February 7, 2012

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Working Dog Postage Stamps Now Available!

January 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s been a few years since I saw any kind of dogs on stamps.  I don’t really know too much about the history of postage stamps or how they go about choosing who, what, where ends up on a stamp, but I do know that the United States Postal Service has released a set of working dog postage stamps.

Canadian Guide Dog Postage Stamps

Several years ago our friends, Anne and Jim visited Canada and returned with a special gift for me and the doggies.  I was quite excited to find a set of Canadian Guide Dog Postage Stamps.  They were super cool because not only did the stamps celebrate guide dogs with a picture of a working guide on the stamp, but it also featured Braille on the stamp.  Here’s what the accompanying information pamphlet said about these guide dog postage stamps:

“The Guide Dogs stamp, the first Canadian stamp to feature Braille, is issued on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Association for the Blind.”

Here’s a picture of the Canadian Stamps:

Guide Dog Postage Stamps

Guide Dog Postage Stamps From Canada

Sorry for the lousy picture, but the stamps are pretty cool.

USPS Working Dog Postage Stamps

Now back to the aforementioned United States working dog postage stamps.  Here’s what they had to say at the USPS website:

The U.S. Postal Service® celebrates the enduring part­nership between dogs and people with this set of four dif­ferent stamps depicting dogs at work: a guide dog assisting a blind woman; a military dog scouting and track­ing; a therapy dog visiting an elderly woman in her home; and a search and rescue dog in a field, ready to tackle the next assignment. Artist John M. Thompson created original paintings for the stamps, which were designed by art direc­tor Howard E. Paine.

The stamp will go on sale nationwide January 20, 2012.

And here’s a peek at what they look like:

Dog Postage Stamps

Working Dogs On Postage Stamps

Starting in the upper left hand corner of the image and going clockwise:

  1. Guide Dog – I’ve been volunteering at Guide Dogs of America now for over 5 years and I’m hoping my latest guide dog puppy in training, Dublin makes it as a guide…hopefully 3 more months!
  2. Therapy Dog – Stetson has already taken his first step towards becoming a therapy dog and passed his Canine Good Citizen test.  I’ve been thinking about getting him involved with the Beach Animals Reading with Kids (BARK) group.
  3. Military Dog – The dog in the image is scouting and tracking.  Although we really don’t know too much about military dogs, Stetson has been working on his sniffer dog training at K9 Nosework classes.
  4. Search And Rescue Dog – Some of the dogs from our guide dog school career change and become search and rescue dogs.  In fact, one of our good pals, Nicholas is in the middle of search and rescue dog training.  Go Nicholas!

The denominations for these stamps are kind of odd since the typical letter can be sent for 44 cents.  Maybe if you have an over-sized letter you can put these working dog stamps to use.  As for me I think I’ll pick some up at my local post office and put them beside my Canadian guide dog postal stamp.  Hopefully in the coming years we’ll see something in the U.S. like they produced in Canada with Braille on each stamp.

I don’t recall seeing dogs on stamps too often.  What about you?  Are you going to go out and buy some working dog postage stamps?  What do you think about the latest 65 cent stamps?

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep 18 – Puppy Turn In Day

December 23, 2011 By 4 Comments

Make sure you bring a handkerchief for this episode of Puppy In Training TV because it’s a real tear jerker.  It seems just like yesterday that we picked up a 7 week old puppy from the “D” litter that we named Dublin.  As a guide dog puppy raiser we work on basic dog obedience training, puppy socialization (taking our pups out in public), and good house manners.  We begin working on these things from the time our pups are 7 weeks old until they are approximately 18 months.  At about 18 months we return our puppies to the schools where they begin a more intense “formal” guide dog training.  This is where they learn to wear their harness, left and right turns, intelligent disobedience, and many other advanced skills.

Black and White Lab Puppy

Curious Pup, Dublin!

Dublin was a shade under 18 months when we dropped him off for “Guide Dog College”.  Puppy Turn In Day is one of the most difficult days for us as puppy raisers.  This is the day we’ve all been dreading when we have to say good bye to our puppies, wish them the best, and hope to see them again wearing a nice shiny harness at graduation.

