The Doc Is In The House

I really should be sleeping, but my brain is firing a million times a minute. I got an email back from an obedience club and they are willing to work with me. They also told me that the AKC allows for accommodations for blind handlers, which makes me even more excited. The judge or a "Steward" would help me move from station to station and read the signs to me. I think both Aria and Glacier are ready to start the Rally Novice class except neither of them know "finish right or left." I don't even know what that means, but it will be something I research after writing this post. Anyone out there able to enlighten me?
But the Rally stuff isn't the real reason I'm posting. I meant to yesterday, but the day got away from me and today was pretty busy with me trying on my wedding dress to make sure it still fits and then going shopping in a friend's closet. She gave me stuff that still has the tags on it. How cool is that?! But I am getting away from my point again. Who is this Doc character? You might ask. Well, let me tell you.
Doc, formerly known as Charlie, is a long haired, seven month old, chocolate and cream miniature Dachshund that Mr. K and I got for his sister. We are going to train him-basic obedience and house training-and then give him to her and her family when we go up North for our wedding in May. (If you are confused by me calling Mr. K my husband and now me talking about our wedding, hold on to your hats and I will fill you in on another post).
We got him from a breeder in North Carolina and I would recommend her to anyone. She is not only a very personable, knowledgeable breeder, her dogs are beautiful. We walked out of her house with Doc's AKC registration in hand and she had cleaned his ears and wiped down his coat. We got Balloo back in November and we still haven't seen his AKC papers. Doc, named in the Honour of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, has both English and African blood lines and is absolutely stunning. One of these days I will get a picture up of him and you can decide for yourself. He weighs almost 12 pounds, so he borders on not qualifying as a miniature, but he could lose about a pound, which would drop him back into the miniature category. He is a bit squishy, as I like to call it, but that makes me happy. That is much better than the skeletal state Aria came to us in. Doc is quite a bit bigger than Balloo and much larger than Aria, but he is so sweet.
You can tell he is still settling in and getting used to us. He ate supper tonight, but had not eaten breakfast this morning or supper Friday night. He had never worn a collar, so when we outfitted him with one, he promptly decided it needed to come off. He tried biting at it and when he realised he couldn't reach it with his teeth alone, he recruited his big old hound dog paws to hold onto the pesky neck wear and pull it to his mouth. He absolutely will not walk on a leash and hates being crated. So those are things we will have to work on with him.
On a positive note, he has only had one pee accident in the house and he was playing with Aria at the time and probably didn't know he had to go. He follows humans around very well and plays really well with Aria and Balloo.
This afternoon I was outside picking up poop in the backyard and Doc just followed me around, enjoying the sunshine. Yes, a blind girl picking up poop-it's interesting let me tell you. I put a glove on my right hand and carried a bag in the left. Then I walked around the backyard dragging my feet. If my toe struck something that felt denser than grass, I would squat down and check for poop. Go, Jess the professional Poop Seeker! Nine times out of ten, it was poop. The other one percent, it was a stick. Every time I lowered myself to the ground, Doc would use that opportunity to place his front paws on my thighs and try to crawl in my lap. He would sniff my face very gently and then try worming himself up. Doc is not a licker, which is very different than Balloo who would probably win a "face washing" award.
Doc's breeder also said that his blood lines are so good and he is such a great dog, that we could breed him. Part of me wishes we could keep him. Okay, 99 percent of me wishes we could keep him. He is such a great dog and he already fits into our little furry family quite well. Following in his brother and sister's paw prints, Doc has had to have a bath within the first 48 hours of coming home. He was so mad I crated him this evening that he peed and it got his hind end absolutely soaked. He was very patient in the bath tub and held still while I toweled him off. He kind of reminds me of a rescue dog in that he doesn't know how to play with toys yet and chewing bones or Dental Chews of some sort or another is completely beyond him. He is also a bit timid in new situations. For example, Mr. K and I watched a movie this afternoon and his surround sound system was turned on. Whenever there was a loud explosion on screen, Doc popped up to see what was going on. Eventually, he settled in, which indicates to me that he isn't nervous, just curious. He also watches the humans around him and learns very quickly.
Tonight after his Bum Bath, I combed his gorgeous, thick coat out and he tried biting the comb. Every time he clamped his teeth on it I said "ow" very loudly and he stopped after the comb said "ow" twice. I was impressed.
You should have heard Mr. K and I trying to name him. Some of the names were ridiculous, but others were really cute. Snickers (because of his colour), Mars (because of his colour and because Mars is the God of war...I think), Clapton(for Eric Clapton) and Thumper (because he bounds like a rabbit and "thumps" when he jumps) are just a few of the choices. Doc won out because he can be very serious and stoic, but a bit of a goof as well. It was just a name we kept coming back to and it felt right. So Doc it was. Plus, I love Disney. :)
So needless to say, our pack has grown by four more paws; at least for a little while and I'm glad. These little, and big guys for that matter, give me something to do and there is nothing like a fuzzy creature to make life that much more exciting and enjoyable-just times that by five. :)