February 8, 2012

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Things To Remember When You Go To Pickup Your Puppy

August 2, 2010 By 1 Comment

So, the day to pickup your puppy has arrived and you’ve forgotten everything you learned.  We’re definitely guilty of forgetting a thing or two on puppy pickup days.  However, I like to keep a short list of Things To Remember When We Go To Pickup Our Puppy.

Things To Remember When You Go To Pickup Your Puppy

  1. Bring A Friend – life is much easier if you have a friend or family member to help you on puppy pickup day.  It shouldn’t be too hard to get someone to join you to pickup up an adorable fuzzy little puppy.  Plus this will help when you get to item #3.
  2. Bring A Kennel - if you brought a friend you may not need a kennel (we get a head start and let our puppy ride at our feet on the passenger side floor boards).  However, if you’re going solo like I did with Stetson then you definitely need a kennel during your drive home (you don’t want your puppy squirming and trying to jump up on your lap while you’re driving).
  3. Take Lots of Pictures/Video – it’s definitely a special day and you want to make sure you document as much as possible by having your friend take pictures and/or shoot video to capture the moment you’ll be happy you did.  Once again, if you’re going solo then bring along a camera and ask some of the other puppy raisers to take a few shots of you and your new pup.
  4. Bring Rags and Paper Towels – I’ve raised three puppies for Guide Dogs of America and two out of three have had accidents during the car ride.  Stetson had a pee accident during his kennel ride and Derby vomited on the passenger floor.  Lucky for us we lined the kennel and the passenger floor with old rags and cleaned up with paper towels.
  5. Bring Along A Stuffed Toy and/or Blanket - If you’re raising a puppy for Guide Dogs of America then you’ll most likely get a plush stuffed toy and a blanket in your bag.  However, every year we make sure to bring a stuffed toy of our own rub on our puppy’s litter mates.  This gets the scent of the litter and helps when it comes time for puppy’s first night home in his kennel.  We wrote a short article on getting the scent of the litter a couple years ago after we brought home Stetson.

One final tip for Guide Dogs of America puppy raisers:  Make sure you try and listen to every word Louise says right before you head down to the nursery.  She has some great points that will help you raise your puppy.  I know it’s difficult to listen it being so close to having your cuddly puppy in your hands, but it will definitely benefit you and your new Guide Dog Puppy In Training.

Have you guys been following us on Facebook or Twitter?  If not, check out our pages at http://www.facebook.com/PuppyInTraining and http://www.twitter.com/PuppyInTraining.  We’ve been adding short updates on our latest Guide Dog Puppy In Training, Dublin’s progress including “Status” Updates, Updated Picture Albums, and links to some of our other GDA friends.

One final thing to note: We also plan on putting together a YouTube Channel and keep a Guide Dog Puppy Training Video Journal starring Dublin.  We plan on getting our first episode posted this week so make sure to subscribe to our channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/PuppyInTraining.

Filed Under: Featured, Guide Dog Training Tagged With: , , , ,

What Should We Do Before We Bring Home A Puppy?

July 27, 2010 By 1 Comment

Shortly after deciding on a name for our newest Guide Dog Puppy In Training (We chose Dublin just in case you haven’t been following us on Facebook or Twitter) we thought What Should We do Before We Bring Home A Puppy?

This thought crosses our mind each time we bring home a new puppy.  Whether it’s your first or fiftieth puppy it’s a good idea to think about a few basic things before bringing home that next puppy.  Here are a few things that crossed my mind this time around:

What Should We Do Before We Bring Home A Puppy?


