February 7, 2012

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep14 – Trains, Trams, Buses, And Puppies

October 14, 2011 By 1 Comment

It’s important for us to take our guide dog puppies in training out and about exposing them to different people as well as different situations.  Dublin and I rode the metrolink to San Clemente back in Episode 7 – Puppy Training Ride.  Today in Episode 14 we had the opportunity to once again ride the metrolink train, but this time we took it north to the Union Station in Los Angeles, CA.  Not only did we ride the train, but we also had the opportunity to ride the tram and bus on our way to the Universal City Walk…you could call it a “Transportation Puppy Training Day!”

We found our train, tram, and bus riding experience to the Universal City Walk to be invaluable.  It’s very important to expose our guide dog puppies to public transportation as it’s one of our pups likely modes of transportation when they become working guide dogs.

Anyhow enough jabber…on with the show!!!

Puppy In Training TV Ep14 – Trains, Trams, Buses, And Puppies

Here’s this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV.  If you’d like to sponsor an episode take a look at the Puppy In Training TV Sponsorship page.

Trains, Trams, Buses, And Puppies Transcription

PuppyInTraining.com Logo and Website Address

I hope you’re enjoying my great camera work of the incoming train and the headless Dublin :) Anyhow…welcome to the latest episode of Puppy In Training TV

Guide Dog Puppy Training Starring DUBLIN
With Linus Aussie Shepherd Rescue
Also Colby The Human
And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog

That train you just saw speeding by was the Metrolink. We hopped on the Metrolink in Orange with our GDA pals and headed off for an adventure to the Universal City Walk in Los Angeles.

In episode 7 we took the metrolink south to San Clemente and visited the beach and walked the pier. This time we took the train north to the Union Station in LA.

After exiting the train we did a head count. Yuki…Check, Dublin…Check, Baron…Check, Wriley…Check! Then we headed through the tunnels to meet our tour guide.

All of our pups did really well riding the train and walking through the train station. As you can see and hear their are tons of strange sights and sounds not too mention the different smells.

Our second leg of the trip was to hop on the tram. It was a little bit cramped in their with people and pups, but Dublin got comfortable in a down-stay.

After exiting the tram we had a great opportunity to walk up a long flight of stairs. As you can see Dublin was a little bit eager, so I did my best to slow him down and keep him in a nice heel position.

Once we reached the top of the stairs we saw a sign to our final destination the Universal City Walk, However, we still had to take the third leg in our public transportation training trip…a short bus ride to take up the hill.

After a train ride, a tram ride, and a bus ride we made it and gave our pups a chance to pose out in front of the famous Universal Studios rotating globe.

The Universal City Walk was pretty crowded with people with lots of noise and activities going on. Our first destination was the Karl Strauss Brewing Company for a bite to eat.

After relaxing and having a bit of food we came downstairs and let the puppies hang out by this interesting water fountain.

As I mentioned the Universal City Walk was crowded! But there was tons of different things for the pups to see, smell, and hear.

A Giant Gorilla…A Giant Guitar….Some crazy Dancers…And Skydivers floating around in a giant tube. Now those are some things you don’t see everyday!

Baron even got to check out a little yapping puppy.

On the way out Dublin thought it would be a good idea to hang out by the Sparky’s Mini Donuts….so we went ahead and bought of few…Sorry Dublin donuts are for the humans…

After a long day we started our bus, tram, and train ride back home.

When we finally got back on the metrolink Dublin absolutely zonked out. Then when we got in the car he squished his head between my backpack and the chair and started snoring away.

Thanks for joining us on our Train, Tram, and Bus Ride to the Universal City Walk. We’ll see you next time!

Our Final Thoughts On Trains, Trams, Buses, And Puppies

You may have noticed in the video that Dublin was a tad bit eager.  In fact, he was probably on his worst behavior, constantly pulling and trying to move out in front of me throughout the day.  Fortunately, about half way through the day Dublin started behaving more like a normal guide dog puppy in training.  However, today’s trip to the Universal City Walk was definitely one of Dublin’s worse outings.

