Christmas Wish List

Yes, Watson would look very cute sitting in the front seat with the wind blowing through her hair and her ears flapping in the breeze.

But, it is safe to say, it is just "wishful thinking".

BUSTED!!!!

It is pretty tough to deny your involvement in this....

....when you look like this!
















Unfortunately, Sherlock did not come out of the altercation well.

Lucky for Sherlock, and Watson, I am handy with a needle and thread.

Beach Babe

We are about an hour drive north of Galveston Island.

(CUE: Glen Campbell's song "Galveston, Oh Galveston, I still hear your sea waves crashing....")

Galveston was Watson first adventure to a beach.

She loved the feel of the sand between her toes, the wind ruffling her hair, the seagulls squawking, and she especially loved the sand pipers scurrying across the sand.

She didn't swim, but she loved getting in the water and loping in the waves.

She loved slurping up the salty sea water - which led to disastrous events later. (I won't embarrass her by giving you details.)



She excelled at digging and rolling in the sand.

It was a successful day for Watson because she got to make a mess, and then bring it into the car. Back home it was then followed by more water in a bath.

We had fun watching her joy. And a tired dog is a good dog.

International Traveler

Little Watson was included in our (American) Thanksgiving travel itinerary to Ottawa, Canada. 

It consisted of a 3 1/2 hour flight, plus a 3 hour layover, plus, another one and a half hour flight. Repeat for the return.

Not wanting to leave anything to chance, packing for Watson was more involved than packing for ourselves. 

First and foremost essentials: SEGDI vest, leash, and MOST important, the treat bag! 

Then, there was the paperwork: rabies certificate, health certificate, records of all her shots, a letter from SEGD verifying us as Puppy Raisers, Puppy Raiser ID cards, Watson's business card, and Puppy Raiser brochures. 

Then: diapers for quick clean-ups, Puppy Pads as back-up for quick clean-ups, handwipes for after quick clean-ups, portable dish, chew toys and stuffed toys - and that was just in the carry-on bag! Just in case!

The suitcase had dishes, food, more training treats, a towel to define "her space" and back-up paperwork. 

Watson was oblivious to the planning and preparation.

After all that - Watson traveled like a pro!

She breezed through security screening, walked the airport confidently, waited patiently for our flight and slept on the plane. 

Then, we had to transfer flights with our 3 hour wait. 

This is when "busy" and "busy busy" tracking is very important! 

Newark has a Pet Relief area in the terminal, which was great because we did not want to deal with clearing security again during Thanksgiving weekend. 

I don't think Watson was fooled by the plastic grass and fake fire hydrant, but, she did make use of it. YEAH! 

Once we got to Ottawa, cleared Customs & Immigration, and set foot on Canadian soil we breathed a sigh of relief.

Watson was surprised to be greeted with remnants of the previous week's snow on the ground!

She LOVED it. And she LOVED the crisp cool air.

I think her 2am and 4am potty breaks were just to enjoy the cool air and make sure the snow was still there. Siiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

By the time we were ready to return home we knew Watson was an International Traveler that could cross the border and fly the friendly skies with confidence.

Many thanks to United Airlines and Air Canada for graciously accommodating us and making the trip an easy journey and special time.

Farmer's Market

Our Houston Puppy Raisers went on a group outing to a Farmers Market.

There were lots of distractions with food smells, people that wanted to pet the Guide Dog Puppies, musicians, and other dogs.

Cami, one of Watson's sisters, is also being Puppy Raised in Houston. At the end of our outing they were able "Take a Break" to re-acquaint themselves and have a little tussle.

I think they also swapped tips on how to get into trouble - and look cute so that they don't get into trouble.







A Farmer's Market before (American) Thanksgiving would not be complete without a Pumpkin Patch.

Happy Thanksgiving from our patch to yours. 

She's a Really Good Dog....

..... except for when she's bad.

Like when she got into the dripping pan for the BBQ.

Actually, that is the only thing she has done which is bad.

Well..... except for.....

Definition of a Good Day

Watson is learning that car rides can bring about great adventures.

One of her favourite adventures is going for a car ride to Memorial Park for a big walk.

Parts of the park are like an overgrown jungle, full of bushes and vines that are home to interesting critters that move, hide, fly and rustle leaves.

In the park she can practice walking on different footings including vines, roots, sand and little footbridges made of thin wood slats.




She loves that she gets to meet other dogs, people and bikers. It creates an opportunity where she can practice proper greetings.

At the end of her great adventure she welcomes a cool drink and is generally exhausted for the rest of the day.

A tired dog is a good dog.

And a good dog makes a great day for us!

Public Relations Pro

Watson is starting to do Public Relations work for Southeastern Guide Dogs (SEGDI).

She has been to several presentations sitting quietly and showing off her good manners (basically). She has also "manned" a booth. (Or, should that be described as "dogged" a booth?)

With her cute little face, platinum hair and (relatively) good manners, she is a natural at attracting attention and spreading the word.

This year nature has been generous to SEGDI and right now we have over 200 puppies that need to find Puppy Raisers before the end of the year. That is a LOT of puppies.

Watson wants to know if anyone is interested in being a Puppy Raiser?

https://www.guidedogs.org/volunteer/raise-a-puppy/

Costco Shopping

You never know what you really need until you go shopping at Costco. There is always a cornucopia of previously unknown "must have" items.

Costco is a great experience for Watson with an abundance of sensory stimulation - people, shopping carts, kids, bright lights and most significantly, tempting food smells. (I have to admit, I am always tempted by the sample tables, especially when they have something chocolate!)

