Kindergarten is exhausting.
Category: Dogs
Puppy Olympics
With all due respect to the athletes in Rio, I offer the Four Sticks Farm 2016 Summer Games Puppy Pentathlon, Rowdy-style:
Boxing – The little yellow pup doesn’t qualify for competition yet, but has proven to be a worthy sparring partner for Mocha, the seal point from Siam.
Diving (.5 Meter Platform) – has mastered the four-legged free-fall through the rhubarb into the wood chips, and nails the landing every time.
Triple Jump – routinely leaps off the porch, across the sidewalk and into the hosta. Just for the fun of it.
Water Polo – with a nod to his sporting breed background, splashes and dashes in any available body of water – wading pool to water dish.
Weightlifting – able to snatch and grab two men’s slippers and hold until offered a treat worth trading for.
Wrestling – breezed through preliminary matches with the plush bluebird and fuzzy giraffe, but brings the A game when facing his nemesis, the sock monkey.
I’d love to reward Rowdy’s athletic accomplishments, but am pretty sure he’d chew on the medal and pee on the podium…
Beginnings and Endings
Even Boone can’t believe the summer program is already over!
We enjoyed a full slate of readers yesterday at the Delano Library, many of them double the pleasure, as Boone has developed a following of sibling sign-ups this summer. I love the new friendships, and also love to see old friends – a couple of children have been faithful readers since we started the program several years ago and it’s a joy to catch up with them every month – we even get in a little reading between updates!
Though today was our final program for the summer, Boone and I will return for fall sessions in September, October and November. The dates will be posted on the “Books with Boone” page, and you’ll see that with the start of school, we’ve moved to Thursday afternoons.
I hope many of you will be able to fit Boone into your busy school year schedules so we can share more stories about Biscuit and Widget, Sam and Lucy, Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa!
Puppy Progress
Good news on the housebreaking front, as Rowdy recently had a whole day of sitting by the deck door every time he needed to go out. Whether due to his baby bladder or the fun of the new In-and-Out game, he “needed” to go out every 15 minutes between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, but hope outweighed hassle, and I was happy to accommodate if it meant dry rugs and clean floors.
I don’t expect we’re out of the potty puddle woods yet, but suspect we’ve slogged our way through the heaviest thicket – definitely see a light in the forest.
We started Puppy Kindergarten and like many youngsters, Rowdy’s favorite class is recess – the 10 minutes at the beginning of the session during which the puppies are free to act like puppies. He loves the wrestling matches, being taken down more often than he takes down, though he’s one of the bigger boys in the group.
After a short break, which generally turns into a outdoor recess extension and an opportunity to slop drinking water across the training room floor, we practice some basic obedience skills. It’s all positive fun, with much string cheese and hot dog, and Rowdy willingly participates in any activity that involves feeding his starving belly.
Because neither of us fosters much tolerance for dull drills, I try to work obedience activities into our everyday life. He sits to get a treat, and stays in a sit to have his leash snapped on. Walking without pulling is an epic work in progress, but shows potential as long as I dangle the proverbial carrot. Kibble crumbs in my left pocket have been replaced with a stick of string cheese which can be nibbled on the move.
We’re a long way from finished, but thanks to the food and the little bit of core strength I’ve managed to muster out of my yoga class, my shoulders are still in their sockets and my knees remain scrape-free.
Small Pleasures
Rowdy and Lisa’s List of Daily Delights:
- An entire day, housebreaking accident-free.
- Almost an entire cup of hot coffee, interruption-free.
- Play bowing in front of the cat, just to hear him hiss.
- Kneeling in front of the puppy, just to smell his breath.
- A whole bowl of crunchy kibble.
- Almost a whole bowl of not-yet-soggy Cheerios.
- Belly crawling under the bed, discovering cardboard storage boxes that satisfy the need for destructive ripping and chewing, with a yummy glue aftertaste.
- Sitting on the dog bed, discovering interactive dog toys that satisfy the need for playful exercise and bonding, with a puppy love chaser.
- Pawing at the deck door, getting to go outside when it opens.
- Opening the deck door, not needing to get the mop after it opens.
Behold, The Power of Kibble
In pursuit of the piece of kibble he learned about during a 10 minute clicker-training session, Rowdy frequently offers a voluntary “Yes-Ma’am-Here-I-am-giving-you-my-full-attention-while-awaiting-further-instruction” kind of sit.
This is about a week after our initial training session, which involved “clicking” a little noisemaker, followed immediately by offering a single piece of dry dog food.