Why the change in Dublin’s behavior?  I’m not really sure because we have been on many outings before with other GDA pups and he’s behaved just fine.  He wasn’t fearful and the sights, sounds, and smells didn’t seem to bother him.  He seemed to be dog distracted more than anything and had an extra dose of energy pulling towards our other guide dog puppies in training.  Hopefully Dublin will adjust and mature a little bit more before he starts his formal guide dog training at school.  Since shooting this puppy training video Dublin has definitely shown improvement and this seems to have been a one time event.  As I mentioned I’m not too sure what happened…I guess he was just having one of those crazy days.

Have you taken your puppy in training on a train, tram, or bus.  If so, how was the experience?  How did you puppy handle all the different sights, sounds and smells?

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National Guide Dog Month

September 23, 2011 By 3 Comments

I know I’m a little late it already being towards the end of September, but this month (September) is National Guide Dog Month.  So what exactly is national guide dog month?  According to wikipedia:

“National Guide Dog Month is a celebration of the work of Guide Dogs in the United States as a way to raise awareness, appreciation and support for guide dog schools across the United States. It was established in 2008 as a fundraising drive to benefit non-profit guide dog organizations accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF).”

National Guide Dog Month

Guide Dog Puppy

Dublin A Puppy In Training

As many of you long time readers know we’ve been raising guide dog puppies for the past 5 years and we’ve also been doing our best to raise awareness for guide dogs as well as share our journey as puppy raisers.  Our goal with our blog is not only to raise awareness and support for guide dogs and puppy raisers, but to also share our experiences and try and help our readers learn more about how to train a puppy.

So why all of a sudden are we adding a post about National Guide Dog Month?  Well, it all starts with my trip to Petco…

Petco Supports Guide Dogs

A couple days ago we visited our local Petco to pickup some dog food and poop bags for the boys (Linus, Stetson, and Dublin).  We were at the cashier making our purchase when our the Petco employee asked if we’d like to round our purchase up to the nearest dollar as a donation to guide dog organizations.  Wow!  I thought that was pretty cool and when I got home I put a little research into Petco’s support of Guide Dogs.  I also tweeted our experience and wrote a short status update on our facebook account.

Here’s some interesting information from the Petco website:

Petco and Natural Balance have teamed up with CSI:Miami’s Eva La Rue and Omar Miller to support Guide Dog organizations.

Did you know that there are 1.3 million blind people in the USA? Every 7 minutes someone in America becomes visually impaired.

Guide Dogs improve the lives of the visually impaired by creating opportunities for life-changing independence and through community outreach and education programs. Guide Dogs provide safe mobility, loving companionship and the “miracle of independence” to the visually impaired.

Unfortunately, the guide dog organization we volunteer for, Guide Dogs of America is not on the list of schools receiving donations this year.  However, we do appreciate the support Petco is putting forth to help Guide Dog organizations.  Thanks Petco!

What are you doing for National Guide Dog Month? Have you visited your local Petco this month?  Did they ask you for a donation for guide dog organizations?

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Guide Dog Puppy Training With Dublin

March 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We brought Dublin home when he was seven weeks old and that same day we started his guide dog puppy training.  He’s already taken a puppy kindergarten class and a basic dog obedience training class.  We will continue to enroll Dublin in dog obedience training classes until it’s time to turn him in fo formal guide dog training.

Did you see Dublin’s nine month guide dog puppy evaluation report?  Recently Dublin had his second evaluation and unfortunately he received less than stellar marks.  However, there are positives to an average at best report…we now have a much better idea of what to work on in Dublin’s puppy training.

Dublin’s Guide Dog Puppy Training

Puppy Training

Dublin Waiting For His Next Bowl Of Food

As I mentioned in our last post one of the guide dog trainers came down from Guide Dogs of America and gave us three things to work on with Dublin.  Here are the three puppy training tips we’ve been working on for the past few weeks.

