Friday, March 30, 2012

Flu Bug...

So, pretty much everyone in our house has been sick recently!

My sister has had bronchitis and me, my dad and mom have all had pneumonia.  And THEN poor Carrie got the Flu!

I didn't even know dogs could get the flu but 3 other dogs from our group have gotten it.

She stopped eating on Wednesday and when Carrie stops eating you know something's wrong.  A few hours after she skipped breakfast, she started throwing up.
I let her take the day off of school and hoped that she would feel better later.

Unfortunately, she didn't get better right away.  She didn't eat for another day and ended up getting diarrhea as well :(

Poor baby.

But I am happy to say that today, she was completely back to normal! Yay!

She even got to come to the guide dog meeting this afternoon (My leader assured me that she was no longer contagious).  Here are some pictures:

Carrie's first day back at school

Carrie and Career Change Douglas

Pretty Girl :)

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Food Refusal!

So... I have been a bad blogger :/
But that doesn't meen I haven't been a good puppy raiser! Carrie and I have been doing all sorts of fun things- some of them are more fun for me than her ;)

Lately, we have been working on food refusal.  Food refusal is an important part of a guide dog puppy's job.  If Carrie makes it as a guide, she will have to ignore the constant food distractions in order to focus on her job.

I first started working on this with her when she was really small. Up until recently, I haven't tried anything other than her dog food and any food that we happen to walk past at the high school.

Now that I have been focusing on it, I am having a lot of fun! She is just soo good at it!  She sits still while I arrange the food and then just stays while I reward her every once and a while.
Here she is refusing her food...
And here she is ignoring some french fries...
A little blurry but here she is refusing a cracker that is being offered to her by my mom
I haven't tried anything more enticing than the frenchfries but I am hoping to be able to get her up to hotdog.
Think she can do it?

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Club Updates

Yesterday during our guide dog meeting, the older dogs were evaluated by our CFR. 

Carrie just barely missed the cut- she took all the dogs over a year and since Carrie was exactly a year, she will have to wait until next time.

During evaluations, our CFR takes the dogs and walks them around.  She looks at how they react to different situations and how they respond to food rewards and collar corrections.  She also looks over their general personality- whether or not they are excitable, timid etc.

Yesterday, our CFR decided that Brayden, an adorable male yellow lab, would most likely be going in for formal training in May.  The family that is raising him actually picked up a new puppy, Ashland a few weeks ago and I am so happy they have decided to raise again. They have done a great job with Brayden.
New puppy Ashland
 It was also determined that my friend's dog, Aggie, would not go on in the Guide Dog program.  Unfortunately when she got excited around other dogs she would become very vocal and make a growling/barking noise.  It really wasn't an aggressive noise- it was just how she expressed her excitement. But to the public, it sounds aggressive.
I'm sad that she won't be coming to meetings anymore.  She was one of the puppies that came at the same time as Carrie and she is really a super sweet dog and that was pretty much her only problem.
Pretty Aggie
Ventana who is being raised by one of my favorite teacher's parents did well during her evaluation.  The biggest thing she needs to work on is getting her on a potty schedule. Some people are surprised to find out that relieving issues are actually one of the most common reasons for Career Change. 
I really hope that she can get herself on a schedule because she is one of those dogs that loves to please people. She would make an amazing service dog because of how enthusiastic she is about working!
A picture of baby Ventana :)
Ruby had her evaluation as well.  All I can say is wow! Haha! She looked like she was having so much fun! I haven't really worked with Ruby because she doesn't come to meetings very often but when I did see her, she was always very calm.  Yesterday, she was so busy! It was adorable :). I think overall she did well.  I wasn't really paying attention because I started working Carrie but from what I heard all she has to work on is being crated.

Last, but not least, was Bev! Oh goodness I love Bev so much! I didn't get to watch her evaluation because my leader asked me to demonstrate the "Go to Bed" command to the group (*Cough* Because Carrie's so good at it *Cough* haha) but I do know that she mostly just needs to work on building her confidence.

Overall, I think we have a great group! There are so many incredible puppy raisers and puppies and I love getting to know them all. I am excited for the "Puppy Rush" our group usually has in May due to the number of school kids who raise! :)

Friday, March 16, 2012

Birthday Girl!

Today was Carrie's Birthday!!
And boy oh boy did she have a big day!

