Its been at least a couple of years, since I've physically went to an Agility Trial, so when my A/C sent out a note, that they were going to hold a meeting their this weekend, I was rarin' to go!
I also wanted to take Texas with me, because I knew it would be a great exposure for him with all the people and other dogs!!
Saturday was a beautiful day, and I had a lot of things to get done....but my mom had other plans; so i spent most of my morning cleaning. (Only three more days till i'm outta here! jk Mom I love you :D ) Once that was done, I started to freak a little bit, about how Texas would act in such a high stress environment...would he walk on the leash, would I be wrangling him the whole time...etc..etc.. So we went outside, to practice some leash work and obedience while I downloaded files from school..... before I knew it was time to go; but as I was backing out of the driveway...Bubbles comes trotting out of the door, and towards the car...not ABOUT to be left behind. So she came along as well!
I stopped by Sonics, but since they are the worlds SLOWEST fast food restaurant, I hand 15 minutes to make a 25 minute drive...but I made it, and was the first of our group to arrive!! I did have to make sure I was calm an assertive; because I was not feeling in control, but I decided not to focus on what COULD happen, and just take things as they came at me.
And the afternoon progressed very well! SAM and Ross we're the only two pups that could make it (Penny's in Heat, and Neil is being evaluated) but Neil's raisers came as well.
The border collies we're the best, with the Golden's coming in surprisingly next! In the small dog ring, most of them we're looking at their owner's like they we're stupid, but it was funny! I'm sure Texas would have a blast out there, if given the opportunity!
My former A/C was there with her vizla Faith, and we got to watch them run! It was awesome, she didn't get anything, but it was neat to see someone we "knew" run a dog! She also had her miniature dachshund Angel there, who ran earlier, so we missed that. :(
We left after Faith ran, and Texas flopped down and slept the entire trip home.
Now I have been bitten by the agility bug, and yes we're looking into Texas as an agility dog!!
My morning started to the pitiful little cry of a lab puppy waking up; after about fifteen or so minutes, and frequent little cries, I waited until she was quiet, before leashing her up, and taking her out to "busy".
Since I still had 15 minutes before I HAD to get up, I brought her in my room, and tied her down to my bed leg, with some toys. She climbed on the dog beds and happily chewed on a bone, while I attempted to sleep some.
10 minutes later, I decided to go ahead and get up; busy lazy Bubbles, and feed both dogs, then another trip outside...and time for me to get dressed. After a few minutes of making sure I had space on me camera, Penny and I were out the door, and on our way to the parade!! {Neil 8-months-old and his raiser} The dogs handled the parade and all the noises very well, I was most impressed with Ms.Sue; there was one point, when some.....guy started shooting off his gun right in front of us..which thoroughly freaked out Sue; so we moved away and I walked her around some and did some obedience with her to try and get her mind off of it.
{Working Dog with Canine Companions for Independence}
And throughout the rest of the parade we stood a little ways off; so as to make a hasty retreat whenever she freaked; then we would regroup and come back. After we made it too the end, I got all of her things from Penny's raiser, and were on our way.
To....somewhere.....
We wound up at my favorite place on earth. (NOT) WALLY WORLD!! I don't know what it is about that place, but EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. WE GO IN THAT PLACE. {Insert Puppy Name Here (except midnights)} has an accident! And despite my efforts to get a "busy" outside...which could have been harder...but it was cold and I had to visit the ladies room as well. So inside we went!
And about a minute later, I was cleaning up the floor.
I totally deserved that.
Oh well, we made it through the rest of the trip well and purchased some things for Tex's visit....small dog toys etc.. lol. I refrained from buying a coat for him.
I decided to visit PetsMart, and get some treats for training. While she was very well behaved...I do not appreciate people, who think they can tell me, how my school wants me to train my dogs.
But I digress.
Once home, I let Sue explore some, busied her then put her on tie-down, while I swept the floor and did other various things around the house; I gave her carrots and a Kong Wubba, to keep her occupied, and she had lots of fun, making a mess with the carrots. ::big grin:: After that, she snoozed on her bed, while I was on the computer. Once she woke up we went back outside, and I started working on getting her to focus on me, and not pull on the leash. This technique works very well:
Sue is a little goofy, and it took about five times for her to realize...Oooh yeah....follow Erin! After that we worked on her name, "Come" and "Down". She's picking it up very quickly.
Her house manners have been pretty much perfect, and she's a pro about controlled retrieve. Which, I'm ashamed to admit, Midnight was horrid at. So this next week should be a breeze!
What a week this has been! It’s been long, tiring, exciting, nerve wracking and fun all at the same time. From my previous post you know that Rei has been re-matched, and everything seems to be going smoothly there. ::very big grin::
Since you pretty much know what happened at the begging of the week, we’ll dive right on into the weekend. Friday Midnight turned 13-months-old, I didn’t even realize it until yesterday or so!! Time just seems so short at this point. I still haven’t gotten any more news about her travel plans, but that is fine with me.
