McLean Southeastern Guide Dog in Training

My Heart Is Racing!

2012-02-13T19:20:00.000-05:00

Today I had a doctor's appointment. It wasn't a big deal. Just a follow-up. Check to see if all was well with my primary care physician and go over my Vitamin D test.

I had made my appointment for 4 pm, for after school, on my way home. That seemed like a good idea.

At the time.

It really did. Breeze in, end of the day, quick appointment. All is well, home again. Quick as a wink. Not a problem. I forgot to tell Jam the plan.

We arrive at the doctor's office and a chill wind is blowing and evidently it blew some major crazy jujubees up his butt, because he immediately began to pull and run to the door. OK. He likes the doctor?

We walk in and he is SO EXCITED to be there. Practically JUMPING for joy. And there are tons of OLD PEOPLE around. Really delicate old people with tissue paper skin.

Great. I feel a little blood squirt out of my arteries and start to race around my veins. Just a bit of adrenaline has been released somewhere in my body (I assume my adrenal glands, wherever they are). OK. I will just give all the old people a wide berth. And keep him very close to me.

A panting and exuberant Jam and I make it to the counter and sign in. Then we wait and listen to American Pickers while I try to keep Jam from eating the Ladies Home Journal from December 2006. 2006? Really? Why do they have a LHJ from 2006. Do they go to yard sales and pick up old magazines? I shouldn't complain. The magazine selection is much better since Dr. Betancourt came. It used to be just yachting and golfing and sports magazines. At least there is a LHJ. Quit your bitching, I tell myself. Find out what Nicole Kidman thought 6 years ago and be happy about it!

Just when I start to read about the always fascinating Nicole, Jam and I are called back. At least I am called back and Jam jumps up and is ready to play. So I say easy all the way to the door where there is a nurse who loves dogs and who knows she can't touch him. "Ah, service dog." She says. "Let me know how I can help."

I need lots of help. Jam is jumping in the small hallway as I try to correct him. Then there is the always popular hallway weigh-in. I put Jam into a down stay and step onto the scale and have to let go of the leash.

"Can I laugh if he runs away?" The nurse asks? I decide she is not really my friend. I'm not looking at the scale, it's only bad news anyway, and have been giving Jam the stay death stare. I step down. My Heart Is Racing.

She leads my down the hallway, calling out to people to see the pretty dog, blah blah blah. I start to hate her just a little bit. My pulse is going a bit faster. Jam is really pulling and I am a broken record: Easy, Easy, Easy. All this emotion is going right down the leash, but I just don't know how to control it. We have gotten ourselves in a deadly embrace: the more nervous and anxious I get, the more jumpy he gets and the more nervous I get, until we both collapse in a dead heap of burst hearts. Classic Valentine's Day tragedy.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Actually, I'm thinking, get me the blankety blank out of here. And why did I think the end of the day was a good time of day to do this?

My frenemy, the nurse, was a vet tech in an earlier life and is actually a very nice person, and she tells me an interesting story about Tommy Hilfiger's westie who had allergy problems. Then she says,

"Your blood pressure is a little higher than it was the last time you were in."

I look at Jam. I look back at her. "He stresses me out when he isn't acting right."

FORTY MINUTES LATER.

My doctor comes in. We chat, I'm fine. Jam tries to jump up from his down under under the chair several times. She listens to my heart.

"Your heart is racing."

"Yeah. He does that when he misbehaves. It makes me nervous." She laughed. I had an acupuncturist once tell me that I was like a little rabbit, just a jumpy bundle of nerves. I don't think it was a compliment. I never went back to him. I mean, I was born in the year of the hare, but still.

My doctor said I needed to have blood drawn to see how my vitamin D levels were. It is now 5:30 pm. I've been there an hour and a half. I have to wait another 20 minutes for the blood lady to see me. I'm surprised she could capture my blood. It was moving so fast.

We left at 6.

Jam normally poops at 5 to 5:30.

I have one more stop to go. I am on borrowed time.

I have bookclub tomorrow and we are discussing Valley of the Dolls. I need to make a caviar dip. I need to buy some caviar. I look over at Jam. Surely he can make a quick in and out at Publix.

We get out and run into Publix. I get the basket (better to run with) and Jam and start to race down the aisles. I'm trying to go fast but also trying to keep an eye out for gopher butt and any slight slowing down. I'm also thinking that I could always just put the basket underneath him and catch his poo in that, but no, that would be gross. I could pick him up and run. I did that with Bingo. He was 50 pounds. The trick is getting them before they commit.

The problem is whenever I would stop. Jam would stop. And then, my heart would race and I would think, "OMG POO!" and I would look at his butt, but there wouldn't be anything. And we would start to fast walk it again. So we were sort of doing one of John Cleese's Ministry of Funny Walks down the aisles and all I can think about is "Crap, this Publix is chock full of people. Don't they have anything better to do than grocery shop? What is the matter with them? There is not one aisle I could have Jam do a secret poo and a secret cleanup!" They were like a fungus, or ants on an anthill, they were EVERYWHERE. And they were all smiling at me. And I had to smile back.

I know it looked like the rictus of death, but it was the best I could do. My heart was racing, folks! My blood was spinning through me.

Then, just when it looked like we were home free, a small child with a balloon was in front of us. Holy Mother of God. Are we doomed to life eternal in this god forsaken Publix? Can I not just find the freaking caviar and leave? Jam goes nuts because not only did this crazy mom buy her adorable child a helium balloon, she also let him RUN. Jam adores running children. Adores as in WANTS TO TACKLE AND LOVE TO DEATH.

I think the mother sensed something, because after about 30 seconds of my pulling at Jam, she finally picked up her son. I could have kissed her, but that would have brought me too close.

It is now almost 6:30. It is the poo witching hour. We checkout. No poo.

My heart is still racing.

Restaurant Feng Shui

2012-02-12T13:02:00.004-05:00

Sometimes you can just tell whether a new restaurant is going to be a good place or not. It may be the food, the service, the atmosphere or something indefinable about the place. Let's call it the feng shui. Well, last night we found a great place in Cafe de Paz in Dunedin.

We had reservations for 7 pm and unfortunately for us the place was packed and there was no way we were going to get our table. But our waitress kindly served us a round of drinks on the house and we sat and chatted while we listened to a very good duo (keyboards and vocalist) sing standards ranging from Billy Joel to old blues songs. Fred liked them and he is hard to please.

As we were waiting, our waitress, who was as cute as a bug's ear, came over and asked if Jam would like a bowl of water. Now, nothing endears a restaurant or server faster to me more than sincere affection for our guide dog puppy. Usually we get grudging acceptance, or a not so subtle attempt to shift us to the outside as in the "Oh, I'm sure you want the patio table" when it is 10 below (or in Florida terms, 70 degrees!).

Being told I want a patio seat, makes my desire for an indoor seat grow exponentially. I could have gone to that restaurant expressly for their ocean views and when those words pop out of their mouth, all of sudden I am filled with the desire for air-conditioned, four-walled, stuffiness.

"Why, no. Whatever do you mean, outside? It's freezing." Never mind that I am wearing a tank top, shorts and flip flops. "I am in need of an inside table. I have allergies and can't be near the surf and sea air." Direct stare into their eyes.

Of course there are amazing moments when others at the restaurant intervene for you. That happened at the Crabby Bill's on Clearwater Beach. The host said the deadly patio phrase and the female bartender nearly leaped over the bar. "That's a service dog!" She shouted and raced out towards us from behind the bar. She ran over to the host and yanked the menus out of his hands. "Please follow me upstairs." Then she turned and gave him the evil, "you and I will have a long talk about just how stupid you are" look, to which this 6'2" pretty buff guy actually blanched. We followed the petite gal up the stairs to a nice table in the center of the dining room and had a great dinner.

But I digress. Back to Cafe de Paz. We were finally seated and a very fashionable and sweet hostess came over with a bowl of water for Jam. We had to explain that he couldn't have it since he was on duty and couldn't drink in coat, but we were so thankful for her kindness.

Honestly, this restaurant rocks. And the food was awesome! Tapas, pizzas with gourmet toppings, crostinis, very unusual dishes and everything we tried was great. Except for Fred's pizza. It had clams on it and I thought that was weird. But Fred and Ken liked it.

Afterwards, we went over to Ken and Linda's for a casual dessert, so I can't tell you about the dessert offerings at the restaurant. However, I do want to give a shout out to our lovely friends Ken, Linda and Carrie who really are the most kind, caring and patient people and who put up with so much from us. We are so lucky to have them in our lives. Not only did Carrie not make a face when Jam grabbed her scarf and completely shoved it in his mouth, attempting to run off and devour it, she kindly put it back around her neck, dog slobber and all, so he wouldn't be tempted to try for it again. And Ken and Linda, who had been dying to pet Jam all evening, waited at least 20 minutes for wanker Jam to calm down enough in their house to be petted.

What troopers.

And need we mention that we talked about Jam so endlessly that at one point I looked up and Ken was actually asleep? Well, that is true friendship. We promise to curb ourselves next time!! Thanks for letting us run on last night. We truly enjoyed ourselves.

May you all have friends like these and find restaurants like Cafe de Paz to take them to dinner!

Chicken Biscuits

2012-02-11T09:07:00.002-05:00

We have fundraisers at school. Usually by what they call Break Sales, meaning we have a break in the morning and kids bake brownies, etc. and can make about $75 to $100 selling them to students who want a mid-morning snack. This money goes to the selling club's charity of choice or to whatever project or trip they are trying to raise money for.

The Student Library Proctors have been doing chicken biscuit sales from Chik-Fil-A because they give schools a deep discount and you can earn about $300 from one break sale. Quite a big difference. However, there are several problems with chicken biscuits:

Chicken biscuits are like crack. Kids go nuts for them. There is practically a Who Concert mass stampede out the door of the auditorium to get to the mall to buy tickets to get a biscuit. Honestly, we have about 15 students working the chicken biscuit sale and we are all VERY TENSE and NERVOUS when we hear the pounding feet of 500 students coming to get 350 biscuits.
Each biscuit comes in its own wrapper, which some students wad up and throw on the ground. So there is a protocol that requires our biscuit sellers to go around and make sure the ground is picked up, so we can have another sale. If it is too messy, no more biscuit sales. My theory is that the lard in the biscuit temporarily knocks out any thought processes and causes an almost epileptic jerking of the arm with the first bite. Usually, the student has the wrapper in his hand with this first bite and involuntarily crushes the wrapper when he has this temporary seizure. After swallowing the first bite, his brain comes back on line, the hand releases, and the wrapper drops to the ground, without the student even realizing what is going on and that he had anything in his hand. He continues to walk and eat his biscuit in a pleasure filled daze.
Evidently the lard also affects proper chewing as great hunks of bread may fall out of students mouths and land on the ground creating a landscape of breadcrumbs that would be useful in finding Hansel and Gretel if they wandered aimlessly around in circles! Seriously, how can that much biscuit fall on the ground? It literally covers the floor.
We have to go get the biscuits and bring them back, which means someone's car is going to smell like fried chicken for a day.

Friday was chicken biscuit day. Friday is also Jam day. Jan has the big SUV in which all the heater units filled with 350 hot chicken biscuits fit. So Jan, Jam and I drove down to Chick-Fil-A. They stayed in the car while I got the biscuits. The trouble didn't start until we got the biscuits out of the car.

We had two big heaters and one small one. Jam ran over to the small one and started to sniff and then jumped on top of it and tried to dig a hole into it. Eeeek! I hope that doesn't leave a mark! Squashed biscuits for some kids. 8-)

Thankfully, it didn't. We put Jam on a tie-down further away from the unloading area and got the biscuits over to the mall where we would be selling them. And we waited. And Jam waited. For about 45 minutes as biscuits were handed out and the biscuity smell wafted around him, Jam just slept and was quiet. But when we got up to police the area and there were wrappers and breadcrumbs out and about: Fuhgeddaboutit!!

"No! No! No! No!" That was me walking through the mall trying to keep Jam from scarfing up all the breadcrumbs.

Then we got back to the library and Christina had a biscuit on her desk. Jam saw it. Saw the silvery gleam of the wrapper indicating chicken goodness. We walked back out to the main library. Jam sat with a sullen stubborness and faced the offices. Silvery wrappers danced in his head. Whines emerged from his mouth.

"No noise." He stood. He faced the office. Clearly, a busy wasn't on his mind. "Oh no. You are not faking me out. Sit. Down."

ALL. DAY. LONG. Every trash can was a danger zone and we couldn't get near them because he was going to look in them for wrappers. Kids smelled like chicken biscuits. The campus smelled like chicken biscuits. It was a long day for Jam

It was a longer day for me.

Coke and Jam

2012-02-02T21:46:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, we were visited by a large group of Coca-cola executives who were there to see students go about their various community service activities. Middle and Upper Division have lots of different things going on from tutoring students from Academy Prep in the library to cleaning up the stream and wetlands and park in the neighborhood, and many other types of giving.

I happened in on the end of the tutoring session in the library when I finished up the Honors Chem classes and Jam and I walked through the crowd of red shirts (all the executives were wearing red shirts) to get to my office at the back of the library. I could tell that Jam had captured the attention of many people. I set down my bag and computer and went to check in with Jan in the workroom. As I was standing just outside the workroom, I noticed that three red-shirted execs were making their way over to us with dog lust in their eyes. Their hands were outstretched.

As they got within about a foot of Jam I said, "Now, you can't pet him when he has his coat on. He's working."

They were crestfallen. Three grown men, so sad.

"Really?" They all looked at Jam like he was candy they couldn't have. I was about to explain when another exec, this one was a lady in a red shirt, came up and said, "Now, I can't pet him, because he has his coat on right?"

All the men looked at her. I smiled. "Exactly right!" Then we started talking about Southeastern and how the students had raised the money to name Jam and who he was named for. One of the execs wandered off. It was too much for him to handle. A dog so close and pet-able. After a bit, I looked at the guys and they were still so darn wistful.

"Would you like me to take off the jacket?"

"Oh Yes!!"

"Ok, but calm voices." So, I took off the jacket and they knelt down to pet Jam. As they did, the man who had wandered away happened to turn around and see they were petting Jam. He RUNS over to us and in a VERY LOUD voice says,

"You can't pet him! He has his coat on!"

The lady in the red shirt turns and says, "She took the coat off."

"Oh." He stood there.

"Would you like to pet him?" I asked. Immediately, he was down on his knees petting Jam.

Jam at the circulation desk helping a student check out a book.

They may have red shirts. They may be executives. But they were children at that moment, in a good way. That's what I love about Jam at school.

Jam's Tail

2012-01-31T11:54:00.003-05:00

By Fred

Our friends periodically point out that Jam's tail is unusual. To be honest, it is a prodigious tail, ending in a dark butterscotch tuft that would seem more appropriately attached to a lion. It curls around double at times--big, thick, and bushy--until it cannot help inviting speculation about his lineage.

Because that's the most common question we get: "What kind of dog is that?" people will say while staring at his tail, as if his father or mother might be a squirrel or beaver. And yet look into his eyes and there can be no doubt; he's pure Lab.

Can't we just love a dog for what's in his heart and just forget about this or that gene on the DNA string that might be from a lion or maybe even mongoose? I, for one, won't engage in speculation such a thing. He's a dog. What would you have us do, send him into the woods to fend for himself?

But still, there it is. The tail curls and twists in all directions, twitching with the biological memory of some long dead ancestor that was not exactly a dog.

A fox, probably.

Thunder Shirt

2012-01-28T12:19:00.003-05:00

By Fred

Cheryl and I were relieved to learn that Jam's limp was not due to some joint problem or injury--instead, he apparently just experienced a bout of growing pains, though "pain" probably isn't the right word since he never seemed to have any--at least he never winced or gave the slightest yelp. I guest you could call it a case of growing limps (or not). In any case, he's back on all fours.

We also are seeing much improvement with his separation anxiety. Here's a brief summary: sometimes when we leave Jam alone, whether it is in his crate or on a lead or in a room, sometimes even for a few minutes, he becomes anxious and begin to breathe heavily. His eyes glaze over a bit, and he will struggle to end his isolation.

This trait is at odds with his temperament otherwise, because he is the most fearless dog I've even seen. He loves the vacuum cleaner and any other device that makes noise. When I cranked up my air compressor the other day he even walked over and licked it. He walks alongside traffic, on boardwalks, etc., always cool and collected. He is the Fonz of dogs.

But no dog is perfect. We've been trying some new things to address his fear of being alone. (Thanks to Dr. Woodman and others for the suggestions.) First is the thunder shirt, which is an elastic vest that hugs the dog. I was more than skeptical at first, but it does seem to have a calming influence on Jam. Coincidentally, I get a warm fuzzy feeling when I put on my Home Depot back brace (or maybe I just think it makes me look cool).

Jam and his thunder shirt

Next we've placed a new crate downstairs and we're giving it all the positive vibes that a little place could get, with treats and toys and praises to Jam for going in on his own, which he will readily do because he doesn't fear the crate at all--he just doesn't want to be left alone there or anywhere for very long. We're also playing games where I go out one door and return though another, always with the leaving and returning a very positive thing. Cheryl's doing something similar at school. And Cheryl put a peanut butter Kong in the freezer to see if that will make a nice crate companion for him. Step by step, and we're seeing improvement at home and school.

Jam looking good. Damn!

