Category Archives: Guide Dogs for the Blind

Waffle is 10 months old

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Waffle and her “go to bed” blanket – photo by Lisa Thompson

Today our little Waffle girl is 10 months old. It is hard to believe that it has been almost three months since she was transferred. I’m sure that she is starting to look really grown-up. It would be so much fun to get to see her in the next couple of months. Maybe we can set something up to see her around her one year birthday in February.
We are back to a one dog household tonight. Lindsey picked up Sinclair on her way home from spending Christmas at her parents house. His family will be back from vacation in a couple more days.

Christmas Day

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Sinclair wearing a Christmas collar stretched out between Bill’s legs

With Christmas being on Sunday, church was the first thing on the schedule today. We were singing in the choir so Bill and I both had puppies with us. They both did just fine. After church we had some food to prepare for Christmas dinner. Christmas eve was with my family and Christmas day was time will Bill’s family. So we packed up the car with Yakira and Sinclair along with food and some Christmas gifts and made the hour drive to Tooele. No puppies to play with at Bill’s mom’s house but the pups were good. We took along the fold-up kennel and the two of them did good hanging out in there together for quite a while.
After dinner we use the carol books to sing Christmas songs again. This time we had Deon to accompany us on his guitar. I didn’t realize that he could play the guitar that well. It was really fun to have the added dimensions of his guitar. The carol books have been a good success. There are some words on a few of the songs that are different that what we normally sing so I’d like to fix those before next year.
We have never had two family days back to back quite like that before and I thought it might be a bit much but it turned out to be a nice way to spend the holiday. But we were all tired by the time we got home tonight. It is Sinclair’s last night with us. Lindsey is picking him up tomorrow so he can spend some time with her before his family gets back into town. I think Yakira will miss him, but we have plans for her to do a puppy swap with Osaka on Tuesday so she has a busy week ahead.

Christmas Eve

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Danny, Clifford and Jacob on Christmas Eve

We took Yakira and Sinclair with us to my sister’s house for Christmas eve. She had Clifford (a career change black lab) so the three pups had a great time playing together. The humans and a good time eating dinner and chatting with family members. Then we gathered in the living room to read the Christmas story using their nativity to illustrate. Last of all we sang Christmas carols. This year I put together a booklet with words from all the familiar Christmas songs. It was fun to get to sing songs that we know but can’t remember all the words without a little help and other songs that have verses that we had never sung before. Sinclair is much more adjusted to being with us but he is a high maintenance puppy.

Yakira

Sinclair and Jacob

Phase 6!

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Casey with reindeer antlers – photo by Lisa Thompson

Got an email from Lindsey today that Casey and Radison are both in phase 6. Our CFR is on vacation so the phase report didn’t make it through normal channels but Lindsey has her connections and I appreciate her using them to find out how the girls are doing.

Phase 6 – Urban Challenges
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.

Sinclair

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Today we added another puppy to the household. His name is Sinclair and he is a lab golden cross. He is just a temporary addition for the Christmas holidays while his family is on vacation. He is an energetic boy who has trouble settling down and can be rather noisy in his crate and is resistant to relieving on concrete. He and Yakira like to play together though so Yakira is going to love having him here until after Christmas. Hopefully he will settle in and be easier to have around. He is a cute puppy and two weeks younger than Yakira. But he didn’t come until the last puppy truck so he doesn’t have near the home training that Yakira has.

Yakira/Hallie Swap

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We have had Hallie here for the weekend. It was lots of fun having her. I especially enjoyed having a break from a puppy trying to mouth and bit me several times a day. Hallie was a good girl except yesterday. I was trying to do too many things at once. My parents were visiting, there was a cousins party that I needed to get some food started for and I needed to go across the street and visit a neighbor. I got the food in the crock pot and ran out the door forgetting to put Hallie in the kennel. My parents were downstairs and I don’t think that Hallie even new they were home. Lindsey had warned me that she could be a problem if she was left alone. Well when I got home she had one of my shoes in the living room. It seemed to be fine. But when I took it back to the closet I found one of my boots. She had taken a nice chunk out of the top of it. I didn’t pay much for the boots and I can still wear if my pants cover up the top. I can’t believe a totally forgot to take care of Hallie before I left the house. Opps!

When Lindsey came to swap Yakira and Hallie back, she said that Yakira was very, very good. She didn’t bit at all. Wow! She left her home quite a bit to try to get her energy built up so that she would show her bad side but she didn’t. She does seem to be a bit tired. Maybe she had too much fun playing with Cobb. Or maybe she is just going through a growth spurt and all of her energy is going to build muscles and bones. Time will tell. But she is being a very good girl. Sinclair is coming tomorrow. It is going to be a very busy holiday season and it won’t be hard to keep her stimulated with Sinclair here.

Yakira 4 months old!

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Bill snuggling with Yakira

Boy our little monster girl is four months old today. She is headed off for a puppy swap tonight. Hallie will be coming here for the weekend and Yakira will be at our club leader’s. Hopefully she will be able to give us some help with some of her more challenging behaviors. Her biting has been better since last week but it is frustrating at times. If she doesn’t get several outings a day and a walk she gets bored and looks to me for entertainment. I’ve got to figure out how to get her enough stimulus each day to keep us both from going crazy.

Phase 5

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Casey with a Christmas ruffle around her neck – photo by Lisa Thompson

Today is phase report day and Casey has moved on to phase 5! So have Radison, Snickers and Crosby. They are all doing so well. I’m proud of the whole lot of them. Here is some of what they are learning in phase 5.

PHASE 5 –Traffic Training & City Work

  • Advanced Obedience and Distraction Training
  • Advanced Guidework Training
  • City Routes (San Francisco/Portland)
  • Intensive Indoor Mall and Store Training
  • NEW! Escalator Introductions and Training – Boarding/Riding/Exiting
  • Notable Accomplishment – Formal Traffic Training
  • NEW! Total Barricade Training
  • Obstacle Course Progression
  • Body Handling Acceptance
  • Socialization Programs
  • Vet Meeting – Review of Health

Christmas Packages

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Yakira

Today I sent off Christmas packages to all of our pups except Casey. We don’t have a way to send anything to her right now. We will have to give her a gift at her graduation. Each puppy got the same thing, a nylabone wish bone. All of them loved their wish bones as a puppy. Well with Waffle it was hard to tell because Casey was always the one actually doing the chewing on Waffle’s nylabone. Along with the bone a sent a large jingle bell with a red and green loop that I wove on my inkle loom. I hope they all enjoy their bones. I also have a wish bone for Clifford too and one for Bill’s brother’s dog Jazzy. Those we will deliver in person next time we see them.

No Ski Trip Out West

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Apex and Sue have been hoping to take a trip out here to Utah this winter to go skiing. Well we got news today that their trip is going to have to be put on hold. Sue is having surgery on her right shoulder right after Christmas to remove a growth that is impeding the movement of her shoulder. She said the surgery team about fell off their chairs laughing when she asked if she could be released to go skiing in February. I sure hope that the surgery goes well and that she will be able to recover quickly. At least the right should won’t mess with her ability to use a guide dog.