Happy Halloween!

Happy HOWL-o-WEEN from Hope!...

Nick was at our co-raisers this week, so it was just Hope and I for Halloween this year. Since she isn't a CCI dog anymore, she was happy she just had to wear her Halloween scarf instead of a silly costume. 

I thought the little kids would get a kick out of her holding the candy bucket for me when we answered the door.  Well, that was a good idea for the first four or five kids that came to the door, but then she got lazy and kept dropping the bucket and spilling a bunch of the candy, so she ended up just helping me greet the trick-or-treaters at the door. When that got boring, she just stayed near the door. By the end of the night, she didn't even bother to get up off her dog bed. 

We only got about 50-60 trick-or-treaters this year, normally its closer to 100.  It was raining later in the evening so I think that had something to do with it.  My last trick-or-treaters were some pre-teen boys dressed up like the rock band KISS....I couldn't help but laugh at them when I opened the door as their make-up was getting all smeared and running together from the rain, they explained they were calling it a night after making their way down the street since it was starting to rain hard.  Anything for more candy - I guess...

Sierra, A new name and a new life

Today I had a wonderful reunion with Zuleika (aka Zucchini), my 4th CCI pup who was released earlier this year.  She was adopted a few weeks after she was released and is now living in Grass Valley with her wonderful moms who have renamed her to Sierra (what a cool name, sure beats her horrid CCI name that's for sure!).  

Its been about 5 months since I'd last seen her in May when I turned her into CCI.  Her face still looks the same to me and she has filled out a little; she looks great and seems so settled and happy!  And, best of all, she still has that trademark wiggle, and still does it on command!

Her one bad habit? Waking up at 5:30am wiggling her butt...oops, that's not her fault, that's her puppy raiser's fault! The good thing is that her moms said she is now sleeping in until 8:30am! Good girl...

I took Hope with me today as I thought it would be fun for the girls to see each other again since they spent so much time together when I was raising Z.  They were so excited to see each other, I think they recognized each other immediately, it was so cute.  Sierra showed Hope the cool pond she has to play and swim in.  It was half empty, but the girls didn't seem to mind and had a blast swimming and chasing balls, then doing the crazy run all over the property. Poor Hope, that Sierra still blows her away when it comes to running as she is so fast, some things will never change I guess.  

I feel so thankful for how things have worked out for Sierra, she will have such a good life, which she certainly deserves.  And, the icing on the cake is that she still gets to hike a lot, has her own pond to swim in, a cool porch to hang out on, and two moms who love her and spend a lot of time with her. She spent the whole month of September hiking/swimming/camping in Canada.  A dog couldn't have asked for a better life!

Hope and Sierra pose by the pond...  

Sierra says she loves her new life..."You know, I live in a forest now..." [Side note: I think Sierra's pond is bigger than my back yard!]

Hope and Sierra, two happy porch dogs...

Training BootCamp Week for Nick

I put Nick through his paces this past week focusing on a few specific commands, taking him to different places to train, and giving him some new experiences. Here are some things we did this week:

Early in the week, we went to a few different shopping centers to practice the command UNDER and work in higher distraction areas.  One of the things we did was go to the new Petsmart in Folsom and we walked in front of the glass-walled training room where there were other dogs in class training and having playtime.  I also got a chance to weigh him, 54.7 lbs, wow!  Nick also spent a day with our CCI contract trainer who has two small young children to get practice in house manners with LOTS of activity compared to our house.

On Thursday, we met a friend and her CCI pup Gerrit and her release dog Carlo for dinner and some training at another shopping center in El Dorado Hills.  Not a very good picture since it was dark by the time we started working with the dogs, but here is a picture of Nick, Carlo and Gerrit that night (sorry for the "demon dog eyes"...I was surprised this even came out since it was so dark outside)

Today we met two other puppy raisers and their CCI pups Gerrit and Idelle to take the Light Rail to puppy class, walk around in downtown Sacramento a bit, and go to Basic class where we would meet our co-raiser.  All three dogs did really well on Light Rail, another chance for Nick to practice his UNDER command and to take a nap!

  

We also walked around downtown Sacramento for a little bit to work the dogs before class started.  Nick says, "This cat isn't going to bite me is it?"

Idelle, Gerrit and Nick agree this is the biggest cat they've ever met!

The Sacramento Library was having a special Civil Rights exhibit that included a life-sized German Shepherd guard dog that even growled when you came near it.  Nick was not bothered by it one bit!  What a good boy!

