My beautiful boy laying in a field of dandelions.....which also happen to be one of his favourite snacks.

The Toy Basket

I still haven't figured out how dogs know the exact moment that you stealthily slip your camera out and prepare to catch them doing something amusing or bad or crazy. They must sense the change in your emotions or perhaps their ears pick up on your silent chuckle...but whatever it is, they always know precisely the right second to sit up, lie down, leave the room, run towards you, stop chewing or licking or eating or whatever it was they were doing that you wanted so badly to capture.

The following video is one of those times.

This basket is where we try to keep all the dogs toys, and Pilot was pulling toys through the holes in the side, instead of lifting them over the top. And then he would start chewing on the basket instead of the toy. He was also grabbing toys and throwing them high into the air....all while lying down. It was so funny to watch, and my camera was conveniently right beside me.

As you can imagine, it didn't turn out quite like I had expected...

Better luck next time, I guess!

The Poor Puppy

On Friday Pilot went to see the Vet, and came home a very dopey, confused, floppy, uncoordinated and hungry dog. It was the Flight Litter's time to be spayed/neutered and to have their hips and elbows x-rayed. This is what he looked like on the ride home...totally out of it!

Yes, he still has his stuffed animal! Amazingly enough, it hasn't been de-fluffed.

Practicing Down/Stay

We're having a tiny problem fitting on our couch...

Snuggling

The Orange Halti

The vibrant colour really stood out against his pitch black coat...


.

Guess Who's Back on the Blog...

It's Pilot!!! He's back, and I have a lot of catching up to do...so I better get started!

In no particular order, here is what we've been up to for the last couple of months.

This was an extremely busy Saturday afternoon at WEM. One of those days when its virtually impossible to find a parking space, and its wall-to-wall people inside! Usually when you walk through a mall with a dog, people will try to leave some space around you. But poor Pilot was still pretty short and I think he got bumped into and almost stepped on more than a few times! We stopped to have a cinnamon bun and he gladly took the opportunity to rest his head on a comfy purse and fall asleep.

Seal or Dog?

Something about the way Pilot is laying here, makes me think of a little baby seal. Maybe its the feet that look like flippers sticking out to the side. Perhaps he is doing dog pilates/yoga. Either way, it doesn't look comfortable!

What An Experience

Last Wednesday Sherri (a fellow puppy raiser and Dogs with Wings employee) and I went to Millgrove Elementary School in Spruce Grove. What we thought was just going to be a small presentation to one classroom, turned out to be a huge production to the entire school in the gymnasium!! Complete with microphones and the whole bit. The main reason for our visit was to see Darren, a young boy who is on our waiting list for an autism service dog. I brought Pilot, and Sherri brought his brother Jet. We also picked up Eddy and Elliott from the office, so they could wear the autism service dog jacket and demonstrate how the dog worked with the child.

Here's all four of them ready and waiting to go!

Pilot, Eddy, Elliott and Jet

It went fairly well, and the dogs were certainly the highlight! However, the best part for me was seeing Darren glued to Eddy's side, eagerly putting on the harness and gripping the handle so they were always together. You can clearly see how much Darren loves being around the dogs. Darren and his family are very ready to welcome one of these helpers into their home, and to experience the benefit of having an autism service dog.

Eddy, Darren, Pilot, Jet and Elliott

Well we already knew Pilot could play cards, but he can read, too?! :) Apparently this one was a real page turner...

A Busy Working Day

Monday was a busy day for Pilot, the puppy in training. He plodded along with us as we did a few errands. One of them included going to the airport, somewhere Pilot had never been! The highlight was finding an escalator that was not working. We walked up and down, and up again, and sat on the stairs, and walked over the grate at the bottom numerous times...hopefully when we come across one in operation, he will not be afraid of it!



Here he is in Canadian Tire, doing a down/stay in the pet aisle. Ohh so many good smells!

Good puppy! He got a lot of treats for resisting this one!

More Fun

Here is Pilot and his sister Dash (wearing a red collar) playing with a stick. It's so hard to tell who is who...most of the time it just looks like a big black blob!

