Meanwhile, across town

The kids had a new respite foster visit over the weekend.  This was a different six-year-old boy from the last respite visit. It was a shorter weekend; in that two birth family visits had been scheduled for the boy. 

From the photos (that I cannot share), it looks like a fine time was had by all.  By Sunday, the youngster had started to call my son "Dad".

In the hours and couple of days after the visit, son and DIL were approached about their willingness to take this child for a longer time.  Since this would involve separating siblings into separate placements, there are some foster system hoops to be jumped through before the whole plan can be approved, but they have been approved to provide respite for the week of Sunday the 22nd to Friday morning the 27th.

On Sunday the 22nd, we have plans to do a "dog swap", from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  We'll meet at a dog-park, let them play together, then I'll bring grand-dog Carl home with me, and Ember will go home with my son and daughter in law.

Their foster respite child will be arriving around 3:30 p.m.  I will deliver Carl back to them at their house, meet the foster kiddo, and collect Ember.  That's the current plan, anyway.  Then they will have their week as parents to a school child during his school week.

At the end of that week, on Friday morning, I will take on Carl and have a two-dog household for three days while "the kids" and DIL's parents go to a family wedding a state away.  Wish me luck, everyone!

Wednesday's happenings

It was dental appointment day for me on Wednesday.  Pronounced as stable.  Heard about dentist's husband's upcoming run of the New York City Marathon.  I have been living vicariously on her reports of his running for five years now.  

I also learned that my periodontist will be retiring and closing up shop next March.  I have an appointment with her in February, so I'll have my last visit with her then.  The general plan is to transition to just the general dentist (the one with the marathon running hubby) but keep the 5-month cleaning rotation.

Ember has recovered from the runny poos and was full of herself today.  She attacked behind the A/C, stripping off some of the early repairs I paid for in her youngest puppy days.  I had been blocking the access with garbage cans for a while, then she seemed to be ignoring it as "white noise" for a while, and suddenly, the past couple of days... it's back on her radar.

The second thing she went after was a conduit that held cable

and telephone wires going up the side of the house!  Both photos show after repairs were attempted by the homeowner, with assistance from my sister.  Sometimes the blessing is in the timing.  I had Alicia here, managed to get Ember into her crate, and the two women went out and assessed the damage and did what we could.  I believe those cables (the box says "telco access only") are now unused.  I don't have cable, but the wire is still there.  I don't have a house phone, but the wires are still there.

The third "something always happening" looks like I have a leak, possibly related to the underground sprinklers that I just had "fixed" this year.  That puddle seems to be getting bigger, and not just at the times the sprinklers actually run.  It has grown since my sister's visit that ended before 5 p.m.  Photo taken in the 7:30 p.m. time frame.  

I'm not even sure who to call.  I have the appliance repair guy arriving Thursday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.  Perhaps their technician will identify whether I need to also call a plumber, as well as whether the dishwasher needs to be replaced.  Just when I was financially recovering from all the "upgrades".  Sigh.  I might also need to call the landscape guys who did the sprinkler system repairs.

Whatever the details, the saga of home ownership continues.  And the saga of pet ownership, too.

Ember got a nice little leash walk after I got home from the dentist.  She was so good for it!  Yes, we stopped and let her chew on a fallen branch for a while, long enough for her to get bored with it and be ready to move on.  I truly love the lazy walks, where I don't feel the need to rush her along.  I get to find out what interests her.

Here she is with her favorite tug toy, the hose.  She knows the hose has to stay outside while the puppy may come inside the house.  But every morning when we go out, she picks up that end of the hose and proudly pulls it to wherever she's going.

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Will it be a good week?

 Monday the 16th

My home-made tug, straps, shoestrings, and drapery ties.  She likes it, and this one she seems to understand which end is the puppy end and which end is the human end.  Short games of tug.

Sleep was short changed Sunday night into Monday, as I was determined to avoid another crate accident.  I had a 9 a.m. eye appointment and don't want anything to interfere.

This photo was taken about 20 minutes to sunrise.

