I like to cuddle.

I like to lay on mom’s feet, or dad’s feet if mom’s aren’t anywhere near by.

Given the choice I would sleep with my people every night.  (And every night I offer and they refuse…. I find that somewhat rude, but I’m learning not to take it personally.)

I cuddle with pillows on the floor.

I cuddle with my place.

If mom and dad take the blanket off their bed and put it on the floor I cuddle with it.

I love being toweled off after a bath, shower or swim because it’s a form of cuddling.

With Tori there is no cuddling.  We’re starting to get used to each other.  Today we actually laid down some what close to each other and were able to be calm.  Of course there was a baby gate in between us, but that’s not the point.  The point is I can be calm around Tori and Tori can be calm around me.  Unless she is touching me.  And if she is touching me the teeth come out.  And boy are they sharp!  Usually when she gets close to me it’s for one of two reasons: 1) to steal my toy or 2) to chew on my ear, cheek or leg (whichever is most convenient).

For instance, this evening she came over to me.  She was quiet and calm.  She laid down prettily and looked at me.  Then she licked my cheek.  ’Ok,’ I thought to myself, ‘it’s time for her to come cuddle with me!’  So I laid my head down on the ground and was ready for cuddly Tori.  For a very brief moment she just laid beside me, then OUCH!  The teeth came out!  She chewed my ear, my cheek.  Of course I pawed her to stop.  But that seems to encourage her, so it got worse.  So mom split us up.  I was really looking forward to a cuddle from Tori.  I know she cuddles with mom (a lot) and dad (sometimes).  Why do the teeth come out on me?

Oh well.  I’m a cuddly girl at heart.  So someday I’ll get my cuddly Tori time.  Until then, I’ll just deal with her alter ego — The Mouth!

Last night we got to play a little bit, with momma and dad standing right over top of us. I think they are worried I am going to be a little too exuberant in my play. All it takes is a touch or a firm word from one of my humans and I remember she’s a baby and a back off.

Did you know that babies come with special toys that I am not allowed to play with? No they are aaaaaalllllll Tori’s. But what does Tori do with them? She picks them up and swings them in my face, trying to get me to play with her. But if I do play with her, I get in trouble (mostly because then I steal her Tori-only toy). But she started it! Is this fair??

that little pup is all mouth. If she’s not using those sharp teeth to chew a toy (her favourite pass time), or a pant leg, or my ear, she’s talking. If mom and dad understood barking they would was her mouth out with soap — especially what she says when she is put in the crate. Where does a puppy that young learn barks like that?

Overall she is a good little sister and I look forward to more playtime (especially if I can steal her toy!). Oh and I’ve decided to nickname her “The Mouth.”

I apologize for being Mia (mom told me to say that but I really don’t understand it.  I’m not Mia, I’m BLUE!) for the past few months.  Well since May apparently.  I have been super busy!  Want to know what I’ve been up to?

We’ll let’s see .. I’ve been to the beach, had a play date with Johnny (GEB pup) at his pool, Target many times, Bella Monte (a nice restaurant!) twice, a bunch of meetings, Office Max, Young Chef’s Academy, something called the Leadership Summit (for two full days!!!  I did learn about leading though , a Norfolk Tides Baseball game (we sat second row back along the first base foul line with a kid’s baseball team), a family reunion in Farmville (but I didn’t see any farms!), the Virginia Aquarium, Starbucks, Panera, Jason’s Deli (three times, once with my friends Luke, Whimsey, Peyton and Kerwin), Harris Teeter Grocery Store (I finally figured out what a shopping cart is!), the bank, the hardware store and of course lots of walks.

