Walking with the pack

We finally made it out to Well Balanced Dogs this morning. Unfortunately this is a pictureless post because it was rainy and not a good day for picture taking. I hope to make it out to WBD frequently so I'm sure I'll be able to show some pictures soon.

Ardella went out for an evaluation and we will start walking with the pack on a regular basis when we go out in the future. Lisa wanted to see how Ardella reacted to dogs that were sensitive to new dogs. We walked around in a large field and had Ardella on a long lead. Lyn and I were walking Ardella and Lisa let out about 4 dogs that all approached Ardella and sniffed and greeted and then went on their merry way. Ardella was fine with those dogs and she does greet dogs appropriately. Ardella started showing a little more anxiety when more interactive dogs were let out in the field. She kept her distance and stayed on the periphery of the pack, but towards the end started doing a little bit of play. Mostly she was cautious, and she didn't have the stress reactions she had on the guide dog campus.

We talked about dog body language, stress signals, how Lyn and I should react in a stressful situation. I asked about walking Ardella in suburban neighborhoods since we have to have her on a leash, and was told that I needed to project calm and assurance and control so that if a dog approached barking I just keep on walking. If I tighten up on the leash (because my insecurity is read by Ardella through tightening up on the leash) then the dog reads that I'm not in control. Most dogs approach another with an intent to play or to tell another dog that they control the territory of their homes. If Ardella shows fear, the dog senses she is weak or something is wrong with her and might attack. Also, not making eye contact with the dog and looking in another direction tells the dog I think he's an idiot and the "aggressive" dog will back off. So much of this is about body language and I'm determined more than ever to learn as much as I can about this.

One of the more playful puppies (about 10 months old) wanted to play with Ardella. She came up to Ardella and Ardella tucked her tail under her and was leaning away from the dog. Lisa started walking again and told us that the puppy was sensing Ardella was nervous and that the situation could have escalated into more aggressive activity if she hadn't moved on. Keeping the dogs moving helped diffuse a tense situation.

We talked a little about guide dogs being attacked - that it happened sometimes - and Lisa said that is a whole different dynamic. A guide dog leads and dogs interpret that as a weird situation. Dogs are used to people leading dogs so that when a dog who is loose in public sees a guide dog team they sense the handler is weak and not in control. I'm really curious what guide dog schools teach handlers about aggressive dog situations and how they teach dogs to handle situations like this. Do they teach dogs to go to the handler's side?

Obviously, it is any dog owner's responsibility to not let their dog loose, but since it happens - dogs escape, people are idiots about dog interactions, or any number of reasons that a dog is out and about unleashed in public - I think that I could be a much better puppy trainer if I know dog body language and if something about other dog aggression is covered in training. I really hope that students are taught something about this in class, too!

So, my lesson now is to not tense up when I see other dogs coming and if Ardella starts to tense up to keep walking and not give her any reassurance by stopping and soothing her. I'm to project calm and leadership. We'll also continue to walk with Lisa's pack and to give Ardella as many positive experiences with other dogs that we can. Agility starts next week and I think we're well on our way to helping Ardella with dogs in public settings.

It's yucky outside, so I'm going to spend the rest of the day knitting and being with Titan who is leaving us tonight or in the morning. I'm going to miss him, but I think he's ready to go home. He kept looking expectantly at cars that looked like his owners' car as we were walking down the street this morning. Tomorrow evening we get Gizmo for a couple of days and then Saul is going to come stay with us for a few days starting Friday. It's like a revolving door of dogs around here!

Birthday party!

We had a party for Ardella last night. Aidan and Titan were in attendance. Annalynn would have been invited if she had come home, but she's still in Boring. We didn't have party hats, but everyone wore a birthday bandana.

We had presents:



Cake from Howl at the Moon (all natural ingredients, just for dogs):



The cake was kind of hard, so it was a little crumbly, but here it is portioned out for the dogs - there's a blueberry from our summer garden on top:



Everyone sat nicely and waited while we sang happy birthday to Ardella:



Then they ate the cake:



Ardella opened her presents and all the dogs were excited and wanted to play with the new toys. Aidan liked the Monster food dispenser toy:



Titan liked the jute toy:



All in all, this was a fun birthday party. Next year I hope we can celebrate with sister Annalynn. We saved her a piece of cake and she'll get it when she finally comes home.

Happy birthday, Ardella

Happy birthday, Ardella (Annalynn, Avani, Adrina, Annamarie, Annabella, Alberta, Amos and Admiral)!

You sure have grown!



Good luck to Annabella, Alberta, Adrina, Amos and Admiral in your upcoming evaluations. It won't be long now!

New Grandpuppy

I have to show off my new grandpuppy. I'm not sure who this is yet, he hasn't been named, and he isn't mine. Keri and Ryan are moving into an apartment that allows dogs and they have wanted a dog for some time. Keri and Ryan really likes Lhasapoos and they found one this weekend. I went with them to pick out the puppy this afternoon and he passed a lot tests like coming immediately when prompted to, being very calm when picked up (he licked our chins, but not in an overly excited way), and he really doesn't mind being turned over and having his belly touched. He was the calmest of the 3 puppies in the litter, so we were told, and so Keri and Ryan bought him. Lhasapoos are considered to be hypoallergenic, meaning they don't shed, and are mild mannered dogs. He'll be a good apartment dog.