Check out this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV – Ep 18 – Puppy Turn In Day:

Ep 18 – Puppy Turn In Day

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.

That one makes me a little bit sad every time I watch it.  I hope you enjoyed it.  Below is the transcription for this weeks episode just in case you can’t see this weeks puppy training video.

Puppy Turn In Day Transcription

PuppyInTraining.com Logo and Website Address

Hi Everyone! Today’s Dublin’s last day here. He’s going off to Guide Dog College. Stetson and Linus just wanted to say goodbye. Welcome to this 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

So Dublin and I headed out the front door for the last time. Just like we had done everyday for the past 1 ½ years Dublin hopped onto the passenger side floor boards of my car. And just like that we were on the road! Heading to Guide Dogs of America with Dublin for the last time.

Traffic can be unpredictable so we left nice and early. Lucky for us we arrived early…a chance to shoot some video of the campus!

The front office is normally closed on weekends so we went through the side gate. This gave Dublin a chance to work on walking calmly through a threshold.

We walked down the hill to the vets office. Then on the way back up the hill we saw Gentry and Denise who you might remember from Ep 17 and our trip to Disneyland.

We decided to walk over towards the puppy nursery and work on one last walk up the brick stairs.

Guide Dogs of America holds a short luncheon to thank all the puppy raisers on puppy turn in day. We also get a nice certificate and photo commemorating our accomplishment of raising a puppy.

We took one final snapshot with Dublin’s pal Chloe and then walked back down the hill and made our way towards the GDA kennels.

And just like that they called Dublin’s name. We’re allowed to walk our pups to the kennel and stay with them for a bit while they get used to their new roomate and their environment.

Dublin’s new roomate isa Yellow Lab Golden Retriever cross named Saffie and look! Chloe and Dublin got to be neighbors!

We went to the outdoor side of the kennel and Here comes Dublin happy to see me!

One final hug for me and Dublin and giving him some last minute advice to be a good boy.

It’s tough saying goodbye!

And finally my first walk without my pal Dublin…thinking back to all the happy memories I spent with my little buddy!

[Video of our adventures with Dublin]

Dropping your puppy off for formal guide dog training is one of the toughest things you can do as a puppy raiser.  We worked really hard with Dublin on his training and we know he’ll do well in college.  Thanks for joining us for our last episode…

Hold on!  That can’t be the end.  In fact we plan on posting more video in the coming months including hopefully a video of Dublin’s graduation.  And of course there’s always a chance for Puppy In Training TV Season 2.

…of Puppy In Training TV and we hope to see you soon!

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A special thanks to Denise and Gentry for showing us around Disneyland today

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

Our Final Thoughts On Puppy Turn In Day

One of the saddest and happiest days of puppy raising.  We’re always sad to say goodbye, but happy to let Dublin continue his journey to becoming a guide dog. A few points to add about our turn in day:

  • We always take off our Pet ID Tags at home.  This way we don’t fumble around trying to remove the tags when we’re trying to say our goodbye’s at the kennel.  The only tags you need to leave with your puppy are the ID tags that GDA originally issued to you on Puppy Pickup Day.
  • One of the toughest parts about turn in is so many others are crying that it just makes it that much more sad.  Be prepared with sunglasses and a hanky.
  • We were lucky and all the pups were paired with a kennel mate.  One of the things that made me feel better was to see Dublin playing with his new pal Saffie.  It was the same when Stetson met up with his kennel mate.  However, when we turned Stetson in there were a few pups without kennel mates which made me sad for those pups…so be prepared.
  • You can always call the school to see how your puppy is doing in his formal guide dog training.
  • Northwoods Inn generously donates food for the luncheon.  Special thanks to Northwoods Inn for providing food!

We worked hard with Dublin’s obedience training, house manners, and socialization as you can see on all the puppy training videos we produced for our Puppy In Training TV series.  I’m sure he’ll do well at Guide Dog College and even if he doesn’t make it as a guide we’ll still love him just the same.

