Memory Lane

Wow! I have five followers now and a majority of them aren't members of my family. This is quite exciting.

Anyway, I typed up Rocco's first puppy report today. For those of you who don't know the monthly puppy report is when raisers mark what issues their dog is having, where the dog has been that month, food type, health issues, and all that. Our district advisers use this as a guide when doing evals every 3 or 4 months. Back to the report. It was a little difficult for me. I started puppy all of Freya's information down. I marked "40T5" in the tattoo number slot inside of "4Y13" and I accidentally marked female instead of male. Oops! I suppose this isn't unusual, but it made me a little sad. So what did I do?

That's right! I started reading all of Freya's old reports. I actually got a little teary eyed remembering all the stuff we use to do and all the problems she use to have. From the first one I was talking about how she was really, really dog distracted and how she continually pulled on the leash. Looking back on the reports I'm wondering how that girl ever made it to phase 10!

:D

YAY!

No vomit! Yay! I just thought I would share my joy in the fact that I didn't wake up at 12:57 in the morning to a horrible retching sound! A full night's sleep for Raiser Erin and Rocco. :D

Vet Visit.

Hey all! It's Raiser Erin. Like anyone else posts on this blog right? Anyway, you all know that Mr. Rocco has been having a bit of tummy troubles. He's had vomiting and diarrhea and he was peeing a lot. So, after it cleared up and then came back we took him to the vet. We took him on Monday. The vet says that it was definitely bacterial or parasitical. So he's on two different kinds of antibiotics right now. One he takes twice a day (at breakfast and dinner) and the other once a day (at lunch). We don't have to stool sample results back yet. We were thinking it was giardia, but now we aren't so sure. If it does turn out to be giardia (that is a type of parasite in the lower intestine) he'll be on another antibiotic! And he's on Science Diet ID right now. It's a bland food that will allow him to gain weight. The poor little guy gained a little wight in two weeks, but not enough to account for how much taller he's gotten. His stomach pinches in and you can count his ribs. Poor puppy. But! He's pooped, now 5 times, and they have all been good. No diarrhea! YAY!

E Puppies

Hey there! Here are some pictures of the E puppies on the Puppy truck.

This is Epic. He's the one I wanted. Don't get me wrong. I love Rocco, but Epic was the only puppy that wasn't crying or screaming.

This is Eaton. You really can't see him, but he was an adorable sweetheart.

This is Enrique with his new raiser. I believe she's in the Lamoore group (sorry, I forgot to get her name and if you're reading this sorry I didn't ask first) When Enrique got off the truck and started bouncing around she said "This one's a phyco!" I just laughed and said "Yep, that's a Belle puppy for you!" She was putting her other guide pup in training on the truck. I'm sure he'll do wonderful! I'll be looking for him on the phase reports next week!

This is Eli. Oh he was such a loud mouth little guy. But I really liked him. He was so feisty, but he was also really sweet.

Here's where the E puppies are going:

Eli: Arizona

Epic: Camarillo

Eaton: Bakersifield

Enrique: Lamoore

Espirit: Sacramento

Estee: Tracy

Elmer: was Fresno, but is now Career Changed.

Puppy Trouble

Hey all. It's Raiser Erin. I'm afraid I have some bad news. As you all know Belle, Freya's birth mother, had another litter of puppies. This litter is an "E" litter. There's Epic (the only little yellow one), Eli, Eaton, Enrique, Estee, Esprit, and then there's Elmer. Elmer was recently assigned to an area near Fresno and I was looking forward to meeting him and most of the other puppies when they came through on the puppy truck today. Unfortunately I met all of Belle's puppy except Elmer (well, and the girls Estee and Esprit because they went to their puppy raising families about a week and a half ago). Unfortunately, Elmer has what is called a liver shunt. Before the puppies are born, the mother's liver takes care of the pups through this outside vessel. Then when the puppies are born this shuts down and the liver takes over. Elmer's didn't shut down and his liver never really took over. They sent him up to Davis to be evaluated and now he's back at Guide Dogs resting. He will be Career Changed. Supposedly this can be treated with a special diet, but only about half of the dogs who take this route survive. There is also an operation he can have and the difficulty of the operation depends on the type of shunt he has. If you could all please keep little Elmer in your thoughts that would be great.

