7 days...

I don't think I have to say more than that...

7 days.

He found a travel buddy so he's all set up and will be here about 7:00 next Thursday night :)

Birthday Boys...

Happy Birthday to Joaquin/Phoenix. 

Yes, that's right- these boys have more than just complimentary names... they share a birthday!

Joaquin turns 3 today and is in New Mexico, happily working with his partner, Crystal.

Phoenix turns 2 and is due to be a daddy again today with Black Lab, Aqua. These pups are lucky enough to share a birthday with some special dogs.

August 26th is a good day to be born.

We got the names for the "K" pups... I'll post them once they are all out to their raisers. They used a few of our female names, but none of our male names. We're a little sad we didn't get to name our puppy, but it's still fun to know the names of the pups and put bets on which name it will be :) We're thinking "K" will be here the evening of September 5th... and beyond...?

Meeting ideas Please

I just need help...

We need some new meeting ideas...

Training...

Games...

Socializations...

Help me out!

Waiting

I'm not a very patient person...

Obviously.


Apparently, Puppy raising is all about extending patience.

First, waiting for the final decision on Phoenix.

Next, waiting for Judith to come home.

Now, it's waiting for Mr "K".


Sorry, guys... I'm impatient.

(p.s. all I really want at this point is an arrival date... that's all... 19 days and beyond....?)

"K" name overload

Just about 3 weeks until Mr Yellow "K" comes... Here's the LONG list of names we submitted for the Males. (I had about the same about of female names.) Any bets on which 2 names they'll use?... if any...


Kacie
Kangley
Karmel
Karol
Kascade
Keeper
Kelso
Kelvin
Kendal
Kent
Kenzy
Kettle
Kibitz
Kibble
Kingslyn
Kingston
Kipling
Kirkland
Kitkat
Knight
Korelli
Krayola
Kresley
Kringle
Kentucky
Keil
Kennan
KalstonKirby
Kearsley
Krypton
KalelKendall
Kimball
Kearney
Kringle
Kipton
Kilmer
Kenton
KentKash
Kaddy
Kenzington
Kalipso
Kamino
Kemp
Knoxville
Knox
Keean
KruiserKrue
Kennedy
Kelson
Kelso
Kyon
Keno
KlausonKlipton
Kobe
Keegan
KramerKandor
Kong
Kelby
Kailand
Kacer
Kellen
Kayson
Kosmo
Kamas
Kaleb
Kodak
Kearns
Keats
Kansas
Kendall
Kingston
Kudos
Knight
Kermit
Kooper
Keaton
Kannen
Keane
Kedrick
Keefe (Keif?)
Kareem
Kai
Kyzer
Keegan
Knave
Kei
Koi
Kwinn
Kono
Kelland
Kingman
Kellan
Knocks
Kuade (Kwade?)
Kyson
Knoton
Kyron
Kye
Kazoo
Klayton
Kourt
Kradall
Klipper
Kipper
Kneader
Knave
Kailo
Kayak
Kallen
Klay
Knotts
Knicks
Khol
Kort
Kastle
Kurt
Kilroy
Kal
Kotter
Koslo
Kongo
Kershaw
Kipling
Kwasi
Kable Klondike
Keisel
Keymont
Kessler
Kleinfeld
Kevo
Karro
Keegan
Kirtland
Kirkland
Kinect
Koda
Karouso
Kelter
Kelto
Klayton
Kaden
Kimber
Kindle
Kam
Kinder
Kamryn
Koa
Kale
Kardashian
Kawaii
Kempe
Kitner
Kasey
Kace
Khaki
Katum
Kix
Kione
Karino

Why can't I just keep them both?

Quiet.

Placer is gone for the week at our co-raisers...

And we're puppy sitting a working guide Black Lab named Daniel (who is SO handsome by the way)....

It's weird how you can be sick all day, laying in bed or on the couch, feel like you're all alone-- with TWO dogs in the house.

Even if Placer was home and sleeping... he tends to wake up every few hours (or anytime I move) to make sure I'm alright... or that I'm absolutely, positively sure I don't want to play tug with or pet him.

The peace and quiet of having two big dogs that are both over a year old.

Not a usual thing for our house...

Confessions of a Lazy Tugger

Placer playing tug... laying down at his first day back on the job

This last weekend we got to head on up to San Rafael, CA to meet up with Phoenix's new family... and Placers litter mates at Fun Day. It was fun to get away- even if it was a super quick trip.

Don't worry that the litter mate pictures are on my husband's camera.. so you get my cell phone pictures for now.  Just picture 3 more Placers in the picture... all about the same size except one, the female- Palm. His brothers, Pacer and Pryor look just the same and both seem to be nice pups like Place. One of the raisers said that 2 of the "P" goldens (Peanut and Patriot) have already been CC'ed which surprises me with how nice Placer is and how well his other brother in Utah (Pilgrim) is doing. Here's our trip:

Placer in a Gas station in Placer County, CA

Alcatraz (his BFF and my co-raisers Guide Dog) and Placer 

We got to see Phoenix again. He wasn't too happy to have to wear his head collar, but he looks very proud to be a daddy and we even got to see his babies! (on the monitor, but still!) His Breeder Keepers are a wonderful family and love him a lot. Only 5 weeks until the puppies are ready for raisers! We can't wait to see what names they use! (We're hoping the really dark one in the middle is a Male.)

Mamie and the "K" babies on the kennel kitchen monitor.

Phoenix sure has some cute babies... Almost White to Dark Red.

He's Official now!  Getting his bandanna.

Place in San Francisco waiting for Rick to come out of Bubba Gumps with a Po Boy to hopefully share with him

The results after San Francisco

Placer and his new buddy, Griffin. We brought Griffin home for his new raiser.

 Overall, it was a fun trip and a nice vacation. Hopefully we get to take another trip out there sometime in the future to watch Placer graduate and introduce Mr. "K" to his daddy and his predecessor.

He does like her!

Tonight, as we were getting ready to go to bed, we let both dogs out and started on our nightime routine. Placer was acting super unsettled and started running from our room to the back door and barking. He hardly ever barks (if at all) so it was super weird. He got in trouble, but was really stubborn and kept at the back door. I started to think that something weird was going on in the back yard, so I opened the door to show him, nothing was outside that he should be worried about. As soon as I opened the door I was greeted by a very relieved little black lab. We thought she was in the living room sleeping this whole time! Good to know Placer is willing to risk getting into trouble to save his sister from camping out all night!

They're both inside and happy now...

Oh, and P.S. I need "K" names to submit for 6 puppies- 2 Males and 4 females! Born July 6.

Yay for Phee being a dad!

Jealous of Judith

Placer's trying REAAALLY hard to be a black lab... Can you see his black patch?

This is how everyone should spend their summer...

9-month Glamor Shots

About a month ago, Lindsey invited us to get pictures taken with Hallie and Savoy... Here are some of those pictures:

I love his cute tongue...

I just think this picture is goofy.

Isn't he handsome?

I love...

I love that we heard from Phoenix's breeder keepers.

I love that they had his grandpa Kentucky.

I love that they live so close to GDB.

I love that we will get to see him in July at Fun Day.

I love that they sent us pictures!

I love that he has a FAMILY!

Congrats to Phoenix for getting the best family for him and for getting to be a daddy! (They said they just dropped him off for a second round of "dates".)

I hope Placer gets just as lucky with his future person as all of my working dogs have so far. (I'm sure my CC dogs are taken care of, I just haven't had contact with any of them except Vinnie.)

All of them have been the best for that dog.

I love that GDB cares enough to take care of all their dogs!

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...