Tuckered-Out Thursday
Cold, cold morning with flurries on the way. I'd love nothing more than to snuggle back in for a few hours, but I have a lot to do and many hours before I see bed again. (Shout-out to my pillow. I miss you.) So let's hand it over to the Roo Crew, starring Ruby's sister, Racine, living the dream.
As always, thanks to Joyce for video of the Tinies.
As always, thanks to Joyce for video of the Tinies.
Santa's Little...Helper?
Well, we set up the Christmas tree this weekend — I really don't know how we ever managed on our own before Ruby came along! Her standards are exacting:
• Confirm varietal excellence
• Supervise installation crew
• Approve materials
• Verify stand is to code
• Inspect trunk positioning for precise verticality
• Micromanage clean-up
Well done, Ruby! In fact, she did such a great job, we let her choose the first ornament to hang on the tree. She snooted around in the box and came up with this one. We thought it was a very good choice.
• Confirm varietal excellence
• Supervise installation crew
• Approve materials
• Verify stand is to code
• Inspect trunk positioning for precise verticality
• Micromanage clean-up
Well done, Ruby! In fact, she did such a great job, we let her choose the first ornament to hang on the tree. She snooted around in the box and came up with this one. We thought it was a very good choice.
Ruby On Rails
Ruby's a good car traveler, so I really didn't expect to have any issues on Denver's train system, the light rail. But I took a bag full of extra delicious treats just in case!
Before the train took off, we took a walk up and down the narrow aisle, passing people on the way. One mom felt badly because her daughter reached out and pet Ruby without asking permission. I laughed and said that Ruby reached out and gave the little girl a few sniffs and that Ruby didn't ask permission either!
We got underway and Ruby didn't show any uneasiness with the movement. She just sat and looked around a little, maybe noticing the tops of buildings flying by in the window.
When I saw this next shot, I got a little choked up, but in a good way. She looks so much less like a puppy here. She's beginning to look like...a service dog.
Ah, but she's still a puppy! We moved around a few times and she kept trying to burrow under one of the seats.
We peeked underneath and figured out why. She had hunted down an animal cracker!
The line ends at Union Station; Ruby will give her tour in another post. Since the train was already waiting at the station at the beginning of our trip, it was cute to see her watch it pull in.
On the ride home she was wiped. So was I!
Thankful For New Friends
What a lovely surprise to wake up to on this sunny Thanksgiving morning -- we were very honored to receive this award from our wonderful friends across the miles, Murray and Clive in Ireland! Murray is a not-so-little man who brings us all big smiles and tales of adventures with his awesome pal and assistance dog, Clive.
I am giving thanks for so very many things today and the community of my new online friends is certainly a huge part of what I am grateful for. In the spirit of this award, I'd like to pass it along to five blogger friends who have welcomed and supported Raising Ruby (the new blog on the block!) and whose warm stories and photos I really enjoy:
Khyra's Khorner
Sierra Rose
Becky's Blog Spotlight
Tails of a CCI Puppy
A Doggie Life
I started Ruby's blog to help spread awareness for service dog organizations and to serve as a resource for those who may be thinking of raising a service puppy and are curious as to what it entails. Thanks to all the support and friendship we've received, we have been able to reach more people than we ever could have hoped for in such a short period of time.
A Tailwaggin' Thanksgiving to all of our friends and have a great weekend!
I am giving thanks for so very many things today and the community of my new online friends is certainly a huge part of what I am grateful for. In the spirit of this award, I'd like to pass it along to five blogger friends who have welcomed and supported Raising Ruby (the new blog on the block!) and whose warm stories and photos I really enjoy:
Khyra's Khorner
Sierra Rose
Becky's Blog Spotlight
Tails of a CCI Puppy
A Doggie Life
I started Ruby's blog to help spread awareness for service dog organizations and to serve as a resource for those who may be thinking of raising a service puppy and are curious as to what it entails. Thanks to all the support and friendship we've received, we have been able to reach more people than we ever could have hoped for in such a short period of time.