  1. Read or Re-read Your Guide Dog  Puppy Manual – If this is your first Guide Dog puppy then reading your Guide Dog Puppy Manual is a must.  We like to re-read and review our puppy manual before bringing home a new puppy.  If you are not a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser then we recommend Puppies For Dummies.  We read Puppies For Dummies before picking up Linus and found it very helpful.
  2. Get Puppy Supplies (Or replenish your supplies if it’s your second…third puppy) – A while back we wrote a list of Must Have Puppy Products.  Here’s a short recap:
    • Dog Crate – We prefer the wire crates for two reasons.  It provides more ventilation then the plastic crates.  Second, it comes with a metal divider that allows your crate to grow as your puppy does.
    • Nature’s Miracle Stain & Odor Remover – Inevitably there will be some accidents around the house.  Nature’s Miracle is great at removing odors.
    • Bitter Apple Spray – We haven’t raised a puppy yet that does not chew in his leash.  We just spray a little bitter apple on the leash and our puppies stop chewing.
    • Puppy Toys – This is a link to the large plush Mallard one of  our puppy’s all time favorites.  However, we recommend getting all different texture toys to give your puppy some variety including other favorites like the Kong and Nylabone.
  3. Puppy Proof The House – We like getting down on our hands and knees to get our puppies view point.  You might notice that outlets and wires are right at puppy eye level.  Make sure to block these areas off to make your home is a safe environment for your puppy.

Puppy pickup day is an exciting one.  However, make sure you at the very least think about the three things we mention above before bringing home that shiny new puppy.

Have you guys been following us on Facebook or Twitter?  If not, check out our pages at http://www.facebook.com/PuppyInTraining and http://www.twitter.com/PuppyInTraining.  We’ve been adding short updates on our latest Guide Dog Puppy In Training, Dublin’s progress including “Status” Updates, Updated Picture Albums, and links to some of our other GDA friends.

One final thing to note: We also plan on putting together a YouTube Channel and keep a Guide Dog Puppy Training Video Journal starring Dublin.  We plan on getting our first episode posted this week so make sure to subscribe to our channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/PuppyInTraining.

Puppies For Dummies
Filed Under: Featured, Guide Dog Training Tagged With: , ,

What Are Good Dog Names?

June 10, 2010 By 3 Comments

The question, What Are Good Dog Names? pops up quite frequently when you raise puppies.  For instance as a Guide Dog puppy raiser we choose a new puppy name every year or so.  When fostering a litter of puppies we often times have to come up with several puppy names in a short period of time.

When I first picked up Linus from the animal shelter in Carson I never really thought about the question: “What Are Good Dog Names?” or even “What should I name my dog?“…

I remember driving home with my girlfriend brainstorming good dog names including front runners like Max which by the way is the most popular dog name according to some polls.  Another name I really liked was Fiver (I just finished reading Watership Down and Fiver was the one of the rabbits in the book).  It actually took us a couple days before we settled in on Linus.

On the other hand sometimes a good name will just pop in your head the moment you see a new puppy.  For instance, when we brought home and fostered litter of 7 puppies one stood out and I immediately said he looks like a George (this name breaks one of my rules for naming puppies).  However for some reason I did not have a name pop into my head for the other six puppies, but the one was definitely a George (my brother and his wife ended up adopting George and he still goes by that name today).

What Are Good Dog Names?

A while back we wrote a short article on how to name a puppy and received some excellent feedback from our readers.  I wanted to point out one comment that stood out in particular from one of our fellow puppy raisers:

We were going over names one day while having lunch at Farmer’s Market in L.A. and after our second glass of wine, we came up with DUDE…And after “Sit Dude” and “Dude, Come”, and “BAD DUDE!!”, we were laughing hysterically.

I don’t think GDA would approve, but, ya never know….

Seriously, a strong 2 syllable name works best when you are issuing commands. That’s why we’ve had Boomer, Buster, Trooper and now Dexter.
If your dog wanders away, what will bring him/her back? “Here Decartes!!”??”Come DAEDALUS!!”??? Don’t think so. Not that those aren’t great names. I wanted to name a dog Zampano, after a famous Italian Strongman, but Janet gave me the “Are you CRAZY??” look. These are WORKING dogs that need working names.

A strong two syllable name is a good rule to try and follow when choosing a good dog name.

Another thing you might consider is to avoid common human names.  My name, Colby is not too common, but anytime I hear someone say “Colby” or even “Kobe” I immediately turn my head.    If your dog has a common human name he may start hearing it all the time when out in public.  I can think of two things a dog might do when hearing his name constantly out in public.  First, he might at the minimum turn his head, but also may want to head towards the person calling his name.  On the other extreme, if he hears his name all the time he may just start ignoring his name in all situations.

How To Name A Guide Dog Puppy?

As I said before we discussed how to name a puppy in a previous post, but I still wanted to highlight a few main points from that article.