How about you guys?  Are you puppy raisers?  What’s it like for you on Puppy Turn In Day?  We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep 16 – Guide Dog Pups Visit The Fire Station

December 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We’ve been raising guide dog puppies for the past 5 years and we had always heard about visiting the fire station, but after raising Stetson then Derby and now Dublin we had never visited fire fighters or a fire station until today!

Visiting fire fighters and a fire station is a great outing for our guide dog puppies.  You never know when they might run into a firefighter fitted with a full gas mask or perhaps the screaming sounds of the siren.  Today we had the opportunity to let our puppies see, hear, and smell everything at our local fire station.

Check out this weeks Puppy In Training TV episode:

Episode 16 – Guide Dog Pups Visit The Fire Station

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.

Guide Dogs Pups Visit The Fire Station Transcription

This week we got to visit the Orange County Fire station right in our backyard…Irvine, California! Joining us on today’s outing are Yuki, Archer, Miles, Chloe, Wriley, and of course the star of our show…Dublin. My name is Colby and welcome to Episode 16 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

We got to the fire station a little bit early so we made sure our pups “got busy” before we walked across the street to the fire station.

As soon as we saw the fire truck return we headed over for an exciting day working on puppy training with fire fighters.

We started off by introducing our puppies to a fire fighter fully suited wearing a gas mask. Can you hear that (pause)…He sounds a like darth vader…I was expecting to hear…Luke I am your father… Our pups all had a different reaction to this unusual looking human…the look, sounds, and smells didn’t bother Miles one bit. Dublin got excited to see the fire fighter like he was his new favorite toy. Chloe was a little bit hesitant of this strange looking thing.

After all the puppies observed, sniffed, and greeted the fire fighter in his gas mask they pulled the fire truck around to the back for more puppy training exercises.

Our entire group did some heeling exercises around the truck. Dublin was a little bit excited and was pulling more than he does on his regular walks.

After heeling around the fire truck we got all the dogs in sit-stays and down-stays and let them hear some of the crazy sounds that come from a fire truck….yay! no howling! all of our dogs did really well…while some became alert to the sirens none of our pups seemed fearful. After popping up to attention they all recovered very well.

By the way, who was in charge of making all that noise…looks like a future fire fighter!

After listening to the sirens Dublin and I posed in front of the big red fire truck for a glamour shot.

We were all hungry after a morning at the fire station so we headed down the street for a bite to eat.

Once we got to the University Town Center the farmers market was going on with a crowd of people.

We made our way through the crowds and stopped in at the Steelhead Brewing Company for some lunch and a break for our puppies.

Many thanks to the firefighters at the Orange County Fire Station in Irvine for working with us and our guide dog puppies. We’ll leave you with the whole crew posing for a picture. Thanks for joining us for this episode of Puppy In Training TV. We’ll see you next time!

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

Our Final Thoughts On Guide Dogs Pups Visit The Fire Station

Puppy With Firefighter

Dublin Checking Out The FireFighter

Our Fire Station outing was awesome!  Getting the opportunity to visit a fire fighter in a gas mask was great for all our pups.  Dublin got excited and thought it was play time when he saw the Fire Fighter in mask.  Some pups were worried while others thought the gas mask was the best thing ever (Miles…).   Walking around the fire truck and and letting the pups listen to the siren were also a great experience.  Overall I was very pleased with Dublin’s reactions on this outing.  While he was a bit overly excited he calmed down and did very well.  And of course he did just fine lying quietly under the table during lunch.

If you’re interested in sponsoring an episode of Puppy In Training TV visit our sponsors page and fill out the form.  We’ll see you next time!

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Puppy Raiser Questionnaire – In For Training

November 30, 2011 By 5 Comments

It’s been over a month since Dublin went in for formal guide dog training and I really haven’t done too much here on the blog, on his facebook page, his YouTube channel, or on his Twitter account.  However, that’s all about to change starting with this short blog post about one of the last reports we filled out before turning Dublin in for formal training.