A Tailwaggin' Thanksgiving to all of our friends and have a great weekend!
How To Eat Texas Taffy
Technique K: Anchor treat with one paw, fine-tune position of treat with toes of other paw, gently tear treat into manageable strips. Chew delicately.
Technique R: Let deck do all the work. Devour.
Wishing lots of treats and a Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Furniture And Toys
The couch, coffee table, chairs, pillows, shoes, and I, have been very fortunate. Former Puppy Kiva and Current Puppy Ruby have never shown much interest in chewing on anything but their own toys. I attribute part of that good fortune to the fact that they're provided with a ton of toys, especially stuffed squeaky ones, in baskets all around the house. To prevent boredom, I switch the toys around and add to the stash frequently.
The flip side to this constant Christmas morning is that whenever they see something "stuffed" they immediately think it's for them. I know they're able to discriminate -- when I claim a toy for myself in the house (like my little stuffed teddy from Etsy), they leave it alone, even though it's within snoots' reach. But I've noticed when I bring Ruby into a store, all bets are off, so we're working on that.
Of all places, a furniture store recently provided a couple of good stuffed toy training opportunities. As soon as I saw those two little dogs I knew she'd make a beeline for them.
I told her to "leave it" but she went straight for 'em. I tried to get her attention back, aaaaand...
she knocked them down and started to take one in her mouth. You can't see my face but I have to cop to the fact that the sight of this pile just cracked me right up. Giggling, I told Ruby to "drop it" and she did.
So we backed up, waited a bit, and composed ourselves. Then I put her in a sit, gave her a treat for that, and we both attempted some restraint.
This time we were more successful. She sat and checked them out, but didn't try to take off with them. Although, needing to have the last word, as soon as we stepped away she turned around and gave those rotties a piece of her adolescent 6-month-old mind.
Continuing on, we easily made our way through the store, practicing all kinds of maneuvers and cues,
till we came upon a lounging tiger with a delectable, dangling tail.
Ruby went toward it, and being in a public place, I just kind of instinctively held back the leash. But I know I need to trust myself and my dog. As long as it's a safe place, I want her to make her own choices. So I gave the leash slack and let her have a moment to sniff, but before she could chomp a tiger on his toe, I told her to sit. She did.
Which isn't to say that she wasn't still interested in it,
but she showed self-control, which made me really, really proud of her. Because seriously, that toe and tail were totally tugworthy!
The flip side to this constant Christmas morning is that whenever they see something "stuffed" they immediately think it's for them. I know they're able to discriminate -- when I claim a toy for myself in the house (like my little stuffed teddy from Etsy), they leave it alone, even though it's within snoots' reach. But I've noticed when I bring Ruby into a store, all bets are off, so we're working on that.
Of all places, a furniture store recently provided a couple of good stuffed toy training opportunities. As soon as I saw those two little dogs I knew she'd make a beeline for them.
I told her to "leave it" but she went straight for 'em. I tried to get her attention back, aaaaand...
she knocked them down and started to take one in her mouth. You can't see my face but I have to cop to the fact that the sight of this pile just cracked me right up. Giggling, I told Ruby to "drop it" and she did.
So we backed up, waited a bit, and composed ourselves. Then I put her in a sit, gave her a treat for that, and we both attempted some restraint.
This time we were more successful. She sat and checked them out, but didn't try to take off with them. Although, needing to have the last word, as soon as we stepped away she turned around and gave those rotties a piece of her adolescent 6-month-old mind.
Continuing on, we easily made our way through the store, practicing all kinds of maneuvers and cues,
till we came upon a lounging tiger with a delectable, dangling tail.
Ruby went toward it, and being in a public place, I just kind of instinctively held back the leash. But I know I need to trust myself and my dog. As long as it's a safe place, I want her to make her own choices. So I gave the leash slack and let her have a moment to sniff, but before she could chomp a tiger on his toe, I told her to sit. She did.
Which isn't to say that she wasn't still interested in it,
but she showed self-control, which made me really, really proud of her. Because seriously, that toe and tail were totally tugworthy!
