My First Haircut and Other Tidbits

We went for our first haircut today. OK maybe I went for a haircut, and Trapper came with me. By the way, it sure is a little cooler out today. Trapper didn't drag me across the pavement as his feet are seared, so I know it's cooler.

I arrived at the salon, had him sit, told him to ignore all of the leaves and papers blowing around tempting him, and opened the door. We enter and WOOF, WOOOOF, RUMBLE, GROWL, WOOF!!! Not a real growl, but just how I should write that, I don't know. Under the table in the foyer is, of all things, a statue...of a kitty. OK Trapper, if it were another BIG dog, maybe a gargoyle, a raging lion, but a kitty? Where's your pride? For a million dollars he wasn't going to get any closer, until I knocked on it to show him it was nothing. And then he was fine, no big deal. Of course he barks at bags of garbage, too. Should I be worried?? :)


Walk farther into the salon and he sees another statue, this one oh maybe 8 inches high, of another dog. He started to do a repeat, but I could see him processing "Hmmm I did this once, and it was nothing. I'm going to bet on nothing and not bark." What a good boy. And he was great. I had my hair washed, and I'm assuming he sat nicely since my eyes were closed. Went to the station to get my trim, and he positioned himself under the counter and stayed until I was done.

We had a play date yesterday with his best bud, Duke, brother extraordinaire, and as I watched them wrestle and run and play, Melisa sent a picture of the boys at their first meeting.

She said not much has changed between them, except for 50 pounds or so. And it's true...they love playing with each other, and as an added bonus, are pooped (equals well behaved) the rest of the night! Thanks Duke!

Burglar in the House

Ok, not a REAL burglar but it might as well be. Trapper the Juvenile has arrived. I just told Melisa, auntie to Trapper since she has Duke, how well behaved he has been lately, what a sweet dog, sits at our feet calmly, walks so nice, etc. Lo and behold, not two days later, he hops up on the back of the sofa, two feet perched, and grabs my hair scrunchie...while I'm still using it. He isn't subtle either. He's a grab and go type of burglar, hopping and smiling "Lookie what I have"! Luckily he is responding nicely to "Drop it" and "Give". I put it back on my pony tail and Klop! Klop! Grab!, he takes it again, plus a few strands of hair. "Now lookie what I have! Huh? Huh? Whatcha gonna do?"

Friday was the Day of the Dish Towels. Not one, or two, or even three, but I am guessing seven dish towels were swiped by the boy right off of the counter. Rats! Be Right Back. So, just to prove my point, as I am typing this sentence I hear Klomp! Klomp! and here he is, towel in his mouth. Larry was using a towel and just left the house and in lightning speed, the Trappersaurus grabbed his towel. Ugh. I can't even take the pictures fast enough!!!

As I was retrieving the towel and heading for the washer, the little thief shows up with a book! As I retrieve the book, he is yanking on my bathroom towel! Oh, good grief!

Now, I know this phase is coming, so I'm not too bewildered. I look up on the Internet "how long does K-9 juvenile phase last?" Trapper is 9 months old now; we have had him 6.5 months. "The juvenile or teenage phase is at it's worst from 9 months (OK I know that) until 2.5-3 years"(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

What???????? You mean he will never be good again while he's with us???? I'll be digging scrunchies out of his throat for 6 more months????? And just to show he is doesn't give preferential treatment to my stuff, he managed to break off a piece of his blue nylatoy this morning (Klomp! Klomp! Krunch!).

I am hoping that is not the case, although images of other dogs this age at meetings come to mind. I survived three teenage sons, I am confident I can weather Trapper.

Hey, give me back my umbrella!!!!!!!!

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:)

Catching Up...

It looks like it's been a while since a post. What's been going on?

Trapper finished his puppy boot camp with Diane Anderson and the very next week started a four-session course with SEGD trainer Jennifer. He's doing well.

The Florida heat set in so we walk early in the morning and late in the evening. He does well on his walks with some distractions such as sniping barkers from porches, other dogs being walked, birds, lots of bunnies, etc. He sits at all intersections very nicely and knows his right-rights and left-lefts. HIs walks are not wearing him out as well as they used to. He has to have a play session in the AM and PM as well. Throw the toy, throw the toy...on and on and on.

Since our development has a weight limit for dogs, there's been a little rumbling about his size. He's 60 lbs. So I now make a point to mention that he's a guide dog puppy in training. We'll see how that goes.

All in all he's a cheerful lad...right now doing what's called a "crazy Ivan" around these parts...zooming around the house like a demon dog. The reason for this is he decided to dig under some plants during our last "busy" visit out back. As a result he had to have a session with the hose. Yippee!!