When Keri and Ryan first got him Keri told me they had been thinking of Sebastian as a name, but as the night went on Ryan wanted to name him Gizmo. Obviously, I prefer Sebastian, but he's not my dog, just my grandpuppy. I get to keep him tomorrow during the day while Ryan is substituting at a nearby school.

The dogs seemed very interested in him. He whined once and Ardella was on her feet running over to show some concern (a good sign!). So did Aidan and Titan, but Titan is off somewhere else in this picture and you can't see Aidan very well.



It's nice having access to a new puppy and one that goes home with someone else and that I don't have to get up with during the night. This has all the advantages of grandparenthood!

Halloween pumpkin

This was our measly little Halloween pumpkin for the year. Lyn carved a face and then stuck 2 well-chewed antlers for horns. I thought it was a creative use of the antlers. I had been trying to find a way to dress up Ardella as a unicorn with one of the horns, but never got around to actually doing anything about it. I like the pumpkin better.

I heard from the raiser of one of McCoy's litter mates today. McCoy is in the Auburn area and is in good hands with a co-raiser of her group. He's with this person temporarily until a permanent home can be found for McCoy. She assures me McCoy is doing well. I was so happy to hear this news!

Back in the spring when I went to Tallahassee I met a woman in a knitting store who had a guide dog. We talked about puppy raising and the fact that she had just completed the paperwork and evaluation to get a wheelchair guide from the Boring campus. I knew it would take awhile, but just last week got a forwarded letter from a club member in a nearby club that a woman from Florida had been placed with a wheelchair guide from their club. I found out it is the same person I met. She's coming out in December and wants me to take her to all the knitting stores in the area. I'm so excited. Names aren't forthcoming until I have permission to use them here. Guide Dogs is such a small world!

October 31 Graduation

Karren and I attended graduation at Guide Dogs today to see this handsome fellow graduate.



That's Peso. He had some awesome raisers and went to an awesome handler.

I was happy to talk to a few of my puppy club members, one in particular with whom I discussed co-raising a puppy. I would start, she would finish. I think this is an exciting possibility. We both have newly career changed dogs in our homes, but it's something we'd like to do in the near future.

Annalynn is in the kennels being treated for a UTI and waiting out her heat cycle. She should be spayed soon and then will be coming home to Karren. We went up to the kitchen to get some word on Annalynn and I checked the boards to see what dogs were in the kennels. I was especially interested in Kennel #3. Certain readers of this blog might be interested in this too:



One of the reasons I'm hopeful about getting another puppy to raise - either a transfer or co-raised puppy - is that we've been puppy sitting Titan, an almost 5-month-old golden retriever puppy for the trainer of our puppy group.



Titan is not a guide dog puppy, but is being raised by guide dog methods, just a little more relaxed. He's a great puppy to walk, is cool and calm when approached by other dogs, and he's the softest puppy I've ever felt. I'm hoping he sheds a little so I can spin his fur. I swear he's softer than cashmere! Anyway, he interacts nicely with Ardella and Aidan and that's why I'm thinking raising another puppy can be in future plans.

Titan is huge! He's almost 5 months and here he is beside Ardella who is 3 days away from her first birthday! They're the same height.

Rainy Dogwalk Friday

I got a taste of what dog walking is going to be like for the next 6 to 9 months! It was raining hard when I woke up this morning and drove to the humane society. There were 3 walkers - 1 person took the green pod and 2 of us did the orange pod together. There were tons of dogs. I lost track of how many I walked. I had 2 escapees, 5 dogs who wore harnesses, and 1 dog with diarrhea who relieved in a perfect square around me. That took a long time to clean up. I was drenched when I got home despite wearing a hoodie, raincoat and rain hat. I can see that I will need to buy rain pants, too.

My two right middle fingers have been hurting a lot lately - I'm worried about carpal tunnel - so I went to see the volunteer coordinator to see if I could not walk dogs with harnesses. She had a cat in her office named Marsha. I've been looking at Marsha on the website and at the shelter since I started volunteering. Marsha is getting kennel crazy and depressed. The VC has started keeping Marsha in her office for part of the day so she can get out of the cat room. The VC recommended that I foster Marsha and I really liked that idea. She's been at the shelter since May and is a beautiful young calico cat. She came to the shelter with babies, was fostered until the babies became adoptable, and now is waiting for a home of her own. She tends to be chosen as a potential cat, is always a #2 choice and so gets overlooked a lot. Her foster parent said she had no trouble with other cats or dogs, so I put in papers for fostering after I got home this afternoon. I was told by the foster coordinator that they'd call me this afternoon. I'm really hoping to bring her home today or tomorrow for a few weeks.

So... I lasted a month. I really have a hard time resisting cats. I am not adopting her - just fostering. There is a difference, right? : )