Please excuse the distraction at the end of the video. What can I say, I'm just a sucker for a big, cute golden face! :)

Puppies in the Park

Even though it is only Wednesday, Pilot has been a lucky pup, and visited the off leash parks twice already! But it gets better... he also gets to play with his two sisters! On Monday we met Dash and Sierra at Terwillegar Offleash park. Today, we had another play date at Callingwood Offleash park. There is a ravine that goes through the middle of it, and they had a great time running up and down the big hill. This is a great way for the puppies to socialize with a number of different dogs, plus practice their recall.

Mel with Sierra

Charis, with a very tired out Dash

Pilot

Another Distraction

On Tuesday we went to Walmart to pick up a few things. On our way out, I noticed the plastic life sized guide dog sitting by the door! I was pretty sure Pilot would think it was real. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to see how he reacts to seeing another dog in public! Here's a video of how he handled it. I think he did quite well!

Good boy, Pilot!

The park has gone to the dogs

Every Friday Monica comes into the Dogs with Wings office and gives the dogs the best treat they could possibly ask for...a long run at the off leash park! Last week I got the chance to go with her as a co-walker. We took 7 dogs and traipsed around for an hour and a half, while they ran and played and sniffed to their hearts content! They never seem to run out of energy, and the cold certainly didn't bother them! As you can see, they found a huge stick and had a great time playing tug of war.

Puppy Class!

Last Thursday, Pilot participated in his first puppy class at West Edmonton Mall! Also there were his siblings, Dash and Gunner. The Flight Litter has had a couple of classes together at Waggin' Tails, but I knew going to the mall would be a whole different experience for him.

I've learnt from experience to be prepared for every situation. When you have a young pup, and you're doing class in public, anything can happen! They can get very excited, they can start barking, or have an accident, or pull wildly on the leash, or develop a fear of some new object or sound etc...

This whole list was running through the back of my mind as we approached Sears in West Ed. Little did I know, I didn't have a thing to worry about! Pilot did very well, and he even tolerated walking with the halti on for the very first time. For the most part he was calm and focused, and even though I could tell he wanted to say hi to his siblings, he responded to "watch me" incredibly well! (I did take advantage of his love for anything edible by filling my pouch with some kind of stinky lamb treatsies.)

By the end of the class, I was extremely proud of him! The last two dogs we raised were a lot different than Pilot, so I'm still getting used to his laidback, easy going personality. Hopefully it carries over into this weeks puppy class!

Of course, we mustn't forget about Eddy, who is being trained as an autism service dog! He came along with Maria to be an excellent example to the puppies.


He just loves to wag his tail!

Bath #3

It never ceases to amaze us, how much Pilot loves to have a bath. He brought his little squeaky elephant toy with him this time. Even though the water was fairly deep, he didn't mind laying right down and relaxing....what a funny pup!

He likes to play cards!

One night we were playing a game, and Pilot was sitting on the floor, looking up at me with these huge, sad puppy dog eyes. Of course I couldn't resist them! I told him he would be too big to fit on my lap, but he didn't mind. He sat there, half falling off, just watching everything we did. He didn't even try to lick or bite the cards!

Playing with Caper

At the Mall

Earlier in January Pilot wasn't too familiar with West Ed. He also wasn't too familiar with the term, "loose leash walking". After walking around for about 45 minutes, he settled down a bit, and we tried some basic obedience.

Here is his famous frog-leg down position! Maria thinks he might be related to Ebony...

Watching the Game

During my little brother's hockey games, Pilot is usually snoring on the floor. In the gold medal game however, Pilot sat up and watched the puck go back and forth intently! He looked so cute from the side.
Can you spot the puppy in amongst the shoes and coats?! Most people didn't even realize he was there!

Making Friends

Pilot loves kids, and was very happy to pose with my little cousin, Tieja, for a picture on Christmas Day!

A Car Ride

Bentley and Pilot riding in the car after visiting the Scott Robertson Elementary School.