Phase report!

Carrie is still in phase 0!

Phase 0 is usually the longest phase for the dogs and can last for a few weeks. 

Generally, they get all of their physical evaluations done in the first week (So hopefully, this means that Carrie has passed all of hers) and after that, they are waiting for a string and getting lots of free time and kennel enrichment. 

Hopefully by now she will also have a kennel mate!

I really hope she is being a good girl! She has only been gone now for a week and a half and I miss her so much!

Group's puppies:

Brayden is in phase 7!

Bev is in phase 7!

Ruby is in phase 3!

Ventana is in phase 3!

Wordless Wednesday

Partner and I are back from the beach! We have internet again! Yay!

Beach Bound!

Partner and I are on our way to the Beach! 

Phase Report!

Carrie showed up in phase 0 today! 

I was a little worried that she wouldn't be put directly on the phase reports as Guide Dogs is changing their system and some dogs won't be put into 0 right away.

Here is what she is doing in phase 0:

Phase 0: The Arrival Period

Health screening and kennel socialization

-She is getting her hips, eyes and heart checked

Walks on campus and playtime in an enclosed paddock

Doubling kennelmates that play well together

 Daily grooming  

Medication administration, as needed

Human and dog interactive play or cuddle sessions

Introduction to community run playtime

Kennel enrichment activities

Group's puppies:

Brayden is in phase 6!

Bev is in phase 6!

Ruby is in phase 2!

Ventana is in phase 2!

Wordless Wednesday: Bending the Rules...

I don't know how many other puppy raisers do this- I probably shouldn't be mentioning it on this blog haha- but every year, just before we turn in our puppies, we let them bend a rule or two just once. 

I thought it would be fun to share some photos of the rule Carrie got to bend! She got to have her first ever edible toy! Guide Dog puppies aren't supposed to have edible toys due to the fact that they can be dangerous and Guide Dogs pays for all the vet bills! So for Carrie's toy, we chose an Antler chew as they are less likely to splinter or chip- they are ground down slowly, and they contain beneficial ingredients such as calcium.  She was 100% supervised during her chew time and it was picked up when that time was over.

And oh goodness was she a happy girl! 

Here are about a million pictures of how happy she was: ;)  (To get the full effect, click on them to make them larger and scroll through that way!)

Hanalei Update!: Hanalei's Life

Today, Hanalei posted a wonderful album of pictures on her facebook!

 I thought I would share them!

(All descriptions are what she posted herself)

This is me trying to cute some coffee out of Caro at a midtown coffee shop. It didn't work. But I like that coffee shop because there are other dogs there too sometimes!!

 

This is me trying to make one of my favorite people feel better soon ♥ I really like to play with him!! 

This is my best dogfriend Maggie. I met her at Christmas and we had the best fun! So much Mom will never know.... Hehe :D

This is me being my adorable cute self! :D 

This is me being my adorable cute self! :D

This is me snuggling with Andy on the floor :) 

his is me just takin it easy at a River Cats game :)

This is me on my Memorial Day walk that Mom took me on. 

I like to curl up RIGHT next to Mommy because I love her :) 

This is me riding on lightrail with Mommy!! 

I love my red ball! :)

3 Things at 3 Months

A few days late but I wanted to wait until after Carrie was at Guide Dogs to post Partner's monthly post.  Partner is now the main focus of this blog and I am hoping that I will be able to keep up with posting now that I no longer feel like I am favoring one or the other- I always start to feel a little badly about certain things when I double up with puppies.

Anyways...

Here are a few things I have learned about Partner since I have had him:

1.  Partner is a Smart Cookie! In less than a few weeks, he had already learned his name, sit, wait, okay, come and is currently working on learning to ring a set of bells when he needs to go out. He had also learned how to open the dog food  containers- We will be replacing those ASAP!