And on top of that I’ve had friends come over for sleep overs!  Peyton (German Shepherd), Diesel (German Shepherd), Ramona (Yellow Lab), Katie (human pup), Caroline (human pup) and Rider (German Shepherd/Lab mix…. he’s an explosives dog!) . Peyton and Ramona are GEB puppies like me.  They are learning the ropes  Diesel is a released GEB dog.  He went through the training but then decided he would rather spend the rest of his life with his raiser, so headed back to the Eastern Shore to live with his human.  Rider is Dad’s brother’s dog.  He is three years old (i think) and has a job!!!  He’s not a GEB dog, but his job is still important (I guess.  Is there anything more important than being a Guiding Eyes for the Blind Dog?  I’m not convinced!)  His job is to sniff around for explosives.   We had fun playing together for a day.

Katie and Caroline are mom and dad’s neeces.  I don’t quite understand what a neece is, but they sure are fun to play with.  At first I figured they were just like any other pup, I could play with them like I do other puppies.  But then Caroline (she’s the little human pup) and Katie started to give me my meals.  I realized then that I had to pay attention to these puppies.  You know, whoever controls the food is top dog in the house!  Caroline and Katie helped me learn some of my commands.  The played fetch with me (sometimes they tried to race me to the ball!!).  We had a lot of fun together.  Then they got in their dad’s truck and left.  I keep checking their room just in case they snuck back in when I wasn’t watching.

Mom said tonight I am going to become a big sister!  A new GEB pup named Tori is going to join our family and I’m going to show her the ropes.  Mom said I’m not allowed to teach her my bad habits (I know its shocking, but I do have a few!), only how good I am.  She said that I have to learn how to play gently with Tori because she is just a baby German Shepherd.  I am not sure I know how to play gently, but mom said I have to learn or I won’t get to play with her at all.  So I guess I’m going to have to learn!

I will post some pictures soon!  Mom really wants to take a picture of us snuggling together.  We’ll see how long it takes for us to calm down enough to do that!

But the word heat?  It’s a confusing word.  It can mean heat as in high temperatures.  It can mean intensity or strength as in “turn up the heat!”   It can refer to a basket ball team in something call the En-bee-Eh.  It can refer to a type of pain.  Or in races there are heats — groups of runners who start the race at staggered times.  Heat is a confusing word.  And I just learned a new meaning to it.  Heat is that time of the year when us female dogs are somewhat tortured by our own bodies.

Last night, to my dismay, my body started Heat.  I had hoped when I heard mom and dad talk about it, being in heat would just mean I was over heated. No problem, I just go an lay on tiled floor and my temperature goes down.  Well right now my ears are warm, but I’m sure not feeling so hot.  Let’s just say I have to wear a diaper now.   When I am wearing my diaper, I really don’t feel like moving.  I just lie on the ground and sigh.  It is humiliating to wear a diaper.  I mean, sometimes Mom and dad take me outside in it.  What are they thinking?  The neighbours might see it!!  Can you imagine the gossip going along the barking chain right now?

Last night mom realized I was in heat and so instead of sleeping in my nice cozy bed, I was whisked away and put in my crate.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind sleeping in my crate, but I much prefer sleeping one something soft.  Mom gave me a bedtime snack that came from my Aunti Patti next door, and then told me a story about the birds and the bees.  To make a long story short, the moral is: don’t chase birds, and bees bite back if you try to eat them.  And then I had to sleep all alone.

To make matters worse, I just found out today that I can’t go play with my friends a puppy class, because the boys will be too excited.  So I am stuck at home while they all have fun.  I guess the good news is that I am having fun (when not slumped on the floor sleeping) brushing against things in creative manners trying to get this diaper to pop off.  So far no good, but I’ll let you know how I make out!

Well, I finally figured out where they were going … to some place called church! I’ve heard rumours about this from other dogs, but I had never been there myself. Do you know how many people were there? A lot. That’s how many. And the people there were really nice. Some people were a little confused to see a dog at church, which is not surprising. Most dogs don’t get to go. But then once they realized that I’m in training with Guiding Eyes for the Blind, everyone was happy to see me and find out more about the program I’m part of.