  1. Mouthy Behavior – Dublin is very sensitive.  We were advised to work with people used to dog/puppy training.  When Dublin puts his mouth on the greeters arm or forearm we are advising them to force him back a little bit by shoving our forearm into his mouth.  Dublin has a sensitive mouth so he does not really bite down, but instead he just likes to lay it on people’s hands and lick them.
  2. Self Control – We put Dublin in a sit stay and stand out in front of him facing and keeping him in a stay.  We then have several people behind us yell, scream, and get excited.  We just work on keeping Dublin in his sit-stay.
  3. Traffic Sensitivity – Walk Dublin around heavier traffic areas.  First, walk towards traffic.  Over time we are to start walking with the traffic coming from behind us.

Here’s how we are doing now with Dublin’s Guide Dog Training:

  • Dublin’s mouthy behavior has gotten much better.  Although he does still like to be mouthy it’s less often.  We need to work more with people he does not really know very well.
  • Dublin is doing very well with his self control.  We’ve been working on the exercise mentioned above and he is much better at remaining in his sit stays.  We .will continue to work on improving this behavior
  • We’ve introduced Dublin to some new busier streets and traffic areas.  He’s had traffic come from in front and behind him and it hasn’t really bothered him much.  We’ll continue to work on walking him in different high traffic areas.

We are glad we could take away some positives from Dublin’s Puppy Evaluation Report.  We’ve been working hard on his Guide Dog Puppy Training and he seems to be improving every day.

How about you guys? Are you a guide dog puppy raiser?  What things are you working on?  Leave us a comment in the comments section below.

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep7 – Puppy Train(ing) Ride

March 2, 2011 By 2 Comments

We recently had a great outing to San Clemente with our Orange County Guide Dogs of America Puppy Raising Group.  It started at the Metrolink train station in the city of Orange, a train ride down to San Clemente, a walk on the boardwalk, lunch, and play time for our puppies.  It was a great day and a super experience for all of our puppies in training.

Dublin had his first encounter with sand and he really didn’t know what to think of the next texture under his paws.  Take a look at this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV to see Dublin’s reaction to sand and puppy train outing to San Clemente.

Puppy In Training TV – Ep7 – Puppy Train(ing) Ride

Here’s this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV.  If you’d like to sponsor an episode take a look at the Puppy In Training TV Sponsorship page.

Puppy Train(ing) Ride

We tried to be funny with the title because it was Puppy Training and A Puppy Train Ride…anyhow here’s this weeks transcription.  I hope you enjoy!

Happy Holidays everyone! My name is Colby this is Dublin. Welcome to our final episode of 2010!

(Titles Roll): Puppy In Training TV Starring Dublin. With Linus Aussie Mix Rescue. Also Colby The Human. And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog. Episode 6 – Los Caballeros Tennis And Puppy Training.

Weclome to Episode 7 – Puppy Train(ing) Ride.  We recently took Dublin on his first real train ride down to San Clemente.  Our first stop was the Orange Train Station where we met the other puppy raisers from our group.

The Metrolink trains are much louder than the train ride we encountered on our trip to Knott’s in episode 4.  The sites sounds and getting on and off the train are great experiences for our puppies, but this trip was recommended for our older puppies only.  As you can tell the Metrolink moves pretty fast and Dublin did a great job just relaxing under my chair as did all the other puppies in our group.

As I mentioned we got on at the Orange train stop and took the Metrolink all the way down to San Clemente.

When the train finally came to a stop.  We all worked on calmly getting off the train with our puppies.  After exiting the train we walked along the boardwalk on the beach.  While walking down the boardwalk we had the chance to get close to the water and watch some surfers.  While watching the surf and the surfers.  The train came speeding by.

