ADI testing day

So this morning Tor and I had our ADI Public Access Testing. I was actually kinda nervous, so last night I sat him down and I told him the ADI test was very important and that he needed to be extra-extra-good. The ADI test, if passed, allows Tor and I to work together as a service dog team in public, where dogs usually aren’t allowed. Legally, there is absolutely no standard test or certification process/paperwork needed to have an assistance dog in public. As long as one can claim they have a disability, and that the dog with them is trained to perform assistance tasks, that’s all that’s needed. However, CCI does not allow anyone who receives one of their assistance dogs to take them out in public; unless the person and dog team have passed the Assistance Dogs International test, which is an independent test used by some assistance dog organizations. The first year one is teamed with a dog, CCI will only approve a public access card for one year, at the most. After that, I can get one for up to three years, depending on what they think is best.

So, at 10:30, Tor and I got in my truck and headed out to Arizona Mills Mall. I met one of the trainers, who is now living in Arizona, and a CCI Hearing Dog team. I basically spent about 20 minutes doing things I usually do when I am out in public with Tor. Except, this time the trainer followed me, watching how I performed each task and handled the situation, and then recorded it. The first few times I took the ADI test, I was sooooo nervous, knowing that if I didn’t pass, I wouldn’t be able to take my service dog out to malls, restaraunts, hotels, and other stores. Which, since that was so much of my reason for having a service dog, if I failed, there was no point, really, in having one.

This time around, I was definitely more confident, but still, the fact that so much is at stake can cause some nervousness!! We started by going in and out of a door, basically making sure I was doing it in a way that was safe for Tor. Then, I had to put him on a 6 foot long-line, have him sit, and call him to me by saying, “here,” encouraging him if he wasn’t very interested. This time, however, he can straight to me, and when I didn’t praise him, he sat down in front of me, knowing that’s what I was waiting for. He was sooo good!! Some of the other things that we did was have Tor lay down and have the trainer stomp around him without him getting up or becoming anxious, having kids pet him without him getting up from his “sit” (and me being able to control him), laying down in front of people food without trying to eat it, and giving the dog to another person, releasing him, and going around the corner. Basically, Tor had to put up with all kinds of distractions, follow commands, and keep emotional stability when he was not with his handler. I think we did very well together, although of course twice he tried to go for the food that was intentionally dropped. I just had this feeling that he was going to try to go for it; he is such a food-motivated dog. After a correction, though, he just watched as more food was dropped. Yay!!! We passed, and will be getting our public access card, good for one year!!! And Tor got a great big hug.

What a busy dog!!

Well, so far, Tor has found quite a few things in our house that I never would have thought a dog would find interesting!! Any second of the day that I can not see him, he is usually walking around the house, checking everything out. Last week, he found an umbrella in one of the bedrooms. I suddenly noticed he was no longer laying down near me. So, I called him, and sure enough, he comes rushing over from the back of the house, with an umbrella in his mouth-holding it perfectly in the middle, with umbrella sticking out each end of his mouth. Oh man, I am going to have to watch this silly boy more than I have ever had to watch a dog before. He is soooo interested and curious about everything. Today, again, he snuck off while I was making breakfast. I called him back when I realized he was not close by. Sure enough, he runs out from the back, this time with a clear plastic piece with some of those white face masks (the kind you might find in a hospital) inside. I think he found them in the bathroom that is currently being remodeled right now, as he seems to find all kinds of fun things in there to smell, lick, or otherwise sample. He always comes back to me happily, ready to share his treasures he has found. Sometimes I just don’t get the excitement he has over his findings. A toy long lost under a bed, I could understand. But, an umbrella??!!? Seeing as how Tor generally comes back to me when I call him, I certainly can’t get mad at him. He did exactly what I ask him to do; come to me. So, I have to just laugh at his excitement, praise him for coming over to me, and then take away his wonderful find. Poor thing, he can’t figure out why I keep taking away his new-found toys.