Why I have my vest on I know I’m working. So I’m patient around people and try harder to be patient when I see another dog, though sometimes that is beyond my capabilities. I am a puppy after all. But I do try. I promise. Well most of the time I try. THAT is a true statement. But I digress.

So we get to church the first time and mom and dad take a seat at the back of the big room with all the people. Mom and I practiced my “settle” (I’m getting pretty good at that!). After we’d been there for a bit, mom stood up to sing songs with everyone else, so I stood up. When I didn’t settle right away, she sat back down to help me and just stayed sitting. Then everyone started clapping. I stayed laying down, but was very pleased everyone realized how hard I was working. That’s why they were clapping right? I mean every time I hear clapping its someone is either praising me or trying to get my attention. So while I don’t understand why everyone just started clapping, I know it was for me. So I continued to be a good puppy and stayed laying calmly at mom’s feet.

Apparently I did a good job, because the first time they took me to church was for a “good friday” service and then they took me back for the sunday morning service. The music at this service was louder and more exciting, but when mom stood up to sing I knew what to do. I stayed laying down. We left the big room and sat on (well mom was on, I was beside) a bench and watched everyone leave. I stayed calm and settled and walked hundreds of people walk past me. And when it was time to leave, I stayed by mom’s side all the way out the door.

Not bad for my first couple trips to church, huh?

Well things have changed now.  Peyton is still two months younger than me.  But he’s bigger now.  Much bigger than me.  But you want to know something funny?  He STILL can’t keep up with me when we run around the house.  AND he still grunts in frustration when he can’t keep up with me.  It was funny.  He’d chase me and lag behind.  So I’d pause just long enough for him to catch up and then…… zooooooom off I go again!

The good news:  we’ve learned how to share!  The first few hours of his visit was non stop play.  Chase, tug of war and (when we didn’t think mom and dad were watching) wrestling…. but they were always watching so they stopped us pretty quick.   We could even nap side by side!

Here are a couple photos from when he was here!

Caption: My favourite outdoor activity:  Relax with a good stick in the shade and gnaw.

Sometimes I will share that stick with a friend…. sometimes.

But seriously…..while I love playing with dad, doesn’t he know stick play is no place for a human?

The strangest part of the day was meeting a horse.  I’ve never met a horse before.  Never seen one.  (Never smelt on).  Nothing.  This was a completely new experience for me.  The horse I met wasn’t a pet, he was service animal, like me!  Well not exactly like me.  Can you imagine a horse guiding a visually impaired person down the street?  Or riding in a subway?  I sure can’t!  This horse worked for the police department.  And he carried a person on his back.  (Seems like the human had the easy job!).  Anyways, back to my story.  While we were a ways off, I sat and stared at the huge animal.  It was quiet and calm, so that helped me be quiet and calm.  When mom thought I was ready, we moved closer and I sat down again, completely mesmerized by this gentle, though obviously powerful, animal.  Apparently he found me interesting too, because he moved closer to me to get a closer look.  And then closer, I just sat and watched, transfixed by his beauty.  Eventually, we were so close that we bumped noses (yes I was still sitting).  For you humans, nose bumps in the animal world means “hello, how are you?”  Here’s a photo of us contemplating each other:

You’ll notice in the photo, mom has my leash pretty short and slightly taunt.  That wasn’t because I was pulling, but because if I decided to jump she wanted to make sure I couldn’t get at the horse and spook him.  The only time I acted up was when mom moved me away from the horse.  I didn’t want to go yet, I wanted to keep looking at the horse and make friends.  But we had important things to do!  After all this wasn’t the “Annual Dogs Who Stare At Horses” event, this was the “Annual Audible Easter Egg Hunt”!

