She is learning quickly!

We have had Ebony for one week and she is now 8 weeks old. We are going through clicker training together.....but I think Ebony is learning much faster than I am. The clicker is amazing because it makes the puppy think. She will keep trying things and offering behaviors until she hears that magical click and knows that she is going to get a treat. It is very helpful to have a puppy that is a piggy and loves to eat. In just one week she has learned so many things. She knows her name, she comes when called and sits in front of me, she knows sit and down and we are working on retrieving a set of keys. Here is a video of Ebony showing the skills that she has learned in her first week of training.

She slept through the night...YIPPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

We have reached a major milestone. We've gone from getting up 3-4 times a night to our first night that she didn't wake us up. Coincidentally, it is my birthday so it was an extra special gift. I'm not delusional enough to think that this is going to happen every night from now on but I'm thrilled to get a "potty-free" night whenever they occur.

Dr. Banks' new Dental Assistant

Lets face it, not many of us like going to the Dentist. But, when they have a Dental Assistant like Ebony....it just gets a whole lot easier. Over the years, Dr. Banks and his staff have allowed me to bring all of my foster puppies to my appointments. It is so helpful when businesses welcome puppies in training and recognize how important and beneficial these experiences are.

Northern Lights Rotary Club

Ebony and her big brother Champion were guests at the Northern Lights Rotary Club breakfast meeting this morning. Elisa gave a wonderful speech talking about the history of WGADS and their new name Dogs with Wings. The Rotary members were very welcoming and the puppies were a big hit. This is the first time that Champ and Ebony have met but as you can see from the pictures and video, they definitely enjoyed each others company.

Father and Daughter playing

Wally is slowly warming up to Ebony. This is the first time he has played with her and he was very gentle compared to his daughter.

First day at work

As you can see by the picture, Ebony had a real tough day at the office today. There was a steady stream of people coming by to meet her. Every time I took her out for a potty break I would have company. She is definitely a hit! We made it through our first day at work without any "accidents".

Day 1 and training has begun

Took Ebony with me today while I ran some errands. By the time we got to Rona she was pooped. I bought some large, round plastic trays to go under plants pots but Ebony found a much better use for them.

Reality has hit home

It doesn't matter how many puppies we have fostered...each time we have to be reminded just how much work a little 7 week old puppy really is. She woke us (or should I say me) up 4 times to go outside and to let us know that she was bored with the "sleeping thing". I'm so glad I took a few days off of work because I am pooped. The good news is that if you aren't sleeping you can manage to accomplish a lot of chores around the house. Night one...I have a sparkling clean fridge and several interesting science experiments found a new home in the compost bin. A few more nights and I could make a real dent in my to-do list.

I am also reminded why puppies, kittens and babies are so darn cute. It doesn't matter how sleep deprived or frustrated you are, one look at that face and your heart melts and nothing else matters.

Welcome to your new home

I picked up Ebony this afternoon. The drive home was very loud. She wasn't happy about being put in a kennel on the floor behind my seat. She kept barking and howling. I had to pull over and put the kennel in the front passenger seat. She still wasn't very happy but she was much less vocal. When we got home she had fun exploring the backyard and managed to get her two front paws in the pond before I grabbed her and pull her out.

4 more sleeps and then she is ours!!

Our little girl is now 6 weeks old and almost ready to leave the litter. On Thursday afternoon I will pick her up and bring her home to spend the next 12-14 months with us. We are really looking forward to our new addition. We are starting to puppy-proof the house and bring out the "spot-bot" so that we are ready to clean up any accidents. I'm watching clicker training videos and I am going to work with one of the trainers (Maria) to develop my click skills. I have heard some amazing stories about the effectiveness of using a clicker so I am really looking forward to see how Ebony progresses with this new training methodology.

Could she be a future Service Dog??

I introduced the puppies to a set of keys and Ebony immediately picked them up and carried them around. Could she be a future service dog, like her big sister Charly from the C-Litter?

Unbelieveably cute!!

From E-Litter 4-1/...

Is this not the cutest face you have ever seen? EBONY is not just cute but she is also well on her way to being house-trained and she is only 4-1/2 weeks old. I even got to see a real life demo of this newly acquired skill. Very impressive! Sherry is doing such an amazing job with these puppies that it is going to make our job of puppy raiser a breeze.

Ebony is 4 weeks old

I haven't seen my little foster daughter in a week and I was shocked by how much she has changed. Her eyes are clearer and more focused and she is walking better. Sherry says she is almost as vocal as green now. Not a good trait for a dog that is going to be coming to work with me everyday.

EBONY is now the smallest puppy. She started out almost 100 grams larger than the runt of the litter (ORANGE) but he has now outgrown her. She can still manage to hold her own with her much bigger brothers. Here is a video of EBONY playing with a few of her sibblings...