Last weekend, while I was trimming Tor’s nails- and Capri’s- I found a funny-looking thing between two of his toes. It looked like part of the paw pad, but thicker. He really didn’t like me touching one of the toes next to it, either. So, I looked closer and realized it was pinkish-red and irritated. I treated him myself for an ear infection he seemed to be starting right after I brought him home. And now, he’s got some paw thing going on. So, I took him to the vet, and she thinks he might have a little bit of a yeast infection between the two toes, and/or got something stuck in the skin. I didn’t even know that could happen to a dog!! So, now I am soaking his paw and putting meds on it twice a day. Which means, for 20 minutes every day, I sit on the floor, watch some TV, and pet Tor while holding his paw in the Epsom-salts water. If I don’t hold his paw in it the entire time, he will pull it right out.

Well, whatever this thing is that’s affecting his paw, I certainly hope it gets better, because I know it hurts. Thanks goodness I have a back-up dog right now!! Capri gets to turn off the outdoor yard light every night, which she looovveeess!!!

Tor, however, before his paw issue, was getting very good at turning the backyard light on and off. He learns amazingly quickly, even for a CCI dog. It didn’t take him lond at all to start getting the hang of it. Because there is a couch in front of the switch-my reason for having him turn it on & off- he first has to jump on the couch, face the wall, then put his front paws on the back corner. Once he is in the right position, I can give him the command to switch the light. But, since CCI trains the dogs only when the light switch is right in front of them, just slightly above their head, it generally takes awhile to string the commands together. Jump-up (and make sure the front paws are on the right part of the couch, near the light switch)-light-off. The only problem Tor had was getting his paws on the right side of the couch, since there isn’t really a specific command that can explain WHERE on the couch, technically he had done what I asked if he did an “up,” no matter where. Once he realized I was going to be asking him to locate and flip the switch, he started to anticipate when he was told to jump on the couch. Which, in this case, is a good thing. After awhile, just coming up in front of the couch will have him anticipating a “light” or “switch” command, and once that anticipation happens so soon, I can just start saying, “light” or “switch,” and he will jump up on his own, as he will have figured out that “jump & up” are implied. That is when he will look like the SMARTEST DOG IN THE WORLD. When one word sends a dog flying up on to a couch to flip a light swich-and then jump back down, it is quite amazing at how many people are impressed.

Hurrying on the rocks!!

Tor went “hurry” in the rocks today!!!! I know, not something you would think would be particularly exciting. But, in most of Arizona, New York City, and a surprising number of other cities, very little grass can be found. So, even though there is quite a bit in the backyard, I have decided that Mr. Tor only gets to go hurry on our grass about 25% of the time. It might sound rather torturous to do to a dog, but if they aren’t used to toileting on rocks, wood chips, and even the sidewalk gutter, it can make simply taking them out all day pretty difficult. I visited NYC 1  1/2 years ago, and I wasn’t able to take Capri, because she, being the princess she was, absolutely refuses to hurry on any surface other than grass. Even going on snow was pushing it, in her opinion. Which would always result in her whining the most pitiful whine ever, me taking her to the rocks, and she refusing to go even though she REALLY had to. I would go back in to the store, school, or whatever, and then she would start whining again, louder, and more frequently. All around, that was the one thing that I kept running into as a problem.

So, last night, I decided that, Tor was only going to be hurrying in our rocks for the next few weeks, until he is really used to it and goes as soon as I tell him to, without hesitation. I know, that’s really difficult for dogs, but I also know it will be really beneficial for us both, in the long run. He looovvves grass, so I knew this wasn’t going to be especially easy. But, I am very stubborn, so as soon as I woke up this morning, I took Tor to a patch of rocks outside and told him “hurry.” He, of course, didn’t even want to walk in the rocks, if he had a choice. So, he didn’t “go” all morning. I gave him a few opportunities, but he rejected the rocks and looked longingly at the grass each time we passed it to go back in the house. I felt kinda sorry for him, but refused to give up. By late afternoon, I had given him multiple opportunities to hurry, both in the rocks in the backyard and in the front. I figured the rocks in the front have more bushes and a little dead grass in it, so it might be a little more grassy-looking and smelling than the backyard. Still, he had NOT gone hurry. Finally, at about 4:30, I took him to the backyard rocks again. No luck. So, then we went to the front yard. Almost right away, I said, “hurry,” and he went. And then he went again!! Oh, the things that make will make ya excited when you have a dog! Finally, he had given in. Although the front yard has bushes in the rocks, hey, they are still rocks. So I think he did awesome. Eventually I hope to get him to be able to hurry on small areas of rock, without any shrubbery around, and then even on the gutters of the sidewalk. But, for now, I am quite happy. At least I know he will hurry when he really has to, even when there is no grass around; even if he does do it rather begrudgingly. I fiure, if he can walk and “hurry” at the same time, he shouldn’t be THAT picky about WHERE he “hurries.”