So Adria and I with our humans followed two human “soft – o – mores”.  I don’t really know what that means, but both Tori and Vee had soft hands and were gentle when they greeted me, so maybe that’s what it means?  Their greetings are so “soft” you want “more” ??  Tori and Vee both have visual impairments and they were here to hunt for eggs.  This was Tori’s second Easter Egg Hunt, but it was Vee’s first.  Mom and I followed Vee as she searched for Easter Eggs.  Some humans that work with Bombs (meaning they hunt for them and disarm them) had created eggs that beep so that humans pups who can’t see very well can participate in an Easter Egg hunt.  They have this high pitched beep that kind of echoes around.  I found it a bit distracting.  But what was the most fun was seeing Vee’s face.  She had never in her entire life participated in something like this.  Each egg she found made the smile on her face grow.  In fact she was smiling so big, that her face seem glow with joy.  I think sometimes people who are sighted forget how much they take some things for granted.  And when you see a soft-o-more experience an Easter Egg hunt for the first time ever, its really an amazing thing to watch.  Vee said to Tori when they were finished — “That was so much fun!  I’m coming next year whether you like it or not!”  (I think Tori thought that was a fantastic idea.)

Here’s a picture of us the four of us after the festivities were over and we were getting ready to head home:

(Tori is holding me, and Vee has Adria).

While we were there we also got to see a few guide dogs who were working.  I don’t think there were any dogs there from Guiding Eyes (other than Adria and I that is), but there were some dogs who were full fledged guide dogs from other schools.  There were also a few dogs who were there as therapy dogs.  It just goes to show you that there are a bunch of careers out there for dogs who want to work.  :)

Today was a wonderful morning.  But now, I think its time for a nap.  I’m sleepy……

]]> http://feelingalittleblue.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/the-audible-easter-egg-hunt/feed/ 0 meljdavis Adria ppl greet Blue meets a horse! Tori-V-Blue-Adria http://feelingalittleblue.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/guess-whos-going-out-an-about/ http://feelingalittleblue.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/guess-whos-going-out-an-about/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:03:25 +0000 meljdavis http://feelingalittleblue.wordpress.com/?p=165 ]]> I apologize for being so negligent on this blog recently.  It’s just that I’ve had LOTS of stuff going on!

For instance, let me tell you about two days that I had last week.

One day Mom and her friend took me out shopping.  I had my fancy vest on and was proud to strut my stuff.  I can’t quite explain it, but when I put that vest on, something happens in me.  I think I grow up by a few months or something.  Because I don’t pull as much, I am more responsive to momma’s directions, I don’t try to jump on people as much.  In short, I am learning how to work.

We started our day at CVS (a local drug store chain).  While mom’s friend stood in line at the customer service desk, we walked up and down the aisles.  We walked past shampoos, soaps, candy, medicine and even some dog treats.  I didn’t try to get into any of them (but the dog treats were especially tempting).  There was a little girl shopping there with her daddy.  She wanted to come over and play with me.  She was really sweet.  My mom and her dad talked with her.  They told her that I was a working girl, so I had to stay focused on my job.  Her dad asked her to think about what it would be like if she really needed to get to somewhere important, but everyone kept wanting her to stop and give them a hug.  She nibbled on her finger and looked at me thoughtfully and nodded.  I’m not sure she agreed (she would probably like getting hugs just as much as I like getting pats on the head and scratches behind the ears), but she didn’t try to give me a pat.

After CVS we walked around Target.  We looked at bedding (I would have loved to take home some of those BIG pillows for me to curl up on the floor with, but momma said no), we found cleaning supplies, and momma’s friend got me a treat for later because I was being so good!  After Target, we went to Trader Joe’s.  Momma’s friend pushed the cart because she wanted momma to have both hands free to work with me.  Let me tell you Trader Joe’s was B-U-S-Y!  There were people everywhere!  And there was fresh bread and meat and cheese and it was sensory overload.  But momma was very patient with me.  I didn’t jump on anyone, I tried not to smell the delectable treats in their baskets and overall, I must say, I did a FANTASTIC job!

