Tag Archives: Yakira

One Year Old – Yakira

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Yakira in the birthday bandana

This week marked Yakira’s first birthday. This is a big milestone in a puppies life. Now we switch her over to adult food. So I got out a bunch of small storage containers and measured out all the food for the next week so that she can make a smooth transition without any digestive upset. I like to do it this way instead of trying to keep track of how much of each food she is supposed to eat each day. Plus it makes it easier for Bill, who usually feeds the pups their breakfast. Usually we are also finishing off the last of the puppy food so then once it is all measured out I can tell when to actually start the transition and not end up with a bunch of puppy food to store until we get the next puppy. With Zodiac here I didn’t have to worry about that.

The other side of Yakira’s birthday is that her time with us is coming to a close. She will probably head back to guide dogs in two months. It could be longer depending on the timing of puppy trucks and what the needs of the breeding department is. Last year Casey’s return was delayed a couple of months because the breeding department had too many dogs to evaluate already that they didn’t want her yet. Yakira is a sweet and wonderful dog and she is “very well put together” as the CFR (Community Field Representative) put it when she evaluated her in July. Because of this she sent a note to breeding to keep an eye out for Yakira. That put together with her diverse lineage from outside of GDB, I’m guessing they would really like for her to be a breeder if she passes all the other tests.

So we have entered the final leg of raising Yakira. I’m sure the time for her to get on the truck will be here too soon. At the same time I always look forward to finding out what the future brings for our dear sweet Yakira. Plus in many ways I am looking forward to being a one dog household again.

The Revolving Puppy Door

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Yakira and Zodiac

There have been lots of coming and going of puppies in the last few weeks and more to come in the next few weeks. Zodiac has been on puppy sits two weekends in May because we went to Wood Badge. He also had two weekends in June. The first because he was too young to go with us to Casey’s graduation.

Parker at Rockaway Beach

Next my friend Lisa had a family reunion to go to. Her dog Parker needed to come to our house to be puppy sat because he had some anxiety issues and was most familiar with us and our house. Parker and Lisa went with us to Casey’s graduation. So Zodiac went to Karen’s and Parker came here. Instead of Parker going to Karen’s. Osaka, Karen’s dog was in season and her house isn’t approved for an in season female. Another puppy sitter could take Osaka for about a week but then had committed to puppy sit someone else dog. Yakira was still on house arrest from being in season herself and they don’t like us to have three puppies in training in the same household. So that meant that Zodiac had to go off again. That meant that we had Yakira and Parker for a few days.

Osaka

A few days later Parker went home and Yakira was cleared to socialize again, so Osaka came here and Yakira went to Karen’s and Zodiac came back home. Osaka was a good girl but she is a lab golden cross (mostly golden retriever) and she has that soft golden coat. Soon after we got her I noticed that she had mats behind her ears. She had been at another puppy sitters before we had her and they have a swimming pool. Osaka must have gotten the mats while there, maybe from getting wet in the swimming pool. Well I didn’t have a clue how to get the mats out. I tried but with no success. So Karen came back to our house toward the end of that week and brought some golden retriever type grooming tools. Plus she worked for quiet some time getting the mats out from behind Osaka’s ears. Goldens certainly need more grooming than labs. Well Karen was nice and let us keep Yakira for the weekend. We stretched the three puppy rule but it was fun to have her home. All three dogs got along very well together.

Finally we got Yakira back home early this week. We have had Zodiac for about two months and he had only gotten to go out and socialize with Yakira a couple of times. By the time he earned his jacket, Yakira was in season. Then she swapped with Osaka. I’ve really had to think hard to keep track of which dog I’m talking too. A couple of times I just couldn’t come up with the right name in a timely manner.

This next week we are headed off to Martin’s Cove for a short pioneer trek. We had originally planned to take the dogs with us but it is so hot that we decided it would be better not to have them there.  We will be home less than 48 hours before I head off for Girls Camp all the following week. Bill is helping out the first day so two more puppy sits are in the works. My friend Lisa’s dog Parker went back to Oregon for formal harness training yesterday so she will thankfully be available to puppy sit both dogs. Summer is crazy with puppy raisers going every which direction. She will take Yakira and Zodiac while we are in Martin’s Cove and then while Bill is helping us get up to Girls Camp. Then she will take Zodiac while I’m gone the rest of the week. That way Bill won’t have to come home from work in the middle of the day and a puppy won’t have to spend the whole day in the kennel.