We made it through the night with outside trips at 7:30, midnight, 2 and 4 a.m.  Mom slept on the couch from midnight on, fully dressed, and went upstairs to do the daily meds before the 4 a.m. outing, then laid her head on the table for about an hour after that outing, while the puppy was on door watch.

We did a little training on the subject of "hot zones", introducing the dog beds, with mixed results.  This session was conducted in the family room, which has been gated off for a couple of weeks, ever since the leather couch problems (bitter spray does not work for this dog).

Mostly, she wanted to chew on something. 

Mom's military style "cover" got donated to the cause to avoid her chewing on the crate mat I wanted to become a hot zone.

The raised dog bed got better results, but she's still got that hat.

In the end, she decided she really did want to chew on that mat and did so, while remaining on the raised bed.

We ended the training session when Ember started to get bored and headed for the couch to continue her destructive ways with it.

Monday morning's eye appointment went well.  Prescription has not changed much, but the cataract in the left eye has continued to grow.  I can feel the deterioration. Dr. J. said the question about the cataract is how much it bothers me.  I said I think this one is going to bother me more than the first one, because I know what the deterioration process was like with that first eye (the right eye).  

He made the referral appointment to Dr. S. for cataract evaluation, on the 26th. 

Tuesday the 17th

Trainer day for me, last one for a couple of weeks.  There's only been one a week for a few weeks, as the high school track meets (he coaches at a local parochial school) were scheduled for Thursday mornings due to heat in the afternoons.  They switch to Tuesday mornings in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime, I have that Thursday appointment with Dr. S.

I finally remembered to go pick up Ember's flea-tick-heartworm dose at the vet's office, on the way home from the trainer.  

Wednesday will be a dental appointment day for me.  Thursday, I have the appliance repair guy coming to see if my leaking dishwasher is salvageable, or if I need to just give it up and replace the 25-year-old machine.

Meanwhile, Ember is getting better with the poo situation.  Monday into Tuesday I gave her "last call" at about 8 p.m., then went down about 11:30 p.m., too, but I went back upstairs and slept in my own bed until 4, skipping the "in between" 2 a.m. check.  Poo on Tuesday morning was still soft but not soupy. This continued in that vein during the day.  I just gave her last call at about 8 again and will check on her in the midnight hour again tonight, just because.

Life is good!  Spark on.

Just the two of us... a photo Saturday

 

Early Saturday morning, gnawing on a formerly rejected chew stick.

Saturday afternoon sunning on the deck.  It was a very pleasant day!  Cool in the morning, and warmish in the afternoon.  I think the high was 76℉, which is a degree lower than what I set my Summer thermostat at.

Ember rolled on her back, showing off her healing hives on her belly!  They really are improving, which is a good thing, since the last pill was for Sunday morning.  The mousse still has plenty in it, and the instructions were to rub it on her affected areas once a day for a week, then "as needed" after that.

Sometimes the toys that are the most fun are the ones that we steal from mom's bag-holder.  Empty poo bags!  But I noticed that in the "tuggers" module of my online dog-training class, an empty poo bag is one of the warm-up toys that one of the students actually used!

This tug toy is one she shakes and plays the "smack da baby" game solo, all by herself!

If this chair is good enough for Mom, it's good enough for Ember!  She looked so stinkin' cute, I had to take her picture!

Sunday report

Things got a bit exciting this morning.  Mornings, pre-sunrise are always a "surprise package".  This morning's surprise was Ember deciding to push her big crate around and gnaw on it, inside the XPen.  She likes big toys, and she chews on anything she finds in her environment.

I got her outside by calling her recall word, and giving her the recall treats.  

We did have one little bite episode after we had played a game of IYC, and I used the sliding glass door to separate us.  I'm concerned that we may have a case of separation anxiety being built.  She seems content to lay at my feet while I eat my breakfast.  Once she's worn out, the luring into the crate for her puppy nap can happen.