Well that was nothing compared to our next outing!  Momma took me to this human playground called Lynnhaven Mall.  We got there and wandered around.  Momma would pick benches every so often to sit on and I would settle at her feet and watch all the people around us.  Then we went and checked out the perfume department at Macy’s as we waited for momma’s friend and her little human pup Anna.  Anna is an adorable toddler who isn’t so sure about black dogs like me.  Her momma said that it doesn’t matter what size they are, if the dog is dark coloured, Anna is concerned.  So my job, momma explained, was to be a calm friendly doggie with Anna to help her with her fear.  When Anna arrived with her momma the four of us set out.  First we went to Old Navy to find some summer clothes for Anna.  Boy were there a lot of human pups in that store.  Everywhere I turned there was another human pup.  Their momma’s saw my vest and told them I was a working girl.  So they and I would sit and contemplate how wonderful it would be to play with each other in different circumstances.

After the Old Navy we went to Victoria Secret, where I learned what it was like to be in a changing room and stand in a line up.  Because I was being such a good girl, momma let me wander around the change room a bit and stretch my legs.  It was wonderful.  After that we sat on a bench while Anna took her mom to check out Gymboree.  Mom thought that I was getting a little tired and all the little people in there might be too much for me to handle.  Well she was probably wise.  So I settled by her feet on a bench and contemplated life while taking compliments on my beauty from passers-by.  There were a bunch of humans around that were all so amazed at how well I was doing given I’m only 8 months old and in training.

After that it was time for Chik-fil-A.  I think this is the part of the day I am most excited about.  Chik-fil-A is a (I’m told by mom) amazing chicken fast food place.  The chicken tastes like real chicken apparently.  Well the lady behind the cash saw us coming and said, you’re with GEB!  She recognized her vest.  She said her former accountant used to raise with GEB (and might still, but she’s retired) and used to meet her dogs when they went to work with her.  So she and mom chatted for a bit.  Then we ordered and she had someone bring our food to our table.  Let me tell you I was pooped.  So it took very little convincing to “down” and “stay” beside mom’s chair.  I laid there, watched all the people around me.  They walked around me, stepped over (thankfully) my tail, watched me…. There were even little people in the restaurant and I just stayed put and rejuvenated.

Then it was time to go home and SLEEP before heading to Richmond to see Dads’ niece in a recorder concert at her school.  I stayed settled at mom’s feet and then after the concert I met a very special little girl.  Her name is Madison and she is blind.  She is a year younger than Dad’s niece and was such a sweet girl.  She came over and patted my head.  When she found out I was a guide dog in training, she wondered if she could take me home with her.  Momma explained that I wasn’t ready yet, even though I was doing very well at that moment, as I still have a LOT to learn.  Momma talked to her mom and dad about GEB.  They hadn’t heard about GEB yet.  So she gave them a card with the website to find out more information.  For me it was great to meet that little girl.  She’s still too young for a guide dog, but seeing her reminded me about my purpose.  I have a job to do in the future, so I need to keep working hard now!!

Not surprisingly, after that was time to go home.  I slept ALL the way home, got home, got “busy” outside, and then went straight to sleep.  It was a BIG day.  But so much fun.  I’m looking forward to our next outing!

First, they put me in a diaper that was Buffy’s.  I mean I don’t care about being in hand me down collars, or leashes, or using her old dog bed.  But a hand me down diaper?  Really.  AND Buffy was a smaller girl than me.  I am bigger at 8 months than she was at 18 months (or friday when Mom saw Buffy).  So the diaper was a little tight.  Every time mom put it on it was very uncomfortable.  I didn’t like walking around in it.  So I would lay down and stay put.  Didn’t matter what was going on.  I would also give mom the death stare until she took it off. Often that didn’t work though, because she wasn’t looking at me.  Death stares are only effective when the person (or puppy) you are staring at knows you’re giving it.

Well I was very relieved when I saw Whimsey’s mom take it out the house.  Whimsey is a smaller pup than me, so it’ll fit her better, even if it is a *sniff* hand me down.

