First Aged Trail

So far Alfie and I have been working "runaways," where he actually watches his target run off and hide, and "fresh trails," where he cannot see the target run off, but still goes right to work on the trail as soon as the target is hidden.  Today was our very first "aged trail," where the target lays the trail and then we wait, allowing the scent to "age" before allowing Alfie to work it.  For today's assignment, Charissa was our target and we allowed the trail to age just 20 minutes before we began.

Alfie knew we were up to something but was very puzzled when Charissa left the house alone and I went back to my other activities.  Twenty minutes later, I harnessed him up, took him out, and gave him the scent item with the "smell" command.  He was definitely up for the challenge and responded to the "find" command by practically dragging me across the lawn!  (Mental note:  check with Charissa to see if she actually crossed the front lawn, or is Alfie taking shortcuts?)

Soon he slowed down and began to work much more carefully.  He decided to lead south, but kept glancing west across the farm road with increasing frequency.  We came to a church parking lot, which he gave a cursory check before definitively crossing the farm road west, into a cemetery. 

After that he seemed puzzled, sniffing the ground in wide circles, then totally stopping to air-sniff.  I figured it was time for encouragement:  stopping him, I showed him the scent item again and excitedly cheered him on with, "find this!" That was just what he needed -- with typical Alfie enthusiasm, he not only sniffed the little gauze scent pad, but grabbed it and licked it and tossed it around before beginning to circle purposefully once more with a "We can do this!" sort of attitude.   He widened the circles more and more until...yeah!!...he settled in again, leading me right to where she was.

Good dog!

...And, yes, she crossed the front yard.  And went pretty much exactly the way he led me.  What a dog.  We're having so much fun!

Found You!

This week, Alfie got to find his very first canine "target":  Hickory, a spunky and adorable mini dachshund.  We started off by using gloved hands to rub a sterile gauze pad all over Hickory to get a good scent sample.  Then off he went to hide with his handler (this time, Charissa), while I covered Alfie's eyes. 

After several minutes, I snapped the tracking line to Alfie's harness, his signal that work (or is it play?) is about to start.  Then I give him the scent item and the "smell" command.  At this point in training, that's a little superfluous...Alfie had already seen AND smelled Hickory and is smart enough put two and two together!  Still, keeping to the procedure is important for later, when I'll ask him to trail a target he's never met before.  Finally I give the "find" command...again it's hardly necessary, but hey, I like to feel like I'm doing something! 

A brisk breeze made conditions challenging and caused Alfie to work slowly, circling and weaving as he went along.  He did not follow their exact path, often preferring to trail along a hedgerow where their scent had no doubt collected against the windbreak offered by the vegetation.  After about a quarter mile across a field, a path, and through a semi-wooded area, he plunged sharply left through some brush to find Hickory in a cement drainage culvert. Yeah!

Find!

If there's one thing that Alfie misses most about being a guide dog in training, I'd have to say it's the privilege of being able to go everywhere with me.  If he's along on an outing and I have to stop by a store, he doesn't understand why he has to stay in the car with one of the kids instead of coming with me!

At least they don't make me wear that jacket any more!

But probably his favorite aspect of the work itself was the "finds."  Happily for Alfie, he doesn't have to stop "finding" things!  I want to do further training with him on scent discrimination, but for now we play fun games that have to do with him "finding" various items -- or even people! -- around the house and backyard.  We're experimenting with hiding things in "hard" places as well as "easy" places...sometimes we'll hide a toy where Alfie actually can't reach it, so he has to "show" us where it is, and then we reward him by giving him the toy to play with.

One really great thing about the "finding" game shown in the videos below is that, as long as the kids help hide his toy, I don't have to do anything at all, except sit with my ankle propped up -- yeah!

[Video description:  First video shows me holding Alfie with my hand over his eyes so he can't peek while Charissa hides his toy.  Then he has to sniff around til he finds it behind the entertainment center nearby (it takes him about half a minute to find).  Second video shows the end of one of these games, where Alfie finds the toy stashed in the space between the fridge and the wall, behind and on top of a folded TV tray.  When he catches a whiff of it he sort of "points" to it, then grabs it.  That was a tough one -- he's pretty excited about getting it!]

The More Things Change...

A little over a week has passed since Alfie came home.  One change you'll notice -- his cute haircut.

I left about an inch of curly brown fur to ward off the spring chill, but overall, I think he feels better, and looks neater.  He's certainly easier to brush!