It was a quiet day in Emberville, all in all.  She was well fed, got playtime in the backyard, some crate training lessons, some reward zone practice, right in the backyard, too.  And a little bit of hot zone practice, too.  But mostly, we just chilled.  Oh, and she chased a squirrel for the first time!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Around the house

 

Ember scraped some of Stony's paint off.  

Things never seem to stop growing around here.  Thursday's trimmings.

Another of Ember's makeshift toys... a strap and four drapery ties make this one up.  She's fascinated.

She quickly broke the little loops on the ties, so I've reworked this toy already.

This one is a Holee-Roller with the braided shoelace handle... she loves it but wants to play by herself with this one.

Egg carton food puzzle.  She consumes the food, then destroys the carton.

The wall that Ember has been targeting most recently.  It's right outside the bathroom/pantry, where mommy disappears to "go potty", human style.  Sigh.  I need another baby gate.  Her potential allowable spaces keep shrinking.

This may just be Stony's final spot, right by the front faucet.  I can coil a hose at his feet.  And Stony is a "he", btw, you can see this from certain angles!

I think what she is feeling is frustration.  Mom keeps changing things on her, from her nap schedule to her food to how many car rides she's expected to endure in a week.  But that doesn't make it any easier for Mom.

Late Friday morning, I think it was Susan who came to my door.  By the time I got Ember into the XPen and opened the door, she had left.  But I don't have her phone number, nor does she have mine, and I don't even know the exact location of her front door, the way the townhomes are laid out.  What I see is the side of her house and her "back garden".  And being me, I'm a "what if I misidentified the video and it wasn't her?"  I had an appointment to get to, so did not follow up.  I might have done if Ember hadn't had another "episode" of the bites a little after 3.  

I was feeling pretty bummed out end of day, Friday.  Three episodes of teeth on Mom or Mom's clothing.  The first was in the early morning inside the XPen.  Bite protocol seemed to work well in the confined space.

I think the second was on the deck.  I had easy access to separate us by a door, there.

The 3 p.m. one was the worst of the bunch.  I was streaming blood down my arms from several scrape wounds.  It happened way in the back where the shed used to be.  Ember was not on a leash, and the "grab the collar and reduce the tension she's putting on your pant leg" did not apply, although I did try to adapt it.  It wasn't the pant leg, it was my arm inside the sweatshirt, and she had hold of the arm, not just the fabric! 

I shimmied myself out of the sweatshirt, but this did not deter her.  I eventually got her inside, freezing and stepping, and stroking, and freezing and stepping and stroking.  I stayed outside to calm myself down.

Then I reversed our positions with her on the back deck and me inside to clean up. 

I have bloody laundry.  The dog stripped bandages and ate them.  She had "No legs" to get in car to go to puppy class (so mom called us in "going to be absent").  She expanded the damage on the wall.

Saturday morning I woke in a more optimistic mood.  This lasted until the adolescent decided she wanted to use the kitchen trash can for a chew toy.  I took her outside and she started digging up trouble in the old river rock bed next to the sandbox.

I had some idea of what I wanted to train on Saturday.  The plan did not make it to the execution stage.  

At least so far, we have not had a major biting incident on Saturday.  She has shown signs of wanting to, but I have been ready with interventions.  For example if she is focused enough, I give her a cue to do something simple, like "sit" or "hop it up".  I traded her the "magic dust pan" for the lid to the kitchen trash, then moved the trash can behind the gate to the family room.

As I was eating my salad on the deck, she went for my shoes, and I stepped her inside, closing the sliding door.  She settled herself down and was civilized by the time I finished my lunch and was ready to deal with her again.

I diagnosed tired and hungry.  I put her down with a Kong full of kibble and plugged with peanut butter, and she's now down for puppy nap #2.

Life is good, even when challenging.  Spark on!

September, forward!

 

Do I have enough toys?  I think not!

Mom tried to do something clever, attaching a leash to one of my holee-rollers, but I really prefer to chew on the leash, not tug on the ball.

So now, Mom is working on doing something she hadn't done in years:  braiding shoestrings.  Why?  To make dog toys!  Specifically, custom tug toys, so she and Ember can learn to play tug safely.  The commercially produced ones do not have the specific qualities I want.  Yep.  Been watching videos again!

