My Weekend with Marco

Because I'm a University student who also has a part time job, taking on a baby puppy would be difficult. That's why I'm so thankful for my "co-raisers" who bring me a pup whenever I feel the need for one. Last weekend I got to have Marco for the first time while they took Quinn to Edinburgh for one last big trip before he goes IFT. 

Let me just say, Marco is a pretty awesome puppy. Between him and Dulcie, I've had PPPs (that's practically perfect puppies for those of you who don't know) twice in a row now. Marco was nine and a half weeks old last weekend and he slept completely through the night and then went back to sleep for another hour after his breakfast. Seriously, from ten in the evening to seven in the morning. I was so lucky!

And, while he had a few accidents he didn't have as many as I was expecting. He got that if he showed me he had to pee and waited a minute for me to get the leash then he'd get to go outside to our courtyard and get a ton of praise and love. 

My favorite bit about him is that he's one cuddle bug. He's play and play and play and then he'd look at me. He'd properly stare at me for a while then come sit by me and look up as if to say, "I'm tired, can I sleep in your lap?" And because I'm a sucker...I let him. Shhh. Don't tell anyone. 

I don't really know what else to say about Marco except that I'm excited to get to know him more over the next couple of months. So far, he's a great puppy. 

Enjoy his cuteness! ENJOY...

Marco (yellow lab/golden cross) chews on a stuffed bunny

Marco cuddling up with me on the floor while I work on the PWAP facebook and web pages

One morning, he decided he would rather sleep in my lap...I let him.

Marco sitting like a good boy in the living room

Marco chewing on his teething keys.

Marco and the stuffed bunny.

Oh, one hilarious story I've got to tell you about is when we went to the grocery store. I carried him to the grocery store and then carried him through the grocery store. All in all, we were in the store for about 5 minutes as I grabbed a box of cereal or carton of non-dairy based milk...I don't quite remember. And we walked down the pet aisle and the little thief stole a stuffed toy from one of the shelves. Well, at the point I was committed to buying it for him right?

M is for... (for real this time)

MARCO!!!!

Marco's "birth certificate" 

Marco's profile. Handsome boy.

Me and Marco.

Marco wouldn't stop moving, so the best I could do is a blurry picture.

Marco arrived in Aberdeen yesterday, but I just got a chance to meet him today. Let me tell you, the pictures don't do this little guy justice at all! He's super cute. In fact, I think it's safe to say that he's super duper cute. Haha! Love at very first lick.

I don't know when I'll get a chance to have him. We wanna give him a week or two to settle into Aberdeen at his "primary" home and then Quinn is going away early December, so I'll probably want to take Quinn before I take Marco just so I can see him again. 

Marco is a yellow lab / golden retriever cross. He looks like he's going to be a little fluffier than Frankie or Quinn, but still isn't coated. And, this is the first time I know ALL of his siblings here in the UK. 

Finalized Arrival Date

We finally got a date for when little "M" will arrive! Hooray! Little "M" will arrive on November 6th! So you still have time to guess M's gender, name, and breed.

Just as a reminder you can guess the following breeds;

Lab
Lab/Golden cross
Lab/Shepherd cross
Golden
Golden/Shepherd cross
German Shepherd
Long Coated Retriever (or any of the crosses)

Can't wait to meet the newest little one!

Frankie Update: The Last

I just received word today:

Frankie is a Guide!

What a good job my little Frankie-boy! I loved that boy and I miss him a lot, but I'm super proud of him for making it all the way! I knew he could do it!

Quinn

Quinner Quinner Chicken Dinner. Quinn-B. Q.

Quinn in a bow position playing with a toy on a free run

These are the nicknames I have for Quinn. He's such a character while still being a mellow dude.

Quinn lying in the grass with a toy

He's a little on the softer side. I imagine that he would have been absolutely fine on the bus to work, but they cancelled the bus to and from work. There is a University Shuttle that I could take...but I have to have my student card to use it and unfortunately I can't find my student card at this point in time. And it seems to run at funky times. Anyway, we walked to work and while Frankie was calm, cool, and collected, Quinn needed a little more encouragement. He was fine perfectly fine in the end and even had a bounce to his step.

Quinn rolling around in the grass with his toy

He is absolutely stellar when out. I mean, he was darn near perfect at work. The only issue he has is some house behaviors. He got up on my bed quite a few times to get to a stuffed animal or my pajama bottoms. So, he got his household freedom privileges taken away. And he likes to play keep-a-way. For those of you who don't know, keep-a-way is a big no no.

Quinn in front of the flower beds in Seaton. Handsome boy.