But in most ways, Alfie's exactly the same as I remembered him. He still loves attention and petting more than anything.  He loves people...

New friends, awesome!

...and people seem to love him!  

Just like I remember from his guide-dog-in-training days, Alfie loves to learn new things.  One difference is what he's learning!  As a service dog, Alfie wasn't allowed to do "tricks"...however, now that he's our dog, Charissa is enjoying teaching him fun and cute little things.  So far she's got him to "shake hands," "spin," "roll over," "back up" and "bow."  It seems like every time I turn around, Alfie's doing something new for her!

Look what I can do, Mom!

Another thing is still the same, too:  Alfie retains his ability to surprise me!  Last week we had guests over at Sunday lunch and, wondering where my nephew was, I asked Alfie to "find John."  I wasn't actually expecting him to do it  -- after all he'd just met John the day before, and I didn't think he'd remember him by name.  He did, though -- trotting straight over to John, nosing him, and then giving me a pointed look to make sure I noticed!  When we all laughed, my sister-in-law asked what happened, and could Alfie please do it again?  All 9 people gathered around to watch -- and to be honest, I didn't know if it wasn't just a fluke!  So I had Alfie sit, "watch me," then I told him again to "find John"...Alfie literally pranced into the living room (show off that he is), threaded his way through all the other people and around all the furniture, going straight to John and giving him a definite nudge.  When spontaneous cheers broke out at this little achievement, you'd have thought Alfie had won the doggy lottery or something!  For an attention-loving guy like him, that was better than all the liver in the world -- he smiled, twirled, wagged and was ever so pleased with himself.  Funny boy!

Take Time

Dogs are great for reminding us:  Take time out.  Go for a walk.  We'd all been working hard Friday and needed a break.  I thought that since Alfie's just here a couple more days -- and our family's only here in Texas for a couple more weeks -- we needed to get out and enjoy meandering around the capitol building one last time!

Find the seat, good dog!

As usual -- it was gusty.

Funny little story:  We waited in line quite a while to get in, due to the new security measures and metal detectors.  I thought going through a metal detector would be a great new experience for Alfie!  I asked the officer if he wanted us to go through separately, or together.  He said together -- and that if the detector went off, we'd just have to get "wanded" by another officer.  We went through together and Alfie was fine despite the LOUD beeping when --yes-- we set it off.  I obediently went over to get "wanded."  The lady there said (no kidding):  "Oh, you don't have to come here unless you set it off.  Did you set it off?"  Seemed to be on the honor system!  I was oh so tempted to say no and avoid the hassle, but of course I'm too honest.  She used her metal-detecting wand on Alfie and that DID make him jump -- it seemed a very threatening gesture, plus it beeped too (collar and tags).  She shrugged and said, "go ahead," and off we went.  I guess we just don't look that suspicious, hehe!

We worked lots and lots and LOTS of stairs.  Then we found elevators...and bathrooms.  With bathrooms on so many floors, the capitol is a great training location.  I did my best not to give him any hints so that he could practice finding and decision-making on his own.  Fun!  

Loved this big live oak...

...and the peaceful, manicured grounds.

Couldn't resist this shot!  Plus, a chance to practice down/stay in the presence of pigeons and passersby.

And to close, another thing I'll remember about Alf:  when in the car, he's usually good about curling up in the passenger-side floorboard.  But the moment I turn the AC on "outside air"...he's up and resting his chin like this, drinking in the smells.  There's just enough space for him to stand comfortably between the seats.  He can't see much but I don't think that matters -- he can smell it ALL!

It's All Happening So Quickly

So, as I announced yesterday, our family's moving to Missouri and since our school happens to be Guide Dogs of Texas...Alfie's going to leave us and stay with another raiser until advanced training.  I spoke with my supervisor, Larry, on the phone today and it looks like things are arranged for Alfie to be picked up Monday.  BIG SIGH...

But today, I don't really want to dwell on goodbyes.  I'm excited to hear that GDTx' first pick of raiser for Alfie said yes!  I don't believe I've met her, and don't even know her name.  What I do know is that she's not only raised puppies successfully for GDTx (before I started volunteering there), she's also an experienced animal trainer of another type:  she used to work with marine mammals at Sea World.  Sounds like a great place for Alfie, don't you think? 

From dolphins to doodles!