Ember went down for a short puppy nap, because her groomer drop off time was 9 a.m. While she was getting her "special" bath and her nails trimmed, I did what I wanted to do:  reconfigured the XPen to expose a portion of the parlor for human use!

Alicia and I might just test it out if she remembers it is Wednesday and comes for her usual visit after her workday.

(She did, and we did.)

Also new today, one of those "whimsical" purchases I am wont to make at times arrived.  Ember met the new "garden bench" when she came home.  She barked at it.  

Note the cute little bandana they put on her after her "diva" appointment.  Tony tells me if the vet wants her treated with the shampoo more frequently, like a bath a week or something, they do have reduced rates for that kind of multiple appointments. Obviously, will monitor progress of the spots, and if we don't see enough progress, I'll ask the vet about it.

The Prisoner had "met" the bench earlier and was unimpressed.  It's really quite small, suitable for a child to sit on, or for me to use as a seat while weeding.

I gave Ember her "salad" when she got home.  This was the fourth trip in a row where she did NOT want to get in the car to come home.  Puppy class last Friday, visit to son's house on Sunday, the Vet on Tuesday, and now the Groomer on Wednesday.  

Today's reluctance was complicated by my failing to put on the treat pouch before heading over to collect her.  I tried the water bottle.  I had taken her current favorite stuffed toy (the orange iguana).  I tried putting a towel from the trunk into the back seat (she likes towels).  No dice on any of them.  Finally, I recruited one of the employees to help me convince Ember to get in, and she lifted the front while I hefted her hind quarters!  

I have to wonder whether the car sickness feeds into this reluctance.  She's usually quite eager to get into the car on the way out, but on the way back, not so much.

That bandana stayed on through her puppy nap, but it came off in the back yard shortly after getting up and getting active.  Tony must tie good bandana knots!

Thursday morning we played in the yard.  Mom didn't even offer a harness try on.  But we went outside and listened to all the morning sounds, like the garbage trucks and the birds.  We watched the sky lighten.  We took care of business.

Inside, Mommy gave Ember a peanut butter treat with you-know-what (her meds) tucked inside.  Ember lapped it up.  Then she got her "chow".  We played the "hot zone" game to exercise the puppy mind, and we chased balls (I can't say retrieved, because she's not big on bringing them back to me) in the backyard.

Despite the relatively "new" routine of yard play instead of leash walk (part of this is the new configuration of the house... we can't get to the front door without hazard of a chew-trigger), Ember settled into her puppy nap on schedule.

Mommy had to remove the dog statue due to Ember chewing on it and knocking it over to boot.  Mom was concerned it might break.  She tucked it into the garage overnight and is trying it in the river rock on the South Side of the house today (Thursday).  It might migrate around the yard for a while before being declared to be in its permanent home.

Chopped down some of the suckers off the tree on that South side, too.  They come back every year.  I might get them cleared every other year, but they do come back.  This year with all the watering I did, maybe more than usual!

Now it's time for Mom to head out to the grocery store.  Bananas and blueberries are always on the list.  

Life is good.  Keep on Sparkin'!

Emberville and Dad Day

One of those "geeky" things I keep track of:  today I reached the number of days since my birth that my dad reached on the day he passed, back in 1999.  Some folks may consider that a bit on the morbid side, but I don't.  I can now say I have outlived the lifelines of both my mother and my father.  And while they might not have lived as many days, they certainly had full and meaningful lives.

Having adopted Ember, I have a new chapter / mission, to ensure she has a good timeline of her own.

As I was eating my breakfast, I saw her quietly chewing on her purple hippo and could not resist.  I have so many pictures of Ember!

Shortly after I snapped this photo, the little one got bored and started to sniff and paw at the foot of the stairs carpet.  Yeah, the last step that is not protected by the "gate".

I called her name, and she came right to me.  I gave her the special recall treat, then I let her outside for a sniff, then back in while I prepped her Kong for puppy nap #1.  