Think about it. He goes on to be a guide dog and takes his person's socks or shoes and puts them in a different place or takes a piece of paper and won't give it back. Not good behaviors for any dog, but especially bad for guide dogs. He's working on it and I'm sure that he'll do just fine.

He turned a year old on Friday! So, turn in is just around the corner for him. I don't know if he and I will bond like Frankie and I did, but he's a good boy and I definitely like him.

Quinn on his walk near River Don

Another New Puppy

So, we will have another new puppy around here. Not my own puppy as my landlord still isn't allowing a full time puppy, but another puppy that I will help out with. Much like Frankie and now Quinn. Anyway, I have absolutely no idea when the new puppy will arrive nor what breed the little one is. All I know, is the name.

But I'm not going to tell you the name because how much fun would that be? If you have any guesses though and you guess anything correctly I will announce the winner on the blog. I don't promise any winnings or anything except for pride, satisfaction, and kudos. But a guessing game is always fun!

You can guess;

Gender
Breed
Name

Now, I don't really know all of the breeds they use here in the UK, but I can guess that the new little one won't be one of the experimental or rare breeds. So here are a list of breeds that you can guess;

Lab (Black or Yellow)
Lab/Golden Cross (Black or Yellow)
Lab/Shepherd Cross
German Shepherd
Golden Retriever
Shepherd/Golden Cross
Flat Coated Retriever (Liver or Black)

I will let you know when the new pup arrives! I'm pretty excited to have another baby around so soon especially since I got Dulcie at 13 weeks old. This new one will be 6 or 7 weeks old!

The name starts with "M".

Happy Guessing!

Back to Scotland

I've been absent as of late. Mostly because blogger has been in a poopy mood and that has made me frustrated. And I'm not terribly productive when I'm frustrated.

My last two weeks with Dulcie went well, but went by far too quickly for my liking. She really is just a stellar puppy and I know that she is going to go far in her life. Luckily, she is still with Mary and my puppy group back home. I'm very happy that I'll get to go home to my littlest golden girl when I go home during the winter break. Though, I won't say that it wasn't hard to leave her. I do miss my pupperdoodle. And on the 14th she turned 6 months old! She's a whole half a year old now. To celebrate, some pictures! I took these pictures a day or two before before I dropped her off with Mary, so about 2 weeks before her 6 month day.

Dulcie lying in the grass outside with her puppy jacket

Dulcie sitting outside with her jacket

Dulcie sitting outside with her jacket

Dulcie sitting outside with her jacket

Head shot of Dulcie with her jacket

My last 3 weeks with Hilly went by equally too fast. I really love that little black lab and there isn't a day that goes by that I regret my decision to adopt her as my pet...even when her food costs nearly $100 a bag. She has started to feel much better since being on prescription food and medicated ear flushes. Luckily, the last time we went to the doggie dermatologist there was no more bacterial fluid in her ears...just gunk. So she'll have to have flushes for a while and will continue on the prescription food until we can find an over the counter food that she can tolerate. She's allergic to poultry so that might be a challenge since chicken is a cheap protein which you can find in almost every single over the counter food whether it's actual chicken or a byproduct of it.

Hilly outside with her Ambassador scarf

Hilly got a new hedgehog and she loved it

Hilly lying on her back on the couch

Hilly lying on her back in her favorite spot between the fireplace and the writing desk

I definitely miss these two and my old golden girl, Arwen. Hilly and Arwen were definitely unhappy when they saw the suitcase come out. I guess there won't be many more times that I have to take out the suitcase and make them unhappy.

So, new term here in Aberdeen and a couple of new puppies. One of which is an 11 month old yellow lab/golden cross named Quinn. He's a transfer puppy and, from what I've been told, a very sweet boy. I was going to wait until I was fully adjusted to the time zone to take him for a little, but my friends needed to go out of town (they are picking up one of their puppies who has just retired from Guiding) so they are dropping him off tomorrow evening and I'll keep him until Sunday. I'm excited to meet him!

And there will be another puppy too! But I will post on that tomorrow. Just to keep you guessing.

Frankie Update #2

Frankie checked back in at home after being in formal training for almost two whole months! Gosh, it was such a long wait and I kept having to tell myself, "No news is good news." But let me tell you, it was all totally worth the wait!

Frankie's trainer sent a lovely letter to his walkers and they were kind enough to share it with me. I've copied and pasted it below for you. 

"I am writing to update you on Frankie's progress a the Forfar Training Centre. As you know he settled into kennels well and mixed find with the other dogs in my pack. He bonded very quickly with me and was always eager to come out and learn. He showed a good understanding of all obedience commands. I worked on his stands, making them more solid. I taught him house obedience which he picked up quickly. I then took him to supermarkets where again he showed nice obedience and responded well to new commands. Once I felt I was receiving all the responses that I was expecting I introduced him to harness walks.

