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It is now the tenth day of Christmas, and miracle of miracles, the Christmas tree is still standing. Doreen added ribbon last week, and we've even added a couple of (fake) wrapped presents under the tree. Dempsey has been such a good boy, not touching any of it.
Last Saturday, we took him to the pet store to meet Santa Claus. Dempsey was very suspicious at first, refusing to go near Santa. A few well-timed treats bribed him to get closer, but he was still leery. I think Dempsey knew this wasn't the real Santa, because underneath the beard and hat, it was a woman. He is such a smart little boy! At one point, Dempsey reached up to tug off Santa's beard, exposing "Santa" as the fraudulent look-alike she was, but luckily a well-timed "sit" prevented him for ruining it for all the other little dogs. In the end, Dempsey and "Santa" became friends, with Dempsey doing a nice "rest your head" on Santa's lap.
Last week's blizzard wasn't nearly as bad as we'd feared it would be. Dempsey loves the snow, and he always volunteers to help with the shovelling, though his "help" consists mostly of knocking down the piles of snow I had worked so hard to shovel. This is cute for about the first 20 times, after which he gets to rest in the kennel while I shovel the snow all over again.
This morning, however, was a little too cold even for Dempsey. With the temperature at about two below, we played Frisbee fetch a couple of times in the snow after his potty break. Dempsey was still wagging his tail and having fun, but I noticed there were two little drool icicles forming by his mouth. Yikes! We went inside and played hide and seek instead.
Luckily for Dempsey, he gets to be a snowbird this year. Doreen, Dempsey, Bailey, and I will all be piling into the Jeep for a trip to Phoenix and L.A. to visit Dempsey's puppy grandparents. Dempsey will miss the snow, but I think he'll enjoy going on long walks again. It's only December, but Dempsey is already a little stir crazy.
Stay tuned for vacation pics!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The third day of Christmas
It's now the third day of Christmas, and we've finally put all the ornaments up on the tree. This isn't a great picture, but I have to say that the dollar store ornaments don't look half bad. Tomorrow we'll add the pièce de résistance: a golden ribbon around the tree. A golden theme for a golden boy!
Dempsey has been very good so far with the ornaments, knock on wood. I think he's happy that his kennel is right between the fireplace and the Christmas tree: no chance of missing Santa!
What's been harder for him are the decorations outside. He had no problem at all with the ghosts and witches for Halloween, but he is very curious about Christmas decorations. In particular, he's fascinated by what I would describe as a giant inflatable snow globe that has two motorized penguins ice skating around the North pole. It says "Merry Christmas." I think Dempsey, like his father, is trying to figure out why penguins are at the North pole, and what exactly they have to do with Christmas.
Dempsey doesn't have much time to figure it out. The weather outside is frightful: two inches of snow tonight, followed by "blizzard-like" conditions on Wednesday, and then a high of 5 below (20 below with wind chill) on Thursday. We won't be going on any walks, needless to say. Dempsey is still so energetic, I hope the tree is still standing on Friday.
Dempsey has been very good so far with the ornaments, knock on wood. I think he's happy that his kennel is right between the fireplace and the Christmas tree: no chance of missing Santa!
What's been harder for him are the decorations outside. He had no problem at all with the ghosts and witches for Halloween, but he is very curious about Christmas decorations. In particular, he's fascinated by what I would describe as a giant inflatable snow globe that has two motorized penguins ice skating around the North pole. It says "Merry Christmas." I think Dempsey, like his father, is trying to figure out why penguins are at the North pole, and what exactly they have to do with Christmas.
Dempsey doesn't have much time to figure it out. The weather outside is frightful: two inches of snow tonight, followed by "blizzard-like" conditions on Wednesday, and then a high of 5 below (20 below with wind chill) on Thursday. We won't be going on any walks, needless to say. Dempsey is still so energetic, I hope the tree is still standing on Friday.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Christmas is coming!
Dempsey's first Christmas is coming soon! We've told him how Santa Claus brings presents to good little boys, and Dempsey is very excited. Evidently, he thinks he's been a good little boy, evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.