I interrupted my breakfast to save my carpet.

Speaking of rescuing things, I broke the zipper on the Schitty Kit this morning.  Ember and I are hard on things.  I've always been hard on things.  I remember my mother commenting on how hard I was on my shoes as a child.

Sewing kit to the rescue.  I put the zipper back together while Ember napped. I stitched up the end of it. It works again.  I ordered another Schitty Kit.  It is just too useful.  Ember had already done a number on the mesh, as well, so it is only a matter of time before this item wears out.

Between the puppy naps, a new package arrived at my door.  It came in a long tube.  It may be a while before I'm ready to give this one a try.  But until then, this giant cardboard roll is making a fine "destructo-toy" for Ember.

Alicia came over at her usual time and she did hold Ember for a couple of "restrained recalls" but, seriously, Ember had already had her supper by then and it was hot outside.

So we put her to bed and sister-chatted in the human part of the house.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Fall-like weather

 

Enjoying the cool spell, but the weekend is predicted to be beastly hot again, topping the century mark on Sunday.

I took the cloudy sky through the tree this morning, pre-sunrise.  It just has this "time is passing and the seasons are changing" look to it, to me.

It's going to be a busy people-y weekend.  Today, Friday, Ember has her Puppy Plus training class at Zoom Room (5th from the last). 

Tomorrow, Saturday, Ember and I have been invited to join "the kids", Carl, and DIL's parents at a "local" lake so that Carl can get some exercise before the worst of the heat arrives.

It's a long drive, so I worry about Ember's car sickness.  But it would be supportive for my co-In-laws to the young couple.  Yesterday they lost their young bird, Ollie.  He really was young, I think under two years, and it was completely unexpected.  They thought he was sleeping in, as he sometimes would do, but he had died.

On Sunday, a friend of my son from his online in the basement gaming days is coming to town to look at a car being sold by my niece.  It's also supposed to be the hottest day of the weekend.  I do hope I'll get to see him, and I hope that Ember is up to a meeting, too.  It's a long trip for him, and last I heard, he was thinking of taking the train from where he lives, on the far side of Iowa.

Ember did well at her puppy class.  There was just one other puppy there, Mason.  He's a shy guy and needs lots of encouragement.  Ember, meanwhile, was full of frustration, pulling the paper that was covering a hole in the wall, and shredding it.  She also wanted to chew on the stool legs (this is common behavior on her part), to jump up and knock things over on the wall around the gym (it's a half-high wall, counter height), and to chew up the mat that she was supposed to relax on with the "go to mat" cue.  However, she did a fine job of "wait" and "heel" behavior (I don't use the word "heel", I use "with mommy" and "hip").  She's learning that "break" is a release word, as is a fresh cue to do something, like "come", or "search".

We did alternate activity while Mason was learning "go to mat".  

She was tired when we got home. She was a good quiet pup while I fixed our salads and fed her.  She almost made it to my finishing my salad, but in the end was up the stairs, tearing at the carpet.  This time she did not take down the baby gate.  Instead, she started on the carpet at the top of the stair steps!  Ai-yi-yi, Ember!

Well, at least I have an answer to my son's question about whether the hardwood trim was in fact hardwood stairs, underneath the carpet.  No, son, sorry, it's not.

After puppy nap #2, I had a colossal failure at trying the solo version of restrained recall.  I have decided that I shall not attempt this again.  It freaks Ember out to have a long lead (it's 18 feet, I think) wrapped around a pole.  She grabs the leash and restrains herself, and then she's so afraid and upset by what she doesn't understand that she takes it out on my hands.  LOTS of new band-aids today!

I abandoned the long lead on the deck while I went inside to wash and bandage myself.  Ember calmed down once that was out of the picture.

We played an extra round of IYC, with cheese before I fed Ember and put her to bed.

 

I improvised another layer of containment for the stairs, since the baby gates can't attach in this spot.  I roll up towels to hold the section of X-Pen in place.  Hope it works.  Wish me luck!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Fly chasing is tiring work, ma.

