Callie is the first dog we’ve crate trained, so I didn’t know what to expect — especially after the crate had served its purpose of helping housebreak Callie. Some people said, “She will continue to use her crate, but I couldn’t imagine how. Now, I’m beginning to understand.

Callie’s crate training went as well as we could have hoped for. It was her place to eat, so she wasn’t going to soil it. Perfectly simple theory — and it worked, with only one or two small accidents when she was just a few months old. She quickly learned to go outside to go potty, and to “squeak,” if she needed to be let out.

Callie is perfectly housebroken now. So there’s no need for the crate any more; right? Well, not exactly. If we leave Callie at home alone, we still put her in her crate — mostly to protect her from herself. We probably won’t always do that. But, aside from that, Callie’s crate has taken on a life of its own.

When we’re around the house, Callie’s crate door is propped open, so she’s free to enter the crate or leave it. She still gets most of her meals there, so it’s a special place in her mind. It also houses her water dish, which she visits frequently. And her puppy pad. So she has good reasons for visiting her crate.

But it’s also become Callie’s own storage place for favorite things. It’s now the home of about a dozen balls of all different kinds. It is frequently the home of “Stinky,” Callie’s little stuffed puppy security object — upon which she sucks quietly almost every night before falling asleep.

Once in a while, Callie manages to steal a sock from me or Barbara. She knows she’s not supposed to do that; you can see the guilt on her face. So when she does it, she runs immediately into her crate and deposits the sock toward the back. She obviously thinks her crate is off limits to people.

It’s neat that Callie likes her crate and thinks of it as a special place. Once in a while, she even goes into it and lies down for a few minutes, knowing that she will be able to walk out when she wants to.

A dog’s crate is its castle!

I have enjoyed all of my interviews with dog experts on the “My Doggie Say…” Radio Show. I’m learning a lot about dogs, and I hope my listeners are, too. This week’s interview with Carla Genender, author of “DogSense,” was especially pleasant, because Carla truly understands how we can learn lessons from our pets. That’s really the point of “DogSense.” It’s filled with lovely little stories about how we humans can get better at human relationships by observing our furry friends.

In the last few months, I’ve had a similar experience with Callie, who keeps reminding me that it’s important to take pleasure from simple things.

Callie is a died-in-the-wool “ball dog.” She loves any kind of ball — beach, soccer, tennis, golf, you name it. But she has an especially rapidly-growing collection of tennis balls. Barbara plays tennis once a week, and she sometimes brings a ball home.Also, our golf club is also bordered by a tennis club, and Callie’s friend Jeff, assistant greens keeper at the golf club, captures a tennis ball for her once in a while.

When Jeff gives Callie a tennis ball, it becomes her favorite possession for a few days. She keeps it separate from the other tennis balls, or, at least, she can tell which is the new one. She keeps it close, wherever she goes. And she will grab the newest ball and bring it to me for some “toss and fetch” play time.

Callie obviously loves her entire tennis ball collection — which is up to fourteen, now — but it’s easy to see how much pleasure she gets from the most recent addition.

We saw this again yesterday. We’re at Lake Arrowhead for the weekend, and as we walked along the shoreline toward our boat (which is about to come out of the water for the winter), I spotted a tennis ball floating in the “surf” (all three inches of it). I pointed Callie toward it, and she gleefully retrieved it and carried it around for the rest of the afternoon.

You can always tell when Callie has a new ball; she holds her head a little higher, and she hangs on a little tighter. If she needs to stop and rest for a minute, she puts it down (most of the time) in a place where it won’t roll away — which is not always easy to find in the mountains.

When we got back to our house, Callie dropped the ball at the front door entrance, only to watch it roll off the deck and fall into black oblivion. But, with a little detective work, we were able to find it, and I retrieved it and gave it back to her. Which led to more proud, head-held-high carrying of the new ball.

Having a new tennis ball is a little thing, but when you’re a “ball dog,” it can mean a lot. We should all take such pleasure from little things.

Lewis and Paula Turner, of the Pet Care Company, Hermosa Beach, CA, talk about creating and managing a full-service pet store — and the variety of products, including pets, that they provide.

The “My Doggie Says…” show helps listeners gain a deeper appreciation for “Man’s Best Friend.” The show is broadcast live from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights, on KFNX 1100, Phoenix. It is streamed live on www.1100kfnx.com. Host Fred Haney interviews experts on all aspects of dogs and dog ownership. The show is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Go to the iTunes store, click on “Podcast,” and search for “My Doggie Says…”

Dr. Belinda Abbott, of the Village Pet Clinic, Redondo Beach, CA — and Callie’s Vet — talks about dog health issues and her role as a vet supervisor at the Iditarod Alaska Sled Dog Race.

