We've Got Work to Do...

Overall, I'd say Tucker has had a pretty good week.  He's done well in all my classes so far, and he was very patient with me on Friday, though it was a long day.  Normally on Fridays we have class at 10 and 1, but this Friday, I was also sitting in on an 11 o'clock class and going to a prayer service at 12.  A student very near and dear to many people here at Gardner-Webb passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, and the University held a campus-wide prayer service both to pray for her friends and family and the other issues here on campus.  Tucker did well during the service though he was a little tired of sitting at that point.  He wasn't exactly sure what to make of the gospel choir at first, but he eventually settled down.  When we left, he also wasn't sure about the gym floor, but he did okay (we'll need to practice with that again).  Because he had been so good for those three hours, I let him stay in his crate for my 1 o'clock and play with his toys.  We went out to eat last night in Gaffney, and he did a great job there as well.  I absolutely love watching people's faces when they realize they've been sitting right next to a puppy and didn't even know it. :)

Today, however, was something entirely different.  I read an article in the Shelby Star last semester about a girl who was raising a puppy for Southeastern Guide Dogs and taking him to the community college here, and today we decided to meet up at the mall to let our puppies practice working together.  Her puppy, also a male yellow lab but about 4 months old, Brandon, did a good job.  Tucker, not so much.  He has NEVER behaved as poorly in public as he did at the mall today.  I mean, I feel like I need to go back and issue a public apology to anyone who happened to be in the mall at the time.  He made more noise in there today than I think he has made in his entire life.  Apparently, it was just too much for him to handle to see another puppy working across the hallway from him.  He whined, barked, moaned, and just about any other noise you can think of.  It was so embarrassing.  You'd have thought that was his first public outing ever. 

I tried everything I could think of, but the corrections and attempts at distracting him with obedience commands only seemed to make things worse.  Puppy push-ups only made the moaning get louder and leash corrections only brought on more jumping and pulling.  HE ACTED POSSESSED.  Finally, after about an hour of walking, stopping, walking, stopping, we put them about ten feet apart in down-stays so we could talk.  I was very relieved to discover that Allison had encountered similar issues with her past puppies, and thankfully she didn't seem to think I was a horrible raiser (though I certainly felt like one).  Tucker was also royally ticked because Brandon was getting attention and he wasn't.  I don't let people pet him when he isn't being obedient, so Brandon, who was nice and calm, got all the attention. 

Once they seemed to have accepted the fact that they would be working and not playing, we decided to attempt lunch at Chick-fil-a.  Much to my relief and surprise, they both did wonderfully.  They pretty much stayed in their down-stays beneath our chairs, almost nose to nose at some points.  After a nice long lunch comparing notes and sharing stories, we took them outside the mall and let them play for a few minutes on leash.  They LOVED that.  Tucker was kind enough to let Brandon win most of their wrestling matches (all on leash, of course), but that also meant he got nice and wet rolling around on the pavement.  But hey, at least it was just water and not mud.

So, the lesson learned today is that we desperately need to work around more dogs.  He had been getting better with dogs outside, but I think it totally threw him off that Brandon was inside with him.  Because I'm an independent raiser and I have a crazy schedule, it makes it difficult to find places/times to train Tucker around other dogs.  I now, more than ever, think the dog guide schools would be wise to encourage their raisers (especially independents or those far from their puppy groups) to interact with raisers from other schools, even if for no other reason than to teach their dogs how to work together in public.

Now, with Tucker sacked out at my feet, I think I'll ice my shoulder and try to get some homework done.

Here's the picture proving that Tucker did have at least a few moments of sanity at the mall earlier.

Allison Stumbo and Brandon (Southeastern Guide Dogs) with me and Tucker in Chick-fil-a.

Home for the Holidays....sort of.

Tucker and I somehow survived the end of the semester and made it home for Christmas break.  Sadly, just a few days after we got home, I ended up with a bad cold and Tucker came down with some sort of stomach virus.  Regardless, all medications in hand, we loaded up and drove down to Lyons, GA to see my dad's side of the family. 