 Things have been incredibly hectic around the house.  One of the reasons I went ahead and arranged for Alfie to leave so soon is that he's been picking up on all the stress and upheaval as we pack, meet with realtors, etc...nothing severe, but he's been having some tummy issues.  Poor guy, he has no way to know or understand what's going on!  That tends to make me feel guilty, which he also is probably picking up on...a vicious cycle.  Also, although he's been going places with me, I obviously haven't had the time to devote to his obedience work and training like I normally would. 

I was clearing out a cupboard today and prepping it for refinishing (hence the dust on the floor)...came back and guess who was inside?

They'll have trouble selling this house:  Severe doodle infestation under the sink!

So many fun Alfie memories.  Two stand out today:

One of the most entertaining (and useful) things about this guy is how naturally good he is at finding things.  When we misplace something, he can often find it for us.  Wednesday night Charissa was getting him ready for our walk and noticed his leash wasn't hanging on its peg.  After asking Alfie where it was, she thought of looking in the garage and opened the garage door.  Alfie darted in, threaded his way through piles of boxes (you can definitely tell we're packing!)... then he turned around and pointed his nose up to the top of a particular stack...the leash was way at the top of a stack of 4 boxes.  There was no way for him to see it -- I'm guessing he either smelled it, or remembered its being left there earlier.  I'm sure it would've taken us forever to think of looking there if it hadn't been for Alfie's help! 

Alfie can also get very excited during play and will occasionally chase, and catch, his tail.  I used to worry that that meant he was too high strung...but as time went on I realized that he seems to be mainly doing it to make us laugh!  I imagine he'll outgrow that eventually.  I've always wanted to catch it on video but when I get the camera out he stops!  Go figure.

The Strike Is Over

Who knows why Alfie quit "finding" things while on swap...or what, if anything, he was trying to accomplish by it.  I do know that he's clever and not above manipulating circumstances to his advantage, so wonder if that may have played into it somehow.  I'd give a lot to be able to understand what goes on inside that little furry head...

Don't you wish you knew!

...but the main thing is, he's back!!  On our very first post-swap walk together, Alfie was happy to work and we started off with the basics.  Curb work, straight line, sit, down/stay were all great, as was his attention.  If anything, those areas were better than ever.  He seemed more grown-up, less distracted than I remembered from before. 

"Watch me!"

With all that going well, I decided it was time for the big test and asked him to find a trash can.  Immediately his head went up, sniffing and scanning, tail went up wagging, and he trotted off quite eagerly...but my heart sank as he led me PAST not 1, not 2, but 4 trash cans...and finally stopped in the customer service area (which had a seat, trash can, and a counter...all things he used to find...)and just looked at me with a puzzled expression.  Oh dear!  Well, at least he was trying, I told myself (which is apparently more than he did before!)  With trial and error, he finally figured it out.  This procedure replayed three more times as we v-e-r-y slowly found a couple more trash cans and a seat.  Then, all of a sudden, it was as if something clicked.  Alfie's old confidence came back and the rest of the afternoon he found everything on the first try as he'd done before.  

Alfie gets a treat for "finding the girls" (ladies' room).  He's sitting incorrectly - he shouldn't be at right angles with me like this - but I was so happy he found it I sorta forgot about correcting him, oops!

 
Today's walk was similar.  When I asked him to find a trash can he sort of walked up near one but then circled around noncommittally, unsure of himself.  Inside the store I asked for a seat and he led me past several before finally indicating one.  But the rest of the afternoon went almost perfectly.  One time in a shoe store he "found" me a seat stacked high with shoe boxes -- so he technically found the right thing, but I couldn't sit there because I didn't want to sit on top of a customer's shoes!  The command for that situation is "sort it out"-- which basically means, "good job, you did it, but there's a better answer."  He did "sort it out" perfectly, leading me to the very next seat and impressing the shopper whose shoes it was!  Hooray for victories!  He was especially happy to do all the bathroom finds, leading me confidently and quickly to each one.  When he "found the sink" for me, there was a little girl there washing her hands with her mom's help and she said, "Oh look, Mom, that dog knows where the sink is!" Alfie knows when he's doing well and looked up at me all pleased with himself.  Funny boy!

Alfie in a down/stay at the mirrored seat in the shoe store.

Michelle asked me to make a note of all this on his weekly report, as it will be important for his trainer to have on record when he eventually leaves us for advanced work.  We may also try to arrange a couple of short swaps in the interim to see if the "on strike" behavior crops up again and if so, what's at the root of it.  For right now, I'm just happy to see that he's back working happily and doing a great job of it.  One day at a time!

