The Twelve Doggy Dos and Don'ts of Christmas

I warn you that this is a long one. But, you see, I've been hearing about Christmas. It sounds good to me!

My PRs say Christmas is when my Creator came to earth as a human being. Personally, I think coming to earth as a dog would have been classier. But they say he knew what he was doing.

Lots of things are happening. I told you about the tree in the house. I have to leave the tree-sparklies alone so everyone else can enjoy them. I'm not to drink the water in the tree stand. Not even if I'm thirsty.



But I go to parties at other houses. Around the neighborhood, I see lots of lights; even deer have lights all over them. (My former neighborhood just had the regular kind.) At least, they look like deer.

I get to ride in the car more. I do lots of shopping with my PRs. The Post Office people know me on sight.

There is another part to Christmas. I'm not sure of the name; it sounds like "Sandy Paws" to me. My four-footed friends say this part is important if you like toys and treats. But this Paws character is like your PRs and your puppy class teacher: you're expected to be good!

So, to help us all be good, here - according to my canine buddies - are some dos and don'ts for this season:

1) Do let people enjoy you. Be friendly. Shake your paw if you're asked. Don't jump on people, especially short people like puppies... er, children (you could hurt them). Do let folks scratch you behind the ears if your people say it's all right.

2) Do let the people, not you, sit on the furniture. It isn't just because of our impeccable good manners. They look stupid sitting on the floor. We look better. And we can get up more easily, too.


3) Don't whine if your people put you in your crate or tether you to a chair during parties (do you see my leash tied to the sofa leg?). Do just sit there sweetly, looking as cute and pathetic as you can. You'll get a lot of "awwws" that way!



4) Don't chase the MEE-YOWs around the Christmas tree, even if they tease you. Knock the tree over and your people will be really upset. Do pose by it nicely, and someone will probably take your picture. If the MEE-YOWs want to get themselves into trouble, stay well away.


5) Don't eat the Christmas decorations. Sandy Paws might get upset. Your people definitely will. Besides that, you could get a major tummy ache. You don't know what those things are made of.

6) Speaking of eating (or not eating), don't eat tinsel or "icicles." Those are stringy things that some people hang all over the tree. It's all shiny and looks like fun. But it messes up your insides big time. No matter how much you enjoy visiting your vet's office, you won't like that trip!



7) Don't eat electric cords, either. How can I explain this? There are tempting little chewy-plastic-coated wire thingies between each light on the tree. There are bigger chewy-plastic-coated wire thingies like that on the floor, too. Do not chew on them! You might suddenly meet your Creator in person, and your family will cry.



8) Do eat doggy treats; don't eat people treats. My PR mom loves a treat called chocolate, but she won't give me any. She told me why. For us dogs (and MEE-YOWs, too), chocolate is poison. Other poison treats are raisins, grapes, and macadamia nuts. Don't eat any of those, not even a little bit! See #7 for what can happen.

9) Don't eat string, ribbon, wrapping paper, balloons, house plants, children's toys, the new gloves your PR was just given, or sharp objects. Doing those things is just plain silly. (I'm not saying I wouldn't try it - I'm just telling you what my buddies say.) Do, however, save your wonderful mouth for those chew toys they are going to give you. People, you'd better come through on this.


10) Do - if your people want to give you a special food treat - ask for veggies. Veggies are good! I like carrots best. Baby ones. Cut julienne style, thank you very much.




11) Do ask your people to get you a Christmas bandana. It makes you look as festive as everybody around you. Don't thank them by chewing on it. Chewing on it only makes it look tacky. A bandana is good. That and a Nylabone. Chew only on the Nylabone. Maybe with a little peanut butter on it. Mmmm, yes.

12) Everything is more at Christmastime - sights, sounds, smells, people. Maybe we won't get as many walks or as many naps as we're used to. It's easy to end up with a big case of stress. Do... try NOT to! Our body language will tell. We delightful dogs don't speak people (and people don't speak dog), but we're probably getting stressed out if we yawn a lot, or lick our bottoms a lot, or drool a lot, or keep our ears or tail down, or have a funny look in our eyes, or chew things we know we shouldn't, or, um, do you-know-what in the house (!), or run out the front door without permission. Remember, Christmas is just for a short time, and life is still good! Soon everything will settle down and we can take our naps again.