Tucker did well in the new environment though he was mad that I wouldn't let him have free reign of the lodge... I was worried about the fate of the Christmas tree.  We ventured into downtown Lyons and Vidalia one day (yes, the place that grows those awesome onions) and I was really impressed with how well Tucker was accepted.  Small towns have a tendency to question his validity - they don't see these dogs as often - but Lyons and Vidalia businesses rarely even wanted to see his ID.  There was only one place that wasn't thrilled about it - a small restaurant - but they let him in anyway. 

My cousins hosted a tacky Christmas Eve party and Tucker participated for a few minutes, sporting a precious tacky Christmas sweater covered in reindeer. :)  He wasn't a big fan of the long sleeves though, so I didn't make him keep it on for long.  He did a great job and played well with the kids, especially the younger ones.  I told the kids to ask him to sit before they gave him his toys and he did very well listening to them. 

One thing that will never cease to amaze me is how many people are afraid of Tucker - even when he's wearing his jacket.  On the way back from GA, we walked into a Burger King and the poor woman behind the counter screamed and jumped back from the register.  She settled down, but as luck would have it, a few minutes later Tucker decided to bark out of the blue.  I don't know what got into him - he's never done anything like that in a restaurant before.  The manager got a kick out of it, but the workers weren't so thrilled. 

We got back home the day after Christmas and left the next day for Durham to see my grandparents.  Tucker did well though he did seem somewhat frustrated that he didn't get to stay home with Kalli for very long.  We took him out to the mall a few times and he did a great job.  He has perfected his "I need to park" warning system, so no accidents!  When he needs to go, I also ask him to find the door, so he's slowly learning that as well. 

One of my cousins came to visit one day and brought her daughter who has Angelman Syndrome.  She has pretty jerky movements and the last time she and Tucker met she may have accidentally pulled a tail reaching for me... ;)  At any rate, they did very well this time, and I think Tucker was old enough to understand that she was a little different.  Although she's got a vice grip, he let her play with his ears and then his dog tags.  He was very good, though he had to be reminded on occasion that her toys were not for him to play with. 

When we got home from Durham on Friday afternoon, I packed up again and Tucker and I drove to Tennessee to see my mentors from my senior exit project (the people who introduced me to Leader Dog).  Saturday Roy wanted to take Tucker to a gun show to see how he would work in public and I tagged along to watch.  I stayed behind them observing.  Tucker did a great job!  Roy was really impressed with him, and only had to correct him once or twice.  Tucker didn't seem to mind working with Roy at all and he stayed on a nice loose leash. 

The next day, Suzie and I took him down to the Greenway to work on around and come.  She was really impressed with how well he walked on a loose leash, and she said he really wasn't as bad with around and come as I thought he was, that he just needed more practice. 

We attempted to leave for home Sunday night, but as I started down the road, my car started having issues.  So, we stayed another night and took Tucker and Apache for another walk at the Greenway the next morning while my car was in the shop.  I worked with Tucker that day, and he was good, but he definitely found it harder to focus working around Apache.  It was good practice for him!

Since we've been home, he's had a harder time behaving.  Honestly, I think he just needs to get back into the hustle and bustle of college life - I think he's bored.  We took him shopping yesterday, and that seemed to help, but he still just seems frustrated with the break.  Even though he's always seemed pretty laid back, I think he's really a working dog at heart and these breaks are hard for him. 

Alien dog in GA

Lyons Welcome Center

Tacky Christmas Eve Party

Visitor Parking... hehe

Unwrapping present just knocked him out. ;)

More Christmas Party pics

Playing with Grace

Helping me check my email.

Waiting for me to finish trying on clothes in the mall.

Conquering the 'scary' stairs in the mall.  After he made it up once, it was no big deal. :)

Letting Grace play with his face. :)

Jealous puppy :)  Grace was snuggling with me so Tucker wanted to, too.

Thanksgiving Playtime

Tucker's had a pretty good Thanksgiving break, I believe.  He and Kalli have played their little hearts out and I hate the thought of separating them tomorrow.

I've had a great time watching them play this weekend - usually chasing and wrestling with each other or trying to chew on the same toy.

