Ole goes back to day care

I was exhausted last night, slept great until 4:30 AM when Shelly ( who never bothers me when I'm sleeping) nudged me awake. Ole was restlessly moving around in his crate. I took him downstairs and outside to the potty area and WOW am I glad Shelly in her infinite wisdom woke me! He really had to go. Afterwards I cleaned it up and when I came back in the house Ole was waiting for me next to the stairs, ready to head back up to bed. Shelly was fast asleep on the couch, her job as puppy watcher done for the night. He went right back to sleep in his upstairs crate and so did I , but in my bed. Elmo never moved from his bed the whole time nor did Abner. We officially got up at 6:30 and after breakfast, I took Ole on a training walk down the boardwalk so that I could practice with him on sitting instead of lunging at moving things such as joggers, skaters, skateboarders, and bicyclists. It's a work in progress. Abner caught up with us with Shelly and Elmo. He wanted to see how I was training Ole so he will know how to deal with the problem.
I took Ole back to daycare this morning and I could tell he was pleased to be there. Surprise, surprise, Daisy the terrier puppy from last night's puppy class was there ahead of us getting signed up to spend the day. She and Ole recognized each other immediately and wagged tails , pawed at each other, and wanted to play. I had Shelly and Elmo in the car so I left Ole in good hands with Romi and her staff and the 3 of us went over to Fiesta Island for a fun walk around. We enjoyed the walk as Fiesta Island always seems like you are way off in the country somewhere , not in the middle of a city. The only draw back this time of year is the fox tails. Foxtails are seeds of grasses that are arrow shaped and dry and catch in dog coats and between their toes, in their ears and anal areas, any and everywhere. They are difficult to get out of their coats and can burrow through both flesh and bone. The area we were in didn't, I thought , have a lot of them but boy was I mistaken. I ended up spending 30 minutes trying to comb all the foxtails out of both Shelly and Elmo's coats. We had an appointment at Dr. Weingardt's office for Shelly's monthly chiropractic adjustment and a massage for St. Elmo, so we headed there next . Even then both Ann who did Elmo's massage and Dr. Keith found more foxtails on them both. BTW, Elmo is St. Elmo because he is soooo good with Ole, puts up with all of Ole's antics, and really seems to like his new little /big brother.
We drove home where I had lots of work to do and after a few hours I prepared Ole's lunch, put it in the car and left the two older dogs home while I headed over to get Ole from daycare. Ole had as usual, a fun time there. He enjoyed his play with Daisy. Daisy was sunning herself on the patio when I peaked over the front door and Ole was next to her. They looked happy and a bit sleepy. Romi put all the dogs inside and then let me in and Ole started making the high pitched Shepherd whimmper squeal as he was excited to see me. I had to walk away and wait for him to settle down 3 times before he could calm down enough for me to say hello to him. I made sure he sat before I did that. Today, besides play with Daisy and Bella, and Sammy and the rest of the gang, Suzuki got the puppies used to a man walking with crutches and they also worked with calling the pups out of play. Romi said Ole was very good at looking at them when they said his name. She pronounces his name Oh-ree so maybe I need to change his name. I fed Ole on the grass next to the car & then from there we went over to the humane Society store and I fitted Ole with a new blue martingale slip collar. It's by Primier and I like it because although it is a slip collar , it clips on the neck so I don't have to pull it over Ole's head to get it on. He looks very handsome in it.
We dropped by Donna's house on the way home and helped critique her latest art work that she plans on entering in the Del Mar Fair Fine Art Show. It's really nice. She just needs to frame it. It reminded me that I have one more painting to frame . I have 6 paintings entered in the show and they have to be delivered by next week Wednesday. Ole was so sleepy at Donna's that I practically had to carry him to get him to move. We headed home and into his crate he went for a nap. Abner got home a little later and we piled the dogs in the car and drove over to my art studio where we finished framing my painting while elmo and Ole played and wrestled and Shelly wandered around in the garden sniffing and analyzing scents.. That done, it was home again ,Ole back in his crate while I got a spaghetti sauce started as well as a big salad. At 5:00 I fed the dogs and all three got a bone to chew on out in the yard after they had eaten. I or Abner spend time with Ole while he eats his meals , holding the bowl, touching him getting him used to company while he eats. He is very relaxed with this and I want him to like having people around his bowl not guarding it. I often hold bones for him while he chews them and sometimes trade him the bone for a special treat only to immediately give him back the bone when he finishes his treat. I also gave him a thorough brushing, his coat has grown out quite a bit, looking more like an adult Shep coat now, no more puppy fuzz.
He's now asleep in his bed under my desk as I type out this blog. Bedtime walk is coming up next. I hope he sleeps through the night tonight, 4:30 is way too early to wake me up. I need to get Shelly to take him out for me.