back to reality

This past weekend, I drove up to Flagstaff on Saturday, stayed in Pinetop that night, and then drove 30 minutes up to Sunrise Ski Park on Sunday. The drive there, Tor just fell asleep next to my sister. After, we picked up a friend and her guide dog, we took the dogs to the dog park for about 20 minutes to play, get some energy out, and get to know each other. However, of course, it didn’t exactly go as planned. Tor spent most of the time completely ignoring all of the snow and just sniffed EVERYTHING. Meanwhile, the other dog, Maxie, sniffed a little, and then greeted person there (I think it’s a Golden Retriever thing). So, overall, even though the dog park thing didn’t go as planned, the two of them had tons of fun and got back in the car wet, very dirty, and with a little less energy. It’s definitely a good thing the car was a rental, though!!

After another 3 hours of driving, we stopped in Pinetop for the night. We let the dogs check each other out once we were in the room and then headed to dinner. Considering how crowded it was, I think both dogs did great. While we were eating, a little boy about 5 or 6 came up to me and Tor, about 2 feet away, and just stared at the working dog. He was sooo good about not petting him, but he just had to get up closer to check’em out. And of course, was the first one to notice that there was another dog under the table, too! Kids are always the first to notice the dog, while often the grown-ups are generally so busy and focused on their own thing, they completely miss that there is a dog in the store, restaraunt, etc!

After coming back to the hotel, we noticed that the roll-in shower didn’t have a curtain!! And when my sister called the front desk, they explained that “those kinds of showers aren’t made to have a curtain.” WHAT!??! Never before in my life have I run into a roll-in shower without a curtain; there wasn’t even a curtain rod hanging up! I can honestly say, that was one of the strangest showers I, and probably all three of us, had ever taken.

On Sunday, we all headed up to Sunrise at 8:30am. Just getting up and getting ready was pretty difficult, but we made it! This year, Sunrise actually had a snow chair that I was able to use, so that the Ski Patrol didn’t have to carry me, IN my chair, over to the place where we were supposed to meet our instructors. I thought that was pretty cool, I think it was really a beach wheelchair, but it sire does work for snow, with those super-wide tires on it! I put Tor on his gentle leader, since only people who know how to use the prong collar are supposed to use it on CCI dogs. Then, I handed him off to Gill and my dad, along with 4 bright-yellow dog booties, in case they were going to be having him standing on snow for a long time. I would imagine he has worn these dog shoes before, but the way he walked around you never would have known! I was laughing so hard, I almost fell out of the folding lawn chair I was sitting on!! This summer, as parking lots and sidewalks get hot, he will be wearing them again, so I have a feeling I will be seeing his funny dog bootie-walk soon!

While my familiy held onto the two dogs, I took another adaptive ski lesson. I actually ended up with the same instructor as last year, who is from the Breackenridge, CO Adaptive Ski program. So, he knew right where I left off. After figuring out what equipement was going to work and getting all the fitting straightened out, I managed to ride the lift up and ski back down twice before lunch. The second time down, I skiied almost the entire way with my instructor 4 feet in front of me, reminding me to “look DOWN the mountain” instead of behind me ready to catch me when I fell. So, for me, that is definitely progress. My friend even managed to pass me and got to the bottom- and therefore to lunch-about 5 minutes before I did. But, by the time the lunch break came, I was feeling much happier and like I was actually going to eventually “get it” than I did last year. I had to walk up 2 flights- about 20-25 stairs- to get from the Ski program’s meeting area outside to the lodge’s outdoor dining area for lunch. Yep, that’s right, in case you hadn’t figured it out-Sunrise Ski Park is not accessible! I am sooo not surprised. Neither are the restrooms inside the lodge, and to order food inside, you have walk up even more stairs. Not to mention the outdoor dining area floor is made of long, 3″ wide wood boards, with about 1″ space in between each board. I swear, every couple inches on the way to the table, my wheelchair’s caster kept getting stuck in those little spaces. I definitely got a work out that day, in many different ways.

