The Importance of the Stay Command

Last Monday I had an appointment with a lady parts doctor. Monday being one of my bring Berkeley to school days meant that she was coming to the doctor's office with me. Not a problem. She has been much more mature since her puppy camp with John and Angel and seems to be barking less and not being so autocratic.

Good for us!

This was a new doctor, so I had to go to their concierge services to be checked in first. Berkeley went into a down under without a problem and went right to sleep for the whole interview. Good girl.

Then we went up the elevator and into the waiting room where we waited patiently to be called. The nurse looked at us a bit funny, but decided that she would choose to ignore the dog at my side completely and made no mention of her AT ALL. I thought this a bit strange, but, hey, whatever gets you through the day. Berkeley decided to snub her as well and when we hit the examining room she did a down under the chair and a stay and went to sleep.

When the doctor arrived, he was delighted to see Berkeley and asked all sorts of questions about her. She poked her head out and thumped her tail a few times (she is quite the tail wagger), but ultimately decided that our discussion was boring (read: didn't involve her) and went back to sleep.

At this point the doctor stands and gets one of those full coverage (ha ha!) paper sheets and says I need to take off my skirt and he will come back to do the examination. Berkeley is still in a down stay under the chair and is still asleep, so I disrobe and jog over to the medical table with the sheet around me sarong style. The examining table is about 10 feet away from where Berkeley is sleeping under the chair. Berkeley is directly in front of me and to my back is the door where the doctor will come through. Now that I am half naked and on the table I am starting to realize that I have made a huge error in judgment but am unsure if I have time to correct it or even how I can correct it. Will she STAY? Do I have time to jump off? Should I jump off? Is she deep asleep? Should I test it?

Before I can try anything, the doctor walks in and Berkeley comes ALIVE!

"People! People have entered my realm!" She emerges from under her chair. I half stand on the examining table and get a blast of cold air on my bare behind. I sit down quickly.

"BERKELEY! STAY!" She barely registers that I am there. After all, I am half naked and nearly shouting, she is Her Royal Highness. Why would she deign to see a naked crazy person yelling commands when there are professionals in the room?

She walks towards the doctor. "Stay!"

"It's alright. She's pretty." I gnash my teeth. Did I ask if she was pretty? NO! I have no panties on! I can't get off this table! I can't do anything.

"Berkeley, come here." That she recognizes. She finally looks at me and walks over. I bend over, carefully mind you, and grab for her leash. However, the examining table is REALLY TALL. This is a bad idea. I see this. The lady parts doctor sees it and so does the unseeing nurse who still is trying to act like there isn't a dog in the room.

"Just let her run free," my doctor says.

Ah, what the hell. This will be an interesting examination.

Note: There will be no photos for this post.

Dog-sitter Notes

By Fred
Some notes for our dog-sitters this weekend. Thank you in advance.

Feeding
Berkeley gets two cups of food in the morning (around 5:30 or 6am) and two cups in the evening (usually around 5:30pm). Have her do a sit-stay while you put food in the bowl. She won't be this nice again until the next feeding, so enjoy her for a minute or so. Have her in a down-stay before you put down her bowl. Step back and make sure she stays in down-stay for a while. Then say "Take a break".
We leave a big bowl of water on the floor all day and until around 6:30 or 7pm.

Bathroom Breaks
She typically poops once in the morning after she eats and once in the late afternoon. She is mostly house-broken but accidents are still possible. If she approaches your door and then looks back at you, it's more than just s suggestion--it's a warning.
If your yard is fenced and puppy-proof, you can let her off the leash outside. Otherwise, give her a long leash while outside for a break. If she doesn't go in a minute or so after you say busy-busy, she probably won't.

Bed time
Generally she has her last potty break at about 10 pm before she goes to bed, and we get up between 5:30 and 6:00am, but she adapts well to a different schedule at any time. She loves her crate and will sleep or nap whenever it is convenient for you. I sometimes give her a single kibble of food after she gets in the crate, just so it is a fun place.
She may attempt to wake you very early, just to make sure that you don't forget to wake up, and she will use an incredible variety of weepy, whiny, happy little squeaky sounds, just barely loud enough to hear. If you respond to any of those sounds in any way, you might just as well get up because she will not let you sleep again. Don't worry--if she needs a potty break, she will make a distinctive loud noise to let you know, and she very rarely does this.