We asked him what he's going to ask Santa for, and, perhaps not surprisingly, he said he only wants one thing: a puppy. A puppy! As Doreen and I have learned this year, it's a big responsibility and a lot of work to have a puppy. We tried explaining this to Dempsey, but he said he's 10 in dog years, and that he thinks he's old enough to take care of a puppy. Hmm. We've suggested that Dempsey ask Santa for something that would fit in one of his stockings.
In the meantime, we've started putting up a Christmas tree. We say "started," because we're doing this in stages. Yesterday we went to the dollar store to buy some cheap plastic ornaments, which we'll use this year instead of the nice glass ones. Today, we put up the tree. In a couple of days, we'll start decorating the tree, top to bottom, over a few days. Hopefully, by doing this gradually, we'll help Dempsey stay on Santa's "good" list.
As we've said, it's a lot of work having a puppy.
We asked him what he's going to ask Santa for, and, perhaps not surprisingly, he said he only wants one thing: a puppy. A puppy! As Doreen and I have learned this year, it's a big responsibility and a lot of work to have a puppy. We tried explaining this to Dempsey, but he said he's 10 in dog years, and that he thinks he's old enough to take care of a puppy. Hmm. We've suggested that Dempsey ask Santa for something that would fit in one of his stockings.
In the meantime, we've started putting up a Christmas tree. We say "started," because we're doing this in stages. Yesterday we went to the dollar store to buy some cheap plastic ornaments, which we'll use this year instead of the nice glass ones. Today, we put up the tree. In a couple of days, we'll start decorating the tree, top to bottom, over a few days. Hopefully, by doing this gradually, we'll help Dempsey stay on Santa's "good" list.
As we've said, it's a lot of work having a puppy.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Dempsey's theme
As we've mentioned, our theme song for Dempsey is "Mama Tried."
Dempsey says his theme song for us is Paul McCartney's "Distractions":
Dempsey asked that I share these lyrics before posting this video of him practicing "rest your head."
Of course, we still think "Mama Tried" is Dempsey's most appropriate theme song. Here's the little evildoer stealing crutches, unlike his good sister Boston:
Dempsey says his theme song for us is Paul McCartney's "Distractions":
The postman's at the door,
While the telephone rings on the kitchen wall.
Pretend we're not at home and they'll disappear.
I want to be with you, tell me what I can do,
Nothing is too small.
Away from all this jazz, we could do anything at all.
Distractions, like butterflies, are buzzing 'round my head.
When I'm alone, I think of you,
And the things we'd do if we could only be through
With these distractions.
Dempsey asked that I share these lyrics before posting this video of him practicing "rest your head."
Of course, we still think "Mama Tried" is Dempsey's most appropriate theme song. Here's the little evildoer stealing crutches, unlike his good sister Boston:
Monday, November 2, 2009
Boo!
After spending most of October getting Dempsey ready for Halloween, the big day has come and gone.
We spent a lot of time on field trips going through the Halloween aisles at drug stores, putting on masks, playing the sample CDs of screams, and showing him inflatable pupmkins and dancing mummies. We like to think we did a great job of socializing him, but the fact is, he never seemed spooked by any of it. He probably thought that we were just being silly. Smart dog, he's usually right.
The biggest scare on Halloween was not for Dempsey, but for us. We only had about twenty kids come by, and since it was cold, practically all of them were wearing jackets, hats, and mittens over their costumes, which you could barely see. Dempsey didn't seem to notice. He did a fantastic job of staying in bed instead of running to the door every time the doorbell rang. (Eventually, we'll teach him to go to bed when the doorbell rings, but for now, we just put him in bed and treated him for staying there.)
No, the scariest thing was the vomit. Dempsey threw up twice the last couple of days, and he smelled awful, really bile. Which, it turns out, is what he had thrown up. Bailey the cat coughs up hairballs all the time, and though we had seen Dempsey regurgitate food a few times, we had never seen him heave and really vomit.
I took him to the vet, and while we were waiting, I worried about everything that could possibly be wrong with him: Giardia from goose poop? Bad mulch? Gall bladder obstruction?? Did he eat a poisoned dead rat??? And get liver failure???? Or maybe Dempsey has end-stage terminal stomach cancer?????? I had no idea I could worry this much.
