Recall, Breeder Evals and Waiting...

So, 3 weeks ago, I sent Partner back to San Rafael.

Since then... 

I have heard that he has been pulled for breeding pending his final medical exams!

This is great and hopefully means that he has passed all of his behavior tests and they are just waiting on the more extreme physical tests before passing him as a breeder.

Unfortunately... 

It will most likely be weeks before we hear anything more.

Oh well, no news is good news for now and I am crossing my fingers that he passes these last few tests because I am dying to raise one of his puppies!

Until then...

Puppy sitting!

Lots and lots of puppy sitting! So far, since Partner's recall I have gone only about 2 full days without a dog! It has been awesome working with some of the other dogs in our group and it's great to have something to keep me busy while I am waiting to hear about Partner.

Taos

Krista

Kingston

Recalled

The other day I received the news that Partner will be leaving me on July 21st.

I am going to miss him so much but I am really excited to see where he ends up! He is still unaltered and will go down as a potential breeder.  Because of this, I am waiting on getting my next puppy until I know for sure what he will be doing. If he does make it as breeder I am going to wait for one of his puppies! 

No matter what he ends up doing with his life, I know that someone is going to love him to pieces! He is SUCH a lovebug. 

Phase Report!

I wanted to share the good news with you all that this week Carrie has jumped to phase 7! 

I'm so so glad that she has finally moved out of phase 5! Hopefully either she worked through whatever was keeping her there or, as Ashley said, it is possible that her trainer has just been behind on her paperwork.

Carrie's sister Cavalia is in Phase 2

Her brother Chip is in phase 5

As for the rest of our club:

Loomis:

Was removed from breeder evaluations due to a littermate having a luxating patella. 

He has been altered and transferred to the Oregon campus.

He is in Phase 0.

Cameo:

Carrie's sister Cameo has been pulled for breeder! Yay! 

Their other sister Cammie has been pulled for breeder as well!

Spruce:

Spruce was removed from breeder watch due to 2 of his siblings being diagnosed with some form of dysplasia. He will be altered and placed into phase 0.

Ventana and Ruby are both graduating this weekend!

I am hopeful I will be able to attend- If I do, I will be sure to take pictures and post about how Partner does!

Phase Report!

This week Carrie is in phase 2!

By now, Carrie should have, for the most part, adjusted to life in the kennels.  She should be used to wearing and working in the harness.  The instructors are going to begin to allow her to make her own decisions when it comes to her guide work and correct any mistakes she makes.

They will begin to increase the difficulty of her distraction work and continue her pattern training!

Groups Dogs:
Bev is in phase 8!
Bradyen is in phase 8!
Ruby is in phase 5

Ventana is in phase 5!
Loomis will be recalled next weekend and is going in for breeder evals!

Cameo will be recalled next weekend and is going in for breeder evals!

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!

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!