Last night was a big dog meeting and a presentation by Jennifer Garrity of Southeastern Guide Dogs--I continue to be impressed by all the professional and nice people from there. Jam breathed heavily during much of the meeting and he let out little whiney noises. He very much wanted to check out an un-neutered black lab male just a few feet away. At 8 months old Jam is dealing with an ever increasing dose of testosterone in his system, but that, in dog life or human, is no defense for bad behavior.

At the meeting

Next month Jam goes in for breeder evaluation. More later...

Puppy Camp at the Clearwater Courthouse

2012-01-15T09:15:00.002-05:00

Jam was at Justice's house for a week before he started limping and had to come home. He went to puppy camp with Bob and Karen to have them help with some separation anxiety problems he was having. They were making progress.

Karen works at the Clearwater Courthouse and sent some of the photos she took of Jam's time with her.

Jam sitting in front of dock.

Jam sitting in front of the Korean War Memorial.

Jam lying down in front of the memorial looking very handsome.

Jam on the shore of a lake with kayakers in the background. He doesn't seem anxious to jump in and join them.

Jam up on the witness stand by the American flag.

Jam resting by someone's feet. (I'm assuming Karen's)

Jam with flags in the background looking like he is ready to pronounce the verdict.

Jam in the courtroom.

Jam getting ready to go to court.

Jam and one of the bailiffs.

Karen, Jam and the bailiff.

Jam and two other Southeastern Guide Dog puppies play with a toy nicely. Jam is on the far right.

Three puppies all pulling on the toy. Each one thinks he is the boss. Jam is on the far right.

Three Cup Jam

2012-01-11T17:11:00.000-05:00

By Fred
Jam is limping again, and tomorrow I'll take him to the vet to see if he can determine the cause. In the meantime Jam is stuck at home again with me, sighing from the sheer boredom of it all, of not being able to play or run or go out for a ride. Poor guy.

So I decided we would play a game using the little Dansk coffee cups that Cheryl and I got for a wedding present. Who uses little coffee cups anymore, right?

The game was find the kibble: 3 cups and a small, crunchy bite of kibble (good for teeth). While I was interested in explaining the fine points of the game, Jam was already aware of the kibble on the floor behind my back, and he was not interested in the cups that I'd arranged in front of him on the floor.

I put the kibble under one of the cups and mixed them up. He didn't hesitate for a minute (a typical novice gambler), but it was the wrong cup...

Then he got a little desperate and accused me of cheating.

And then, after two wrong choices, he got sad. Gambling is for losers...

But then he sniffed and realized that he should have been trusting his nose all along.

Full Day of Justice

2012-01-08T10:16:00.000-05:00

Justice is lying down on the floor next to Eileen. They are ready for class.

Justice had a very full day on Friday. She went to 5 classes and one pep rally! Plus, she had lunch duty in the cafeteria (which was very exciting and full of tasty tidbits on the ground which were very hard to avoid), but she gave it her best effort.

By the end of the day she is sacked out. Here she is asleep in front of the LCD cart.

At the very last class, I took off her coat and walked her slowly to every student and let them pet her if they wanted. Justice was calm and composed. The students were calm too.

As for the pep rally, she hardly blinked an eye at the pipe and drum corps, the 500+ students screaming and clapping and the loud rock music of the cheerleaders.

Good job!

Justice Goes to School

2012-01-04T21:17:00.002-05:00

Justice, sitting by library table and looking to her right.

Today, Justice went to school. Makes you wonder about what was needed at the school. Well, we evidently needed a lot of loving as she was a little lovebug today. She did a great job with the kids, walking with me as I taught four classes in the library. She didn't like being left at the table, so I took her with me as I walked around answering questions. She was a little nosy, peeking into backpacks, but on the whole, was very good.

We also worked on greetings and sitting, which is a challenge for the wiggler. But overall, it was a very good school day for Justice!

Justice Arrives for Puppy Camp!

2012-01-02T13:40:00.002-05:00

Justice, who is doing a two week puppy camp with us, arrived on the 1st (Jam is at Justice's house). Justice is sponsored by the Clearwater Courthouse. She is super happy and quite a wiggler and tail wagger. She reminds me somewhat of Doug from the movie Up.

Screensaver image of Dug from the Pixar movie Up.

She and Willow have already become fast friends. It should be a happy two weeks at the McLean household. I hope things are going as well at Jam's puppy camp!

Christmas Eve Boat Parade

2011-12-30T10:30:00.001-05:00

We were invited to a party on Christmas Eve at Duke and Eric the Red's house. And since a puppy raiser was throwing the party, Jam was invited and this time Willow got to come as well (Willow is our 10 year old chocolate lab)!

Jam lying down on the deck with his Christmas collar on.

All told, there were six dogs at the party, five big dogs and one little puppy. Well, let me rephrase that. four crazy, boy dogs, one lady, and a little puppy. Whenever the boys got too rambunctuous, Willow would remove herself from the rolling, kicking whirling mass of boy-dog craziness and come sit next to me or Melisa's mom.

Eric the red was too small to be let off leash to run with the big dogs. So he watched from the deck. But he's so happy, he didn't mind.

Eric the red sitting pretty with a big smile on his face.

What was so fascinating about this particular grouping was that there was absolutely no aggression in any of the boys at all. When they played with the toys, they all wanted to play together, but they were all really sweet about it.

All four big dogs (Jam, Dawson, Trapper and Duke) playing with the same blue tug toy.

When one of them would end up with the toy, that dog would go over to another and wave it in their face until the game was on again.

Dawson, Trapper and Jam with the tug toy.

This game went on ALL NIGHT.

All four of them wrestling with the tug toy again.

We did make them sit for a photo.

A six dog sit on the steps of the deck: Willow, Jam, Dawson, Eric, Duke and Trapper (and various humans).

I may have Duke and Trapper mixed up. It's hard to tell them apart. I'm not sure which one is lighter in color.

I was a little worried about having them all in the house, but they actually did pretty well inside. There was only one incident of puppy crazies (not Jam!) involving couch jumping, but other than that everyone was on their best behavior.

After a delicious dinner during which the dogs acted very good under the table, we went outside to watch the boat parade. Music, flashing lights, boats driving back and forth, dancing Santa. None if it phased the dogs.

While Willow was content to nap during the party, Jam would absolutely not! No napping, no stopping, no turning it off. So, when we got into the car to go home, he crashed.

Boat parade = successful exposure! (And a lovely party with delightful friends 8-) A good time was had by all participants.

I Never Dreamed I Would Do It Too!

2011-12-26T17:25:00.001-05:00

There are just some things that you don't ever imagine yourself doing. In fact, often times, you have dreams about them. Anxiety dreams, they call them. Where you dream you are naked in class or in a business meeting. How will I give this presentation without my clothes? It's a very upsetting dream and usually indicates a disturbed mind, or at least that you are disturbed about something. I think. Whatever.

My dreams usually involve monsters and whales and dark water. No, those are nightmares. Usually, really strange things happen like a baby with a golden arm appears and then something else happens. Let's just say that once, on a hike up Sabino Canyon in Tucson, AZ with some friends we were talking about dreams and I told one of mine. One of the girls in the group looked at me a little strangely and said, "You should really see a Jungian therapist. They would love to get a hold of you." Somehow that sounded vaguely threatening, so I never did go find a Jungian therapist and gradually, the whales, the dark water and monsters faded away to plain old anxiety dreams of nakedness. Like everyone else has. I like to think that my happiness in raising guide dog puppies had fostered a sense of contentment and well being that has provided a safe haven for my subconscious to go on vacation and not have to dream up such elaborate scenarios at night. Until today.

Two years ago I told a story about Bingo doing the poo hunch in the middle of Westshore Mall and that I picked up his 50lb self and ran him out the door (which was quite a distance away! Pretty good for an middle-aged, out of shape lady!). Crisis averted. Carolyn then shared one of her poo stories which made me laugh so hard I though I was going to shoot coffee out my nose. I apologize Carolyn. I sincerely apologize. I completely understand now why you did what you did. But I get ahead of myself...

Today, we took the Jamster to Home Depot. As we were walking in, I thought to myself, "It's about 3:30, he had a big pee. That's good. Is there something else I should be thinking about?" Then my pea brain went off to think about Bed, Bath and Beyond, which was our next stop. What did I need, blah blah blah. We went in and started walking around. Fred had a HUGE list of things he needed. So I said I would go look at bathroom towel racks where I took a lovely photo of Jam as he looked at himself in the mirrors. I also got some cute video.

Jam, lying down, in front of some mirrors in the bathroom department. You would think this would be foreshadowing, wouldn't you?

Then we found Fred and he sent us on this wild goose chase to find shelf doodads, and we wandered up and down aisles and couldn't find them. We met back up Fred and it is now about 4:15. The sweet spot for Jam as far as poo goes is right after breakfast, sometimes a 10 am poo and between 4:30 and 5:30 pm. He is REGULAR. No fooling around. So as we start to turn down the aisle I feel a little tug on the leash. I look down and it's the dreaded poo hunch!

CRAP (so to speak!). Now I have two choices: Let him poo (not a choice!) or take him out (we are far from the entrance). But, and here's the big question: Has he actually committed himself, or is he just hunched like Bingo?

Mind you all of this is going through my head in a fraction of a second as Fred is walking off down the aisle.

What do I do? I have to check to see if he is committed. Otherwise I can carry him. So, I

I reach behind him.

I reach behind him and I feel for poo.

Yep. He's committed.

In a big way.

It falls into my left hand. Oh my God. I have poo in my hand. My dog just pooped in my hand. I look up and there are people in the aisle. Did they see him poop in my hand? This is a real life anxiety dream only I am fully clothed and holding poo! And my dog is going to pump out some more!

I leap up. I can't carry him with a hand full of poo, so a RUN down the aisle with poor Jam running after me like his underwear is around his ankles. We run as fast as we can to the exit. Mind you, Jam CANNOT POO IN COAT. So my main goal (aside from getting poo out of hand) is to get the coat off of him and let him shoot poo out his butt in a safe place.

Right there by the exit is an orange bucket with a garbage sack. OMG I have to get this poo out of my hand. I stop for a micro second to throw the poo into the bucket and in that microsecond Jam has squirted out another poo WHICH I HAVE CAUGHT! OMG. I throw that one away as well and run Jam out the door and over to the median grassy area and yank the coat off of him.

I can hear the sigh of relief as he finishes his poo. I can also her the laughter as one of the Home Depot customers walks out to his car.

I tell myself, I have on all my clothes. It could have been worse.

Santa's Little Helper

2011-12-21T17:03:00.000-05:00

Jam lying on the floor in his Santa hat and Christmas collar.

Today, an odd thing happened. Jam performed a task, unasked of course, but he did it twice and it was so strange that we think he was moved by the Christmas spirit.

We had a friend stop over and she had two gift bags: one for Fred and one for me. Since we weren't going to see her at Christmas, we started to open our bags. Now, we didn't have a bag for her. Her gift was in a little stuffed snowman, but Jam didn't know that. As we were exclaiming over our gifts, Jam went over to the Christmas tree, grabbed a gift bag and pulled it over to our friend's feet.

"OH!" She said.

"Jam!" I looked at the bag and at her. "I guess he wants you to have a bag too." I looked at Jam and said, "No, Jam," and then put the bag back under the tree. Then I returned to opening my presents as there were still things to pull out of my gift bag.

Jam walked over to the tree. He grabbed the gift bag again with his teeth and he dragged it over to our friend and left it at her feet and then he looked up at her.

"Jam. I got her a present. It's okay." I returned the bag to the tree.

Jam gave me a skeptical look, but he didn't move it again.

Jam: Santa's little helper. Making sure all is right with the world and present distribution is fair.

Sock Boot Camp

2011-12-17T16:03:00.002-05:00

You know from a couple of days ago that Jam has a predilection for socks (new or used) actually clothing items of any kind, but preferably socks. Socks and hosiery happen to be very dangerous as they can be easily ingested, but then depending on the dog not necessarily easily digested or regurgitated. Jam, happily, was able to regurgitate his sock (twice) and thus eliminate the problem.

However, because Jam is such an incredibly obdurate canine, I have extreme doubts as to whether he learned any lesson from the morning "yak session." In fact, given a smelly, vomit sock stinking up a low, open trash can and no Mom and Dad around to say No, I think he would be happy to stick his white, freckled muzzle in and grab a tasty, nasty snack.

Example of a sock that came in contact with Jam and has the holes to prove it.

With that in mind, I was resolved to start Jam on a strict Sock Boot Camp regimen.

Same sock, underside, more holes. Bad Jam.

Sock Boot Camp? What is that? Well, it involves giving Jam lots of opportunities to get a sock and then not letting him actually get the sock. As our Area Coordinator is always telling us, it is very important that during the obedience training that you dog doesn't succeed in getting whatever it is on the ground that he is training around.

So, I set up a great little training ground in the garden room and take Jam in there and within about 20 seconds Jam has snatched up the sock and it is like he has Lock Jaw. Not only that, but the Drop It command is an invitation to PLAY and he is bound and determined not to drop it.

It's like it is high noon and I am John Wayne, old, crotchety and with a sore back facing down a young, good looking Clint Eastwood. Clint is going to win.

Time to change the rules. We move the obedience to a different spot.

Now I set it all up and begin again. ARGH!! Jam just barely grabs the sock. But this time, I am in control and manage a correction and a cool and forceful Drop It.

It works. He drops it. Awesome.

The trainers say that all your emotions go straight down the leash, so if you don't feel like training, don't do it. If you aren't confident, the dog will know. Just relax, take a deep breath and believe in yourself and more importantly believe what you are doing is the right thing for the health and welfare of the dog.

Then try again. Worked for me.

Here's our second try at Sock Boot Camp. It won't be his last attendance at SBC. He will have many repeated visits as he is probably a repeat offender. But we WILL get him to ignore socks and open trash cans!

But, even with a closed trash can, problems can still occur....

So, training will continue on an as needed basis. Because as we know, Jammy is a complete bonehead and will need constant reminders that socks are best left alone!

Blues Brothers

2011-12-15T15:20:00.000-05:00

Jam is on crate-rest this week, though the term is an oxymoron in his case--he does not rest in the crate at all, especially if Cheryl and I then leave the room after he gets into the crate.

So, for this entire week Jam has been home with me, on Fred-rest, following me around in our regular routine, except without the walks and other fun stuff.

A Blue Jam

Jam has been limping on his right front right paw for several days now, though he doesn't mind if we touch the paw or leg, and it doesn't seem to hurt him in any particular place. He doesn't lick it or grimace or do anything to indicate discomfort. He just limps. So we're keeping him as quiet as possible.

Years ago I had a friend named John T., a very funny, personable and talkative guy. I've always gravitated toward such people (Cheryl is certainly one of these). John told me that he once picked up John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd hitchhiking and invited them to his house for a party in Little Rock. This was back before Saturday Night Live, back when these guys were completely unknown. (Other people that I know, and trust, have confirmed that this story is true.)

John T. said that the two future blues brothers talked through the entire party, pretending to be characters and telling jokes, until everyone hurt from laughing so much. The incredible part of the story is that John T. could not get in a word at that party; he never stopped talking in my presence.

Some people are just naturally funny, and some more than others. Normally I am very comfortable in my boring skin, down at the very low end of the personality spectrum. But I can't stand to see little Jam so bored, unable to even take a walk around the block. He looks up at me with those eyes, like he is saying "Please let me do something fun..."

Yes, this week we are a couple of blues brothers--the real kind...

Jam's New Nickname: Bonehead

2011-12-14T05:59:00.001-05:00

We've noticed that Jam has a problem. It's a bit of a cloth addiction. He wants to have something soft in his mouth when he gets up in the morning or at night going up and down the stairs. This compulsion of his usually results in his grabbing a sock, which we make him drop.

He's gotten wise to that. He now runs into the bedroom, grabs any piece of clothing he can reach, and then runs out of the bedroom as fast as he can. He's not quite a greased pig, but almost as hard to get a hold of. So things, generally go like this:

Jam runs into the bedroom and spies one of Fred's shirt's on the dresser. He grabs it and whirls around. I'm three feet away and scream, "NO! Drop it!"

Jam, sensing that NO is really just a small speedbump on the way to YES, fakes right and manages to get by me. He races to the bathroom door and then turns at the head of the stairs and clenches the shirt in his mouth.

"Jam. I am serious." I say, completely ignoring the fact that trainer Jennifer has told us many times that talking like this is of no use to the dog. "Drop it." I'm also too far away to make good on my Drop it command, which is bad thing number 2. Jam, of course, being the stubborn bonehead that he is, ignores me, waits until I am two steps away and then gallops down the stairs.

"ARGHHHHHH!" I stare at Jam. Jam has his butt in the air doing a down dog position daring me to come and get the shirt. Again, I forget about talking to him and talk to him. "Seriously, dude? I am NOT coming down there."

I think he is laughing.

Another Morning

5:18 am

I wake up to the dulcet sounds of Jam yakking up something in his crate. I turn on the lights and open the crate door. He gives me a pained look and walks over to the white rug and promptly yaks up again on it.

Bile. I look in the crate. It looks like mostly bile, but there seems to be a pile of something. I shut the crate door and go to get the toilet paper. As I am cleaning, I notice that his pile of vomit seems to have writing on it. What does it say? I can barely make it out.

Adidas!