That should take care of our puppy swapping around for a while. We want to take a trip to Colorado toward the end of the summer to visit Banta. But I think we should be able to take both puppies with us on that trip.

Puppy Photo Shoot

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Yakira and Zodiac by Lisa Thompson

A few weeks ago Lisa Thompson, did a photo shoot for the puppies in our club and this week I got a cd with the photos. She was our club leader until a couple of years ago and she has access to a photo studio through her job. So once or sometimes twice a year she invites the club to come and she and a friend of hers take wonderful pictures of our pups. I have a wall about our stairs where I hang the “official” portrait of each of our GDB puppies. All but Apex’s are from Lisa’s photo shoots. I have them printed on 10″ x 10″ canvas at Pixels, where she works with their name and the year they were born. I’m so excited to get Yakira’s and Zodiac’s images up on our wall.

Now I just need to pick which pictures to use. I’ve narrowed it down to these. I thought it would be fun to see if any of you have opinions of which image you like for their official portrait. Just comment and let me know what you think.

Yakira #1

Yakira #2

Yakira #3

Yakira #4

Zodiac #1

Zodiac #2

Zodiac #3

Z’s First Week

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Zodiac

What a difference a week can make! Zodiac has made so much progress in the past week. The first few days were really rough, especially on the relieving.  But the first few days Zodiac peed and poop more in the house than he did outside. One thing he catch on to really fast was peeing in the kennel. He only did that once.Zodiac is now fairly reliable at relieving when you take him outside. He only has a problem when he doesn’t get taken out often enough or gets more freedom than he is ready for.

Zodiac in an x-pen

I like to use x-pens with puppies. They are bigger than kennel so pups are more likely to have accidents in them and we have carpet downstairs so we have a piece of plexiglass that we put under the x-pen to help with clean-up. I hate to haul kennels up and down the stairs so we use x-pens downstairs where I spend most of my time during the day. I like the x-pens too because it restricts their activity but given them a bit of freedom. I know they can’t get into anything and I can step out of the room for a minute and not worry. When they are older we use the x-pens restrict their access to a room or area of the house. I took Zodiac out before I started this post and he relieved perfectly. Now I want to give him some freedom but not too much so I’ve blocked off the area around my desk. He enjoys have more space and I know where he is. With each puppy we have found more ways to use the x-pens. I’d really like to find a couple more panels.

Actually relieving covers most the challenges were are having with Zodiac. Which is really good. He does struggle with whining and barking but as long as you don’t reward it that stuff takes care of its self. The first few days its was whining. Then when that didn’t get him what he wanted he tried barking. He started to bark saying, “hurry up with my food, I’m starving”. Each day it gets better so no real worries there.

Zodiac and Yakira playing in the backyard

We are really pleased with Zodiac. I think that Yakira has been a good mentor and he is learning the rules quickly. He seems to have a good middle of the road temperament and his stubborn side has not been a problem. We are looking forward to raising him and seeing how he grows up. At this early stage it looks like he will be a great dog.

Girl Scouts

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Yakira and the Girl Scouts

On Thursday, Yakira and I went to talk with a Girl Scout group about service dogs. Yakira was a good girls, as usual and she had a fun time playing tug with the girls. We talked about the kinds of service dogs and the breeds of dogs that are most often used for service dogs. The girls asked a few questions but their leaders had lots more questions. I think some of the girls were a little shy. One of the girls took a photo of her and Yakira while Yakira was giving her a kisses. It was a good experience and we will probably get more opportunities like it in the future.

50 for 50 #19 – A New Puppy

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All four of us on Zodiac’s puppy day – photo by Lisa Monson

My plan was to get a new puppy in August but when the opportunity came to get a “Z” boy this past Friday I somehow couldn’t say no. So the 19th thing that I did to celebrate turning 50 years old is getting a new puppy.