A couple months ago we received a letter in the mail telling us that it was time to bring Dublin back to guide dog school for his formal guide dog training.  Included with that letter was a short questionnaire that we filled out letting the guide dog trainers know a little bit about Dublin, how he did in his dog obedience training classes, and anything that might be helpful during his stay at guide dog college.  Here are the questions and answers we provided.

Dublin and Guide Dog School

Dropping Dublin off at Guide Dog School

Puppy Raiser Turn In Questionnaire

Dear Puppy Raisers:

Listed below are some questions that will help the trainers in knowing a little more about your puppy.

Please fill it out to the best of your knowledge and bring it with you to the luncheon.

THANK YOU

Puppy’s Name: Dublin

1. How many family members worked with the puppy?: 1

2. Where does the puppy sleep at night?: Crate next to the bed

Have you ever used a crate?: Yes

3. What are the dogs favorite activities: he likes playing with my o

ther dog Linus or lay quietly chewing on a bone.

4. What is it’s favorite toy?: Kong

5. What reaction does your dog have to loud noises?: Startled or alert and recovers quickly.

Barking dogs?: Alert sometimes excited.

6. Has your dog been exposed to other animals?: Yes, horses, dogs, cats, birds, donkeys, llamas, snakes, lizards.

7. In what kind of neighborhood environment did your puppy grow up? (Sidewalk less areas, livestock areas, high traffic areas): Condo community with sidewalks on a golf course.

8. How is your puppy at being restrained?: excited, but ok.

During Vet exam?: excited, but ok.

While cleaning its ears?: Dublin has had many ear infections and will sit calmly to get his ears cleaned.

While on tie-down: he remains quiet on a tie-down.

9. Any chronic health problems?: Ear infections.

10. Any problem areas?: Over excited on meet and greets.  Mouthy behavior.  Doesn’t like getting his nails trimmed.

11. How much is your dog currently eating?: 1 1/2 cups 2x a day.

What brand of food?: Purina Pro Plan Chicken.

12. Please list anything you would like the trainers to know about your puppy?: He’s still a very mouthy dog mostly licking now.  On a couple occasions with other dogs on outings he’s been very excited and lacked focus, but when we’re not with other dogs on outings he usually does quite well. His obedience is good, but can use work on sit-stays and down-stays.

As I mentioned it’s been a little over a month since Dublin went off to college.  We still haven’t heard anything back from our little puppy in training, but at this point in time they always say that “no news is good news”.

As a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs of America I know we all receive this Puppy Raiser Questionnaire, but how about the other organizations?  Do any of you out their who puppy raise for other guide or service dog organizations receive a similar questionnaire?  Let us know in the comment section below.

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Puppy In Training TV – Ep15 – Guide Dogs Of America Open House

October 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Guide Dogs of America Open House is held every June in Sylmar, California.  This year Dublin, my guide dog puppy in training and I attended the event.

There’s a ton of stuff going on at the GDA open house.  Puppies in training have the opportunity to participate in the puppy trials (we arrived too late and I didn’t  get a chance to take Dublin through the trials this year).

There’s also a silent auction with tons of goodies for dogs, cats, other pets, and tons of cool stuff for us humans as well.  There’s several booths with…you guessed it tons of doggy stuff for sale.

GDA Open House
Dublin Lovin’ it!

Guide Dogs of America also does a guide dog training demo.  There are tours of the campus and also tons of other goodies are given away in the GDA raffle.

I’m sure I’m missing other cool things that happen on this awesome day.

We were able to put together our most recent puppy training video starring Dublin in Episode 15 – Guide Dogs of America Open House.  Check it out:

Episode 15 – Guide Dogs of America Open House

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.

Guide Dogs Of America Open House Transcription

PuppyInTraining.com Logo and Website Address

We recently made our way back to Sylmar for the Guide Dogs of America Open House. That’s Dublin standing at the gates of GDA and I’m Colby welcome to episode 15 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

We’re back at GDA campus and that’s Dublin hopping up on stage. We’ll see him there again later. Do you remember the last time Dublin and I posed out in front of the Guide Dogs of America sign? If you guessed back during episode 1 puppy pickup day then you’d be correct.

