At the Vet

OMSI had his first vet visit today. He weighed in at a whopping 12.2 pounds! I was very pleased with how well behaved he was while we were there. We practiced the commands he knows (sit, down (with short stays), stand, shake, speak) in the lobby while we were waiting. He was a bit hesitant walking back to the exam room (his nose was definately going!), and we again practiced his commands on the exam table. He was great for his exam and barely noticed getting his vaccine. OMSI quietly held a Down while I was paying, and someone in the lobby commented on what a calm (!), well-behaved puppy he is. That's my boy!!!

Baseball, Pasha, and OMSI Bomsi

A couple weeks ago my sisters and I took our dad out to a baseball game. Of course, the dogs came with us - Baja, Rebecca (a CCI pup my sister is helping with), and Cody. It was pretty chilly, so Baja spent most of the game on our laps to help keep us warm. And he seemed VERY happy to act as our blanket!
Last Sunday I went to visit Pasha and her dad Dave. Again, all my dogs went with me - Baja, OMSI, and Cody. The dogs all had a great time playing together, and then Dave, Pasha, Cody, and I went out to lunch and on a long walk. I love visiting Pasha because she always gets excited to see me and I know she remembers me.
OMSI is still active, vocal, and a lot of fun. He learns really quickly and he's doing well walking on leash. We have a motorized snake and spider at work, and OMSI was initially wary of it, but after about 30 seconds he was running up to them and carrying them around, even when they were making a motorized noise and moving a little. He also has a new nickname...OMSI Bomsi :-)

Firsts

OMSI had his first bath Saturday. He was with a puppy sitter (I went to a Mariners baseball game with my dad and sisters), and she offered to bathe him because he really smelled like puppy!
OMSI went to church for the first time last Sunday. He was SO GOOD! Because he is so vocal, I was expecting to have to take him out of the service when he started making too much noise. But, he surprised me by not making a sound the entire time and by sleeping through most of the service. What a good boy! He perked up when he first heard the drums and when people clapped, but by the end he was sleeping through it all. I really like how quickly he gets used to new stuff. Of course, after the service he was socialized to LOTS of people, both adults and children.
OMSI slept most of the way through the night for the first time Monday night. We went to bed at 10pm and he slept until 6am. I took him outside to potty, then we went back to sleep until 8:30am. What a good boy! Already learning to sleep in!
I clipped OMSI's nails for the first time on Tuesday. He was perfect! Laura (the breeder-caretaker of his mom) did an excellent job getting him used to being handled. With no struggling whatsoever, he allowed me to clip his nails and look in his mouth and ears, all while being held on his back. He is also the least mouthy puppy I've had (he hasn't tried to mouth my once), although he does like to lick. He is already getting so much better about not licking, too. But, to make up for his non-mouthiness with people, he LOVES leashes! At work today he was playing with a 10 year old Dalmation and a 5 month old Shih Tsu, with the Dalmation dragging a leash. OMSI went over and grabbed her leash and started leading her around. And she followed him! It was so funny! He also tries to grab his own leash when I'm walking him, so we're working on that :-)
We had our first CCI puppy class on Wednesday, and OMSI did great! He is a very bright puppy and is already picking up on his basic commands. He is even learning to hold a sit or down for a couple seconds without immediately popping up before I give him his treat. So far, we've started Sit, Down, Wait, his name, Here, Hurry, Quiet, Speak, and Lets Go, and, of course, Don't/No and Good. He is getting MUCH better at controlling his vocalizations, whether in his crate, on a tether, or when playing. He's also doing fairly well about walking on a leash without pulling.
Saturday OMSI went to a puppysitter for the day because I had to work all day. He spent the whole day playing with a 6 month old kitten. They were so cute together!

First Night

Well, the first night was okay. OMSI woke up at 3am and again at 5:30am, and he went potty outside both times. He woke up again at 6:30am, and I threw a towel over his crate and ignored him. He went back to sleep after a couple minutes of complaining.
I'm very happy to say that OMSI is a good eater! He is even interested enough in his puppy kibble that I can use it to start some training! Since he is a vocal puppy, I've started "speak" with him. Of course, he caught on very fast and started barking right after he finished eating the kibble. I also started "sit", and he's starting to offer that instead of jumping/climbing all over me. What a smart puppy! He's walking much better on leash, and so far hasn't had an accident!
He was so funny this morning. Baja and Cody were playing tug with a bone, with Baja standing and Cody laying down. OMSI grabbed onto one of Cody's back feet and started playing tug with it, leaning back and growling! Cody ignored him for about 30 seconds because he did not want to lose his tug game with Baja, but he finally dropped the bone and pulled his food away from OMSI. I tried to get a picture but I wasn't fast enough because I was laughing too hard! You can see in the picture at the right that OMSI still has Cody's foot in his mouth, but he's starting to let go.

OMSI arrived!!!

