Nerice's Graduation and Upcoming Jelly Belly Event

Last weekend, Don and I went to Guide Dogs to watch a dog from our club, Nerice, graduate. It was a great graduation; the speeches were all so nice and I loved seeing Nerice walk with her new partner. I got to puppysit Nerice a long time ago, before I had Don, and she was so sweet. She'd sleep and sleep, and walked so nicely on a loose leash. I remember a couple months ago at a meeting, our leader asked her raisers if they were having any troubles with her and they said, She sleeps too much! I wouldn't mind having a pup with that problem :)

Above is Nerice, her new partner, and her puppy raisers up on the stage. I don't know if you can see Nerice, she is sort of hidden behind the rail, but she looked so grown up in her harness!

Don was very excited to sit next to his Guide Dog pals Silky, Primrose, Honeydew, Sherman, and Quebec. Here he is, looking at Silky. Don got to spend a couple of days with Silky- they are the best of friends and are so cute when they say hi to each other!

Afterwards, we all went over to the GDB play yards- they are awesome! Don got to play with Primrose (who's a little older than Don) and Silky. Here is Don putting his paw on Silky, while Primrose runs off to find a bone.

Don panting after running, and running, and running!!! I love how his forehead is almost always wrinkly :)

Primrose. Isn't she cute? I love that look on her face, hey, look at my bone. She found it in the grass and was so pleased with herself. Primrose is such a sweet girl. She didn't seem very excited about playing with Don and Silky, she was content to chew her bone in peace :)

Above, Silky shows Don a rope that she found. They had a fun time stealing each other's toys.

CHARGE! Don and Silky run into each other and play.

I've been working on a website for my puppy club. I needed a picture for the "Links" page, so I took this one of Don on my laptop.

He makes a very cute business-dog, don't you think?

Don sits for the camera before we head out on an outing to the farmers market. I love his big, wrinkly eyebrows... he always looks worried though. Don had a fun time today, we walked around the farmers market (which was a great training experience with all the food and kids). Then, we walked around San Rafael- and even saw a couple of guide dogs in formal training!

I'm so excited for the Guide Dog Jelly Belly FunDay tomorrow. It is being hosted by the Solano County Puppy Raisers, and there will be free factory tours, a puppy wading pool, pictures of your pup with Mr. Jelly Belly (!!!), and best of all, free samples :) It's from 9:30 to 3:30 at Jelly Belly in Fairfield. If you're on facebook, there is more info on their page. Is anyone going?

Yum...

I'll be taking lots of photos to put on my blog!

Awesome Green Leash Giveaway!

Megan is doing another green leash giveaway- yay! Her blog is about her guide dog in training, Picassa. These leashes look so cool- they are service dog type leashes and braided for extra strength. Also, they can adjust to two different lengths.

Don't they look great? And, she'll even make one for you in other colors- blue, red, green, or black. So, go check it out!!

Em-Bark-Adero- Guide Dogs Galore!

Guide Dog's Em-Bark-Adero event was great! I got to meet lots of puppies, guide dogs, volunteers, alumni, and I got the chance to talk to people about puppy raising. The traffic getting into the city was pretty bad, and we had the hardest time figuring out the new electronic parking meters, but we eventually got there. By this time, I was SO excited. It was sort of like a mini Fun Day— and there were 7 1/2 week old puppies!!!

We got to the Epic Roasthouse, and it was already crowded. It seemed like most of the people were Guide Dog alumni or volunteers. Don and I walked around all the dogs- it was really good practice for him. For some reason, he is barely distracted by GDB dogs. Probably because most of them weren't interested in him... Don and I mingled with the crowd, looking for someone to explain the puppy raising program to. Later on, people started coming in. I talked to this one lady, who asked me when I would get to sell Don to a blind person (???) So, I spent quite awhile explain the whole program to her, and how Guide Dogs gives clients their dogs free of charge :)

Don and I said hello to Primrose (14 1/2 mo.) and Pantene (5 mo) who are in our puppy club. Both are such sweet girls!

Then, I got to see Mars again! When I was dropping Don off at the kennels the other day, I saw 8 wk old Mars and his new raiser. He is such a cutie- look at that sweet little face and big black nose :) Above, Pantene says hi to Mars while Don and Primrose look on.