I don't really have any specific stories, so just enjoy the photos. :)

Me trying to get Kalli to leave him alone so he can get some rest. :)

Two sleepy puppies.

More sleepy puppies.

This is what happens when they run all day. :)

Get your kicks on Route 66

Tucker and I have had an extraordinarily busy month, so I apologize for my failure to post frequently.  As usual, it will just be easier to list a few things for you. 

Here's what we've been up to this month:

-He has been to two football games and spent part of each game in the President’s Box watching me serve the VIPs.  In fact, he did so well the first time that he was actually invited back by the President’s staff for the second game. 

-He helped me give a tour for GWU's October “Dawg Day” (like Puppy Day at LD).

-He flew with me, my honors director and two other students to Arizona for the National Collegiate Honors Conference.  He did wonderfully on the plane (much better than some of the passengers) and only had two minor accidents in the airport (one of which was pretty unavoidable because our plane was delayed on the tarmac – he just really needed to use the bathroom when we landed!)  We stayed in a hotel in Phoenix for a few days, drove to Flagstaff and stayed in a hostel for a night, then drove to the Grand Canyon.  Next we drove back to Phoenix and then on to Tucson to go to the Sonora Desert Museum.  Since the museum had animals, Tucker stayed outside with my honors director, but he said Tuck did a great job behaving for him.  When we flew back, he didn’t have any accidents in the airport! 

-He has been to several student activities, including an Alpha Chi Honors Society Taco Soup night, and an Honors Halloween mystery dinner.  He was Scooby-Doo. J  I was too busy to find a real costume, and decided to tape Smarties to my pants and call my self a "smarty pants" - bad costume choice with a puppy.  He was constantly trying to eat me!   

-He also attended “Oktoberfest” which is like an indoor trick-or-treat/Halloween party for the younger kids in our community.  I would say he was easily pet by 300 kids, sometimes 5 at once, and he just took it all in stride, loving every minute of it. 

-Preview of next week’s activities – We will be speaking to a sociology class about service opportunities and Tucker is going to be the topic of the special presentation at the Alpha Chi inductions next weekend. 

Okay, so now for a few details and pictures from our trip to Arizona. 

First, Tucker was not thrilled when he discovered that I had brought him to a desert.  Every time he saw grass, he flipped out and took me to it like, "look Mom!  I found it!"  Although it took some convincing, he eventually learned that I was serious when I asked him to park on sand, rocks, and concrete.  He was very professional throughout the conference, and quickly became the unofficial mascot.  The only accident he had in the hotel was somewhat unavoidable for his small bladder.  We'd been in a session with the keynote speaker (which was AWESOME by the way) for a few hours and he'd been asleep (this was after he'd eaten dinner).  When the speaker finished, I had to try to weave through 2,000 people to get him outside.  As you might imagine, that didn't happen.  I was, however, able to get him to the tile, so it wasn't hard to clean up. 

One funny incident in the hotel came one morning when I took him out to park.  We had just stepped into the top part of the parking garage where the parking attendants are stationed when a sports car rolled in.  I think I may have mentioned before that Tucker sometimes struggles with a fear of motorcycles.  Well, you can only imagine what a sports car in a confined area made of concrete sounded like.  Tucker hit the deck - he was "flat as a fritter" (excuse the southern-ims, if you will) on the ground and the poor parking attendant almost peed in his pants.  Once Tuck saw it was a car, he got up and acted like nothing had happened, but that initial look on his face was priceless.  (Tucker did really well with motorcycles out on the streets that trip, so I think it was just that the sports car startled him.)

My other favorite moment was probably when I discovered that he had decided to "taste" a cactus.  On our last day, we drove to the Sonora Desert Museum in Tuscon.  They have native animals there, so Tucker wasn't allowed in.  He stayed with Dr. Jones (honors director) outside the park while James, Mary, and I explored the museum.  When we came out and hopped in the car a few hours later, Tucker's mouth just looked strange to me.  I pried his mouth open and found a chunk-o-cactus stuck in his bottom jaw.  I said, "Dr. Jones, did Tucker try to eat a cactus?"  He said, "No."  To which I said, "Um, actually I think he did."  I had to hold Tuck's mouth open while Dr. Jones plucked the cactus out, but Tuck didn't seem to mind. :)  Dr. Jones never could figure out where Tucker had picked it up, but then again, Tucker is good at snatching things mid-stride when you're walking. ;)

Well, now I think I'll just start inserting pictures and add stories as needed. 