After lunch break and excited discussions about what we had learned, what we thought of our instructors this year, and comparing how many times we had fallen, we headed back down the stairs. I practically jumped back in my ski, silently rolled my eyes as I put the helmet on that they required me to wear (after a very hard, painful fall the first time, I understand why they require it,otherwise I might have gotten a brain injury or something. Seriously, I had one of the worst headaches for DAYS. But still…), and waited for my instrutor. Soon, Joe and I were on our way back to the ski lift. He taught me a little about how to get on the lift without help, with is sooo much more complicated that any other skiier has to put up with. But still, it is important to know, since someday I hope to be skiing on my own, not just taking lessons forever. The whole thing involves flipping a switch under the ski, which is not easy for anyone, pushing the ski up, convincing the lift operator to slow the lift down as it approaches, leaning back, and pushing up on the outrigger skis I am holding- at the exact moment the lift is under me. Not easy, when my ski keeps me from feeling the seat of the lift as it swings under me. And that is just to get on. I have a feeling gettiing on the lifts is the LAST thing I am going to become proficient in.

After 2 more times down the mountain and about 7 falls later- one involving running into my friend, who came up from behind me so quickly neither Joe nor I saw’em in time- , I was happy, tired, rather sore, and feeling more confident. I came back down, retrieved Tor from the expert care of my family-now missing all of his snow booties…hmmm-and waited in on of the folding outdoor chairs while my friend changed out of her skis.

On the way back to Flagstaff, my friend, her dog, Tor, and I all fell asleep in the back of the car. Tor likes her so much, he snuggled up next to her as far as he possibly could go. What a great way to fall asleep; after a super-fun, exhausting day of skiing, with music quietly on in the background, and 2 dogs surrounding you! Needless to say, both of us slept almost the entire way and completely missed the near-collision and possible death we apparently got very close to, courtesy of a semi trick driver. Once we got to Flag, I suggested we go to Black Bart’s for dinner. Apparently I’m the only one who’s never  been to this restaurant, as many people in Phoenix always ask if I’ve been there whenever I tell them I lived in Flagstaff. They told me how the servers sing to everyone while they eat. So, even though me, my sister, and my friend are all vegetarians, and Black Bart’s is a steak house, we just HAD to go.

The whole singing-servers thing was pretty fun, especially since they were all music majors going to school at NAU. The dogs were great, considering it was so loud at times. At one point, all the servers came out, stood around the restaraunt (which isn’t really large), and sung together, at one part all picking up a pepper shaker and banging it on the table. It sounded really cool with their song, but I thought it had scared the dogs. I was very wrong. Tor just kept watching them. I guess I should know by now, NOTHING scares this dog.

After dinner and dropping my friend off at her dorm, I called another friend and kinda surprised her. I told her to come outside and soon I saw her standing in the parking lot, trying to find my truck. Eventually we found each other, and Tor got to meet another one of my friends. Of course, again, they get along great. Everyone keeps commenting on how soft he is, and how big his head is. I just tell’em it’s because he is sooo darn smart! After visiting for awhile, the rest of us drove back to our hotel. I ended up going back to NAU to meet another friend who just moved up and lives in the same apartment that I used to live in.