I also have some bad news about Rocco. My poor little guy has had horrible diarrhea this morning and last night. We thought it had completely cleared up, but it didn't. He had diarrhea and he threw up a few days ago and we put him on a bland diet. The bland diet consists on 2/3 part white rice and 1/3 part cottage cheese. So since he's on 1 1/2 cups three times a day he would get 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 1 cup rice. Anyway, when we started to transition him off the cottage cheese and rice he started having a little diarrhea again. And last night he had it really bad. He seems a little better now, but I'm so worried about him. If you could keep him in your thoughts right behind Elmer that would be wonderful too.

The Phases: Phase 10

Phase 10: This is where Freya is now.

Obedience and Distraction training: The dog should maintain a consistent response in different environments. With new handlers.

Advanced Guidework Training and Testing
Advanced Guidework Routes
"Finishing Routes"

Notable Accomplishments:
Final Obedience Testing: While the instructor is under blindfold, an extensive obedience test is given to each dog. All dogs must pass their final obedience test to qualify to take their final blindfold guidework test.
Final Building Test: The instructor will be under blindfold. Each dog is tested on escalators, elevators, stairs and store work through a food court area.
Final Blindfold Testing: Blindfold test on urban streets and sidewalk route of 40 to 50 minutes in a challenging work area. Obedience exercises are required to be demonstrated while on route. Dogs passing are deemed "Class Ready Guides". Class ready Guides are fully prepared for matching with students.

Vet Meeting-Review of any and all Health Concerns:
A pre-class vet physical is done and an accurate height on the dog is recorded.

Final Class Preparations:
New collars - sizing and assignment
New Harnesses prepared

Continue Leash relieving on cement surfaces

Dormitory Exposure (There are dormitories on campus for students to live in while they are in class with their future Guide Dog)

Socialization Training:
All specialized programs for socializing would be complete for the dog to be at the "Class Ready Guide" status.

The dog has extra relaxing walks, kennel enrichment and play sessions.

The Phases: Phase 9

Phase 9: This is the phase Freya was just in.

Obedience and Distraction Training:
The dog should have consistent responses in a variety of environments during formal and informal guidework and with different handlers.

Advanced Guidework Training and Testing:
"Finishing Routes": Relaxing residential or country route work, sidewalk less areas, and less difficult and straight-forward work. This is to build the dog's confidence before class.
Advanced Work Routes: New advanced routes are introduced to the dog. These routes require advanced decision making.

• City traffic patterns
• Difficult crossings
• Difficult clearance situation
• Line problems
• Animal distractions
• Surface issues
• Curb approach challenges
• Pedestrian islands
• Crowded sidewalks
• Different pedestrian climate
• Additional city bus exposure
• Additional rapid transit ride exposure

Dogs at this level are worked by novice handlers. These consist of O&M Seminars (I'll be honest I'm not sure what this means), mock student instruction practice for apprentices, obedience exercises with new students in class learning handling, demonstrations, etc.

Notable Accomplishment: Final Traffic Testing

The instructor is now under blindfold on guidework routes. Several traffic checks requiring all types of traffic avoidance responses are given to the dog with the instructor unable to predict when they will happen. (It doesn't say that they have a spotter in the manual, but I'm almost positive they do)

Escalator Boarding/Riding/Exiting continues: The dog is progressing to Independence when birding, riding, and exiting.

Sidewalk less route training continues.

Specialized Training: customizing a dog's work for a particular client's needs. This could include travelling at a slower pace, learning to work with someone who travels with a support cane, someone who has balance issues, someone who is also in a wheelchair, etc.

Platform Edge Training continues: The dog will be tested on avoidance of drop-off edges on pedestrian platforms of subway and rail systems. Boarding and exiting trains.

Total Barricade Training Continues: The dog should now be able to inform his/her handler of objects completely blocking the path.

Advanced Overhead Obstacle Clearance Training.

Socialization: The dog should be able to relieve on cement now. Any dog who is still uncomfortable with this will be placed in additional socialization programs.