After the visit to the library, it was time to go to class. Nick was sooo excited to see our other co-raiser when we arrived.  Here is a picture of Nick, Gerrit, and Idelle on the rocks after class was over. From there Nick went home with our co-raiser and Gerrit, Idelle and their puppyraisers and I took the Light Rail train home.

A nice end to a good week of training for Nick and I!

A beautiful Fall day

I took Hope and Nick to a pumpkin patch after work this afternoon as I realized today was my only chance to get a picture of him there since he will be going to our co-raisers tomorrow.  

Hope and Nick were a little distracted by the resident dog over to the side of us when I was taking this picture.  Very friendly medium-sized mutt who was hanging out near us...


And, a couple of shots of Nick on the hay...


He's turning into one handsome looking dude! I weighed him a few days ago when I took him to Petsmart this week for a little training excursion and he was 54.7 lbs! He has gotten taller and this week I noticed his chest is getting deeper.  His fur is starting to get wavy in his the center of his back now too, I understand this comes from his mom Niobe.  

Poor Hope, after I took these shots of Nick, my card was filled to capacity. Bummer, I'm going to try to bring her back next week for some shots of her by herself. Sorry Hopey!

The torture begins

Nick will be spending Halloween with our co-raisers. He will be participating in a Halloween parade at their office, plus there will be other CCI pups there for him to celebrate with, so he will have much more fun over there. 

So the torture begins...I have my collection of Halloween costumes I have purchased over the years. I say its part of a CCI pup's training to torture them with costumes. My reasoning? If they graduate as a Skilled Companion (usually with a child), they may have to get dressed up in Halloween costumes. Marisa, my 1st CCI pup, has had her share of Halloween costumes over the years with her graduate, Jason. So this is just practice for Nick in case he ever needs it!

Hope will be here to help me answer the door and greet the trick-or-treaters (usually at least 50). She told me she would only help if she didn't have to wear a silly costume though! Lucky for her, I lent my other costume she wore as a CCI pup to one of my friends.  So she will get to wear her Halloween scarf instead.

Nick says he's so embarrassed he can't even open his eyes!

Nick doing his version of the "pouting cow/dog"...

Nick poses for a few pictures

Boy, it sure is nice to have friends who are good photographers! Here are some pictures of Nick taken after puppy class yesterday. By the look on his face, I think Nick was happy that class was over...

Hope's Resume Grows Even More

This week we added another "title" for Hope...R.E.A.D. Dog (Reading Education Assistance Dog).  As part of the Roseville Library "Tales to Tails" program we are participating in, we registered with this program to learn more about library reading programs; it was an organization that the folks at the library wanted us to join.  

We just had to fill out an application, take a test, and send in our registration form and fees. Nothing too terribly difficult here. This week we received our registration card and dog tag.

Let's see...here are all her "titles":

1. Delta Society Pet Partner
2. AKC Canine Good Citizen
3. R.E.A.D. Dog
4. Certified HOPE Crisis Response Dog

Wow, she has more titles than I do!  Here's a picture of her showing off her new R.E.A.D tag...

Hope has certainly been building up her resume lately...

The Bootie Dance

One of the things that I am required to buy for Hope for her crisis response work are booties since we could potentially be taking the dogs in disaster situations where there may be stuff on the ground that could hurt our dogs' paws (glass, hot asphalt, rocks). I borrowed our buddy Mason's booties to see how Hope would do in them before we went to the workshop this weekend.

I took it slowly with her knowing how sensitive she is to new things, so the first few nights I just put them on her feet and cradled her, she didn't walk in them at all. This was a little video I took of her with the booties on her two front paws (she will eventually have to get used to wearing the booties on all four paws). I didn't catch it on camera, but it was hilarious to watch her doing the "Bootie Dance" the first time she walked in doing the high-stepping motions with her feet.

Poor Hope, she has to wear not only a cape, but maybe booties at some point...she's probably wondering what is up with all these ridiculous clothes! I guess at last year's workshop, they actually had a little "bootie" session, this year we didn't do that although I think it would have been fun to watch the dogs do the "Bootie Dance".

Our HOPE-ful weekend...