He ate an entire golf sock. ARGH! I clean it all up and throw it away in the bathroom trash can. Then as I am totally awake now (reading vomit will do that to a person), I take Jam and Willow downstairs for their breakfast. I have no appetite.

Jam, as usual, scarfs his breakfast down and then as I am fixing myself a restorative cup of coffee, he disappears. "Fred, have you seen Jam. Is he in there with you?"

"No."

"Crap. I have a bad feeling about this." Bad feeling as in birth of a blockhead. I run back upstairs and Jam meets me at the head of the stairs licking his lips. Another bad sign. "Jam. What have you done?" I run into the bathroom and look around. Nothing looks amiss. I look in the bedroom. Same there. I go back into the bathroom. Then it hits me.

Vomit sock. Oh no!

I walk over to the trash can.

I look in.

No vomit sock.

Jam in his Santa outfit looking handsome and not like he would eat a vomit sock.

He ate it. Again. You wouldn't think this handsome boy would eat a vomit sock would you? But he would. In a heartbeat. He's a blockhead. A stubborn, stubborn boy. He's the puppy that tried for 55 minutes to get up on the front seat on the way home from Southeastern Guide Dogs. Why are we surprised?

So what did we do? We got out the hydrogen peroxide and we made him throw it up. With his breakfast.

Lesson: Get a new trashcan with a lid! AND make sure all socks make it into the laundry basket!

Holiday Convocation

2011-12-04T12:08:00.001-05:00

Friday was the wrap-in and the holiday convo. The wrap-in involved visiting pre-k, wrapping presents with them, writing notes to the kids where the gifts were going to go (they were being donated to a local charity), and then going to the all school convo where there was to be much singing and revelry.

Of course, Jam had to be dressed in his holiday attire, provided by his number one fan English teacher Caroline Clarke. Once we got to pre-k, the biggest challenge was to keep him from mouthing the little kids. When he is excited, he goes to take your hand in his mouth and that was his first reaction upon entering the room. So, we walked around and around and at various times tried to visit small children to see if he had calmed down. He did. Five minutes before we left. By that time, he was so exhausted he slept the rest of the day and most of this weekend!

Jam is laying down on the gym floor with his Santa hat on and his Christmas collar on. He has his head on his paws and looks tired.

Here he is getting ready to sleep during the holiday convo. Below is a shot of him waking up and looking around. He has no idea what is going on and little care about it either.

Here is Jam with his head up (Santa hat still on!) looking sleepily to the left.

He has so little care, indeed, that when the Highlander Band began to play that he just gave up and fell asleep. DURING BAGPIPES AND DRUMS.

Poor baby. It's rough being so cute and popular.

Jam at the Movies

2011-11-29T14:01:00.001-05:00

By Fred
We had our first night out at the movies with Jam this weekend--the new Muppet movie. You just never know what to expect on the dog's first movie. Bingo was a notorious critic and hard to please; he would yawn and snore so loud we were almost always forced to leave. Berkeley was pretty quiet. However, she somehow got the idea that when the movie ended and everyone stood up, it was her job to get us out of the theater first. Small bladder and big determination.

Predictably, Jam had his mind set on food and on the odors left behind, both of which can be found in abundance in the dark recesses under theater seats. He squirmed and sniffed struggled to reach this or that kernel of popcorn for quite a whie before giving up to watch the Muppet movie.

It's not that easy being Jam...

Too bad Ray Charles isn't still alive, or they could have done this duet again.

Ladies Man

2011-11-21T08:20:00.001-05:00

Two weeks ago, we had a wedding to go to in Dover, FL. And we thought it best if Jam had a babysitter. So, we sent out a call for a sitter. Lynn and her girls responded that they could do it, but that Jam would have to be up for camping with her daughter as she was going on a Girl Scout overnight on Saturday. Would that be okay with us?

Would that be okay, indeed! YES!

So we went to the wedding knowing that Jam would be well cared for and would have a host of new experiences:

Girl Scouts (screaming, giggling, running, jumping, etc.)
Camping
Bonfires
Smores, avoiding eating them
I can only imagine what else ...

We were waiting for the call on Sunday from Lynn to come and get Jam. We waited and waited. Then about 3:30 pm, Lynn called.

"We are about to leave the campground. It's up in Tarpon." she said.

"Oh great!" I said, "Why don't you just drop him off on your way?"

"Oh no." Pause. "I couldn't do that." Pause. "He needs a bath."

"Naw. Just drop him off."

"No. Really! I can't give him back to you like this. We will bathe him first!" she said. There was a smile in her voice. "He had a very good time."

Jam is in the center of a group of Girl Scouts. He is seated. There are three scouts to his left and to to his right. Lynn's daughter is next to Jam on the left.

Cultural Activities

2011-11-18T15:33:00.006-05:00

When Cheryl is away
For the weekend, like this one,
Time crawls to a stop.

The dogs look to me
For fun times, and finding none,
Respond with a sigh.

"Let's watch some TV,"
I said, but they would prefer
To dig up cat poop

…in the yard.

Dream a Little Dream

2011-11-11T10:09:00.005-05:00

By Fred
During the past several weeks Jam has gotten more and more excited about the prospect of getting out of his crate in the morning. He seemed to have an internal clock that went off about 15 minutes before Cheryl and I wanted to get out of bed, and he whimpered and whined with the strangest sounds ever to come from a dog. He was becoming a real pest.

But the other morning I woke up before Cheryl. I could hear her gentle breathing--not snoring (I would never imply such a thing), but more like the gentle rush and flow of the waves at the beach, in and out, pleasing to my ears because I know she is dreaming nice thoughts about me.

So I remained very still, waiting for Jam to start up his silliness. But he never did, at least not until Cheryl's audible breathing became quiet and she stirred a little, and this was nearly an hour past our normal time.

Was he listening to her? This was my new theory, but I didn't say anything to Cheryl. Later that afternoon I took a short nap with him next to the bed. I woke up with him staring into my face. "Just 10 more minutes," I said, but he started whining and being silly, shaking his tail around. So I closed my eyes and faked a gentle snore. And he laid back down on the floor, immediately.

Last night I told Cheryl about the theory, and this morning we tested it. Or at least I did--I'm not sure if she was awake or not, but she was not at all quiet (again, it is a pleasant sort of thing). Jam didn't make a sound.

Then the alarm went off and so did Jam. But that's another issue, and maybe we need to abandon the alarm. He's getting much better, and now he knows that, once we are up out of bed, he has to be quiet before he gets out.

So, all along we thought Jam could be a pretty rude dog, especially in the morning. It turns out that he's a polite and considerate dog after all, but only when he thinks we are asleep.

Strange Thing about Physical Therapy

2011-11-07T22:13:00.000-05:00

About a month and half ago, perhaps more, I sprained my ankle letting Jam out to busy one dark morning. For the past 4 weeks I have been going to physical therapy to retrain my ankle to recognize when it is falling so it can correct itself and I won't hurt myself again.

Usually, all this occurs on a Tuesday. Usually. Last week, was, unusual.

I had Jam on a Tuesday. I don't know why, but I did and that meant that he had to come to PT with me. I hadn't thought it out, but the day was over and it was time to go to PT and there was just no choice.

We had to go.

Of course, they loved him. To start. He was very good. To start. Megan, my PT, started me on the treadmill. 6 minutes of me walking sideways: two on one side, two on the other and two backwards. Jam was fascinated with the treadmill. The big open room filled with physical therapists and their patients were fascinated with me and Jam.

I was sweating and it wasn't because of the treadmill.

"Jam. Sit." He sat. "Down." He went down. "Stay." He stayed ... up he popped. I'm on the treadmill remember.

I leaned a little over the treadmill.

"Jam. Sit." He sat. "Down." He went down. "Stay." He stayed.....up he popped.

Criminy how much longer on this torture device? 4 minutes! OMG. I will never make it.

JAM! SIT! He sat. DOWN. He went down. For 2:25. Up he popped. Now I am walking backwards and try to attempt a sit, my PT Megan races over and stops the machine as she waits for me to get Jam down. I must have looked a bit tipsy. Hmmmm.

Now we are on the balance board. Jam likes that. He watches and he watches through the weight machine. But when she walked me over to the place where you stand on one foot and throw a ball at a trampoline, I just looked at her.

"Oh. Perhaps we should skip that one for this week."

"I would really appreciate it!" Jam was giving me the evil eye. He knew something was up. So she set me up on a weird stretcher pulling thing and I started to do some exercises while standing and attached to a post in the middle of the room. Jam was attached to a table as seen below.

Jam sitting by a Physical Therapy table.

Jam did not like my being so far away and gave a preemptive come over here bark. Everyone got very quiet as they watched to see what I would do. I went hot and then I went cold. Oh poo.

"No noise, Jam."

BARK! (Read, Come here right now, I mean it!) This was followed up with a little back pedalling because he knew he wasn't supposed to do that.

"No noise." I waited a few moments for the quiet to sink in and then unhooked myself and went over to where he was and got him. Then took him back to where I was. I was really tense, but I could tell Jam was too. So when I got him next to me, I put my hand on his head and in a really calm voice I said, "SHHHHHHHH."

We both calmed down. I finished the set.

Then we went back to the table.

This is my trainer Megan. She really loves labs, so after the session, I took Jam's coat off so she could pet him. Jam is lying down next to her.

Next time, if there is a next time, Jam needs to be super tired and worn out before coming to PT.

Tim, The Enchanter

2011-11-06T15:16:00.003-05:00

There are three boys from the Heather-Jack litter in our obedience class: Jam, Lucky and Tim. Lucky seems pretty laid back with a little bit of silliness, but Tim, he's quite different altogether. I call him Tim the Enchanter. Here he is when he is being good and not egging Jam on to bad behavior.

Photo of Tim laying down by his puppy raiser. Fred and Jam are behind them. Jam is standing and reacting to something, could Tim be sending silent signals?

However, sometimes, Tim will change from Good Tim into Tim the Enchanter and then all bets are off.

Photo of John Cleese playing Tim the Enchanter from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Once the Enchanter is in the house, Jam is completely out to lunch, which is what happened when Trainer Karen decided we were going to do the meet and greet exercise, which is where two puppies and their raisers walk towards each other and try to get closer and closer without one of the puppies completely losing their snot. As Trainer Karen proceeded to pair the puppies up, Tim and Jam ended up with each other. OOOOH. Two 6 month old boys who just got their nuggets and are filled with testosterone. This is going to be fun.

I walked Jam back a bit for the exercise to begin. We started to come together. Jam eyed the evil Tim and realized the duel had begun. Clearly, a calm walk forward was NOT called for. What was needed was a LEAPING JUMP and then GRAB HIM BY THE NECK ALA CALL OF THE WILD!

We backed off and tried again, but as soon as we backed up, Jam was already laser locked on Tim's eyes. Did it matter that Tim was looking down and wagging his tail. No! Tim had obviously issued a challenge. Jam was honor bound to return said challenge. They met and clashed again like a pair of jousting knights. Rather Tim calmly walked forward and Jam leap forward and grabbed his neck in a mad dog wrestling lock a la Andre the Giant and prepared to toss Tim to the ground when I yanked him back.

Hmmm. This duel wasn't going as Jam expected. Each time they met, the leash holder was screwing it up for him. What was he doing wrong? Could it be the obvious stare down he was giving Tim? Could it be the foreshadowing of the leaping jump that was about to come? All of this Trainer Karen was able to point out to me.

"Don't look at the person coming towards you. Look at Jam. He will signal what he plans to do. Then you just need to correct him before he does it, when he signals his intentions. And give lots of praise afterwards."

So take that enchanters! No longer will Jam respond to your evil challenges. I have your number! He will be a good boy from now on. I am walking with intention and looking at Jam and if I walk into a wall, you had better not laugh!

After all, this is for a good cause. And laughing would be wrong. Oh so wrong. 8-)

A Funeral for a Fish

2011-11-01T16:46:00.006-04:00

By Fred
My favorite fish died today. She was a sweet little fish, never fussing or complaining. I called her Calico because she was the cutest combination of red and white that you can imagine on a Koi (or any other creature for that matter).

Our tradition here is to hold a fish funeral each time one our wet little friends passes into the big pond. In this case the fish cemetery is our bamboo stand, because our bamboo are also very fond of fish. Next year a big bamboo shoot will jump up in this place.

I thought that because Calico was a special fish, Jam and Willow should be in attendance, especially as this would be a new exposure for Jam, but they only attended the service, not the burial itself--I didn't want them to tempted to dig up our little friend later on.

Here's Jam and Willow at the service, and I was surprised to see them take it so hard. Poor Jam is crying like a baby. Or maybe he just caught a scent in the air?

News from the Queen

2011-10-31T11:05:00.000-04:00

I received another email from Chrissy at Southeastern Guide Dogs saying that Her Royal Highness was fitting into the family beautifully. They also sent some more photos. Since they didn't give me an explicit release to post their photos on the internet, I'm just posting the one with the dogs only! 8-)

HRH is in the bed at the far back laying down with her head up surveying the room in a comfy bed. There is a bed in front of her with a yellow lab who is asleep and in front of that bed is a black lab who doesn't have a bed.

As you can see from the photo above HRH now has minions and has become comfortable enough in her new home to start bossing them around. She has even taken over one of their beds, forcing the older, fatter one to sleep on the floor near her as she watches her domain.

I can rest easy knowing our little majesty is now firmly in charge of her new kingdom. Having asserted her brand of sweet, regal rule, life will be forever changed for them. I feel a bit sorry that she didn't come with a small warning label as her wiggly cuteness is enough to overwhelm all common sense, but in time, they, like much like those incorporated into the borg view their Borg Queen, will see that is better to be ruled by HRH than not to have had her in their lives at all.

Carry on, HRH.

Strawberry Jam

2011-10-30T09:03:00.001-04:00

Jam with his Halloween costume on. It is a red felt strawberry on a green felt coat (the green coat is the same shape as their blue puppy coat). He is laying down.

Yesterday was our Halloween Parade and Jam was a hit. I must say, though, I was surprised that I had to explain his costume as many times as I did. I thought it was a sure thing. I only had three people (two students and one faculty member) who came up and said, "Oh! Strawberry Jam! I get it."

Here is the entire sandwich fixing group. I'm kneeling in front with Jam who is standing and showing off his costume. From the left is Eileen, who is Fluff, Pilar who is Nutella, Jan who is crunchy Skippy, and Caroline who is creamy Jif.

Jam only occasionally would turn around and try to bite the strawberry. Mostly he was good about it. I had his blue coat on underneath it.

Here we are at the Halloween parade. The kids are just about ready to march in front of us. I'm kneeling beside Jam who is sitting and looking off to the left.

Making a Strawberry Costume

Now, you might think that I am pretty clever, putting that beautiful strawberry together, but I actually only did the very basic stuff like buy all the material, cut out the green felt coat (which is based on his blue guide dog coat) and then I went to the experts: Jan and Christina.

Jan is on the left (she was crunchy peanut butter) and Caroline is smooth. Jam is sitting between Caroline's legs.

Jan and Christina pulled up images of strawberries and then drew a large strawberry and transferred to the red felt and cut it out. Then Christina made a green strawberry cap and cut it out and I glued everything on, the strawberry, the cap and the seeds. I attached it all with adhesive velcro which eliminated any sewing. It was pretty easy, on the whole. If you have a Jan and a Christina around to help you!!!

I hope your Halloween is this fun.

Training Class 1

2011-10-27T06:57:00.006-04:00

By Fred
Last week we had the first of our four training classes with Karen at the Southeastern Guide Dogs facility. As usual, Jam was pretty well behaved, obedient and attentive at the beginning of class, and then he gradually unwound and finally melted down altogether. Our other dogs tended to get better at the end of a meeting or class. But Jam consistently gets worse.

Of course, these classes are for the humans, not the dogs. The trainers are attempting to teach us what is infinitely more complicated than it seems: to effectively communicate with a dog. The basic concepts can be taught, like teaching a student how to paint with watercolors, but dog training is an art form that quickly gets into concepts that are difficult to express in words, like asking the student to "now paint something beautiful."

Anyway, after about 30 minutes of class (and to our great surprise), Jam started jumping very high into the air, like Snoopy doing his dance. Does he just have a short attention span? Is he being lazy or stubborn? Is he being intentionally sarcastic, ironic, silly? Does he feel under challenged, over challenged?

Or maybe he just wants to be a dancer?

Parents often find that a child has ambitions that are, well, unexpected. Too bad for Jam. Dance school is out of the question. He is going to obedience class because we are determined about his future: guide dog.

Foodie

2011-10-24T05:55:00.002-04:00

Jam is food obsessed. Forget the magic door. For a week now, he thought there were treats above my cabinets and he tried climbing things to get to them.

Seriously. He would get on stools and try to climb up on cabinets.

He. Is. Obsessed. By. Food.

Extreme closeup of Jam's profile. He is waiting to be fed and has a bit of a yearning look to him.

There is no food in my office for him anymore. I used to keep spare food for when we did film festivals and such, but now it is in the workroom far away from his questing nose.

He will only get in his crate with the promise of a few kibbles. He has separation anxiety and doesn't like to be alone, getting him to go into the bedroom in the daytime is tantamount to leading him to an execution. He starts to drag his feet and look around.

"It's daylight. It's not bedtime. Hey! Are you planning on leaving me in here ALONE!"