Do you want your people to know more about how to make Christmas merry for you? They can try these online places for starters:

http://dog-care.suite101.com/article.cfm/dangers_of_chocolate_for_dogs
http://www.csst.org/canine_stress.html
http://dog-training.suite101.com/article.cfm/dogs_suffer_stress_too
http://dogs.about.com/od/dogcarebasics/a/xmas_safety.htm

My four-footed friends and I wish you a Meowy Christmas and a Yappy New Year! (Yeah, I know that's old, but it's new to me, and I like it!)

Mother's Day in December

Look! Do you notice that my nose is turning pink?

I think it's cute. Pink is my favorite color, maybe. Except when I'm hungry. Then dog food is my favorite color.

(I have a glassy look in my eyes because I was tired. Supervising these people is hard work sometimes. I have to take them for walks. I have to give them other exercise - like picking up my toys in the back yard and putting them away. I have to make sure they go up and down the stairs (good aerobic exercise for them) to check up on what I'm doing. I have to make sure they feed me. I have to take them when they go on errands in the car. Sometimes I have to take them to the office. I constantly have to show them what good manners are. I'll admit that sometimes I wonder: can't they do anything by themselves?)

I said I would tell you about my mama. So I will. It's a pleasure.

A lot of people worry about dogs whose job is to have puppies. But Canine Companions for Independence wants their mama dogs to be as healthy and happy as their puppies are.

Here's Mama!

Isn't she beautiful? She has a pink nose, too. I hope I'll be as pretty as she is when I grow up. (Check out the prodigy pup who's wearing the puppy cape already. Maybe that's me. Or maybe it's my sister Keilus. I honestly don't remember.)

My mama was once a CCI puppy just like me. When she got older - and smarter - she went to puppy college (advanced training), just as I'll do the end of next year. The teachers liked her there, too, just the way they liked my daddy. Not only was Mama smart and friendly, she was also calm - and very healthy. (Calm? How did I get related to her? Maybe I'll be calm when I grow up. Maybe pigs will fly. Maybe MEE-YOWs will fly. Maybe I'll get puppy treats whenever I want them. "No," my PR mom says, "just you wait," so I will.)

The teachers looked at her and thought, "Maybe she'll make a good mama." So they checked her and double-checked her, mostly to make sure she was healthy. I have to be healthy, of course - and service dogs need to be healthy, because they have such important jobs to do - but my mama had to be super-healthy. That makes her Super-Mama! Happily, she passed all their tests with style. She didn't even complain (not even the way I was complaining at the beginning of this blog).

SO... instead of graduating and helping somebody with a mobility problem, she was adopted by some special people in Santa Rosa, California. They loved her right away and were delighted to have her in their family.


Mama had to live in Santa Rosa for two important reasons: 1) that is where the special CCI vet is, and 2) that is where the daddy dogs are!





When the vet thought it was a good time, Mama got to spend some time with Daddy. So then I was born.

And I wasn't the only one!

That's me, with the bright pink collar, looking around for something to get into or chew on.

My mama has had other pups at other times, too. The vet (as well as her family) always gives her lots of time to rest before she has puppies again. After just a few litters of the cutest, smartest puppies you'll ever see (of course), she will retire from her puppy job and spend the rest of her career supervising the family that loves her and that she loves.

So you see - you don't need to worry about my mama. She's just fine!




Interesting things are happening at home. My PRs brought a tree right into the house. And then they hung all these wonderful toys on it - and they won't let me touch even one! Sometimes it's a dog's life.

Giving Thanks

I'm getting to be a big girl!

When I came here a tad over four weeks ago, I weighed 36 pounds. My PR Mom took me to my doctor's office last week, and when I sat down on the scale it said I now weigh 47 pounds!

My PRs say my legs are longer. They don't have to bend down so far to scratch me around the ears (or hand me a puppy treat). My collar fits me better, too. One time, when my collar was a little too big, I slipped it, and did I ever have a good time! I thought going after me would be good exercise for my PR Dad, but somehow he didn't see it that way. So then we had lots and lots of Gentle Leader practice (sigh).

But I'm not done growing yet. My feet are still too big for the rest of me! Get a load of these paws. I'm going to be a gorgeous, GIANT service dog. Sooper-Kelda! Faster than a speeding squirrel! Able to leap over wheelchairs in a single bound! Wait a minute - I don't know if "leap over wheelchairs" is a command. And speeding after squirrels is definitely not a command. I don't do that. Ha ha. I was joking.



