Another Zodiac Pupdate!

Posted on August 5, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

Zodiac

I got a call today that Zodiac has been chosen for in home training. This means that instead of the blind person coming to the campus in Oregon to train with Zodiac, Zodiac will be going to the blind person’s home in Missouri so they can training together. Zodiac will be flying to Missouri this weekend with a trainer. The trainer will work the Zodiac and his new partner until August 20th. We will be heading to Oregon later this week to say good-bye to Zodiac before he starts this new adventure. He won’t be present at a formal graduation though he and his partner will be mentioned and an upcoming graduation ceremony. We are excited and happy that Zodiac is going to be a guide dog.

Joy Jar

Posted on August 3, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

We all survived Girls Camp! What a week, I’m exhausted but glad to have had a successful camp with no major problems.

strong men to set up the big tents at camp
canoeing
having Bill at camp
Dune at camp
sitting by the fire after dark
eating licorice
a hummingbird
quakies in the breeze
seeing a moose
good food
being in nature
willing girls
getting some sleep
hope in Christ
a kind word
the support of friends
good weather
being done with camp
taking a shower
hot water
modern conviences
my own bed
sleep
email from Banta and Yakira

Pupdate – Zodiac

Posted on August 2, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

As I prepared myself for Zodiac to be listed in phase 6 again this week. I was hoping for phase 7. Chances are next week he will be in phase 8. Zenith is in phase 8 and my friend’s puppy who was on the June recall has caught up to phase 6. Way to go Nairobi! We didn’t have good cell service at girls camp and so I didn’t get the news on the phase report until we came down from the mountain.

Though Zodiac has always been cute with maturing he now has a certain presence when he wants to, maybe even a little Zeus like in his demeanor. Zodiac started to show signs of maturing at the year mark but it really started to accelerate when he turned 14 months old.

Since he was about 9 months old we have been going to the local grade school a couple of times a week to listen to kids read. Zodiac has always been attracted to kids and their happy energy. But with his maturing he can now sit calmly in the hall and watch hundreds of kids walk by. I’m so proud of him. He is really grown-up.

Joy Jar

Posted on July 27, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

A few low spots early in the week but mostly it has been a good week with some great high spots.

Zodiac in phase 6
peach pancakes
blueberries from Boring, Oregon (that is where Zodiac is training to be a guide dog)
tender mercies
“My Grandma Mary” on Amazon
eating veggies from our garden
learning new things
teaching my dad to use a computer
a colt in the field
Dune enjoying her bath
fresh peaches
cooler temperatures
being mostly ready for girls camp next week
helping out a friend
getting help from friends
new wireless keyboard and mouse
new Crocs
Banta’s birthday
sharing veggies from my garden with my neighbor
walking with Dune and Lisa

Pupdate – Banta

Posted on July 26, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

Banta at 5 months – photo by Lisa Thompson

Today is Banta’s fourth birthday! She has been a guide dog for over two years now. I’m sure that spunky little girl had a great day today. It is hard to imagine Banta ever really growing-up, but I suppose it is possible. I sent birthday wishes her way earlier today. Happy Birthday Banta!

Pupdate – Zodiac

Posted on July 26, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

Zodiac is now 3/4 of the way through his formal harness training to become a guide dog! This week’s phase report has him in phase 6 of 8 phases. The next class in Oregon starts on August 5th. It is unlikely that he will be “class ready” by then but the following class he probably will be. Then the challenge becomes finding the right partner for Zodiac. He needs just the right kind of handler, one that can appreciate his love of life and exuberance and being jumped on occasionally. I’m expecting it to take a while for him to graduate.

Zodiac has always had a zest for life. He is a fun-loving boy and loves to be out doing things, going new places and making new friends. Zodiac is sure that everyone he meets is just as happy to meet him. He is ever the optimist that something fun is just around the corner. I love the happy light that is typically in Zodiac’s eyes and his exuberance for life.

Phase Six: Urban Challenges

Posted on July 26, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

Obedience and Distraction Training
Continues as in phase 5.

Advanced Guidework Training
Dogs work in both residential area without sidewalks
and downtown urban areas with challenging environments.
Focus on working the dogs at a pace and pull that is appropriate for a client.
Instructors commonly work each others’ dogs to continue to develop and monitor consistent responses of each dog in various environments (formal, casual
and during guidework).

NEW! Sidewalkless Technique Introduction
Dogs learn how to work in areas without sidewalks or reasonable shoulder on which to walk. The travel
line is the left side of the street facing oncoming traffic. Dogs learn how to respond to intersecting streets
and parked cars along their travel line.

NEW! Platform Edge Intro and Exposure Work
Dogs learn to avoid significant drop-offs that mimic
subway and rail platform edges.

NEW! Light Rail, Subway systems
Dogs practice edge avoidance when train is absent, and boarding/riding on available trains.

Obstacle Course Progression
Continues as in phase 5.

Pre-Matches for Select Clients
Dogs are identified for applicants with special needs
or requirements in a Guide Dog.

Socialization Programs
CWTs continue to focus on kennel enrichment and
relaxing time away from guidework lessons (community run, grooming, play sessions, campus walks, dog massage, Reiki).

Leash relieving exposure on cement begins.
(from Guide Dogs for the Blind)

Organizing, as simple as cake

Posted on July 25, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

I love Kristin’s analogy. I’m going to try this the next time I feel overwhelmed. (It might even be tomorrow.)

Organize Professionally

Some of my clients have a lot of difficulty visualizing how they are going to finish organizing because they feel overwhelmed and defeated. I say let them eat cake!

Have you ever tried to bake a cake without a recipe? Maybe those geniuses on Top Chef

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Labeling Digital Photos

Posted on July 24, 2013 by tellingfamilytales

I started working on adding metadata to my photos today! I used Adobe Bridge which comes with any of the Creative Suite products. It was pretty slick. You have the ability to set up templates to fill in info that is the same over lots and lots of images. I put information in the template like contact info and copyright stuff. Next step was the keywords. Bridge has a hierarchical method of organizing keywords with keywords and sub-keywords. It already had keywords like people, places and events. I added dogs and things as additional keywords so far. Under dogs I put the names of all the puppies we have raised. Then I had some photos of other puppies in training, like Redding that we puppy sat a few weeks ago. I put him as a sub-keyword under Dune. I’m not sure if that is the right way to handle it but that what I’m doing for now. In Bridge you can select a whole bunch of photos that need the same keywords and add them all at the same time.

I found a really detailed article about labeling digital photos by Ken Watson. It talks all about the technical stuff and different software that helps with the metadata and metadata standards. It has very good reference information.

One thing I was disappointed about was that Windows xp doesn’t show all the metadata information that I added to my photos when you right-click on the image and pull up properties. You can add metadata in the fields that Windows provides under properties but it would be a very slow task and it doesn’t follow XMP standards (read Ken Watson’s article if you don’t know what that is). I’m pretty sure that newer operating systems do a better job on that score.

One disappointment is that Windows xp can’t see the all the metadata I added, like the keywords. But I’m happy to have gotten started on adding metadata to my photos. Tons more to do. A goal I’m making now is to add metadata as I save new photos to my machine. At least then I won’t be loosing more ground.