One shake of the kibble box and a Kennel In and he's all "I'm THERE!!!" with a happy face. But no kibble, and it would be a full on drama king throw down. And since I don't want the kennel to be a bad thing, I bring out two or three kibbles and he's a happy Jam.

But lately, lunchtime was getting to be a bit of a slog. No, No, No, No. We couldn't go two feet without a correction and he was lunging for everything: actual food, crumbs, and even spots on the linoleum. It got to where I was considering not taking him, but that wouldn't work as this was an important part of his training. So I decided to do a prelunch foray into middle division.

They were not so boisterous and messy. And they loved him. A lot.

By the end he had it. Now we just have to do a prelunch foray every Mon-Wed-Fri.

Oh my.

Hats

2011-10-23T08:08:00.000-04:00

Her Royal Highness Berkeley was let go from the program because she had a fear of strangers. Jam is pretty solid, but I wanted to make sure that he was going to pass the stranger danger test, so I asked our middle division drama teacher Mr. Huls if he would help.

Mr Huls' 6th Grade Drama Class. Mr. Huls is standing at the back and Jam and I are sitting on the right side.

I thought if the kids would come out in different hats and costumes in front of Jam, we could give him the experience of seeing people in different outfits. Then if he exhibited any type of fear, we could see how he did and take action and modify how the kids came out.

He didn't show any fear at all. He loved it. If anything, he was a bit too into it. I think he is a little bit of a drama king. Every outfit that came out he wanted. I could just hear his thought process too:

"Wouldn't that look good against my white blonde fur?"

"Lovely, but I would rather chew on it."

"Looks like something to eat" (said about the butterfly, he does chase them).

"I LOVE FEATHERS!!! WHY DOESN'T SHE BUY ME A FEATHER COLLAR?"

I may have created a monster.

Jam's Sleepaway Adventure

2011-10-19T21:07:00.000-04:00

Saturday, I woke up at 4:30 am. Why? Because it was the Model United Nations tournament at UCF and it was also the traditional hotel experience for our guide dog puppy in training. Bingo and Berkeley had both had their hotel experience at this tournament. They were smooth sailing.

Jam, however, was a bit of a drama king.

The MUN team at 5:30 am in front of the bus before we get on the road. Jam and I will follow behind them.

Because I have Jam and the extra large crate, I bring the car and travel with dog and crate in a car behind the bus. I thought it was going to be an uneventful ride, but it didn't start out that way. We hadn't even made it off campus before I looked at the passenger seat and panicked. Where is his coat? I can't take him anywhere if I don't have his coat?

I know I put it in the car. And I know it was in the passenger seat. Ryan helped me with the crate, perhaps it fell out when we moved it. Crap, the bus is going to get ahead of me. I pull over and start to do my OCD madwoman search for the coat. No coat. CRAP. WHERE IS THE COAT?

Perhaps it fell out literally on the ground in front of the library. So I drive back to the library and look. NO. ARGH!!!!! I could scream. Actually, I do a little foot stomp and some hair pulling, but nothing too dramatic as the guard in the guard shack can see me. Then I see a jacket and pull it out. There, crumpled up with the jacket is his coat. Woot!

The bus is now about 7-9 minutes ahead of me. Poo sticks.

Things remained uneventful until it suddenly dawned on me that I didn't have the check for the hotel.

"Michele. Do you have the check for the hotel or do I?" I said into my iPhone. Inside, I know the answer.

"You do."

"No. I don't. It's back in my office. I'll get off at the next exit and go back." Mind you, we are 50 miles into the trip. Jam is sleeping peacefully. I get off at the next exit and start back to Tampa. Michele calls and says we should just charge it and to forget about the check. I get back on the highway towards Orlando. The bus is a good 15 minutes ahead of me. There is no way I am catching up.

This is where usually I make a very bad mapping decision. Where most people would just stay the course and keep on track, I, however, feel the need to fly off the handle and flail about wildly. Generally, this is very amusing to the people around me and someone can say, "Cheryl, that doesn't make sense" and I won't do it. However, all I have is Jam and he is snoring, so instead of staying on 417 like I should have, I decided that my GPS system knew a better way. This is the same GPS system that took me on only surface streets to a place near Orlando because I had inadvertently set some button to not use the highway. Seriously? There's a button that does that? Who wants that button?

I'm a bit like Michael Scott when it comes to GPS systems.

So, after the tollbooth, I don't listen to Michele tell me that it's super easy to get to Panera from 417, I get off 417 and start out on the surface streets. It's 22 miles. Several miles later, it's still 22 miles and I'm confused and I call Michele.

"Where are you? Have you gotten to Panera yet?" I'm still the same distance away from Panera that I was 10 minutes ago. I seem to have gone back in time. I hate Orlando. Michele starts to tell me about how to get to Panera and I don't have the heart to tell her that I am no where near 417. I just agree.

I arrive 20 minutes later. Jam has been popping up and looking out the window and then looking at me accusingly: "Why are we STILL on the road?" It's kind of like the look he is giving me below on the bus.

Jam sitting on a bus. He is looking up at the camera from the space in front of the seats.

He didn't seem to mind being on the bus with the kids, but he didn't love it either. He managed the stairs just fine.

Jam and Andre at UCF's campus at the beginning of the KNIGHTMUN tournament. Jam is lying down in coat.

He was super with the kids and behaved great all day long. He was great in the bookstore and at lunch.

Jam is lying down and contemplating the far distance as the kids try to figure out where they are going.

The problem came when we went to sleep. Jam HATES his travel crate. Jam is the ultimate drama king. So when the time for bed came, he did not want to go into the crate. We got him in, but he started to whine. Then when I went to brush my teeth, he started to bark. Barking and hotel rooms do NOT mix.

Jam and Michele in the Courtyard Marriott hotel room. Jam is sitting by the bed.

What to do? Well, there wasn't much choice at this time. He got to sleep on a tie-down. I waited until he fell asleep (after midnight) because I didn't want him to chew anything. Then when he was asleep, I turned out the lights and went to bed.

At 3 am and 5 am Jam leaped up on the bed (all four paws) and had to be put back on the floor and told to go to sleep again. I had put the tie-down too long, evidently, but at 3 am and 5 am, this didn't occur to me.

So he made it through the night and didn't destroy anything. Yea!

Didn't like his travel crate and wouldn't sleep in it. Boo!

Was a really good boy in the hotel, restaurant and bookstore all day long. Yea!

Was amazing with elevators and actually seemed to get the find the elevator command by the end of the weekend. Super yea!

Overall, a solid win for Jam at the MUN tournament.

Afternoon Classes

2011-10-13T11:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Jam helped with my Advanced Placement US History classes. Mostly, he gave moral support to those students who were researching quietly at their desks.

Jam is nestled next to Carly's backpack and chair as she looks on her laptop for some online resources.

Unfortunately, over to the right, where you couldn't see, there was a backpack with a stuffed Eeyore on it. Jam found it and wanted it. Wanted it BAD. Every time I went over there to answer a question, Jam went as well and lunged for the stuffed animal. Then it was a fight.

Jam finally fell asleep. Fighting for Eeyore or my lecture?

Overall, he was a great boy in class today. No barking. No chewing. No roughhousing. Just sleeping and a bit of Eeyore fascination. And who doesn't want to take a bite out of Eeyore? He's so darn depressing!

HRH Berkeley Has Found a Home

2011-10-10T21:37:00.001-04:00

When we picked up Berkeley fromSoutheastern, the Kennel Master told us, “Make sure you don’t coddle her. This is a soft litter.” Meaning the litter was a bit timid and fearful. So right from the beginning, Her Royal Highness Berkeley had some things toovercome and with everyone’s help she made amazing progress.

When we found outshe was afraid of balloons, Emma, a junior, was sweet and stayed and worked with herwith the birthday balloon she had brought to school. When we found outshe was afraid of people with headphones, Andrew, a sophomore, stayed and worked withher until she was comfortable with him and those headphones.

But there is a reason that only 40% (the last statistic I have heard) ofthe guide dogs in training make it as guide dogs. It is a very, verytough and demanding job that requires the dog really want that to be his/herprofession. When it came down to it, Berkeley could not overcome her fearof strangers. There is a test they do where she and her trainer are in aroom and a stranger comes in. Berkeley was fine. Then the strangerwent out and put on headphones or sunglasses or a hat. Each time,Berkeley became fearful and scared of the stranger, which disqualified her.

However, BECAUSE OF ALL THE LOVE ANDHARD WORK MY SCHOOL PUT INTO HER TRAINING, BECAUSE OF THE SUPPORT WE FELT FROM OUR BLOG READERS AND FROM OUR FELLOW PUPPY RAISERS AND ACs WHO MAKE EVERY MEETING VALUABLE it did not disqualify her from beingadopted to another family, which is what happened. I’ve waited until Ihad all the details to pass on and frankly, I'm teary writing this. I can’t tell you how much everyone’ssupport means to me and to Fred. We couldn’t do this alone. It does take a village. A crazy, dog-filled village.

Belowis the story of her adoptive family.

Thank you,

Fred and Cheryl

This email came from Chrissy at Southeastern Guide Dogs. She is in charge of Placement:

Dana and Marion have always been a 3dog household. They have also been involved with Southeastern Guide Dogs formany years – supporting us and adopting from us. Knowing one of their dogs wasgetting older, they put themselves back on our adoption waiting list about ayear ago. When their 12 year old career change dog passed away last month, theywere heartbroken. They let us know that she passed and sent a donation in hermemory.

I had planned ongiving Dana a call this week to give my condolences and see if/when they wouldbe ready to adopt again, but he beat me to the punch by stopping in. He toldme that he was in the area and wanted to touch base with me. When heexpressed that he and Marion were feeling a void in their household, I askedif he thought they were ready to adopt again. He said yes so I asked whatkind of dog they would prefer. He told me that they would love any dog, but ifthey had to be picky, they would prefer a female black Lab. I knew that I had just the girl for them and asked if he’d like to meet her.

It was love at first sight! Berkeleygave Dana a few licks on the cheek and within 10 minutes, they were spooning onthe lobby floor – Berkeley bellyup. It was a done deal!

HRH Berkeley is one the far left and looks like she is giving some orders about who is going to get that treat!

Dana and Marion couldn’t stop thankingme and feel incredibly lucky to have another great Southeastern dog in theirlife. However, I think Berkeley gotthe best end of the deal as she will be living a life of luxury with them. She will spend most of the year at their home on the river inthe Jacksonville and spend her summers at their home in Maine.

Looking Good and Hockey: Two Things That Go Together

2011-10-10T16:55:00.001-04:00

Jam is a good looking lab. In fact, he is uncommonly good looking. I had a senior boy tell me the other day, "It just melts my heart to look at him. I have to look away or I won't obey the rules of the coat."

He's that good looking. And we do what we can to keep him polished and sparkly. Last week, I noticed that his nails were getting a bit longish. Clawlike even, some of them. The back ones were fine, but some of the front ones, were a bit too much. So, out came the Peticure Elite.

What, you might ask, is the Peticure Elite? Well, since Fred and I both are not into clipping nails and having blood spurting out of nail beds and traumatizing or maiming dogs to the point of them never wanting their nails to be clipped again, we have become fully enamored of this device that you can pick up at Amazon for about $10 + shipping. We love it. Here is a photo of the machine.

photo of the peticure elite logo on the handle of the machine

It is small and hand held. It does make a little noise, so you need to get your pup used to the noise first.

Here is a look at where the dog's nail goes.

The dog's nail goes into a small hole and gets slowly worn down by a spinning file. It is gentle and safe.

The whole thing is about 8-9 inches long.

All told, it is about 8-9 inches long and is on a rechargeable battery. It is pretty convenient to use.

Of course, I had to video the whole process of getting him used to the noise, testing it on his nail and then filing his foot.

You could also use a Kong or favorite toy that will divert your dog's attention.

Jam gazes at Fred while he fiddles with the Peticure.

After Jam was all sparkly, he felt good enough to go to the hockey game.

Jam has his back to the camera and is watching the action on the ice.

Jam was very interested in the game. He watched them for the first period.

Jam seems to follow the players from one side of the rink to the other. He is facing to the right watching our guys try to score.

Jam has his legs over the wooden bleachers and seems very intent on watching the ice. The score was not in our favor.

Unfortunately, Jam couldn't help the guys score. It might have been fun to let him out on the ice as a distraction for the other team, but it wouldn't have been fair. Although, he was looking mighty fine that night. All the little girls in attendance thought so.

He's too sexy for his coat!

Going to the Courthouse

2011-10-10T09:20:00.000-04:00

Jam paying attention during the meeting.

Two weeks ago we had our meeting at the Clearwater Courthouse, which is where Karen, one of our puppy raisers, works. It was a great experience for all of the puppies. The following video captures some of the obedience lesson we had (stay and come recalls down a very looooong hallway) and up some open glass stairways. There was also a brief encounter with a floor polishing machine.

All in all a very successful meeting. Thanks Karen and Judy.

Our Central Pinellas group.

Jam Meets a Horse While Being Puppy Sat

2011-10-08T12:24:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, Fred and I jetted off to New York to visit dear friends (and see The Book of Mormon) and celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We had to leave Jam behind. But we had an awesome puppy sitter in Heather and her family who opened their home and took him in and took him on some great adventures. They took excellent care of him! Here is her account of what all he did while in her care:

Jam always kept me company as I got ready for the day. :)

Jam in bathroom.

I kid you not, when I pulled out the camera, he started posing!

Jam posing in bathroom

(Here is Jam on the bathroom rug.)

Jam on the rug.

Here he is in the wheel well on the car ride to school. (They have a big SUV, which is a new experience for Jam! We have very tiny cars (Prius and Honda Fit).)

Jam in the wheel well.

Here are some photos of Jam relaxing at my school desk.

Jam under Heather's desk.

Here he is not paying attention to the lesson, which is my favorite!

Jam, asleep, under Heather's desk.

After school Heather took him to her stable to meet her horse Scout. Jam had never been to a stable or meet any big animals, so this was a huge deal.

Jam, as seen from the top, stepping onto green grass of stables yard.

Jam steps foot on the barn property. He is very calm.

Jam, looking up, still on stables grass.

Here he is with the Stable bench

Jam sitting beside bench that reads Amber Glen Stables.

Here he is with Heather and the bench.

Jam and Heather sitting next to Amber Glen Stables bench.

He is walking confidently towards the barn now.

A look from behind as Heather and Jam walk toward the barn.

Jam, walking toward camera, on his way to barn.

Now we are approaching the stable.

Jam,stopped, standing next to Heather, in the barn.

Stepping foot inside the barn aisle-way. His first meeting with Scout. He's still very confident.

Jam, leaning up to the stable door of Scout's area.

First greeting with my horse - Scout, nose to nose. I picked him up, so he could have a better view :)

Jam and Scout are nose to nose.

Scout has pulled back a bit but Jam is still leaning forward toward him.

(CD- I think this is great! No fear here, just curiosity.)

Heather is holding a 40 pound Jam in her arms!

Jam's just a big baby! :). Now some photos of Jam and Scout together.

Jam is on the ground and Scout is 4-5 feet away. They aren't looking at each other.

Below, Jam seems pretty unconcerned.

Jam is lying down and licking something as Scout eyes him.

Now it is Scout's turn to play hard to get.

Now Scout licks something and Jam looks delicately away.

Sizing each other up.

Jam and Scout make eye contact.

Jam on the stable floor. Having fun.

Jam lying on the stable floor with a happy look on his face.

Jam and Scout, hanging out.

Scout's face in the foreground with Jam in the background on the stable floor.

Jam and Scout, sharing a secret.

Jam is standing leaning up to Scout's nose.

Jam seems awfully intent on telling Scout something.

Jam is sniffing Scout's mouth.

Jam and Scout both look down to the floor.

Curious looks.

Jam and Scout both give each other some curious looks.

Then, it was back home. Squinting from the flash.

Jam squints his eyes to protect them from the flash.

He was keeping me company while I did my homework :)

Jam is on the floor with his wubba and is looking up at Heather.

Jam rode this bus.

Jam is standing in front of a big silver bus.

And he also went with us to restaurants.

Jam is lying done on the floor.

Under table at the Frog Pond restaurant.

Jam has fallen asleep.

Where he fell asleep.

Summary of Jam's adventures:

Jam had a busy stay with me for the duration of his sitting. He attended school with me at my homeschool co-op for several days and did great! The students and teachers adored him. Being the handsome boy that he is, he received many compliments. He slept under my desk during class hours and happily led me around the property during break and lunch times.

Jam also visited the equestrian facility where my horse Scout lives. Not once did he show fear. He was confident and upbeat the entire barn visit, with the numerous sights, sounds, and crazy smells he experienced.

Jam also experienced a ride on a charter bus. He tackled the huge step at the bus entrance, and laid under my seat when we were situated. After his bus ride, we went to the Frog Pond restaurant in Madeira Beach, where we sat near a table with a working service dog named Irish. It was such a neat coincidence! Many of the customers and restaurant staff visited our tables to take a look at the dogs. Irish and Jam behaved beautifully, and neither one really payed attention to the other.

Lastly, Jam was able to go into work with my mom on the weekend. He was able to see an office environment and explore out of coat. The big "scary" copier machines did not phase him in the slightest.

Thank you for letting me watch your baby! Jam (aka Jammie, Jam-o... he picked up a few nicknames during his visit :)) is a beautiful, sweet little pup, and I wish him the best of luck with his training. Hopefully after his visit he can check off a few more things on that exposure checklist that all of us puppy raisers work so diligently to accomplish!

