Category Archives: Yakira

Pupdate – Yakira & Zodiac

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Yakira – photo by Lisa Thompson

I was concerned that with the Christmas Holiday, Yakira might not move on to phase 5 this week but she did! If you are interested in what Yakira is learning in phase 5 go to this post on Casey. Two of Yakira’s littermates, Yancey and Yasmine showed up on the phase report last week. They are now in phase 1. Her sister Yumi was recently dropped from breeder evals and should show up soon. That just leaves Yuma out there somewhere.

It has been an interesting week here. We were puppy sitting Beacon for Christmas. Our new club leader took him on Wednesday for an evaluation. Zodiac had lots of fun playing with Beacon most of the time but sometimes it seemed that Zodiac was done playing and Beacon wanted more. Even though they are only a few days apart in age, Zodiac comes across as much more mature in most ways. Zodiac was exhausted when Beacon left and so was I. We will be puppy sitting Kai starting tomorrow until next Wednesday.

Bill & Zodiac on Temple Square

Tonight we took Trax downtown to see the Christmas lights on Temple Square. It was a good socializing opportunity for Zodiac. There were a surprising number of people doing the same thing we were and Zodiac did great. He can be a bit distracted by wanting to socialize with people but he did very well tonight. We couldn’t find his head collar so he had to do it on his own, with just the flat collar. He really is starting to grow-up and gain a lot more self-control.

Zodiac on the Trax train

 

Pupdate – Yakira, Casey, Puppy Club and #7

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Yakira – photo by Lisa Thompson

Yakira is continuing her stead pace through training. She is in phase 4 this week. Keep it up sweet girl, we are cheering for you.

Guide Dog News, a quarterly publication of Guide Dogs for the Blind, in its News of Our Graduates section listed Casey’s handler, Carrie as this years recipient of Reach for the Stars Scholarship. Congrats to Carrie on this accomplishment.

Our local puppy club has gotten too big and this week was our last meeting together. We meet at the Cold Stone in South Jordan to see Frosty and the other candy windows along with enjoying a tasty ice cream treat. It was a wet evening but lots of fun.A new club is being formed and we will be part of it. It is going to be fun to see what it takes to organize a new puppy raising club. We need to pick a name for our club. Any suggestions?

Right now the new club only has 5 puppies but more our expected soon. It seems that GDB has too many puppies in the kennels and they are looking for raisers. So we decided yesterday to apply for our next puppy, #7! He/she may be a co-raise with my friend Lisa, but we decided it was a good time to add another puppy to the household even if she decides now is not the best time to co-raise a puppy. So puppy #7 could arrive, by plane, in just a few weeks.

Pupdate – Yakira, Zodiac and Apex

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Yakira – photo by Lisa Thompson

First off, Yakira is in phase 3! Way to keep it up girl. I think she is going to make someone an amazing guide dog. More on what she is learning in phase 3 here.

sunset from Apex’s cruise

Next up, Apex and Sue just got back from a cruise! He is such a lucky pup. Here are a few photos from their trip.

Apex enjoying his cruise

Apex’s litterbox on the cruise

Last up is Zodiac. We went to the Eye Institute of Utah this week. They were so generous and donated a generous amount to our puppy club. Plus the pups each got a fleece blanket and a dog toy. It was so much fun to stop by so that the employees could get a little puppy love.

Nairobi, Zodiac, Sony, Yanni and Savoy at the Eye Institute of Utah – photo by Karen Fuller

Zodiac and Sony – photo by Karen Fuller

pups with their toys and blankets from the Eye Institute

Yakira – Phase 2

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Yakira – photo by Lisa Thompson

This weeks phase report put Yakira in phase 2. Yeah Yakira! I love it on Thursdays when the phase report is available and I can see her name at the end of the alphabetical list of dogs in for training. Here is what Yakira is learning in phase 2:

In Town and Responsible Lead

  • Body Handling Acceptance
  • Kennel Adjustment and Routine
  • Wearing the Harness
  • Pattern Training Progression
  • Planned Distraction Route
  • Up Curb Exercise #2
  • Physical Agility
  • Responsible Lead Session
  • Obstacle Course Progression

 

Yakira – phase 1

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Yakira - photo by Lisa Thompson

Yakira – photo by Lisa Thompson

This weeks phase report finally had Yakira’s name on it. She is official in phase 1! It seems like it she has been gone for such a long time. Actually it has been almost 7 weeks. Some of the other dogs that went back on the truck with her are in phase 5. I’m guessing that the Thanksgiving holiday slowed down her start into training. I know I shouldn’t get impatient about it all but I still do. I really do know that it will all work out and that the best life for her is ahead, no matter what road that is.

For more details on what Yakira is learning in phase 1 see this post on Casey in phase 1.

On news on some of the other puppies in our life:

  • Zodiac is doing great. I’ve seen some maturing in the last week or two. He is being much less of a rebellious teenager. Sometime I see him crouch to jump on me and he stops himself. He turns 9 months on Monday.
  • Apex is off on a cruise to the southern Caribbean for more than I week. Sue has promised pictures. I can’t wait to see them. He has such a great life with Sue.

A Basic Pup-date

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Zodiac curled up under my desk

Nothing major going on with the pups but plenty of little stuff. First off Zodiac is part of a three-way puppy swap this weekend. He has gone with Stacey. She is a Jr. High Drama teacher and I wanted him to get some practice being around animated kids and clapping more. He can easily get over excited by such things. Stacey’s puppy Trapper has gone with Karen so he can experience what it is like on a college campus. We have Karen’s pup, Nairobi with us for the weekend. He was transferred to Karen about a month ago and he has made great progress under her care. Nairobi has a good personality and responds well to commands.