Good News, Bad News

So I get this phone call from Michelle yesterday..."Hi Beth, I've got good news and bad news for you -- which do you want first?"  Well, I don't know about you, but I'm a "good news" kind of person so I asked for that!  "The good news is...you can get your dog back today!  The bad news is...he's been playing with Jethro at my house and the back of the property has burs...so he's covered in burs...and I don't have time to clean him up for you.  I'm REALLY SORRY."   

She wasn't kidding, was she?

I have literally never seen so many burs on one animal in my life.  I could hardly recognize Mr. Alf at first!  But oh, was he happy to be home...and he most definitely recognized me!

All four of us took turns combing and de-burring, off and on, through the evening.  Although Alfie doesn't shed, sometimes bits of fur come off in the comb, especially when they're stuck with these little clumps of 20-30 burs!  So by the end of the evening this is what we had...

...and I estimate we're only about half done!  I'm pretty sure Michelle owes me something after this...not quite sure what but I'll think of something, haha!  But really I'm just happy to have Alfie back, burs or no.  Apparently his swap family turned him in to Michelle all beautifully groomed, and really I don't think he's very hard to keep nice under normal circumstances.  But one definite downside to doodles is that their super soft, nonshedding fur is the world's greatest bur magnet.  Am I ever glad I clipped him extra short beforehand!

In other news, meanwhile, I'm very curious to take Alfie on a walk again.  Why?  Well, as usual after a swap, I was eager to hear how he did for his new handler and family.  Not surprisingly, they had their ups and downs as we all do.  In general, though, it sounded like by the end things were going fairly smoothly around the house and on walks.  Apparently Alfie did well on keeping a nice straight line, and it sounded like his "curb work" (sitting at down curbs and indicating up curbs) went fine also.  What didn't go fine was his "finds."  Apparently Alfie refused to find a single thing for his new handler!  Not one seat, trash can, door...not a button...not a single solitary elevator or bathroom...nothing!!  Now, since in the past this has been just about his favorite thing to do, I'm puzzled.  When he went to stay with Natalie he was pretty little, but even then I remember she did finds with him.  When he boarded at the Travis County Jail I never heard about it being a problem.  I know his swap handler, who is a very experienced puppy raiser, so I'm pretty sure it's not HIS fault either!  But for whatever reason, Alfie decided not to do it.  From what I understand, it didn't sound like Alfie was even trying...I don't think he was "finding" the wrong thing, more like he just ignored the command.

So it remains to be seen...will he agree to work for me now he's back home?  Or has he decided that finding things just isn't in his job description?!  Wish me luck and stay tuned!

But for now...I'm just going to enjoy having my dood back.

That's A Good Boy

Ready to roll...

Today I ran into something new while I was at Lowe's with Alfie, working him on the restrooms.  He loves restrooms because there's so much work for him to do in one small place!  First he has to "find the girls" (ladies' restroom).  Then, it's "find the stall," (the handicap stall -- to give enough room for person and dog to fit easily); and after using the restroom of course you need to wash your hands so he finds the sink, followed by the paper (or air dryer), and if it was paper he gets to find the trash can so you can throw it away...then the door, and we're on our way.  He's in doggie heaven.

He doesn't always get all of this right -- for example, today when I asked for the paper he took me to the fold-up changing table -- but he definitely works hard at it.

Anyhow, this particular Lowe's had an unusual setup, where the handicap stall was actually not the end one, as in almost every other store I've been.  It was next to last!  And guess what, Alfie went straight to it, passing up 4 normal size stalls and not bothering with the end one either!  I'll be honest...I'm not sure if he really figured that one out all on his own, or if perhaps I gave some kind of subtle cue (turned my head or slowed down maybe?)  I didn't do anything on purpose!  Either way, I'm happy...if he figured it out on his own, then wow -- he's smart!  If he figured it out from me, then he's still smart, and paying really close attention besides.  That's a good boy, Alf! 

Small victories just make my day...how about you?

Back to Normal...For Now...

Monday we got Alfie back from the Travis County Jail, where he'd joined guide dog puppy Piper at the Pawsitive Approach Program. I forgot my camera in the car so no pictures...rats! I enjoyed meeting his handler. She'd obviously done some good work with him and you could tell Alfie liked her a lot. She said that he did "test" her at first, but then settled in and worked well. Other than being too vocal toward Piper (which alas, doesn't surprise me), it sounds like he did all right (even on his down/stays, hooray!) They said they'd be happy to have him again any time. That was good news -- I'm always worried about how "my" puppies behave away from home!