Your fellow puppy raiser,

Heather

Must Not Chew the Rug

2011-09-25T10:31:00.006-04:00

By Fred
Cheryl gets back from her school trip today, and we all will be pleased. The house can take on a certain melancholy when she's away despite my attempts to make everything lighthearted and fun for Jam and Willow.

We see a daily improvement in Jam's self control. There's one rug in the living room, in particular, that tempts him to the limit. Every dog, no matter how well behaved, that comes into the house has a problem resisting this woven rug and its silky tassels. So I couldn't blame Jam if the temptation is too much for him.

But Jam is finally getting the idea. Here we are, having one of our typical fun moments at home.

Narration: Jam is resting comfortably on the rug, but when he thinks no one is watching, he opens his mouth and considers taking a big bite. His inner struggle is apparent, and we feel the tension. But then a calmness overcomes him and he rests his head on the floor. Good boy.

Vitamin K

2011-09-23T09:59:00.007-04:00

By Fred
Jam continues to do well following our scare with the rat poison. We distributed some flyers in the neighborhood so that everyone could inspect their yards and so that the offending poisoner could correct the problem. It wasn't an intentional poisoning--it's pretty clear that someone didn't understand how to secure the plastic packets, and the rats ran off with some of them and into our yard.

The flyer said this:

To our neighbors:
Our dog found some rat poison in our yard Saturday. He is fine, but it was a real scare for us. The poison is called First Strike Soft Bait, and it comes in small clear plastic packets, about the size of a coffee creamer packet. [showed a picture here]
If you are using this or any poison, please read the instructions carefully. The poison should be secured in such a way that a rat or mouse cannot grab the packets and carry them away to another place. This endangers all the wild animals, pets and small children in the neighborhood.
We found several of the packets in our yard. And we’ve heard reports that some squirrels were recently found dead nearby. Please check your yard carefully.

And I put it on all the doors in the neighborhood. No one has come forward, and I am not holding my breath. I did notice a flurry of activity in the neighborhood, with piles of brush carried to the street for pickup.

During the course of this, we have learned much about rat poison and how it works (at least this particular kind) and what to do about it. The poison has a delayed reaction, working on the blood's ability to clot and depleting the animal's normal level of Vitamin K. So, the treatment (after, of course, getting the dog to throw up right away) is to introduce Vitamin K back into the system. We're pretty sure that very little, if any, of the poison got into his system, but the Vitamin K is important just in case.

Cheryl took the Vitamin K prescription to CVS and was told it would cost $400. That's right, $400 for 5 days of pills.

We learned that it would be cheaper if we got it from an animal emergency clinic, so we took Jam and the prescription to the very nice people at Animal Emergency and Urgent Care. The vet there suggested a chewable pill that was 50 mg (instead of the prescribed 40 mg). Would you guess that the prescription would then cost $500? No. The final bill for the Vitamin K: $12.25. That's right, twelve dollars and change.

Anyway, Jam is happy and doing fine. Maybe someone else can fix the health care system and pharmaceutical industry.

Diary of a Near Disaster

2011-09-18T16:31:00.001-04:00

It was mid-morning and I was talking on the phone in our peaceful and serene backyard as Willow and Jam ran around and did their business. Jam and Willow were more interested in playing under the orange tree and then running back to the koi pond. I followed them to the other side of the yard.

Jam ran over the bridge with Willow and Willow dodged right and headed around the ponds and back to the deck. Jam, didn't. He was distracted by the giant white bird of paradise bushes by the back fence. So distracted that he shoved his head and shoulders into the bush and remained there for several seconds.

"Uh, Jam's back at the bushes and he's doing something. I'm going to check on him." I ran over and grabbed him by the collar and yanked him out of the bushes.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. (I often talk to my pets and they hardly ever answer me except Jam. He will tilt his head and give me a quizzical expression.) His mouth looked weird. I yanked open his jaw and it was BRIGHT AVATAR BLUE!

I hung up on Stephanie and reached into Jam's mouth and did the mouth sweep, where you take your fingers and sweep them from the back of the mouth to the front trying to get all the gunk out of the mouth. Then I did a side/jowl sweep in case any blue gunk was secreted there. Then,

I ran screaming for Fred.

"FRED! FRED! Jam's eaten poison or something I think it is poison. It's blue. RUN!" This to the man mowing the lawn who has no idea what is going on. He RUNS into the backyard. By this time I have the hose and am squirting it in Jam's mouth to get residual blue gunk off his teeth. Jam is not pleased.

"Poison! On the bridge, from his mouth, it was in the bird of paradise. I don't know what it was. See if there is more there."

Two maybe three minutes have passed. I do the first step of the proscribed things you are supposed to do in an emergency:

1. Call Your Area Coordinator

Judy doesn't answer! While I am leaving a message, Judy calls me. I tell her what is going on (hysterically of course). She very calmly asks me if we know what it is that he ate.

"FRED!"

"I found more! It looks like it was in a nest."

Here is one of the ones Fred found.

This is one of the ones we took out of Jam's mouth.

Meanwhile, Fred brings one to me to tell Judy, and I half coherently tell her that it looks like some kind of animal poison/bait that was left out. Judy says she wants to check something and will call us right back. Thirty seconds later, she calls back and we have our marching plans:

Give Jam 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide (to make him throw up). This should work within 10 minutes, it actually only took 8 minutes for the baby to puke. Once he pukes, then we can make a further determination on what to do.

This is another one Fred found that we could read the name of the poison that was used. Meanwhile, I have more control over myself and am not crying and can talk sensibly and explain that the poison looks old and weathered and that it seems that what has happened is that an idiot neighbor didn't follow instructions and left poison packets out and the squirrels came and gathered them up and took them away into their nests to eat at a later date. Since we subsequently found out (when Fred went door to door to talk with all our neighbors about this and to leave pamphlets) that some of them have been finding dead squirrels in their yard.

Judy and I had a memorable photo texting experience as Jam did barf at the 8 minute mark and it was the world's most anticipated barf you have ever wanted to see. I actually looked through the barf for chunks of poison and then sent vomit photos via text messaging to Judy. Wanna see? Sure you do!

That is his breakfast and all the black circles are indicating small spots of blue that were the bits of poison that he had ingested.

Judy also wanted us to watch for tremors, discharge from the eyes and nose and any changes to his demeanor. If you look up this poison, which is a rat poison, it is not supposed to be left out in packets. It is supposed to be secured. So whomever is using it, is doing so irresponsibly. This particular poison in dogs attacks their ability for the blood to coagulate and causes internal bleeding. So another good test is to look at their gums and see if they are pink. If they are grey, that's bad. If they are pink, and when you press on them they are slow to return to pink, that's bad. If they return to pink quickly, all is well. A look at the inside of eyelid is good too: grey = bad, red = good.

One of the reasons this particular poison is so bad is that the animals are adept at hiding it. This is where Fred and Jam found it:

Fred is now scouring our backyard for any remnants of this poison. It is difficult as you can see by the above photo, because animals build nests in weird places. We have koi ponds so we are completely organic and don't use any chemicals at all on our lawn (mostly xeriscaped) and in the house we use a natural pest control company (Nature's Safeway) due to Fred's aversion to killing anything (me, I am happy to stomp a spider or a bug!). So finding poison in our yard seems "Inconceivable!" as Vizzini would say.

But there are ways to make sure that this doesn't happen to you.

Of course, never let your puppy out without supervision. Jam was being supervised and that is what saved him. If I hadn't known that he had eaten something, he would have ingested it, digested it and things would have been traumatic and ended badly.
Call your AC first. When she didn't answer, my second thought was to call another AC whom I knew, instead of the emergency number, but that would have been the wrong move. Our AC is responsible for our group's dogs. Then it goes up the chain to the emergency number.
Put your AC and the emergency number on your cell phone so you don't have to search for it. If I hadn't had Judy's number in my cell, I would have lost my mind! So go do that right now, before you finish reading this blog. Hopefully, you will never have to thank me for it.

Judy was amazing. She was calm, cool and collected and had all the answers we needed to get us through the crisis.

Make sure you have your doggie medicine kit filled and ready to go. It's all in the manual, but I repeat it here. I recommend carrying one in the car as well.

“Dog Owners Home Veterinary Handbook,” Carlson DVM & Giffin MD
Cotton balls: cleaning ears
Tweezers: splinters, sand spurs, & tick removal
Gauze (sterile): eye cleaning, teeth cleaning, and stopping bleeding
Thermometer: rectal (normal temp. of dogs 100.5-102.5)
Hydrogen peroxide 3%: minor cuts (can induce vomiting - 1 T)
Pepto Bismol: vomiting, diarrhea
Kaopectate: (liquid for young pups, tablets for older pups) diarrhea
Hibiclens: general skin cleansing for raw & sore spots, hot spots
Betadine: scratches, hot spots, small cuts, sores
Benadryl: bee stings, ant bites, see Health and Vet Care for dosages
Ammens foot powder: antibiotic powder, hot spots
Buffered aspirin: relief of pain, 5 grams/25 lbs. 2 x daily (NOT enteric coated)
Mal Acetic Otic (DermaPet) solution to clean ears
Nail clippers: to keep nails clipped
Sterile ophthalmic saline: to flush out eyes

And go hug your dog.

Healing Puppy Time

2011-09-17T09:54:00.000-04:00

You wouldn't think that a slug like the one pictured above, asleep on his back the perfect photo of a dog gone wild and degenerate and sleeping off a bender would be the one dog to help with all the sadness, hurt, rotten test scores and general stress that can occur on a school campus. But he does. He takes it all on his strong back and then, I guess, rolls over on it and goes to sleep.

For instance, on Wednesday, I walked him out for his morning poo, which had been delayed and I was sure was imminent. To the side of our usual potty grounds, there was a Verizon truck with the Verizon man standing and watching what was going on around campus. He watched as I took Jam's coat off and asked him to "Busy, Busy."

"What a beautiful dog," he said. I replied that, yes, Jam was awesome and he was a guide dog in training, to which the man said, he knew, which was why he didn't come over to pet him. I told him I was waiting for him to potty, trying to be delicate knowing that something indelicate was about to happen.

"I had to put my yellow lab to sleep a couple of weeks ago. She was a great girl." He said. "She looked kinda like him."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." Jam is now doing the poo circle dance and I'm trying to look nonchalant as I listen to him tell his story.

"She was the best. She ended up getting cancer and we just couldn't let her go through that." He steps over the bushes as Jam finishes up and I get out my poo bag.

"My boys loved her," He inched a little closer as I tied off the bag and dropped it on the ground. Jam was already staring at him and waiting. I turned to him.

"You know after she died, I was cleaning out my truck and I found this thumb drive," He kneeled down and I had Jam sit to be pet, but he was way ahead of me and laid down and rolled over for a belly scratch. "So I opened it up. You know, we have all these azaleas in the back yard and one year they had bloomed and were really pretty. I guess I had taken some photos. There were 12 photos on the drive and 10 of them were of her in front of those azaleas."

He reached up under his sunglasses and started to wipe away tears, but his other hand kept petting Jam.

"Well, isn't that her last gift to you?" I said.

"You know, we just got her for the boys." He said as he stood up and thanked me.

Sure you did, I thought.

Home School

2011-09-09T10:52:00.007-04:00

By Fred
Far away from the glamour and excitement that is Berkeley Prep School, our Jam is suffering through a stint of extended home schooling, all due to Cheryl's unfortunate ankle-twisting that has left her on crutches and unable to manage a leash. Jam's normal schedule (one day fun, the next day with me) will be interrupted for a while, such that I'm feeling pressured to become a more fun person.

Of course, no one can be more fun than my wife (except when she is peeved at me).

Yesterday, Jam and I had nice walk and visit to the neighborhood grocery store, a small place where everyone knows Jam, and I passed a very confused-looking grandmotherly person who seemed not to know her onions from her potatoes. A few minutes later I saw her again, this time at the manager's desk.

"And there he is," said the store manager (who is one of Jam's biggest fans) with a big grin, pointing at Jam with great surprise.

The woman seemed vindicated. "I knew I saw a dog."

As the store manager began to patiently explain the situation, Jam and I slipped away. Far away.

Back at home we decided to have some training that Judy introduced during a recent meeting. I've been working with Jam since then, and it's been a real help, especially in the grocery store.

Narration: In this movie I place an almond on the kitchen floor and step away, hoping that Jam won't gobble it up. Feeling confident, I decide to move out of his sight. Then I get nervous and run around to the other opening. But there he is, and there is the almond. He wags his tail, so I don't think the training is stressing him out. Willow is there, too, and at least in this case she seems to have a calming influence on him.
I know, I say the "Stay" command twice. Don't be so critical

News of Her Royal Highness

2011-09-08T16:48:00.001-04:00

It seems like only yesterday that Her Royal Highness(HRH) was with us as a little puppy. She was so sweet and small and commanding. Her shy aspect in her 6 week photo didn't let on to a dictatorial and autocratic personality soon to blossom.

Well, we have received her harness photo. She is gorgeous as you can see below.

Clearly, comparisons with the young Elizabeth I, a strong queen, could be made. her report card said she was making friends and playing well with others. This is quite a good thing as Bingo did not and was kicked out for being possessive of his personal space. HRH is learning to get along. Good girl.

She is having a bit of a problem with high traffic areas, showing a little hesitation, but the report card said she is working on it and shows promise. What I do know about HRH is that given time and encouragement, she always overcomes. Not the first out of the gate, but a solid finisher.
Now, we have had more news of HRH. We were told that she has been career changed. She showed stranger fear and was not considered guide dog material, but she is still in the running for a public service job, which is good, because HRH wants to work! This little girl needs someone to command! We have been told that she is being evaluated for her canine good companion certificate which may take several months to complete and during that time they will decide which public service job she holds the most aptitude for: bomb sniffing, veteran's assistance, search and rescue, and my personal favorite canine connections. From the first time I heard about the canine connections program, which just started and is for children ages 10-17, I knew it was for HRH. In this program dogs are placed as companions with children who are either visually impaired or have a condition that may lead to blindness as a way of getting them familiar with the idea of working with a guide dog. HRH is one dedicated and commanding lady. She would fulfill that role with an amazing amount of confidence. She is a very dedicated personality. Our fingers are crossed.You go girl!

Jam's Half Brother Carbon

2011-09-06T02:56:00.001-04:00

Our neighbor Stephanie turned in her puppy raiser application and unexpectedly got a puppy 3 days later. Carbon is Jam's half brother as they share the same dad, Jack. So, about a week ago I took Jam over to say hello.

He was quite interested to meet the little guy. Of course, Carbon had had a rough start. He had had some medical issues and was just now declared ready for puppy raising, so he was a little bit on the shy side.

Jam is not at all on the shy side. As you can see, Carbon didn't want to come too close to the scary Jam. He was very content to stay far away.

He had such a puzzled expression on his face, like he just could not understand Jam's exuberance.

But he did finally make it into Stephanie's lap and then he made it a little closer to Jam, and then he made it over to Jam. Finally, we decamped to the kitchen which seemed neutral territory and they romped for a bit and had fun. I think they will get along just fine.

Your Sunday Morning Moment of Zen

2011-09-04T09:21:00.000-04:00

Jam found some catnip or some dog equivalent in the backyard. He had a lovely time.Enjoy!

Jam and the Bear

2011-09-03T15:56:00.007-04:00

Once a month Jam goes to see his namesake: Joseph A. Merluzzi and his wife so that they can see how he is maturing and progressing. This month, Jam got to see their bear footstool.

It was quite an exposure for him. I think it was one of the only things so far that has upset him. He jumped back, had the hair on his spine raised, but his tail was still wagging and he was willing to approach the small bear when asked to do so.

Of course, there was a bit of Jamminess that took place. But I should let you watch the video.

Jam: the Great Bear Hunter.

Airport Meeting

2011-09-03T11:53:00.008-04:00

Our Tuesday night meeting was held at the Clearwater Airport. We had a combined meeting, which was fun as we got to see some familiar faces from down south.

The purpose was to get an exposure to some very specific travel hazards that visually impaired people and their guide dogs might encounter. The first one that we went to was the baggage claim area.

Normally, you would just think of baggage claim as an annoying place to wait for your luggage. In fact, it is a noisy, potentially scary place for puppies. think about the alarm that sounds before the baggage claim luggage mover starts to move (and what is the name for that?!!). There is even a revolving police light! I have NEVER noticed that light before.

So we all crowded around and waited for the siren and lights and the baggage claim thingy to move. then they placed some baggage on it and let it come around. Jam was curious, but unfazed. Jam is so super cool. Really, nothing fazes him.

Then it was on to security.

Security is a major deal. ANYTHING can happen. You can check back to our previous posts about taking a dog through the airport to see that you can have a great experience on a flight out and a horrible one on the flight back. With THE SAME AIRLINE. It all depends on the attendant and whether they are feeling the love.

So it all really rests on you and how you handle the situation. So, some things you can do:

1. Always remain calm, cool and collected.
2. If there is a way to exploit your dog's cuteness, use it. It never hurts.
3. When making your reservation, make sure to tell the airline that you will be traveling with a service dog. They put a special code next to your reservation. It might also be a good idea to call the local airline a day before and ask if they have it noted on your reservation.
4. Be confident. Approach the ticket counter with a smile and have your dog sit and stay. Never use the word puppy. You have a service dog in training. If possible, try to get them to list your dog carrier as an assistive device and not charge you for it. Some managers have done this for us, some haven't. You may not always get this, but it worth asking for.