At 2:45PM, Midnight and I loaded into the car, for what possibly might be our last puppy meeting together; we were meeting at the Bus Station downtown, where we would be exposing the puppies to all the sites and sounds, of the bus terminal. The weather was quite yucky, but we pressed on because, who knows what situation there handlers might find themselves in.
{Midnight and Sam waiting for everyone to arrive} {Sue trying to hold herself in check...she was being good}
{Sam really wants to play with Midnight} Once everyone arrived, we walked the puppies on and off several buses, while we waited for Bus 11. After shivering the cold someone finally suggested going into the Station and waiting instead of standing outside. That was sort of a ‘duh’ moment.
{Puppies in the Bus Station} Bus 11 finally came and we all boarded; we rode it to the center of town and then got off and walked back to our cars.
{Midnight and Me in the reflection of a store...would have been better if the glass was darker} Fun times I tell you. Midnight and I were more then ready to come home when it was through.
Saturday My job held its third annual Howl-O-Ween party. This was a fun event; more then I was thinking it was going to be. There were a lot of great costumes, good food and fun prizes. My co-worker, who also doubles as photographer, did some portraits of the dogs and their owners if they wished. Hence the picture above. Except I took that one, but I used her props. LOL.
Sunday Went to church in the morning, came home got Midnight before going out to the mall for lunch with friends. Its been a while since I took Midnight to that mall, and she was a brat; well combined with the fact that she had been crated for the last four hours, what was I took expect I wonder...? Almost everyone we passed she was sticking her nose into their hands, pulling me, not stopping at stairs, trying go hither thither and yawn.... and then we passed Victoria Secret, and their pink dog. The display dog was about Midnight size, and plaid. She spotted it as we were passing and stopped dead in her tracks; I was waiting for her to start barking at it, but she did, just backed up as far as her leash would let her. Stuffed tigers twice her size? Cooool...no problemo.
Since Midnight dropped the bomb shell in her post, I will go ahead and fill you guys in on the nitty, gritty, details. Basically Midnight's time with me is drawing to a close, even though she hasn't been with me a full year. Midnight is being looked at to become a breeder, but since she has developed allergies, they (the higher powers at GDF), are trying to decide if that's what theywant to use her for.If they decide to use her, she will be leaving me within the next couple of weeks.If they don't she will go next month.And if they take her out of the program completely; theM she'll just stay forever and ever. :-)) I'm going through the normal range of emotions right now...more so because Midnight and I have a really strong bond, and this turn in couldn't come at a worse point in my life. I'd LOVE to keep her as a pet if given the chance, but I am trying not to get my hopes up that they will take her out of the program. I know that sounds selfish but for right now...I'm sorry that's just how I feel... on the other hand I do feel bad KEEPING her knowing how she could impact someones life. ANYWAYS....Have no fear, I will be raising another guide dog puppy regardless if she goes or stays; but since we are moving to another state, it won't be until March or April. And for someone who hasn't been without a dog for the last two years...these next six months are going to be TOUGH. But as a dear (non-dog person) family member has stated so callously...I'll survive. For those of you who aren't familiar with what Formal Training is...here is an explanation from the Foundation itself:
WHEN YOUR PUPPY WILL BE CALLED IN Your puppy may be called in anytime between 12 and 16 months of age. You will receive a call from the Puppy Department telling you the date that your puppy needs to report. The age at which your puppy is brought in is determined by the Puppy Department. When you bring your dog in, bring with you a copy of your puppy’s veterinary record, its puppy coat, crate, and heartworm medication. Once your puppy is here, he will be kept in a certain area of the kennel for the first week or so to be observed. Your pup will have free time daily, as well as the companionship of a roommate and the attention of our loving staff. Foundation kennel volunteers also will spend quality, one-on-one time with your dog. During the first few weeks, your puppy is examined by our staff veterinarian for routine treatments and a heartworm test. Its health history is reviewed and monitored closely by our staff of professionals.
THE TRAINING PROGRAM Your puppy will be assigned to a team of trainers. The team will consist of an apprentice (who has started the three-year apprenticeship program); a trainer (who has completed half of the training program); or an Instructor (who has completed the program and is qualified.) Apprentices and trainers are always supervised by an Instructor, and they work closely together. Each training staff member has a string of dogs, usually 8-10. The trainers work in a team so that they can learn the personalities of their dogs. This enables the training staff to have a good selection of dogs to match with the needs and personality of each student.