Toys
Berkeley is fond of rocks, socks, toilet paper and many other things that she's not allowed to play with. Kongs and rubbery toys don't seem hold her interest for long. She like the tough fabric mesh toys. Without a chew toy she sometimes paces around the house like a lion looking for a wounded animal.

Outings
(When you are approved to go.) She's very good in restaurants, except when there are bits of food on the floor. When you first sit down, have Berkeley go into a down-stay, then step on her leash for a few seconds. She will typically rest through the meal with her head on your feet--cute.
Movies are a definite possibility--she did well in the last one. She is pretty good in stores but may try to pull you around, so don't take her if you are in a hurry to get something.

Supervision
Berkeley can get nosey if allowed to wander free in your home. By nosey I mean that she could destroy something. She's never torn up any furniture, but there's always a first time. If she refuses to stay in the same room with you, try putting her on a tie-down. Gentle play is best with her. If she engages in naughty behavior (scratching, biting, barking, chewing, teasing, bullying, hair-pulling, etc.), give her a firm No and quit playing with her. If she persists in her naughtiness, she may need to take a nap in her crate.

Fun Things
Ask Berkeley to sit-stay, then walk out of the room. If she follows, take her back and do the sit-stay again until she stays without you in the room for several seconds. (It helps if you can see her but she can't see you.) Then say "Berkeley, come" and she will run to you. Like most puppy things, she thinks this is fun but gets worn out with it after a few times. Then on to something else... a walk around the block is fun.

On Caring

By Fred
Over the past 10 years Willow and I have had countless discussions. Politics, movies, gardening, home improvement, carpentry. She is, in particular, a good listener. Just the other day a big limb snapped over the fish pond and is now hanging there, suspended in an awkward way so that by cutting it I invite disaster to several plants in and around the pond. It is a vexing thing and is something that I feel compelled to talk about.



Of course when I pointed this out to Willow, and I explained to her in detail my various options and the pros and cons of each, she sat patiently and listened to every word, staring at the limb and then back at me.

I point this out only because I assumed that, by now, Berkeley would be old enough to take on a more mature role in our family. So when she failed to show any concern at all about the limb (running around in circles and laughing while I talked), we went into the kitchen for some lessons in family compassion.

A good family member, I explained to her, should at least pretend to be interested when another member has a concern. Even Cheryl, I said, managed to keep a somber face when I explained all about the limb and its malevolent portent. Just as I, for example, try to be sympathetic when Cheryl isn't happy with her new haircut (even though I don't actually have any hair to cut and would be happy with any cut at all). You see, it's all about empathy.

A good guide dog will also need to be a good listener, I said, but I was still not getting through to her.

...just like I'm a good listener when you believe it is time to eat...



OK, that's better.

Royal Preferences: Every Girl Has Her Go To Purse

Looks like an unassuming tote doesn't it? The Lands End Zip Top Canvas Tote shown above is my choice for my all around carry all tote back and forth to school and home. I got it when I got Bingo and needed just one bag to carry everything to classes. Bingo didn't pay it any attention. Her Royal Highness (HRH) Berkeley, however, LOVES this bag.



When I take HRH to classes with me, she always has a bed to rest on: my tote! In fact, in the photo above, which a student took, she was actually trying to get into the tote. Something that didn't quite work out for her. 8-)

At home, she does have beds, blankets and comfy places to sleep. Where does she go? My tote.

I'm not sure what it is about my Lands End tote, but it works for her Highness. So if you need something to cart your stuff around, get a Lands End tote. And if your dog needs to take a nap, put your tote on the ground and let them lie on it! Who knew Lands End totes could do double duty? Pet bed and purse!

An Urgent Request from the Provinces (HRH Berkeley's Last Postcard Before Fred Picked Her Up)

My Dearest...

We confess for a moment that we had forgotten your names! Are we becoming victims of Stockholm syndrome, for surely we are finding ourselves in some sympathy with our captors. Oh, what are we saying! Dear Cheryl! Dear Fred! We miss you terribly! While we are proud to have kept a stiff upper lip and a vigorously wagging tail throughout our ordeal, refusing to be cowed by fate, we nonetheless quite eagerly await the day of our restoration.

