It's not a muzzle, it's a headcollar

This is a muzzle:

or this:

Today, while I was putting Placers headcollar on him- getting ready to take him on his daily walk during lunch we stopped for a minute under a tree to wait for my co-worker. As we were waiting in the shade a woman yelled to me "Why does that dog have to wear a Muzzle? Is he mean?" 

Yup... yup- this 65 lb ball of fluff resting in the shade with a "Guide Dogs for the Blind Puppy in Training" coat on, that I take every where with me- is mean.

Poor guy wasn't happy the flash went off in the middle of his nap.

 Hardly.

Speaking of the ball of fluff, he's doing great... now.

Ever since right before Judith came home (about 2 weeks ago), he's been showing signs of extra stress, which isn't like him at all. He's always been a chill-out, whatever kind of dog. We think he might have picked up on the change and had a mini freak-out. He didn't want to go anywhere, was having accidents, and puddles of drool just appeared.

Woah, woah woah!

Is this our Placer puppy? The one that loves to go with us? The one who would do anything for anyone that pets him?

Luckily, after house arresting him for a week and teaching him how live nicely with Judi... he's back to his normal self and much more relaxed again.

Like my co-leader explained it- It was just the "perfect storm"... He's 10-ish months old, a major change, plus he's a golden... all of that equals a very stressed out Placer.

We're so glad he's back to being his normal, happy self.

You know you're a puppyraiser when...

... You have loose kibble in your purse from a bait bag...

                                 AND... can tell which dog it's for by the size, shape, and smell of it.


Ah... my life...

Pointy-eared dogs

I decided recently that I just don't do pointy eared dogs..

Not saying that they're bad dogs... or people that like them are bad. I commend those who can- and do- successfully have a pointy-eared dog. They are very cute and I love that you can tell exactly what they are thinking just by their ears- but...I just can't do it myself.

I don't think I could have raised a Shepherd...

And my sister has a Chihuahua that doesn't like me or my puppies... 

But, since before we were married, my husband has been begging to get a husky... I had heard about their personalities and I KNOW these are not the dog for us. Too much energy, whining, barking, and just way too smart. (I prefer the ones that don't learn "Down" until they are 7 months old *ahem*JoaquinPhoenixPlacer*ahem*.) They are bred to work- and work HARD. We just don't have the lifestyle or patience to do it.

Because of this desire that my husband had, we agreed to puppy sit a 4-month old Husky puppy overnight, for a friend of our co-raiser (the day after Judith comes home- Poor Placer thinks he's being mobbed out of the house!). I know it was just overnight- but I was hoping she would be "husky" enough to deter him away from the breed.

Well... it worked.

He's officially stated he wants a LAB for the rest of his life. (He does love Place, and he definitely appreciates him more now- but his heart is still with Phoenix and Judith is quickly confirming his love. I knew she was sweet, but I had forgotten how perfect this girl is!) I've been trying to convince him that a Mastiff is what he really wants- but no go. I'm fine with that. I love my labs- and now I'm glad we don't have to "try" the husky thing once (for 10-12 years) before he believes me...

We just aren't pointy-eared-dog type of people.

(*sigh* She is finally not crying or barking or freaking out in any way... so what if maybe she's on the couch. It's not our good couch- it's the one we're storing for my brother from the thrift store... but she's asleep. *breath, breath*)

Good to be back...

It's been a long day at our house... long- but so good :)

I have a pouty golden in the corner of our living room- a little upset with the revelation that he ISN'T the center of the universe.  It's fine though. He'll get over it. He's been showing off his Go To Bed command quite a bit today. (We've been using it to give Judith a "break" from him.)

I also have a sweet little black puppy in the other corner of our living room, making herself at home. She doesn't quite understand why Placer wants to play with her or why she's in a strange new house- but she'll be fine. She's actually more happy than I thought she would be. Wagging her tail and jumping up when she hears her name.

Here are some pictures from our exciting day today!

Joe getting her ready

My brother with Placer and Judith (He's totally going to be a future puppy raiser!)

Our family...

Hoka (FYL) came with Judith and Lomax (MBL) came when she left

He's gonna be a daddy!!
5-7 puppies due July 7th!
He's got an official home now! :)

I sure love these two...

12 year old Vinnie- GDB pup #1... now blind- he still loves life and is still the cutest puppy ever...

8 month old Placer- GDB pup #...10 (?) Best Guide Dog Puppy ever... we like him lots!

13 days!

It's getting closer!

I've talked to Judith's grad, Ruth several times in the last few weeks- just to make sure we're prepared with knowing her habits and routine. Ruth is sending the blanket that Judi slept on at her house so hopefully that will help with the first few days. After being a guide with the same person for 9 years- I'm sure she will be a little depressed for a bit. Has anyone else seen this in retired guides that have come home?
 I keep wanting to go to the pet store and get things for her, the I remember that it's the only place she can go with me now so I'm going to wait for her go with me to pick out her new toys/bed/tags... and maybe I've been looking at collars on Etsy.