Nairobi

I was hoping that Yakira would show up on the phase report this week but she still isn’t there. A couple of weeks ago a fellow puppy raiser was on campus for a graduation and took a picture of the kennel assignments in the kennel kitchen and sent it to me. It was so nice of her to do that. I love getting any bit of info on her. None of the other pups in her kennel have shown up on the phase report either. Next week for sure she will be their. Today Yakira turns 15 months old. It is probably good that it has taken a month for her to get into training. You don’t want them too young when they graduate.

Yakira’s kennel assignment on November 3rd

We will get Zodiac back on Monday at puppy class. Beacon will come home with us that night too. His raiser is going out-of-town for Thanksgiving so Beacon will be with us until Friday. One of the good things about having only one puppy in training is that we are available to puppy sit for other raisers when needed.

News on Yakira in Oregon

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Yakira at the top of our stairs with Zodiac in the background

We got word this week that Yakira is being spayed and will start training to be a guide dog when she has recovered. So, while I’m a little sad that she isn’t going to be a momma dog and we won’t be raising one of her puppies, I’m excited to have weekly update on the phase report. I know she could make a wonderful guide dog, as long as that is what she wants. Here is hoping that we have another graduation to go to in Oregon, probably around the first part of the year.

Good-bye to Yakira

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last group photo with me, Zodiac and Yakira

We got up at 5 a.m. on Monday morning to get Yakira to the puppy truck on time. The drop off spot is about an hour from our home and they leave the first thing in the morning, after breakfast and walking the dogs already in their care. We like to get there early enough to help the puppy truck drivers walk the dogs. It seems to help make the process of sending off a puppy a little easier. There is a nice little walking path by the hotel where the puppy truck stops for the night.

Bill saying his last good-bye to Yakira

After all the dogs were walked it was time for all the new recall dogs to get on the truck. There were three dogs that morning and we went first. The puppy truck has two tiers of kennels and Yakira ended up on the top row. She got a large dog biscuit upon getting in to help make the kennel a more positive place. We said our last good-byes and took the last photos. The puppy truck drivers patient all the raisers. No one is rushed but no one takes unfair advantage of the situation either.

The puppy truck stopped Monday evening in Meridian, Idaho and finished the trip to Boring, Oregon and the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus there on Tuesday. We don’t expect to have any news on Yakira for a while. I think at this stage if we get news too quickly it probably won’t be good. Casey was dropped from breeder evals in just a couple of weeks. Banta was in breeder evals for months. We got some news after about a month and a half that she was in the last stages of breeder evaluations.

We all miss our sweet and gentle Yakira. But Zodiac is taking it harder than I expected. We are puppy sitting a four-month old yellow lab named Tim. I thought that would be enough to keep Zodiac from being too sad but it has worked. There is a sadness in his eyes and he doesn’t have much interest in many of the things that usually attract his attention. It seems the bond between Yakira and Zodiac was even stronger than we knew.

50 for 50 #40 – Have a Party

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Party Table

When I made my idea list at the first of the year of things I thought would be fun to do to celebrate my 50th year, one of them was having a party. We have the tradition of having a farewell party for each of our puppies in training before the return to Guide Dogs for the Blind for the next stage of their training. Today it was Yakira’s turn to be the guest of honor. It isn’t anything fancy just a chance for our friends, neighbors and family to say good-by to the puppy. It is kind of a thank you for the little things they do in helping us raise successful guide dogs. For many people it is the first time they have seen the dog “out of jacket” and how they behave at home. At Apex’s party many people comment on how much like a regular dog he was at home.

voting for official portrait

We have a few treats and it is just a time to relax and enjoy each others company. I think the party helps me to mentally and emotionally prepare for the puppy to leave us. For Yakira’s party we had everyone vote for their favorite photo to be used for Yakira’s official portrait on our puppy portrait wall. We also had a card for everyone to sign. I’ll keep the card up somewhere until Yakira finds her next place in life, either as a breeder, a guide dog or in another career. Bill made cookies and caramel (these were a huge hit) and we had Scooby snacks and popcorn.

Yakira’s card

We also had a couple of Yakira’s good friends come to the party. Clifford (my sister’s career change dog) was here the party and Osaka (a fellow puppy in training) came to say good-by too. The four pups had lots of fun together. I have a celebration bandana that Yakira wore as the guest of honor (and so that visitors would have an easier time keeping track of who was who). With three black labs in the house it was quiet the party. The only treats for the dogs were bowls of ice cubes, given out at regular intervals.

Yakira, Clifford and Zodiac playing

It was a fun evening and both Yakira and Zodiac are exhausted. For that matter so are us humans. We have an early start tomorrow to get Yakira to the truck in the morning so I’ll wrap this up now.

Lasts

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Yakira – photo by Lisa Thompson

This week has been one of lasts. The last walk around the neighborhood with Yakira. The last puppy class. The last time to the local grocery store. The last time to work with Bill. The last time to go to church. Last sleepover. Last time having a lunch date with Bill.Then there are all the lasts that I didn’t realize were lasts when we did them. She has been so many places with us over the last year. Tomorrow marks one year since we first saw Yakira.

Yakira – October 13, 2011

Sometimes I get very sentimental and a bit sad but at the same time I’m excited to see what Yakira’s future will bring. We are having a farewell party for her on Sunday evening. Then we put her on the truck early Monday morning. This is all part of the puppy raising process. The good and the bad. So proud of the dog she has grown up to be. But also seeing her weaknesses and hoping that the change of environment and stress of this transition doesn’t bring out those weaknesses and make them a deal breaker. But also knowing that if they do, then being a breeder or a guide dog isn’t what is best for her future. So that is the last of the sappy stuff about Yakira being recalled to Guide Dogs for the Blind.