My family celebrated Thanksgiving, and I did, too. Imagine - a whole day just to say, "Thank you!" (or, in my language, "Rrrrrrr-ooof!"). My PR Mom says the Pilgrims were thankful to their Creator for giving them a new home, for keeping them alive, and for new friends. I have the same Creator, so I'm thankful for those things, too. I am also thankful for MEE-YOWs, puppy treats, fenced back yards to run around in without a leash attached, car rides, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

My Gentle Leader and anybody's stairs? Not so much.

I celebrated first by going out to the country for a couple of days. There were some very nice dogs there. They're much older than I am, but they were CCI dogs when they were puppies, so they showed me a lot of things I need to know. They're really good at "here" (golly, they go right up to the person calling them!) and "wait" - better than I am.








The people are nice, too. And I also met some new kinds of dogs called "cows," "chickens," and "horses."


Then I celebrated by traveling a long way in the car. We went to see three little girls and their mama and daddy, and all of them are related to my PRs. There were other people there, too, and another dog - a "hot dog" named Maisie.


I met some other dogs as well.


They're so little that you can hardly see them in the picture. But not everybody can be 47 pounds like me. Those little dogs sounded as if they were scolding Maisie and me for being in their neighborhood. But I knew better. They were just making pleasant conversation. The way the people were saying, "Quiet!" makes me think it wasn't very pleasant for them. You'll be pleased to know that I was quiet. I know what a service dog should do! (Not that I always do it.)



I learned to stay away from that big thing the little girls play on. Ouch!







But I didn't jump on anybody (much)...
and I put on my very best manners...
and everybody was glad I came.

Then... I got a Thanksgiving-weekend treat.

Do you want to know a way for your people to make you happy? (Christmas is coming!)

Get them to get you one of these funny-looking things.

It's called a Kong toy, and it's fun to chew on (and it bounces, like I do).



But this makes it even more fun: Get your people to put a little peanut butter inside it.
Wow! Good stuff. GREAT thing to be thankful for!


I might come when I'm called for peanut butter. I might stop jumping on people for peanut butter. I might even be better on stairs for - no, wait. Can't promise anything about stairs. I'll tell you about stairs another time.

Educational Matters

I'm now six months old, and I've been having a good time!

My people take me places. I can't show you pictures of every place, because they don't always take out their cameras. (Sometimes I keep them too busy.) But I'm learning how to get around in stores and shops. I've visited a couple of people in their homes. I've been to the Post Office twice. Everybody likes me. I'm learning how to like everybody... politely.

I'm embarrassed to say that one reason (among many) that my Puppy Raisers are taking me so many places is because I have some, ahem, bad habits. Just a couple. When I get up in the morning, I'm full of bounce and I'm rarin' to go. I like to jump, I like to bark (I'm just full of conversation), I like to chase the MEE-YOWs around. So...

My people want me to put all that wonderful energy into my schooling. Sometimes, after they walk me, we're off on an errand or two at eight o'clock in the morning! They're happy about it. The you-know-whats are happy about it. Me? Well, it's all right. I know other CCI pups to go offices and schools early every morning.

I take naps in between being educated.

So this week, I got to educate. I did my first demo. Demo is short for demonstration (yes! - another big word). At a demo, I get to help teach folks about service dogs and CCI, and everybody else gets to look at me and give me attention and say how cute I am.

Since this was my first one, I didn't quite know what to expect. But, although I'd never been to the school before, I knew the teacher. She's my Puppy Raisers' puppy - er, daughter. I've jumped on - er, met her before.

Of course, when she has puppy treats in her hand, I would never think of, um, you know, jumping on, um, her....



So I visited her classroom, and my PR (Puppy Raiser) Mom talked about me. I sat around and looked cute, and occasionally did a sit or a down when she told me. I did it like a pro! (Of course, the cuteness comes naturally.)

And, of course, I had to show them how I can take my Gentle Leader off all by myself.











My PR Mom told the students what I'll learn to do - even though I don't know much yet - and how, by the time I'm grown up, I'll be able to help somebody who can't move around very well. She told them the difference between a service dog and a guide dog (do you know?). She taught them what to do when they see a service dog in their neighborhood or at the mall. She taught them what to do when they see any dog they don't know (do you know?).