When we arrived at GDA we walked down that very same hill from episode 1 towards the Silent Auction As we mosied on down we saw this pup working on his “Get Busy” command You might also notice his handler petting him while he potty’s. Puppy raisers pet their pups when they potty. Why you might ask? Because when they become formal guides this helps their vision impaired handler determine if their pup is going #1 or #2.

Ahhh…the GDA Silent Auction. There’s always great stuff here. Tons of stuff for dogs, but that’s not all their are usually gift baskets for just about anybody from Laker fans, to cat lovers, to wine tastings, to restaurant and golf outings, and of course you can find something for your puppy…including a little bit of attention from a fellow puppy raiser

This years theme was june in bloom and some of the pups got quite festive

Open house is a great time to see future guide pups in training!

Every year at open house Guide Dogs of America sets up a beautiful stage to match the years theme…perfect photo op. Here’s a short clip of Dublin posing with his two siblings Daisy and Denali. Can you tell which one is Dublin?

Our puppies are given a chance to show off their obedience skills and tolerance to distractions at the puppy trials. Unfortunately we showed up late and missed the puppy trials, but still got to see that llama dublin was just staring at, a horse. We even got dublin up close and personal with a few chickens.

While we were hanging out by the chickens Dublin was a good boy and remained in a down-stay while he received a few pets

This little guy was all tuckered out after a long day at GDA open house.

As we were walking out Dublin told me he could work as a guide just like the other pups working in the lobby so I told him to show me a sit stay…pretty good Dublin, but I think you have to be a little more still to take one of their jobs.

After a long day at the Guide Dogs of America open house Dublin relaxed for the car ride home. thanks for joining us and we’ll see you next time!

Our Final Thoughts On Guide Dogs of America Open House

We love attending the Guide Dogs of America Open House every year.  Although we did not get an opportunity to go through the puppy trials we did see all the items at the silent auction (unfortunately, no bidding for us this year).  We also got to work on Dublin’s guide dog puppy training by seeing unusual distractions like the llama’s, horses, and chickens.  We also got to work on his meet and greets which in general is an area we need to work on.  However, today he was absolutely awesome with his meet and greets.  Dublin surprises me again!

Dublin was much improved from his day at the Universal City Walk.  I’m hoping his behavior on the train, tram, and bus during our visit to the city walk was an anomaly.

I’m glad you were able to join our puppy in training tv blog post.  If you have any questions or suggestions for an episode please leave us a comment in the comment section below.  Oh yeah…after you watched the video do you know which puppy was Dublin on the stage?

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Formal Guide Dog Training

October 9, 2011 By 5 Comments

Dear Colby,

Well, the time is here, the day you’ve been anticipating since you picked up Dublin all those months ago.  It is now time for Dublin to come in for his formal guide dog training.

We know this is a hard time for you and we would like to try to make it a little easier by inviting you to a Luncheon on October, 29, 2011 at 12:00 noon.

This is just a fun day for you and the other puppy raisers for moral support and to say good-bye to your puppy until Graduation Day.  After we are done eating, talking and playing, we will walk the dogs down to the kennel where you will be able to put them in their runs.

Please give us a call to let us know that you will be attending and how many of you in your group.  If you cannot make it or prefer to bring Dublin in on a different day, please give us a call to let us know when you will be bringing him in.

While he is here, please feel free to call at any time and we will let you know how Dublin is doing in his training.

Enclosed you will find questionnaires to be filled out and brought to the luncheon, along with his Veterinary Medical Records and jacket.  If you would like to bring a toy to share with the others, please do so.  (Hard rubber toys, Kongs, hard bones would be great!)

Again, thank you for all the love, support and a job well done!  If you are thinking about a new puppy, please give me a call — we have PLENTY coming up.