From Monday afternoon:  Ember was so distracted by a fly, that she forgot to finish her corncob treats.  That fly drove her nuts.  

Banana nut bread, shared by my daughter in law.  Afternoon snack for the human also from Monday the 19th.

The cardinal that's growing up in my neighborhood has been hanging around, chirping cheerily.  When I can't see him, I can hear him.  He adds such a nice splash of brightness to both sight and sound.  

Puppy nap breaks on Tuesday have been spent repairing whatever "enthusiasm-induced" damages my favorite canine inflicted.  Tuesday morning, it was the couch, where she didn't completely remove my prior repairs, but did start working at it.  Tuesday afternoon, it was the drapes on the sliding glass door to the deck.  Sigh.

Wednesday morning I woke early

The bladder got me up.  The brain kept me awake.  Gave up and got up.  I discovered I had not finished and posted the blog, so doing that now.

Life is good!  Spark on!

Sometimes the silence is wonderful

 

Ember was in the midst of her morning crate time when this photo was snapped out on my paver patio.  She went in at about 7:30 a.m., having had her first bathroom break, her breakfast, and her earliest walk of this Saturday.  I cooked and ate my own breakfast, and she was a good girl while I did, puppy-napping on the kitchen floor.

I put her in for this normal routine, did my poo patrol, and let The Prisoner back inside to his area of the house.  I then headed to the grocery store to pick up some needed items.  I loaded a few bottles of water into the car against the dog park trip later in the day.

As you can see in the photo, I was home again still relatively early in the day. The sun was not yet threatening to round the corner of the paver patio.  I was sitting and reading for a while, then I puttered with weeding for a bit.  

Six days of "stay off the sod" left!  But who's counting?

Play date at the dog park

As soon as I mentioned a ride in the car, Ember was very much "down" for this adventure.  This gives me hope for the future of car rides.  We played a little "by the trainer's rules" fetch while we waited for time to leave.

It was a beautiful day, and it wasn't "too hot" yet, but it was warm enough to make us take the shady trail for the two dark-coated canines.  Ember showed off her retriever instincts by taking immediately to the water (yes, that's her in the photo).  At one point she fell over the bank into the stream and surprised herself (but don't worry, did not hurt herself).  The stream bank was quite steep where she fell, but Lacey managed to coach her back to a place where the it was shallower.  Ember dog-paddled like the best of them, and had a great time.

Carl also had a great time, and was a good foster-doggie-daddy, finding a ball, and showing Ember how to drop it in the stream to go swim after it.

The mythical son "rode herd" on the two frolicking dogs; his wife took videos that made us all smile, and I just grabbed a couple of still shots, but mostly kept an eye out for when she would drop a poo and I would need to clean up.

We were at the park for about an hour when it became clear that Ember was finally running out of steam.  She came to me for her freeze-dried chicken heart treats.  I clipped on her leash. Carl wanted in on the treats, too, thus he was also put back on leash and everybody headed home to baths and long naps.

I let Ember nap before her bath.  When she came out of her "den" about 3 p.m. it was time to test the theory that the "new" shower would or would not work to wash the dog.  Clearly, I need more practice, as every square inch of that bathroom was drenched, and I'm sure the dog was not thoroughly rinsed... but at least she doesn't smell like the creek anymore.

Interesting note:  Ember did manage to make me bleed again, and some of my blood ended up on the wall.  After I was bandaged up, Ember trotted up the stairs and looked at me, and looked at the blood smears, bringing my need to clean it up to attention!  Good girl, Ember, and we got the job done before it became a permanent stain!

Then my "little one" wanted to go out for a leash walk and was rewarded with attention from other humans.  She loves that!  The same young men who fawned over her last week were out in their driveway.  Belly rubs and ear scratches and lots of "pretty dog" compliments.  Then the family that used to mow my grass was out in their driveway with their 4th of July company, and we stopped to chat.  Ember got more compliments for her behavior while the humans talked about the yard improvements going on over at my house.  The neighbors all seem quite pleased that I've done this. I'm sure it helps their own homes' values.