After walking for about a mile we got to the San Clemente Pier and we took the dogs down to the end so they could take in the view.  While looking into the water we noticed some dolphins off the shore.  If you look closely you can see them off in the distance.  I tried to get Dublin to take a look, but he just wasn’t interested.

We had a little extra time before lunch so we took the opportunity to take a few pictures of our puppies.  After watching the dolphins for a little bit and taking a few pictures of our puppies we decided to head in and grab some lunch.  During our lunch break all of our puppies absolutely knocked out underneath the table

After lunch we started heading over to the park and I noticed Dublin got excited when walking on the sand that’s something we probably need to work on in the future.

While we were walking towards the park the train came speeding by again.  It blew its whistle and it scared the absolute poop out of me.  However, it didn’t bother Dublin one bit.  When we got to the park the x-pens were already setup and we let our puppies play for a little while.  After running around and playing for a little while our puppies relaxed we took some glamour shots, and we prepared for our long walk back to the train station.

We got back a little early and stopped off at the coffee shop.  Dublin knocked out and curled up into a perfect ball underneath my chair.  It had been a long day for our puppies as we headed back to the San Clemente train stop.  Dublin had one more chance to watch the train pull up before we all got on board and headed home.

Hey everyone!  Dublin did awesome on his first train ride.  The loud noises and speeding train didn’t bother him one bit.  Thanks again everyone for watching Puppy In Training TV.  I hope everyone has a fun and safe holidays!

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A special thanks to Jan Brady for organizing all of our Orange County GDA outings this past year!

If you’d like to sponsor an episode of Puppy In Training TV visit PuppyInTraining.com

Our Final Thoughts On This Weeks Puppy Training Ride

As I mentioned in the video, Dublin did absolutely awesome on his first train ride.  There were some very loud noises especially when the train blew it’s whistle.  It was nice to hang out with all the other guide dog puppies in training on this outing.  Everyone did very well!  As I mentioned earlier the one area that kind of weirded Dublin out was the sand.  It was his first steps on sand and it got him into a playful mood.  However, I’m not too worried about it.  Since this video was shot we’ve walked on sand a couple more times and Dublin did much better.  I believe it’s just a matter of exposing him to different textures on the ground including sand.  We also plan on testing Dublin in the snow sometime soon.

Thanks again for visiting our blog and please let us know if there’s something you’d like to see in one of our upcoming Puppy In Training TV episodes.

How about you?  Have you taken your Puppy In Training on a train ride?  How was the experience?

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Puppy Sitting Report For Dublin

December 13, 2010 By 3 Comments

Dublin recently had the opportunity to go to the Young Americans Christmas Show with another puppy raiser family.  We thought it would be a great training experience for Dublin since we recently missed walking in the Downey Christmas parade.  He had the chance to not only visit the Christmas show, but he also had the chance to stay with another family and interact with their pets and daily routines.

Not too long ago Dublin received his six month puppy evaluation from the Guide Dogs of America school in Sylmar, CA.  When puppy sitter’s watch your pup they also fill out a short puppy sitting report.  The GDA Puppy Sitting Report is great because it helps to show how your pup is progressing – the good and the bad.

Puppy Sitting Report

Here’s a copy of Dublin’s Puppy Sitting Report:

Puppy Name: Dublin

Puppy’s Age: almost 7 months

List any other animals you have in your home or encountered during the puppy’s stay: Austin (golden puppy), Christy (breeder), 2 Boston Terriers, Catlin (Puppy In Training)

What was the puppy’s reaction and how did he or she interact with those animals? Dublin reacted appropriately – excited and exuberant, but not out of control.

How did the puppy interact with other people such as elderly people and children? There were lots of elderly people in the audience who greeted Dublin.  We worked on calm greetings.  A bit “mouthy”

Where did you take the puppy? Dinner at Red Robins.  Young Americans Christmas Show

The puppy’s overall behavior during the stay was: excellent.

What are the most positive traits/behaviors of the puppy? He’s adorable and wants to please

Do you have any concerns regarding the puppy’s behavior? none.  He has a great puppy raiser and is a normal 7 month old puppy.