Of course, Dempsey is fine. The vet gave him an antacid and told me to put him on a bland diet for a few days and see if he's better. Aside from the vomiting, he never seemed sick, and indeed he's on patrol again in kitchen, looking for drawers to shut.
What a bad dog, scaring his parents like that! I suppose at least he got the Halloween spirit.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Alternate careers
Dempsey hasn't had very many adventures lately, because we've been working on the "relaxation protocol." It sounds like an uptight scientist's definition of "vacation," but actually the "relaxation protocol" is a trainer geek's 12-step program for chillin' out.
You see, Dempsey needs a special program to relax. He's terrific at all his service dog skills, but like his parents, he has a hard time just kicking back with nothing to do. Without a cue or a toy, Dempsey gets very fidgety.
This is a problem because so much of a service dog's work entails waiting. Boring conference calls, long sermons, chick flicks -- Dempsey has to learn to sleep through these things, like the rest of us do.
Being Type-A parents, we're worried Dempsey will flunk out of service dog school because of his hyperactivity. We haven't told him (we like to set high expectations for our boy), but we've started thinking of alternate careers, in case the service dog gig doesn't work out.
Shoe shine boy
In Istanbul (which, by the way, is a wonderful city you should visit), there are dozens of shoe shine boys by every tourist attraction. It doesn't matter if you're an American wearing sneakers; they'll come up to you, tug your sleeve, and ask "Shoe shine? Shoe shine?" They're very persistent, and sometimes you'll give them a few lira just to leave you alone. This could be Dempsey!
Ever since he has learned "tug," he's been very eager to help you take off your glove, sock, or jacket. Now that it's colder, Doreen and I walk around with our socks on, and Dempsey follows us around everywhere, staring at our socks. If we sit down, Dempsey sits too, but after a few minutes, he'll nudge us and look at our socks. He is just dying to take them off. This is when we we give him an extraneous task (sit, drop, shake), and give him a little treat for that, just like tossing a lira to a shoe shine boy to leave you alone.
Of course, "sock tugger" would only work in a place where tourists walk around with socks and no shoes. We've heard there are places like this in California, though they tend to be run by cult leaders.
Supermarket mop boy
You know how sometimes you'll be grocery shopping, and you'll hear over the P.A., "Cleanup in aisle 6"? This could be Dempsey!
Dempsey has remarkable hearing. Verily, if a treat falls in the forest and no one hears it, Dempsey will. Dempsey isn't very interested in metaphysics, but he can refute Bishop Berkeley as well as Dr. Johnson can.
If Dempsey got this job, supermarkets could save money on mops and buckets, and there wouldn't be any announcements to interrupt the beautiful Muzak. Dempsey would just magically appear. On the negative side, Dempsey's cleanups invariably leave a pool of drool: "Cleanup in aisle 6!"
Hardware
Fancy drawers these days have a self-closing mechanism, so that if you leave a drawer partially open, it shuts itself. We don't have fancy drawers, because we have Dempsey!
Because he's such an entrepreneurial little fellow, always looking for tasks that will earn him treats, he goes on regular patrol now through the kitchen, looking for drawers that need to be shut. When he spots one, he'll sit patiently by it, till we see him and tell him to "push" it shut.
We like to think this is because we have the cue on stimulus control, but in all honesty, Dempsey is a smart little guy, and he knows he'll only get credit for the work if we see him do it.
I suppose Dempsey could find a job as a replacement for self-closing drawers, but to be really honest, he's not as convenient.
Dishwasher
Our homework the other week had a really cute picture of how a dishwasher really works. This could be Dempsey!
Ever since he's seen "An Irritating Truth," Al Gore's documentary (like we said, we're trying to get him to sleep through these things, like the rest of us), Dempsey has been trying to convince us to go green by unplugging the dishwasher and letting him clean the dishes. He is convinced there is a market for sustainable doggie dishwashing services. We haven't yet persuaded him that the health inspector has a different opinion.
Hmm. None of these alternate careers really works, does it? I guess we just need to work harder on relaxing.
