Another Milestone

Last week my granddaughter Alyssa graduated from Casa Robles High School. As a senior she really looked forward to all the traditions. With the end of the third semester all graduation requirements had been completed, and then all schools in the state of California closed for the rest of the year. CoVid 19 put a halt to all plans. There would be no prom, no parties, no walk across the stage to accept her diploma.

Mother and daughter
Here is Alyssa at six with her mother graduating American River College

Alyssa visited her family in Orangevale. She has been staying in Turlock for the past couple of weeks since this pandemic stay at home orders. After picking up her cap & gown and diploma holder we made arrangements to photograph her at a park. Armed with my Fuji xt2 and 80mm f2.8, and Alyssa’s bright smile the photo shoot went smoothly. Many good images to choose from in the short time we had together. Of course the photographs engendered a typical self-critical reaction from the one being photographed. Lucas came along and found the nature trail full of insects to capture in his insect habitat.

Alyssa walks across the bridge at a park across from Casa Robles High School
Brother Lucas following his sister on the nature trail

The parents of Casa decided that some show of celebration was needed. Graduating seniors woke up to Congratulation signs planted on their front lawns. Then a flyer sent to families told of a parade being organized at the local mall that is now shut. So on Friday night my husband, myself, and Charlie parked in the shade and waited. What followed was a fun celebration for the seniors. Cars decorated by the seniors paraded around the perimeter. A DJ announced each name alphabetically. Online the DJ stopped most cars and asked the senior’s name, favorite teacher, and time to give a shout out. Unfortunately, this was not done for every senior who wanted it. It seemed that a good time was had by all.

While Alyssa was selecting her favorite images I spoke to her about her future plans. After spending many months away from her family I impressed upon her the benefits of accepting her mother’s offer to live home until her plans take shape. I am sad that she does not see this as a positive step for her future. I can only hope that she makes good decisions. As I am writing this post I had a chance to look over all 1400 digital images I have taken of Alyssa over the years. Wow. So much time I spent capturing her growth from baby to high school graduate. She has all the future in front of her! Good Luck!

Class of 2020 attitude!

Six weeks with my doodle!

I have been living with Charlie for 6 weeks. He is now 13 weeks old. At 3 months this little guy is showing us his smarts.

I want to remember when he fit under the chair. This is where is settles when we are eating. I may change this to his “place” when he stops destroying beds.

The last time I trained a puppy was ten years ago. At that time I enrolled my puppy in classes at Pet Smart. She started at ten weeks. My Labrador Retriever crate trained and potty trained easily. With CoVid 19 training and socialization is on hold. My breeder Jo at Serenity Springs Labradoodles sent out emails with tips to prepare me for my new puppy. So I rely on what I remember and my updated reading and YouTube training sessions. I purchased Training the Best Dog Ever: A 5-week program using the Power of Positive Reinforcement. I found much information is found on the Internet, and most are in agreement. Zak George (Dog Training Revolution/Pupford), Rachel Fusaro (Save all the damn dogs), and Ian Stone (Simpawtico). Consistency, patience, and positivity. I also joined the online group, Doodle Kisses, and am getting support on the Forum.

Charlie loves his Wubba Bear Friend. This one remains in one piece. His Ultra-strong Kong Elephant immediately lost its tusks, and I needed to amputate the remaining bit of tusk. The ears are on the way out.

This week I have seen real progress in our day to day living. For one thing, potty training is progressing nicely. Not going through as many rolls of Bounty. My mother collected South East Asian bells. I hung some up on my slider and Charlie now rings the bell when he wants to go out to potty. We are getting the message! Just have to make sure to come inside before playtime. Then we go out again. Well sometimes there are false alarms, but better to go out than ignore.

After he rings the bell he often heads to his very large bed/playground near the door.

In the past few weeks I have worked on some basic commands. Of course, all these commands are being tried in various rooms in the house, but not under many conditions. Sit, Down, Off (no jumping), Leave It, Look at me, Come, Give, Go Potty, Go to your room (crate), Bed (place), Paw, Gentle, and Settle, and I am working of Stay. I think that is it.

“Charlie, Look at me!”

Today is Mother’s Day, and my puppy Charlie ordered me a tee shirt. Can’t wait to wear it in his honor.

My daughter and family stopped by this morning. Brought me some homemade cupcakes from two mini bakers. I will enjoy this with dinner tonight. CoVid 19 stay at home directives have left Charlie to interact with me and my husband. Today, all at once he had three boys ages 2, 4, and 8 all surrounding him. At first he wanted to go back to the house. I held him and introduced my grandsons. He met my son-in-law and daughter and had some “real-time petting”. After a short while, he was on the ground, wagging his tail and giving puppy kisses. In the six weeks he is making progress and getting over his shyness with new experiences. 

Shopping for groceries the CoVid way, online is becoming easier. Now there are more time slots for order pickup. A few weeks ago, I needed to place an order with Bel Air, and expect to pick up groceries in a week. Yesterday I placed my order and today most everything was delivered to my car. I am getting into the routine. Items that I can’t get at a grocery store I order from Target. Their website is a bit different, but I figured it out, and I can pick up my order within 4 hours. This is the new normal.

One thing that most puppy preparation books forget to include are bandaids. Oh my goodness. Those shark teeth have been getting me lately. And it is not from nipping or biting per se. Charlie got me good while we were having a fun game of fetch. I almost always say “Give” and wait for the ball to be dropped. This time our signals were crossed and he grabbed the ball as I was about to throw it, (ready, set, go), and sliced into my finger. Wow. Blood pouring out. This required two bandaids one on top of the other! Now I am sporting 4 bandaids. Numerous scratches, cuts, and nibbles are now healing. Once stores are open for shoppers I will recommend bandaids be sold at pet stores. Maybe a line of cute bandaids for new puppy owners should be designed! Sending ideas out for the creative entrepreneurs.