A good friend of mine got involved with an organization called, HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (www.hopeaacr.org) about a year ago with her dog Mason. I thought this was something I would try with Hope after we met the requirements and had the opportunity to pass the screening and certification workshop this year. After all, how could I not try something with the name HOPE? ;-)

This organization provides comfort and support to people who have been affected by disasters using teams of dogs/handlers. The "people" might include not only victims, but also responders (relief workers, firefighers, etc.) who are impacted by disasters which might include natural disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, but also disasters such as acts of violence, school shootings etc.  The dog/handler teams are required to be registered with a pet therapy organization (which Hope and I have through Delta Society) and must have experience in therapy work (which we met this year by having a minimum of 12 therapy visits).

On Friday, Hope and I headed down to Costa Mesa in So. California with Mason's handler Mary, who was helping out this weekend as a Hope member at the screening and certification workshop. That evening, Hope and I were evaluated with another dog to see if we qualified to attend the certification workshop which was being held Saturday through Monday. We had a 30 minute interview with two HOPE members who were assigned to Hope and I as evaluators for the duration of the screening. Most of the interview was straightforward, although there were several situational type questions thrown in at the end to see how you would handle you and your dog in a crisis response call. I almost felt like I was interviewing for a job! After the interview, we were put through obedience tests similar to the Delta or Canine Good Citizen tests. Hope did great on all the obedience tests.  At the end of that I had to crate Hope and leave the room for 10 minutes. We were allowed to give our dog a toy/bone in the crate so I left Hope with a stuffed sterilized bone; the evaluators came into the room that I had disappeared to and were joking with me that she could have stayed in the crate all night because she was so happy with her bone.  The other dog started screaming within a few minutes so they let her out and did some sort of separation anxiety test. The last section was a "mock" Red Cross Shelter set-up where we were tested to see how we would handle a situation similar to what you would face on a real call-out. The HOPE people were all assigned to role play victims in various stages of distress as a result of a disaster. In addition to the people, there were lots of loud noises and distractions, people yelling, chaos, etc. Although it didn't last that long, maybe 15 minutes or so if I had to guess, it was a bit intense. Hope did awesome! She was not bothered by the chaotic environment, noises, and crazy people who were upset and crying or yelling. She interacted with the victims who we were asked to visit with by the mock Red Cross Shelter manager.

After that we had a break as they tallied our scores then Hope and I met with our two evaluators to go over our test results. We passed and got high scores from both evaluators. I didn't notice it while we were in the shelter simulation because I was concentrating so hard, but they said Hope was very relaxed and her tail was wagging as she interacted with anybody even when they were visibly upset. Since we passed the evaluation, we were invited to attend the certification workshop.

We were dubbed the "HOPEfuls" by the HOPE members at the workshop; there were a total of 9 dog/handler teams going through the workshop, plus one individual certifying as a Team Leader (without a dog). We had a variety of dogs, 5 labs (1 released Guide Dog, and Hope a released CCI dog), 1 golden, 2 small "pocket" dogs, 1 huge (140 lbs.) black Newfie (who Hope was scared of!). I think three of the nine dogs were rescue dogs. What an experience...3 days of lectures, lots of role playing, and field trips. I must admit I shed some tears throughout the weekend hearing some of the stories of the Hope members and what impact the Hope teams had during their call-outs. The lectures were great, we learned about dog theory, people skills, communication, stress, etc. and got to put the stuff we learned into practice doing a lot of role playing. I usually can't stand to do the role playing stuff, but in this case it was really helpful and we used actual scenarios of issues faced by some of the Hope members.  So the debriefs were amazing to discuss how we handled the situations during the role play and to hear how the Hope member dealt with the situation for real when it happened to them.

I have to say my bond with Hope is even stronger as a result of this weekend and I learned several things that I can do with her to help her succeed even more. Mostly that she has a natual ability for therapy work and doesn't need a lot of direction from me, she instinctively knows what she needs to do. In addition, we took a field trip to the airport, passed through security, and boarded a plane on one day. On the last day, we took another field trip to a fire station. 