Sincerely,

Guide Dogs of America

Dublin is Going In For Formal Guide Dog Training

So there’s the official letter from Guide Dogs of America we just received.  It’s hard to believe that my little puppy is already going into formal guide dog training.  It seems like not that long ago we were picking him up and putting together his first Puppy In Training TV video.

We still have a few weeks left with Dublin and plan on shooting several more videos and posting several new episodes of Puppy In Training TV during that time.  So stay tuned as we work furiously to get those last few episodes up to YouTube and the website.

As guide dog puppy raisers we always here the question: how do you do it?  meaning how to you let your puppy go?  I have to say it’s very difficult, but at the same time very exciting to see the puppy you raised move on to help someone achieve independence.  While I’m sad to see Dublin leave I’m happy that he will be doing something special for someone else.

Have you turned in a puppy in training to formal training?  If so, tell us about your experience.

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Orange County Transportation Authority Service Animal Training

September 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

One of our favorite guide dog puppy training events of the year is the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Service Animal Training.  Dublin and I had the opportunity to attend this wonderful event last year and lucky for us Dublin gets a second chance to enjoy this awesome event.

If you are training a service animal and live in the southern California area we highly recommend that you try and make it out to the Fullerton Park and Ride this Saturday, October 1st, 2011 from 8am-12pm.  OCTA does a great job allowing you and your puppy in training to work on riding the bus and getting on an off using both the steps and the ramp.

Not only does OCTA provide bus training for service dogs in training, but they also give you a courtesy pass into Knott’s Berry Farm where your puppy gets the opportunity to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of a major amusement park.

OCTA Bus Training And Knott’s Berry Farm

Some of our favorite parts about OCTA Bus Training are:

  • You get to experience riding the bus with your puppy in training
  • You get dropped off right outside Knott’s Berry Farm where there are a ton of live chickens hanging around…another great experience for your pup
  • You get a courtesy pass into Knott’s Berry Farm
  • Applications for OCTA Bus Mobility Trainer are available. This No-Fare Identification card allows a Trainer/Handler to ride the OCTA fixed-route system free of charge with a Service Animal

Just in case you missed last years episode of Puppy In Training TV.  Here is Dublin’s puppy training video from our OCTA Service Animal Training experience:

OCTA Service Animal Training Details

Here’s the letter received from the Orange County Transportation Authority on this years Service Animal Training.  Of course we  had to include an image of Dublin at last years training.  During training they allow you to walk on and off the bus using the regular stairs and as seen in this picture the bus operator also extended the ramp for us to walk across.  Hope to see you all at the Fullerton Park n Ride!

Orange County Transportation Authority

OCTA Service Animal Training

Dublin at OCTA Service Animal Training

Service Animal Training Day
Saturday, Oct. 1st, 2011 8:00am-12:00pm

All Service Animal Trainers/Handlers:

You are cordially invited to OCTA’s annual Service Animal Training day with your Service Animals in training! This is an opportunity to add the experience of riding an OCTA transit bus, including the sights and sounds of beautiful downtown Buena Park and Knott’s Berry Farm into your training program!

Training Day: October 1st, 8:00am to 12:00pm at:

Fullerton Park and Ride (Stalls 1 & 2)
3000 West Orangethorpe
Fullerton, CA 92833

Check-In: Beginning at 7:30am, sign-in and pick-up your Knott’s Berry Farm courtesy entrance bracelet (Good only for AM entry and shopping – No Rides). Then, enjoy unlimited practice boarding, riding, and alighting an OCTA transit bus along a designated training route. Departure shall be every 20-minutes with training stops along the way.

Training Route Schedule

Bus A Departs at: 8:00am, 9:00am, 10:00am, 11:00am & 12:00pm*
Bus B Departs at: 8:20am, 9:20am, 10:20am, 11:20am
Bus C Departs at: 8:40am, 9:40am, 10:40am, 11:40am
*Note: The last bus at 12:00pm will be “pick-up” only – No Stops!

Training Route via FP&R: (R) Orangethorpe, (R) Magnolia, (R) La Palma,
(L) Dale, (R) Lincoln, (R) Beach, (R) La Palma, (L) Magnolia, (L) Into FP&R.

