A picture is worth a thousand words

I know that technically yesterday was "wordless wednesday" but I couldn't resist putting this up today. This is Zoltan and his BFF Penny Lane, my 3 year old boxer mix who had ACL surgery 4 1/2 weeks ago. They have just recently started to play again since Penny has been on so many restrictions. They really are bestest buddies. Plus you get the bonus lab in the background, that is Molly my 6 year old black lab :)

Sometimes I forget, but then I remember...

Raising Zoltan is a journey, it's long and it is complicated and sometimes along the way there are things that I forget. They are all silly little things, but they are things I forget none the less.

I think the biggest thing that I sometimes forget is that Zoltan is still just a puppy, a bouncy, fun, energetic, 4 (almost 5) month old puppy. He is usually so well behaved, listens to his commands the first time he is asked and generally just a mellow boy that when he is acting like a puppy I tend to get frustrated. When he stares at me like he doesn't know what "sit" means or when he's zooming around the house with a piece of paper that he stole from the recycling bin I forget that he is still a puppy. I forget that he is not perfect and that he is still in the process of learning.

It is my job to shape him into an amazing dog, to teach him that running through the house with stolen paper is not appropriate and that yes when I ask you to "sit" I really mean that you need to do it right now not in 5 minutes, not after you grab a toy and get to the other side of the room, right now! 

As I sit here and type this entry, Zoltan is laying next to the ottoman of the chair I'm sitting in, sleeping so peacefully that I can't help but remember why I wanted to do this. Sure he is just a puppy right now and sure I'm just paving the way for his future but that's just it, I am paving the way with my love and patience by teaching him the things that will make him a great service dog one day (hopefully!).  I hope that one day Zoltan will go on to help somebody lead a much better life and that they will be able to do things that were one a challenge for them all because I had patience and taught Zoltan how to be a polite, respectful and good young dog right from the very start!

So sometimes I forget, and sometimes I get frustrated but then I remember. I remember that he is just a puppy and I remember that it is my job to keep calm and just laugh because after all he is just a silly puppy!

See I told you all I would be horrible at updating this blog didn't I?! Ok maybe I forgot to mention it, but I promise I'm going to try and do better!

Zoltan is doing really well with his training, and we are starting to add new things into our mix of commands. He has a solid "sit", "wait", "shake", "let's go" (walk beside me...although I do have to correct him for pulling ahead every now and then), "hurry" (this is his potty command) "release" (tells him that he can go and play or do what he pleases...within reason!) and he almost has "down", I'm not entirely sure what his hold up with that one is, and "dress" (tells him to put his nose into his gentle leader and his head through his cape)! Oh and of course "don't" and "no" which much like any young child he prefers to ignore so I usually have to correct him. *sigh* silly puppy.

We are now starting to work on "up" (which tells him to put his two front paws up on something), "off" (tells him to take his paws off the surface!), "drop" and "dress". Once he finishes figuring out his "down" we can start to work on "under" (that means he will go and lay down under a table or a chair, etc.. on command).

Zoltan is so much fun to work with and I enjoy watching him learn (which he loves to do!). Lately he has been testing the waters and pretending that he doesn't know what "sit" means, and he has been throwing a puppy tantrum when I try to trim his nails, although I think we sort of got over that one today with some high value treats (yay!!!).

In other news, my mom and I are thinking about planning a road trip that will take Zoltan back to his roots (so to speak) in California! We are hoping to attend the CCI SW region graduation in August and are planning to drive from Maryland (yikes!!). So if anyone out there has any great travel tips or suggestions feel free to throw them my way :)

See ya soon!

Malls and Walmart and Pools...Oh My!!

Well friends, yesterday and today were busy days for the young Mister Zoltan and I. He is now 4 months old and his manners are just getting better by the day! I am truly impressed every day by his amazing will to learn and the way he just stares at me waiting for his next command. I mean, most of the time when we train I do have a treat pouch attached to my hip, but I digress. He is still a very attentive pup even when I don't have food attached to my body!


We started off our adventures yesterday with a visit to my grandmother's nursing home. She is in the Alzheimer's unit so there is always something interesting going on. Definitely a great way to socialize a future service dog! After that I learned about a last minute conference call that I had for work. I work in retail at Victoria's Secret and I'm in the AIM (aka Associates Interested in Management) program. So I told them I could sit in for the call but that Zoltan would have to come along which was of course no problem since everyone at work loves him!

CCI recommends waiting until the pup is older (around 6 months) before going into the buildings vs. standing outside and working on socialization, but we made sure he went potty before entering the mall and he was pretty tired from his nursing home visit. My call was about 30 minutes long and he sat in the office with me the whole time like a good boy. 

I can only imagine what was running through his head as we went into the mall. Zoltan: "Oh hey look! A person...Oh my gosh it's a pond INSIDE the house!" 

Me: "zoltan, that's not a pond it's a fountain and this is not your house buddy"

Zoltan: "Hey!! Somebody dropped popcorn on the floor for me" 

Me: "Dont!"

Zoltan: "but...but I know it's for me! Let me just try that again" 

Me: "leave it!"

Zoltan: "Ok fine"

When we left the mall, my mom (who was also with us) needed to stop at Wal*Mart to pick up a few things so Zoltan and I accompanied her there as well. While she was shopping I decided that we needed a plastic wading pool for the summer. It's a great way to entertain 4 dogs! Well, 1 of the 4 recently had surgery to repair a torn ACL so she didn't get to partake but Zoltan has found a new favorite activity! "Walks? Hah!" says Zoltan...just let me zoom around the yard and pounce in the pool and then run around the yard.  He had SO much fun.

Today when I came home from work Zoltan got to go for his first "real" walk since he has finished all of his shots and is "street legal" as I like to say. We walked to the park down the street and walked all over different kinds of surfaces. Then we practiced going potty (or "hurry" as we say in the CCI world) on the asphalt. It's much harder then one might think! Zoltan likes to pretend he is dying if you ask him to "hurry" on a funky surface when he can see the grass just mere feet away! Then, this evening we attended our first ever CCI obedience class! We are required to do at least 2 classes per month and I have been taking Zoltan to a class close to home since 7:15 on a Friday night I'm usually at work. Tonight just happened to work out and we had a blast. I think I'm going to take off work a few Friday's a month so we can attend the CCI class instead.

As I type this Zoltan is laying on his back, snoring  and mostly just looking adorable. He really is an awesome puppy and I'm so glad we are going to be able to go on so many more cool adventures in the coming months. :)