Walking on Sunshine...on the Grass

So sleepy after playing non-stop with Hamlet over the weekend

Doppler walked on a new surface: grass. We’ve had so much snow on the ground, that it’s only just now that he’s gotten to experience grass. And he has no idea what to do with it. He started out walking on it, and then suddenly—crazed bunny hops! After each hop, he slammed his nose into the grass.

What he really doesn’t understand, however, is that he can get busy in the grass. He’s supposed to learn to get busy on all different surfaces—snow, gravel, asphalt, cement, mulch. And grass, the perennial favorite among dogs. Except Doppler. When I took him out and tried to restrict him to the grass, he just sat, stared at the snow, and whined. Finally, he picked one of the tiny patches of snow he could reach and took care of business.

When we tried again today, he went on the grass! Let me tell you, I made a huge deal about what a good boy he was for going in the grass. Here’s hoping that the next time, he’s more comfortable with it, because let’s face it, the snow will be gone soon. (Or it better be.)

Fire, Doppler, and Hamlet

Today was Doppler’s first time in a meeting. We went to the PawsAbilities meeting for Susquehanna Service Dogs. I knew the meeting was going to be at least an hour long, so I made sure I had plenty of treats and toys to keep him occupied under the table. Yes, I brought the bacon-flavored bone. We settled at the table away from other dogs and I put him under the table with his toys and stepped on the leash to prevent him from wandering.

He alternated between sitting under the table, playing with his toys, and trying to bite my boots and chair. Oh, and he barked a few times. Overall, though I thought he did very well for his first meeting. Naturally, he fell asleep for the last fifteen minutes. We’re going to keep working on it, and eventually, he’ll fall asleep in the beginning of the meeting instead of the end. Maybe he’ll even be like Fire and snore in the middle of the meeting. (Fire is notorious for snoring during department meetings, especially when it’s a video conference over the hyper-sensitive speakers.)

Na na na na na na na na na na na na Batman!

Doppler also wore his new collar to the meeting. He’s sporting an awesome Batman collar! I think it makes him the coolest puppy on the block. (In case you’re wondering, the collar came from LabradorableCollars. Sarah, who’s a puppy raiser for SSD, makes them, and they’re awesome. Check them out.)

And now, I’m putting in a plug for PawsAbilities. It’s one of SSD’s biggest fundraisers, and it’s tons of fun. You can take your dog and play Dog Olympic Games and fun agility. There’s a costume contest, a cutest dog contest, a parade, a cake walk, and lots of vendors. Oh, and dock diving! You can’t forget the dock diving, where dogs leap off a dock into a pool. Plus, this year, bestselling author Luis Carlos Montalván is coming to PawsAbilities. He wrote Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him, and he’ll be talking about his book and his experiences. It will definitely be worth checking out. All the details can be found at www.pawsabilities.net.

Fire will definitely be there. Doppler might. Because I have to work during the event, I got a puppy sitter for him. It’ll depend on whether she goes to the event and takes him along.

I’ve decided that I’m going to try to take Doppler on 3-4 outings per week. I tend to be a homebody, so 3-4 will be a lot for me. So far this week, he’s gone to the PawsAbilities meeting. I’m counting it, since it was in a new building. Tomorrow, we have our first puppy class, known as early socialization classes (ESC) for the little puppies. Just for this first time, I’m counting puppy class as one of the outings, since it will be brand new for him. Then on Wednesday, we’re going to join the regular puppy classes for their outing at Giant. After that, we’ll see what the rest of the week brings.

Feet make good pillows