Check-Out: It is very important that you sign-out, as we account for each rider returning safely!

For agencies within Orange County, applications for OCTA Bus Mobility Trainer will be available. This No-Fare Identification card allows a Trainer/Handler to ride the OCTA fixed-route system free of charge with a Service Animal.

Do you plan on going to OCTA Service Animal Training this year?  Have you gone in the past?  We’d love to here your experiences.  Hopefully we see there this year!

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Puppy In Training TV Ep13 – GDA Puppies And The March Of Dimes

September 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Just recently, Dublin, my guide dog puppy in training and I had the opportunity to work our guide dog booth at the March of Dimes – Race for Babies.  It’s a great opportunity for us to not only raise awareness about guide dogs and puppy raising, but also to expose Dublin to new situations and experiences.

Lucky for us the March of Dimes race was right up the street from us at Fashion Island in Newport Beach and many of our friends were there to help out including Yuki, Archer, Varrick, and Miles.

So without further adieu here’s this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV.

Episode 13 – GDA Puppies And The March Of Dimes

If you’re interested in sponsoring an episode of Puppy In Training TV visit our sponsorship page.

GDA Puppies And The March Of Dimes Transcription

PuppyInTraining.com Logo and Website Address

YEP! That’s me and Dublin walking in super slow motion. Today we’re volunteering at the GDA booth at the March of Dimes – Race For Babies. I’m Colby and I’m with Dublin. Welcome to Episode 13 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

So now you know were at the March of Dimes Race for Babies you might be wondering what exactly is the March of Dimes. Well…their missionis to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. They carry out this mission through programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy.

There was a lot going on at this event and it was good training for Dublin. We walked around for a while and eventually found the GDA booth.

Dublin’s puppy friends Yuki, Miles, Varrick, and Archer were there helping out as well

There was lots of great information at our booth on Guide Dogs, Puppy Raising, and even a glasses that simulate the different types of blindness.

There was a lot going on in and around our booth. As you can see there was a giant inflatable slide for the kids. Tons of adults and kids running and walking by and many other informational booths up and down the street and there was even a band playing across the street.

When we first arrived Dublin decided to relax for a bit and gnaw on a bone, but it wasn’t before long that we saw a couple clowns come by.

One of the things we like to do with our pups is get them used to all different kinds of people including people dressed up in costume. It looks like Varrick was a little hesitant with this clown. Dublin seems to be the exact opposite and overly excited to meet this clown.

Can you guess who we saw next? None other then the one and only Captain Jack Sparrow! Awesome! another person in costume gave us another chance to socialize Dublin with a strange and new experiences. First Yuki…I think Dublin got a little jealous here.

We have been working on Dublin’s mouthy behavior. He licks and likes to put has mouth on your hands…not quite biting, but not very welcoming either. Training must be paying off because as you can see Dublin is not being mouthy at all with these kids and just rolled over and enjoyed the attention.

Near the end of the day we saw a giant check for over 1.3 million dollars go by…that’s pretty cool!

After a morning of fun with kids, clowns, and Captain Jack we packed up and headed home. I’m glad you joined us for this episode of Puppy In Training TV. I hope you enjoyed it and we’ll see you next time!

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Final Thoughts On GDA Puppies And The March Of Dimes

This was the first year we attended the March of Dimes event and it was a great experience for Dublin.  Even though Dublin was a little excited to meet both the clown and Captain Jack Sparrow I was pleasantly surprised that he didn’t show any fear or hesitation.  On top of meeting people in costume Dublin was absolutely excellent with all the little kids around him.  Again, I was surprised because I thought he’d revert back to his mouthy behavior, but I guess puppy training is paying off as he relaxed and just enjoyed the moment.

I hope you enjoyed Episode 13 GDA Puppies And The March of Dimes!

How’s your puppy training coming along? Have you been working on puppy socialization with your pup?

