The Evidence

I love a good mystery, and always try to piece together the evidence to find out “Who did it?” And so, as I look around my house, I find a LOT of evidence. Proof in fact. No doubt in my mind! Irrefutable! He was here.

Let’s start with my NEW sofa. “So Mrs. Harrison hmm, is that a band-aid?” “Oh, no sir Mr. Officer, it’s packing tape, holding in the holy chewed up spot.”

“And how about those walls Mr. Harrison?” “Um, yeah, uh well those are salt-licks, also known as drywall licks in these here parts.”

Taking a closer look at the walls reveals another clue…dangling paint chips!! The pieces are slowly coming together. “This is going to be a messy one to clean up,” said the nice Detective.

While pondering the clues, the Detective looked up and there it was, the final clue. Of course, how could he be so naive? The proof is always in the picture! The hole, also known as Let’s Throw the Toy for the Millionth Time Oops.

It’s a lot easier to do things now that he is older. For example, I can make the bed, the ENTIRE bed, without someone eating the foam or running off with a pillow. And, I even know which end is up, thanks to the chewed corners at the foot of the bed. Such a helpful dog he is. If I go outside to get the mail, or even down the street and around the corner, I can leave the house knowing that the boy is waiting at the window instead of shouting “Yee Haw, I’m free” as he chews up the plants and the pillows and the chairs, etc. Drop it now really means Drop it, not I’ll drop it when you catch me Drop it. There IS a difference you know. Of course, I did find myself telling another barking dog “No Noise” the other day. Oops, my bad….habits are hard to break.

As the months turn in to weeks, and soon to be just days left before the boy heads back to guide dog school, someone asked if we were going to miss him. Of course we are, I thought, but then chuckled thinking that he will be around for a long, long time after he leaves. From the hair in the car, to the many busy bags that came out of the laundry (not used thank you, left in pocket), to the frayed edge of the blinds, to the Kong marks on the kitchen cabinets, Trapper will probably be here forever!

Approaching One Year

Gosh, it's hard to believe how fast the time goes! Trapper will be a year old in November. He has had quite a few adventures over the past couple of weeks, mostly not with us. We took a little trip to Wildacres in North Carolina, and Trapper spent some time with Drake, and David, as well as a nice play date with Melisa and brother Duke. Apparently he was pretty good, or at least they were kind enough to not tell us:)

Yesterday we took Trapper to a Serbian Folk Dancing Show. The music was very loud, lots of jumping and stomping, an accordion, a violin, drum, and a clarinet I believe, and he did quite well. Sat in front of our seat, and although I tried to take a picture, it was too dark. He is so big he stretched out in front of three seats! Every time we go somewhere like that, I try to imagine how he will ever fit on an airplane, but as our fellow puppy raisers have noted, somehow they do fit.

As time passes, I realize that I no longer have to say "no" as often, he mostly listens to commands, and all in all is turning into a very nicely behaved young man. I even made the bed this morning and he didn't eat the foam overlay! That in itself is a big accomplishment. He made a small move towards the towel yesterday, and after a brief "leave it", he walked away. Could it be?

He has a long list of things he no longer does, like chewing, mouthing, stealing (almost), and I realize that all of these changes eventually happen over time and repeated consistent instructions. He is still Velcro, but in a good way. It's a lot of work raising a puppy, and those first months are exhausting trying to keep up with the little tyke. I chuckle when I read the blogs of other raisers with their new puppies. But one day, they "get it". He even likes the cats, and they like him. Of course, from what I'm told, that's when you get the letter to bring your puppy in for training.......and then you get to start all over:)

Finally! Brotherly Love...Sort of:)

We got Trapper in February, and this is now almost August. The boy is 8 months old and still a sweetheart. Except when it comes to my poor resident kitties, Angel and Gracie. Angel is a trooper, though. He weighs about 25 pounds,but that is another story in itself. He is very affectionate, quite the lover I must say. He has also been curious about Trapper since we got him. However, Trapper is like a kangaroo when he is around the cats and of course they look at him like "Have you lost your mind????" They then disappear and are not seen until Trapper heads to bed.

Little by little, we have let Trapper in "the room" where the cats live, with their food (cocaine to Trapper) and water, and of course the Kitty Krunchies, a.k.a. litter box. In all honesty, he has been pretty good about not scarfing the cat food. If a morsel has fallen out of fatso Angel's reach, he might eat it. But once he saw either cat, out came Capt. Trapparoo!

