The Errant Student

Tonight was Guinness’s next-to-the-last Grade 1 class, and he was VERY bad. I did not take any photos of him as he was not worthy. Last week he was so perfect. Ugh! We were too lax this week. When the days were nice last Wednesday through Friday, we felt like we needed a break. It has rained ever since, so we basically did no training this week. It really showed! They began the evening with a Leash Respect exercise (walking casually on leash without pulling while the handler stops, changes directions, etc.) of walking around a tin can filled with something that rattled. The handler was to walk his dog to the can, pick it up and shake it, set it down, and return to his seat. All the dogs were distracted by it, but came right back leaving the can in the middle of the room. Not Guinness! Both times he did it, he picked up the can and brought it back with him – which was fine as long as he did not allow the leash to be taunt. He was the comic of the evening. At home, he is perfect on “Come”– even when we are out of sight, he still comes on command. Not tonight! He ignored Grant, then became distracted half way. Near the end of class when the dogs were on a down stay with the leash lying on the floor, he had had enough and played “In and Out the Windows” as he raced around most of the dogs on one side of the room with no one being able to catch him. We are going to have to beef up our homework routine this week so that he can graduate. Ha!

The Jumping Bean

Friday, I was taking Guinness out of his crate and clipping on his leash for an outdoor adventure. He decided to jump up as he rushed out of the crate, smashing my face and leaving two cuts. Saturday, we were allowing him to wander around the den. He came over to me as I was sitting on my desk chair. Apparently, he likes pretty jewelry as much as flowers. With no warning, he vaulted, hooked my necklace, sent my beads streaming across the floor with the remaining necklace dangling from his mouth. Today, we were allowing him some time in the den again. This time, I was printing some photos with my PictureMate printer. He liked the output tray. Surreptitiously, he pulled it off with one quick leap, breaking a tiny part of its hinge. While I was collecting my printer pieces from the floor, Grant exclaimed, “He has ruined our carpet!” He had found a loose fiber and yanked it out of the backing. And our dog training instructor thinks he should not be crated all the time when he is not outside?

We are learning! Ü

Class number 7
Grant and Guinness have become class stars! No longer are they singled out.

Hershey came to observe. He was very good, but wanted treats too. At "playtime," he jumped up to play too, because he is used to doing the exercises with Guinness in our yard.

He often sits with his forearms crossed.

The Rapscallion came to dinner

Sometimes we allow Guinness to wander the house briefly. Other times, he eludes us and gives himself a tour of the forbidden areas. Today, he escaped to the lower level, grabbed my brandnew CM case for my circle cutters, which I bought this past weekend, leaving teeth marks in it. Later, he ran down there again. This time he spilled my purse, stole my Brighton cosmetic case, and punched it with his teeth. When we came inside from playing before human dinnertime, we allowed him to join us in the kitchen. He was amazingly good while we prepared our leftovers, so we allowed him to stay while we ate. He tried really hard to be a good boy, but had to be stopped from – pulling my placemat off the table, chewing on the chair rungs, chomping on the window sill (reminiscent of his big brother who ruined all the kitchen window sills), tasting the wood blinds, and uprooting a plant. He did bite off some tips on the aloe plant which was inconsequential naughtiness. He put his paws on the countertop to see what was up there (another flashback to Hershey’s youth). We tried sit stays and down stays with limited success. He tackled Hershey who was lying in his usual spot between the table and wall. Believe it or not, we considered this limited roguish behavior to be a successful experience in household manners.

Simple Solution

This weekend, I am leaving Grant with a recovering dog that needs two medications, each given twice a day: one a half hour before eating and the other, one to two hours after eating. Since Hershey is to have small meals every couple of hours, how do you manage that? This is a dilemma for me, and I know it will be an harassment for him. When I presented this quandry to Grant, he suggested, “Just space the medicines throughout the day.” It cracked me up! Men are so pragmatic.