  1. We (Puppy Raisers) are given the opportunity to name our puppies.
  2. Guide Dogs of America assigns a letter to each litter.  Each puppy’s name from that litter starts with that letter.  For instance Stetson was from the “S” litter and Derby was from the “D” litter.
  3. The name can’t be the same as a current Puppy In Training, current Guide Dog, or current Breeder.
  4. It also can’t be a funny type name. For instance, our puppy manual says please no guide dogs by the name of “Popcorn”. Guide Dogs of America are usually pretty lenient. Before getting Stetson I submitted a list to Louise our puppy program manager, and she let me know what names were available/appropriate.

If you’re still having trouble coming up with a list of  good dog names or puppy names then check out our page of puppy names sorted alphabetically.

It’s been a couple years, but once again you may already have guessed why I’m talking about puppy names again…

That’s right!  We’ve decided to raise another puppy for Guide Dogs of America!

What Should I Name My Guide Dog Puppy?

Do you want to help us name our next Guide Dog Puppy?  Here’s  what you need to do:

  1. Visit the Puppy In Training Fan Page
  2. Click the “Like” button on our fan page.
  3. We will announce the letter assigned to our litter in the next few days.
  4. In the comments section in Facebook or in the comments section below let us know what you think we should name our new puppy.

That’s it!  Be sure to visit our Fan Page and click the “Like” button so you can be the among the first to find out what letter is assigned to our litter.  Do you know of any good dog names that start with the letter “D”?

Filed Under: Featured, Puppy In Training Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Puppy In Training Timeline Part 4

March 25, 2010 By 2 Comments

The Puppy In Training Timeline is a series of articles chronicling my life with dogs and puppies.  Basically it’s the long version of my “About Me” page and helps to show the influences in my life that led to where I am today with my dogs, puppies, and my writings on the Puppy In Training website.

Puppy In Training Timeline Part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | and beyond…

2005 – 2010 – Finally…a puppy of my own!

Ralphie the Cairn Terrier Mix?


A few years after Maffy passed away my parents began looking for another dog.  While shopping at PetSmart they came across a small wire haired Cairn Terrier up for adoption from one of the local dog rescues.  I heard he was a wonderful dog in the store and a bit on the shy timid side.  When my parents got him home he was a little bit afraid to leave his crate.  We assumed he must have been abused with his previous family.

My dad ended up naming him after the Simpson’s character Ralph Wiggum and today he’s affectionately know as “Ralphie.”  Ralphie appeared to be the shy timid dog in the beginning, but little did we know that he had tons of energy with springs in his legs.  He’s a very intelligent, high-energy, protective, and possessive dog.  I’m not sure if he’s typical for his breed, but if he is I would not recommend a dog like Ralphie to a first time dog owner.  He’s definitely a one person dog and loves my dad and guards/protects him at all times (even though he only weighs about 10 pounds).

Linus the Australian Shepherd Mix

It was the beginning of the new year, January, 2005.  I had been looking for a dog since my birthday one month earlier.  Everyday I scoured the petfinder.com website looking for young dogs and puppies in need of a home.  On January 7th, 2005 I came across a few blurry pictures of a small black puppy at the Carson shelter in LA County.  The description said Australian Shepherd Labrador Retriever mix.  That matched two of the three breeds I was looking for in a dog.

We hurried over to the Carson shelter on a rainy winter day and found a small black male puppy with a tiny white spot on his chest sleeping next to his sister (a black and tan puppy)  on the cold floor of the Carson Shelter kennel.  I had been looking for puppies for the past month and noticed during my search that puppies were either hopping around full of energy or sleeping in the middle of nap time.  We went into the kennel and put the two puppies through a series of puppy temperament tests we learned from the how to choose a puppy section in the  Puppies For Dummies book .  Both dogs were very lethargic and we thought the male puppy might be a “passive” or “middle man” puppy and the sister might be a “middleman” or “next in line” pup.

We thought both puppies were great and initially I thought about bringing both home.  However, better sense took over me and I ended up taking home the little black puppy you see in the picture above.  In fact the first post on this blog was dedicated to my first puppy, Linus.

Rescue Dogs

George, Buttercup, Brisby, Cocoa, Sally, Blondie, Boots, and Sasha are just a few dogs we fostered for the local animal rescue Cuddly Canines.

