Wow... I am the world's worst blogger. My last post was November 18th. That was 2 months ago! Please accept my most humble apologies... For those of you following us on facebook you have been able to see what Nicholas and I have been up to. For those of you who haven't bee following us, you can find us on facebook under Paws for a Cause GDA.
Now back to business.
When last I posted, Nicholas and I were having some issues involving his mouthiness and his focus on mouthing and chewing on me and his activity level. Well things have changed a bit in the last 2 months. Here's a recap...
November
Nicholas had his good moments in November. I found that the easiest way to tire him out was to take him places. That worked for a while until he became too heavy to carry and I had to come up with a new solution.
His first big outing was with me to meet a friend at the Harbor Patrol Office where we met with another friend who worked there. Nicholas did his best to misbehave with me, but seemed to like my friend and lay quietly at his feet. Hmm... We then went out on the Harbor Patrol Boat where Nicholas enjoyed chewing on all the metal bits of the boat. He did not like the choppy ocean water, however. He tried to lay at my feet but kept bouncing about so bad that I had to put him in my lap to calm him down. Once we were back in the calm water of the harbor he started to explore the boat again, then settled on the ropes and took a nap. Later that night we went to puppy kindergarten where he again acted up and used my hand as a chew toy, chewed his leash, lunged and tried to play with the other puppies. He did sleep well that night, though. He didn't wake up until 7:00 the next morning!
Nicholas spent the week of Thanksgiving with his co-raisers on a road trip. They took 5 days and drove to Northern California to visit their daughters in college. Nicholas behaved well in the car and sat quietly on the floor of the front passenger seat, where a Guide Dog Puppy is supposed to ride. When he would ride with me it was always such a chore to keep him on the floor. He'd always jump on the seat and wiggle to the driver's side, right under my feet. I ended up having to tie a knot in his leash and closing the door on it so he couldn't go anywhere. I'm thinking he was so well behaved because he couldn't go anywhere with someone sitting on the front seat. Only towards the end of the return trip home did he start to act up and get mouthy. I think he was just bored.
December
Early December passed by in a blur of blood, sweat and tears. I had blood dripping from my hands as he kept chewing on me; sweat from chasing after him and trying to reign in his boundless energy, and tears from the frustration of having such an active and mouthy puppy on my hands. Heck...there was one night I had a dream he escaped his crate and was chewing on me in my sleep! Yes...it was JUST a dream. It was a little too much for me to handle in my little condo with nowhere for him to get out and stretch. By this point, Nicholas was just 14 weeks old and still couldn't go for walks in my neighborhood since there are so many strays (if you are not aware of the Parvo outbreak, you can email me and I'll fill you in). So what was I to do? I got creative.
I temporarily moved back in with my parents in Orange County. That was much, much easier on all of us. Oh yes, that's right. It wasn't just me and Nicholas, it was the cats and guinea pig too! For the next 6 weeks we all lived in another house. Nicholas had a HUGE yard to run around in. We played fetch, explored the tall weeds, worked on obedience and leash skills outside and even went to the mall once he turned 16 weeks old. The mall was a great place to go with him. Lots of noise, slick floors, glass elevators, and so many people walking, talking and calling out to him. A one hour trip to the mall would wear him out to the point he would have to take a nap after!
Nicholas met his first child at the mall. It was actually kind of funny because my confident and fearless puppy was terrified of her! She must have been no older than 3 years old and just a little taller than his eye level. Of course this was a great learning experience for him. She must have come from a house with dogs because she was not afraid of him in the least. In fact she came right up to him and tried to pet him. Nicholas would back away and try to hide behind me. So with a little encouragement I let him investigate the small human who seemed to like him. It didn't take more than a minute for him to warm up to her and then he came up and sniffed at her and tried to jump. She giggled and told him to "Sit" and he did. I was impressed with both her behavior as well as his, it was very cute.
The holidays were a busy time for Nicholas. He attended his first concert at Mission Viejo High School where we met with some friends and went to watch the holiday band concert. Nicholas did very well for such a new experience. He showed some interest when the drums started to play, but other than that, settled nicely and chewed on his bone. Outside, he was very interested in the clarinets that were practicing, I don't think he'd ever heard a noise like that before!
We also attended two Christmas parties; one at the GDA Campus in Sylmar were he won lots of cool toys at a raffle, and another for the Orange County Puppy Raisers at the Tayenaka's house. Special shout out to the Tayenaka Family for putting on a SPLENDID shindig! Nicholas did try his best to behave at both locations, but with all the festivities and puppies around, it was quite difficult. He was very wiggly, but not as mouthy and he had no temper tantrums!
Nicholas attended his first graduation at Guide Dogs of America. December 18 was the middle of one of the heaviest rain storms Southern California had seen in a long time. It was a heavy downpour from the time we woke up all the way through dinnertime. Luckily the graduation was held in the new facility so we stayed nice and dry. This graduation was special for 2 reasons. First of all, there were enough trained dogs to graduate with an additional class of 10 students! It was exciting for that reason, and also because 2 of the Orange County group puppies graduated: Rusty and Nellie. If you remember my post from November 6, Rusty was the last dog raised by the Lockman family who are co-raising Nicholas with me. I had previously met Rusty and had taken him out on several outings with the group. It was so good to see him and Nellie all grown up and working! Persia, the dog raised by the Lockmans before Rusty, was in the audience with her partner sitting right next to me and Nicholas.