Miss Emmy is now bedded down until "last call".  I would say that both Ember and her Mommy have had a good day, here in Emberville!

Life is Good!  Spark on!

An attempt to return to something resembling "normal"

 

On Tuesday, I had my first session with the personal trainer (for me, not for Ember) since late May.  

Tuesday morning, I wore a different pair of shoes.  The soles had started to come away from the uppers on the pair I had most recently used as my "regular" dog-walking shoes, so I put on a different pair.

Well!  Ember decided that she needed to treat these new shoes the way she has every "change".  Nibble, untie, etc.  I distracted her, pointing out that Mommy needs her feet to move.

Treats.  Sigh.  

Anyway, the little puppy who isn't so little any more got a bit mouthy.  I extracted my right wrist from her mouth, reminding her that this is my treat hand, and if she wants to be fed, Mommy needs her hands, too!

Of course she was hungry.  But she wasn't showing much interest in her normal food.  We had at least an hour before it would be socially acceptable to take her walking in the neighborhood, and of course the backyard is still off limits for 10 more days.  I explained that to the puppy, also, that we had to wait for the sun.  She decided at this point that kibble wasn't as bad as all that.

I'm still working on the "mommy doesn't play that kind of game" theory, and I may be imagining it but Tuesday morning it seemed to give me a glimmer of hope that progress is being made.  Yes, she made mommy bleed again, but she calmed and sat to get my attention (and a treat).

Finally, the sun caught up with us, and at 5:50 a.m. we were out in the lovely dawn (photo at top) and got a slow start while she chewed on the last remaining fragment of that blasted McDonald's plastic cup and a half block later while she watched with fascination an ant colony on the sidewalk and into the grass.

When we got home, she was a little hungrier for her kibble and we got enough in her that Mommy's not worried she's going to starve.  

So, lather, rinse, repeat.  Each day has its own challenges.  

Wednesday morning, she came out of the crate as "teething puppy".  She started tearing up the protective mat I used to put my bicycle trainer on.  She found the door to my bedroom not latched, and pushed it open.  I was alert enough to notice at the moment, and went up to catch her in the closet, pulling a package of TP out.  All rolls saved, thanks to the "highest value" recall treat in my pouch:  freeze-dried chicken hearts, chopped up in advance.

Before our second walk, she got her paws up on the buffet and shredded something (not quite sure what it was, card from the mail that I saved for some reason?)  She got a tea candle after our second walk, and chewed it to oblivion.  I mean, this is what she does.

BUT it was Wednesday, and the beauty of Wednesday is Puppy Class at 11 a.m.  She did well, in fact, and I let her stay for part of puppy play time.  I pulled her out just in time:  she pooped next to the car, in the parking lot!  Home, she's in a puddle of puppy in the kitchen, resting.

Looking forward to Alicia's visit this afternoon, as that will further enrich Ember's life, and hopefully that leads to a better behaved puppy through the evening hours!

Thursday is another trainer day for me.  The attempt to establish "normal" again goes on!  Saturday my son has proposed a meet-up at a local dog run.  Give us extra hands for Ember's recall, and a mentor dog in Carl, because she'll follow him when my son calls Carl back.  Anyway, that's plan A.

Life is good.  Spark on.  

The flexible and creative games we play with our canines

 

I came up with the magic bowl game because Ember stole a broom and dustpan out of my supply spot.

The magic bowl game in action.  It doesn't have to be flat on the ground to be a "magic" bowl.  If it's in any way able to hold a few kibbles, the magic can happen.

But when it's upside down, the bowl has lost its magic, and no more kibble falls into it.

When she's distracted by something else, I put the magic bowl atop the refrigerator, until the next time it's needed.

Also, who needs a formal "tug toy" when you have the dog towels?  These came into play Friday morning when Ember started chewing on the Muddy Mat by the back door.  I swapped her for a towel, made it enticing by playing a little bit of tug, then letting her win.

I found another fragment of baby tooth in the mat by the front door this morning, too.  