Check the commands the puppy knows: His/Her Name – X, Sit – X immediate, Down – X, Here – , All in progress (Come - X, Stay – X, Heel – X, Walking on loose leash – X)

How are the coat, skin, nails and weight?  How is the puppy’s general health?

How much is the puppy fed? 2 cups / 2x a day

Comments: Thanks for letting us borrow Dublin.  He’s a great dog and handled several strange/new situations well

Dublin’s Evaluation

We’re very proud of Dublin and his Puppy Sitting Report.  As they said on the report “He’s adorable and wants to please”.  We agree!  We also had the chance to speak to Dublin’s puppy sitters.  He is over exuberant when meeting new people and dogs, hes “a bit mouthy”, he played nice with the other dogs at their house, he handled new situations well.  One funny thing we did notice was that for the command “Sit” it said “immediate”.  We’ve noticed that Dublin does put his butt to the ground quickly when we say “sit”.  We haven’t done anything different with his training.  We think it’s just one of those commands he’s learned to respond to in a hurry.

I’m glad Dublin had a chance to stay with another family, work with different handlers, and situations.  I’m sure it will help him become a better guide dog in the future.

Do you ever have puppy sitters watch your puppies or dogs?  If so, do they fill out a puppy sitter report?

Thanks to the Guske family for taking Dublin for taking Dublin to Red Robin’s and the Young American’s Christmas show.

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Guide Dog Puppy Evaluation – Dublin

November 23, 2010 By 5 Comments

As many of you know Dublin recently went back to school in Sylmar for his six month Guide Dog Puppy Evaluation. We’ve been working hard on Dublin’s puppy training and socialization for the past 4 months and we were hoping our hard work would show up on his evaluation report. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I looked over Dublin’s eval. Here’s a look at most of the things listed on his report:

Guide Dog Puppy Evaluation

The first few things are basic:

Dog’s Name: Dublin
Breed: YLAB
Sex: Male
Intact: Yes
Proper Tags (3): Yes
Dog’s current age: 6 mos

Kennel Behavior:

  • In Run: Calm, Happy
  • Overall behavior: Well-behaved
  • Community Run: N/A

Basic Handling / Grooming: (ears, eyes, teeth, paws, tail): Excellent

  • Overall Appearance: Good

Relieving on leash: on command

Evaluation Walk in Unfamiliar Area:

  • Location: Valencia
  • Response to people: friendly-interested
  • Other dogs: interested-walks by
  • Animals (birds, squirrels, etc.): ignored birds
  • Loud sounds: not bothered
  • Traffic: not bothered
  • New Handler: very responsive – eager to please
  • Other (stairs, kids, sniffing, etc.): no pulling, loose lead, some concern with people  walking up behind him, recovered quickly

OB response:

  • Name: Very Good
  • Sit: Excellent
  • Stay: Excellent
  • Down: Excellent
  • Come: Excellent

General Handling:

  • Energy Level: medium
  • Response to correction: responds well – remembers
  • Behavior in establishments: polite, well-behaved
  • Overall stress: did not seem stressed today

Comments / Recommendations:

Dublin is a pleasure to walk.  He walks nicely on a loose leash and is very responsive to handler.  Dublin has excellent manners and a great obedience foundation.  Overall, Dublin was not bothered by any situation he encountered.  However, he did become concerned when approached from behind by a woman talking on a cell phone.  He startled and became distracted bu recovered quickly after she passed by.  Continue to expose Dublin to new experiences including crowds.

Keep up the Great Work!

Recommend Re-evaluation: 3 months

My Thoughts On Dublin’s Evaluation

Dublin does a lot of things very well and his puppy evaluation made me proud…I’m a happy parent :)   Here are a few things I though after reading this report:

I left a couple things out including Date, DOB, ID#, and Evaluator.  As I mentioned most of this stuff is very basic, but a few things to note are:  He is still intact – I guess that won’t change until his next evaluation so he gets to keep his man parts for a little while longer.  Proper Tags – He has his Microchip Tag, GDA Tag, and a Personal Tag with my information I have not yet received his Irvine City Registration tag, but should have that soon.