OMSI is here!!! I picked him up at 11:30am this morning at Sea-Tac airport. My mom and sister came with me, and when we walked into the air cargo office we heard him barking in the back room. But, the other puppy that flew in with him was already out playing with his PRs, so I can't really blame OMSI for wanting to join in. OMSI was a bit wet when he came out of the crate since he had apparently been playing in his water dish. He was also GREEN! The ink from his tattoo was down the side of his neck, on his right back foot, under his belly, on the whole side of his head...he looked ready for St. Patricks day! He was very calm and snuggly when we were holding him, but boy is he busy when he's walking around! I can now see why he wouldn't hold still for his litter pictures. He was very good on the ride home, although he gets hot easily and whined a bit until my sister held him in the front seat by the AC vents.
I took OMSI back to work with me (I work at a dog boarding kennel) and everyone ooohed and awwwed over him. He was very good in the crate room with the other employee dogs - I think he liked it because it's air conditioned. He would bark if I was in the room, but he was quiet when no one was in there. Walking on leash was interesting, however, but just typical puppy stuff. He would walk well with me until he hit the end of the leash, either in front of me or behind me. Then he would buck and tug and refuse to move. I had him in the training room playing with a couple terriers, and a worker who was doing some remodeling came in with a wheelbarrow of supplies. The two terriers starting barking, and OMSI dropped his tail and put his ears back for a couple seconds and then they popped back up and he continued investigating the room. YAY!!! I love confident puppies!!
Even though OMSI isn't barking too much in his crate when he's alone, he's a vocal puppy in other ways. For example, he was playing tug with his tie-down, growling at it the whole time. And he was playing with a bone by barking and growling at it while pouncing on it. Very cute :-) But, this is definately something we will be working on stopping in the future...poor guy, he can't have any fun.
I'm house-sitting this weekend, so I'll add pictures when I get a chance to download them on my computer at home.

Baja at the Fair

Baja and I recently spent a lot of time at the local Evergreen State Fair. The CCI 4-H club, Puppy Power, was there the first weekend, and I also helped out with my old 4-H club, Esprit de Corps, for the rest of the fair. So, I was out there pretty much everyday after work. Baja was soooooo good! One of the Puppy Power members showed him in the Service dog classes and they did very well. One of the classes is the Evaluation Course where they walk around the fair and the handlers are judged on how they interact with their dogs and handle them around different distractions. These can include walking through the pig barn (many dogs are not quite sure what to do with the pigs), walking past ducks, doing a down-stay with a remote control car zooming around, and walking through all the food concession stands. I'm pleased to say that Baja was confident the entire time and only a little distracted by some things. I wasn't able to go around with the Evaluation class, but I walked Baja around another day and he was perfect again. I also took him to the Rodeo, and he didn't even lift up his head when some very loud guns went off during the Clown Act. Of course, he also did great with all the crowds and normal rodeo noises.
I also showed Baja in Alumni Obedience. Of course, we got first place :-) Baja did a perfect Heel on Leash, but lagged a bit on the Heel Free because it was really hot that afternoon. He also did an awesome Drop on Recall, but then decided to finish on the Side instead of Heel like I told him. I guess my poor directional skills are rubbing off on him! Overall, I was proud of how he did. I also showed a Doberman Pinscher named Diego in Alumni Showmanship, which was really fun. I showed him last year when he was just 4 months old, and it was fun to show him again. We got 4th place out of 16, which I was very happy about since he is a very mellow dog and takes a lot of work to show. He sure is handsome, though!

New Blaze puppies!!!

There are 10 new CCI puppies! Blaze's sixth litter with Ravi was born yesterday, September 5th, 2006. There are six boys and four girls, all blonde. This is Ravi's third litter, and I think it is the "C" litter. Ravi was also bred with a yellow lab named Neese, so CCI will do DNA tests on the puppies via a cheek swab when the litter turns-in in November and goes to puppy raisers. Keep your fingers crossed that they're Blaze's!
I was really excited when Blaze was bred with Ravi since she was raised up here in Washington when I was raising Jaba. Ravi's PR was unable to take her down to turn-in, so she flew down with my mom, Jaba, and me. She was a wonderful traveler and she is a super sweet dog.

The "O" litter turns-in!

The "O" litter turned-in this morning! I called Laura (Shawn's breeder-caretaker) as she was driving to CCI. Guess which puppy was the only one barking? That's right, OMSI. It seems like he really is the most vocal pup in the litter...but as I keep reminding myself, "he's cute!". I found out that he is arriving at Sea-Tac airport at 11:07am on Friday! Tomorrow I'm going shopping for food and some new toys to get ready for OMSI's arrival. I already picked up a collar at puppy class for him and got out my small Gentle Leader and crate.

I also found out where the rest of his littermates are going:
Omeeka staying in California (NW region)
Omari going to Colorado (SW region)
Ontaro going to Arizona (SW region)
Ojala going to Michigan (NC region)
Oasis and Omya going to the NE region (haven't heard where).

Good luck to all the "O" puppies!!

Picture captions: Top - left crate is the 4 girls, right crate is the 3 boys;
Right - Ontaro and OMSI playing; Bottom Right - OMSI

"O" litter picture!!

The "O" litter had their group picture today. I heard that OMSI was the puppy that wouldn't stay put and that they got a lot of action pictures of him jumping/running out of line. He ended up wearing a leash so they could hold him in place. For a little background, the "O" pups were born July 15th and 16th, 2006. The parents are Blaze III (the 3rd puppy I raised for CCI) and Chandra, and this is Chandra's first litter. There are four girls and 3 boys, and they are Golden Retrievers. OMSI III was named after his grandfather OMSI (the first), who was named for the Oregon Muesum of Science and Industry. OMSI III was the third puppy born (Purple collar) and he is also the smallest puppy and the darkest boy. The order of the pups in the top picture (from L-R) is Omeeka, Omari, OMSI III, Ontaro, Ojala, Oasis II, & Omya. Isn't OMSI adorable? Sometimes he will also lay like his daddy with his back legs out behind him, which I think is so cute!
The litter turns-in to CCI next Tuesday morning and OMSI will be flying up here to Washington next Friday. Yay!!!