Well it may be fall, but here at the Chapman house all we can think and talk about is Spring.
Spring our new puppy in training. We received an email request two days ago to asking if anyone was interested in starting a female Golden Retriever puppy for another raiser who will needs assistance for a few months while she finished with her current pup.
So after thinking about it over night, we decided that we could do it (even though the holiday season is coming up which is always busy for me at work).
We got word yesterday around noon that she was available and we needed to set up a pick up time. With some last minute arrangements we were able to get up to Guide Dogs just before the kennels closed and were able to bring Spring home. The car ride home was quiet the adventure. It was raining slightly and we were in rush hour traffic. It took about twice as long to get home from the campus than it normally does. Poor Spring got really stressed out on the trip. She was panting a lot and drooling so heavily that my jacket was soaking wet from holding her. She ended up vomiting which I tried to catch in the blanket that the was sitting in, but because it was dark I couldn’t really see where it was and it ended up mostly on me and the car seat. We pulled over and got everything cleaned up and continued on our journey home, but we did have a few more vomiting episodes (this time I caught it all in a towel). This is the first time I have experienced a puppy getting sick on the way home, every puppy always brings new experiences.
Our first night actually went pretty well considering that we got home after dark, and it was raining most the night.
I tried to get spring to potty before we left the campus, but got nothing. When we stopped to clean the car, nothing. When we first got home, nothing still. I tried a few more times at home and still nothing. I finally put her in her kennel for 10 minutes while I fed the other dogs dinner, because she vomited on the way home I didn’t feed Spring until later. Well she really hated the kennel, she barked, cried and pawed at the kennel door to get out. As soon as she was quiet I let her out only to discover that she had pooped and peed in the kennel. I immediately thought “this is going to be a loooong first night. I went ahead and sent a little email update to my group leader and she responded back with some great advice and permission to use a food protocol for Spring while she was in the kennel. After a little play and cuddle time we got ready for bed and Spring had still not gone potty except for in the kennel. I knew that she would have to go at some point but off to bed we went. I did the food protocol as described by my leader, worked great! she went right into her kennel and was quiet and busy with a Kong stuffed with food and then we both drifted off to sleep.
She stayed quiet until about 3am when she was woken up by one of the other dogs barking.
Outside we went to potty and finally we had success, YEA! Back to bed we went and after a few minutes of crying she was asleep until 7am. Back out to potty and again success. Back to the kennel she went for a few more hours of shut eye (I work nights so I like to sleep a little later than the average person). By this time she has already figured out going in the kennel isn’t so bad. She ran in and out a few times before I gave her some kibble in the kennel and closed the door. This time she wasn’t too happy and wanted to come out and play. She barked and cried for a good 20 minutes before finally becoming quiet and going back to sleep. I woke up a couple of hours later to complete quiet and was able to get her out of the kennel before she started crying (yea, big success), and out for another successful potty.
So her first night was pretty typical for a new puppy, but overall was very successful.
Spring is much more outgoing this morning and playing with toys and getting comfortable with the other dogs. Last night she was a little overwhelmed and even afraid of going through the door way to go outside at first. Today she is not only going through the doorway but up and down stairs all by herself. The other dogs are handling things pretty well. Eli is his usual if the puppy keeps her distance from him, he is fine. Ricki is my little trooper, she is being super nice to spring and even got up and went outside with us every time during the night even though it was cold and wet out. Little Ozzy is a little confused. He doesn’t quiet get why his mom is cuddling with another, so he got to sleep on the bed last night instead of his kennel and seemed to enjoy some special cuddle time. While we are still working on getting the show up and running again we had decided since Spring is only with us for a few short months that we will write a weekly blog here on our website to update everyone on her progress. And of course we will post pictures here and on our Facebook page. So be sure to check in on Spring, she so far is a great little puppy and we can’t wait to see what adventures she takes us on.