George

My Australian Shepherd rescue dog, Linus inspired me to start volunteering with animal rescue organizations.  I first got the bug to volunteer with dog rescues while attending the OC Pet Expo.  The Pet Expo is a great place to not only find great dog products and learn about the many pets including birds, cats, dogs, snakes, lizards, etc., but also a great way to find information on getting involved as a volunteer.  We came into contact with dozens of dog rescues and ended up as a volunteer foster for a local rescue named Cuddly Canines.

Our first volunteer opportunity was with a litter of 4 week old German Shepherd mix puppies.  There were seven of these little critters and adorable as can be.  It was a ton of work raising those puppies for the next 8 weeks, but well worth it.  In fact one of the puppies, George was adopted by my brother and his girlfriend (now his wife).  George is a sweet dog, very intelligent, and a bit on the protective side.  Unfortunately, he has severe hip dysplasia, but he’s been coping with it quite nicely over the past 4 years.

Guide Dogs

As I mentioned before, if you attend the Orange County Pet Expo you’ll see there are many opportunities to volunteer and work with animals.  Another opportunity we were interested in was volunteering as a puppy raiser for either a service or guide dog organization.  We came into contact with several organizations including Guide Dogs of America, Guide Dogs of the Desert, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and Canine Companions for Independence.  We filled out an application to become a puppy raiser for all four organizations.

In the end we chose to volunteer with Guide Dogs of America mainly because the puppy raising group met about 5 minutes from my home and the school was only about an hour away.

Naomi, Ace, Nyah, Sydney, and Palmer are just a few dogs we worked with as puppy sitters for Guide Dogs of America.

Stetson the Black Labrador Retriever

On February 9th 2007 I drove to the Guide Dogs of America headquarters and picked up my first Guide Dog Puppy In Training, Stetson.  The rules were different with Stetson.  We received a special handbook from GDA that told us exactly how he was to be raised.  He received a little yellow vest that signified him as a Guide Dog Puppy In Training and allowed him to enter restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters, malls, etc.

Stetson and I worked our butts off and he was very well behaved.  At about 15 months of age Stetson headed back to Guide Dog School for his formal training.  Two months into the program we were told Stetson had been career changed (dropped) and I had the option to adopt him or let GDA place him with a family.

Today, Stetson lives the life of a pet at my house with Linus.  He enjoys the relaxation and stress free life.  In the future we hope to start up his therapy dog training again and get him certified with therapy dogs international.  We hope to work with children in reading hospitals, visit retirement homes, and hospitals.

Derby the Yellow Labrador Retriever

Not long after driving Stetson back to Guide Dog school I was contacted to raise another guide dog puppy in training from the “D” litter.   I only took a couple days before I decided I’d take on the task and started my search for a good puppy name starting with the letter “D.”  As many of you know I went with Derby to continue the “hat” theme I started with Stetson.  Actually we ad a poll on this website to choose the most appropriate puppy name.

Not only was Derby the opposite color of Stetson (Derby was a yellow lab and Stetson was black), but a sharp contrast in personality.  Derby was high energy and athletic.  Stetson tripped over his own feet.  Derby could probably jump 5 feet straight up in the air.  Stetson had trouble jumping over my shoes.  Derby whined at all of our group meetings, trainings, and vet appointments.  I really didn’t know what Stetson sounded like when he barked.

Derby was a lovable, intelligent dog and had a lot of nervous energy.  He was very good with his basic obedience, but had difficult staying quiet.  He was very affectionate and loved to lean up against you or sleep on top of Stetson (Linus wouldn’t allow Derby to sleep on him).

Unfortunately, Derby was full of too much nervous energy and just had a tough time remaining calm in new situations.  He was career changed after 12 months.

I fought with the decision to keep Derby, but ultimately I thought it would be best for him to be adopted through Guide Dogs of America as they have a five year waiting list for their dogs.  My final decision was based on the fact that I lived in a condo with a small patio, I could no longer bring Derby to work with me (at work I’d walk him constantly throughout the day), and he loved to run.  Derby wasn’t meant to live a sedentary lifestyle.  He reminded me of a great agility dog.  I always thought he would excel at splash dogs because he loved to jump.  My condo with it’s 5×10 patio was not enough for him.  He needed room to run.