Then it was Don's turn to meet baby Mars. Don was a very good boy- no play bowing or pulling!

This handsome boy is Quebec (don't you love his name?). He's only 7 months old, and almost bigger than Don! His feet are giant and he's got this really cute pink spot under his nose.

The restaurant was located right by the bay bridge, next to the water. My brother took this nice photo of Don by the bridge.

Don and I enjoyed talking to a very nice lady and her guide dog, Donna. Don got to meet Donna :) It was so cool watching Donna guide her partner through the VERY crowded event. It was fun talking to her about her guides and the training she does with them on a daily basis.

Here is a close up of Donna- out of harness. She's a really pretty girl!

Every half hour they had a clicker training/guidework demo. This was really neat to watch! Above is the guide dog in formal training they were working with. She did a great job stopping at the fences and walking in a perfect straight line. It was amazing how she'd follow a line, then detour around and object and go right back to the line she was walking on.

My leader was the lucky one who got to hang out with the puppies :) I think they were the highlight of the event- everyone wanted their picture taken with one. They were "J" puppies- I can only remember two names, Jaguar and Jeanette.

This is Sherman, the only golden in our club. He is 3/4 golden and his parents were CCI's Alijah and GDB's Brazil. I just found out he is Butler's brother (if you follow the Raising Miracles blog). He looks nothing like Butler.

Above is one of the puppies who were playing in the x-pen. She was really tired by the end of the day- and fell asleep in my leader's arms.

"J" puppy meets golden retriever Jingle. CUTE!

Next, I said hi to Ricki from Growing Up Guide Pup. I love her pink gentle leader :) I had never followed the series before, but she was handing out cards about the videos. I watched one the other day and it was great!! I couldn't believe what I had been missing!

I'm not sure who this guide dog is (possibly Bamboo) but I love this picture with the little kid saying hello.

The next training demo showed how Guide Dogs uses clicker training. The trainer was showing the dog how to "Find the Chair". I couldn't believe it- after only a couple times he had the command down! And he hadn't even been introduced to it before! It was really cool- the dog would race to the chair and tap it with his noise. It was funny because all the working Guide Dogs started perking their ears up and even drooling. Even Don seemed interested- I think he'll do well with the clicker :)

Above, Quebec watches the clicker training demo.

Afterwards, we met an amazing guide dog and his amazing partner- golden retriever Will and "M". You may have seen them at a Guide Dogs event before as he is on the speakers bureau. They are such a great pair- and you can just tell that they love each other so much!

Don said hello to Will and "M". Will's harness was taken off and he got to greet everyone. He is one of the happiest dogs I have ever seen. He's pretty old- 8 years. His partner talked about how Will loves to guide, and that when he retires he will join his family and other retired guide dog, Fantom.

When Will's partner said "harness" will walked right into his harness, his tail went down, and he went right to work. He also knew how to "scoot his but" and sat right behind his partner.

It was so amazing to see the special bond between the two of them. Above, Will jumps up and gives his partner a big hug, with a happy smile on his face.

This is what makes puppy raising so worthwhile!

A post about Nerice's graduation and a playdate with Silky and Primrose to come!

A Year Ago Today...

I picked up "Mr. D" from the GDB kennels. I remember walking into the kennel kitchen, seeing the bag with "Don" written on it, and being handed my first puppy. I could only hold him for a few minutes before I was overtaken by his weight. Today, Don is now 14 months (and 68 lbs!). I swear, this pup doesn't stop growing! At every puppy meeting, people see Don and say, "hey- I didn't think you could get any BIGGER!"

Looking back at the year we've spent together, Don has improved in so many ways. From the headstrong "Mr. Beasty" who'd mouth and mouth away- to the well traveled "big boy" who is so calm on outings, reliable anywhere we go, and a lot better with distractions, Don has definitely matured. But, he will always be Don. Yes, he still isn't that big on affection, and on the occasion decides stealing something would be great fun (but now he drops it when I saw "no")

Today, the official 1 year mark that I have had Don, we went on an outing downtown and Don's accomplishments were so evident. I love how he watches me so carefully, matching my pace exactly. And he's still as confident as ever! Little phases him, even the noisy train that zoomed past us today. We're definitely getting somewhere with all our dog distraction practice, I can tell Don is trying his hardest to look away from the dogs.