The interesting thing is that we were being evaluated the whole time not just in class, but outside of class as well. A group of dogs was assigned to a Team Leader who was responsible for us (which is what would happen on a real call-out); they were watching us in class and even on "hurry" breaks to see how we were interacting with other people in the group and how our dogs were getting along with the other dogs. It wasn't until later that I realized we were even evaluated on how our dogs travelled with other dogs on the field trip. Hope and another lab named Lexie were the class clowns on the breaks wanting to play, so our Team Leader had us drive with her on the field trip with the two girls in the back of her vehicle, even though I had offered to drive myself. They used the excuse that they didn't want me to drive so I could concentrate on my dog, but I really think they wanted to see how the dogs travelled together as that is what would happen on an actual call-out. Hope and Lexie were PERFECT, they just laid down in the back of our Team Leader's SUV on both field trips, phew! I could be totally wrong about this, but it just seems like it was a set-up and when one of the HOPE members said they were happy the dogs all travelled well together it dawned on me it was probably a test as in a real situation the dogs will need to be able to travel together to a disaster. We were often asked by some of the Hope members to hand over our dogs to them during breaks and meals as I think they wanted to make sure our dogs were comfortable being left with other people.  The HOPE members made us feel really welcome and wanted everyone to succeed, I just felt like we were constantly being watched.

I really felt like this was a mini-version of what a CCI team training might be like. It was kind of sad to say goodbye to everyone after the workshop was completed, we really bonded with our classmates and dogs and the HOPE staff we had spent the weekend with. On Monday, after lunch and individual feedback on how we did, all 9 teams were told that they passed the certification. Yipppie!

The ironic thing is that a big wildfire had broken out while we were there and the HOPE teams were put on standby for a possible call-out as people were being evacuated and relief might be needed. Mary, Hope and I got on the road right away to make the long drive home after the little graduation event, I got home after 11pm, totally exhausted but with a sense of renewal and exhilaration of what Hope and I have ahead of us. 

Here's a picture of Hope in the HOPE scarf they gave us to wear on our field trips. Cool thing is that her name is all over everything. Unfortunately for her, she will have to wear a cape when she is working; this is the dog who absolutely HATES wearing a cape. Sorry Hope, some things come with a price...

So I guess we are no longer "HOPE-fuls" but are a certified HOPE team, well, once we get registered, pay all our fees, buy our uniform/supplies.  Sometime during the next year we are also required to get certified in First Aid and CPR, and pet First Aid.

Several times during the year, we will also head down to L.A. for more training, workshops, and meetings with Mary & Mason, so hopefully we'll have the opportunity to be reunited with our classmates and the Hope members we met during the workshop.  

I'm looking forward to the next part of this adventure with Hope...

A double-shift for Hope and an update on Nick

Hope had a busy day yesterday...she had to pull a double shift! A real "work" day for a dog who is used to living the pampered life as a pet dog now. Every Tuesday evening in October, we will be going to the "Tales to Tails" reading program at the Roseville Library. We began this program earlier this year and both of us have really enjoyed it. She spends most of the hour on her back getting a belly rub from the child that is reading a book to her. ;-)

Since I had to bathe her for the library anyways, I figured I might as well take her to Sutter Hospital for her therapy visit...must not let a good bath go to waste! So that was her double-shift: hospital in the morning, library in the evening. Plus she got to come to work with me and Nick. Here's a picture of the two of them on a bed in my cubicle.

Hope continues to amaze me on our hospital visits. A young girl who we often see was very interactive with her even to the point that she was nodding her head answering the questions I asked of her (something she hasn't really done before). After getting permission from the nurse to see if she could do a "lap" on her, I had Hope jump on a chair next to her wheelchair that the girl was in, then had her do a "lap" command from the chair as her wheelchair was so high. She totally reached for Hope, something she has been doing more and more each time we visit. Hope moved her head towards the girls hand, she just knew what to do so that she could easily reach her to pet her herself! The smile on the girl's face was just precious. All the while, Hope's tail was wagging back and forth.

Nick went to stay with our CCI contract trainer for the day at her house so he could get some exposure to little kids since he doesn't have that with either me or our co-raisers. What a good boy, word from our trainer was that he behaved himself and was good around her kids.

And speaking of Nick, he is going on 7 months old, is over 50lbs, and taller than Hope! Poor Hope, she is just always going to be a shrimp! He has been so well behaved at work that I don't even tether him at my desk, he just stays put, even when I leave my cube. From Day 1, he has stayed underneath my desk on his bed where he couldn't see much, but the past couple of weeks, I moved his bed out from underneath my desk to just inside the entrance to my cube to get him used to more distractions. He has adjusted really well even with all the people that walk by all day long. Today, a guy came by with a huge cart down our aisle to empty our recycle bins and rolled the cart right next to his head, didn't even phase him one bit, he barely opened his eyes.