Then she let everybody practice on me.












That was the best part.


They each came up and asked, "May I pet your dog, please?" And of course the answer was yes.







I must say that, about halfway through, I didn't know if I wanted to bounce around and play with everybody or lie down and take a nap. So I did a little of the first, and, after I got back in the car, a lot of the second. A puppy's life is soooo strenuous.

Family Ties

I am excited (pant, pant, wag, wag) to tell you a little more about how I got here. Not by car - I told you about that. I mean... how I became a CCI puppy!

I was born to this position - a little like a hereditary monarch. It's the only thing the Queen of England and I have in common.

There are lots of service dog organizations (organizations, monarch, hereditary - look at all the big words I know!) and they get their dogs in different good ways. The way Canine Companions for Independence does it is by growing them! My Puppy Raisers tell me that my mama and daddy had me on purpose so that I might become a service dog if I can pass all the schooling.

Guess who this handsome dog is?


This is my daddy! I've never met him. He has this job where he travels a lot.

When he was a puppy, way back a couple of years ago....

... he looked a little like me, for some reason. He had Puppy Raisers who loved him and played with him and taught him important things. He learned to eat politely and speak only when told to and sit and stay and all that great stuff.

Then he went off to Advanced Training. That's puppy college. Not all CCI puppies graduate from puppy college! Many of them get other jobs instead - like being put in charge of a nice family. (I'll tell you about the other options another time.)

My daddy went to puppy college, and the teachers gave him lots of tests. They x-rayed his hips and other parts of him to make sure they were strong and healthy. They made very sure his heart and lungs and the rest of his insides were good. They watched him to see how smart he was, how patient (oh, dear) he was, how confident he was, and a whole lot of other things.

The teachers said, "We like what we see! In fact, we wish we had more puppies like him!" That's how my daddy got his job. His job is to be the daddy of a lot of puppies.

He lives with very nice people. They feed him and play with him and take him to his job sites and love him all to pieces. When he retires, he'll keep on living with the very nice people, and they'll keep on feeding him and playing with him and loving him all to pieces. Talk about job security!

Of course, I have a mother, too. But I'll tell you about Mama (yawn) another time.... this keyboard stuff is really tiring to do when you don't have fingers....

Bad Habits and Greatly Mistaken Identity

I have a bad habit. Well, more than one, I'm a little embarrassed to say.

This is one:
Hey, I was just making conversation! These MEE-YOW things are interesting!

This is another (I won't say I have just these two):


It looks as if I'm merely enjoying a fine breakfast (and the bigger, the better, as far as I'm concerned). But I'm also setting a speed record. I can inhale a bowl of Eukanuba in eight seconds flat. They say this habit could make me sick. How could good puppy food make me sick?

Life sure isn't always fun. Sometimes I think my name has been changed from Kelda to DON'T!

But my Puppy Raisers say it is part of growing up to be a Canine Companion. A service dog needs to be really healthy and not get tummy-aches (or worse) from eating too fast. When I'm a service dog, I'll need to be quiet, too, except when my person commands me to speak. Commands me to speak? Hey, I'll enjoy that command, if I can learn it.

Here's a picture of me in my fashion-forward, royal blue Gentle Leader:


Some folks actually think I must be a bad dog because I wear a muzzle. This is no muzzle! A real muzzle would keep me from opening my mouth (and biting). But I'd rather chew on puppy treats and nylabones than on you any day, thank you very much.

A Gentle Leader works like a halter does on a horse. When I have it on, my Puppy Raisers can lead me around by my head. The rest of me follows, of course, and it's easier for both of us than pulling on my fine muscular neck all the time.

Do I like it? No! I think it's a doggone nuisance. But the waggy-tailed friends I met at puppy class this week told me that with a little practice I can get it off my nose with my front paws when nobody's looking (presenting my Puppy Raisers with the opportunity to practice putting it back on me). It's loose enough to do. I can eat, drink, pant, and yawn with it on. I could probably bite with it on, too, but I'm not that kind of dog. Please!





Um, when is lunch?

Here I Am!

You never know what kind of talents you're going to have. Who'd guess a five-month-old Lab puppy would know how to write? I didn't know that I knew anything to do with a keyboard except sniff it. Maybe chew around the edges a little.

