Banta’s Book – Balance

Posted on May 31, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

Balance: a state of bodily equilibrium

Banta is such the little athlete. Many times she reminds me of a gymnast turning in mid air and landing 180 degrees from where she started. Some times she even makes a little pre-jump move that looks just like she is getting ready to do a tumbling run.

One day Banta did a hand stand when she slipped off the stairs and got stuck between some boxes and furniture. I will always remember the day when she was still a young puppy. I told her to sit and instead of sitting she did a little 360 spin maneuver. It was so cute that I had to laugh when I should have been correcting her behavior.

[photo 1: Banta standing at the bottom of our stair in by the open front door with a tug rope at her feet, photo 2: close-up of Banta just starting down the stairs, photo 3: side view of Banta in our family room – she has been playing tug and just lost her grip on the toy]

Banta’s Book – Title page

Posted on May 30, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

Banta: GDB Puppy #2
Female Yellow Lab
Born: 26 July 2009 to Jenkins & Sunrise, San Rafael, California
Raised: 23 September 2009 to 3 November 2010 by Bill & Raelyn

[photo: this photo was taken by Lisa Thompson in a studio setting with a white background in December 2009 – Banta’s head and shoulders from the side with her head facing the camera – she has a serious look on her face and wearing her puppy jacket]

Banta’s Book – Front Cover

Posted on May 29, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

When each of my pups finds there career in life I put together a book to remember their puppyhood. Over the next several days I will post a new part of Banta’s book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Banta: a lemon flavored Soda pop popular in India
[photo: close-up of Banta with a happy look on her face, her mouth open and some of her pink tongue showing]

Banta’s Graduation

Posted on May 28, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

Mark and Banta

Banta graduated as a guide dog today with her handler Mark. We had a chance to see Banta and meet Mark before the official handing off ceremony.

We arrived at the Guide dogs for the Blind campus at about 11:30 a.m. and gathered with the other puppy raisers in the dormitory day room. A little while later we were escorted to a sitting area down one of the wings of the dorm where Banta and Mark were sitting. Banta just looked at us for a few seconds as we approached while she processed who we were. You could just see her mind at work and when she realized who we were she got all excited and let loose with lots of hopping and jumping around. We spent several minutes just enjoying her antics. When Banta settled back down we had some time to get to know Mark and hear about how their training went. It seems that in the almost 7 months that Banta has been on campus she has gathered quite a fan club. Lots of people stopped by during class to say good-bye to Banta.

Mark said that Banta was everything he asked for in his next guide except for her size. He is accustomed to larger dogs but when the instructors asked what was the least important of his criteria for a guide he said size. Banta fit the rest of his requirements perfectly. He calls her “Little Bit” because she is only 20.5″ tall compare to 24″ with his previous guide. We are looking forward to hearing about how they develop as a team. And maybe next year we will plan a trip to Denver to see Banta again and see where she now calls home.

Banta In Class

Posted on May 17, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

Banta – photo by Jennilyn Proulx

The phone call came this evening that Banta is in class!!! We don’t know any details at this point. The official letter from Guide Dogs for the Blind will come next week. But Banta’s graduation is set for May 28th in San Rafael, California. Yeah Banta! You did it. Hopefully class will go smoothly and we will meet a happy pair at graduation. Today is my birthday so this news makes a wonderful present too!

Waffle Arrives!

Posted on May 12, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

Waffle, in Bill’s arms, just off the puppy truck

Puppy #4 arrived today at 1:00 p.m. and she has the cutest face. She is a nice temperament with enough confidence but not overly bold and dominate. Several people at the puppy truck said that we won the name lottery with Waffle. I think it seems to suit her just fine. We are looking forward to getting to know her and getting those first adjustments to house living under our belts. Sleeping through the night being one of those milestones.

Waffle a few minutes later

Phase 8

Posted on May 5, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

Banta with her favorite bone

Yeah!!! Banta is in the final phase of her training to be a guide dog. I’m so excited. There are never any guarantees at any stage that they will make it but this is a great sign that she has what it takes to be a guide dog. Now we just have to wait for the right handler to come to San Rafael then our Banta will be graduating!

