Sydney City

I got to come back home last Friday. It was an interesting week away. There are two other dogs at Quincy's house. They put me in my place. It was a fun week.

Last night Mommy and I went into the city to pick up Daddy from work. We met some friends at Cruise Bar in Circular Quay. I really enjoyed watching the birds on the water at Circular Quay.

Quincy

Hi. I am Quincy. I am Quinta's brother.I had surgery on my elbows. I am not feeling very well but I am getting a little bit better every day. HERE is a photo album of my post-operation recovery period at the Moon house.

-- Quincy

Quincy is here!

Quincy moved in last night. I got to be here to help him adjust. Well, I have to go to my bed every time Quincy comes out of his bed because we aren't supposed to play. He isn't allowed to play until his legs get better.Mommy and Daddy JerJer and I had a fun trip to the park this afternoon. I am leaving for Quincy's house soon.

Trading places

My brother Quincy had surgery on his front legs today - his elbows, I think. He is coming to stay at Mommy and JerJer's house while he recovers because our house is nice and flat - no stairs here!! I will go stay at his house where there are lots of stairs.

Bella let me borrow her pumpkin costume just in case I am not back in time for Halloween.

Back to Basics

Well, I have been having a little bit of trouble lately. I am starting to be a little bit defiant like Bella. It isn't all the time, just sometimes. For example, at the grocery store, there have been several times when I have decided to slide down to the ground when I have been asked to SIT and SHAKE. My parents have been drilling and drilling my basic commands with me ever since my defiance issue started.

I had a several hour evaluation with my teacher last week. She thinks that my problem may be that I am confused about getting commands from both of my parents. That made sense to my parents. Last Sunday during our walk, my mommy was holding my lead. At one point she said HEAL. I healed next to my daddy. It was a really hard choice for me because they were both standing right there and they were both looking at me. My parents are going to try to be more clear about whose turn it is to be in charge. The one who is NOT in charge has to look away and totally disengage.

But don't worry, I am still really good at a lot of things. Last puppy class we learned TIP. Here is a 3-second video of me doing TIP.

Best kid in IKEA

We made a big trip out to IKEA today. I was one of the only well-behaved kids there. Most of the other kids seemed to be screaming and refusing to listen to their parents. My parents were super proud of me, as usual.I have been working on WAIT a lot. I am increasing my waiting time but I have a long way to go to get to the 5 min. mark. Another thing that I have been working on is retrieving different things - besides my toys. I am comfortable with keys now. It is super fun to retrieve keys!

Teaching and learning

I get out and about quite a bit. I am the first ADA dog to be raised in Sydney's Inner West and with that has come the responsibility of teaching my community about my organization. Many shops, pubs and restaurants in my area don’t know about my organization and my goals. They don’t know that I need practice behaving in the community. Mommy and Daddy have to explain these things to people all the time. We get to meet a lot of managers. Fortunately or unfortunately, so many puppies have such cute outfits these days, my ADA Learner coat is often just thought to be fun fashion and not as an indication of my association with ADA.
Another thing we have been teaching other people about is my training halti that I wear around my face when I am out walking. Some people seem to think it is a muzzle or something horribly inhumane. I guess it is sometimes hard for people to embrace new technology. My halti is very gentle and I can still eat, drink, yawn and so on, while I am wearing it. When I pull ahead or start heading away from where I need to be, there is a gentle pull on my face. It is a gentle reminder that I need to focus back on where I need to be walking. Before I got a halti, I had my lead attached to my collar during walks. When I pulled ahead, my collar would hurt my throat. I would cough and cough. That was really unpleasant. Choke collars can cut off the air supply and can do serious damage to the esophagus. The halti is a more gentle training tool but alas, it is not foolproof. If someone were to pull on my lead violently when I am wearing my halti, I could get whiplash. But fortunately, my parents know that a very gentle pull is all that it takes to remind me that I need to make a correction.

Dentist in the city

Today I helped Mommy go to the dentist. We took the bus because her dentist is in the city. Mommy had to lie down on a big chair and I had to lie down near her feet. I stayed lying down near Mommy's feet the whole time. I was perfect. The dentist guy kept doing weird stuff so I kept an eye on both Mommy and him to make sure he wasn't hurting Mommy. Lots of people came by to take pictures of me with their phones. They kept saying nice things like, "world's cutest puppy." It is weird, if you don't think you can handle the puppy-parazzi, don't go to the dentist. I am totally used to having my picture taken so I can handle it.

After the dentist, we went to visit Daddy JerJer at his office. Mommy and I waited around for a little while so that we could all ride the bus home together. It is fun to help Daddy get home from work. Here is a pictures of Daddy and me in the city. Check out my big kid jacket!! I got to turn in my baby jacket during my holiday.

Back home

After my parents picked me up from Carol's house on Sunday, we went to North Sydney to see Grandma Karyn and Grandpa Tony. We took a fun walk.Then we went home . . . I totally remember the house and the backyard and BELLA! I am really happy to have Bella back in my life. I can tell that Bella missed me because she hasn't made her mad hissing noise toward me since I have been back. We have been hanging out a lot.I got a few new toys and a new collar. My new collar is another yellow one. Mommy seems to be thrilled with it so I guess I like it. What I really like is my pink Wubba from Aunt Stephanie.I think that my holiday was a great experience. I showed everyone how adaptable I am. I am awesome! Check me out hanging out under my daddy's legs before he goes to work.

My holiday!!

I am back at home with Mommy, Daddy JerJer and Bella!

I want to thank Helen, Neale, Matt and Katherine for taking such good care of me. I had such a fun time! Thank you for helping me through my operation and thank you for helping me to grow big and strong. I am no longer Little Quinta!

OK, check this out, my holiday family helped me keep a diary and they sent home pictures for my parents. Isn't that sweet!!

My holiday home had a fantastic backyard with grass. It was like living at a park!! That is Java in the picture with me. Java is my holiday family's former puppy-in-training. Java came to stay with us for a day before he moved to Perth. That was super fun. Java is really big and really nice. Check us out! We both like to be close to people. We are both very loving. When we were together, we ended up being a little bit pushy about getting attention and affection!! Here is a picture from when I got my stitches. I got my stitches on Monday, July 30th. Hopefully I am done with my frequent visits to the vet.