Mommy is a bad nurse

I have two medications to give Hershey, each with an applicator syringe. One is watery and the other is creamy. The watery one was easy to administer. The creamy med would not suck up into the syringe, so I called the office to find out what I was doing wrong. They walked me through it, but it still was too thick for the skinny syringe. They suggested that I pull the plunger out, pour the medicine in, then reinsert the plunger to shoot it into Hershey’s mouth, which I did. However, it was still too thick to push out. I jammed it, there was a sudden pop, and all the medicine was in his mouth. Don’t cheer too soon! I tried to refill it to complete the dose. The stuff ran out of the other end of the syringe. The insertion end of the syringe had popped off and Hershey had swallowed it!

Having a ball

Guinness loves to discover toys in the garage. Today we pulled out the big red ball. Hershey loves the ball, but played so agressively when he was younger that he would skin his pads. Thus we have not had it out in a long time. The two of them had great fun playing two-dog soccer. Hershey won!

Distress or stress?

Hershey displaying the patch on his leg from the IV

Hershey turned 11 last Thursday. His nail has regrown since the August 8 mishap. He was to have a beach walk for a birthday present, but we awakened to find he had vomited in the night. The vomiting continued through Thanksgiving weekend. Tuesday morning, we took him to the vet. He weighs only 69.8 pounds after being 83 pounds pre-Guinness. Some weight loss is expected with a new puppy (the question is – why haven’t I lost weight?), but this is extreme. He was dehydrated and needed to stay for an IV and testing. The results of his blood work are normal. Since their X-ray machine is not operable, the reason for his weight loss remains unknown. They started him on a regimen of medication to stop the vomiting, plus we are to feed him as often as he wants – several small meals a day.

I am wondering if depression could cause weight loss. Stress on the human body can create a plethora of mirage ailments. It could do the same to dogs. Hershey has plenty of reasons for depression besides Guinness with whom he has a love/hate relationship. He loves the little guy and lies next to his crate, but doesn’t want Guinness using him as a junglegym or disturbing his placid lifestyle. Other recent stresses:
-We painted our bedroom and rearranged the furniture. Since then, he refuses to sleep or even place a paw in his bed which has always been on the floor beside me. He insists on spending the night on our bed. I am told that this is not abnormal. If only he had told us he liked the rose walls better than green!
-August 8, he split a nail totally exposing the quick. He has been grounded from walks since then.
-In August, I visited my brother where our three dogs were confined to the kitchen. He was very sad about that.
-A week later, we house-sat for some friends. He and Guinness were closed into the spacious, elaborate “mud” room. When it was time to come in from a potty break, he stared at us blankly, and absolutely refused to obey, “Come.”
-A couple of weeks ago, we decided that he was ruining our sleep. Now he is closed into the den at night along with Guinness. He tries to escape us when we are ready to close the doors.

The vomiting could have been caused by mushrooms in the yard. But the weight loss is a concern. Or is it an obvious consequence of not keeping any food down for four days? If he loses any more, we will have an ultrasound.

For now, he is OK. His nail is healed and we will be able to resume our walks. That should cheer him up!

Puppy on the loose? NOT!

Tonight was class 5. I had a disagreement with our teacher at the end of class. She was suggesting ways to incorporate the puppy into family life. I sat there thinking, this woman has NO idea what Guinness is like. So after class, I had a little discussion/argument about puppies in houses. “He stays in his crate until we take him outside. Apparently you don’t know what a lab is like. He is into something constantly. Even our breeder said that he should remain in the crate until he is two years old.” She thought that was absolutely absurd. I told her, “Our house is not puppy proof, and I am not going to make it puppy proof. I would like to see you let him loose in your house.” Of course, she thought she was up to that challenge. Ha! I briefly related my stories about Hershey and that he became the perfect dog at 10 mos. when we moved to CAL. She didn’t believe me! But it is literally true. She insisted that we can do sit stays and down stays. I beg your pardon! We are only doing them for a minute or two, not an hour or two! Then she said, “You are paying a lot of money to not take our advice.” Good grief! I wanted to scream!!! I suggested that she read my blog of the trouble he can cause while we are standing there watching him. I also expressed my hope that he will become the perfect dog at 10 mos. She replied that I am wishing for a dream. Grrrrrr

Third class

We picked up the boys from Holly's Pride this morning and went directly to Guinness's Grade 1 class. Guinness lies down snuggled next to Hershey as we travel in the car.




