My time away was truly wonderful, but of course it's good to be home, and good to get back to routine. Today I took Alfie with me while I ran some errands and decided to stop by Garden Ridge since I've never worked him there before. I asked him to "find the girls" (ladies' restroom) and he took off confidently to the right. I was pretty sure they were to the left, past the registers, but then again they'd done a remodel so I gave Alf the benefit of the doubt. Sure enough, he went straight to them! Good boy!

Alfie's got more excitement coming up on his calendar: on May 8 we'll be going to Splash Day, an annual fun event hosted by Guide Dogs of Texas. A few of us raisers will be doing a swap at that time, so I'll come home with a new puppy for a month...stay tuned for that! Going to live and work in a new environment with a new handler is always a good learning experience for the puppies.

New people? New places? Let's get going!

What Do Dogs Pick Up?

Well, I'd like to pick up one of these rocks, but you won't let me.

No, I'm not talking about what dogs grab in their mouths! I'm talking about what dogs learn...without your intentionally teaching them.

Alfie demonstrated his ability to "pick up" on things when we were at a state park not long ago. The kids and I had gone to the car with Alfie to get a drink, while Tim stopped off at the visitor center. Walking up to the visitor center after our water break, I couldn't see Tim anywhere. For that matter, I couldn't even really tell which was the front or the back of the building (poor signage)...sigh! Then it occurred to me that Alfie's canine superpowers could come in handy in locating our "missing person."

"Alfie...find Daddy!"

Alf responded immediately, tail wagging. Nose to the ground, he led me to a door; but then instead of asking to go in, he switched over to scenting the air, mouth open...leading me around a corner and down some steps to a covered area with picnic tables where Tim was sitting. You should've seen his happy prancing! Tim told us later that Alfie followed his exact path.

Of course I've never actually taught him to find people; but we do "find" a lot of other things in the course of our training (doors, stairs, trash cans, elevators, buttons...to name a few). Since he also knows who "Daddy" is, he could easily figure out what "find Daddy" means. This can't be all that unusual a thing for dogs to "pick up", because our last two GDTx puppies picked up on finding family members also. It can be used to extremely unfair advantage in a game of hide-and-seek, for one thing!

I'd love to get some reader response on this one. What has your dog "picked up"? Come on, brag on him (or her) a little, you know you want to! I'd be very interested to read your comments. Our dogs' intelligence and adaptability are a big part of what make them such good helpers...and interesting companions!

You only think I'm not paying attention...really I'm learning all the time!

Springtime

Spring may not be quite official by the calendar yet, but budding trees and flowers everywhere have me believing in it!  Here are some pictures from a springtime walk Alfie and I took yesterday on one of our nearby trails.  I think he enjoys the break from our regular routine!

Half a dozen beautiful deer bounded across the road as we drove up...I would've been interested to see Alfie's response to them, but he was lying down on the floorboard like a good boy and never saw them.

Of course, even on a relaxing hike through the woods Alfie practices his job.  We worked on loose-leash walking...

...finding a seat...

...here he's finding a trash can.

Spring flowers were everywhere.

These birds have a nice view from their nest!

Each blossom is like a work of art.

I admit, I didn't actually ask him to find this bench at first!  On our last walk here (over a month ago) I had Alfie find me this seat.  When we went back yesterday, he remembered exactly where it was and eagerly wanted to take me there again.  I had him "steady" first and then told him that yes, he could "find the seat." 

Ha ha, I call this picture "treat bag cam"!

Alfie found the narrowest place to cross, sat politely...and didn't want to budge!  I had to step over first (not even a big step, as you can see!) and encourage him across, silly boy!  And this, out of a dog who loves water.  Go figure!

Good walk, buddy!

Giant Guitars, Stuffed Animals, and Pigeons -- Oh My!

Alphini and I greet you today from downtown Austin -- which, in case you didn't know, is the live music capitol of the world!

Hmm. Is the statue thingy good to chew?

In all honesty, on my own I would seldom get downtown. We just go there to train the dog. Even though we live in a pretty busy area with a lot of traffic, it's nothing like the crowds, traffic, smells, and (of course!) live music of downtown. Alfie needs to learn how to negotiate it all calmly. Here are a few of the things we did today...

finding seats

finding trashcans (look how eagerly he's waiting for his treat!)

practicing "heel" when he gets ahead of me -- he has to circle back to my side in a sort of big backward-s maneuver

negotiating stairs -- tricky for a puppy who's still in that awkward growing stage!