Last evening, the caretaker dragged us off to a nearby cathedral (rather modest by Westminster standards) for a bit of enrichment on the subject of Handel's Messiah. We do so love a good tune, but as there was rather more lecture than music, we found ourselves dozing off once again. We certainly appreciated the entirely appropriate captivation of the crowd by our mere presence. Even so, it cannot compare to our younger subjects fawning over us at the school they named in our honor.

Wait, a bit of news! Our dear Angel, who appears to have the caretaker's confidence, has given us to understand that we shall be attending a shooting party this weekend at which you might also be with that crafty cur who has taken our place. We can barely contain our anticipation. Please do what you can to undo this ghastly mess and return us to our rightful position!

But if there be a hunt afoot that day, do let's not miss it.


HRH
(AKA John Bauer)

(Note: We would like to thank John for taking such good care of our little HRH as we know she can be a bit trying at times. Fortunately, John has quite a good sense of humor. I think we got the much better deal as Dodger was completely easy, very calm and at ease with anything you did. Nothing fazed him. He was like a surfer dude, very mellow. We hated to see him leave. He instantly captured everyone's heart. I think it was those dark eyes and that white blond hair. Definitely a surfer dude, fer sure!)

Shooting

By Fred
I grew up in rural Arkansas, just one generation away from folks who lived through the great depression, back when many isolated people survived, literally, on their ability to grow and hunt food. My stepdad was one of those guys (a really great guy). He introduced me to hunting at an early age.

So yesterday was like a trip back in time for me. Our friends Larry and Gabrielle put on a successful event, a sporting clays shooting competition (something I've always called skeet shooting), with the proceeds going to Southeastern Guide Dogs. Men and women wandered around the event dressed in hunting clothes and carrying shotguns--I haven't seen that in quite a while.

Cheryl is still sick in bed, so she didn't get to go. When I saw Berkeley's ultra-waggy tail, I realized how much I missed her this week. And I could see that John was clearly happy to get Dodger back.
Quite a few guide dogs puppies were there, and none seemed to mind the pop, pop of the guns. Maybe it's in their genes; those generations of Labs trained to sit quietly while their owners miss one duck after another. Of course, these Labs have taken on the coat, a higher calling.

After the shooting came lunch on rows of picnic tables, then a raffle run by Larry, who is really a funny guy. There was a serious message, too: many service people are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries, many have lost their sight, and SEGD provides a way to help them get back on their feet.

Like at all of these fund-raisers, I felt surrounded by some of the nicest human beings on earth. Don't get me wrong--I'm no more likely to take up shooting than many of these shooters are likely to take up yoga. But I appreciate the sport and the history behind it.

Too bad my stepdad is gone--he really would have enjoyed yesterday.

Dodger Goes Home

By Fred
We humans have a binding, sentimental and sticky nature. How long does it take us to form a bond with a dog? Days? Hours? Seconds?

Today Berkeley comes back home and Dodger returns to his puppy-raiser, John. We've really enjoyed Dodger this week, and we bonded with him right away. Even Willow, who can be very slow to show her approval, has adopted her new friend. Here they are, sharing an intimate moment in the kitchen.

In this video, Dodger and Willow sit close together on the floor, arms locked, at least until he discovers the camera and moves away. Willow appears cold and aloof, but she doesn't fool me. She's crazy about Dodger.

Cheryl and I have been sick with colds the entire week. Cheryl was determined to go to school early this week (and give Dodger his new experience around kids), but by Thursday her cold had turned into bronchitis. Now she is back in bed. What a hard-head!

I felt better by Thursday, so Dodger and I went out for lunch at our dog-friendly place in Dunedin: Casa Tina. He has excellent table manners. Everyone at the restaurant bonded immediately with Dodger. He is a quick bonder for sure.

Here we are in the back yard, exploring the wonder of fish.

I point out some fish in our pond to Dodger. Like any good house guest, he humors me and pretends to be interested. Good boy.

Of course we are happy for Berkeley to come home. Why wouldn't we be? What kind of question is that to ask, anyway?

In this video, Dodger stares into the camera, wondering why I've just asked him to sit.