Guinness being perfect in class.

Second class

Practicing homework with Hershey demonstrating.



Today was Guinness’s second Grade 1 class. We joined a Saturday class as a makeup session since we missed Tuesday night. He did fairly well on the class activities. Between exercises, he sat at Grant’s side, though he needed a lot of coaxing to stay there. The strange thing is that Grant had different teachers today than on our normal Tuesday class, yet they all knew Grant’s name without being told! During the final 15 min., we moved to a small classroom for a lecture where he was incorrigible! Grant didn’t hear a thing that was said as he was too busy controlling Guinness. I missed most of the information. We came home *exhausted* -- including me who just sat and watched! LOL

Brotherly love

Since staying in the villa together, Hershey has been found lying close to Guinness while in his crate. Just before I shot this photo, Hershey was snoozing and Guinness was licking his back through the bars.

Guinness, the flower dog

This evening, I received a beautiful bouquet from my dear daughter and son-in-law. It almost turned to torn petals and ripped stems. When I brought Guinness in from his final potty break, he spotted my flowers and ran straight to them on the coffee table. Before I could nab him, I envisioned that he would spill the whole thing, perhaps break the vase as well as the glass top table, and try to rip the flowers off their stems as a snack. My typical reaction to potential disasters is to scream, which I did. I managed to catch the vase midair as some water was spilling, drenching the books and magazines on the table. I wonder if he will always be attracted to posies?

Brothers sharing a villa

We returned from NC last night and drove to the pet hotel as early as we could this morning to pick up our precious puppies. I amused Grant by running from the car to the front desk. I was eager to find out if Guinness had been able to remain in the villa with Hershey where they enjoyed a four poster bed, decorations on the walls, and the Animal Channel from 7 AM to 7 PM. The report was that he had stayed there several days before gnawing on the mattress pad which placed him in his own private kennel with no TV. Grant jested about Guinness being a “well disciplined machine.” The staff did not comment until he admitted that he was joking. I requested that they put Guinness back in the villa with Hershey to take their picture before they realized that we were there. When the staff person returned, she said that they recognized my scent on the camera. Here they are just before coming home –

And then there was Guinness

Tonight was Guinness’s first Grade 1 class. Daddy had to take Guinness, now nearly 20 weeks old, alone as Mommy is in NC with Grandson Kevin. There were 20 puppies in the class including a half dozen yellow labs and one other chocolate lab who was only 17 weeks. Since Hershey was a super active puppy and flunked his puppy class, it seems normal to us for a lab puppy to be wild and crazy, though we thought we had better control of him than we did of Hershey. Daddy says that all of the other puppies in the class, even the labs, were docile and laid at their masters’ feet during class. Guinness never stopped running. When he should have been lying quietly, he was racing in spirited circles while Daddy held the leash. Twice he was used as an example of how a puppy should not behave. By the end of class, the only names anyone knew were Guinness’s and Grant’s.

Don't read unless you enjoy bathroom talk

Guinness had some bouts of diarrhea today when he went out to go potty. In the middle of the afternoon, Karin called to share that Kevin is running a fever. As she was talking, I heard a phliffff and turned to see that Guinness had emitted a huge brown puddle in his crate. I exclaimed, “Guinness has diarrhea! I have to go!” and dropped the phone. The cesspool was at the entrance to the crate, so I started to pull the tray partially out, keeping him in the back where it was clean. I tossed his dirtied toys into Grant’s bathroom sink, a mere three feet away, splattering chocolate drops on the mirror and counter. Then I tried to lift him over the poo pool, but he dropped his hind paws into the mucky mess. I carried him to the door, clutching him to keep my clothes clean. To accomplish unlocking the door, I inadvertently held him close enough to the wall that his dirty paws slimed the textured wallpaper. After clipping him to the cable wound around a tree, I returned inside to mop up the mess. He usually barks continually while tied up, but he was amazingly quiet. He must be sick! The guck had squirted onto the wall beside the crate plus I had created a mess around Grant’s bathroom sink. Grant’s toothbrush went into the trash as a precaution. Once the house and crate were sanitized, I fetched shampoo and a towel to bathe the “widdy boy” outside with the hose. Grant arrived home and sat on a terrace wall to watch. I warned him that his dressy-casual clothing would get wet, but he stayed there anyway. When I released Guinness, he ran under Daddy’s bent legs for loving pats, soaking the back of Daddy’s pantlegs. He topped it off with a healthy shake showering a howling Daddy. Love is very forgiving.

