Back to Blogging?

I have been debating whether or not I want to get back to blogging for the last several weeks. 

I started this blog in the hopes that I would take more pictures and keep better track of all of the wonderful times I have had raising these puppies but somewhere down the line I got lazy and stopped posting!

Now, of course, I am mad at myself because I have so few pictures and written memories to look back on from Partner's early life with me.

So now I have decided that I want to try get back to posting for my own personal reference.

So for starters....

Carrie graduated way back in November and moved to Colorado with her amazing handler :)

Unfortunately, shortly after arriving in CO it was discovered that she had a torn ACL. They think it happened during her training- somewhere in between her original health evaluation in the beginning of her training and being placed with her new handler.
So just after becoming an official Guide Dog, Carrie had to undergo surgery for her torn ACL and a few months of bed rest.
Luckily she is now fully recovered and back to guiding!


Partner just celebrated his first birthday a little over a month ago!

He is a wonderful dog! He's about 65lbs right now. 

He comes to college with me still and is coming to work with me.  

He still hasn't shown any fears at anything I have thrown his way so far which really surprised me. From everything everyone told me about raising the Goldens for GDB and getting a chance to work with a few of them myself before getting Partner, I was definitely expecting a dog whose confidence needed to be built up gradually.  Instead I got a sturdy puppy whose over-confidence is actually what we are working on.

Partner has so many amazing qualities! I trust him home alone more than I did with any of my other puppies. There have been a few days where it hasn't been possible for me to take him and he is stuck at home for up to 8 hours alone.  I have never come home to any messes and he has always just been laying near the door waiting for us to get home.

He walks well on a leash, is relaxed and easy-going in public, can sit still for long periods of time and still has the get-up-and-go to be happy when it is time to start moving again. He is a little bit dog distracted but is correctable and can be redirected.

He really is an incredible dog and I am so happy that I have been able to work with him! 

As his recall date nears, I realize that I really only have one major issue to work on with him: Barking. Partner's only real issue that I see (Occasionally dogs get Career Changed for reasons that their raisers didn't even realize was an issue) is that he has some separation anxiety. The strange thing about it is that it is inconsistent; sometimes he barks immediately after you leave him locked in a room or kennel and sometimes he is completely fine.

I have started bringing him to work and instead of letting him play with my coworker's dog in a separate large outdoor run, I have begun locking him in a kennel. Sometimes he barks and sometimes he doesn't... I'm hopeful that a few weeks of being in a dog kennel while I'm working will prepare him for when he does go back to GDB for his formal training.

Within the next 1-3 months we will get a recall letter letting us know when to bring him down to Guide Dogs.  He is still on breeder watch so he will more than likely go through breeder evaluations upon his arrival. 

For now, I am just trying to spend as much time with his as possible! I can't believe he is already almost 14 months old!

Catching up

So, it has been a few months since I have updated you on Mr. Partner.

I need to fix that!

Basically, he is amazing!

He has been coming to college with me since the beginning of the semester and has recently started coming with me to my work- I work at a dog kennel and he is learning to stay calmly in a dog run.

He is still as confident as any of the Labs I have raised- something I have heard is rare with the Goldens.

We are working on loose leash walking still- he doesn't drag me but I would appreciate a "J" in the leash.

If I am focused on him 100%, he walks like a perfect angel, but if I am busy with something else he likes to pull. 

Just another fun part of puppy raising! 

I really can't believe this kid is already 8 months old! How did that happen?

At his 6 month evaluation, our CFR said that she loved his mellow and easygoing personality. She took him off on a walk and came back with tons of praise! She was actually so impressed with him that she took some pictures to send to the breeding department haha!

I would say that for an 8 month old puppy he is extremely well behaved! I can already leave him alone in the house for an hour or two and he has spent several nights loose in my room without any damage- so far! 

He hasn't really hit puberty yet so I suppose I should hold my praise!

Partner's First Week of College

I was one proud Mamma last week! 

Partner made it through his first week of college classes!

He did incredibly well! 

He slept through all of my classes and had no trouble hopping up and going to the next one with a simple "Partner, let's go"

There were a few incidents where he was a little... errr... gassy 

Haha.

I have to choose my seating with that in mind-which I haven't had to do for a puppy before.  I have never noticed this about Partner previously so I am hoping that it was just the changes that caused it and it goes away for next week.

Other than that he was so super good! He likes school and trots around campus smiling at everyone we pass.  

I must say, I am pleasantly surprised by the difference in maturity level of the college students.  In High School I was used to getting several inappropriate jokes directed at the dogs on a daily basis but haven't received any so far.

 I got several compliments on how well-behaved he is and my teachers all like him

I can't wait to take him back next week!  

Good Boy Buddy!

**Carrie Update**

Carrie is still in phase 7 this week.  Again, I'm not sure if this is her trainer failing to update Carrie's paperwork (for the zillionth time) or if it is something that Carrie needs to work on that is keeping her in the phases.

Hopefully if it is something she needs to work on she can get through it! 

So hard not hearing about them...

Love you girly.

Bad, Bad Blogger!

I want to take a moment to apologize for the lack of updates to my poor blog! 

I really have no excuse other than laziness but with school starting on Monday, I am hoping that I will be able to get back into a routine.

I'm not really going to try to play catch up- Partner and I have been SO extremely busy that there would be endless posts!

All I will say is that Partner has been dragged with me everywhere and has handled everything extremely well! 

He is over 5 months old now and I am beginning to expect more from him. He will begin college classes with me soon (I don't think I will take him the first few days just so I can give my teachers a heads-up  that a dog will be coming to class) and has already been to a high school class with my sister! I was told that he did very well and slept the whole time (2 hrs) so hopefully he will behave himself in my classes!

Miss Carrie has been moving through her phases at an awkward and frustrating pace!

Generally, the dogs are in each phase for a week. 

My silly girl, decided that she would stay in phase 2 for 3 weeks and then jump all the way to phase 5! Now she has been stuck in 5 for 3 weeks! Ugh! Haha. 

Hopefully this Thursday, there will be a higher number on her report and whatever is keeping her in phase 5 is something she can work through!

Thanks for reading! 

Crossing my fingers hoping I will remember to blog more often!

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?