Frankie is a very bright boy who enjoys learning. I have taught him to stop and sit at all curbs which he is now doing with no prompt from myself and does not break the sit until he is asked to move off. On the rare occasion he he over steps a curb I will re approach and give a little stumble or drip to make him realize that there is a consequence for his mistake, however he is such a good boy he seldom makes any mistakes!!HE is demonstrating a good understanding of the straight line principle and does not go around any corners unless asked to change direction. I taught him some new commands to teach him to avoid obstacles and people, he is starting to make decisions himself to avoid theses giving my right hand side plenty clearance so I don't bang into anything. If the pavement is blocked or a gap is too small for us to safely fit through he will stand and wait till it is safe to move off again.

As you mentioned to me on the phone Frankie was sometimes a bit dog distracted. However I have found him very easy to control and he has only required a couple of telling's off for being distracted by dogs! He generally works past dogs and birds without me saying anything to him he is so keen to get his guiding work correct he does not seem to bother about being distracted. Frankie loves working in all environments especially city conditions where he enjoys finding his way safely through crowds of people. I plan on testing his knowledge by doing a blindfold walk this will tell me if there is anything I have to work on although I am sure he will participate to a good standard. Frankie has excellent social behaviour and lies down and goes to sleep straight away in cafes. He will confidently work around shops and really anjoys finding the doors etc. He also has very good recall and enjoys working to a free run area and then working back to the centre again. 

Frankie has been clean on all his walks and uses the concrete runs very well. I have taken him on a bus and train journey where he curled up and went to sleep! Frankie has been completely sound since he has come in for training. I know you were a little concerned about his reaction to a loud noise when out one day with you but you will be glad to hear that I have seen no reaction to any noises, he is always very confident and relaxed.

I can't thank you enough for all the work you have put into Frankie he had a very good understanding of obedience commands and lead work he is also very well behaved in social situations and on transport. This highlights the hard work you have put into him during his time at puppy walk. By having a good standard of obedience and manners greatly helps a dog settle into training and also makes my life much easier when teaching the guiding role, so thank you very much.

Frankie has been a complete pleasure to train and wish there was more like him!!! He really is a little sweetheart and will be very useful boy for someone.

All things going well Frankie should move onto an instructor in July. I will contact you before then to give you the opportunity to come and see him working if you wish to do so.

Can I take this opportunity to thank you again for all your time and dedication with Frankie."

He's just rockin' it isn't he!? I'm so super proud of my sweet, sensitive, amazing boy! He's going to make someone so, so happy! Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll get to see him again on the visitation day. It will most likely be sometime in July when I will be back State-side. But I just know that he knows how much I miss him.

Just as a comparison; I really like this way of communicating with the raisers. While it took two months to get an update, it was so personal. It is so nice to know exactly how the puppy is doing and what they are working on. I do like the detailed phase description that GDB gives us and the weekly update that comes with it, but there is no personal connection. I think it would be great to have this sort of personal letter back home from our puppy's trainer.

Thing I miss about Frankie #2: His cuddles. He was such a good cuddler. 

Frankie cuddling into my shoulder at about 8 months

Frankie snuggling

Frankie sleeping on my legs

Puppy Sitting Benji

This past week I have been puppy sitting a 6 month old black lab/golden retriever cross named Benji. He was such a wonderful puppy to have around during my spring break. He was so mellow and, frankly, a little lazy. Sometimes, he wouldn't even get up to get pets and love.

It was a little weird for me. I have never had what anyone would call an "easy" or "mellow" puppy. Even during a puppy sit. This was my very first experience. Needless to say, I was a little bored with him for the first few days. He was interested in the leaves blowing in the wind and birds and other dogs, but I just had to say "leave it" (not even firmly sometimes) or put very, very slight pressure on his collar and he was back on focus. It was...just weird. But after a few days he became a little more comfortable around the house and at the office and his personality came through a little more. He was still an easy, lazy, mellow boy, but he definitely had a silly side as well. Really, he was a nice puppy to have around. But I don't think I could have such an easy puppy full time. Well, maybe I could. I would probably get attached to the puppy the longer they stayed around. And if the puppy was a absolutely adorable as Benji, I'm sure I could get over it.

Saying that, he did have one issue; filth eating. He didn't exhibit this behaviour in the first few days, but around Wednesday he started eating other dogs'...waste...when we went on our free runs. I tried a few things and he got a little better, but it really was the only time he didn't listen at all. And he didn't do it on lead either. At least there was a little bit of a challenge. I made sure that his raisers were aware of it and they were. They said it started recently and that it only happened occasionally and that they were working on it. He really is such a good boy though that I imagine he'll get it eventually. 