Phase I is the foundation on which the other three phases build. All of the material from Phase I is reinforced and new material is added as the dog progresses through training. All of the training phases may vary in length depending on the dog and the trainer. In Phases I and II, the training is started in quiet areas and slowly progresses to busier areas as the dogs become more competent at their work and comfortable with their given constraints. The first two phases can be described as the conditioning period. By the time a dog enters Phases III and IV, they are guiding with some consistency and are able to apply their previous conditioning in varying situations. During these final phases, the dogs are brought into more complicated training areas, such as the city. Instructors are still conditioning the dogs, but are expecting a higher level of performance. By the end of Phase IV, most dogs should be ready for class and working as guides. This is a basic outline of the tasks that need to be accomplished within each phase: Phase I: Long leash walk, reacting well to traffic, people, etc.; noise test for sound shyness; short leash walk along a straight line; obstacle work and curb stops; basic obedience; introduction to dormitory work, including stairs; possible introduction to elevators and escalator Phase II: Introduction to the harness; obedience and dormitory work continued; straight line concept reinforced; introduction to elevators and escalator Phase III: City/subway training; traffic training; escalator; off-curbs Phase IV: Final traffic; blindfold evaluation
CELEBRATION SUNDAY When your puppy has been matched with a visually impaired student, and the team successfully completes the training program, it is time to celebrate! Your love, dedication and care has enabled this puppy to grow into a confident adult who has demonstrated that he is able to make decisions, has self control and has a low level of distractibility so that a visually impaired person can travel safely and independently. Many people have worked to successfully match this team: the Guide Dog Foundation staff, including the Breeding, Puppy and Training departments; the Puppy Walker; the dog’s sponsor; and the consumer. All of those people who have nurtured and supported this puppy have given a gift that is priceless.
HOME TRAINING If your dog is chosen for home training (when the student is trained in their home area and not at our Smithtown campus), you may not have the opportunity to formally meet the blind handler. You still could be in contact with the dog’s new handler, should you wish to.
PUPPY MEETING - OCTOBER 16, 2008
{On our Way} {SAM and his raiser...also my A/C} {Penny - Rei's half sister- and her raiser} {Our group gather togethor} {Midnight practicing her Down/Stays} {My Pretty Baby...also the star the class..hee hee} {Mom can i have that ball?} {Neil lying down} {Sue would be the class clown...that is not a negative comment ;-) I may be watching her over Thanksgiving...if its ok with Pops :-)} {Sue is a pretty Golden} {"Puppies STAY"} {"Stttaaayyyy"} {"Hey you too! Cut it OUt!} {Oh dear I embarrassed her}
The Proximity Award"We all like blogs. Their objectives are to show the wonders and to make friendships; there are people who are not interested when we give an award, and in this way contribute to cut those bows; we want that they are cut or they propagate? Then we will try to pay more attention to them! We must give it to other bloggers that must do the same and put this text."
Midnight: Cool! Our friend Addie gave us ANOTHER award! Sweet! Thanks so much guys! We'll pass this one on to our friend.....
Erin: These last couple of days, have been pretty uneventful in a sense.. Monday Midnight and I went to Piano Lessons...which she thinks is DEATHLY boring. After that we came home, and walked with our neighbor and her two dogs. By the time we got through with that, It was time for us to head to our monthly obedience class with other guide dog pups. Midnight was her normal obedient self and my leader complemented me on how I was handling one of the more...excitable pups. * Very Cesar Millanish ha ha*
When we got home I decided that my room needed rearranging, and for the next two hours I spent my time, packing up my room and moving boxes around. While navigating around Midnight and Bubbles.
Halfway through Bubbles, who is used to these spurts I go through, got on the couch and curled up under a blanket.
Midnight however...kept getting in the way and I kept tripping over her!
But I did find many of her toys lurking under the furniture! Since then I've placed them in a bucket where she can get to them, and she's taken all of them out and placed them around the floor. Just for me to trip on I think.
I think she's a bit put off my all the rearranging..and moving of her favorite spots..etc.. but she'll survive. :-)
Today was just a plain ol' work day for me...here it is, I work at a doggie daycare..get to bring my dog for free, and what does she do!? SLEEP!!
She climbed in here of her own free will...she likes crates ::big grin:: { Which one is Midnight? And NO we didn't DRUG any dogs here.. ha ha its the end of the day..they are all tired.} {Midnight mainly plays with Labs...she and Liza love each other}
Earlier this evening..after swimming through my email, I came across this video that my leader had sent me:
This is the Guide Dog Foundation...:-) Just seeing this dog working and helping his handler,just reiterated for me why I do what I do. I brings me to tears every time I see something like this, to think "MY" dog could be helping someone just like him!! Yes Its hard to give them up, Giving Midnight up will be one of the hardest things I've ever done... She and I have a bond like no other dog... I love her so much, but to know that she has the potential to make an impact on someones life like this? I can't stop that whatsoever!!!
Ok enough of that ... I need to finish posting SAM's blog for today as well.. so until next time!