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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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Puppy In Training TV – Ep11 – Guide Dog Pups At The Movies

July 10, 2011 By 2 Comments

Dublin and I have been planning our Orange County guide dog group outings and not too long ago we took the guide dog pups to the movies at the District in Tustin.

The movie theater wasn’t our only destination.  We also had the opportunity to introduce our puppies in training to a grocery store, borders bookstore, a bowling alley, Johnny Rockets, and as previously mentioned an AMC movie theater.

I’m sure you’re all excited to see Dublin’s latest adventure so check out this weeks episode of Puppy In Training TV!

Episode 11 – Guide Dog Pups At The Movies

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Guide Dog Pups At The Movies Transcription

Here’s this weeks transcription of Puppy In Training TV:

PuppyInTraining.com Logo and Website Address

Hey guys, it’s finally friday and tomorrow we’re going to the movies with our pals Yuki and Baron. Welcome to episode 11 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

We got up nice and early, cleaned up, and headed over tothe District in Tustin to meet up with Dublin’s friends Yuki and Baron.

The District in Tustin is an outdoor shopping mall, with tons of stores, restaurants and a movie theater. Our plan was to walk our guide dog pups in and around all the stores to first of all expose them to different environments and situations…and secondly to wear them out a bit so they would be tired at the movie theater. Our first stop…the Whole Foods Market across the parking lot.

We walked up and down the food aisles to get the pups used to the different smells and walking on the slick floors.

After walking around for a little bit Baron demonstrated a sit-stay in front of the candy apples.

After spending time at Whole foods we walked across the parking lot, through the cross walk and checked out the everything must go sale at Borders.

As guide dog puppy raisers it’s important for us to expose our dogs to different entry ways…Borders has two automatic doors which can sometimes startle dogs if they haven’t seen them before.

We walked around the store for a little while…all of the books were 40-60% off. Baron waited patiently while tina bought a few books.

We had a chance to work on walking up some stairs as we headed over to the bowling alley.

This was the first time Dublin had been in a bowling alley. Dublin was a little eager to go up the stairs so I made sure he slowed down and walked next to me in a heel. It was dark and noisy, but all three dogs did a great job watching people bowl and checking out the big screen tv’s at the end of the lanes.

After letting the dogs experience all the crazy sights, smells, and sounds inside a bowling alley, we went back outside, and this time took the elevator down rather than the stairs.

The elevator is another great experience for our guide dog puppies and we make sure they get the opportunity to ride on regular elevators such as the one we’re getting on now and glass elevators like the one Dublin rode in episode 10 at the bass pro shop.

We did quite a bit of walking and visited several stores so we decided to head over to Johnny Rockets for some lunch.

All three dogs were wiped out at lunch. Dublin later told me that Yuki made a great pillow.

After lunch we took a moment to have our dogs sit-stay for a photo opp.

Then on the way to the movie theater we went and visited the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

There was a nice water fountain out in front of the movie theater. So we put Dublin in a down-stay and that’s when we noticed King Baron the posing on the highest rock!

Before going into the movie theater, we made sure our pups had plenty of water and relieved them. We went inside and all 3 pups stayed quiet and did excellent throughout the movie

It was a long day, but excellent training for Yuki, Baron, and Dublin. As we head out of the movie theater we’d like to thank you for joining us for this episode of Puppy In Training TV. We hope you enjoyed watching and we’ll see you next time!

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Final Thoughts On Guide Dog Pups At The Movies

It was a small turn out for our Orange County Guide dog group, but lucky for me it’s a lot easier to manage a small group compared to a larger group.  All three puppies were very well behaved throughout the day.  I guess that’s to be expected with older pups.  It was Dublin’s first time going into a bowling alley and although he was a little eager to see what all the ruckus was about he was not scared of the loud noises and settled right in and watched the big screens and some bowling action.  Yuki and Baron were also excellent and I must say it was an awesome day.  Thanks to Yuki and Baron – the Guide Pups, Tina and Rita – The Guide Dog puppy handlers, and Ali our videographer.  Of course thanks to Dublin for being the star of Puppy In Training TV.

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