Just another ordinary day

We have been enjoying some nice sunny days around here lately! Getting outside lots and dreaming of spring time with a puppy! He is gonna love it, though i am having visions of a dirty dog for a while!

Just when we thought Tandy was better and all done his meds he started up again!! Ugh! He is now on a two week dose of something or other..doing well now and hoping this is the end of it for him! What an ordeal. I don't want to see anymore doggie diarrhea! I think all the trips to the vet have inspired the kids, they have been playing vet with Tandy who is a great sport about it, they take their flash light and camera and take pictures and inspect his mouth, his paws even his bum! They take fur specimens and maybe even saliva and look at it under the microscope! I guess this project really is turning out to be a learning adventure for them!

On another note Tandy is getting his share of pubic socialization. We took him to a venders market in TO and even ate in the food court with him, that was a neat experience! Then he experienced his first sports game, Roller Derby!! Seeing as I play derby this is going to be the "derby dog", he will get his fair share of derby games while living with us, my teammates have even spoken of making him our mascot! Ha! He did great, pretty much sleeping through the whole game, i think the market did him in, there was lots of music and people and stuff and food on the floors, so much stimulation. We also encountered our first "no you can't have that dog in here" moment. The security guard tried to tell us there were no dogs allowed, we then spoke up letting him know that this is a service dog in training and that actually he is allowed. The security guard then went to pet Tandy and i said sorry you cannot do that he is working right now! Just to stick it to him, then the market "manager" came up to us and the guard was trying to tell him we couldn't have the dog and the manager was like "oh he is a service dog, that is fine!" DUH! All in all it was a fun learning experience again (i say this a lot!)

Family Day includes dogs now..

Today we took the family (including Tandy!) on a hike through the walter bean trail. It proved to be delightful and eventful! Tandy met another puppy the same age as him, a lab/Sheppard cross and they were able to frolic for a bit (he was really cute!!) He also met an older tiny dog who bit him and made him cry! The kids climbed trees and took a gander at the frozen Grand River. Fun times were had by all!

Sick puppy

These last two nights here with Tandy have been challenging, he has been up all night with diarrhea and vomiting. Ugh! What a job that is, he is waking me every hour so i am not really sleeping at all. But through it all he has been amazing and tells us when to take him out, he is very smart, never had an accident in the house so that is a relief. I took him to the vet today and now have some pills to give him. I was so worried about giving them to him, i have heard many horror stories about people giving their dog pills and the work involved, i even looked up video's online! Then i did as the vet said, wrapped the pill in a cheese slice, pretended with the dog that it was training time and voila, he swallowed the ball of cheese with pill whole!! Hahaha, the easiest thing i have ever done! It helps that Tandy is the kind of dog who eats any and everything, hence the reason he is in his predicament anyway!! He is on a diet of white rice for 48 hours so hopefully tonight is a night of sleeping well and no outdoor bathroom breaks. The first night i fell down the stairs in the dark going to him, then on the way up i estimated another step at the top and was wrong and tripped into the hallway! I guess its been a while since i have had to get up at night and stumble around in the dark!

Busy Guy!

What a crazy week!! Our house was under construction so we had to leave Tandy to his own defenses for a couple days, he didn't seem to mind too much, he seemed happier to be in the safety of his crate then to be out where the terrible noises of drilling and demolishing bricks near by... don't get me wrong though, we played with him and let him in the yard for some free time, just couldn't leave the house too long and dealt with other issues...

On Thursday we left Tandy with one of NSD's puppy sitters!! Dropped him off in the morning and he spent one night and two days in a beautiful home with awesome NSD volunteers and their cute dog! She said he was fine, i hope he was not too much work for them! i worried a little but tried to let it go. I can't worry now, i will not allow myself to be that attached to him as i know some day far too soon we will be passing him back to NSD and leaving our home for good. I do these little things in my mind and out loud to remind myself of the grand picture of Tandy and my relationship. I never say he is "mine" and i always mention to people we meet on walks etc that he is a service dog in training, little things like this help me to stay focused on the project and feel great about what i am doing with him.

Tonight after we arrived home from the water park trip, i decided to take Tandy on a nice long walk, he is getting bigger everyday and the longer the walk the better for him. We started on the iron horse trail on our way to uptown, i had no goal just wanted to walk farther then before and introduce him to more of the world around us, it was an eventful walk! We walked to the town square mall where we went inside and worked on his commands, there were lots of distractions and people everywhere, in particular dog lovers! We also went into the grocery store there, in and out of isles and people. There was one guy wearing a bright green knitted had that sort of hung off his head a bit and when Tandy was in the midst of a great heel beside me he stopped dead in his track staring at this young man and would not budge!! Ha! It was hilarious! From there we slowly left the mall and made our way down king street toward the new vincenzo's! I was hungry and debating whether or not to take him in to grab a sandwich, the new store is huge and has more space to move around so i did it, went to the counter grabbed a number ordered my sandwich and left and paid for it, all the while Tandy sat by the counter at my feet in the down position only jumping up once when i accidentally stepped on his tail! Wow, he amazes me! It seems as though he is recognizing when he gets his coat on and how he needs to act when it is on, as soon as i put it on and enter a store he lays down focusing on me. We went home from there. So on this trip he discovered lots of people on bikes, music outside, tons of cars everywhere, people shopping, food on floors, bright lights, basic hustle and bustle of the uptown core! He is having a well deserved nap right now and i am feeling great about him and his accomplishments! ♥

(picture above taken through the glass of the back door, "let me in")