One day, Angel allowed Trapper to lick his head, and one day Gracie (the little witch in disguise) let Trapper lick her head. There was a rub here and there, and lo and behold, no one was running away from the other. But, the elusive brotherly love that I was looking for was still not possible.

This morning, Angel happened to be out when Trapper came back from his walk. As you can see in the first picture, Angel has a hidey hole under the table. After a few hops around the room, I guess Trapper thought about it and didn't he go and get his plastic ring toy and bring it over for Angel to play with? Awwwww, I know! That's what I said! He was so cute, nudging it closer so Angel could play fetch. Angel did a few rolls on it, but had no interest in playing fetch. But, they both managed to lay down quietly, near each other, in peace and quiet, as brothers should. So maybe they will be best buds...and then it will be time to go IFT:(

Velcro Dog

Velcro has been around for quite a few years. It is a handy little device created after someone was curious about the burrs sticking to their pants legs after a walk in the woods. It is actually a system of hooks and circles which are easy to open and close and used in many facets of our lives.

Velcro Dogs have also been around for quite a few years, and not everyone is fortunate enough to own a Velcro Dog, so we do feel blessed:) Just what is a Velcro Dog? It's a dog who is glued to your side for every, and I mean EVERY move that you make. A turn to the right? No problem for Velcro Dog. Gonna sit down? Velcro Dog is prepared to sit with you, in fact he'll sit ON your feet, just so you know he's around. Going to the ladies/men's room? "I shall follow", says the Velcro Dog. Trying to trick Velcro Dog into believing you are moving to the left with a swift "right about", Velcro Dog chuckles and assumes his respective position thinking "Now whatcha doing, huh, huh? Can I come? Here I am!"

Velcro Dogs do have a flaw or two, amazingly. The command "Come" for a Velcro Dog can fall on deaf ears. "Drop it", "Leave it" and "Give" still need a little work. Jennifer, our SEGD trainer says Trapper is probably needy. I'd have to say I agree. He needs to be with one of us all day, every day, for every move we make. I'd like to think this will make him a wonderful companion/guide dog for someone in the future. You certainly won't lose Trapper in a crowd...he'll be right beside you all the way.

The Mother Lode of Distractions

"Eureka!!! I've landed in the promised land", thought Trapper as we entered the Florida Aquarium. Kids galore...big ones, small ones, curious ones, and of course, scared ones. Parents were everywhere. Lest you think that this was the highlight of the day....I'll tell you that was NOT the case.

There is a nice stroll, although rather long, just to get to the Aquarium from the parking lot. And the parking lot has a detour that takes you wayyyyy down around the old banana docks. A street Trolley passed as well as lots of cars and Trapper was quite interested in the cacaphony that ensued. We finally arrive and pay our dues for entry and are on our way. No one says anything about the dog at the entrance, or asks clarification if he is a guide dog, etc. I say that because at the zoo, they had to announce a code one niner or some other mystery code to let everyone know there was a dog in the park. OK there are a lot of other things WAY more scary than a dog at the zoo, but whatever:) We aim to please.

Trapper's nose was twitching as we passed the gate. His muscles were getting tense and I said to Larry, boy he is going to be tired today after all of this stimulation and scents. Tee hee hee, was I right or what? We entered the first part of the exhibit, which was the Wetlands area. Shazaaam, Trapper turned into a wild man! Holy moly, hopping and let out a bark and pulling and tugging. I was only glad that Larry had him instead of me, or we would still be chasing him today. There in front of us sat the mother lode of fish...and turtles....and swaying grass...and a shell (oh my!)...and great balls o' fire they were all moving this way and that. He could hardly contain himself and I worried we may have a busy right then and there!

He is distracted, and remember he is only 6.5 months old, by butterflies and moths in the yard. He'll stop a poop to catch a butterfly, honest to goodness. This must have looked like the biggest tank of butterflies and moths that he had ever seen. We passed the stingray tank, and POOOOF hopping and jumping, the rays bolted seeing his antics. They did come back for another look though, which was kind of amusing. Next tank, MORE fish, bigger than the last ones, and have mercy there were birds swimming on the top of the tank!!!!!!!! I checked to see where the defibrillator was since I was sure poor Larry was going to have a coronary with all of this yanking on his arm..and chest!