He left yesterday. And, while I do like having a puppy around, it was nice to sleep in for as long as I wanted this morning. Especially since it was snowing outside when I did wake up. Totally ready for spring to get here. 

Benji in the living room sitting like a good boy

Benji running with a toy in his mouth. All four paws are off the ground in this one.

Benji in front of the topiary at the park. Tradition to take a picture of the puppy here.

Benji playing. His bouncing with the toy in his mouth. 

Benji running towards me at the park.

Benji sitting in the grass on the one pleasant day we had.

Benji at work on his blanket under my desk. 

Handsome boy Benji posing in front of the blue, clear skies. 

Benji on the River Don path yesterday morning before leaving.

Benji up on a hill. Benji like to climb and bound up the hills.

No new news on Frankie as of yet. he's been gone for a little over a month so I'm hoping to hear a little something more in the next couple of weeks. Also no news on when they will be getting their new puppy and in return I will have a steady puppy sitting gig.

Good-Bye Frankie

Alright, so this post is a long time coming. I've been waiting on pictures and I guess a little part of me didn't want to admit that there was a possibility that I would never see my Frankie-boy again. But I've got the pictures now so I really have no good excuse to not post about my final week with Frankie and our good-bye.

As some of you might have guessed, Frankie went back to the Guide Dog campus in Forfar to begin his formal training. He left on Monday, March 4th. It was sort of a surprise recall. He originally wasn't planned to go in until the end of March, but when he was in to check on his slight nose sensitivity after the mall incident they decided that he was not only handling the aftermath of the incident well but that he was totally ready for formal training. His last week with me was between March 15-19. I didn't want to take too much of his time away from his real raisers, but I also wanted a little time to say good-bye. I have to say, I'm so lucky to be friends with these wonderful people who share their puppy with me.

In our last days we did the good-byes things you normally do when you are ready to turn your dog in for training. We went to the park one last time for one last free run. We went on a walk by the river one last time. He attended his final University lecture and tutorial. I gave him his first and last bath with me...he may have fun under a garbage bag that had "bin juice" all over it in an attempt to follow me to the large dumpster outside the housing complex. We took our last trip into town and our last trip to the grocery store. He had his last day at the office. I really had to admit that he was ready. Obviously, he still has a few things to work on and he does need to mature a little, but he really is going to make a great Guide.

The 19th was a Tuesday and Frankie's last puppy class. So I took the day off of work to go and work with him at his last class. He was such a model puppy. Really and truly. He didn't go for the food on the floor and he knew his commands and didn't bother with the other dogs while we were working. To say the least, I was impressed. Of course, he wasn't perfect. As a part golden, he is pretty clingy to his people. So when I was working with him he was trying to get to his real raisers and when they were working him he was trying to get to me. Haha! Silly puppy.

He's been up at the campus for almost a week now. This first week is just welcome week where they get the pups use to kennel life and settle them in and have them meet their trainer. The amount of time this acclimation period takes depends on the dog. We could get a call tomorrow saying that Frankie has started his training or it could be a week or two from now. Like I said, he's a pretty clingy dog so not being around either of us could take him for a shock. But, saying that, he is also adaptable. So, it'll be interesting to see how long it takes for him to get use to the kennels.

At the moment, my friends are between puppies which means that I am too. They are waiting on a company to finalize the paperwork for sponsorship. This company also sponsored their puppy about four pups back, so they wanted to wait for them. I'm thinking that within the next month they'll at least have the assignment if not the puppy. But, I will post any and all updates I get on Frankie.

Frankie in front of he same bushes at the park as when he was 8 months old.

Frankie lying next to a character sheet and some dice at his last roleplaying game.

Frankie at the park with a goofy grin on his face.

Frankie in front of the arch on campus

Frankie at the King's College buildings. It's the super old building on campus.  

Frankie in front of a new statue called "Evolutionary Loop"

Frankie smiling in the sun in front of one of the statues on campus

Frankie looking over King's College

Frankie next to the "bug" stutue

Frankie sitting nicely in front of Elphistone Hall

Frankie in his last University lecture

Frankie sitting in front of the pond with the cool time dial. Please ignore the water on his jacket...it's not like he walked me into the pond or anything.

Frankie in front of the library

Frankie on our last bus ride to work

Frankie's last day at the office. His head is resting against the desk.

Frankie and me on the steps at the puppy class. 

It's pretty exciting to think that I have a puppy in formal training again! ...even if he wasn't really my puppy...