Her birthday celebrations actually started yesterday.  She works at two places (The school and the hospital) so she got to have TWO parties!

We made a poster to put up at the hospital letting them know they could come get a cookie. Compliments of Carrie of course :)
Everyone loves Carrie at the hospital so when they heard that it was her birthday she was given lots of extra love.  One of my mom's friends took her out for a super long walk and made her wear her birthday hat (:

Then, today I took her to school and- even though it was dumping rain and she was wearing a rain coat instead of a party hat- all of the kids wished her happy birthday.


And THEN (as if that wasn't enough) we went to a puppy meeting and brought cake for everyone to share!

I can't believe she is a year! These past 10 months have gone by incredibly fast! I can't wait to see what is in store for her in the future- whatever it may be. But I must say, I am NOT ready for turn in! I love this dog sooo much!

Phase Report

Noe has been matched!
Harlene is in phase 8!
Weston is in phase 7!

Hanalei's Littermates:
Halette is off the phase reports this week. I really hope this means she has been matched

Other Peoples' Dogs:
If you have a dog that you would like me to post the phase report for please comment on this post with the puppy's name.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Phase Report

A little late but here it is...
Noe is still in phase 8
Harlene made it to phase 8!
Weston is in phase 6
Jamaica  will be placed by Guide Dogs

Hanalei's Littermates:
Halette is in phase 8 still.

Other Peoples' Dogs:
If you have a dog that you would like me to post the phase report for please comment on this post with the puppy's name.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: "Go to Bed"


Carrie practicing "Go to Bed". The kitty next to her is eating hot dog!


Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Pneumonia

So, since last Sunday, I have been feeling a bit under the weather.
It started with a fever and a cough.

I went to the doctors on Wednesday. They game me some antibiotics and sent me home.

5 days later I still felt pretty awful so I went in again on Monday.

Pneumonia. Fun...

So poor Carrie has to deal with being bored for another week because the doctor said no school for me.

Carrie came with me to both doctors appointments, though I forgot to take pictures. She did great both times despite the fact that she has to be going stir crazy- I know I am! 

Saturday, March 3, 2012

March Brings Thoughts of...

PUPPIES!!!

Is it too early to start thinking about that?

I always get my puppies in May so that they are mature enough to come to school with me in the Fall.

Since I get them in May, they are born in March! (Hence the reason I begin to let myself start thinking about a new little bundle of fur)

I actually submited my puppy application back in November. I requested a golden retriever but only time will tell if one will be available for me ;)

How about some baby pictures??

Young Carrie
Little Hanalei with mud on her  nose
Baby Tisha
Small-ish Fairfield (He was never really tiny)

Jamaica Update

Yesterday, we found out that Jamaica was career changed for "indescriminate relieving".

This basically means that she would not go on concrete when they asked her to and then would go later when she wasn't supposed to.

It's a bummer that she was career changed because she is such an amazing and well behaved dog. I had never puppysat her before but her raiser attends the same high school that I do and I have seen her around campus and at puppy meetings.
Jamaica the day she went back for formal training
Her raisers are unsure of whether or not they will be keeping her. I know that wherever she ends up she will be a happy girl :)

Friday, March 2, 2012

"Smart Bump"

I was looking through pictures on my phone and finally found one that shows Carrie's "Smart Bump"!

She is about 7 months in this picture
For some reason this bump is so hard to photograph! Her head has to be in the right position.

A while ago I got curious and googled "smart bump on dogs" and found this:

"Some people call them smart bumps or wisdom knots. Others call them Prominent Saggital Crests. They are bumps at the top of some dogs's heads and supposedly it is a sign of intelligence."

Other names include "Smart knot", "Knowledge Bump" or "Occiput" if we want to get scientific ;)

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Phase Report

Noe, poor thing, is still in phase 8 and has been now for over 3 months. I really hope that her perfect person is matched with her soon!
Harlene is in phase 7
Weston is in phase 5!
Jamaica  is off the phase reports today. I have to say I am shocked! I am hopeful that I will hear the reason tomorrow at my puppy meeting...

Hanalei's Littermates:
Halette is in phase 8. I really hope she finds her perfect person soon!

Other Peoples' Dogs:
If you have a dog that you would like me to post the phase report for please comment on this post with the puppy's name.