You see, Dempsey needs a special program to relax. He's terrific at all his service dog skills, but like his parents, he has a hard time just kicking back with nothing to do. Without a cue or a toy, Dempsey gets very fidgety.
This is a problem because so much of a service dog's work entails waiting. Boring conference calls, long sermons, chick flicks -- Dempsey has to learn to sleep through these things, like the rest of us do.
Being Type-A parents, we're worried Dempsey will flunk out of service dog school because of his hyperactivity. We haven't told him (we like to set high expectations for our boy), but we've started thinking of alternate careers, in case the service dog gig doesn't work out.
Shoe shine boy
In Istanbul (which, by the way, is a wonderful city you should visit), there are dozens of shoe shine boys by every tourist attraction. It doesn't matter if you're an American wearing sneakers; they'll come up to you, tug your sleeve, and ask "Shoe shine? Shoe shine?" They're very persistent, and sometimes you'll give them a few lira just to leave you alone. This could be Dempsey!
Ever since he has learned "tug," he's been very eager to help you take off your glove, sock, or jacket. Now that it's colder, Doreen and I walk around with our socks on, and Dempsey follows us around everywhere, staring at our socks. If we sit down, Dempsey sits too, but after a few minutes, he'll nudge us and look at our socks. He is just dying to take them off. This is when we we give him an extraneous task (sit, drop, shake), and give him a little treat for that, just like tossing a lira to a shoe shine boy to leave you alone.
Of course, "sock tugger" would only work in a place where tourists walk around with socks and no shoes. We've heard there are places like this in California, though they tend to be run by cult leaders.
Supermarket mop boy
You know how sometimes you'll be grocery shopping, and you'll hear over the P.A., "Cleanup in aisle 6"? This could be Dempsey!
Dempsey has remarkable hearing. Verily, if a treat falls in the forest and no one hears it, Dempsey will. Dempsey isn't very interested in metaphysics, but he can refute Bishop Berkeley as well as Dr. Johnson can.
If Dempsey got this job, supermarkets could save money on mops and buckets, and there wouldn't be any announcements to interrupt the beautiful Muzak. Dempsey would just magically appear. On the negative side, Dempsey's cleanups invariably leave a pool of drool: "Cleanup in aisle 6!"
Hardware
Fancy drawers these days have a self-closing mechanism, so that if you leave a drawer partially open, it shuts itself. We don't have fancy drawers, because we have Dempsey!
Because he's such an entrepreneurial little fellow, always looking for tasks that will earn him treats, he goes on regular patrol now through the kitchen, looking for drawers that need to be shut. When he spots one, he'll sit patiently by it, till we see him and tell him to "push" it shut.
We like to think this is because we have the cue on stimulus control, but in all honesty, Dempsey is a smart little guy, and he knows he'll only get credit for the work if we see him do it.
I suppose Dempsey could find a job as a replacement for self-closing drawers, but to be really honest, he's not as convenient.
Dishwasher
Our homework the other week had a really cute picture of how a dishwasher really works. This could be Dempsey!
Ever since he's seen "An Irritating Truth," Al Gore's documentary (like we said, we're trying to get him to sleep through these things, like the rest of us), Dempsey has been trying to convince us to go green by unplugging the dishwasher and letting him clean the dishes. He is convinced there is a market for sustainable doggie dishwashing services. We haven't yet persuaded him that the health inspector has a different opinion.
Hmm. None of these alternate careers really works, does it? I guess we just need to work harder on relaxing.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Lessons in learning
One of the fun things about having puppies is that they're always learning. Unfortunately, they don't always learn what you're trying to teach them.
A case in point is freeloading Dempsey. I had been trying to teach teamwork, but what Dempsey learned is that it's enough just to look cute and show up. As Sarah Palin is (hopefully) learning, this will only get you so far. Eventually, you need to deliver, especially if you're a service dog.
Another example is "get your pack" and "get your leash." Individually, Dempsey does them brilliantly. Here's a video of Dempsey getting his pack from upstairs, (mostly) ignoring the distractions of Sawyer barking and Doreen roasting a chicken:
And this wasn't even his best effort! Without the distractions, Dempsey makes a beeline for his pack. I would think he has this down cold.