Now, I recommend that you don't get the largest dog crate to travel with and that you don't travel with it put together (see previous post). It exceeds the largest luggage allowance and if you get a cranky attendant they are going to stick it to you ($125 fee). Then you have to deconstruct the crate and somehow get it to stay together. Better to travel with it deconstructed or buy the smaller one and never have that problem. TRUST ME!!!

When going through security, there are a myriad of things that can happen. You can have a security guard go off her meds and run screaming from the security area:

"I'm afraid of dogs! I'm afraid of dogs!" As happened to one of our puppy raisers. No problem with the puppy getting excited about that hysterical person. Right!

Or you can have the person selected to give you a pat down be afraid of dogs and ask for backup, as happened to me. Making it a menage a tois of a really weird sort with a distracted, jumping 70-pound puppy leaping up and the security guard trying to pat me down shrieking and veering away from me. Lovely. I thought Fred was going to cry he was laughing so hard.

Trust me. You want security calm and happy.

Approach them and tell them what you would like to do.

1. I would like to go through the machine first.
2. I will have my dog sit and stay on the passenger side and I will walk through.
3. Once I have passed through, I will call my dog.
4. Once he has passed through, you can pat him down.

Explain that leaving the leash and collar on will make sure that there isn't a loose dog running around. Ask if this procedure meets with their approval or if they have another procedure they want to follow.

Sometimes they have special short line they put you in. Yea! I love it when that happens.

If you can get the bulkhead sit, take it. There is lots of room. Make sure though, that you keep your dog in your seat area and don't allow him to spread out to the other passenger's space. Encroachment is rude.

If you don't get the bulkhead, don't despair. We have traveled with two dogs, one tiny and one large. They both fit under the seat, no problem. Do a down under and you're good to go.

It was an amazing meeting. Our thanks to all the employees at Clearwater Airport, Michele Routh, the head of marketing, for arranging it, Clearwater TSA and Alligiant Air for letting us board a plane. They really helped us out! And to Judy and John our ACs for making it happen.

Here's a video of some of what we did at the airport!

Jam's Second Week at School

2011-09-02T17:23:00.007-04:00

Jam completed his second week at school. The main problem we have been having is that he has become a bit bitey when people go to pet him when he has his coat off. So I have instituted a firm, withhold affection at the first sign of biting policy.

Here's a photo of two of my upper division students enacting the policy. They were great. Every time he tried to bite, they would turn around and ignore him. Then they would try again. When he got bitey, withdraw. They were wonderful. Some kids are better at it than others. For those who just don't understand the policy, I end up saying Jam is tired and put his coat back on.

Other than that, Jam has been very, very good. So good in fact, that I thought, perhaps, since our student library proctor inductions were this Friday, perhaps I will bring him up on stage with me. After all, what could go wrong? (Was Bingo only two years ago? 8-)

Friday Morning

Jam has a pretty regular poo schedule. He has a morning breakfast poo and an 8:30 poo. But he missed his 8:30 poo. Convo was at 10. It was 9:30 and he hadn't had his poo. Hmmm. This might be a problem.

Perhaps I should walk him around for a bit. Besides, I wanted him tired.

We did some stairways and some obedience so that his brain would be exhausted. Then I walked him over to Lykes. I took off his coat and we did a poo walk.

Success! There would be no hunching over on the stage! Whew. What a video that would make.

We walked into the Lykes Theater. I realized that I didn't have anyone waiting in the wings to hand Jam off to if he acted up. I was going Kamakazi Solo on this one, but I thought he could do it. Bingo, NO WAY! Berkeley, there would be barking.

But Jam. I had a feeling that my chill dude would be ok on the stage. Why don't you watch the video and let me know what you think?

Jam's First Week

2011-08-27T10:43:00.007-04:00

What a week it has been! On Monday, Jam rode with me to school to his first day of a school filled with students. It was quite exciting.

As you can see from the photo above, Jam has taken his full water bowl and flipped it over preferring that it be a chew toy. Of course, now, it looks like he had a giant pee on the floor! Great! This is what the morning crazies are about. Jam doing crazy things and me trying to get him calm to start the day.

Because our convocation was at 8 am and he usually has an 8:30 poo, I needed to make sure he had done his business and was extra tired out. The morning crazies can last from 7:30 to 9 am. So we did several sets of stairs and series of left-lefts and right-rights and hallways so that his little brain would be exhausted by the time we hit the auditorium.

Then we started our walk to convo. It was pretty cool the looks that Jam got. What was even more impressive was the way that the middle division students remembered all the rules. As I was walking down the hall, there was a great big group of them and they all caught sight of him at the same time.

"It's the new puppy!"

"You can't look at him!"

"Don't say his name."

"Turn around!"

So they all straighten their posture and turn around. They were so cute. We passed on by and entered the auditorium.

I thought that Jam did an exceptional job of dealing with the crowds, the clapping and the pipe and drum corps band. Both Bingo and Berkeley had some reaction to convo. Bingo would surge forward at clapping and Berkeley would get bored and bark to be taken back to my office. Jam was very calm and quiet.

But by the end of the day he was so tired that he couldn't hold his eyes open. He was comatose!

Later on in the week we did a small photo shot with some middle division faculty for his presentation to middle. Of course, I was a complete dunce and when I went to go up on stage because I started calling him Berkeley:

"Berkeley, forward. Pause. Good boy. Berkeley, sit. Long pause. Good boy. Berkeley forward up."

The kids were aghast! I had no clue I was even doing it and was wondering why he wasn't following directions well. BECAUSE I WASN'T SAYING HIS NAME! The Middle Division Director told when I came up to the microphone. Horrors!

Sigh. In front of 350 people I did this.

Then on Friday, he attended his first class with me. He was awesome! I was running the computer and lecturing when I noticed there was a little current of Ahhhhhs spreading through the room. I looked up at the teacher.

"Jam's watching the screen."

Sure enough, Jam was focused on the screen watching my explanation on how to set up an iGoogle page. He was fascinated by the mouse movement. When the mouse finally got low enough he leaped up and tried to grab it.

The kids loved him!

Here he is at my last class of the day. Calm and quiet.

Christina looked at him from behind and said he had some "junk in the trunk" and perhaps he needed to move up to the big boy coat.

He is a little big in the booty, but the big boy coat is still a couple inches out on his tail, so it's the puppy coat for a few more weeks. Although he is in the middle of a growth spurt, so who knows.

All in all it was a successful week.

Jam's First Day

2011-08-22T20:33:00.003-04:00

Jam's first day went really well. I'm preparing a little film about it, but that won't be ready tonight. However, Jam was a little nutball during the morning and I was able to catch it on film.

So, here is a bit of Monday sunshine for you. Imagine getting to have this goober in your office all day! And I do mean goober in a good way. 8-)

Jam's Upper Division Video

2011-08-21T19:17:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow Jam will be presented to the Upper Division students. On Wed., he will got to Middle and on Sept. 9th, Lower. It will be a little different for each division as the age groups are different, but hopefully, Jam will be a good boy at each presentation. I hope to have some video of each to show you.

Here's a look at the lovely time we had on July 1st going to pick him up!

Cooling Off

2011-08-18T15:08:00.007-04:00

By Fred
The dogs were so jazzed up at the start of our Tuesday training class that we took them out for a walk on the beach. Here we are, back in the room, and doesn't Cheryl look cute with her curly red hair?

Jam has decided that the Down command is beneath him, that it's somehow demeaning, and he pretends that he has no idea what you are saying while in fact he will pop down immediately in the morning when no one is looking and he's waiting for breakfast. Otherwise, like in the training class, we say Down and he gets that look of a junior high kid whose mom wants to kiss him in front of everyone.

Jam still doesn't know what to think about our neighbor's swimming pool. One thing for sure is that he's not afraid of it (or anything else, at least so far).

This time he jumped in on his own, and he swam around like a cartoon alligator, snapping his teeth at the water.

Cheerleaders Redux

2011-08-17T17:19:00.006-04:00

When I had Bingo, I made the mistake of walking him without his coat past the JV cheerleaders.

I was mobbed. Well, they didn't care about me. Bingo was mobbed.

Guess what? It happened again today.

It was late, I was tired and I knew that Jammers needed to pee, so I walked out the back way (not my usual way). I figured he could busy on the grass of the mound on the way to junior parking lot, since we had to park out there because of Middle Division Book Sale Day.

As I left the library and walked down the side of the building, I noticed that the JV cheerleaders were practicing on the mound. Had they noticed us? We were walking behind a screen of plants, but soon enough we would be out in the open.

We rounded the corner and headed into the open hallway. Jam gleamed like the Holy Grail. I could see all children under the age of 16 turning in our direction. We neared the small stairs.

Jam, sit. Good boy! Forward, down. Jam, sit. Good boy! He was trying to veer into the plants. He was filled with pee. Hold on, little grail of pee. Soon we will be at the grass. I looked over at the cheerleaders. They were on the other side of the mound and seemed to still be doing poses.

Safe, I think.

Busy, busy! Jam starts to wander around the grass to choose a spot. This might be a good spot to tell about Jam's predilection for taking a Superman pee stance. While other dogs might lean forward or hunker down or lift a leg (guide dog puppies are discouraged from lifting their leg), Jam has chosen another route. He stops mid-stride and pees.

Yep. Mid-stride. Imagine Superman leaping into the sky...

and then peeing. That would be Jam. He has one foot forward, one back and his head is lifted to the sun as if to say, I am the Sun God! Watch me pee!

So, here I wait for the Sun God to pee while the JV cheerleaders are finishing up their practice. Jam is taking his sweet time, because, YOU CAN'T RUSH A GOD WHEN HE'S PEEING.

Just when he finishes up and I think I might be able to slink off into the hallway, I hear a low roar, well, more of a high pitched, OOOOOOOHHHHHHH!

Yes. They are coming. For the Sun God.

We are mobbed.

And this is why I love cheerleaders: in the middle of the mob scene, I say ONCE, "Ok, I think we need to line up single file to pet him."

BOOM!

Single file line of 15 JV cheerleaders, who one by one file by and love on Jam.

It is, indeed, Jam's World.

Sarasota Discovery Center Meeting

2011-08-14T19:43:00.006-04:00

Saturday we had our monthly meeting in the SEGD Discovery Center in downtown Sarasota. We had the obedience part of the meeting first, then we spent the rest of the time mingling with the visitors to the Center, letting them love on our puppies and ask us about the whole puppy raiser experience.

Judy started out the meeting with a controversial move: she threw food on the ground! Well, not really. 8-) It was all part of her lesson involving getting the puppies to work on their food distractions. Evidently, getting distracted by crumbs on the floor, trying to vacuum them up, snarfing up after a meal or begging for food is one of the number one ways a puppy can get bounced from the guide dog program.

What's a puppy raiser to do? Why, train them to ignore food on the ground (Note to self: work in cafeteria more! 8-)

Here are some of the chicken treats that she placed on the ground:

As you can see by Jam's expression below, the chicken treats smell DE-LIGHTFUL! Even Annie thinks they are amazing.

Judy didn't stop with chicken, she added some other yummies as well. It was quite a pile of joyful goodness as evidenced by the lunging, drooling puppies in the background.

Jam remained at the ready to leap up and eat a pile when the word go was given. Unfortunately, that word was never given.

Judy did give the word for every raiser to try walking in a circle around the treats to see if their puppy could make without lunging.

Fred had the leash. I had the video camera. I have to say that Mick, our last puppy to go was quite...unusual. You have to wait for it. I guess somethings are more important than food.

No More Duck Buddy

2011-08-14T07:57:00.011-04:00

Below is a photo of duck buddy with his innards spilling out onto the floor. Rather a fluffy white mess.

When a friend of ours saw this in Fred's post and the original post on duck buddy, she very kindly emailed us and said stuffed toys were a no-no.

EEEK! Holy Crap. Jam is our third puppy. Are we ever going to learn this stuff? I ran to the computer to look up toys, because I was sure that if as long as the toy didn't have a squeaker I was on solid ground.

Nope. There it was in black in white:

The only approved toys are Gummabones, Nylabones, sterile bones (bought in a pet shop or catalog), and Kongs.

Stuffed toys were CLEARLY in the bolded NO category. And I completely understand. The main point of the rule is to make sure the toys the puppies play with are the safest possible. So, no stuffed toys. Jam will deal.

And we are aren't a complete waste of space. We do have approved toys in the house.

He's going to miss duck buddy though!

I think we all are. 8-)

Bath Time

2011-08-13T08:13:00.006-04:00

By Fred

Jam was being such a good boy the other day that I let him explore the back yard while I cleaned up my tools with the water hose. I've been tiling the guest bathroom and using a grey mortar for the tiles. The trowels and bucket need to be cleaned right away after I finish or the mortar will harden.

In the past I've tied Jam to a lead while I rinsed off the tools, but this time I was sure he was ready to be free.

Of course he ran right for the rushing water and through the soggy puddle, turning his white paws to gray.

So he got a quick bath. Afterward, he promised not to do anything silly like that again.

Jam's Perfect Day

2011-08-13T07:16:00.010-04:00

The day started with a Department Chair Retreat. Hardly an auspicious beginning for a perfect day, but nonetheless Jam was clueless about the day's agenda as he always is. He walked onto campus with spring in his step.

And he walked upstairs to the meeting with that same spring. This meeting would be a great test of his abilities to calm down quickly and would let me know how he would be in the classroom. I walked in with my bag of toys, laptop computer, and notepad and pens all in my big Landsend carryall and took a seat by the door. I hooked Jam to the table leg and spread a couple of toys on the ground.

Aside from slipping by me one time and managing to put his head into Cindy's lap without my knowing he had woken up and moved, he was pretty good about staying under the table and taking a nap. He made occasional forays out to take a nip at Nikky's book bag, but she did say her cat made a pillow of it and moved it out of harm's way.

Here he is sleeping while the rest of us drone on and on.

Of course, they did give us breaks. It wasn't a torture session! And during the breaks, I would take the coat off and make Jam sit to be greeted.

After the meeting, we went to lunch and he slept through lunch. Fabulous!

When I got home at 5, Fred and I decided to go to Bonefish near IRB for dinner, so we got Jam suited up. We were given a pager and we turned around in the very full bar to see a small space against the wall where we could stand with Jam out of the way. As I was walking away I thought I heard the word Berkeley.

When we got the wall, this lady places her hand on my arm and says, "He is just adorable. What is he going to be?" She and her husband both had big smiles on their faces. So Fred and went into out SEGD spiel and talked about Jam and Southeastern. Jam by this time had already fallen asleep on the floor in his patented imitation of the Neverending Story dragon (as seen below and in the header of the blog).

Fred and I had finished chatting with the couple at the bar and began to talk to each other and then the lady on my right tapped my arm and said,

"We raised a guidedog puppy." Pause. "But in New Jersey. Ours failed though and he's our pet now."

Small world. We had a delightful conversation with them about puppy raising until our pager went off. Then, our hostess, who turned out to be a 2008 graduate of my school (which is why I heard the word Berkeley!), took us to our table.

Then, Jam decided that he would play peekaboo with the table opposite us because our table was a table for two on a very heavily traveled waiter path up against a wall. Jam was constantly peeking out through my chair and trying to lung into the aisle. There was about 10 minutes of me and Jam negotiating where, indeed, he WOULD sit for dinner and it WOULD be a down under, under my chair.

This so amused the people at the table across from us that the lady had to mime to me how adorable he was, complete with cute facial expressions. I smiled and waved back to indicate I understood.

He fell asleep.

New people arrived at the table across from us. We finished dinner. Fred got up and took Jam's leash to get us ready to leave. At about this time, Jam came out from under the table with a sort of sleepy Brad Pitt look to him and did a little stretch, which set many a heart a flutter. There may have been some sharp intakes of breath.

"OOOOOOOH!"

"Would you look at him!"

The new occupants at the table opposite of us proceeded to ask me all about Jam and what he was going to be doing and told me how cute he was; all this as Fred is becoming a distant speck on the horizon. I manage to impart info quickly, yet in a friendly manner and continue down the aisle, only to be stopped by two elderly ladies.

"Oh, dear! He is just adorable. You know that."

I smiled. "Yes, he's a very good boy. He did very well tonight." Her friend leaned over.

"Just precious. So precious."

"Thank you." I patted her shoulder and wandered on down the aisle. I kept my gaze focused on the door.

When did I become Jam's stage manager?

And when did he become a rock star with fans?

Sigh. I fear a long, long year is ahead of us.

The Byzantine Brain of Jam

2011-08-11T20:20:00.008-04:00

Of course, that brain isn't Jam's. It is a drawing by Rachael Henrichson, but it makes me think that Jam's brain might actually be constructed something like her brain maze.

MONDAY

School started on Monday. I am always nervous about the start of school, so I inevitably wake up early: 5:15 am. Jam gets up with me and I feed him. That was my first mistake.

Jam's brain: Ah ha! Something new is starting. The curly haired one is actually getting up early and feeding me breakfast. I think I can manipulate her.

At school I am wearing my new back to school outfit (yes, I know! But some habits die hard and buying back to school clothes is one of those habits. 8-). They are nice linen big legged pants. They flutter when I walk. Jam begins to jump up and bite at them.