This week Charlie heads to Sunset VCA for his second visit. With safety in mind, once we park we call inside and a Vet Tech comes to get Charlie. I remain in the car. Keeping “Socially Distant” and safe. I wonder what I would do without wifi and cell phones. Thoughts for another time.

Quarantine – A Procrastinators Dream!

In California March 20th was the start of statewide lockdown. Self quarantine was advised for those over 65 earlier in the month. Using a calendar it comes to about 8 weeks since I have had any face to face interaction outside of my home.

I think it was March 7th when I last babysat my grandchildren. It was supposed to be the start of my grandsons’ baseball season. Now I don’t remember if it was called off due to rain, or the start of the novel coronavirus restrictions. But it was my son-in-laws birthday and my daughter wanted to celebrate sans kidos. Baby Colton slept through the event at 5 weeks old. The three boys – Eli (8), Lucas (4), and Wyatt (2) all dined in and everyone was entertained. Little did we know the extent that life would change so quickly.

David and I had already determined that we would postpone our 10 trip to NYC. On March 14th we drove to Orland, Ca. to visit Serenity Springs Labradoodles, and without touching and being sure to sanitize were selected our puppy Charlie now 5 weeks old. Powered by Purell Hand Sanitizer and gloves we did make one stop for fast food. We were the only ones eating out.

With a push to ready our house for the puppy, the Internet became our lifeline to online shopping. I made two trips to the stores to shop for groceries. Again, I had gloves and hand sanitizer. Thinking ahead, I looked for items that would help in the long run. This was before the supermarket run on some items. Toilet paper was being limited in Costco to two, Purell was limited to 6, and I bought some extra Bounty (needed for puppy plans). But at least the stores were fully stocked. I also planned to have some items on hand for desserts. I figured, if we were staying home we would need the extra sustenance. And some wine!

Otherwise with no where to go we slept in. Plenty of telephone calls to family and friends. Plenty of time watching television. The calendar and the watch reminded me to time passing. But my plans to organize the garage fell into the procrastinating bin. Maybe tomorrow. There doesn’t seem to be much daily change. Until I look at a calendar.

What time is it? Does it matter when in quarantine?

Thinking about time, and what it means. Pulled out these images I collected over the years.

So for the procrastinator does quarantine life give you permission to take it slow and not be moved by the clock? And after we return to an open for business time will time fly?

Be careful not to bite the hand that feeds you!

This is never truer than when you are home with a 10-week old puppy. Charlie has little, tiny shark teeth. When he is awake his mouth is always busy. Being a multi-gen Australian Labradoodle Charlie takes after the Lab side and is always up for eating! But as his owner, I am not going to be lunch.

Right away I knew that I did not have enough toys to keep Charlie busy. I went online and ordered some toys to fetch and some chew toys. I didn’t remember my last dog playing with many toys. I know there were many destroyed toys. I also forgot how small puppy mouths are. I think I did pretty well with my picks. So if you are adding a puppy these are my suggestions.

Kong Squeak Air balls size x small. They come 3 to a pack. I use two at a time. Throw one. Ready, set, go! And when Charlie retrieves one, I throw the other one. Endless energy released!

JW Hol-EE ball is a great toy for inside fetch. Quiet, and easy for a puppy to grab. It can also be used as a tug toy, or food dispenser when the treats are larger. This ball comes in a variety of sizes, and is easy to catch.

Kong Wubba – Puppy version has proved to be a keeper. Good to chew on, toss, and tug.

Kong Classic Puppy version. Made in USA! Can be stuffed. It’s chewable. When tossed it randomly bounces. Did I say it is made in the USA!

Kong Squeezz Dumbbell is easy to chew, bounces and squeaks. Fun.

Nylabone teething puppy chew. Again made in the USA. Chicken flavor and gentle chewing style. This one lasted about 3 weeks, and then Charlie began making headway and pieces came off.

Nylabone Puppy Teething Pacifier Flexible Chew toy has kept up with Charlie’s chewing abilities. Nice different textures.

Kong Cozies Alligator Toy has a squeaker, and Charlie finds different parts to chew. I am also looking at some of the Kong plush with knots for stuffing. So far his tiny shark teeth have not penetrated the alligator.

Charlie with his Alligator and Teething Ring Pacifier/Bone

Libby loved the Jolly Egg toys. She could amuse herself and tire herself out with these toys. Hard plastic ball or Egg-shaped that she would knock around with her paws. The irregular shape caused the egg to spin around randomly. Charlie is just frustrated with this and barks at the toy while trying to grab it with his mouth. Maybe later he will appreciate it.

At least this Jolly Toy could be grabbed by Charlie.

Serenity Springs sent Charlie home with some toys, blanket, and bed with littermates scent on them. His Snuggle Puppy has a heartbeat, and a warm pack. This is in his crate with him at night. I can’t tell if he feels safe with his Snuggle Puppy or because his crate is next to my bed. Probably, the later. This puppy crate is smaller, plastic and he took to it instantly. For the last two nights Charlie has led me into the bedroom when it was time to go to sleep!

Charlie is getting more charming by the day!

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you can have more than this literal meaning. Right? But not to an 11 week old pup! Lucky he is so cute!