I was sad to see him leave, but felt good about my decision and I was confident that Derby would find a wonderful home with a large yard to run around and play in.

Dublin Another Yellow Labrador Retriever

Yellow Labrador Retriever

Dublin A Yellow Lab Puppy In Training

After dropping Derby off at Guide Dogs of America I mostly volunteered as a guide dog puppy sitter taking care of puppies anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks.  I didn’t raise my own puppy for over a year after Derby until another “D” puppy came into my life.

We picked up another Yellow Labrador Retriever named Dublin and this time we decided to shoot video of his adventures and called it Puppy In Training TV.

Even though Dublin looked similar to Derby he had a more even temperament and was highly intelligent.  Although he wasn’t without his faults.  We worked very hard on his mouthy behavior (he loved to put his mouth on your hand and was quite the kisser).   His meet and greets with people was something that we worked on since day 1.

When Dublin was 16 months we got a letter in the mail letting us know that it was time for him to start his formal training.  About 1 month after getting dropped off Dublin sent us his first postcard to let us know he was doing great, was walking in his new harness, and learning how to do left and right turns.

Filed Under: Dog Adoptions, Working Dog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Guide Dog Training And Hosting In The UK

February 19, 2010 By 2 Comments

I’ve often mentioned that RSS subscriptions and Google Alerts are great ways to hear the latest news about any subject you’re interested in, for instance, Guide Dog Training.  Today I received a Google Alert titled What It Takes To Host A Guide Dog and thought that it was an interesting title.  I think it might have been the first time I had heard the term “Guide Dog Hosting.”  My first guess was that a Guide Dog Host might be equivalent to a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser, but maybe it was a terminology used in another country.  Curious to see what the article was about I clicked through and found out…

How To Be A Guide Dog Host

Check out the video above.  Unfortunately I did not have the embed code so it will take you away to their website, but the video is a nice, short, and will tell you about Guide Dog Hosting.

According to the article Guide Dog Hosts are needed in Jersey to watch fully trained Guide Dogs when owners fall ill or go on holiday.  Here’s a quote from the article:

The Jersey Branch of the Guide Dogs for the Blind recently made an appeal for people to come forward as potential hosts – just in case an owner falls ill or goes on holiday.

At the moment the dog has to go to the nearest branch in Exeter.

Since the appeal they’ve had 40 responses from people who have the space, time and experience of looking after dogs.

I know one of our dogs, Dustin is lucky enough to return home to his original Puppy Raisers when his owner goes on holiday.  I saw on his blog that Dustin was recently back with his puppy raisers for Valentine’s Day.  Check out his adventures at Dustin Yellow Lab.

Guide Dog Training Differences?

When we get our Guide Dog Puppies In Training our main job as puppy raisers is to train them in basic obedience and socialization.  We don’t teach our puppies any of the advanced guide dog training techniques.  However, after watching the video I noticed some possible differences between our puppy  guide dog training and puppy guide dog training in the UK.

Here’s what I noticed:

  • She mentions using a whistle and blowing it three times when it’s time to eat.  We train our puppies to sit-stay before they eat meals, but I’ve never heard of using a whistle.
  • She says that they are never to walk between parked cars.  As far as I know we can walk our puppies between parked cars.
  • Another rule she mentions is to always stop at the curb.  We are taught not to stop our puppies at the curb.  However, this could be something that changes in advanced training.

Fischer, the guide dog in the video, is a working Guide Dog and many of the things he has learned may be during his formal training.  I only know what we teach our guide dog puppies before they start formal training and that is basic obedience and socialization.

I find it very interesting to see not only how guide dog training works here in the United States, but how it works in other counties as well.

I’m sure there are slight differences from program to program even in the same country.  If you are a guide dog puppy raiser or trainer I’d love to hear what you have to say about guide dog training in the comments below.

Filed Under: Guide Dog Training, Guide Dogs, Working Dog Tagged With: , ,

Search And Rescue Dog Training Demonstration

February 11, 2010 By 1 Comment

I can’t believe I missed the Search And Rescue Dog Training Demonstration and it was held right here in my back yard in Irvine, CA.  Also, to make matters worse, one of our Orange County guide dog career changed puppies, Wyler (now called Wiley) was one of the Search and Rescue Dog demonstrators.

