Poppy is growing fast. She now weighs 16 lbs and trust me…I notice the difference when I pick her up from her exercise pen. While she feels heavier, she is still a petite little girl and looks especially tiny when she’s mixing it up with Daisy! Daisy LOVES Poppy…although at times Daisy treats her like a chew toy…Daisy is always patient with her even when Poppy’s puppy teeth dig into Daisy’s cheek or back legs. On the plus side, it’s great interaction for Poppy and really gets a lot of her energy out of them both.

Our home-life (especially mine) has been enriched since bringing Poppy home. Even considering the late night potty outings (and I mean late and sometimes more than one), the goodness of what this puppy represents makes all the effort worth it. I no longer have to play soothing music when I return her to her crate after a late night potty break…she settles back in quickly…and as soon as I hear her little snore, I let myself fall back asleep, as well.

Pen time and crate time – both of which are very important for Poppy to learn – has improved considerably. Initially, Poppy was pretty unhappy being crated or surrounded by her exercise pen, but now, with consistent practice, her episodes of fussing have all but vanished. And, she now voluntarily goes into her crate to sleep. So why is exercise pen and crate time important? Well, when a GDA puppy returns to GDA for guide dog training, they will be kenneled, they will be transported during training outings in crates, and when that puppy completes its professional training and graduates the program, its new owner will be crating their new partner, too. To help Poppy learn (and to protect her and me when I’m in the kitchen cooking) I place her in her crate with a special toy and sometimes she just lies there watching me but mostly she sleeps.

Potty training is also improving. While I take Poppy outside at regular intervals to pee and watch her like a hawk when I have her roaming free in our “safe place” (a.k.a. kitchen), it’s been a bit of a struggle to catch her every time when she needs to go. I think it’s a combination of things, the biggest one being that she has another dog that plays with her and the other being she learned QUICKLY that the “get busy” command yields a treat when she’s done squatting. Unfortunately, she’s a bit of a con artist…she only gives a small tinkle outside and comes back in the house not completely empty. We’re working on that. Hanna, GDA’s trainer, gave me a good tip which is beginning to yield results: if she only gives a little tinkle, put her back in her crate for 10 minutes and then try again. It’s working! In fact, yesterday was ACCIDENT FREE! So, I’m working to get a streak going (pun intended)!

Yapping – and by yap I mean a high-pitched, ear-splitting, can’t-believe-this-noise-is-coming-from-something-so-small bark – has become a bit of an issue. I think the barking is happening because she is growing more confident and feeling more at home and wants to be where the action is. Her morning feeding is at 8AM and since we get up earlier than that, I need to put her in her pen while I run upstairs to brush my teeth and get dressed for the day. Since Poppy is not yet housebroken AND since I need to be in the room to supervise their play time, Daisy gets a reprieve and hangs out on the couch. Poppy wants to let everyone within earshot know that she is NOT happy being in the pen by herself. So this is a skill we’re working on…I tell her, “Solitude happens. Deal with it.”

As I write this at the kitchen table, it’s nearly noon, which means the next feeding frenzy happens in an hour. (And it IS a frenzy…she looks like a miniature great white shark attacking kibble fishes in shallow waters.) Poppy is sleeping peacefully at my feet and my heart is melting…I wish this moment could last forever. But Poppy has been bred for a special destiny…and it’s my job to do everything in my power to help her get there.