I've been trying to do a better job of getting him out in public places as I realized I was getting lazy and not taking him to many places. So in the past week we've been to the dog park (outside of it), Petco, Orchard Supply, The Fountains Shopping Center, Home Depot Expo, REI (of course, my favorite store!), Galleria Mall. Last Sunday we went to a Broadway Series show in Sac with another friend and her CCI pup. I'm trying to cram it all in before he goes back to our co-raisers in a few days!

Prey-Drive or Fowl-Play?

One of the things that CCI dogs can get released for is prey drive - or the desire to chase animals, birds, etc. Not a good trait for a service dog to have when they are at the end of the leash of a disabled person.  Does a high drive for chasing a stuffed chicken toy count as prey drive or is is just fowl-play?

I got this toy as bribery material for teaching Nick the "speak" command, he has seen it, heard it squeak, but has yet to get it in his mouth to play with until he learns "speak". Since he has been gone this week, I took it out of the toy box and Hope has developed a liking for it now. She tosses it around in the air, does a play bow with it in her mouth, and loves to chase it and make it squeak.

It'll be going back to the toy box as Nick returns home this weekend (minues a few parts of his male anatomy - he got neutered today...) so I can continue trying to tease him with it to get him to speak. What a mean puppy raiser huh? ;-) At least Hope has enjoyed it...we'll see if it eventually works with Nick.

Waterlogged

Throw the stick, will 'ya?

I was going to take Hope to the new dog park for a romp after I got home from work today and we went on our walk, but then realized it was Tuesday and the park is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays "for maintenance", what's up with that? :-(

Since we had such a nice time at the lake yesterday, I decided to take her out to Willow Creek for a swim again.  We practically had the whole place to ourselves like yesterday.  She enjoyed swimming and chasing sticks...happy, happy, girl.

See those ducks out there in the distance behind her? (You might have to click on the picture to see them...) Well guess who was interested and made a beeline over to them to check 'em out? I called her back and she was a good girl and turned around and came back. For the dog who had no recall whatsoever as a puppy, I was very proud of her for listening to me.

And speaking of Molly...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting the new CCI pup, Molly VII, who was named after my Molly. Unfortunately, Molly's breeder caretaker has been unable to find out where Molly is headed when the puppies go out to their puppy raisers this week; she thinks she may be headed to the North Central region, but isn't sure. This litter seemed really nice, no yappy puppies, they seemed very easy going, ok with laying on their backs and cradling. There's nothing cuter than golden retriever puppies and this group was no exception.

Lately, I've been feeling the "urge" for another golden since Molly's been gone. It's hard to believe, but in December it will have been a year since I had to say goodbye to her. It's cool to know that there will be a CCI pup out there with her name. Molly was a great puppy raiser assistant for most of my CCI pups, so it's a fitting honor for her to have a pup named in her honor.

Here's the latest picture of Molly that her breeder caretaker took recently, pretty cute. Duh, I took my camera yesterday but got so busy picking up puppies and talking to Patty that I didn't even take my camera out. Good luck Molly VII, have a save journey to your puppy raiser...

Now that things have calmed down a little at work, I'm trying to make a point to leave work at a decent hour since I've been starting work so early in the day.  Today, I took Hope out to Willow Creek at Lake Natoma as it was such a nice day.  We had the place to ourselves, it was great.  I brought a tennis ball to throw for Hope, but she wasn't really interested in it. So we went in search of a stick; it took me 10 minutes to find a stick for her, but at least we found one.  She had a great time swimming and chasing the stick.  It also made me a little (ok, a LOT) sad to be out here with Hope as this was Molly's favorite place to swim; we spent a lot of time out here together.  All I could think about was how she loved being here. Hope did a great job taking her place though and we had a great relaxing time together this afternoon...hopefully Molly was looking down on us and smiling....

Dog Park

Nick went back to our co-raisers this afternoon and Hope was giving me that "look"...the "I'm bored, there's nobody here to play with" look. So I took her to the new dog park in Folsom that's only about a 10-15 minute walk from home.  I'm usually not a big dog park fan, but of the several times I've taken her there, the other dogs have been very nice and the owners attentive to their dogs, so we'll probably continue to go as it gives her a chance to be off leash. 