On Thursday, students/faculty/staff signed the last truss to be placed on the top of the Tucker Student Center.  Clearly, Tucker and I were going to sign it. :) 

Tucker and his fan club at the signing of the truss: (left to right) Hannah Riener, Dr. Hunt (Dean of Students), Derek Breakfield (the monkey's uncle), Tucker, Me, Dr. Bonner (President of Gardner-Webb University).

Charlotte-Douglas Airport!

He's looking at Mary saying, "Please get me off this thing. I am SO BORED."  He did a great job on the plane though - much better than the woman a few rows back. ;)

He eventually realized that not even puppy eyes could save him from another hour on the plane, so he gave up and curled up.

"Take me to Narnia!"  Games with James in the hotel.

This was in the Basilica across the street from our hotel.  Tucker liked it because it had grass.  I liked it because I could annoy him by making him pose with random statues. :)

Outside the hostel in Flagstaff - Route 66 :)

"Puppy power" shot :)  Grand Canyon

Just hanging out at the Grand Canyon. 

No dogs on the Canyon trail - which once I started walking it, I was thankful for!  I didn't realize that it was literally just down the edge of the Canyon... it would have scared me to death to have had Tuck with me.  He stayed up top with Dr. Jones.

The gang at the Grand Canyon. Mary, James, Tucker, Me, Dr. Jones.

Dr. Jones "While you were looking around I took a 'Canyon Dog' picture."  Something gives me the impression that Tucker doesn't have as much of an adventurous side as Dr. Jones... ;)

"Hiking" to see the Native American Petroglyphs. 

Giant cactus.  Probably 150-200 years old.

Hanging out with Dr. Jones.

Posing in the park full of volcanic rock... and random white trees. :)

Hanging out with his new buddy, Dr. Jones, in the airport.  Note how he isn't trying to eat that cracker or the wrapper under the chair. :)

We're nerds.  Of course we posed with Einstein. 

So, we had a dinner at a children's science museum, and because we're nerds, we played with everything.  This game measured your brain waves and whichever "person" had the lowest frequency won.  Tucker beat James easily. haha

The Little Professional

The last time I blogged I mentioned that Tucker would be joining me at the North Carolina Honors Conference at Western Carolina University.  Well, he did a FANTASTIC job.  The whole "jacket=working, no jacket= playtime" idea definitely clicked for him that weekend, and I'm sure he impressed everyone who saw him.  Although Tucker was with us when we ate breakfast in one of Western's cafeterias (and had met one of the head chefs who was all in favor of his presence), he really threw them off at lunchtime.  Right after we settled at a table, a man came up to me and said he'd have to leave. I explained to him that he was a service dog in training, that we were both there for the honors conference, and that he'd been approved ahead of time.  Well, this gentleman didn't care, and apparently had not been notified.  He wanted to see Tucker's health records because he was convinced the health department was going to jump down his throat any minute.  While that, I would assume, might be a legitimate concern, I don't carry all of Tucker's health records around with me - they're on file at GWU.  I tried to tell him that he wouldn't be getting in trouble, that GWU let's him in their cafeteria, and that he could get copies of all Tucker's papers faxed to him from GWU Monday morning, but he just wouldn't let it go.  Of course, Dr. Jones was away parking the vans during the whole thing, so I didn't have back up outside of my friends ( who I believe were more upset than I was ).  Finally, one of the Western honors professors saw what was happening and came to my rescue, and the man gave up and left. 

The best part of the weekend, however, was watching Tucker in the Harrah's Cherokee hotel.  We stayed in a smaller hotel across the street, but went inside to view the Cherokee art and stroll through the casino.  Tucker was perfect in the hotel.  He did a great sit-stay beside one of the statues for me to take his picture (onlookers were highly impressed with him).  Not only did he do a great job of holding his bladder and waiting until I released him to "park" to relieve himself, but he wasn't bothered by any of the craziness of the casino.  In fact, he hardly even looked at the blinking, dinging machines and only tried to pick trash up off the floor once or twice.  He was awesome.  Oh, and kudos to the hotel for not kicking me out - in fact, they didn't question me at all and were super friendly.

