There are days and then there are days....

Yesterday I had a new client start at daycare. His name is Austin and he is a Shiba Inu. A very cute 9 month old. However he is not crate trained and according to his co owner Amy only knows sit.

Well one thing Austin knows is how to bolt out of the gate and bolt he did early on his first day. Now the other dogs know that I am the treat lady and that all the fun happens when you head down the bulkhead and into the basement, but Austin thought there might be more fun elsewhere. So off he went and believing that he could walk on water.... he started right across the fish pond. Well guess what he couldn't walk on water nor could he swim. Luckily for Austin there was a net on the fish pond which keeps the Night Herons from eating my very expensive Koi. It also kept Austin only partly submerged. I wish I had my camera with me because the look on his face was priceless!! I swear to god if he could have spoken at that moment it would have been what the ----! Any way one wet puppy was lifted out of the pond and deposited downstairs wet but otherwise apparently not phased by the unexpected swim.

A few minutes later Bailey walked over to the full 2gallon bucket put her paw into it and tipped it over all over the floor. Now I could have been totally pissed off but thought to myself what the hell, I had bought a bucket with 2 hooks to secure the bucket from potential disaster but did I do that? No and to Bailey it was a fun game... to watch the water spill out all over the floor. So I grabbed a bath towel to wipe up the spill and despite Margaux's help I started to mop up the water only to look over and watch Bailey look at me, squat and pee right on the floor!!! The quart of water that she couldn't spill on the floor. Thank god she isn't a parrot because she would have gone home spouting the words "why you little S--t! laughing while she said this. After all how many times did I clean up pee in the fitting rooms at macy's and they were people who knew better.

Noodle and Kyah

If you don't think dogs can problem solve then you should have been watching Kyah and Noodle today.
Noodle likes to lie down in the agility tunnel and chew on her toys. I think she feels as though she's in a little cave and therefore safe. Since the tunnel is collapsed on one end the enemy can only approach from the front.
Now Kyah knows that a frontal attack is not the best position to be in. So today she chose a spot on the tunnel and jumped right on top of it! When she didn't land on Noodle she kept  jumping on the tunnel until she forced Noodle out of the tunnel! And then the stuffed toy was fair game. It was the funniest thing to watch.

Waiting

Many people will tell you that dogs have no sense of time but I think this is completely wrong. For thousands of years dogs have has 2 jobs, one is protecting their property whether it's a bone or a yard and the other is waiting. After all who is waiting for you when you come home? Who is waiting for you when you get up in the morning? And who is waiting for you by their food bowls?
Now I have noticed lately that the dogs at day care start the waiting process when it comes close to the time their owners will arrive to pick them up. Despite playing with a pack of dogs the dog who knows it is close to pick up time starts to listen for sounds. They also go to the door and check to see if anyone is there and when the owner is late and I'm talking about 10 minutes they are at the door. I find this totally amazing that even the young puppies without the aid of a wrist watch know when their owners should be there.

"Noodle" waiting to go home.

Our newest member..."Noodle"

Noodle is our newest member at Sit Stay & Play. She spent the first 4 months of her life on the streets of Dominica. She made her way to the United States in a round a bout way. She was adopted by a volunteer and brought to this country but when things didn't work out with the 2 goldens living in the house along came her new owners. They opened their house and their hearts to this pretty young thing.
Noodle is a little shy and worries a lot about food which is understandable considering she never knew where her meals were coming from for the first few months of her life. However she is very gentle when taking treats. Like most puppies Noodle will be learning to sit instead of jumping on people when she meets them and she needs to learn that biting peoples hands is not acceptable to humans even though its okay in the dog world. She has already learned many things and is very smart so she should learn new things very quickly because she is eager to please.

An ad I don't endorse...

There is an ad for Mixed breed puppies on my blog...I do not suggest you click on that link. Puppies should only be purchased by reputable breeders or adopted from shelters but never purchased on the internet.
When you visit a breeder ask to see the mother and or the father. This will be a sure sign that the puppies you are looking at did not come from a broker or a puppy mill.
You are buying a member of your family, not a piece of furniture. This puppy should never be considered as disposable. But if circumstances where to arise where you couldn't keep that dog reputable breeders will gladly take back a dog they bred.
As a breeder, when I place a puppy I give a way a little piece of my heart and I expect the new owners to cherish this animal.
Not something you would expect from someone on the internet!