Although it was his first stay at the GDA kennels his behavior report does not surprise me.  He’s a happy go lucky dog and has always got along with other puppies from his group.  Also he’s always done very well with his crate training.

We’ve been working on basic handling with Dublin including petting, manipulating and dressing him in dog costumes since we first brought him home.   We even put together a puppy training video showing Dublin and some of the other puppies in training wearing their Halloween dog costumes and explaining the purpose behind puppy dress-ups.

The part of Dublin’s evaluation that did surprise me was his response to people and other dogs.  He generally ignores people unless they are coming up to say hello.  In that case he gets super excited for about 10-30 seconds and takes a little bit before he calms down.  Meet and greets with people is one area we’ve been working on nearly every day.  By the way, we had Baron for a few days and he is great with his meet and greets.  Also, if we get close to other dogs Dublin will pull and want to go play.  This is another area we’re working on.

Finally, Dublin is great with most of his Puppy obedience training.  However, the past couple weeks he has regressed with his Name and the “Come” command.  We’ve gone back to working with him on a long line to increase his responsiveness.

3 Months Till Dublin’s Next Puppy Eval

As I mentioned earlier there was no mention of…shhhh…neutering…so I assume Dublin gets to keep his man parts for another 3 months till his next puppy evaluation.  Until then we’ll keep working on Dublin’s puppy training.

I just looked back at  Stetson’s Puppy Evaluation and guess what?  One thing I noted was that he was really bad with his sniffing (not allowed for a guide dog).  What are we doing with Stetson today?  K9 Nose Work Training!!!

Are you raising a puppy for Guide Dogs of America?  If so, we’d love to hear about your Guide Dog puppy evaluation.  Are you a puppy raiser for another organization?  If so, I’d love to hear about your programs puppy evaluation process.

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep2 – Take Your Dog To Work

August 27, 2010 By 9 Comments

Episode 2 – Take Your Dog To Work

Welcome to the second episode of Puppy In Training TV – Take Your Dog To Work.  You’ll notice at the end of the episode we thank our sponsors.  If you’d like to sponsor an episode then please visit our Puppy In Training TV Sponsorship page.

Enjoy this weeks puppy training video!

Take Your Dog To Work Transcription

The Take your Dog To Work Transcription is not nearly as riveting as our video, but just in case for some reason you cannot get the video play properly we offer this written version of Puppy In Training TV Episode 2.

Hey Everyone, Colby and Dublin here at the Ascolta Training Headquarters.  Welcome to episode 2 of Puppy In Training TV.

(Titles Roll): Puppy In Training TV Starring Dublin.  With Linus Aussie Mix Rescue.  Also Colby The Human.  And Stetson Career Changed Guide Dog.  Episode 2 – Take Your Dog To Work.

Oh hey guys, Colby here just some work done here at the office.  Welcome to episode 2 – Take Your Dog To Work.

As many of you already know Take Your Dog To Work Day was a few months ago, but if you’ve been following us on Facebook then you’ll know that we brought Reggie, another GDA puppy to work with us on that day.

Lucky for us, our company, Ascolta allows us to bring our puppies to work with us every day as a part of their guide dog puppy training.

As Guide Dog puppy raisers it’s our job to expose our puppies to different situations…such as an office environment like we have at Ascolta.

Going to the office is great training for Dublin and he spends nearly the entire day with me doing the same things I do including:

  1. Taking a small break in the break room.
  2. Sitting quietly next to me while I make a copy on the copy machine.
  3. And patiently waiting by my feet while I’m in the middle of a sales meeting.