We didn't want to create a scene with the birds, so we moved around the corner to the next exibit and amazingly, it held fish too:) Who knew? And a group of people formerly listening to the lecture, and now watching as we try to tell Trapper "easy, drop it, leave it, good boy, bad boy, get me outta here boy"I'm sure were entertained. We had one lady tell us she had an 8 month lab and couldn't fathom bringing the dog to the aquarium and complemented us on his good manners.

It only took a couple of fish tanks and a good sit in front of the biggest group of fish we could find, to get him to settle down. There was a bench in front of a huge aquarium and pompano as big as my legs swam by, and then swam DOWN, as the tank extended below our level. That was entertaining as poor Trapper tried to figure out where did the fish go? He was sure he saw them go down under him but there was only carpet. It was a good exercise as he was able to sit and not be distracted by the end of our visit. He became disinterested actually and we realized it was time to leave while still in good favor with the nice staff of the aquarium:) Hi ho Silver as we press on to other attractions....and distractions.

Flip Flop Fetish Found Festering Freely

Took me a while to come up with all of the "F" words.....but here is the story...and the photo to go along with it.

Trapper loves to lick. He loves sunscreen, arms, hands, fingers, and oddly enough, toes. I don't have a big problem with it, I figure it is better than biting or mouthing, which he doesn't do thankfully. It is a little annoying when I put sunscreen on and have to fight him off until it dries. You would think I put lard on, or maybe peanut butter. And we will have to break him of this soon.

Anyways, Trapper will lick and lick and clean and lick my feet, or anybody else who happens to wear flip flops or sandals. No love nips, or shark chomps but eventually I looked at my flip flops and realized that the boy has nibbled at the edges of both flip flops and now chunks are falling off like boulders! All very quietly and discreetly. He looks up with those big "I didn't do it" eyes, so sad, after a mother's heart and gosh darn if my shoes aren't chewed up like little termites ate them!!!! Luckily these are not fancy flip flops that were freely found fetished...but basic house shoes that I wouldn't wear in public.

He is usually obvious with his antics and naughty finds in the house. For example, he loves Larry's head bands, sweat included at no charge. Instead of quietly going off into the corner for a quick chew, he proudly runs in front of mom and dad, white headband bursting out of either side of his mouth and seems to say "Lookie what I got"! And then the forbidden game of Keep Away begins, us trying to get the unknown object, and Trapper doing the crazies around the living room. At this rate, I'll be a size 2 by the time we turn him back in for training:)

Obedience Class & Challenger Picnic

Trapper made it through his first SEGD Obedience class this week. There were several dogs there that we were familiar with, which is good, and bad for distractions. But all of the dogs did very well after a few minutes. Larry does all of the obedience work with him: Sit, stay, down, jump down, turn around, oh yeah...wrong story! I like to think he is "getting"his commands, and will test him at the door, for example, before he is allowed in. I can see him anticipating, and I'll make him stay, instead of charging through the door. He also had some good beach exposure/sand and promptly filled his nose up with sand. I wasn't quick enough to get a good picture of that.

Today we went to the Challenger League Annual Picnic. We met up with 14 year old Brody M who fell in love with Trapper. And I have to say, Trapper was very good with him. No jumping or using his paws, he was mostly a good boy:) Except for the dirt....Just had a bath yesterday, but today he was digging to China! It was a great event, all of the kids, parents and visitors had a fun time. And now........nap time.

Shrinking Furniture

OK well my furniture only SEEMS like it is shrinking, since Trapper is growing like a weed. He still hits his head on the coffee table while running through the area, just can't remember to duck sometimes. We took him to obedience class this week, along with his littermate Duke and several other much bigger and smaller dogs. He was not very good at the end of class and nearly ripped my arm off while trying to travel through the grassy area. I am guessing it was all of the dog smells, or just the excitement of the class but before I knew it he was wrapped around the sign, hence the loud noise of his head clinking the pole, and the arrival of my husband to save the day. We did learn that he probably needs a lot more walking than we have been doing and have been consistent in walking him every day since.

The week before last, we left Trapper with Drake, a new puppy raiser, for a couple of days of R&R for us and party time for Trapper! He must have had a great time since he wasn't all that excited to see us when we got back. Drake took him on a few outings and to work and let him play in his backyard, so he was pooped by the time we picked him up. Thank you Drake if you are reading this! Trapper says he would love to come stay with you again:)

We are very blessed to not have some issues with him, like chewing and whining(a lot), begging, etc. Some things we still have to work on, like paws, counter surfing, and the poor cats. He just wants to play, but boy oh boy, they have given up on that one. Maybe when he calms down a little.....