This is worse than getting a new puppy!

Placer is 8 1/2 months old now and we're kind of in love with him. He's such a sweetheart and we love taking him out. He's getting to go to work more now that it's summer and I don't have students. He has started going to High School lots with Marnie's step-daughter and seems to like it. Basically he spends his days sleeping, playing outside, and going to work or school. The life of a Guide Dog puppy...

Still can't believe she's coming home!

So exciting!

We keep telling Placer he's going to have a new sister...

Not sure he really cares...

28 days!

New "puppy"!

Looks like we'll be picking up a Female Black Lab at the Puppy Truck  on June 6th

Her parents are Rashad and Eclipse.

She was born May 7, 2001 (yup, that's right 2001)


Starts with the letter "J"...

Puppyraising descisions

We got two pieces of news today... One- Phoenix had a date yesterday! Yay! Does anyone out there know FYL Mamie? I looked her up on the GDB Flickr site and she looks super cute- in about 4 weeks we'll get an ultrasound and see if it takes. If it does puppies will be due mid-July  and will go out mid-September. Cross your fingers for him.

Next- we found out Judith's person won't be able to keep her as a retired Guide. She recently got a new dog (FBL Kalissa) and it's hard on a single, older woman to have 2 dogs. So... this means we get the option of getting sweet Judith back. That's a tough decision. It seems like it would be easy... but watching Vinnie get older is tough enough... I don't know if I could do it with another one of my dogs (she's 11 as of yesterday). From what I've heard from her person, she likes to go on a walk a day, but will mostly lounge around the house. I do want her back... but...

Lots of decisions... I'm waiting to hear back to see if my parents want her- then we get to decide if they can't take her. Deep Breath...

Placer Brags

Just a warning: This post contains several brags on the Goldog. 

Placer has spent the last 4 days in a training conference (Including International Guide Dog day. What a way to celebrate. Learning about College Student Development Theories. *YES*)... Want to guess what he was doing the whole time?

"Listening Intently"... or sleeping. I can't tell.

 He was such a show off. I was pretty impressed as well. I thought he'd be ready to leave at our usual time- but apparently he wasn't. These were 9 hour long days, with a few breaks. (All of which included lots of love from the other staff that are not in my department and don't get to see a dog at work on a regular basis... and a few tug games.)  I think my very favorite is when people can't believe that he's only 7 months old.

He's really growing up and becoming such a great puppy to have around. It's funny how after working and working and working on something- it all of the sudden just "clicks" for him and he's 100%. We're still working on "Down" for him... but, Hey- at least he's great without it. It took a LONG time for both Phoenix and Joaquin to get "down"... maybe it's the raiser and not the puppy. ;) He went to the puppy sitter the other day for a few days and they fell in love with him- so I guess he's not too bad right?

Okay, one more. The other day I woke up about 5:30 am and noticed that Placer wasn't sleeping on his bed and our bedroom door was wide open. We haven't tried him sleeping loose in the house yet, so I was worried what I would find when I found him. I'm surprised we didn't hear him leave, he usually prances pretty loudly across the hardwood floor in the hall and main living areas. I walked down the hall, and checked all the bedrooms/bathrooms making sure he didn't walk in and the door closed behind him. (it happens all the time). No Placer anywhere.I checked the sitting room and the living room. I checked his crate in the laundry room. Apparently I passed him because, I walked into the kitchen and turned on the light- there was Place just sleeping on the kitchen rug. Guess the dog bed was too hot for him and he decided the tile was cooler.

 One last thing:

Here are some pictures our club recently took at a meeting for those who are interested. We have 6 dogs that had their picture taken (Kelty, Russia, Twig, Michigan, Kendrick, and Placer)  and we're missing one (Slate) in these pictures. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79323356@N08/sets/72157629491718692/

Confession:

One of the hardest things about having a puppy with you all the time is-  sometimes, puppies stink. That's always been one of the things I'm most self conscious of. Growing up, I never liked going to certain houses, because I knew I would smell like a dog or a cat when I left. Because of this my puppies all get bathed at least once a month and brushed and sprayed with grooming spray several times a week. The puppy coat goes in the wash once or twice a month and I also keep grooming spray in my car and Febreeze in my office- just in case.(although, my car is a lost cause I decided...)

It's kind of ridiculous- but I just don't want to bother people with the smell of dog. The problem is- it's never really worked 100%. Especially in my small little office. In my department, most of the staff aren't really dog people (*gasp* how does that even happen?! I really really don't get it- that's another post though) so I'm even more self conscious. I know it might be overboard, but does anyone have any suggestions for what to do in a small area, to keep the dog smell at bay?



