Friday, February 19, 2010

IWYPRS day and our day in S.F.


Don wanted to wish everyone a happy IWYPRS day! (International Wear Your Puppy Raising Shirt Day). Don was a good sport and modeled my "You See a Puppy, A Blind Person Sees the World" t-shirt. It didn't exactly fit him, but he looked cute with it on anyways.

To celebrate IWYPRS day, Don and I went for a nice, long walk along the bay and marshlands wearing our puppy raising attire. The t-shirt just wasn't working for Don, so he wore his Guide Dog In Training vest.

Don with the shirt that I got for Christmas. I found it here, on the Sidekicks for Sight puppy club website. We just got back from our walk. Don was really distracted today, I'm not sure why, but every sound and movement caught his attention. He was a lot worse with people than he usually is. The funny thing is, he completely ignores people on outings or when there are a lot of people, but on our walks he looses it when he sees a single person. Has anyone had this experience before? Yesterday, Don and I went with my mom into S.F. to do some training and get some city exposure in. We walked around a relatively busy street with outdoor markets and lots of shops. The buses, birds, sounds, food, smells, and yes, people, didn't phase Don at all. He walked so well, staying in the perfect heel position the entire time, stopping when I stopped, ignoring the children. He really is a city kind of guy! I think he do great as a guide in a busy downtown environment. Afterwards, we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant. Don did a lot of sniffing under the table, but then settled down. At the end of our day, I was super happy when Don relieved on command on cement. I know this doesn't sound like much, it probably sounds a little strange actually, but this is something I've been working on with Don for a long time now. I was very proud of my big boy!

Don sleeping in the car on the way home. Aren't outings exhausting, Don?

10 comments:

  1. Great shirt! Yeah, I know...sometimes a crowd is easier than just 1 person by themselves. Hang in there!

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  2. Yes, I have definitely seen the thing about being very distracted with one person, but not caring if there are many people.
    I think it's because of a term called flooding. Say in the city, where there are so many people, Don can't think about just one. Whereas if there is only one or two people showing up on his walk, he can focus fully on them, in other words be totally distracted.
    All the pups I have been with have done this to some extent, some of them alert barking, others, like Ellie, stare, but are able to look at me for a small treat.
    Sounds like he is doing really well in the city!

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  3. Oh Don! You are so super cute I want to just squish your face and kiss your nose! SO cute!

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  4. Cabana is the same way, too, about crowds vs one person. That's great that you took Don on the SF outing to expose him to the smells and sounds there. And good job on getting him to relieve on cement! Happy IWYPRS Day!

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  5. Why thank you, Cassie. I am one handsome guy and I sure do love posing for photos. My raiser says I have a bit of an ego, but hey, I can't help being so good-looking!
    ~Don

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  6. It sounds like everyone has had similar experiences with crowds vs one person. Good to know that its not an usual problem. I guess Don and I will have to mix up our outings with busy and quiet destinations.

    Looks like everybody is enjoying IWYPRS day! Can't wait till next year to do it again.

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  7. Love the shirt!
    Funny, I just took a picture of Toby wearing a guide dog t-shirt, before I read your post!
    Cute pictures,

    Toby's Raiser

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  8. Happy IWYPRS Day!!! Love the shirt! Mine have been especially distracted lately too. Especially Ellie and then Hos feeds off of that!

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  9. "What kinds of dogs do SEGD train?"

    They have just "retired" the Vizslas & Aussies (though the ones in training will finish).
    The breeds they will keep doing are Labs, Golden R, crosses of both, Smooth coat collies, & German Shepherds (they have JUST started the GS, and are only allowing them to be raised right near the school).
    I also think they might be mixing them with a different breed).

    Feel free to check out SEGDI's webpage about the breeds,

    Hugh (one of the IFT dogs that I posted I picture of on my blog), he was a lab or lab x. But sometimes they get 1 puppy out of some litters that have those brown markings.
    http://www.guidedogs.org/index.php?page=our-dogs

    Thanks!
    Toby's Raiser

    btw- I do agree, my blog does load quicker. I think it may be because I told it to only show 50 posts, instead of ALL posts... Yeah it took a while to load!

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