I thought I had my life figured out when I came to Colorado in July. I was two months old, more or less. My people were very nice, loving folks. They told me I was going to be a Canine Companions for Independence service dog - they hoped. That means that, if I pass all my training, I'll get a very special owner and help him or her do neat stuff.

Actually, my plans were different. I had planned to play all day long and be the boss of everybody. Not so, I guess.

So they started teaching me manners. They taught me how to sit and stay and sleep in a crate. They taught me to sit beside them (on the floor) while they ate dinner. They give me lots of time to play. And I like to play! I like to be the boss of playing.

I'm not sure what happened then, but somebody got sick (not me). So I lived with some neat folks who puppy-sat me (they didn't sit on me - they took care of me) for a good two weeks.

Then today they put me in their car and drove east a long, long way into the country. At the end of the trip there was a strange man waiting. I didn't know whether to like him or not. But he had puppy treats in his pocket so I liked him. He put me in his car. (Am I thankful? Yes! I've heard about some dogs who get out of their cars in the country... and are left there all alone. Yikes.) We drove a long, long, loooong way again. Then he said, "Welcome to your new home."

We were at a brick house with a nice back yard. I like back yards. My new PR Mom was there, and she had puppy treats, too. I got to sniff and play and sniff some more. Then she put a leash on me and asked me to do some things. I wanted to keep playing. So then she told me to do some things. I remembered those treats and did the things.

So this is my new home. There are creatures here I've never seen before. Birds I know. Deer I know. Squirrels I know. These dudes have long tails and pointy ears like squirrels, but they have longer legs and the tails don't curl up, and instead of saying, "CHK CHK CHK," they say, "MEE-YOW." They even come inside my new house! I don't know if I like them or not.

It isn't all different! I still have my yellow cape. I still have that Gentle Leader (sigh). I still have a leash. Some things never change for a CCI pup.

Here I Am...

You never know what kind of talents you may have. Who would guess a five-month-old Lab puppy would know how to write? I didn't know I knew anything to do with a keyboard except sniff it. Maybe chew around the edges a little.

I thought I had my life figured out when I arrived in Colorado in July. I was two months old, more or less. My people were very nice, loving folks. They told me I was going to be a Canine Companion for Independence service dog when I grew up - they hoped. That means that if I pass all my training, I'll get a very special owner and help him or her do neat stuff... like pick things up off the floor, open doors, turn light switches off and on, and lots of things I can't even imagine yet.

I was surprised. I had thought I was going to play all day long and be the boss of everybody. Not so.

So they started teaching me good manners. They taught me how to sit and stay and sleep in a crate. They taught me to sit beside them (on the floor) while they ate dinner. They gave me a lot of time to play, too. And I like to play. I like to be the boss of everything. For some reason my people worried about that. It sounds OK to me.

I'm not exactly sure what happened then, but somebody got sick (not me). So I stayed with some folks I know who puppy-sat me (no, they didn't sit on me - they took care of me) for a couple of weeks.

Then today they put me in their car and drove east a long, long way into the country. At the end of the trip there was a strange man waiting. I didn't know whether to like him or not. But he had puppy treats in his pocket so I liked him. They told me he was my new Puppy-Raiser Dad. He put me in his car. (Am I thankful? Yes! I've heard about some pups who get out of their cars in the country... and are left there all alone. Yikes.) We drove a long, long way again. Then he said, "Welcome to your new home."

We were at a brick house with a nice back yard. I like back yards. My PR Mom was there, and she had puppy treats, too. I got to play, and then she put a leash on me and asked me to do some things. I wanted to keep playing. Then she told me what to do. I thought, "Why not?" and did. For puppy treats I'll do a lot.

So this is my new home. My PR Dad has taken me for a walk around the neighborhood, and I have met some new dogs. There are also creatures here I've never seen before. Birds I know. Deer I know. Squirrels I know. These dudes have long tails and pointy ears like squirrels, but they have long legs and their tails don't curl up, and instead of saying, "CHK CHK CHK," they say, "MEE-YOW." They even come into my new house! I don't know if I like them or not.

It isn't all different! I still have my cape. I still have that Gentle Leader (sigh). I still have a leash. Some things never change for a CCI pup.