossing toys down the hallway for Kandy to retrieve (yes, I somehow manage to exercise the dog without exercising myself…), when I casually stumbled upon a little game/canine I.Q. test. I took two toys — “the octopus” she’d brought from home and “the man” I’d purchased to keep at my place — to my bedroom down the hallway and left them next to each other in the middle of the floor. I scattered a few more toys near them. Then I returned to the living room and gave instructions.
“Kandy, go get the octopus!” Thundering Labrador footfalls down the hallway. A few seconds later, Kandy came trotting back up the hallway with the octopus in her mouth. But that could have been coincidence, right? And it’s her favorite toy anyway. Let’s see if she does it again.
“Kandy, go get the man! Where’s the man?”
She took the octopus back to my room. There was a far-off squeaking I recognized instantly.
The man.
My roommate looked at me. Are you KIDDING?
We couldn’t resist doing it repeatedly. Octopus! Man! Man! Octopus! Man man man! This is better than TV!
I don’t know how Kandy felt about it, but it kept us amused for a good twenty minutes. I threw in a “Kandy, go get half a gallon of Rocky Road at the market up the street,” but no dice. I think it’s just because she didn’t have a pocket for the change.
And the Dog Snoozed On
Anybody else feel that earthquake? I’m four floors up in a small office building in West L.A., and we had more than our fair share of rock & roll for a temblor that was centered in San Bernardino County.
So as I was sitting here at my sturdy wooden desk, wondering how long the shaking would continue and deciding whether or not to get underneath, I realized I had a dog with me — Kandy, the 8-month-old Labrador I’m puppysitting this week. Would she whine? Bark? Chew through my leg to get out from under the desk and bolt down the hallway?
Then came the gentle snoring. I don’t think she’s concerned.
Liam the Magnificent and Other Smart Boys
Watched this dog for a quick overnight stay when he was a mere 12 weeks old, and was astounded at his grasp of the verbal command “No.” Seriously, he would gently sniff some unauthorized item, I would simply tell him “NO,” and he would never go near it again.
He is seven months old now. Liam, who perhaps should have been named Linus, enjoys dragging his blue baby blanket around the apartment, while wiggling and grunting and wagging his tail. He’s the happiest dog I’ve ever seen. Even at six in the morning, when he awakens me with gentle whining and the BANG-BANG-BANG of his tail against the wire kennel, it’s adorable.
And what excellent social skills! Liam wasn’t even embarrassed at church this morning when the pastor’s four-year-old son pointed to his furry private parts and enthusiastically announced to everyone that Liam is a boy.
Connor (giggling wildly): “HE HAS A PE–“
Jenny: “Pee! That’s right, time to take Liam out to pee! Connor’s a smart boy.”
If I Only Had The Nerve
Little Janna has an indomitable spirit that cowers for neither man nor beast. She’s fearless! She’s feisty! She’s…’fraid of the ugly bronze lions in front of my neighbor’s house.
Posted in O.P.P. (other people's pups)
*I* AM ALPHA DOG, AND YOU’D BETTER GET USED TO IT
I’m puppysitting again; this time it’s a five-month old black Lab named Janna. The family who’s raising her is very busy right now, so I’ve been asked to take her for a week or so, just to give her some new experiences and some intensive basic training. She’s very cute. She’s very smart. She’s VERY stubborn…and hasn’t yet been taught that she isn’t the boss.
Two words: Labrador Rodeo.
There are moments when I literally have to grab her legs and pull them out from under her in order to get her on her back for grooming (it’s not as damaging as it may sound, there’s an actual technique to it). Then there’s the Greco-Roman wrestling. I get her on the floor, quickly muscle her on to her side, grasp one of her forelegs for leverage, pin her across the neck/shoulder with my forearm and clamp my other hand firmly on her hip…and hold her there until her breathing slows and she’s relaxed enough not to bolt as soon as I let go and give her the “okay” release command. Meanwhile, she lolls her tongue around and grunts and wiggles and snorts and gives me the crazy-eye. It takes a good thirty minutes, and provides a surprisingly good workout for both of us.
Ultimately, after last night’s match, I won. But she got me back later…just as I was drifting off to sleep, satisfied that Janna was dreaming happily in her kennel next to my bed, she let out a toxic cloud that could have gagged a stone statue.
Is this what it’s like to have children?
Posted in O.P.P. (other people's pups)
Hound for the Holidays
I have company for the holidays! Annika celebrated Christmas with me, which was lovely. She even enjoyed the Christmas Eve service at my church. I only wish she’d been here a few weeks earlier so I could say I spent Hanukkah with Annika.
At 18 months, Annika is the oldest dog I’ve watched yet; she’s being turned in for formal guide dog training in about a month. She’s very well behaved but has a habit of “testing” me EVERY time we go out. She’s big and strong, too, which has proven a little challenging on the stairs at 6 A.M. when she has to pee.
She’s also quite useful around the house. This photo shows Annika helping me with the laundry.
UPDATE 9/2005: Annika has graduated in a special ceremony and is now living the guide dog life in Pennsylvania. This special placement is quite an honor, because it means Annika is up to the very difficult task of accompanying her new person (an expert guide dog user who has had other dogs) on the bus and train to work every day.
Posted in Graduates, O.P.P. (other people's pups)
Things I Have Learned From Ohana
1. Toilet paper makes a delicious between-meal snack.
2. Humans are not the only ones who snore.
3. Male dogs are not the only ones who…ahem…”assert dominance.”
4. Labrador is just another name for “landshark.” You know those stories about great whites where somebody catches one and cuts it open to find things like license plates? Wouldn’t surprise me a bit.
5. Rain is very exciting. Must bite rain! Rain must be conquered! WHY CAN’T I KILL IT?
6. If guide dog work is not in her future, Ohana would make an excellent drug-sniffing dog — she seems very excited about my neighbor’s apartment door every time we go into the hallway.
UPDATE 9/2005: Unfortunately, Ohana has been “career changed” (this is what GDA calls it when a dog is dropped from their program). She has a tumor behind her eye, which renders her ineligible for guide dog service. But while she may have a few medical challenges ahead of her, she’s now headed for a life of leisure and TLC with a wonderful person from GDA’s “I want to adopt a career change dog” waiting list.
LabradorRodeo 