Much to my dismay, mom showed up with TWO MORE today!  Instead of being denim blue, these are purple and hot pink.  (For those of you who know mom’s aversion to hot pink she says, when the price is right, the price is right.  Besides that was the only option and I am colour blind so who cares?)  She put the purple one on me to make sure it fits.  Well, sadly, this one does fit better.  I was able to have my pity party in far more comfort.  Death stares still didn’t work.  I did my best to lay down on whatever mom was working on.  So as she sorted laundry to put into the washer, I laid down smack dab on top, until she made me move out of the way.  Then I would lay down on her feet any time she stopped moving for 10 seconds.  Then when that didn’t work, I had to get creative.  So as mom was on the couch, i decided to do the death stare from over her shoulder:

When she got up to figure out what I was doing, this is what she found:

Yes I have gotten into my (currently-empty-because-they-are-strewn-around-the-house) toy basket.  In case it’s not clear here, I got up and got back in again:

My thinking is this:  If I sit in a basket, no one will notice the humiliating diaper on my butt.  And maybe in the meantime I can score some brownie points.  Teacher Jodi says we should sit, down and walk on as many different surfaces as possible.  I decided to experiment with this one on my own.  But I don’t think I’ll lie down, that won’t be very comfortable.

Apparently “heat” is 3 weeks long, thought mom said Buffy’s first heat was 5+ weeks (and has begged me not to copy her).  So I am going to have to get pretty creative in my sit-in protests!

The next day, Dad and I had a lazy saturday morning.  Then around human lunch time, there was a knock at the door and in walked Ramona.  (Her human was with her, don’t worry she didn’t run away).  Ramona is a couple months younger than me and she’s a yellow lab.  Saturday afternoon’s itinerary:  PLAY TIME!!  You know — tag (I like being the one chased), tug of war, steal the other dog’s bone, retrieve your stolen bone, more tag, wrestling when dad’s not looking…. DINNER, forced nap time in crates, PLAYTIME!!  It was wonderful.  Every so often dad got out my treat bag and asked us to do some work.  So we’d reluctantly stop playing and follow Dad’s directions (it’s a little like human pups playing simon says, except we get food!).  If we tried to offer suggestions (he asks for a sit, we provide a sit AND a down), he wasn’t very happy.  He’s no fun.  Then after we finished with the work part, we went back to playing!

Finally, Mom got home.  She sat down and told me and Ramona all about the guiding eyes facilities she saw this weekend while she was gone.  Of course, Ramona and I are very familiar with their whelping kennels, after all that’s where we were born and spend the first 8 weeks of our lives getting ready for puppy raising.  Then she told us about the training facility.  She got to see some older dogs (about 2 years) graduate from the program with their partners.  She told us about how exciting it will be to see us graduate, even though it will be hard for her to say goodbye to us.  I didn’t understand it all, but I am excited to go to puppy college one day!

On Sunday and Monday mom and dad continued to referee our play time and help us learn to work.  Mom said that she could tell that I was the older dog for once.  Very slowly I am learning how to be calm around other dogs.  I am learning that I don’t HAVE to play ALL the time (though you know I like to).  On Sunday, Ramona and I laid on the floor by mom’s feet very patiently.  In case you don’t believe me, take a look at this:

Of course mom was eating, so mostly we were doing this:

That’s just attentively watching, not begging.  We are not begging for food.  I promise!  However, if she’d dropped something we would have obligingly picked it up for her without complaint.

The important thing is this, we are laying side by side and touching each other.  We are not playing we are laying calmly and paying attention to momma.  Not bad huh?

On Tuesday we pretty much slept all day until Ramona’s mom came to pick her up.  We had a busy weekend, naps were in order.

I am definitely growing up.  Whenever mom takes me out walking, I am getting much better at not pulling and walking calmly by her side.  I can walk past 50% of the dogs on our walk with just a look and no pulling.  I will even work for mom (provided she has a good treat) when there are other dogs near by.  I am getting older and calmer and learning a lot.   Of course I still have my moments when I demonstrate just how young I am, but I am growing up!