As usual, we also had to practice not doing things!

not chasing pigeons (they were closer & more tempting than they look here, I promise!)

not grabbing the cute little stuffed animals, even though they're on puppy level

We had some challenging moments, like when someone came racing toward us, trying to catch a bus...Alfie leaped toward him in happy excitement, sure that he must want to play! Then later, while walking down the sidewalk, we followed a man sweeping the street and Alfie could scarcely resist pouncing on the broom.

Overall, though, I think Alfie is doing really well for a just-turned-4-months puppy! In the video below you'll see us crossing the street...he gets distracted by something on the pavement and veers off a bit, but comes back to my side after that. He does a good job waiting for me on the "up" curb, although right after that he's distracted by the live music blaring out of a cafe. It's all part of the learning experience!

So how'd I do?

Training Opportunities

Yesterday the kids and I were out shopping at Barnes & Noble, with Alfie along of course.

Enough with the books already!  Let's do something else!

We're all book lovers in our family so our visit was dragging on a bit...after a while I could see that Alfie was just bored out of his little skull.  So I decided to let him find me a seat while the girls finished their shopping. 

This he did with alacrity...only much to my dismay, when we got to the seating area, it had been kind of trashed.  There were empty cartons of chocolate milk and crumpled napkins strewn over the floor.  I'll confess, my first thoughts weren't too charitable...I was a bit put out at kids who'd leave such a mess, or parents who'd let them.  But then it dawned on me -- hey! -- I couldn't ask for a better training opportunity! 

First off, it was a great chance to practice "leave it," because of course such trash is almost irresistible to puppies.  Alfie really did not want to pass up the chance to chew on all that smelly stuff...until I got an (even smellier) dog treat out of my pocket!  That, and some obedience practice, helped get him re-focused.  I'll bet we looked silly to other people, doing our work in the midst of a mini-dump...they had no way of knowing that I didn't drop all that trash on the floor myself! 

Then I decided that after sitting there, I couldn't just leave it like it was.  Another great training opportunity:  I could pick up the trash and ask Alfie to help me find a trash can to throw it away.  So that's what we did, piece by piece.  I picked up a milk carton and asked him to find the trash can.  I knew there was one nearby, but he didn't, so a bit of a hesitant search ensued.  When he finally found it, you should've seen the look on his face...and the wagging of that tail!  He was so proud!  Then we went back for more...that was the really hard part, because now that Alfie knew where the trash can was, he hit the end of the leash almost running with eagerness to get me back there.  Oops!  He's supposed to guide me, not drag me!  So, again, a great opportunity to slow him down and practice "steady."  By the time we got done, we were both happy...and exhausted! 

I think I'll sleep all the way home!

Step By Step

Alfie loves to learn, and the more things I can give him to do, the happier he seems to be!  It's fun to work with an eager beaver, and a good day's work also helps to take the edge off of his puppy mischief.

Red alert!  Low branch dead ahead!

Lately we've been working on overhead obstacles -- such as when a low branch overhangs my path.  He didn't pay them much attention until one day I pretended to actually hit my head on a branch, making a really big deal like I was horribly hurt!  Now he seems to anticipate the "overhead" game more, and is just beginning to develop the ability to scan above when prompted.   Eventually, he'll have to do it on his own to help keep his partner safe. 

Most days, we have two outings...one usually outdoors, one in an indoor environment.  Alfie likes "finding" things for me, such as the trash can in the picture below.  Probably his favorite thing to find, though, is the button at crosswalks.  He goes right up to the post and points to it with his nose!  We'll have to try and get a picture of that sometime -- it's kind of cute.

Doing our part to keep Austin litter-free.

One nice thing about walking Alfie out in the neighborhoods is that so far, he's relatively unconcerned about other dogs.  I say "relatively" because of course he's interested in them; but he doesn't really misbehave or go nuts trying to meet them.  He treats them pretty much as he does human passersby, giving them a friendly, smiling, tail-wagging look and then getting back to work. 

Having a new puppy is kind of like having a child...it seems I notice everything so much more as Alfie experiences it for the first time.  Everything from the barking dogs I'd tuned out, to the blowing leaves I never noticed -- it's all new to him.   Funny how that works!

See, I'm good for you!