Our first week with the new puppy, Amber, has flown by so fast.

She eats, drinks, pees, poops, sits, takes toys to her kennel, rolls over to get her belly rubbed, pees, poops, picks up shoes, pees, meets well behaved neighbor dogs, pees, poops, sits, walks herself to our door, gives us her toys, knows the sound of the door…and GROWS!

Amber shows us her belly. Ok this cute pose will not be a service-dog task, but it is so stinkin cute. baby belly isn’t it?

Big Puppy:

Yesterday Amber got her puppy shots. She was so very good.

I knew she had grown. But I was surprised that she weighed in a 13.5 pounds at less than 8 weeks of age.

Amber service-dog-in-training on March 9

Amber service-dog-in training March 14, 2017 She is on the same pillow.

I took pictures on Amber on the smae pillow so we may compare how she grows.

Why would I give her a pillow? 

I actually have a number of other inviting things on the floor for Amber to lie on that are a safe distance away from where David sits in his wheelchair to work. David needs to be mobile in our home without fear of running over the puppy. We want Amber to get used to being close by David, yet stay safe while she is so small. Therefore I have boundaries laid out for her on the floor.

Of course, David is very aware of where Amber is at all times. If he can’t see her little black fur body, he asks for my assistances to verify that the puppy is out of the way.

We have every confidence that when Amber is more mature she will hear the sound of the wheelchair turn-on to cue her thqt David is on the move. David’s late service dog, Tacks, picked up that wheelchair cue right away, but he was quite grown up.

When I am tied up for some reason, Amber is shut in her kennel. We call it her ‘room’. that is her happy place all her own.

One Smart Puppy:

I’ve measured her food by guessing her weight. Now I know her wieght…for today anyway…No wonder she tell me to fill her dish! She is a growing puppy.

I allow her to go to the kitchen by herself to get her drink. She can’t get into puppy trouble there. (We watch her like a hawk for learning postive cues.)

Amber quickly learned where I keep her food. When she wants more food she touches a wind chime I have on food cupboard with her paw.

When she wants more water she tips over the empty bowl. It makes a loud clank sound.

(I did not teach Amber any of this.)

Today, David and I heard the loud clanking of the water dish…. Whooosh! Amber had quickly carried her empty dish to her “room”. I hate to disappointment her, but we don’t serve breakfast in bed.

This is No Non-cents Nanna’s blog page diary for Amber the service-dog-in-training march 2017. this is not a training post

With much gratitude to Becoming The Trainer with Dana L. Ortiz, ABCDT for hand picking Amber for David. Until we start our puppy classes in April with Dana, we get to bond and appropripriate respond to puppy cues. I am hoping to get a video showing how amazing Amber is with stting and few more pet etiqute things Amber knows already.

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