Here’s a picture of Wiley from our OCGDA website:

Wyler, renamed Wylie – Male yellow labrador retriever raised by Kathy Tallant and Art Richardson has gone on to become an Urban Search And
Rescue dog with hander/firefighter Doug Van Iwaarden of the Orange County Fire Department. He will continue his training to become FEMA certified.

Search and Rescue Dog Training Demonstration

If you take a look at yesterdays Local section of the Orange County Register right there in the middle of the first page are a couple pictures of Wiley and some of the other Search and Rescue dogs.  If you missed the article in yesterdays paper you can check it out online at Search and Rescue Dogs.  The cool part about the online article is there are a bunch of photos from the demonstration and a short video.

Check out the short video on Search and Rescue Dog Training Demonstration.

By the way, did you notice at the end of the video the reporter said: “…each search and rescue dog is a rescue dog himself.  A dog that with intense training has gone from the pound to saving lives.”  I thought that was interesting considering Wiley was a guide dog puppy in training and I’m pretty sure never saw the inside of a pound.

Here’s another picture of Wiley from the OCRegister.com.

Great job Wiley!

After Derby was career changed we had him tested to see if he would make a suitable Search and Rescue Dog.  Unfortunately, they said he lacked the concentration and probably would be better suited as a family pet.  I’m sure he’s enjoying his life as a pet!

I encourage you to check out the full story called Rescue Dogs, Trainers Strut Their Stuff on the OCRegister.com website.

Filed Under: Working Dog Tagged With: , , , , ,

Meet Me At The Corner And Canine Companions For Independence

October 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Do any of you have children?  If so, or even if you don’t have kids, have you ever heard of the website “MEET MET AT THE CORNER?”

Until recently I had not heard of the website, but lucky for me I received an email regarding a recent featured video about Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).  Of course after hearing about a video about CCI I immediately rushed over to check it out.  I was thrilled to not only see a great interview with one of CCI’s puppy raisers, but also witnessed perhaps the next Barbara Walters.   Maybe I’m going a little too far, but I was definitely intrigued by the young lady (Katelyn) conducting the interview.

Meet Me At The Corner – Virtual Field Trips For Kids

What exactly is the MEET ME AT THE CORNER website all about?  Check out this little excerpt from the about us section of the website:

MEET ME AT THE CORNER, Virtual Field Trips for Kids, is a dynamic, interactive site, which encourages individual expression and participation through video submissions from children worldwide. Through these video pod casts we hope to create a community of children, who learn the art of self-expression and storytelling through video.

What a great concept!  I sat back and watched several other videos from MEET ME AT THE CORNER and each time I was absolutely astonished by the professionalism of the kids conducting interviews.

Looking back at my own childhood I never would have built up the nerve to conduct an interview with adults.  Great job by all the kids and adults involved with this website!

If you have a chance I definitely recommend you check out Katelyn’s video on Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).  Here’s a little CCI snippet from the website:

CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE

Eight-year old, Katelyn, learns about the importance of service dogs for people with disabilities and meets a pet owner who is raising a puppy for Canine Companions for Independence.

How about you?  Are you interested in sharing your corner of the world?  If so visit MeetMeAtTheCorner.org for more information.

Filed Under: Service Dog Training Tagged With: , , ,

Trixie Koontz A CCI Golden Retriever and Author

October 7, 2009 By 3 Comments

Once again while sorting through my RSS reader I came across a touching article about a man and his dog mentioned on the Bark-N-Blog.  A story about how this dog transformed lives.  The dog I’m talking about is Trixie Koontz, a Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) service dog who entered early retirement because of elbow surgery.  Of course the “man” I was talking about is the famous horror novelist, Dean Koontz.

Here’s a little excerpt from the article:

When Trixie met us, she was a highly educated and refined young lady of three. We were standing with others, but she came right to us, tail swishing, as if she had been shown photographs of us and knew we were to be her new mom and dad.

Here’s the full article and be sure to have some Kleenex in hand: Our Golden Girl.

I’ve had many dogs throughout my life and it’s been over 7 years since we lost our last dog, but I can’t bear the thought of losing either Stetson (almost 3) or Linus (almost 5).  Hopefully I will be better prepared in the coming years.