After talking awhile, I had to get back to the hotel. I know both my dad and Gill were concered about me rolling all the way back to the hotel- at 11pm- by myself. But, as long as I have a dog, I feel completely comfortable in Flagstaff. So, instead of taking a cab, which my dad really wanted me to do, Tor and I made the trip back together to the hotel. I must say, I don’t know what I would have done without him. Probably not gone to visit that friend in the first place, rather than have to push myself all the way back, after a long day of using my arms. That dog pulled me more than half way back to the hotel. Plus, when we got there, he was still not tired! He is truely a life saver. There is no other way I would have felt so completely comfortable rolling that far, in the dark, alone, so late at night. I know CCI dogs are NOT trained to be agressive/protective. But, even though I think the majority of people in Flag are very friendly, I still would not go out on walks in the dark in Flag without someone else, as I know I come off as looking about as helpless as they come. So, having a dog that looks big and muscley has been very helpful, and comes in handy many times (I know this from experience). I feel totally comfortable going in dark places, alone, late at night as long as I have Tor with me. I know he won’t hurt anyone, but THEY don’t need to know that, now do they? The 14 months I spent living alone without a service dog was hard for many reasons, especially because I loved going on “walks” around the NAU campus at night. However, south campus is especially surrounded on both sides with huge pine trees and not much else. Althoug I would never, ever classify NAU as a dangerous campus, the prettiest parts of it are also the most enclosed and remote areas, and well known as areas where females should never walk alone at night. You feel like you have hiked up into the center of a mountain, if not for the bike path. So, now, I know I can enjoy pretty walks at night again, without having to wait until a friend is available to go along. Tor may be amazingly friendly, but he sure looks strong; I don’t think anyone would try to mess with him.

Home for 10 days & a ski trip this weekend

Well, I have had Tor at home with me for about 10 days, now. He has gone with me to my traditional late-night IHOP hangout, joined me while I got a haircut, the post office, Subway, the vet office where Capri gets chemo, and quite a few looonngg “runs” around the neighborhood, down the street to my old high school, back home, up and down all the cul-de-sacs, etc. Still, when we get home, he is ready to play with Capri. No sleeping for him!! Even when I have him pull me about half the time we are out-good practice for us both-he STILL isn’t tired! I like to take the walking/bicycle path a few blocks from our house, cuz there are trashcans and dog-doo pick up bags at both ends of the path. Plus, most of the pavement is pretty smooth, so I can practice “pull” with him in a wider area, before taking on the sidewalks. He’s very good at pulling, but I have noticed that when he passes by bushes that are sticking out, he has to either take a step to the side, or waits for me to go by and walks behind me until he is past them. I find it pretty funny, since the bush branches are sooo thin, I don’t even move out of the ways for them. If he wasn’t pulling and stepping to the side-which puts me in the rocks or off the edge of the sidewalk,- I would probably find it even more entertaining. So, for now at least, I just have him stop pulling when we get near a spot like that; he’s such a sweet, helpful dog most of the time I’m just not too worried about that at this point.
I think Tor’s two favorite places were Capri’s oncologists’ office, and the hairdressers. Tor got tons of “aaawwwws” and “he’s so beautiful/handsome,” “he’s such a good-looking dog!” at the oncology office, and at the hairdressers, he was continually entertained by all the people walking by, their voices, all the noises of scissors, blow dryers, etc.