The “My Doggie Says…” show helps listeners gain a deeper appreciation for “Man’s Best Friend.” The show is broadcast live from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights, on KFNX 1100, Phoenix. It is streamed live on www.1100kfnx.com. Host Fred Haney interviews experts on all aspects of dogs and dog ownership. The show is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Go to the iTunes store, click on “Podcast,” and search for “My Doggie Says…”

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that my Golden Retriever puppy, Callie, now 22 months old, started inviting me to play soccer shortly she moved in to my home, at age 8 weeks. Here’s a photo of Callie trying to get a soccer game going when she was about 12 weeks old.

Callie’s been working hard on her soccer skills. Every time I walk past the slightly-open sliding door to the back yard, Callie pokes her nose through the opening, sending me an obvious message, “Hey, Fred, could we please play soccer?”

Usually, the game is that I kick the ball, and Callie runs and traps it under her tummy. Or she puts her paw on it until I kick it away. Like any good soccer player, Callie tries to anticipate which way I’m going to kick the ball. She stays low and balanced and tries to figure out which way the ball is going, so she can trap it right away. If I do manage to get it past her, she races to catch up with the ball, and then she captures it until I’m ready for the next kick.

As Callie has grown, she has become much better at jumping to try to “grab” a high kick. After all, her dad (Cutter, Any Way You Slice It), is an American and Canadian agility champion. So Callie has some good, athletic genes. She jumps to try to “catch” even the highest kick. She can’t really do “headers,” but she’s invented the “doggie noser.” Our soccer ball is slightly under-inflated, so when Callie “noses” the ball, it makes a loud “bonk” noise.

Here are some edited clips of Callie doing “nosers.” See if you can solve the “Where is Callie?” puzzle mid-way through the video. At one point, Callie hides behind a bush and waits for me to kick the ball. She’s just full of tricks.

callie-soccer-nosers

Sharon Shilkoff, of Woodland Goldens, was the guest on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show on Wednesday, September 24. She discusses breeding issues, agility training and competition, and government-required spaying programs with host Fred Haney.

The “My Doggie Says…” Radio Talk show is broadcast live from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights, on KFNX 1100, Phoenix. It is streamed live on www.1100kfnx.com. Host Fred Haney interviews experts on all aspects of dogs and dog ownership. The show is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Go to the iTunes store, click on “Podcast,” and search for “My Doggie Says…”

Ethel Mercer, of the Lomita Obedience Training Club, Lomita, CA, makes a guest appearance on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show and discusses one of her favorite things to do with her dogs — dog dancing. Here’s an informal demo — without music.

Ethel Mercer and her dog, Heaven, demonstrate some doggie dancing moves

The “My Doggie Says…” Radio Talk show is broadcast live from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights, on KFNX 1100, Phoenix. It is streamed live on www.1100kfnx.com. Host Fred Haney interviews experts on all aspects of dogs and dog ownership. The show is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Go to the iTunes store, click on “Podcast,” and search for “My Doggie Says…”

John Van Zante, of the Helen Woodward Animal Center, talks about the 3rd annual Surf Dog Surf A Thon that was held on September 7, 2008. The Center has many wonderful programs designed to “help people help animals” and to “help animals help people.”

The “My Doggie Says…” Radio Talk show is broadcast live from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights, on KFNX 1100, Phoenix. It is streamed live on www.1100kfnx.com. Host Fred Haney interviews experts on all aspects of dogs and dog ownership. The show is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Go to the iTunes store, click on “Podcast,” and search for “My Doggie Says…”

Ted Schneck, of Dog Cancer Ride for America, makes his second guest appearance on the “My Doggie Says…” talk show to celebrate the completion of his bike ride across the country — to raise awareness of dog cancer.

The “My Doggie Says…” Radio Talk show is broadcast live from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights, on KFNX 1100, Phoenix. It is streamed live on www.1100kfnx.com.  Host Fred Haney interviews experts on all aspects of dogs and dog ownership.  The show is also available as a podcast on iTunes.  Go to the iTunes store, click on “Podcast,” and search for “My Doggie Says…”

Mary Lou Jennings, of Phoenix Children’s Hospital, talks about the Hospital’s Animal-Assisted-Therapy program on the “My Doggie Says…” radio talk show.  Learn how the program’s dogs help patients recover faster!

The “My Doggie Says…” Radio Talk show is broadcast live from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights, on KFNX 1100, Phoenix. It is streamed live on www.1100kfnx.com.  Host Fred Haney interviews experts on all aspects of dogs and dog ownership.  The show is also available as a podcast on iTunes.  Go to the iTunes store, click on “Podcast,” and search for “My Doggie Says…”