At Ascolta we offer technical training to corporate students across the world using cutting edge technology such as this Cisco TelePresence training classroom.  Ascolta is based out of Irvine, California and on this day I’m showing Sharlene, our sales rep in Denver, Colorado, Dublin our latest Puppy In Training.

We bring our Guide Dog puppies home at 7 to 8 weeks of age and during those first few weeks I try to do my best to make sure my puppy has an easy time getting adjusted to his new home environment.  I also have two dogs at home, Stetson and Linus and when I first brought Dublin home I made sure the adjustment period went a little easier by introducing him slowly to his two, new, big brothers.

We begin teaching the basics from day 1 and

  1. One of the first things I did when I brought Dublin home was show him the door he needs to go to when it’s time to go potty.  Next I took Dublin over to the spot where he’s supposed to go potty and I told him to “Get Busy” which is the command we give to let our puppy know it’s time to relieve himself.
  2. Another basic we started teaching Dublin from the very beginning was to sit and wait patiently for his food…as soon as we said “OK” …he was allowed to eat.
  3. You may recall from Dublin’s first night that he whined a little bit, but overall he did a great job.  Crate Training is another basic we began teaching Dublin starting his first night at home.  We tell him to first “Kennel” which lets them know they’re supposed to go into their kennel and then once we open the kennel they’re not supposed to come out until we tell them “OK”.

Thanks for joining us for our second episode of Puppy In Training TV.  We’d love to hear about your first few weeks of puppy training.  So if you have a chance, tell us your story in the comment section below.  And as always don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel.  We’ll see you later and talk to you soon.

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A special thanks to Ascolta and the Ascolta employees for sponsoring this episode.  If you’re looking for technical training visit www.ascolta.com.

If you’d like to sponsor an episode of Puppy In Training TV visit PuppyInTraining.com.

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Guide Dog Surprise For American Idol’s Scott MacIntyre

May 14, 2009 By 2 Comments

I saw this article early in the week on Paula Abdul Surprises Idol’s Scott MacIntyre with Guide Dog, but I’m just finally getting a chance to post a short article.  Actually throughout the week my RSS reader has been filling up with other articles and commentary about Paula Abdul’s Surprise Guide Dog.

American Idol Star to Get Guide Dog

Actually the main thing that caught my attention was the Guide Dog organization that will supply Scott MacIntrye with a guide dog: Guide Dogs of America!   Yep, isn’t that exciting!

If you haven’t already take a look at the article on Eonline.  Check out the video from the article…if you’re a GDA puppy raiser I’m sure you’ll recognize the GDA campus in the video footage.

Guide Dogs of America Puppies

After reading the article headline, I thought he was in the last graduating class with our friend Jamaica.  After reading the entire article the press conference was on Friday, not Sunday (GDA graduation day) and Scott won’t start training at GDA until after the America Idol tour ends on September 15th.

Now a few things started racing through my mind after I saw this news.  First, what graduating class is Scott going to graduate from and will he get one of the dogs from our Orange County group.  Now I’m speculating, but if he is really serious about getting a Guide Dog then the earliest he’d be able to start training is after the American Idol tour ended.  That means he’d have a shot at graduating in the October 25th, 2009 graduation.  I’m going to guess it’s fairly unlikely he would graduate on that date, but just in case I took a look at the OCGDA website to see what dogs were in for training.  Lex, a black lab and Egan a black and tan labrador retriever are both at GDA and could potentially graduate on that date.

The next two graduation dates after that are January 31st 2010 and May 2nd 2010.  That means Dexter and Dutch could have a chance at being on a celebrity guide dog team.

Anyways, I’m glad Guide Dogs of America is getting publicity and hopefully it’s helping with donations during this recession.

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Grace A Puppy In Training For The Guide Dog Foundation Rings NASDAQ Closing Bell

January 5, 2009 By 2 Comments

I’m a little late on this one, but earlier today I saw that Grace, a Puppy In Training for the Guide Dog Foundation was going to ring the NASDAQ closing bell today.  Unfortunately, I was to slow to post my article or even witness the NASDAQ closing today.