Oh the fun of a food-motivated pooch! Boone is not now, nor has he ever been, food-motivated. Or toy-motivated. Or happy-voice-motivated. I love my big brindle dog, but obedience skills and tricks are not the greyhound’s strong suit.
Rowdy, however, seems willing to work for a pretty reasonable wage. So far he’s learned to give me his attention, sit, lie down, and come when I call his name, which is actually a bonus-based skill for which he is rewarded with a handful of tasty, dry, deliciousness.
He’s learned that when the crate door opens, his assignment is to go directly outside, turn left, then right, down the steps into the dog yard and take care of business. Upon completion, he returns to the house (often by way of quick sprint through the rhubarb, hosta and daisies) sits, and enjoys a piece of kibble.
He’s figuring out that Next-To-Lisa is a happy place to be when one is a growing pup. So much so, that I’ve nearly sent us both sprawling after he’s sidled up to me stealth-like, waiting silently for his snack. Washing dishes, making the bed, and drying my hair have proven perilous, calling for extra vigilance in surveying my surroundings.
Every left pocket I own bulges with a stash of dog food to reward his devotion. To the kibble, that is, not to me – I’ve worked with enough dogs to understand their priorities. But he’s learning, and if I have to buy his allegiance in the beginning, I’m ok with that. For now, it’s a small price to pay. Puppy Kindergarten begins next week, and with that, will undoubtedly come the demand for a raise.
Hot dogs and string cheese for my little golden friend!
A Midsummer Day’s Dreams
Today was a day of “what if’s…”
After listening to his readers at the Delano Library, Boone pondered the possibilities of giving a cat a cupcake, or a pig a party; a dog running loose in a school; a cat living in a library, and riding a pony to school. Then, as he often does, he took a nap…
Thank you to the new and returning friends who took time out of their days to visit us – we hope to see you next month on August 15!
It’s a Wonderful World
So much to explore when one is an 8-week old puppy:
Ants on the sidewalk – who knew such tiny little beings existed?
Boone – Race ya!
Chain link fence lines – just a bit of bounce along the boundaries!
Doors – remind me again, which way do I go to get around this thing?
Grass in the front lawn – love the easy tear-out design!
Hosta, daisies and rhubarb – leap in, snap a few stalks, then race out, full speed ahead!
Mocha – I thought I saw a Siamese cat!
Sounds of the dog yard at night – horses snuffling, coyotes howling, a bird screeching – too frightening to investigate, I’ll hurry so we can head back to safety! Every two hours. Every night.
Steps – going up is easy, but down, not so much – how about a lift?
The Andy Griffith theme song – love that whistle!
Throw rugs – I think this one ought to be over here!
Toys – balls, bones, bedspreads, fleecies, Frisbees, fingers, furniture, ropes, robes, squeakies, slippers
Water bowl – oh, sorry, I thought you said water POOL!
Wood chips in the dog yard – you want me to do what back here?
It’s enough to wear a guy out.
The Best Laid Plans
I didn’t want a puppy. I’d just started thinking about my next dog, but didn’t feel energetically up for housebreaking and teething and housebreaking and puppy-proofing and housebreaking. I was thinking young adult dog. Somewhere between adolescence and aged.
I started checking out shelter, rescue, and even breeder websites, looking for possibilities – a casual search, as I was not sure exactly what I wanted, or when I wanted it.
I just didn’t want a puppy.
With his greying muzzle and weakening hips, Boone’s senior citizenship is showing. He still participates willingly in our library reading programs, but is inching his way off the reading rug toward a well-deserved permanent place on the king-sized comforter.
So thoughts of his successor started sprouting. And while I love Boone as much as I’ve loved any of my dogs, one thing I knew for sure was that the next dog would be a return to the golden retriever, in whole or in part. Long and Lean would be replaced with Full and Fluffy.
It just wouldn’t be a puppy.
But as often happens when I start thinking, the plan changed. Casual conversation with past and present equine vets led to Facebook posts and text messages and pictures and a farm visit and…
… a puppy.
Summer Start
Boone had a nearly full schedule of readers today at the Delano Library and he was happy to meet several new friends – many of them just toddling into the wonderful world of readers! Boone heard stories about capers and lollipops, construction equipment, fancy book reports, a dog that acts like a cat, and much more.
He looks forward to his return to the library at 10:30 on July 18. Please stop by and say Hi!
From Four Sticks Farm 