I haven't posted anything about Mango this month...and I'm due for some new pics! Life has just been so busy lately...


Chillin'.


Almost seven months old already, and still growing!

This is one thing I had never expected. Mango is just so much work. I'm finding it hard enough to keep my sanity and to accomplish everyday tasks, let alone update the blog. But it's not his fault, he's just a puppy. He has a lot of energy, and we can't let him play in the backyard anymore because he can't eat whatever plant got him sick. Thus, the poor guy has to live with being inside (with the exception of when he's out in stores or playing over at his best friend Lucy's house~!) without eating the cat or ripping around the house like a mad man. Boy oh boy, it's tough being a dog.

Anyways, Mango hasn't really been making any spectacular progress. My dad came home, and him being the goofball he is he thinks it's okay for Mango to pull on the leash, eat the cat, run around unattended...he doesn't understand that our dog Lance lives by different rules than Mango. Although it did reverse some of Mango's training, he's doing okay. I'm just going to say that consistency is key. It is so much easier for you AND the dog for everyone to live by the same rules.

If you are looking to raise a Leader Dog of your own, from my own experiences I have found that it is much, much easier to raise a puppy with yourself and mayyybe one other person training the dog than trying to have four or five people raise him. It is true that it takes a village to raise a child, but not a leader puppy. If there's anything I've learned, its to keep everything consistent. It is so much quicker and easier, and the more people training the dog, the harder this is to achieve.


Mango visited an elementary school this past Friday! He visited my cousin's second-grade classroom. The kids were so funny, they all wanted to tell me about their dogs. They really behaved wonderfully, however. As did Mango. He behaved amazingly around the kids! He let them pet him and they each got to make him sit, lay down, and catch a treat. He was amazingly calm for a six-month-old puppy (almost seven months old now!).

Mango is calming down noticeably. When he is calm, he is the best dog anybody could ask for. I think that his main problem is the fact that he's not permitted to be fixed, so many of his thoughts are elsewhere. He's distracted and jumpy unless he's had several hours of intense physical activity. It is my firm belief that he would behave so much better if he were fixed.

Well, his ability to be calm even with his handicap is something to be admired. Despite the many obstacles he's facing, I think he's going to make a great Leader Dog.