The funny thing is that every time I have taken her there, she doesn't ever play with any of the other dogs, she's more interested in sniffing EVERYTHING, just walking around with her nose to the ground.  Sometimes she will fetch a ball, but mostly she is just interested in sniffing. Tonight was no exception....sniff, sniff, sniff.  We played fetch for a little but she wasn't really interested in any of the other dogs.  

Tonight these three HUGE great danes who had just entered the park came bounding towards her...she got totally scared, and screamed like I've never heard her scream before, her tail was tucked and she was low to the ground in a totally submissive position.  I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, so I calmly called her over to me and she immediately went in between my legs.  The owner of the Danes was totally nice and called his dogs when he saw what happened. I spoke to him for a little bit, he said the 3 dogs weighed about 130 lbs and that he goes through about 30-35 lbs of dog food a WEEK! Poor little Hope...to have 3 big dogs almost 3 times her size coming towards her must have been freaky...she must have thought it was a stampede! 

The other interesting thing about Hope is that every time we've been to the dog park and there have been golden retrievers there, she is very interested in them and goes up to sniff them, but just the old ones.  I keep wondering if she is looking for Molly because the ones she has been interested in are the ones who are older and gray in the face like Molly was.  She must still remember her pal and is looking to see if it's her....

Mute puppy

Well, after raising 5 CCI pups, I guess it was bound to happen...a "mute" puppy.  I have been able to successfully teach all of my CCI pups the "speak" command, which is used by graduates to have their dogs bark on command; its a useful command if a graduate gets in some sort of trouble and they need to have their dog bark to get attention.  

I was working on this command with Nick this weekend; he has no clue what he should be doing when I say "speak". Hope is good at the "speak" command and I even had her try to help, but that didn't work either.  

One of the ways we teach our pups to speak is to totally frustrate the pup by teasing him so that he lets out a bark in frustration.  Well, true to his nature, Nick just doesn't get frustrated, so the teasing leads to nowhere.  I had dog toy that I had gotten while he was gone that he hasn't seen yet and he was all excited when he saw it so I tethered him to the table leg and tried to tease him so that it was just out of reach...that didn't work, even after I let Hope tease him with it. I threw a floating dog toy in the pool just out of reach and he just sat there staring at it, really wanting to get it, but not enough to bark.  This morning, I had another bright idea, he loves peanut butter, so I put some on a spoon and held it right in front of his nose.  I kept it right out of reach, but nothing even after I told Hope to "speak" and gave her some of the peanut butter when she barked, he just put his head down on the floor and gave up.

I think he's just gonna to be one of those "mute" dogs who never barks...which is not a bad thing as CCI won't release a dog if they don't speak, but they will release a dog if it barks inappropriately (like Zucchini did).

Not even a spoonful of peanut butter dangling in front of his nose is tempting enough for Nick to "speak"...

Back to Work

Hope's summer vacation was over today...she had to "work" today. Boy, what a tough life...she came to work with me, we went to Sutter Hospital to visit "her" patients for an hour or so, visited a few of "her" peeps at work who gave her some belly rubs and ear scratches, and went back to Sutter Hospital after work to go to the Sutter Hospice Volunteer Meeting. Sure is a tough job being a working girl she says, but somedog has to do it.

She loves going to the hospital, she definitely perks up a bit more than normal when we get out of the car in the hospital parking lot. I can't tell you how many people called her a boy today. It's funny how many people assume she is a boy, probably because she is black, even though she is wearing a very girly PINK collar! Oh well, I guess there is discrimination even when it comes to dogs. That's ok with her, she likes the attention...

She was also excited as went to pick up Nick at a friend's house. She and Nick cuddled with each other on the pillow and fell asleep together when we got home. The "little" guy isn't so little anymore either, he's up to 46 lbs. and is about the same height as Hope. Where did our little lap dog go? This week I even made his appointment at CCI to have him "tutored" in October....he's growing up, that's for sure....

Kayak dog?

I've been wanting to take Hope out paddling with me at the lake, so last night I brought the kayak in the house to see if she would even go in the boat.  We'll see if I ever get the nerve to take her out with me sometime; even though she is fairly small, there's very little room in the boat for the two of us. 

The tricky part is trying to convince Hope that it is ok to get in the boat, it was tough enough on the carpet, I can just see us flipping over trying to get the two of us in there together on the water!

Once she got in, she was fine...but getting her in was the hard part...

Hope says, "I found my seat, now where are you gonna sit?"