"No!" This is very weird. He has never done this before. Very strange. Off and on during the day he will attempt to bite my pants.

TUESDAY

4:44 AM Jam wakes up and thinks, "If I woke up at 5:15 and got fed yesterday, perhaps I can get fed at 4:45 today."

Or as Wimpy would say: I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

Or Wake up easily manipulated curly haired girl. FEED ME.

I wake up. We walk downstairs, he runs to the kitchen and looks back at me. I let him out to pee and then make him come back up stairs and go back to bed. GRRRRR.

WEDNESDAY

4:15 AM Jam wakes up. 4:44 didn't work. Perhaps 4:15 will work.

Me: 4:15! AUGH!!!!

I'm like Charlie Brown. I constantly fall for Jam's sneaky trick.

Whine, I need to go out. Run to the magic door. Head toss, feed me! I'm so cute!

And to top this all off, he perfected the clothing bite. It happened on a poo walk. He had just done his business and then in a moment of poo-free joy, he did a little twisty jump, leaped and grabbed my skirt.

RIIIIIIP!

Here is a photo of the ripped skirt:

My skirt is ruined. Completely bizarre. I have no idea why he has started his new habit, but it's going to get very expensive for me if it continues!

THURSDAY

Meanwhile, back at the crack of dawn, it is

3:45

That's 3:45 in the morning! and JAM THINKS HE'S GETTING BREAKFAST. I get up. We go downstairs and he runs to the magic door.

ACK! Again. I'm sooooo not falling for this tonight.

I. Am. Not. Falling. For. This. Tonight!

He thinks he's so clever.

Inside a Fuzzy Toy

2011-08-09T16:39:00.006-04:00

By Fred

(Please note: See No More Duck Buddy for most up to date info on approved toys!)

Despite Cheryl's attempt to reinforce its stitching the other day, Jam's favorite toy burst open today, finally no match for a puppy's sharp teeth. Jam was playing, as usual, like a good boy, with no malicious intent toward the duck. Then the world stopped turning, and there he stood, wide-eyed and with a wad of white stuffing in his mouth and with a look of wonder on his face.

Damn! I've been bragging about Jam and how he doesn't tear up his toys.

Now that he knows the truth--that his toy is filled with fuzzy goodness--will he be able to resist? Or is he now hooked on the fuzz?

We'll try another repair job, with stronger thread this time. I'm not giving up on him.

School Starts Tomorrow

2011-08-07T10:06:00.004-04:00

Every puppy is different. Bingo was a whack-a-doodle, Her Royal Highness Berkeley, well, her name says it all. but Jam. For a sense of what Jam is like, you really only need to look at his 6 week portrait below.

He's all business. Serious, jowly expression. "Get on with it, photographer! I have important guide dog work to be doing." He seems to be thinking.

He carries that out in his obedience as well. Full throttle, straight ahead working. That means, when you say come, you are going to get Jam in the face! We are working on stopping and sitting, but haven't yet reached the point yet.

When he sits, it's a full sit, military almost, boing! Yes ma'am! And his bottom hits the ground.

Of course with walking, he charges ahead, which isn't good. We're working on that. But he is lovely at restaurants and shops and malls.

I have a feeling that at school he will be much adored and will stop traffic just as much as he does at the mall. I've prepared a cute video about our puppy pick up of him to show on the first day of classes to the Upper Division students and hopefully to Middle Division students as well. I'll post the video when I after I show it to the students.

I think he's going to do just fine at school.

Risky Business

2011-08-06T09:42:00.017-04:00

(Please note: For most up to date info on approved toys go to this post!)

Jam is quite the looker. He stops traffic. Much the way I imagine Tom Cruise did after the release of Risky Business. Risky Business is, of course,the movie of a young person, played by Tom Cruise, ... I'm going to stop now because I thought the movie was about him wanting to go to a nice college but ending up in a bad situation making some bad choices for romance and perhaps risking it all, but in the end finding out that people can be manipulated for money and sex. IMDB's summary has more of a Ferris Bueller feel to it. But it all boils down to boys, hormones and doing things you shouldn't, sometimes in public.

Now, why does that concern Jam? Funny you should ask.

Jam came to us out of the box, ready to go. So to speak. The second day we had him, we let him out of the crate and he ran over to the huge Orvis dog bed we had for Willow and Berkeley and he started humping it.

There is something a bit disconcerting about a 9 week old puppy humping a dog bed. I reached over and grabbed his collar.

"Jam, NO!" Then I dragged him away with him struggling to get back to that AMAZING DOG BED!!! Fred claimed it was AMAZING because it contained Berkeley's scent from when she was in heat. OK. I'll buy that. Pretty much, I'm the most gullible person in any room. I will buy almost anything anyone is selling.

Then we went to introduce Jam to Fred's yoga teachers. (I say Fred's because I'm not regular enough to claim them as my own! 8-)

Martha and her husband Claude would love it if we brought our puppies to yoga and could get them to sleep during a class. We've tried. Bingo was a washout. Berkeley had to be taken home. Yet, they still persist in being very open to the idea. They are so optimistic. Just what you want in a yoga teacher. Only seeing the good.

So we took little Jamster in to meet them and they were delighted. Then we let Jam down to walk around.

In the photo with Jam and Martha and Claude in the back ground there are some yoga pillows. Those are the pillows that are spread out throughout the room for people to use for corpse pose at the end of class to lie down on. When we let Jam down, the first thing he did was eyeball those pillows.

"Pillows!" In his tiny dog brain I think he equated them with a small dog bed.

And you know what dog bed means.

"JAM!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!" I run in slow motion as our 9 week old puppy puts the moves on a yoga pillow.

HUH HUH HUH! Jam is having fun.

I scoop him up.

"Oh, my!" Martha says in a very soft voice. Fred swoops in and takes the pillow and moves it way down the wall to the end of the room. I'm thinking, "Yeah, that pillow can't be far enough away!"

Do you see Fred holding Jam up? We can't afford to let his little humping feet touch the floor. Too many pillows to hump. I took Jam home after that photo.

I wondered if it was a pillow fetish. So I brought down 5 different pillows from my bed and set up my video camera and was going to create a video and do some training at the same time. Each time I put a pillow down Jam would sniff it and walk away.

Performance anxiety, I thought.

I turned the video camera off. Still nothing. It's only the Orvis bed upstairs and only when he comes out of his crate.

So then I suggested that Stephanie take Jam into work with her one morning in preparation for puppy sitting him in October when we go to New York to see friends. I brought over his diaper back and one toy: a stuffed duck, which he loves to distraction. There had never been any hint of inappropriate behavior between duck and dog up to this point.

Here he is on the way to work.

Jam didn't have a problem with the statue in Stephanie's office. They could almost be twins.

He doesn't have a fear of heights or railings either. Here he is looking out a two story window and watching the guys mowing the lawn. He was great in the glass elevator as well.

Here he is in the office and you can just catch a glimpse of duck in the background.

Stephanie had his coat off and had given him duck to calm him down as he was a bit crazy. He was playing and then all of a sudden:

HUH HUH HUH!

"Oh my!" Stephanie thought.

As it turns out, we didn't know that duck had that appeal for Jam. Nor did we realize he would do it in public. But as Stephanie pointed out, his coat was off and it was in her office. That was some comfort.

The SEGD manual says that humping (they actually use the more delicate phrasing of mounting) is a problem behavior and ask that you contact your AC for advice. Our AC Judy said that removing the Orvis bed and correcting him when he attempts the behavior and then redirecting him was a good way to go for now. That he wasn't doing it often or in coat was good. She also suggested we talk with the new Puppy Dept. Field Representative, who is also a trainer, for more specific advice.

And as for duck. Well, we had to think about duck. Stephanie asked if we knew about his...fondness...for duck.

No. It was a complete surprise

She suggested a new name for duck and some leniency since it was the first time and he did have his coat off.

Since we will be supervising their playtime together, I suppose...he could keep...

Duck Buddy.

What JLo and Jam Have in Common

2011-08-05T10:00:00.010-04:00

We've been having a problem with Jam vomiting in the middle of the night. What seemed to work was a crate snack: a snack given just before bedtime. But right before we went in for our flu booster shot, Jam vomited again and he threw up all of the crate snack, mostly whole and undigested. At 2 am.

The vet put him on Pepcid AC twice a day and said to continue the crate snacks. That was Tuesday. That evening at obedience Judy, our AC, told us that perhaps another part of the problem was that Jam was eating too fast and not digesting his food. She recommended that we get some slow feeder bowls or put big rocks (or something he couldn't fit in his mouth and wasn't a toy) in his current bowl that he would have to eat around and would slow him down.

We had already changed to make him eat with Willow so that he would know not to charge her bowl after he was done with his. We had started feeding them separately, but realized it was better that they eat together. Just for fun, we got them each a JW skid stop slow feed bowl.

Jam usually finishes his meal in about 45 seconds. The first time we fed him with the new bowl it took him 4 MINUTES to finish his lunch!

Here he is waiting for us to put down the food in his new bowl.

I've been thinking a lot about Jam and his eating fast and being a service dog and being under such intense scrutiny. It's sort of like having the paparazzi always around. Just waiting for that unflattering photo to appear. Take the one above for instance. He's a little pear-shaped isn't he? We might even be talking about the beginnings of a booty.

Now, he hasn't jumped into JLo territory.

As you can see, poor JLo was caught showing some perfectly normal cellulite on her legs and the photo shows a substantial booty. Jam is quite a distance from a JLo booty and his fuzziness (as shown below) would certainly hide any unfortunately dimples.

.

But he is under pressure to perform. Just like JLo. Does he feel the pressure? Is that part of his problem? At night when I hand feed him to get him to eat slowly, he sits very patiently and waits for each bite. He watches to see if my hand will go back up for more food, but he doesn't ever whine or act anxious or greedy.

But when he sleeps he lets it all hang out.

JLo wouldn't do that.

Swimming at Stephanie's

2011-08-01T08:03:00.008-04:00

On Sunday we were invited to swim at Stephanie's house.

Willow is huge on swimming. I think that next to a frisbee, which we can't play when the puppy is around, pools are her favorite thing. Willow was in and out and swimming so much we made her sit on the step and cool down. Here she is with Stephanie taking a cool down break.

Jam was not so sure about the swimming, so we had to hold him and walk him into the pool. He didn't want to walk in by himself. Here Fred is holding him as he watches Willow swim by. Watching Willow was key (and being told to "man up!" by Stephanie 8-) as he became piqued and decided to give it the old Jammy try.

Fred starts to initiate the swim off. Jam seems willing.

And he's off! He swims to Stephanie, he swims to Nancy, he swims back to Fred and then he catches sight of the steps and says, "You people are nuts and I am out of here!"

He swims to the steps and gets out.

Willow jumped back in and started swimming. Jam shook his head and walked away. The mulched needed chewing. Perhaps he should go see to that...

Jam and Lydia

2011-07-31T18:58:00.008-04:00

On Friday, my good friend Christy brought her 10 and a half month old over to see Jam and to go to lunch.

It was quite interesting to put a toddler together with a puppy. Jam is pretty good about not being super jumpy and bitey, but he is still a puppy, so the initial meet and greet was a bit chaotic.

It is very important that our puppies have interactions with infants, toddlers and children. They need to be very comfortable around them. So it was very nice that Christy was comfortable bringing Lydia over to meet Jam. It helps that Jam is on the mellow side.

Lydia was at first a bit surprised by the puppy.

One might even say, shocked! but she got over her reticence and eventually they established some coexistence rules.

Of course, I have video of the whole thing.

First Obedience Class

2011-07-27T09:45:00.011-04:00

We had our first obedience class last night. Here Jennifer greets Jam in the parking lot.

Mick is lying down while Judy talks during the meeting.

Jam is sitting quietly during the meeting doing a nice down-under.

Phyllis was taking it easy under the table.

Even Jam was a bit curious about what was coming up.

Annie however, was raring to go. Cute ear, Annie!

Here is Jean with Holly at her feet. Holly is very dog distracted, so she spent most of the class working outside the circle of acceptance, which is ok! Where ever the dog is most comfortable is where you should be with your dog. When they can actually pay attention to you and follow your commands, is when you have gotten the distance right. That may mean you are in the circle or it may mean you are on the far outfield, like Jean and Holly....and....

Well, we started out in the circle. We did pretty well. Then the puppy attention span just sort of dissolved and Jennifer very kindly said, "Perhaps you should take him over there." Then she pointed outside the circle of acceptance.

Oh.

OK. He was getting a bit rowdy, kicking up his heels and veering wildly left and right. I guess she noticed that. So we headed out. But it worked out just fine as I had two prospective puppy raisers try walking Jam (individually of course!) and getting him to sit, which he enjoyed. And he had the attention all to himself and was able to focus much better outside the circle than inside with all the distractions, which is what Jennifer knew and I should have recognized sooner and moved him.

Lesson for me for next week! 8-)

Mall Walking

2011-07-25T07:43:00.007-04:00

On Saturday, Fred decided that he needed to buy some new sandals. Fred wanting to go shopping at all is a bit of a big deal so I was very up for the outing! We decided to make a morning of it.

That meant first getting breakfast. Jam had already been up (at 4:30) for his breakfast and morning poo, so we were set for a while.

We walked in and found a booth. Jam went under the table and after a few initial scrounges around for crumbs, finally settled in for a little nap. Then it was on to Macy's at Tyrone Square.

We were able to park close, since it was just before 10 and that's when they open. Since jam was up a bit early I wanted him to try again to busy, but the areas around Macy's aren't really busy friendly. Jam wasn't interested. So we went into the store.

As you first walk in, there are some rugs laid down for wet feet, so you don't slip. The tile is a white shiny marble. It's highly reflective. Jam made it to the rugs ok, but once he saw that sea of white tile, he balked.

NO WAY.

Fred coaxed. Jam said, NO.

Fred coaxed. Jam said, I'll step over to the side.

Fred coaxed. Jam said, I'll continue over to the side. I guess when he didn't fall in at the side of the tile (by this time he is at the wall), he decided the tile was ok and he could walk in the center. But he didn't want to walk very fast.

So we sort of ambled down the aisles of Macy's followed by the cooing of customers of and salespeople:

"Oh, look at him!"

"Isn't he cute!"

Then one saleslady said, "He is just adorable!" Right then, Jam leaned over and snatched at a pair of pants hanging off a rounder. Eeeep! I corrected him back over to me. The pants stayed on the hanger. I didn't look back and moved more in the center of the aisle.

At every mannequin, Jam would rush over to their feet and look up. He loved them! They fascinated him. He would stop and stare at them. I would have to get his attention and get him moving forward again.

This happened at EVERY mannequin. Macy's has lots of mannequins.

I kept us on the tile because Jam generally has an 11 o'clock poo and it was 10 and he had gotten up early. I was carefully watching for poo signs. This is part of the puppy raiser experience: does that jog to the left mean "I'm going to poo?" or does is just mean "I like that smell?" So my shopping experience is completely taken over with watching Jam's butt and looking for poo signs.

Jam's Poo Signs
Drifting off to the left
Stopping and starting
Sniffing (see, it could be anything!)
Suddenly running off to a far away
Gopher butt (I would explain, but you probably don't want me to)
Circling
And if you don't catch the circling,
The dreaded humpback (but it's probably too late by then!)

About midway through Macy's I get a sniffing and drifting sign and tell Fred Jam has to poo. We go out. No poo. I tell Fred to go in and look at shoes and I'll wait.

No poo. Macy's really sucks for poo places. We walked to a better place. It still sucked. We went back in. I'm not any calmer. This dog is filled with poo and it is going to come out.

Why are malls so problematic?

Malls are a good place to take guide dogs in training because the ceilings are very high and the light is bright and there are lots of plants, which can fool them into thinking they are outdoors. You don't want them thinking they are outdoors.

Fred says, "Lets go to Dillards."

Great.

More mall walking.

We start walking to Dillards. We get all the way to JC Penny's when he starts to stop and start. I turn to Fred.

"This dog has GOT to poo! I'll meet you at Dillards." I took him out the exit at Penny's. Around the corner, thankfully, a shady poo spot. Room for circling.

Poo at last!

Now, with a spring in his step, we continued into the mall and on to Dillards.

Fred bought three pairs of shoes. Unheard of! Jam did not have an accident in the mall! Good job!

The Many Sleeping Faces of Jam

2011-07-24T09:23:00.008-04:00

Some say there is nothing sweeter than a sleeping puppy.

Jam can usually be found in this position when he sleeps, curled up and every now and then chasing some rabbits.

Occasionally, though, he will opt for the full exposure position when he is really comfortable. Any little noise will startle him and make him move to a different position. It's like he's perched on top of a mountain peak.

Then there is the old stand by lie on your stomach, head between your paws. He does feel very comfortable in this position as well. There aren't usually any dreams in this position. No freedom of movement.

Then there is the less used, but still cute, legs straight out sleeping position. Great for dream running.

I've often wondered if in addition to dreaming if dogs could have nightmares. I found out last night when I was woken from a dead sleep by puppy screams from Jam. I leaped out of bed, turned the light on and ripped open the crate. Little baby rushed out and I checked him for injuries thinking perhaps he had hurt himself, but he was perfectly fine.

His heart was going a hundred miles a minute. So I stroked him for a bit and then put him back in the crate and told him everything was ok. Then I turned out the lights.

