A long break from this blog. First, several of Kaboose's litter got sick and we had to quarantine Kaboose (he wasn't one of the sick ones, but we needed to be sure he didn't transmit whatever it was or pick up something else). This meant he didn't get much training for several weeks, and by the time we got back into it, he was pretty wild. At that point, Ed and I were convinced he couldn't make it as a service dog. Secondly, I've been distracted by my pottery--taking classes, fulfilling requests (including dog bowls to raise funds for Klassi Kritters see www.klassikritters.com), and getting ready with pots as Christmas gifts. Through all of this I kept on with Kaboose's training and...much to our surprise...Kaboose is doing really well now. He's still somwhat distractable and implusive, but we can now leave him alone in the house without the futon mattress being unstuffed or the cat traumatized. And he's doing very well in public. This week I took him to my eye doctor's appointment, something new for him. He lay down behind the exam chair and stayed down the whole time. He's better than Kruizer ever was at ignoring other dogs on command (though not perfect). Deborah thinks he's just slower to mature than Kruizer. In fact, she sees the whole litter as slower to mature than Kruizer's litter. I also think Kaboose is pretty bright--he needs to get his nose into everything and is very aware of his surroundings. If he works out, which we now have hope for, he could be a wonderful service dog for someone.
Here's a picture of Kaboose from Thanksgiving:
Wow! He looks so much like his big brother here. Glad to hear things are going so well.
ReplyDeleteWe just enjoyed a great day in the snow with Kruizer today. He'll sleep well tonight.