Where she especially perked up was when we walked past the fresh fish section. She stopped, twitched her little nose, raised her head and sniffed the air.

She was also distracted in the aisle with dog food.

Watson is now interested in being added to the membership card. I suspect she would like double shopping points for redemption on dog treats.

I am going to have to keep an eye on the Costco statements.

Future Librarian?

Watson went with me to the library at the Bayou Bend campus of the Museum of Fine Arts to do research.

The Museum's curator heard we were in the library and came over to visit with us. (I am quite sure that the visit was just to see Watson, and I only happened to be on the other end of the leash.) His mother raised Guide Dogs for 20 years and it brought back many happy memories for him.








Watson behaved like an angel (phew!)


I was very proud of her when she was told she was welcome to come back to do more research at the library anytime.

Watson wants to know if she can be compensated in treats.

Sisters

Watson's litter of 8 consisted of 6 females and 2 males.

One of her sisters is also being Puppy Raised in Houston. Her name is Cami.

Watson and Cami share certain traits.




One of them is a love of the water - especially - moving water.

They both love to do the dog paddle in their water dish. Siiiiiiiiiiigh.






They are also both "challenged" when it comes to house training. Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

I think they shared a few laughs with their tricks to avoid house training.

They do look very similar, but Cami is a little darker and her fur is a little curlier.

Since Cami's house-training habits were s-l-i-g-h-t-l-y more advanced than Watson's, I was hoping to pull the old-switcheroo and take Cami home instead of Watson.

But, naaaaah, Watson is pretty sweet and she came home with me. 

Puppy Teeth

Anyone that has ever been on the recieving end of puppy teeth know that they are sharp and spiky.

When puppies are growing up and loosing their baby teeth, the puppy nipping becomes more frequent. Ouch!!!

Watson lost her front teeth first.

One day she was captivated by something small on the floor. I took a closer look to see what she was inspecting. It turns out she was fascinated with one of her molars that had just fallen out. 

Another time when we were going out for dinner I noticed that one of her little canines was wobbling sideways. When we got home from dinner, her canine tooth was missing.

Generally the baby teeth get swallowed.

No Watson, I am not going to search for them to leave out for the Tooth Fairy!

Wrinkles

Little Watson has cute wrinkles on her nose.

I suspect it means she will grow into the wrinkles.

BUT, does that mean she will have a big nose, or, does that mean her entire face will grow into those wrinkles?


If only wrinkles were that simple, and cute, for the rest of us....

An Unwelcome Visitor

Houston had an unwelcome visitor at the end of August. It was called Hurricane Harvey.

We did not leave the house from Saturday August 26th until the sun finally came out on the morning of Wednesday August 30th. The city saw 59" of rain fall in 4 days.



Watson, being oblivious to the disaster around us, was blissfully happy.

She had us both home all day, for 4 straight days.

Walks brought her great pleasure, as she was able to get her self soaking wet!

All said and done, we were very fortunate to remain dry. It had nothing to do with any brilliance on our part, it was merely just being lucky. Many others were not so fortunate.

Cuddles and Snuggles

Little Watson enjoys her cuddles.

Luckily, she's not Velcro with the need to constantly get attention and be underfoot.

But she does enjoy coming around for her lovin's.









She does allow herself to be scooped up for snuggles.

She will quickly grow bigger and it won't be so easy to scoop her up, so we enjoy these moments when we can.

Times like these make it easy to forget her puppy indiscretions.

Habits

Some habits are hard to break.

I have the distinct feeling that this pose, wrapped around the food/water bowl, will be a reoccurring pose.

Hopefully the splashed water due to Dog Paddle practice in the water dish will start to dissipate.







Lucky thing she has John wrapped around her little paw.

Partners in Crime

When Watson first arrived we were fostering a rescue golden retriever.

Demi, our 2 1/2 year old foster, had landed on our doorstep about 3 weeks earlier, rescued by a Good Samaritan. Demi had been neglected, was extremely timid, but still a sweet, gentle and loving soul.

Demi was thrilled to be rescued and living in a safe new world with us.


Her peaceful life exploded, or should I say, "imploded", when Watson arrived. 

After initial hesitation, and looks of longing to be rescued from a rambunctious pup with spike teeth, Demi adjusted, tolerated and then embraced her new foster sister.



They became Partners in Crime, with Watson leading the way down the path of trouble, and Demi having more sense than to blindly follow her, most of the time.

They learned from each other.

Demi taught Watson to keep up on walks around the block and showed her that house training means doing "ablutions" outside. (Watson resisted the lessons, believing that house training was for Over Achievers!)

Before Watson blasted into her life, even with encouragement, Demi did not know how to play with toys. Watson taunted and teased Demi, and taught her how to play with toys.

When things were quiet, Watson would pounce on Demi to wrestle up some trouble. And when Watson needed to rest up she snuggled with her foster sister Demi.

Demi was patient with Watson, and took the biting and teething with great tolerance.

We were thrilled, but knew once Demi was adopted, we would be the recipients of the rambunctious puppy's playful antics and sharp teeth.




Demi has found a wonderful family to give her a forever home.

We now have to fend off Watson's playful puppy antics on our own.

Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz

How is it that puppies seem to be able to fall asleep anywhere.












In any position.















In positions that don't look comfortable at all.












When they are sleeping they look so sweet and innocent.

It is almost easy to forget that when they are awake they can be little terrors.