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As a Side Note: Phoenix still hasn't been bred. Special Thanks to Carol in the breeding department for letting me bug her every few weeks. She said most of the females that have come into season in the last few weeks have been too closely related to him to breed. Apparently his dad, Denzel, has a brother and sister both in breeding and several nieces, nephews, and children around the breeding colony. Also his grandpa is Kentucky- also a very popular stud. If he was bred tomorrow, his pups wouldn't even be ready until the end of August.

Placer loves work days

Life is good for Placer-puppy...

We did learn one lesson while at work today- don't walk too close to the duck pond.

Oops. We had a partially wet puppy for the last hour of work.

Updates!

Guide Dogs must have heard my plea... We called this afternoon and they said they've decided to do a test breeding! Yay!

So... He'll be bred to a female and after the first ultrasound at four weeks, if there are puppies, he'll be made an official breeder- if not he'll be put back in training.

Cross your fingers for him-- Place needs a new little brother!

In other news... Poor Placer has lost his ability to be a breeder. He got his neuter note and was in the vet last Tuesday. He's feeling great and is back to normal. We sure love the fluffy guy!

Dear Guide Dogs,
Please hurry up and decide what job Phoenix will have because we want to get our own puppy, and if he's going to have little Phoenix Jr.'s, we need to plan our life. The end.

Mickelle.

Happy 6 Months!

Place is just turning 6 months... he's pretty happy with his gift:

A new YARD!

We finally have had mostly good weather and he got to run outside. He's kind of in love with the fact that he can go outside with his Jolly Ball and run with it- instead of just playing tug in a small apartment.

Also, he's finally starting to look more Golden-y again. He went through that awkward, hairless stage. He didn't have so much hair and he had the long legs with a skinny body... he's turning into a handsome guy. Looking a little like those pretty "J" goldens.

I think we'll keep him... at least for the next several months. :)

Crates

We're moved! Yay! Now we have room for Placers XL wire crate, which means his plastic crates are going in storage for when we have two dogs... Place wasn't too happy about this and wouldn't let me put them away.

Phoenix "Downdate" and Moving

Yup... nothing. We called yesterday and GDB said they still didn't know, a few more weeks. They have a few dogs they're deciding on, and have to have some meetings before they can decide. Yes, We're one of "those" puppy raisers that call every few weeks, just so they don't forget to call us the second they decide. We do try not to be creepers, but they might or might not know us by name. (Okay they really don't but I'm sure they get tired of the calls every 2-3 weeks) The dogs that went back with him, are now in phase 8. They did say he's going to another foster home that will most likely become his "keeper" home if they do breed him. Guess we'll see...

We're also in the process of moving this week. Placer isn't quite sure about the move... he wasn't too happy when we packed up most of his bones and food and left it at our new house.

His hurt feelings were much better when we came home and we let him play with his new Jolly Ball. We bought it the other day at Lindsey's and Cobb helped him to break it in. He was pretty proud of it and I'm sure it will be much more fun to play in our big, new yard with it. We're excited to have some "outside" toys that he can play with, right now all we have is a big black Kong and his new Jolly Ball. Wish us luck over the next few days... Moving is no fun, but it's definitely worth it.

Cookies and Trains

How awesome are these cookies?

Very. We made them for our clubs appreciation dinner a few weeks ago. Thank you Michaels for having a dog cookie cutter last minute.

In other news....

Last week, Placer had his first public transportation experience. He got to ride The Frontrunner train all the way to Salt Lake City, then board TRAX and do it all over again on the way home.

Over the next year, he will become very familiar public tranportation- busses, trains, and taxi's. It's how he will get to work when he starts going to work with my co-raiser and her husband...

Good thing he was a pro! We walked in and he layed right down. He was even perfect while we went to dinner and a short planetarium show. I love this boy!

Phoenix update: We called last week and they said he's doing VERY well in his foster home. They will be doing his final test on Tuesday and we can call Wednesday or Thursday for the results and they will go from there. I don't think I've ever heard of a dog being in the breeder black hole this long... They did say that they think Phoenix will do well in whatever they decide to ask him to do- and He really will. He's just one of those dogs...

Phoenix updates...

I just realized. I haven't updated about Phoenix! We called 2 weeks ago and they said he's passed all of his testing except one more sperm analysis (TMI, I know) but they had to wait a few weeks to do it again. Soo... This means he's in foster care for a few weeks then they said they will probably breed him and see if it works out. If it does, he's good to go, if not, its back to training for him.

Hopefully we'll hear soon... They said ABOUT 3 weeks so... We should hear sometime in the next month or so... Sometime...