Ugh...Weather Changes

I'm again, reminded of all the wonderful things that come with the weather changes...like the mud, the rain, the puddles, the moving leaves...and you can bet Archie is all over all of it! I try to take him on our 45-min walk every day (which usually turns out to be 4-5 days a week with such a busy schedule), and today he went full out puddle diving. A leaf was blowing on the street, and he was on the flexi, so I "freed" him so he could go have some fun with it. Well, the leaf landed in a huge puddle and so did Archie. He was so happy he got the damn leaf though, it was too hard to be upset. Thank goodness it was a nice day! He was pretty much dry by the time we got home. Funny thing is, I don't even know where that puddle came from? It was the only one around...must've been a big one left over from yesterday...waiting nicely just for us :)

The puppies are here!

So do I sound like a character from 101 Dalmatians yet? That's what everyone keeps telling me!

Archie's puppies are here! They arrived Wednesday, September 22nd, and are all doing well! He's now a proud daddy of 8! (Ok, I know he has no idea, but I'm really excited!) I've heard that some of them are almost white, just like he was when he was little :) I can't wait until I get to go visit them, and of course take pictures to add to this blog/scrapbook. I know Archie can't visit them, but maybe someday I'll be able to get a picture of him and his whole first litter.

It doesn't seem like that long ago since Archie was a little baby, laying in the playpen to keep him contained. Once in a while I miss being able to have a tiny puppy to snuggle with, but I know I can easily cure that by doing puppy swaps. For now I'm content with having an adult dog, and just watching the cute little puppies he makes go through the program :)

Here comes a new season...and new puppies!

So it's that time of year when the weather's changing...I'm a big fan of it, and so is Archie (he likes to chase the leaves!) but one thing I forgot about were the messy paws! We had a huge storm yesterday which left the ground muddy, and of course Archie knew how to step in the biggest puddles...can you blame him? Splashing's fun! The cooler weather also makes our walks much easier. For those of us who take our dogs most places, the summer is particularly hard because I'm always making sure Archie isn't too hot, did he have enough water, did I leave him in a cool place in the house when I went out by myself, etc. But bring on the fall! We can walk on campus comfortably, and play outside in our fenced in area without worrying about the heat.

I'm also getting excited because Archie's officially going to be a Puppy Parent! As part of the breeding program, we're not able to have a "tell all" approach to which dogs are bred to each other when, but eventually we'll be able to talk about which ones are "Archie" puppies. I keep wondering about how many of them will look like him, how many will act like him, etc. I have been graciously invited to the host house for the breeding stock female to visit the puppies after they are born, before they are placed with their foster families, and am really excited to be able to witness this part of a Paws dog's journey. What I am realizing, that I didn't before, is how much work the hosts of the female breeding stock actually do! These families are incredibly committed to starting these pups off on the right track from day 1. Being a host mom for Archie has its challenges, but nothing like what the families of the females do. It's pretty much a 24/7 job for 8 weeks. I have had enough trouble in the past dealing with my 8-week old foster puppies, let alone lots of new little puppies! For my foster puppies in the past, I always thought their journey started when I picked them up at Paws, but now I know how much effort was put into them before I even knew about them.

I can't wait until I get to see my "grandpuppies", and hopefully I'll be able to document names and pictures for all of them so I can follow them through their training, and see where they are eventually placed. It will be fun in a couple of years to see how many working service dogs came from Archie...I guess only time will tell.

Fall Semester 2010...it begins again!

Today was the first day I brought Archie back to school with me. I like to take the first class to forewarn my professors and TA's that I'll be bringing a dog with me to class, and most are very nice about it. I assure them that he won't be a problem, and that if he becomes a distraction for some reason I will take him out of the classroom. Fortunately, everybody thought Archie was an angel, despite the occasional whines or scratching. I, on the other hand, realized that I can't expect to bring him back to class without keeping up with his "sitting still" training. His eye contact was lacking, he was fidgety, he liked to pretend he didn't know what "stay" meant...all of this I know is my fault, as much as I'd like to blame him for being a bad dog. We'll have to work between classes on better classroom etiquette, and have him sit in down-stays when I'm doing homework to practice.

I find myself wondering when he'll settle down? He has never fell asleep in class, even when we've had it for hours in a row. I know he's tired, because like a little kid rubs his eyes, Archie fidgets and whines. I'm going to look forward to the day when I can tell him to lay down for a while, and he falls asleep. He's also really jumpy, even if others start moving or I change positions in my seat he's ready to get up and go.

He also likes to rest his head on my feet though, which is adorable and makes me melt, even after he's thrown a tantrum because I put his gentle leader on. He also LOVES the CATA bus! I can't walk past one without him trying to hop on it! When our bus arrives he tries to beat me on it, and his reaction is hilarious because his tail starts wagging really fast and he's so happy to get on. He looks at me with really excited eyes, and of course tries to sit on the seats (which I can't really blame him for because he rides on the backseat in my car, so why should he know any different?).

With school starting, we'll be getting used to another new schedule. My other dogs have adjusted to this fine, but I'm pretty sure Archie needs about 2 months before he can start to anticipate what's going to happen...I think he was purposely given to me to teach me patience. If you're the kind of person who thinks you have lots of patience, I'll give you Archie for a few days and then we'll see what you think! He is a VERY good boy overall though, even if he pushes my buttons sometimes :)


All in all, it's been a pretty positive beginning to the semester. Books are bought, dog treats are ready to go in the bait bag, and his selection of leashes is hanging by the door so we can take a pick in the morning :)