My proudest moment was when I was laying in the hair-washing chair, and Tor was on a “down” at the end of my feet, in front of my wheelchair. His leash was on my brake, since there was not space up by me for him to lay down while I held his leash. An older gentleman sat down in the chair beside me; then, he proceeded to lean over and baby-talk the Working Dog. I must admit, when the patch on his vest clearly states, “please don’t pet me, I’m working,” talking to the dog is an EXCELLENT way to get a dog’s attention without actually breaking the rules. I think I need a new patch, that covers his whole body; “please do NOT talk to, pet, whistle at, make kissy-noises at, pull the tail of, ride on the back of (true story; a friend’s guide dog), growl at, crawl on the floor-get-real-close-and-stare-at me. I am working and will lose my training if you do not follow these directions!!!!” And then another side of the dog would need that same humongous patch in Spanish. Sweet, smart Tor, however, just looked at the guy. I think he probably wagged his tail, too, but I couldn’t see, since my head was in one of those sink-things. I was VERY impressed, though, because I was just waiting for all that happy-sounding attention to entice him over to the man. Tor is definitely a well-trained CCI dog, I can’t see very many dogs resisting that man, sooo tempting, especially with Tor’s love of people and all things happy!!
Well, I am going to Flagstaff this Saturday to pick up a friend, and then driving to Pinetop. We will be spending the night, and then getting up super early to drive 30 minutes to Sunrise Ski Park!!! This is the second year we have done this, although last year there was only one dog with us. This time, we will both be taking a working dog, which in itself will make the trip more interesting. I think maybe Tor has seen snow once or twice before, but I know that every time a dog sees it, it is usually very exciting. So, I am hoping we will get up to Flagstaff early enough that we can take our dogs to the dog park (yes, I know, CCI isn’t especially a fan of dog parks, but this specific one in Flagstaff is actually full of very respectful people who care about their dogs’ health). That way, the two of them can meet and play with each other a little bit before having to work, and Tor can at least be a little bit more sensitized to the snow. I have a feeling, on Sunday, while he is supposed to be working, he may just get a little too excited about this new thing called SNOW, it is only fair that he be given a chance to check it out and play in it before he has to work while walking through it!! While I am skiing, I have employed my dad and my sister to come along specifically for dog duty. My sister is coming for the first time, so I am hoping this will also give her the chance to watch the Mesa Adaptive Skiing program, so maybe next year she will try it. I have skied since I was 6 years old, but my sister wasn’t a huge fan of it. A few years after using wheelchairs, we visited Park City in Utah and decided to try adaptive skiing. The instructors were not as patient and good at explaining this new thing, and since then I think we have both been hesitant to try it again. So, I am hoping she will see that it is not adaptive skiing that is bad, just those specific ski instructors. Now, these instructors will fly out from Breckenridge, CO, where adaptive skiing was born, to teach adaptive skiing to people in AZ, and the ski instructors at Sunrise, how to teach adaptive skiers. And they are SOOO good at it!!!

I can’t wait to introduce Tor to my friend and her guide dog, as I’m sure they will be seeing a lot of each other. They both know the rules of appropriate play, which are pretty much the same for both dogs, despite their career differences. So, I think they will get along well. And Tor promises to bring back snow to Phoenix, if he can find a place in his vest to keep it

Almost a week home- and thougts on letting people pet “The Working Dog”

So, I can’t believe that I have had Tor home for almost a week now! I was going to take him to the traditional weekend IHOP hangout, but I had to stop by someone’s house for awhile first, and I didn’t think I was quite ready to take a dog into someone’s home with 3 little kids. I know he likes kids a lot, but I don’t think the kids were ready for him. So, hopefully next time, he will be coming along. Usually between 11pm and 4am either Friday or Saturday night, I can be  found hanging out at the local IHOP, talking, using spoons to launch creamers at each other and into the vent above our usual seat, and talking with the night shift servers. Some of them know I was gone getting a service dog, and so I am excited to introduce him to them. But, I think now we will have to cease the chocolate chips wars so that they don’t end up under the table and in Tor’s stomach- a small price to pay for such a sweet, smart, helpful dog!

Our two cats at home are starting to get used to Tor finally. Today, the smaller, braver one walked right up to him and started rubbing on his face. Which, of course, made Tor’s tail go 90mph. He kinda crawled an inch or so closer, so he could be closer to Corbou. I think they are really going to like each other.

This coming week, I will be out of the house a little more. I’m sure Tor will be with me then, ready to do whatever I ask of him. Now the hard part; saying “no” to everyone in public who wants to pet him. I have learned that if people start saying things like, “oh what a cute dog,” or anything along the admiring-the-working-dog lines, to either pretend I don’t hear it, or give a quick smile and continue on.  It depends on who I am dealing with, how much I really feel like talking to them, how excited they seem, etc. But whenever I give admirers attention, they generally take the opportunity to pet my service dog WHILE asking about him, just reaching out and petting him, or asking if they can pet him. I would say the most difficult to say no to are little kids, and people who actually ask before petting. Most people don’t realize that if I let someone pet him “just this once,” other people around are going to come over and think it’s okay to pet him, he is going to start thinking the public is for petting and start seeking out attention in public instead of working, etc. And especially with Tor’s happy, playful, people-obsessed personality, I could easily see that happening, and then I would no longer have a working dog that was actually a help to me. At the same time, so many people think that assistance dogs don’t ever get to be “just a dog,” and that I work him to death or something, never letting him play or have fun. So, there is a major balance that is not always clear, between educating people and being polite, and trying to live my life without the added inconvenience of having to explain/educate about my service dog and making sure Tor’s training is up to par and appropriate-considering I’m taking him in to public all the time. It is just easier, more efficient, and time-saving to “just say no.” We’ll see how well that works out this next week.

