Ooky Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Some of you may remember that I have been hoping to bring Odin in to work with me, as part of a new liberal foo-foo policy I was supposed to wait to take him in. He's only 5 1/2 months old, so how can I know how he would handle a 9 hr workday in a crate in an open cubicle with phones, coworkers, me talking to people (like principals I need to not mess up in front of) w/o paying ANY attention to him at all and he had to be perfectly quiet. He had to be able to meet every coworker that wanted to greet him (I know some of you don't advocate this for your dogs but he has to be absolutely friendly and low key to come in) with NO JUMPING, mouthing, etc. He had to be able to conform to my schedule, and go in the crate when I told him to, no whining, noise, etc. How could I reasonably expect a not-even-6-mo old puppy to do those things? So I'm a bad mom. Faced with a long day in the crate at home (DH's college is in pre-session faculty meetings this week so I lost my "babysitter"), I thought it was worth a try, and if it didn't work hopefully I could go into the atrium, something, I don't know. But DH and I sort of thought maybe he could do it, and hey: socialization opportunity, right? Well, he did it ALL and MORE. He was hands down the best and most well-loved work dog yet. A coworker gave him a frisbee and he got frisbee breaks, a long walk and frisbee at lunch, met 30 people who just wanted to love and pat and hug on him. He was silent, exuberant yet polite, fetched (with run-around the back form) perfectly. He lefts his crate a total of 3 times in a 9.5 hr day (altho we did take a looong parkside lunch), and asked to go out the one time he needed to with a tiny almost imperceptible whine. I left my cubicle to go to the bathroom, meetings, whatever, and no problem from him in his crate. It was UNREAL. I know I sound nuts, but just remember back to your 5.5 month puppies - this is cool, right? It also means he gets to come with me to work more. Even if he gets a little hyper and has a not-so-good day (due to adolescence), he's made a stellar 1st impression and people will be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Sorry to brag, but I am just so freakin psyched on him right now and had to share. He's sitting at my feet, calm and relaxed and I have a GOOD dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Congrats - it certainly is an awesome feeling isn't it! Keep up the good work Odin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Well, he did it ALL and MORE. He was hands down the best and most well-loved work dog yet. A coworker gave him a frisbee and he got frisbee breaks, a long walk and frisbee at lunch, met 30 people who just wanted to love and pat and hug on him. He was silent, exuberant yet polite, fetched (with run-around the back form) perfectly. He lefts his crate a total of 3 times in a 9.5 hr day (altho we did take a looong parkside lunch), and asked to go out the one time he needed to with a tiny almost imperceptible whine. I left my cubicle to go to the bathroom, meetings, whatever, and no problem from him in his crate. It was UNREAL. I know I sound nuts, but just remember back to your 5.5 month puppies - this is cool, right? That's great Ooky! What a great puppy! I have a similar story. When Skye was young, I decided to take her with me to work as well. I had a garden store and thought the environment would be perfect for a well-behaved dog to meet customers. It never even occured to me that she would misbehave Well, her day consisted of: lying on her doggie bed, getting up when people came in and greeting them by putting her head alongside their legs and following them around the store. At any given time, if I thought she was *too* friendly, I told her to go back to her bed, which she would do right away. She was so low-key: 1. people didn't believe she was a border collie and, 2. people thought she was elderly! These dogs CAN amaze us and others. But I truly believe, what you expect from them is what they will give back. A positive, optimistic attitude is key. Ailsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooky Posted August 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Thanks, guys! Alisa you are right, he *does* continually give me what I expect. It is really, really rewarding. Skye sounds like an excellent "working dog" as well! Erin, how is *your* good girl doing with SAR training? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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