An Inconvenient Pooch

Brand new Cal at 10 weeks.
3 months old


5 months old...and still thinks he's a lap dog.
Six months old
Could he look any more guilty? He can now pull open the heavy lower drawers when he's tied down and one day he found a few things in there to sink his teeth into.

7 months!

A friend suggested I needed an update post on our little pet project. So, here you go.

Cal is now 7 months old! It's gone by slowly and quickly at the same time, like it does for me when I have a new baby. The days seem forever long, but upon looking back, months have passed.

Cal is progressing well on learning all that a Guide Dog puppy needs to know. He knows the commands, Sit, Stay, Wait, Down, Come, Kennel, That's Enough and Do Your Business. He doesn't chase our cats or other animals. He doesn't bark or whine, except when he first wakes up in the morning and wants to get out of his crate. He has pretty good house manners, other than a tendency to get underfoot, chew on things that don't belong to him, and constantly search the floor (or garbage can, if out) for anything remotely edible. He is especially dogged about licking the floor right after he's eaten a meal, or when we are sitting at the table eating. We usually tie him down then. It is uncomfortable, to say the least, when barefoot, to step where he's just licked. But, truth be told, I prefer it to stepping in other wet spots he has left on the floor.

Cal is pretty well potty trained, though for some reason he has not learned to whine if he needs to go out. He will start walking around dribbling a little if it's been too long, which is about every 4 hours during the day, so we try to be vigilant. He has had bouts of diarrhea, which I never knew dogs got so often, that have been messy, horrendously smelly and downright frustrating. We just finished one off this week, thank heavens! We have to feed him a mixture of rice and cottage cheese when he's sick until his bowels are back to normal. Let's just say that 7 months ago I had no idea I'd be cooking for a dog!

The other greatest inconvenience in having this animal in our home is the black hair that manages to get everywhere. It drives me nuts! Even the rooms where he's not allowed have hair that manages to work its way in.

All that said, the kids have LOVED having a dog! He seems especially partial to Spencer, who has a magic touch with all animals. Grace can get Cal more excited and playful than any of us can. Justin doesn't take any guff from Cal, no matter that the dog is almost as tall and outweighs him by 15 pounds. That dog knows Justin means business and will do as he's told. All the kids love to snuggle with Cal and Cal loves it. He is a good, patient, sweet-tempered pup and I'm sure he'll be missed when it's time to send him home to California.