Happy Easter to all and have a good weekend!

Trapper Buys a Boat

Well not really, but Trapper did go to the St. Pete Boat Show and looked at a LOT of really big boats, and a lot of people. Plus that funky grass they have there was an endless source of interest. Every time I opened his mouth I found little black beads, which better not have been fertilizer on fake grass!! He did manage to "busy" in that grass, although I won't tell you where. All was cleaned up promptly. It was a little challenging walking through since so many people want to come up and pet/scratch/hug/touch him. He has beautiful hazel eyes which are quite a lure.

Today we went to our Area meeting and Trapper met Duke again, and Pal. Pal is another litter mate who is black and again, smaller than Trapper. He was OK today, not as good as he is alone. And I suppose that is the point of the meetings, getting him used to other dogs, distractions, don't put your nose in the ants, drop it, leave it, etc. He is going to be big though. That's all we keep hearing from folks. Mikey was our houseguest before we got Trapper, and Mikey is BIG. He is a good solid 80 pounds and I'm guessing Trapper may be bigger than that. We'll see! We might need to buy that boat after all, for additional living space:)

The Other Side of the Black Hole

I can't figure out if the two are playing or not, but as I said it is an endless source of amusement for both the cat and the dog...The Black Hole. The cats have pretty much decided the bedroom is a safe zone while the puppy is awake. At night, Trapper is pooped, and they sneak out of the bedroom one by one for food, bathroom break, etc. This is the usual picture though, Trapper on one side trying to squeeze his quickly growing body through the hole, and Gracie, the Wicked Kitty of the West on the other side beating him senseless:)

The Honeymoon

Trapper has been with us for about a week and a half so far. He is sooooooooo good, and soooooooo cute, and soooooooo obedient.....I've been told it's the "honeymoon" phase. "Just wait, you'll see". Well so far, so good.

I went out of town for a couple of days this week so Larry had to be the chief puppy wrangler. He says they had some nice "bonding" time. I expected to come home to a messy house, and the place was spic and span, Trapper was glad to see me, and everyone seemed happy.

Trapper had his first vet visit, of which we were told he is going to be a 100 pounder!!!! His feet are huge. EVERYONE says so. But he was a trooper at the vet, and it was off to his first dinner. He was so good, it was like he had done this a hundred times before. He went under the table and laid down, peeking out to watch the feet of the wait staff. Of course, they would go to the other side of the room where they could see him under the table and point him out to the other staff.

He is a "toucher". Very content to sit beside you, as long as something is touching. He has mastered a few of his commands so far, including the potty training which is great.

Thank you and The Olympics

Thanks to the Mcleans for helping set up this blog. I could not have done it without their help.

Trapper had his first trip to Publix yesterday. We had to greet four different groups of people before we got in the front door. Puppies are conversation magnets for sure! This brief exposure was a lot of info for a little guy. Wheels, feet, noise, sliding doors, shiny floors, and then we headed to the deli where the overwhelming aroma of chicken, lunchmeat and fresh baked bread was overwhelming(for both of us!). He was so good and sat patiently waiting for our turn, and then it was time to leave. I knew he was ready when he hopped in the car all by himself for the first time.

A brief walk at Coffeepot Bayou for the afternoon, and we settled down for the night with an evening of Olympics. The TV is quite fascinating to him at this point! So far so good....more to follow!

Our New Pup!

After completing a day of puppy sitting with Wallie, we received a phone call from Chuck stating a new guide dog pup was ready to come home with us. Wow! Really? Wow! Oh dear! A week later, February 10th, 2010, we picked up Trapper, a yellow lab from a litter of nine, 26 pounds of fun. And so the adventure begins!

Our car trip home was filled with a little whining, trying to get up on the seat, etc. but overall, a smooth ride home. Trapper had a tour of the house, a meet and greet with Angel and Gracie, the resident kitties, and then it was naptime. Gee, this puppy raising job is easy:)

On Thursday, Wallie came over for one last day of puppy sitting, and a romp in the house with Trapper. Wallie is about 3 weeks older than Trapper, but they are about the same size. They played and played and played some more, and then they were ready for break! Lots of sleep, some water, lunch, and it was round two. Wallie left and Trapper was pooped.

All and all he was very comfortable in the house, and even learned to sit within a couple of hours! How easy is this job going to be???