Zodiac is a fun mix of stubbornness and adventurer, with a bit of unexpected caution thrown in. He is happiest when he gets some freedom to explore his surroundings. Most of his complaining has been about being kept from learning about his surroundings. I told you about his stubbornness in last Friday’s post introducing Zodiac. Then there is his fear of his food bowl. It is stainless steel and when Zodiac is about 3/4 of the way through eating he has a tendency to step on the edge of the bowl, which flips it. This scares him so he backs off from the bowl. It is funny to watch him. He wants to go back to his food but he doesn’t trust the bowl to stay put. It helps to understand that in the puppy kennels they eat from a doughnut-shaped dish that they can step into. If you we hold the bowl he comes back to finish his meal. Such a silly boy.

puppies from the Tito/Denisha litter – Guide Dogs for the Blind flickr site

The first few days with a new puppy are the hardest. The whole relieving outside is new to them and puppies don’t have a clue what you are trying to teach them. But it gets better quickly once they start to catch on. In the meantime, I am getting up several times a night and making lots of trips out during the day. And there are still more accidents to clean-up than it seems possible.

A really bright spot is how well Yakira and Zodiac are getting along. She is being a good mentor and learning to play to his level. They are so very cute together. What a fun way to celebrate turning 50!

Truck Ride

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Last Saturday we bought an old pick-up truck from my niece. Bill has always wanted a pick-up and the price was right and having a second vehicle will be very nice. On Sunday I had Bill go out with me in the truck to make sure I could deal with driving and parking the beast. It has an extended cab and a full length bed which make it very long. It is also wider than I’m use to and the turning radius isn’t very good. I did ok with everything but parking. I’ll just have to park out in the boondocks and then I’ll be fine.

Well today it was my turn to drive the truck and I had some errands to run so Yakira got her first time riding in the truck. With the cold we haven’t gotten the time to really clean the pick-up out. So I put a blanket down on the floor to help keep her from finding goodies on the floor. We had a little trouble at the first with her wanting to lean on my while I was driving but she improved quickly. I think she really like being up front with me and it was convenient to have her get in and out of the same door that I used. I’ll have to get a photo of the old grey truck and post it here later.

5 Months Old

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Yakira laying down by the kitty tower

Today Yakira reached what I call the age of accountability. She is no longer a baby and is much more capable of understanding the rules of her environment. She has grown up so much in the last month and a half. She is becoming such a good puppy and she rarely even mouths me anymore let a lone clamp her teeth down on me. Yakira is becoming a good cuddler, which I really love in my puppies. And her stocky little build or her babyhood is gone and she is much more lean and lanky looking. I’ve been letting her get away with a bit of cheating in the car when she puts her paws up on the console between the front seats. She doesn’t know it yet but her days of cheating are know over.

New Rug

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Yesterday I spotted a 8’x11′ area rug in greens while at a furniture store with my sister. It was only $300 and I thought it might work really well in our living room. After checking out the size for the room and showing Bill a photo we decided to go back and buy it. It was a great deal because the regular price was $1200! It took several hours of work to clear out the living room, give it a good vacuuming and then decide just how to place the rug. We ended up rearranging the furniture a bit to work better with the rug. Well about an hour after we got the room all back together I realized that I didn’t know where Yakira was. So I went to find her and there she was chewing on the new rug! She succeeded in pulling out about 1/2″ section of yarns on the edge of the rug. I can’t believe I wasn’t more careful. I knew thing in the room and a curious puppy are a bad combination. Just because she didn’t mess with the old rug didn’t mean the knew one would be the same. The spot doesn’t stand out too much but I’m really glad that it wasn’t a $1200 rug.

Note: Our cat loves the rug too. During the night he likes to pick a spot and knead it with his claws. In the process he snags little pieces of yarn and pulls them out. Not at all sure how long this rug is going to last with this kind of abuse.

Snow Troubles

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Yakira

We woke up to some snow this morning. Not much, maybe 1/2″ or so but it was cold enough that the drive way was covered for the first time this year. Well Yakira decided that when we went out to relieve she would rather eat snow than pee. Boy did I not handle it very well. I got impatient with her and we went back in without having any success. Well later in the morning while Yakira was playing with Bill she had an accident. So obviously she really did need to go when we went out and I should have been more patient. The newness of the snow meant that I needed to give her more time. We still had some struggles but we worked through it. She still likes to eat snow but I’m being more patient about it.