Dakota's Doings

Well, things have been a little crazy around here as we got new flooring installed last week. Dakota and Trixie (another labradoodle guide-dog-in-training, back at the center now) were very good during all the noise and chaos. Still, everyone's glad to have things back to normal. Dakota's really loving the new hard floors...plenty of cool places to stretch out and sleep.

Speaking of keeping cool, we gave Dakota another trim this week to help him stay comfortable in our warming temperatures. Texas seems to be skipping spring this year and going straight from winter into summer weather! You can see how much we took off here -- the paw on the right is "before," the left is "after."

Hmmm, maybe we should do this outdoors next time! What a pile of fur!

Training walks are coming along pretty well. Dakota's always a little silly at first when we get out of the "bus," wiggling all around and trying to adjust his jacket. Here he demonstrates what we call the three-legged walk. "Yes, I can walk and scratch my jacket at the same time!"



...But once he gets the goofiness out of his system he's a good little worker. Here I picked up a piece of cardboard lying on the ground and asked him to find me a trashcan to throw it away.



To help the puppies with their "finds," we're supposed to use the item each time they find it. So when Dakota finds the trash, I throw something away. He finds a seat, and I sit down. He finds a door, and I go through it. He finds the girls' restroom...never mind! I do plead guilty to having faked throwing something away when I'm out of trash. I've even thrown out a doggie kibble before, but I don't think Dakota approves!


He really dislikes squeaky shopping carts, like the one going by here, but at least now he seems to know they're just an annoyance, not a threat.





"Hey, what's wrong with these flowers? They don't smell at all!"



"Mom likes to shop but for me it's all about people-watching!"

Most of the time on our walks, he's pretty relaxed. Like here, I got down on his level to look at a picture and Dakota instantly assumed it was cuddle time! You can't help but like this guy.

Have a great day everybody!