Relaxing together

Guinness lay down next to Hershey while they both enjoyed chewing a stick.

Farm life

August 21 – 26, we house-sat for friends. They have two dogs -- Mac, a Golden Retriever, and Mickey, a Duck Trolling Retriever. They both know us plus Mac played with Hershey three years ago, yet there seemed to be no remembrance between them. Mac and Mickey were not happy to have strange dogs invade their territory. While we were unlocking the house and turning off the alarm, their dogs began snarling and growling at us and our dogs. To avoid problems, we began a dog juggling routine of:
*Early evening arrival – close Mac and Mickey in the garage. Take our dogs on a walk/run around the property. Put our dogs in the mud room. Open the garage for Mac and Mickey to have free reign of the property.
*Bedtime – call Mac and Mickey and close them in the garage for the night. Allow our boys to have their potty time. Bedtime for them in the mud room.
*Morning – release our dogs for their morning run. Take them inside. Release Mac and Mickey.
*Departure in the morning – Close Mac and Mickey in the garage. Settle Hershey and Guinness into our car. Open the garage door for Mac and Mickey, and leave.

Upon arrival the second day, Mac and Mickey were smiling to see us. Still we did not want to chance a mug to mug encounter. They were visibly sad when we left the next morning.



Hershey and Guinness were ecstatic to have a huge farm property for endless running. We had a daily routine of making a large circle around the house before going to the mud room.


Tuesday night, after their bedtime potty run, Hershey exhibited behavior we had never witnessed before: he absolutely refused to come when called! He stood staring at us with a stone-faced expression. We had to drag him into the house! I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I considered that he loved the farm so much that he wanted more running time. Thursday evening there was no doubt what was causing Hershey’s resistance. He was very unhappy being confined in the mud room! The beautiful ceramic tile floor, Oriental carpet at the door, and blooming hibiscus plants on the counter did not impress him. He escaped from me, ran to the kitchen, and lay down between the table and windows. Wouldn’t you love to lie on the floor between this table and windows?


As we were preparing to move out Friday morning, we tried one more dog encounter. Mac and Mickey were much friendlier this time. Mickey and Guinness became instant buddies, running and rolling all over. Mac and Hershey were benign about the whole thing. Guinness found a dead bird. My husband exclaimed, and I saw feathers hanging out of Guinness's mouth. It had to be a small bird, such as a sparrow, as it was totally encased in his mouth. Without a leash trailing him, it is impossible to catch this little villian. He ran into the garage and started eating out of Mac and Mickey's food bucket, so he had swallowed the bird with one big gulp yet was still hungry. Typical lab! I wonder if we will see the bird again…



He loves stealing this bird out of my geranium. Maybe that is what gave him the idea that a bird is edible.

Big Brother, the Defender

This afternoon, our neighbor Christine invited us to play with Sasha, her toy poodle, and a visiting English springer spaniel, Balzac. Guinness was happy, happy, happy to meet a new person and canine friend. Sasha is no longer afraid of Guinness, but he definitely is not fond of him. Hershey and Balzac did not have a good first impression of each other. After some unruffled play and sniffing around, Hershey wandered away to lie on the driveway watching from a distance. Meanwhile, Guinness was trying to encourage Sasha or Balzac to chase him. Balzac joined in on the game. We were enjoying their crazy antics when Hershey suddenly ran up to them and stopped the play. It was as if he was telling Balzac to leave his little brother alone. We all giggled at the amazing encounter.

First day at the beach

We visited Uncle Gary at his lake house on Lake Michigan. The wind was whipping the water into large breaking waves causing Guinness to be a bit intimidated at first. Since Hershey was enjoying it, he became brave and dove in. Guinness followed Hershey wherever he went. After romping on the beach, they placidly followed Uncle Gary home.