Back Home

So, I know there are at least a few people who want to know what I am up to now that I have taken Tor home. On Monday night, I took him into our backyard, introduced him to my dad, and then had him bring their pet dog, Mocha, out on leash. Once they had sniffed each other all over, I had Capri come out on leash and the sniff-fest began all over again. When the dogs were back in the house, I “released” Tor and let him sniff all over the backyard. Overall, Monday night was full of dogs sniffing things and each other. For the past few days, the majority of the time I have had Tor with me on leash, pretty much everywhere I have gone. Of course he has also had play time and some supervised time off leash. But, mostly, I am just having him stay on leash with me so that the other 2 dogs in the house don’t try to convince him to play. If I am not in the room while Tor is playing with another dog, I am not able to make sure he is not doing inappropriate dog things- like barking, put his paws on the other dog- basically dog behavior that is considered dominant behavior (CCI’s rules). 

Capri and Tor love playing together. They are good together, since they have the same rules about playing. Of course, Tor being Tor, he still has to be reminded a lot not to bark while he is playing. He just gets so excited! I haven’t taken Tor out any place in public since I’ve been home. I figure; his food, house, sleeping area, playmates, all have changed in the past 5 days, I might as well let him get used to it before I try to take him to another new place. Since he was puppyraised in Tempe, though, some of the places I go may not be that new to him. 

Since Thursday, I have been letting Tor be “released” a little bit more in the house, although I am making sure I am keeping an eye on him. Whenever he is on a “down-stay” – usually close to me, Capri walks up and stands over Tor. When that doesn’t get her the attention she wants, she starts to mouth him. Since retirement, Capri has usually been rather relaxed, lounging around all day. But, she loves to try to get Tor to play with her whenever she can, even when he is working. Although these two try to play with each other every chance they get, I am very happy that they get along so well. 

At night, Capri still sleeps on my bed. There is definitely not room for another dog, and I just don’t feel it would be very fair if I kicked off Capri and invited Tor to sleep on the bed. Capri is too used to sleeping on either my or my parents’ bed at night. I’m pretty sure Tor is not used to sleeping on a bed every night. I did notice, though, he really likes my old comforter on the floor. It has been on the ground by my bed for the past few weeks, as I just couldn’t decide what to do with it now that the one from college is back on my bed. Every time I am in my room, Tor goes up to the comforter pile and sniffs it really excitedly. When I am in my room very long, he ends up laying down with the front half of him on top of the comforter. So, by night 3, I decided to spread it out more on the ground, so it looks kinda like a dog bed. Since then, Tor has been laying on it, right next to my bed, every night. I think he really likes it, especially since it is so warm. It’s a win-win situation; my bed materials get recycled/reused and Tor has a place to sleep that he likes!

Well, this weekend I am going to probably take Tor out on some of my errands. I’ve only been out of the house once since Monday night; to swim at the YMCA. Since I can’t swim and watch him at the same time, he got to stay in his crate for a few hours. Which, he certainly doesn’t seem to mind. I gave him a Galaleio Bone to chew while he was in the crate, but it doesn’t look like he was into chewing it. When I came home and went over to let him out, he was sitting there, looking through the wire window in the side of the crate. I had to put all his collars on before he came out (CCI dogs aren’t allowed to wear their collars when they are in a crate, I believe one of their dogs choked many years ago when its collar got stuck on the wire door). My favorite part about the dog crate is when I let the dog out. They wait there while I put the collars back on, and their tail is wagging- er- banging on the crate over and over again. It sounds like it would hurt, but they all do it!

 

Someone likes his new bed...