Fall Fun

"I love. . .

. . .to run. . .

. . .and run. . .

. . .and R-U-N!!!"

The tennis ball-less Wubba is still a fav, and surprisingly still alive

He barks for me to throw the toy.  Needless to say, that tactic doesn't work too well.

And sometimes gets a little naughty as well.

Target, People, and Hidden Retrievers

Target, one of the best places to bring this pup.  They have always been so great about Dante.  They put up with (and some even smiled at) a very barky 5 month old, complimented me on a silent 7 month old, don't blink an eye when we walk down the isles with a huge hat and mask on, and ask me every time I come in "How is Dante's training coming this week?"

We have had our fair share of interesting encounters with other patrons though.  Like Dante's very first outing.  There was also today, where we were walking through the main, more open part of the store and 15 ft ahead there is a mom with 2 little boys.  She was quite enthralled in what she was looking at.  One of the boys lights up and says, "Doggie!!!"  And starts coming toward us.  Uh oh, I think, this doesn't look great.  We cut to the right and lose him after a minute. that was close, D.  It's not that I don't like kids, or talking to people, not at all.  I just had a bad feeling about the way this kid lost his mind when he saw my dog (and the fact that his mom had no idea).  Shopping with puppies in training can be very fun if you let it, always anticipating what your surroundings will throw at you, then communicating what your next move will be with your sidekick: yes, let's make it into a game. ;-)

There was another time a while back that I am still not sure what to think about it.  I was looking at something, and Dante was laying nicely at my right side.  A woman comes up to me with a tiny puppy in her purse.  And then asked me where I got Dante's vest because she wanted one for her puppy.  My mom was with me and we both gave her our spiel on vests and legality, that I'm sorry to say, we have had to give far too many times.  She proceeded to tell me that she was very sorry that my dog was so big and that I couldn't "hide" him like she could her's.  Say what?  It caught me so off guard, that I had no idea what to say at the time.  But, for the record, I have no reason whatsoever to hide my dog in any setting.  

What an adventure it is to shop with a puppy, and how much you learn about people when you do.

5 month old D's 2nd trip to Target.  Oh that little baby vest!  At least he's still just as cute now as back then :-)

Ahhh!

I love walking my boy!  In the last two weeks I have been able to start walking him again after breaking my ankle in June.  Oh, I forgot just how much I missed it.  Dante is such a great walker!  Today we walked the park where my sister and my jump rope team meets (still can't do that yet - hence D and I took a walk), and it was so refreshing.  

Dante loves, loves, loves his walks.  He is always so happy and well behaved - checking in with me every minute or two.

There were really cute book sculptures behind the library where we were.  We took some time to pose and practice a few of his commands.

He doesn't really know the "up" command yet, but I have practiced luring him up a few times.  He loves it as you can tell!

Good literature choice, D! (and nice "jump" and "sit" as well!)

And then there were the bestest ever benches to practice "under" and "jump" (albeit a little distracted!) on - nice and sturdy with solid footing for him!

We finished the park loop, stopping to do some "jumps" on this drain.

The closest to a head tilt I'm ever gonna get outta this boy :-)

We walked along the busier road some before stopping at the playground.  Dante sat nicely while I was on the swing set and then got to do his most favorite thing:

The dog LOVES the slide!  We then walked up on the playground.  I sat on one of the steps and Dante immediately jumped onto me in a "lap" and snuggle up against my shoulder.  it was the sweetest thing! And there was no way I could have corrected him for doing it off command.  We sat there for almost ten minutes snuggling.  Goodness, I'm gonna miss this little stinker! ;-)  My only request is that his forever person appreciates his stellar snuggling skills! :-)

These are my favorite times with Dante - just him and me with nobody stopping us to talk, and just having fun!

Oh dear.  I am sorry that posts on here have been rather sporadic.  I think I have been posting just frequently enough that you know I have not fallen off the face of the earth, but not as much as I should.  Busyness, school, lack of interesting things going on - call it what you may, but mostly Dante's life is pretty routine right now.  

Dante has not been on many new outings the last couple weeks, just learning to be out longer and at multiple locations.  he really loves being out with me, but for one reason or another, he doesn't do so well when we have multiple stops to make, so, recently that has been my focus outing-wise as opposed to so many new places.  And he is showing progress.

Most of Dante's time is consumed re-learning A LOT.  Like house manners (read: he's on-leash at all times right now), not chasing the cat, not stealing my yarn when I crochet, etc.  Oh and also his commands.  Examples given: "dress" means put your head through your vest/GL now, not 45 seconds from now; and "heel" means go directly to my left side, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.*

I must say that it is hard not to get frustrated with Dante, 'cause really dude, you DID KNOW all of this stuff!  But he still gives the best "hugs" (he is sooo cute and leans into you as close as he can get), and is my best cuddler, so, I guess that makes up for it. :-)

And enjoying the cooler temps with lots of play time, where he's actually tired before he wants to go in, instead of just too hot.  (Mid-Speak)

"Just throw it already!"

"My" happy boy! :-)

Also, as a quick side note, you can now follow Days with Dante by email!  Just check out the sidebar!

*for those of you who play the real Monopoly.  It is the best, and no electronic nonsense can compare ;-)

Pet Fair at the YMCA

A few weeks ago, our YMCA contacted us and asked us to set up a booth about CCI at their annual "Pet Fair."  The YMCA has been so supportive of Dante and love when I bring him (they even put an article about him/CCI/puppy raising in their newsletter).  They know that we are looking for puppy raisers so I was super excited that they asked us.  So, last weekend was the day.  

We had a great time telling people about CCI, and Dante had an even better time showing off some of his commands and greeting the people and pets who came! 

People greeting

Dante was a little unsure about this guy at first, but he was super sweet and Dante got comfortable fast.

Search and Rescue dogs - they were SO well behaved.  Hopefully D learned something from them!

I think we got more interest in puppy raising from the people from the Therapy org. across from us :-)

 

Chillin'

Local K9 police officer came and did a demo for everyone.

The dog got really excited as soon as the suit came out.  His handler said he knows it means he gets to work :-)

Selling kisses for a local shelter.  D should have been back there - seriously, this dog and his tongue.

Taking a much needed break with some peanut butter.