Below are some "baby" pictures:

He's begun to show affection in his own "Don" way: resting his head on my lap, giving me "kisses" and doing his "happy ears" when I come home.
In honor of today, a couple of things I love about Don:

1. The adorable little grunting noises he makes in his sleep

2. His size!

3. His sense of adventure- how he's always ready to get outside and GO!

4. His handsome face and coloring

5. How smart he is- I accidentally taught him the word breakfast and dinner; he's also learned to recognize the sounds of our prius beeping and looks around for my mom when he hears it, even if it's not our car :)

6. How fast he charges towards me when he hears the word "come"

7. How excited he gets when he finds someone is hide and go seek or when I bring out his jollyball

8. He is so NOT a morning pup- he wakes up at 11 a.m.- and even then he'd rather stay curled up on his bed. Also, he always stretches 3 times before walking upstairs.

9. His big smile!

Below is me holding Don one morning last year, getting ready to take him out to go potty.

Me: "good morning, Don." Don: grunt, grunt, grrroan (these noises are so cute) This is how Don looks every morning- eyes half closed and curled up into a really tight ball in the back of his cage. [below]: stretching 3 times is a must for Don in the morning!

Who knows where Don will go in the future- whether it be guide, pet, or some other career! Don has improved so greatly, and that's what matters most!

Love you, big boy!

Summer vacation and Fun for Don!

I've just returned from a long trip to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone in Wyoming. It was beautiful- the mountains, wildlife, and lakes were AMAZING! Don couldn't come as puppies in training have to stay within the puppy raising states, so he went to the GDB kennels and the puppysitters. Don is always very happy to go to the puppy sitters- he loves it! He enjoys hanging out with his pal Silky and getting to play, play, play. The Saturday before I left, there was a puppy meeting. A member of the training department came to talk with us and tell us about the different phases. It was really helpful and she talked about everything- from what we can do to prepare our dogs best for training to how GDB matches the dogs. We decided Don would do best with someone who works in a busy city and travels- A LOT :)

Aren't the mountains beautiful? That's Jackson lake below it.

One of the days we went for a hike up Cascade Canyon. You can see Jenny lake and all this wildlife- I saw a moose, marmots, and pikas!

This picture was taken along the North Fork of Cascade Creek, looking back upon the snow-topped Grand Teton mountain range.

I went wading in Leigh Lake (above). Brrr... it was so cold!

We saw this young male moose . . . in the town of Moose! Pretty cool name for a city :) It was lying down right on the sandbar of the Snake River. It was really lazy and didn't want to get up, and kept stretching its neck, trying to eat. The guy next to me (who acted like he was an expert in moose) started telling everyone it was hurt and that a park ranger would come and shoot it (???) so it was pretty funny when it stood up and trotted off.

They are incredibly big! He had really adorable, fuzzy antlers. I've decided that Don looks a lot like a moose.

. . . or maybe even a bison :)

Don got a great report from the puppysitters. He got to go to the club meeting at a marina, and got to board a couple boats. Don and I are SO excited for this week as we will be attending GDB's Em-Bark-Adero event in San Francisco. Its a public event at Epic Roasthouse to raise awareness for Guide Dogs. I'm looking forward to meeting other puppies in training and working guide dogs. Is anyone going? Also, Don (Mr. December) and I are going to help sell GDB's 2011 calendars. I just got mine the other day- it looks great! It was really cool seeing all the puppies I know from blogs.

Below are the pictures from "puppy playtime" before the meeting.

Hey guys, can I join in the fun? Look at me- I'm in the middle!

[Don plays a game of 3-way tug with his pal yellow lab Stefano and BFF black lab Silky]

(pant, pant, pant) that was fun!!

sniff, sniff, sniff... so many doggie smells!

[black lab Desta and her golden friend join in the fun]

I leave you with this photo of extreme cuteness: two chipmunks I saw at Old Faithful in Yellowstone.

Aren't they adorable?

Only 20 more days till Fun Day!!!!