However, when I put the pack and the leash on the chair together, the behavior completely falls apart. Dempsey is not hearing "get your pack," or "get your leash." He's just hearing "get your blah blah blah," and he picks up the objects randomly.
With some tips from our instructor, I slapped together a lesson plan in discrimination: put the pack on my right, and the leash on my left; point as I say the cue; then gradually fade the point.
Our instructor said this would be very difficult for Dempsey, but within 10 minutes, he got it!!!
Or so I thought. When I switched the positions of the objects, Dempsey got them completely backwards. Apparently, I had taught him that "get your pack" means "step to your left and get the object there" and "get your leash" means "step to your right and get the object there." Dempsey got an extra big breakfast that day as I worked to untrain what I had just trained.
Now that I think about this, it makes sense. Everything I tell Dempsey is a verb: sit, drop, get, even Dempsey (which means, "look at me"). So naturally Dempsey would think "get your leash" and "get your pack" are verbs, too. It really is going to be quite the conceptual leap for him to understand that words can refer to things as well as actions.
This is interesting because, as a human, I rely more on nouns than verbs. For example, when I travel abroad, I can usually just say "train station?" or "bathroom?" and make my intentions clear. (The latter is especially effective when accompanied by an interpretive dance.) There's even a French novel -- God bless the French -- written without a single verb. But for dogs, verbs rule.
As our instructor said, this is hard for Dempsey. It's been about a week now, without much progress to show. But I think it will be very rewarding when he gets it. Once he knows nouns and verbs, I want to see if he understands grammar, the idea that you can form novel cues by combining previously learned nouns and verbs.
Dempsey's taking a nap now, and I'm just looking at him wondering what he's dreaming about in his cute little head. Puppies are such an endless source of joy and wonder.
A case in point is freeloading Dempsey. I had been trying to teach teamwork, but what Dempsey learned is that it's enough just to look cute and show up. As Sarah Palin is (hopefully) learning, this will only get you so far. Eventually, you need to deliver, especially if you're a service dog.
Another example is "get your pack" and "get your leash." Individually, Dempsey does them brilliantly. Here's a video of Dempsey getting his pack from upstairs, (mostly) ignoring the distractions of Sawyer barking and Doreen roasting a chicken:
And this wasn't even his best effort! Without the distractions, Dempsey makes a beeline for his pack. I would think he has this down cold.
However, when I put the pack and the leash on the chair together, the behavior completely falls apart. Dempsey is not hearing "get your pack," or "get your leash." He's just hearing "get your blah blah blah," and he picks up the objects randomly.
With some tips from our instructor, I slapped together a lesson plan in discrimination: put the pack on my right, and the leash on my left; point as I say the cue; then gradually fade the point.
Our instructor said this would be very difficult for Dempsey, but within 10 minutes, he got it!!!
Or so I thought. When I switched the positions of the objects, Dempsey got them completely backwards. Apparently, I had taught him that "get your pack" means "step to your left and get the object there" and "get your leash" means "step to your right and get the object there." Dempsey got an extra big breakfast that day as I worked to untrain what I had just trained.
Now that I think about this, it makes sense. Everything I tell Dempsey is a verb: sit, drop, get, even Dempsey (which means, "look at me"). So naturally Dempsey would think "get your leash" and "get your pack" are verbs, too. It really is going to be quite the conceptual leap for him to understand that words can refer to things as well as actions.
This is interesting because, as a human, I rely more on nouns than verbs. For example, when I travel abroad, I can usually just say "train station?" or "bathroom?" and make my intentions clear. (The latter is especially effective when accompanied by an interpretive dance.) There's even a French novel -- God bless the French -- written without a single verb. But for dogs, verbs rule.
As our instructor said, this is hard for Dempsey. It's been about a week now, without much progress to show. But I think it will be very rewarding when he gets it. Once he knows nouns and verbs, I want to see if he understands grammar, the idea that you can form novel cues by combining previously learned nouns and verbs.
Dempsey's taking a nap now, and I'm just looking at him wondering what he's dreaming about in his cute little head. Puppies are such an endless source of joy and wonder.
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