I did find some links to the site including these picture and a short write up:  http://www.nasdaq.com/reference/200901/market_close_010509.stm

Here’s some information about Guide Dog Foundation For The Blind, Inc.

About The Guide Dog Foundation:

GDF LogoSince 1946, The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. has provided guide dogs free of charge to blind people who seek enhanced mobility and independence.

Our students come to us from all over the United States and many foreign countries for the quality of our dogs and our innovative training techniques. Every future guide or service dog gets its start in a puppy walker home. Puppy walkers raise Guide Dog Foundation puppies for about a year, teaching basic obedience and social skills, before the dogs return for formal training to become assistance dogs for people who are blind, visually impaired, or have other disabilities.

We are supported entirely by donations from generous individuals,corporations and foundations. We receive no government funding.

Thanks Johann!  We received this information through your RSS feed this morning.  If you want to learn more about Johann and his adventures as an agility dog please visit his site: The Days of Johann, an agility dog.

Filed Under: Guide Dogs Tagged With: , ,

How To Socialize Your Dog On The Bus

October 2, 2008 By 3 Comments

Unfortunately most dogs don’t get the chance to socialize and learn to ride on a bus. However, lucky for us Derby and I will get the chance to learn how to properly ride the bus thanks to the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA).

This Saturday, October 4th OCTA is offering free training that teaches service animals (that includes guide dogs) to navigate public transportation and navigate their surroundings.

If you have a service animal then this is a wonderful opportunity for you to work on their training and socialization.

OCTA Guide Dog Bus Ride Free Training

What: OCTA Guide Dog Bus Ride Free Training

When: Saturday, October 4th from 8am – noon

Where: Fullerton Park n’ Ride
3000 W. Orangethorpe Ave.
Fullerton, CA

Here’s some information straight from the press release, Anxious Dogs Learn To Relax On The OCTA Buses:

Many animals experience apprehension from vibrations and noise made by the bus and from the opening and closing of the bus doors, making the ride difficult for the animal and handler.

During OCTA’s training, service dogs and their handlers will have an opportunity to ride the bus in a controlled environment. They can board and exit multiple times and ride for an extended period of time to become familiar with the experience. The training has helped more than 500 animals over the past 10 years.

Orange County Guide Dogs Of America Puppy Raisers

Derby and I plan on being at the free training this Saturday. I believe our group is meeting at the Fullerton Park n’ Ride at 9am (I’ll have to check on that time). It should be a lot of fun and I’ve heard that there will be other dog organizations from service to therapy to guide dogs. Unfortunately, I might have to skip out a little early as I have a wedding in the early afternoon.

By the way, that’s Egan the purebred black and tan Labrador Retriever at our train ride outing earlier this year. Egan’s in formal training now and from what I’ve heard he’s doing great!

A few things to remember

  1. Remember age appropriate dogs. Derby is on the young side and I’ll be keeping a close eye on him to make sure he doesn’t get stressed out by all the activity. However, after raising Derby the past three months I am confident that he will be fine and if not we’ll be prepared to leave.
  2. Make sure you bring things your dog may need including a bottle of water and poop bags.
  3. Stay on the sidewalk while you wait for the bus, no need to stay too close to the street.
  4. Get on quickly, but don’t let your puppy pull you.
  5. Your puppy should be sitting under the seat whenever possible.
  6. You need to know where your puppy is & Its tail at all times, other passengers will not be looking down for a dog. It is your responsibility to keep it safe!
  7. Remember to thank the drivers as they are allowing us to ride free!
  8. Make sure your puppies and their jackets are clean and are a good representative of your organization (GDA) and guide, service, and therapy dogs in general.

Are you raising a service animal? If so, we’d love to see you at this event. If you see Derby and I please do not hesitate to say hello.

Have you been to the OCTA free bus training in the past? If so, I’d love to hear what you thought about your puppy training, the bus riding, and the event.

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