Permission to geek out on dog training

Last night as I was getting ready for bed I flipped on a YouTube by Susan Garrett, a Canadian dog trainer with champion agility dogs as her specialty.  In it she said if there was ONE thing you could do to make your training more effective, would you do it?  Well, what would that one thing be, Susan?  My ears perked up when she said, "Most people don't want to do it", and then revealed the big secret:  RECORD KEEPING.

If you want to make much more progress, you must track what's happening, when, the context, etc.  This will help you analyze what might be triggering your dog, and give you a much greater chance of being able to overcome whatever the problem might be.  "Aha!" my geek brain chirps in, "Permission to geek out."

Today I started "Ember's Training Log".  Beware, world, the Geek has been awakened.

Ember can now reach up over the lip of the kitchen sink and look down into it.  Yikes!  And she can reach (easily) the third shelf of the bookcase.  I had cleared the bottom two shelves, but today while my attention was on something other than my puppy... Ember declared herself an atheist.  She pulled a "One Year Bible" off the shelf and began ripping pages out of it.

Oh, well, I wanted a different Bible, anyway.  Of course in the process of "being naughty" (and don't think she doesn't know this is naughty)... she also peed on my carpet (see why I was glad I didn't replace it yet?)

Into the crate she went while I cleaned up both kinds of mess.  Sigh.  She stayed in for a while, and I did other things.

But eventually you have to get her out again.  I took her on a car ride to go pick up a prescription of mine.  When we came home, she spotted a discarded child's toy that someone had left in my yard.  I had moved it into the garage, thinking to donate it somewhere.  Well, Ember was all over that rollable toy.

She dragged it into the living room and treated it like a teething toy.  And as long as one is being naughty... I enticed her away from it with some treat or other, and as she was moving toward the dining room, she just squatted and started to pee!

Dang, girl!  I thought we were past this stage!  I can just imagine her doggy little brain thinking "In for a penny, in for a pound".

Back into the crate, little one!  I left her napping there for an hour or so.

Then I got her up and decided to do "science experiments for puppies" on the back deck.  My goal was to keep her outside until we did BOTH kinds of business!  Enough of this cleaning up after!

I grabbed the box of ice cubes from the freezer, and started putting them in the water bowl on the deck, and for good measure just scattered several of them on the deck floor.

About 1/3 of the deck was shaded at this point in the day, and having the ice there did make a difference.  We did stay out long enough for the stated goal to be realized.

Then we came back inside and played the trainer's version of "fetch" / "wait" / "OK, go get it".  At least as well as Mommy's coordination and Ember's energy level could pull it off.

By 3 p.m. she was tired again and napping on the cool tile floor.  Yes!

Joining the "smart house" world

Pretty much since hanging out with my brother's daughter in 2019 when he passed, I have been acutely aware that I'm behind the times.  Seeing how LeanJean6 (from Spark) / Lakeside Lady (here on Blogger) has all her place wired by her son so her children can monitor how she and her Himself are faring, no matter where said son (the pilot) might have flown, I've wondered about putting something similar here.

I mean, I don't even have a peephole in my front door, and would have to go to the Bay Window to see who's on the porch.  So when the motion sensor light fixture on the back deck failed on me, Bruce the electrician helped me choose a fixture to replace it.

Bruce did not come today to install it, a different Josh came (different from the one that did the tub/shower conversion).  The advantage of getting a different guy to come do the install?  I had the benefit of his assessment of whether he could install the doorbell (with camera) on the front door, too.

So now, I'm wired.  Or my house is.  It wasn't nearly as expensive as I feared it might be.  I was able to "share" my camera views with my son and daughter in law... we shall see how that works.  They have to download the app to access them.

Here I am, accessing the app while standing on the back deck!  I had to order a memory card for this particular camera, but the app lets me "take a photo", and that's how this image was captured.

Side note:  One thing the security cameras are pointing out to me is how often I'm bending over/looking down.  Of course there is the lure of a puppy to pay attention to and I am looking down at her, but the posture was a "have to watch that" moment for me.

Life continues to be good, even when the puppy takes it into her little brain to be naughty.  Spark on!