2. Partner is a People Dog! Despite living in a house with 3 other pet dogs and a few Diabetic Alert Dogs who come in and out, Partner is not super interested in playing with them.  He likes to run around with them but his face doesn't light up when he sees the other dogs- as it does when he sees us. So far, he has much preferred to  play with his "mamma" than his "siblings". It will be interesting to see if he grows out of this or not.

3. Partner is Special. I feel so honored to have been asked to take Partner. My leader guesses that they chose the name Partner for him because he was the result of the partnership between the 3 schools. Due to the fact that he is from another school, Guide Dogs will be looking at him closely for breeding in order to expand their Golden Retriever breeding colony. I am hopeful that I can turn this little fluff-ball into a breeder- or at least guide!- worthy dog!

Gone.

This morning, we dropped Carrie off at the Guide Dog's campus in San Rafael, CA.

This past week has been nothing less than perfect- Carrie has been behaving wonderfully and we have spent these last few days doing a few really great outings and taking several long walks a day.  It was the perfect last week.

On Friday, our Guide Dog group had it's annual picnic- but this time, it was more like a party!  We got Carrie a cake:

And everyone brought enormous amounts of food! Everyone had a great time and I am so happy that Carrie's last puppy meeting was such a fun one!

That night Partner went home with one of our club's puppy-sitters so that we could give Carrie some one on one time.

We drove to San Rafael Saturday morning and checked into a hotel. We spent the day taking her on an amazing walk along the ocean and giving her some time to just be a dog before her formal training.

I bent the rules a little Saturday night by dragging the hotel mattress onto the ground and letting her sleep with me "on the bed"-Ssshhh!

This morning- after yet another walk by the ocean, we took Carrie back to the Guide Dogs campus. It wasn't as hard as I always expect it to be. I'm sad that my time with her is over and that she is leaving me but I also know that she is as ready as she is going to get to begin the next step in her life.  

I don't know how she will do in training- I never know- but I do know that she is probably having the time of her life right now! And I am so happy that it was her that they handed to me last summer.

I think that doing the internship at Guide Dogs last year has really opened my eyes to what goes on after we drop them off at the kennels. I know for sure now that each member of the kennel cares about the dogs and each decision is made with the dog's well-being in mind. 

I am so thankful to everyone involved in Guide Dogs and the other Service dog organizations. I am so proud to be able to call myself a Puppy Raiser.

Pupdates and a Recall Date

Oh my goodness I have been soo super busy! I am going to go ahead and put everything we have been doing into one long post so that I can get it out of the way and move onto new things!

Last time I posted, I introduced you to Partner!

Since then I have gotten to know him a little better and boy oh boy is he an easy puppy! 

The first night, I put him in the kennel all prepared to have to listen to him scream for at least a few minutes- but he didn't make a single peep! He just went to sleep! 

So I went to sleep too- fully expecting to be woken up a few times in the night to relieve his tiny bladder. But again- not a peep! I kept waking up in the middle of the night to make sure he was okay. I woke up at 2, 4, and 6AM and each time he would wake up and smile at me but he didn't cry so I let him stay in there.

Finally at 6:30, I got him up just because he was so cute.

The next day, I drove a few hours stay with Emily for a few days with both Carrie and Partner. We took Carrie and her puppy, Keith to Bass Pro Shop, the mall, and hiking. 

Carrie did really well everywhere we took her! At Bass Pro Shop, she met some taxidermied animals and saw some fish! She was interested in the animals but not fearful at all! It was great to be able to expose her to so many things there! 

She also had fun on the hike with Emily's dogs! They got to go to a river and splash around some which Carrie loved!

While we were there, my leader called. "Are you sitting down?" she asked.  Right then, I knew what she was going to say. Carrie got the June 9th recall date. I was pretty surprised. My leader had said before that they weren't going to call dogs back before they turned 15 months old so I wasn't expecting this. My leader told me that Celeste felt that even though she is younger than 15 months, Carrie is more mature than the dogs older than her right now which means that she is going back.

I'm really proud of her and I hope she does well in formal training but I am going to miss her so much!