Blue Coats

Southeastern Guide Dog Puppies are distinguished by their blue puppy coats. They learn that when they have the coat on they are “working,” similar to when they will wear the leather harness. They learn to sit to have it put over their head, to stand to have it fastened under their belly, and sometimes they even learn to lift their head to have it put over and on. As the puppies learn what this blue coat means, you see a difference, almost like a light switch goes on, and their behavior changes: it’s time to go to work! They learn that it is time to be serious, to make choices, to behave. (I wish I could find “magic coats” for kids- I’d be rich!) In the beginning, they learn slowly, but they catch on quickly. And even if they don’t quite get it at such a young age (Bob is 15 weeks here) they still look so gosh darn good in it!

Bob's Bed

I’ve mentioned that Bob sleeps under my desk in the kitchen… well, he has, in just mere weeks, outgrown his puppy bed. On a recent trip to Target, Bob and I shopped for a new bed. On sale, and the perfect size, the color even matched the kitchen; we popped it in the buggy and headed for the cashiers. As soon as we got home, we placed it under my desk. Bob tries to fluff his new bed, making it just so. He looks like a pampered pooch under there, all comfy and calm. His new bed looks so comfy, that some days, even I feel like crawling down under my desk for a nap!

Bob is Blooming!

We just got new flowers for our front entry. These are a constant distraction for Bob. They must look so appetizing to him, as he tries to grab a mouthful every time we go in the door. On a recent “busy break”, I thought I’d test out his obedience. I grabbed the camera on the way out and decided to put him to the test. “Sit, stay- good boy, Bob!” All this with the ever tempting Sunpatiens behind him. He has really come a long way, as he never even flinched. He even posed and gave me the head tilts. He has since only tried to snag a mouthful of flowers only every now and then, but he has really come a long way, you could even say he’s starting to bloom...

The Kitchen Corral

Life as a puppy includes boundaries, the smarter the Puppy Raiser, the more boundaries. Bob currently has full access to the kitchen. He is corralled with 2 baby gates. The floor is fully tiled, just in case… This is where Bob and I spend most of each day. As I work from home at the built in desk in the kitchen, Bob plays in his personal corral. All his toys keep him amused. He has his own niche under my desk that is almost like a built in open crate. He has also been known to stake claim to the kitchen sink mat. He sleeps so peacefully right under me, as I look down at him he looks like an angel, even though just a while ago he was pouncing his toys with fervor. As the puppies get older, they earn wider boundaries. Life right now still includes baby gates, be it the kitchen or master bath. The screened lanai offers its own boundary, though Bob is watched very diligently out there, as it has indoor/outdoor carpet as its flooring. The puppy manual teaches about the puppies earning “supervised freedom.” Once the housebreaking is 100% without fail, the kitchen corral opens into the Wild Blue Yonder (or at least into the family room) where Bob can be watched on the carpet. He can join us as we watch a television show, or sit around having conversations. For now, it is he and I in the kitchen corral, toys abounding, and “supervised freedom” peeking up over the horizon...

Alternate Aspirations

Bob is very dedicated, he attends swim team practice every day, he arrives at the meets early, and Bob even made it Districts! Too bad Bob is a guide dog puppy! It looks like I might guess what he’d like to do if he didn’t already have a 5 Year Plan… afterall, this IS an Olympic year. Bob has it in his blood, he IS a water dog, and you can see it. Bob wants to be an Olympic swimmer (or at least jump in that pool!) Bob pays such attention to detail, that I had to chuckle when we situated ourselves poolside to photograph the team at the District swim meet, as he watched the swimmers ready, the ripples in the pool, and each swimmer as he or she raced by, he almost looked as if he could have been cheering! But Bob, take it from someone who loves you, you look a lot better in that blue coat than I bet you would in a Speedo!

"Backpack, Backpack" (-Dora the Explorer)

Bob & Tracee at the Robert-Laryn Skate Park at Treaty Park in St. Augustine

I never carried a diaper bag, didn’t use bottles, and always had changes of clothes stashed in the car or at a grandparent’s house. But now, after raising two of my own children, my car (and ever-present backpack) are loaded to the brink of rupture! “Why?” You ask, as my children are well beyond potty accidents and sippy cups. The answer is, “because I am a Puppy Raiser.” Puppies require a LOT of “stuff:” Busy bags, Furminators, puppy coats, leashes & collars (in every shape, size, color, pattern, and style imaginable, of course) spare food, water & collapsible bowls, a port-a-crate (I never even used a pack & play!) literature, identification, tie downs, flexi leads, bath wipes, hand sanitizer, the list seems almost endless. I have a “puppy bag;” I never had a diaper bag, but I now have 2 puppy bags, actually. There is a main “super bag” and then the “everything-that-has-to-be-carried-along-with-you” bag. I recently had to replace the everyday backpack, as it had been washed so many times, it simply fell apart. (This new one is constructed much better.) This bag is a combination purse/supply bag. (Much like a diaper bag becomes a catch all, from what I’ve heard.) All that very important puppy stuff like bags, wipes, literature, is in there, but then you have to throw in cash, keys, credit cards, sunglasses, photos of your children (the ones you actually gave birth to, you know, the ones who appear in one or two cell phone photos amid the sea of puppy pictures…) The super bag stays in the crate in the back of the SUV, the backpack, well, it is probably the source of most of my back aches, as it is almost a permanent fixture on my back. So in most of the photos of me and Bob, the ever-present puppy backpack can be seen. Yes, I look hunched over, floundering under the sheer weight of all Bob’s puppy “stuff” in most of the photos of us, so when I look tired, or like I’m not standing (or sitting) up straight, as we are all taught to do, the backpack may be the reason. Bending down to pick up busy piles, correcting a headstrong pup, it’s not those things that hurt our backs, it’s the backpack!

Bob at Camp Montgomery

Bob Is 12 Weeks Old

"I'm too sexy for my hat..."

The big guy is 12 weeks old! A big 3 months! It is amazing how much he has already learned. Today was no different. Today, he learned what his “brothers’ before him learned pretty quickly: If I “stay” while she has the camera out, and if I turn my head j-u-s-t so, I’ll get a treat! Bob did his first real modeling shoot today in front of the flower bed. He even let me put his cool summer “Hawaii” hat on, practicing for the Puppy Pool Party in September. After his photo shoot, he was still “working it” so I took advantage and got some more shots. He was proud of his new crate cushion in his lanai crate, so I took a few there, and he was just plain posing out there as the storm approached, so keeping it fun and lighthearted, I snapped away as the thunder rolled in closer and closer. At 12 weeks old, he is already an aficionado at sitting, and has even learned to use self control with the “stay” command: He will start to lunge forward toward his food bowl sometimes as I try to trick him by taking a step back or changing the tone of my voice slightly, but he will sit right back down and wait for the “okay”- I am THOROUGHLY impressed! Good boy, Bob! This amazes me every time! It’s amazing how much can be learned so quickly. He also has learned where his food is kept, and, believe me, he is trying hard to figure out how to get into the pantry (and I’m guessing, tear into the container of Eukanuba!) Now if I could only keep the kids out of the pantry so easily…