Phase 8 – Final Testing, Finishing and Pre-Matching

Final Obedience Test
Final Blindfold Test
Final Building Test
Final Traffic Test

NOTE: Dogs that receive passing grades are deemed “Class Ready Guides.” These dogs are fully qualified and ready to be issued to a client.

“Finishing” Routes
Dogs work on relaxing residential or country routes, sidewalkless areas, and less difficult/ more straightforward routes for confidence building before class. Obedience responses are maintained and practiced in a variety of areas with a variety of handlers.
Practice with Less Experienced Handlers

NEW! Specialized Training
All dogs are introduced to hand and chair targeting. Instructors introduce pole targeting (for crosswalk buttons) on a few different routes.
If needed, select dogs may do custom work for identified clients (slower pace or fast pace, compromised balance — client who travels with a support cane, toed-out gait, etc.)

Pre Class Physicals (AKA: PCPs)
All class ready dogs receive pre-class vet physicals, which includes a height measurement at the withers (ground to shoulders).

Final Class Preparations

Dormitory exposure

Phase 7

Posted on April 28, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

Banta in her trademark “relaxed” sit

Banta is doing so good. We are excited about her progress in her training. Each week when the phase report comes I almost hold my breath until I get to her name and see that indeed she has moved on the the next level. Keep it up Banta!

Phase 7 – Advanced Training
Obedience and Distraction Training
Guidework Training
Advanced training includes work in both suburban and urban areas, and requires forward-looking decision-making (initiative).
These routes can consist of:

City traffic patterns
Difficult crossings
Difficult clearance situation
Areas with a challenging line
Animal distractions
Surface issues
Curb approach challenges
Pedestrian islands
Crowded sidewalks
Different pedestrian climate
Additional city bus exposure
Additional rapid transit ride exposure
Additional and multiple escalators
Rounded corners

Escalator Training Continues
Platform Training Continues
Overhead Obstacle Clearance Training

11 Months Old

Posted on April 23, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

Casey holding a GoughNuts stick and a Nylabone ring

Our sweet Casey is 11 months old today. She is growing up into a really good dog. We are amazed at how confident she has become since those early days. We went to Cabelas today and she actually paid attention to the taxidermy bear they have on display. She would stick her head through the railing to get as close a look as possible. Then she let out one of those deep low barks that means “don’t mess with me.” I gave her a correction for barking but it was rather funny. Since she is 11 months old lets see if I can come up with 11 things that I enjoy about Casey:

Calm – she is still the calmest dog we have raised or even puppy sat
Loves walks – I think all dogs love walks
Belly Girl – she loves to lay on her back with her belly to the sky
Chewer – since January she has become a very effective chewer (note the chewed off end of the GoughNuts stick in the photo)
Double toys – she loves to pick up two toys at once (see photo)
Chunky – we have been cutting back her food for several months now and I think she is finally slimming up a bit
Social – she is great at giving people just the right look to get them to interact with her
Gentle – she is amazing with little kids even babys
Tug – she plays tug in her own unique way – I call it virtual tug because we take turns letting each other win
Crazy – she has this wild and crazy side that she likes to show sometimes by tearing around the house – she especially likes to do this with Bill when he makes a little play faint at her
Caring – she is a natural at being a therapy dog and is sensitive to those who need some comfort

We are really enjoying raising Casey and look forward to see how she will mature in the next few months that we have her here. There is a puppy truck coming on May 13th and puppy #4 might be on that truck. We should find out in the next couple of weeks. I sure hope we can continue the trend and get a “D” puppy.

Phase 6

Posted on April 21, 2011 by tellingfamilytales

Banta

This phase was an extra week in coming. I’ve wondered what she might be having trouble with. Maybe body handling or distraction issues. I’ve also heard about some dogs with kennel cough. That would slow down her training too if she were sick. But whatever the delay our Banta has finally made it to phase 6. Way to go girl!

Phase 6 – Urban Challenges