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Category Archives: Yaxley

Wake up, little guy. It’s time for your nap.

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Donna Black-Sword
Aw, come on! What’s a guy gotta do to get a nap around here?
What’s more adorable than a little yellow puppy?  A little yellow puppy taking a nap, that’s what. As if I actually have to say it.
Yaxley has been handling office time so well these past couple of weeks that we’ve promoted him to full-time work. His mornings at home start with doing his important business duties outside, grabbing some kibble for breakfast and then a few minutes for a quick chew on the family dog’s leg.
After I pack up everyone’s lunches for the day, I toss the little guy in the car for the ride to the office.  
Well, that sounds harsh. I don’t actually toss him, of course. It’s more like he gets lifted onto the backseat so he can walk into his crate. Oh, this is magical – I open the crate door and Yaxley walks in and lays down.  He does it his own self. (Thank you, thank you to Susie Nash, this litter’s breeder/caretaker, for crate training these pups for us!)
Once in the office door, it’s a few minutes of manic glee. Holy Cow, we haven’t seen this place since yesterday! To be capped off by some serious nap time.

Yaxley’s primary focus these last few days has been to grow. And being a growing pup is a job that takes intense concentration. You can’t afford to lose focus or you might turn into a chihuahua or something. If he’s going to grow up to be as majestic as his buddy, Micron, then well, he needs his beauty sleep.

Wearing Micron’s hand-me-down training cape.



So sleep, he does. What a cutie, too.  



Dreaming of wearing the big dog cape



Doggie spooning



A mirror image.
I found them both sleeping under my desk like this.




Your feet smell like Fritos.



And speaking of needing some beauty sleep

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Snow Day Redux

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Donna Black-Sword
It’s a beautiful spring-like day this afternoon. Temps in the upper 50’s, blue skies and white fluffy clouds. Rather uplifting and much needed. I don’t know if it’s really fair to say this winter has been worse than any of recent, but there were days the gray skies seemed to be endless.
Not completely a dark abyss over the past few months, however. During the times we had snow, it was absolutely gorgeous. When we brought the little lord Yaxley home from CCI, it was a typical chilly day. Taking first day photos outside gave us bleak landscape backgrounds of brown and gray. So I was pleased to hear we would get another snowfall yet in February. 
Yaxley is a natural California blonde; from the land of sea and sky. California may have beaches, warm climates and green grass, but out here in the midwest (OHIO, the Heart of America!) we can offer snow and ice and thunderstorms and mud and tornados. And can even dish this all up on the same day. ‘Tis true. Don’t like the weather? Just give it a few hours, it’ll change. Not the Ohio state motto. But it could be.
So we got some snow for Yaxley. Nine weeks old for his first romp in the frosty stuff. And like any red blooded CCI pup, he loved it. No hesitation, no what the heck is this stuff, just a full throttle whee session.
Now that we can check this photo op off the list, I’m ready for springtime. Now would be nice, doncha think?

For another puppy in the snow experience, Micron’s first snow day is at this link: Snow Day

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What’s a big brother for, anyway?

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Donna Black-Sword
There are differing opinions among CCI puppy raisers on overlapping the pups in training. Some say that it’s too much work, and can be distracting, to have two puppies in the house at a time. Others will tell you that it can be easier to work with a young pup when an older dog is there to show them the ways of proper behavior.
I have a long, sad history of not taking advice from others. I prefer to screw up all by myself and learn from my mistakes the hard way. It’s a serious character flaw and just one of the things that makes me charming, I suppose. 

We’ve yet to see how this is going to work out in the long run, having two CCI pups in my house. But I gotta say, these past two weeks since we welcomed the little lord Yaxley, I’m feeling pretty good about it.

Oh, as a quick aside about Yaxley’s name.  There is a character in the P.G. Wodehouse Jeeves novels named Lord Yaxley. In yet another vain, yet valiant, attempt to be clever I have tagged this new little fuzzy as little Lord Yaxley. Unfortunately, it is impossible to say little Lord Yaxley out loud.  Go on – try it.  If you find yourself successful in your first attempt, I challenge you to try three times in a row. What a train wreck of a nickname.

So, Micron is now a big brother and mentor for Yaxley. How’s that working out for you, you ask? Well, check this out.

This is Micron as a young pup, being coached on the subtleties of shoe fetching by his mentor Jager.

And here is Yaxley, mastering the technique after being taught by his big brother. So far, so good.

At dinnertime, nobody eats until the OK command by the Food Lady. Some very good dogs here; two are house guests for the evening. 
Micron is the all-time master at napping; this dog know how to relax.  Here he is showing the little one the Yoga position of “sleeping dog.”

But to keep me humble, there’s a downside to having a fresh new perspective of life. There are the things that have Micron saying, “Well hey!  I never thought of doing that!”

What is this one?  Oh. that’s my camera strap. Firmly attached my beloved Canon.  I don’t know which one started this, but I can tell you who ended it.

Looks like I’m gonna have to keep on my toes with this clever little guy. And poor Micron does too. I know this is not what he meant by telling the pup he’s gonna show him the ropes around here.

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The newest Golden Child: Introducing Yaxley

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Donna Black-Sword
I’ve mentioned before, this philosophy of veteran CCI puppy raisers, that after you’ve got three dogs in the house, it doesn’t matter how many you bring in after that. Ever always on the alert on how many dogs I can get in here and still be married, I have now brought in Number Three.

The little lord Yaxley is our third puppy to raise for Canine Companions for Independence. He is also the third dog leaving hair on my carpet here, along with CCI pup Micron and our family dog, Jager. We do have a cat too, but as I haven’t seen her since the first CCI puppy, I don’t really count her. I fill up her food bowl every day, though, so I know she’s still here somewhere. Or we have some well-fed mice that leave cat sized nuggets in the litter box.

We welcomed Yaxley to our home this past Friday evening. He flew in from California that morning, made it to CCI’s North Central Regional Center for a quick check and a bath, then a two-hour car ride back to our place.

So how did he handle this life changing day? He walks into the kitchen, says wassup to the other dogs and then asks, what’s for dinner?

I’m thinking we’ve got a confident little guy here.
More updates and photos to come over the next few months. For a start, how about some flying puppy shots?



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