Friday was the big day! We packed up and checked out of the hotel in the morning and then headed for the mall. I hung out with the boys in the play area while DC walked the mall with Sushi for her final test. She had to heal well, sit, down, walk past a stroller or cart, stay in a heal (or at least not try to run off) when he dropped the leash briefly, do well when a stranger pet her, and not panic when her leash was handed to another parent from class and DC walked away as well as remain in a down when someone stepped over her. Then DC sat with her in the food court for about 20 minutes, to show that she'd do well in a restaurant setting. They passed with flying colors. :)
After that, we packed up the kids (Drake screaming the entire way), and headed back to 4 Paws to complete paperwork (a contract, review of medical records, etc) and then waited for the other teams to return from their tests so we could have a graduation ceremony. It was about 4:00 when that was all over and DC was antsy to get on the road, so we said a couple quick goodbyes and then headed out while the others stayed behind to socialize a bit more (most of them were not leaving town until Saturday).
We arrived home around 8pm, took a few minutes to show Sushi around the house and introduce her to the other animals that live here (two cats and a bird) and then called it a night.
Since being home, Sushi has already been testing the rules quite a bit (something they warned us would happen). She LOVES the kids' stuffed animals, so I feel like I'm following her around the house tellinger her "no" and exchanging a stuffed animal for one of her bones or her one and only plush toy. But it seems like she's finally starting to get it. She's gone with me to the pet store (quite an adventure - the store was packed and I had Drake tethered to her. LOL), Drake's orthopedist appointment (he got his new braces today), a chinese restaurant to get take out (they gave us some really crazy looks there, but nobody said anything outloud about bringing a dog in),a photo studio (we got pictures of the boys with Sushi for Christmas cards - that was interesting!) and Best Buy. The Best Buy trip today was by far the best. She seems to really be picking up on the fact that she has to listen/pay attention no matter where we are.
Last night after Drake was in bed (with Sushi sleeping in his room finally!), I took Kevin back to the petstore where he picked out a Fancy Rat. We had promised him before leaving for Xenia that he could get his very own pet when we returned home - since we made the decision to rehome the Italian Greyhound that we previously had and Kevin was very attached to him. The Rat is living in Kevin's room and he's taking great pride in caring for Barney. Need to work on socializing Barney a lot more though, so Kevin doesn't quickly lose interest (anyone nearby with rat experience care to come help??)
Tonight Kevin is spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa. I have to get busy packing and then we have to have Drake at the hospital at 7:30am for a 72 hour video EEG. Sushi will be staying in the hospital with Drake and I, while Kevin and daddy spend the bulk of the three days at home (daddy REALLY needs to work after being gone 12 days). I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to manage going out with Sushi for potty breaks - hopefully the nurses won't be too busy to keep an eye on Drake for about 20 minutes a couple times a day (I figure I can take her out when he's napping/sleeping at night too - so shouldn't need them to stay with Drake too much).
Well...I better get busy! I'll try to post pictures tomorrow when Drake's settled in at the hospital. Hopefully one of the other parents will get us copies of our family picture in front of the "4 Paws Graduates" sign soon - I didn't think to give my camera to someone else and have them take pics for us.
After that, we packed up the kids (Drake screaming the entire way), and headed back to 4 Paws to complete paperwork (a contract, review of medical records, etc) and then waited for the other teams to return from their tests so we could have a graduation ceremony. It was about 4:00 when that was all over and DC was antsy to get on the road, so we said a couple quick goodbyes and then headed out while the others stayed behind to socialize a bit more (most of them were not leaving town until Saturday).
We arrived home around 8pm, took a few minutes to show Sushi around the house and introduce her to the other animals that live here (two cats and a bird) and then called it a night.
Since being home, Sushi has already been testing the rules quite a bit (something they warned us would happen). She LOVES the kids' stuffed animals, so I feel like I'm following her around the house tellinger her "no" and exchanging a stuffed animal for one of her bones or her one and only plush toy. But it seems like she's finally starting to get it. She's gone with me to the pet store (quite an adventure - the store was packed and I had Drake tethered to her. LOL), Drake's orthopedist appointment (he got his new braces today), a chinese restaurant to get take out (they gave us some really crazy looks there, but nobody said anything outloud about bringing a dog in),a photo studio (we got pictures of the boys with Sushi for Christmas cards - that was interesting!) and Best Buy. The Best Buy trip today was by far the best. She seems to really be picking up on the fact that she has to listen/pay attention no matter where we are.
Last night after Drake was in bed (with Sushi sleeping in his room finally!), I took Kevin back to the petstore where he picked out a Fancy Rat. We had promised him before leaving for Xenia that he could get his very own pet when we returned home - since we made the decision to rehome the Italian Greyhound that we previously had and Kevin was very attached to him. The Rat is living in Kevin's room and he's taking great pride in caring for Barney. Need to work on socializing Barney a lot more though, so Kevin doesn't quickly lose interest (anyone nearby with rat experience care to come help??)
Tonight Kevin is spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa. I have to get busy packing and then we have to have Drake at the hospital at 7:30am for a 72 hour video EEG. Sushi will be staying in the hospital with Drake and I, while Kevin and daddy spend the bulk of the three days at home (daddy REALLY needs to work after being gone 12 days). I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to manage going out with Sushi for potty breaks - hopefully the nurses won't be too busy to keep an eye on Drake for about 20 minutes a couple times a day (I figure I can take her out when he's napping/sleeping at night too - so shouldn't need them to stay with Drake too much).
Well...I better get busy! I'll try to post pictures tomorrow when Drake's settled in at the hospital. Hopefully one of the other parents will get us copies of our family picture in front of the "4 Paws Graduates" sign soon - I didn't think to give my camera to someone else and have them take pics for us.