This past weekend Tucker was pretty busy as well.  Friday night we went to a drive-in movie with a few of "our" friends (they would probably be offended if I just said they were "my" friends ;) ) and saw Real Steel and The Help.  Want to hear something funny?  The outdoor drive in wasn't going to let us in because of Tucker.  Of all places, it would have never occurred to me to call an outdoor drive-in ahead of time.  Thankfully, my friend knew the owner, and once we told him why we had Tuck with us, he was a-okay with it.  Tucker was in hog heaven.  Not only did he get to sit in the back of a truck with four of his favorite people, but he got to snuggle with all of them!  He did a great job - I bet we were the only people who even knew he was there.

Unfortunately, it would appear that Tucker and I royally ticked off a spider at some point during our stay at the drive-in.  When we got back to the dorm, Tucker's eyelids were red and swollen and his nose was covered in welts.  I also had a bite on my ankle, but was unaware at the time how severe it was.  I gave Tucker a dose of benadryl (I've heard the dosing instructions at work so many times I have it memorized), but of course, failed to give myself any.  Saturday morning, Tucker's face was back to normal, but my ankle was quite swollen.  Thinking it would just go away, we proceeded to work the Dawg Day (open house) for GWU.  By the time we had finished giving the tour, my ankle was enormous, red, hot to the touch, and itchy.  I had a nurse take a look at it, took benadryl, and went on to my next job - serving the VIPs in the President's Box at the football game.

I was filling in for someone and had called the day before to ask if Tucker could accompany me for a little while.  When the woman returned my call, I said, "Yes, I was calling to see if Tucker could join me in the President's box."  She said, "Now how old is your son?"  I just about died laughing.  Anyway, Tucker joined me in the box for an hour and got to see Dr. Bonner (GWU president) again and met his wife.  He then slept curled up next to the trashcan for the majority of the next hour while I served people. :)  I know at least one person whipped out a camera phone and took his picture. ;)   At 4, because I knew he would soon be hungry and hard to manage, Dr. Jones (honors professor) picked him up and took him down to the football game to sit with the honors kids at the fundraising table. 

When the game was over, I picked him up and Dr. Jones told me he had been really itchy.  Apparently, although his swelling was gone, the itchiness had just hit.  When we got back to the room I gave him more benadryl, took some more myself, and sat on the couch with my foot up and under a bag of frozen peas. 

Sunday morning we had a Joyful Hands performance (ASL signing choir) so he joined me in the Chapel for that.  While we were practicing he had a hard time behaving, but once the service started he did a really good job.  As soon as Joyful Hands was finished, we left because I was still on benadryl from the stupid spider bite, and it knocks me out. 

Monday was the first day Tucker and I could survive without Benadryl, but this morning my foot was still slightly puffy and it still itches like crazy.  One of my friends suggested we had been bitten by a radioactive spider - I said if Tucker starts climbing the walls, it's game-over.  ;)  I don't think I can handle spider-pup. 

Phew, that was long.  If you survived that whole post you deserve a reward, so here are some cute pictures. :)

Posing with the Cherokee art.

Looking handsome at the conference.

Sleeping while I presented.

With the gang.

"Mom, I said no more pictures!"

Disclaimer- I do NOT let him on the couch - he did this when I went to the bathroom, but I couldn't help but take a picture of the reaction I got when I asked him what he thought he was doing on my couch. ;)

Again, seriously, I have never let him sit on the couch. However - A few nights ago, I left him asleep (on the FLOOR) and went down to the lobby to see some friends.  When I got back, he was passed out not only on the couch, but on my pillows which I had been using to prop my spider-bitten foot up.

I've taken to calling him my "little prince" because he seems to think his little bed on the floor isn't fluffy enough and keeps trying to get on the couch.  I've tried everything I can think of to keep him off of it, so suggestions would be appreciated fellow puppy raisers!