By the way, not only was Trixie a wonderful family dog, but she is also an accomplished author of several books.  Take a look at some of the books she wrote:

Bliss to You: Trixie’s Guide to a Happy Life

Life is Good!: Lessons in Joyful Living

Christmas Is Good: Trixie’s Guide to a Happy Holiday

If you have any touching stories about you and your dog please tell us in the comment section below.

Filed Under: Service Dogs Tagged With: ,

CCI Puppies In Training

September 17, 2009 By 1 Comment

I follow a lot of blogs in my RSS reader and too no surprise one of my feeds are simple images and descriptions of adorable puppies.  Every once in a while they (The Daily Puppy) highlights a puppy in training.  In this case we are lucky enough to see Puppies In Training.

I’m sure The Daily Puppy receives tens of thousands (if not more) visitors a day some I’m very happy to see they are highlighting a great cause like Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).

Here’s a little excerpt from the The Daily Puppy:

Canine Companions for Independence is a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly-trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships. Canine Companions assistance dogs are trained in up to 50 commands designed to make everyday life easier for adults and children with physical and developmental disabilities. They open and close doors, retrieve dropped objects, and turn on and off lights. Outside of physical tasks, Canine Companions assistance dogs provide immeasurable emotional support to their human partners.

And of course they included some adorable pictures of their Puppies In Training.  Here’s one:

Puppies In Training

For the full article and more images of these adorable CCI puppies visit the Daily Puppy.

If you’re interested in becoming a puppy raiser and raising a CCI puppy then visit their website at http://www.cci.org.  If you don’t have the time for puppy raising then they offer many other volunteer activities and also accept donations at their website.

Of course my last two puppies, Stetson and Derby were both puppies in training for Guide Dogs of America.  If you’re interested in puppy raising for GDA then visit their website at http://www.guidedogsofamerica.com.

Filed Under: Puppy In Training Tagged With: , ,

Visiting Tucson And Support A K9

September 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I’ve been pretty busy the past couple weeks.  Two weekends ago I was at a wedding in San Francisco and last weekend I met up with my college buddies in Tucson, Arizona to reminisce and have fun at our old hangouts.  We even caught a football game in the middle of rain and thunderstorms.  I looked up at the banners along the stadium and thought back to our glory days and some of the great players on our football team during our college years.  Most football fans have heard of Tedy Bruschi who just retired this year after a stellar career with the New England Patriots.  Also, a big part of our Desert Swarm defense was standout defensive tackle Rob Waldrop.  I don’t remember too much about his NFL career so I decided to look him up on Google.

After Googling “Rob Waldrop”  I found out he did have a short pro career however one thing that came to my attention was his involvement in a program called Support a K9 and decided to write a quick post about it since we’ve been talking about K9′s quite a bit over the past few weeks.   Here’s some information on the program:

Support A K9

21 AUGUST 2007 TUCSON, Arizona — A little over a year ago, two local businesses purchased a trained police K9 for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department … A unique donation for sure, but the intent was to be far more reaching …

A trained police K9 provides long-term value — seven years to be exact — to the community and department far beyond the price tag of $11,500. In the time since the donation, “Rudy” (The K9) and Sgt. Greg Bargar (The Handler) have combined to accomplish the following:

They’ve recovered over $735,000 in drug money … Seized over 40-lbs of Cocaine; 25-lbs of Methamphetamine; 2-lbs of Heroin; 7400-lbs of Marijuana; And been involved with the search and arrest of numerous felony suspects for various crimes ranging from: Car Jacking, Kidnapping, Auto-Theft, Robbery, and various others.

One of the two local business men mentioned in the article was the aforementioned Rob Waldrop.  After the success of the first K9 “Rudy” Waldrop is attempting to duplicate donations in order to purchase another K9 for the Sheriff’s department.  For more information on how to donate to Support a K9 visit the website at http://www.supportak9.com.  If you click on the “I’m Interested” link in the horizontal navigation bar you can fill out the form with your information and the amount you’d like to contribute.

Thank you Mr. Waldrop for all the great football memories during the early 90′s and thanks once again for supporting your community with the Support A K9 program.

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