Unfortunately lying on the other side of Nicholas was another puppy in training. Since Nicholas was so young at the time, he still would get a toy or bone to chew on. Well the puppy next to us was already 13 months old and really wanted Nicholas's toy. He kept sneaking over and taking it and sniffing and poking at Nicholas. My poor boy tried so hard to be good and just chew on his toy, but after 10 minutes of poking and thievery he started to act up. He wouldn't sit still and even jumped to try to get the ponytail of the woman sitting in front of us. I finally had to pick him up and cradle him in order to settle him down. It really wasn't his fault. He was being so good before he was bothered.
New Years Eve brought its own excitement when Nicholas threw up twice in one day while staying with the Lockman's.
He was acting normal except for that, but anytime a puppy vomits, there is reason for concern (remember that Parvo I mentioned earlier?). Of course the vet department was closed for the holiday, but there was someone on call for just such an emergency. Nicholas was put on a regimen of chicken and rice with some Pepcid and if he continued to vomit, he was to go to a vet immediately. Luckily he kept the food down and through a process of elimination (not his elimination!) we were able to surmise that he swallowed something. He had recently developed an attraction to socks and liked to hoard them on his bed, as well as paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, napkins...). We figured he must have swallowed something and it was blocking his food from reaching his stomach.
Needless to say, I made the trek to GDA the following Tuesday (4 days later) where the vet staff poked and prodded Nicholas and tried to take an x-ray. He wiggled a lot, so it was a little hard to see, but there did appear to be a small rock in the lower part of his small intestine. Other than that and an eye infection, he was given a clean bill of health and put back on normal puppy food. He was VERY happy about that.
That is how we ended 2010. A little excitement and activity. It was nice to get him out and about some. he was going a little stir crazy being cooped up in my place. But he is settling in nicely and 2011 seems to be going very well for him so far! Can't wait to keep you posted on that.
Until then,
Wags and licks!
Christina and Nicholas
Now back to business.
When last I posted, Nicholas and I were having some issues involving his mouthiness and his focus on mouthing and chewing on me and his activity level. Well things have changed a bit in the last 2 months. Here's a recap...
November
Nicholas had his good moments in November. I found that the easiest way to tire him out was to take him places. That worked for a while until he became too heavy to carry and I had to come up with a new solution.
 |
| Playing at the condo with his bone. |
Nicholas spent the week of Thanksgiving with his co-raisers on a road trip. They took 5 days and drove to Northern California to visit their daughters in college. Nicholas behaved well in the car and sat quietly on the floor of the front passenger seat, where a Guide Dog Puppy is supposed to ride. When he would ride with me it was always such a chore to keep him on the floor. He'd always jump on the seat and wiggle to the driver's side, right under my feet. I ended up having to tie a knot in his leash and closing the door on it so he couldn't go anywhere. I'm thinking he was so well behaved because he couldn't go anywhere with someone sitting on the front seat. Only towards the end of the return trip home did he start to act up and get mouthy. I think he was just bored.
December
Early December passed by in a blur of blood, sweat and tears. I had blood dripping from my hands as he kept chewing on me; sweat from chasing after him and trying to reign in his boundless energy, and tears from the frustration of having such an active and mouthy puppy on my hands. Heck...there was one night I had a dream he escaped his crate and was chewing on me in my sleep! Yes...it was JUST a dream. It was a little too much for me to handle in my little condo with nowhere for him to get out and stretch. By this point, Nicholas was just 14 weeks old and still couldn't go for walks in my neighborhood since there are so many strays (if you are not aware of the Parvo outbreak, you can email me and I'll fill you in). So what was I to do? I got creative.
 |
| Hanging on his own bed at my parents house |
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| Packed house! We had to sit in the aisle. |
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| Munching on his bone at the concert |
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| Nicholas & St. Nick at the GDA Party in Sylmar. |
We also attended two Christmas parties; one at the GDA Campus in Sylmar were he won lots of cool toys at a raffle, and another for the Orange County Puppy Raisers at the Tayenaka's house. Special shout out to the Tayenaka Family for putting on a SPLENDID shindig! Nicholas did try his best to behave at both locations, but with all the festivities and puppies around, it was quite difficult. He was very wiggly, but not as mouthy and he had no temper tantrums!
 |
| Nellie looking so grown up with her partner! |
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| Rusty being a TRUE guide and sleeping during his down time. |
New Years Eve brought its own excitement when Nicholas threw up twice in one day while staying with the Lockman's.
 |
| Hanging at the house. |
Needless to say, I made the trek to GDA the following Tuesday (4 days later) where the vet staff poked and prodded Nicholas and tried to take an x-ray. He wiggled a lot, so it was a little hard to see, but there did appear to be a small rock in the lower part of his small intestine. Other than that and an eye infection, he was given a clean bill of health and put back on normal puppy food. He was VERY happy about that.
That is how we ended 2010. A little excitement and activity. It was nice to get him out and about some. he was going a little stir crazy being cooped up in my place. But he is settling in nicely and 2011 seems to be going very well for him so far! Can't wait to keep you posted on that.
Until then,
Wags and licks!
Christina and Nicholas
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| Nicholas took a liking to the plant at the Parent's House. He pulled off a branch. I came home from work and found it on my bed! |
Good job Nicholas!
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