The glow-in-the-dark stars on our ceiling came back on.

Jam settled in.

I thought about dogs and nightmares and hoped that he was back asleep chasing rabbits. We both slept until morning.

Jammin' Highlights

2011-07-23T08:19:00.011-04:00

On Thursday, Jam and I went to the hairdressers to get our hair done. Here he is at an empty station where he watched me get my hair done so he wouldn't eat any hair.

In case you are wondering, the hairdresser's is a great exposure for puppies as the chairs go up and down as well as around. In addition, there is usually music playing over a sound system. There are hair dryers, mirrors and all sorts of other things that can be of interest to a puppy.

We first stopped at the shampoo station, which is great as Jam got to do a down stay. I'm pretty lucky that Jam is very laid back and will lie down and sleep pretty much at will. So, when the shampooing started, he went to sleep.

My hairdresser is very puppy friendly!

As you can see from the outer edges of Jam's ears, she is a whiz with color as well! She gave him just a hint of caramel on the tips of his ears.

I'm kidding! 8-) He didn't get highlights. Those are lowlights. Haha. I'm kidding again. Who would give their dog a dye job? Well, come to think of it, there was a groomer I knew who had poodles and he would give them mohawks and dye them pink. He also put them in punk collars with the spikes running round them. So, imagine this: you have standard poodles (those are the big ones), with pink mohawks, and punk spike collars greeting you when you bring your dog in to get groomed. It was quite a sight. But no, Jam's a natural blonde with lowlights. He even has a streak of lowlights running along his spine. He is quite a handsome boy, my Jam.

I don't think he appreciated my remarks about the highlights.

He did, however, enjoy the mirrors at the salon. I caught some of his mirror interaction on video. It is below.

Our New Favorite Place

2011-07-22T15:10:00.003-04:00

By Fred
Jam and I had our first lunch out together today, and we went to our new favorite place for lunch, a very dog-friendly restaurant called Casa Tina. (Coincidentally, Casa Tina was Berkeley's favorite place and Bingo's favorite place.)

Jam was warmly received by the staff and other lunch-goers, most of whom stopped by to praise his goodness as he napped soundly at my feet, ignoring all the "what a cute puppy" comments that came his way.

If only Jam knew about the variety of food on the table just above his head, about the variety of tastes and textures, the home-made tortillas, beans, rice and spicy sauce. Yes, he can smell it all (much better than I), but surely it does not occur to him that actual food is so near. Surely not. Obviously he is not aware that food is nearby, considering his embarrassing behavior at home when it comes to the smallest kibble.

We need to keep it that way...

Magic Man

2011-07-19T15:31:00.010-04:00

Vets are special people. They are the ones you go to for the health and care of your pets. They generally have a tough job to do. Many days are spent as grief counselors or helping their patients get through very serious illnesses. So, I am sure when a puppy arrives, there is great joy in the building.

Our Vet, Dr. Don Woodman, is not only a good vet for his patients, but he also donates his time and services to Southeastern Guide Dogs (he has raised two puppies for them as well). So, he is Jam's SEGD Vet as well as our personal Vet.

Jam has been eating all of his meals quite rapidly and energetically. He looks forward to each meal and in fact about an hour before each mealtime can usually be found, if circumstances permit, staring at the magic door willing it to open and food to appear in his bowl.

Any slight jostle to his metal bowl will bring him racing to the kitchen, wild eyed and ears flapping crazily. Skidding around the corner, he will lunge into the kitchen and dive for the bowl, only to realize that I have mistakenly kicked it and have effectively done the doggie equivalent of

"Psych!"

He will look from bowl to me and then turn around. Disgust rolls off him in waves.

For the past three out of four nights something unusual has happened. Since we had a visit to Dr. Woodman this morning for the last of Jam's 12-week old shots, I thought perhaps I should mention it. So when Dr. Woodman asked if everything was ok, I said,

"Well, for the past three out of four nights, he has woken up about 2 or 3 in the morning and vomited."

Dr. Woodman explained that with some dogs, it upsets their tummy to go so long without any food in their tummy. This might be Jam's problem as his last meal is between 5-6. So we are going to try a small amount of food right before bed and see if that settles his stomach.

I glanced down at Jam. I sensed a secret smile. It was as if, like the Grinch's heart, his heart had just grown three sizes too big and was in danger of bursting from happiness.

He gazed up at Dr. Woodman. Forget the magic door. This was the Magic Man!

Here is Jam with Kayce, a student intern from the UF Vet program.

It looks like the real world and Jam's world are starting to merge!

The Good, the Annoying and the Sleepy

2011-07-17T13:01:00.015-04:00

Yesterday was Jam's first meeting of the Central Group.

We met at the St. Pete Pier. It was a long walk in for little dog, but he did very well. On occasion, we would have to do a sing-song "Hurry up, hurry up!" to get him back in the groove, but he made it to the pier under his own steam.

Once there, Central AC Judy led the meeting and then trainer Jennifer did some obedience with us. We learned how to make a proper correction and Judy talked with us about the right length for a training collar.

When the obedience class started since Jam was so small, we mainly sat and watched. What is always curious about having a meeting like this in a public place is what the public will do. For instance, what you can't see in the photo below is that there is a small annex to the right of Fred and Jam where all the big dogs are following Jennifer's instructions.

Now bear in mind that when we are out with Jam we are officially representing SEGD and that is why they suggest in the manual, "if you are in a hurry, don't take your puppy with you." Why? Because someone ALWAYS stops and wants to talk or pet the puppy and it's just good PR and common courtesy to be polite and have a friendly conversation with them about the program. You never know who might be a potential puppy raiser or puppy sponsor.

But then there are the others.

I was a little off to the side taking photos of the group when I heard this loud voice say, "Down! Down!"

I happen to look over to where Fred is and there is this rather large lady who has taken it upon herself to come over to where Jam is sitting watching the big dogs do a down stay and she is almost shouting at Jam and Fred, "Down! Down!"

Jam is freaked out and frozen in place. Fred however is Mr. Chill. As the woman begins her large arm movement for down and says, "Doesn't he know down?" Fred very calmly grabs Jam around the hips and slides him from one side the chair to the other where she can't see him. Then he turns back to the obedience class.

There is a faint smile on his face.

The lady wanders off.

Here is Jam with Fred before large lady shouted at him.

And then there are the fabulous people. After the obedience class and after we had been on the glass elevator and up to the 5th floor to see the view (Jam went right over to the railing, no fear), some kids asked (it's so nice when people ask instead of using the zombie hand) if they could pet Jam. Fred said they could, but there were some rules, they needed to be sitting, Jam needed to sit and if he started to bite, they must remove their hand. They were all great. Jam included!

Jam also got to meet a small fish. He was intrigued, but we hurried on by.

At the end of the meeting though, we were all tired and hungry. We met up with Annie's parents for lunch at Bella Brava and the pups fell right asleep and stayed that way through lunch.

Below is a little video I put together of some of his exposures on Saturday.

Meeting the New Headmaster

2011-07-14T16:04:00.007-04:00

Today, Jam got to meet the new boss (and he gave him a big smack as seen in this photo). Mr. Seivold is an animal lover and has three dogs at home (Peanut, Tucker, and Pepper) and one cat (Peaches) and his wife! He was very kind to take a quick break for a photo op.

As you might have noticed in the photo above with the headmaster, Jam did not have his coat on. But we did practice the coat on, sit to greet visitors as you can see here with Jam and Jaimie and Hugh. Jam did great.

Of course, after sitting pretty, we took the coat off for some lovin! Here are Pat and George with Jam. There were some other rules we had to work on as well:

Remaining calm

No jumping

No baby voices (oh, did you think I was talking about Jam?!) 8-)

And Jeremiah got in a hug as well.

Jam also got a literary stuffed toy today. After all, he will be in the library.

Can you identify the children's book that toy is from?

Table Manners

2011-07-14T08:05:00.005-04:00

Jam is something of a glutton. If he could, he would eat all day like Augustus Gloop of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Of course, we don't allow unlimited eating. He gets fed three times a day. You can imagine that his internal food clock is very accurate, but a bit fast. At around 4 am, he will start to cry (he gets fed between 5:30 and 6 am). At 11 am if he is downstairs he will go to the end of the tie-down and stair at the magic door, convinced that sheer will can make it give up the kibble. And at 4 pm, again, the magic door stare down.

We usually move him to some other place in the house and try to distract him from his internal food clock. But you can see it in his eyes that he knows what we are doing. Soon, the magic door will open and kibble will be given out.

That is why we are working hard on table manners. Right now, we are just doing a sit-stay. It used to be that when we brought out his bowl with kibble, he used to go into fits. Now we can get him to sit and calm down. We've now progressed to making him sit until we actually put the bowl on the ground and say "Take a Break!"

With a puppy, we kind of do this at the same time as Jam is doing pretty good just to sit patiently. It took him a couple of days to even do this. Getting him to understand the concept of sitting before food was a chore. That boy wanted to EAT!

But is he now a very polite little sitter. I'm proud of him. When he is older, we will progress to a down stay and then leave the food bowls down and walk out of the room and come back and do a release. That day is a long way off.

Until then, please enjoy watching this one hungry pup vibrate with happiness at the sight of his kibble.

Unforeseen Problem

2011-07-13T09:27:00.003-04:00

Jam is quite the pretty lab. In fact, some might call him a fuzzy lab, almost polar bearish. His pelt is thick and white and Fred supposes that left with a momma polar bear, she would adopt him as her own and love him fiercely. I think she might make a snack of him, but he very cute, so it's a toss up.

Since it is summer and summer means schools out and casual clothes are in. Consequently, I have been wearing lots of shorts and t-shirts. Not my usual school dress code clothes, which is mostly made up of

BLACK

I didn't realize there was a problem until we were on our way home from dinner with friends of ours who have children. We had brought Jam with us so that he could interact with their kids. He had a blast.

On the drive back I happened to look down at my pants and saw this.

Egads! This dog is going to make me a walking carpet of yellow hair. I do have a lint roller. I've now realized that I am going to have to buy one for the office staff now as well.

Oh Jam. It's a good thing you are so, so cute.

Cat House

2011-07-11T18:28:00.008-04:00

Jam is a little nervous. He's at a cat house. He's going to have an interaction, nudge, nudge. They say these things go better if they are done when a puppy is young, but Jam is still a bit unsure. After all, Willow has been whispering strange stories of cats she has known.

It starts off innocent enough. Cosmo is in the wicker chair relaxing. Jam wanders in clueless.

"Jam, look at the cat."

"Uh?"

"There. On the chair."

"Uh?" Honestly. Is this puppy for real? Then Cosmo takes over and deigns to move his head. In fabulous Cheshire Cat fashion he turns his head and fixes his large, mesmerizing eyes on Jam. Jam freezes. I think I hear a puppy "oh crap".

Cosmo is not amused. Jam decides to sniff his tail. Just the tail.

Then he backed away. Cosmo rolled his eyes. I swear he did. Then he disappeared.

I heard Jam gulp.

We'll be back next week.

Party Tricks

2011-07-10T06:31:00.010-04:00

For a baby dog, you wouldn't think Jam had the diplomatic skills of an ambassador in him, but he does. Last night he attended a dinner party, that, while not held in his honor, was the equivalent of his coming out party.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
We had been practicing his sits for a week and he was getting quite good at them. The Come command still required a GREAT deal of enthusiasm on our part to get him moving. But the big deal was that we had figured out the potty training. Locationally, if he was off of the tie down and was in the family room, he would go to the back door. However, if he was in the kitchen, he would go to the small stairs. Any move to the small stairs triggered us moving him outside which became a successful pee break. Yea!

But the Sit command was key. He was going to have to sit to be greeted by the guests.

Here Jam waits for the first guests to arrive.

THE PLAN
Our plan before the guests arrived was to have everyone arrive and be greeted by Willow upstairs. Jam would remain downstairs with Fred.

PARTY NIGHT
Carrie and Greg were the first to arrive were eager to grab him and love on him. But they were very good and ignored him liked we asked until he calmed down and was able to sit to be greeted.

In fact, everyone was super about ignoring his amazingly cute face and sweet little puppy body and hoping that he would calm down quick (it didn't take too long). They were also good about stopping any petting if he started to bite, which is important as we don't want him to get in the habit of mouthing and biting people who pet him.

So all in all, the meet and greet was a big success! Yea team! Let the puppy hugging begin.

Carrie turned out to be the puppy whisperer as she put Jam to sleep by her massage-like petting technique!

It was a fairly amazing technique and Jam was uper-cute. Here Linda goes in for quick pat, but then can't resist a puppy hug.

The evening was almost over before Ken got a chance to hug Jam.

Ken had been very good and was just petting him when Jam was in a sit or when he was wandering by off leash.

It was way past Jam's bedtime and he was very sleepy. Time for all sleepy puppies to go to bed.

Downpour

2011-07-09T07:40:00.007-04:00

By Fred
Like every puppy who ventures onto the back porch to witness his first Florida downpour, this week Jam made an evolutionary leap to consider whether it might be better to poop inside rather than out. He didn't actually say anything, but you could tell what was in his mind, a careful weighing of his dilemma and then an abrupt about-face back into the house, even though he really needed to go.

So that's when the deception began. I got out the umbrella and carried him to his favorite dry-weather spot, pretending that it was just as good as before. But it wouldn't do--the leaves were soggy and the rain pounded away on all sides. He looked up at me with a disappointed face, knowing me now to be a liar and hypocrite, as if to say to me, "Why don't you do it?"

So we went back to the house, dry and safe, with many poopable spaces, with several rooms set aside for the purpose of pooping in safety and comfort, to wait and watch each other and pretend that everything was OK.

Finally the rain let up and he reluctantly found a spot outside.

It's a dog's life.

Vet Visit and an Ear Infection

2011-07-07T16:53:00.007-04:00

Tuesday we went to the Vet' s for the official visit and check up.

Here is Jam checking out the cold examining room table as we wait for Dr. Woodman to arrive.

I think Jam hears Dr. Woodman, who has raised two SEGD puppies. It is indeed Dr. Woodman and Jam turns out to have an ear infection and needs drops in both ears twice a day. He came to us at 14 pounds and has only gained 6 ounces in spite of eating like a little piggy.

Here he is with April, who brought him his drops and gave him his flu booster shot. He was still a bit miffed about the flu booster shot.

I was the first person to give Jam his ear drops and didn't have any problem. Fred gave him the next dose and we ran into a bit of a problem. Jam has his sound he makes when he's mad that we call The Weasel. It's a bit like when you step down on the gas and run your motor on overdrive and it sounds like the car is going to explode: that high pitched angry squealing noise. That's The Weasel.

When I give the drops, I try to sneak them up on Jam, massage his ears, pull on his ear flaps, then do it when he isn't expecting it. So we made a video in case anyone is interested and has a puppy who also makes weasel noises. It makes for a happier home.

Stair Master

2011-07-06T09:18:00.015-04:00

Our house is a tri-level house, so we have two sets of stairs (one small and one big), which is good for training puppies.

And it is really annoying for potty training puppies at night because our bedroom is on the top floor (of course) and the route to the backyard is down the long flight of stairs, through the living room, down the short flight of stairs, through the dining room, through the family room, out the french doors, down two steps (did you put on your slippers, because it's Florida and it's probably raining and if it's raining don't step on a frog!). We have koi ponds in the backyard and we have lots of frogs and evidently all they do is get it on, as evidenced by the video my father took when they visited us last month.

So at night, there are countless hazards to avoid. Squished frog on a bare foot is oh so not good! (Fortunately, this has NEVER happened.)

I tell you all of this to give you a general layout of the house so you kind of know what Jam is working with when he is walking around the house.

Now, the puppy manual recommends that you start the puppy off with carpeted, closed stairs, perhaps one or two at a time. What we do, is we start our puppies off with the back porch stairs since there are only two. We don't have a choice about carpeted or open or closed, since our stairs are our stairs. Because we have dogs, we made the conscious decision years ago to only have wood floors and leather or wood furniture and very few rugs.

Here are the back porch steps. There are only two and they curve. We let the puppy out on the porch and let him make the decision as to whether he wants to go down on his own or not. For HRH Berkeley, that took her about two weeks. She was uncomfortable going down, probably because she was so small. Jam, went down on Thursday.

And then it took him until Friday morning, but by then he was up and down the back porch stairs.

This is the small staircase. It has four steps and separates the living room (street level) from the main area of the house (kitchen, dining room, etc.).

Here is Jam at the bottom of the small staircase.

Now what has happened with our other dogs is that we have coached them up both the small and large staircases. Jam is a different kettle of fish. It just so happened that Fred and I were in the kitchen on Friday (DAY 1!!!) and I went to get something from the bedroom (upstairs).

As I was climbing the big set of stairs Fred said, "Look who's following you." I turned around and there at the top of the small staircase was Jam. He had followed me out of the dining room and gone to the small stairs and deliberated. Then he decided to try it on his own (under Fred's supervision).

Mind you it was weeks before Bingo and HRH would even think about the small staircase. Bingo even faked Fred out on the big staircase getting Fred to carry him for an extra week because he was lazy and liked to be carried.

Since Jam will do this on his own, we now keep him on a leash and do it with him step by step as seen here.

Here we are at the bottom of the stairs with me getting him started going up by patting the step.

He's taking it step by step.

All the way to the top!

But we know he has bigger things on his mind.