A water-filled weekend

The weekend started a day early on Friday as I took the day off from work and went with a few friends to meet some other friends who were camping at Dillon Beach in Tomales.  We were invited to go on the camping trip too, but decided to go up only for the day.  Hope and I camped here with the same group of friends when she was a CCI pup in training.

Hope had a great time playing on the beach with her buddy Skipper and later playing in the sand dunes with her other doggie friends that day.  Here's a few pictures of her at the beach playing with Skipper...

Skipper grabbed a huge piece of seaweed and said, "Chase me, chase me" to Hope and she happily obliged...

And a trip to the beach wouldn't be the same if Hope didn't bury her face in the sand as she usually does...

And, here is a shot of the Dillon Beach Dune Doggies...(Hope is all the way on the right side on the end...)

Hope, the Dune Doggie...

On Saturday, I went to Folsom Lake in Granite Bay with a couple of friends to take the dogs swimming. Whew, the lake level is so low now, but we found a nice place to let the dogs run and swim and chase sticks.  Here are few shots of her with her buddies: Skipper, Carlo and Gerrit...easy to make her out as she was the only black dog that day.  

Here's a picture of the Happy Hopey!

Skipper and Gerrit the stick hogs (they are half-brothers too, they have the same dad...)

Poor Carlo, between Skipper, Gerrit and Hope, he was the odd-man out when it came to getting the stick....

Today, Sunday, I paddled at Lake Natoma for a few hours in the morning with a friend, then took Hope out for a walk in the afternoon.  It was so hot when we got back, I decided to go for a swim and Hope was happy to join me in the pool to chase her frisbee and fetch Molly's stick.

A perfect ending to our water-filled weekend...

Happy Birthday Zucchini

Today is Zuleika's (aka Zucchini) 2nd birthday!  She was the 4th pup I raised for CCI and she was turned in for Advanced Training this past May. A few weeks ago, she made her life decision, and that decision was that she didn't want to be a service dog.  

Although I was disappointed with her release, it was also no surprise.  Turning her in was extremely hard last May because I knew I wouldn't be keeping her and I knew when I said goodbye to her, it was likely going to be the last time I ever saw her again as I was going to have CCI place her.  CCI was interviewing prospective people for her and in the meantime a good friend of mine thought of some friends who would be the perfect match for her and they were made aware of her "issues". 

So about a week ago, she was adopted by them and its such a GREAT home for her.  She lives in Grass Valley, has her own pond to swim in, goes for 2-3 mile walks daily, and is loving life again.  I couldn't be more pleased with how things turned out for her, she will have a great life I'm sure.  As the old saying goes, "It's a match made in heaven..."  I also feel blessed as I will have the opportunity to see her sometime.  I hope she hasn't lost any of that wiggle of hers...

Here's a picture of her enjoying her new career...floating on the American River. It's a dog's life!

Happy Birthday Zucchini!

Pool Party!

This afternoon we were invited to a pool party at a friends house. Well, the "pool" part of the "party" was mostly for the dogs.  I took Hope with me (Nick is with our co-raisers now...) to the party and she had a great time playing and swimming all afternoon with her doggie friends.

This is an annual event that ends with us trying to get a picture of all the dogs in attendance.  Luckily, most of the dogs are CCI pups in training or released dogs, so its not too much of a hassle to get them to stay still for a group picture.

Here is the group shot...(Hope is the 3rd dog from the left)

And, here is what happens when you say, "release"...

Hope is a Good Citizen now

One of my friends who I used to work with told me about a "Woofstock" event being held in Rocklin this weekend showcasing booths about everything dog. She had a booth for her pet sitting business she had opened a few years ago, so we went to say hi to her as I haven't seen her for a while. I took Hope with me to the event as they were doing testing for AKC's "Canine Good Citizen" program which I signed her up for on a whim, not even knowing what it was about.

There were 10 tests, all of which must be passed in order to receive the CGC certificate. Hope passed all the tests with flying colors; in fact, it was pretty easy. Nice to have a well trained dog as I barely had time to read the requirements before we tested today. The test was very similar to the Delta Society test we took last year, basically walking on a loose leash with turns, stops, etc., performing "sit" and "down" commands, performing a "stay", walking through a crowd, not reacting to distractions or other dogs, coming when called, and staying with another person for 3 minutes with me out of sight.

So Hope has another title to add to her name, "Hope, CGC, Delta Society Pet Partner" :-)

Like mother, like daughter

(Left to Right: Toddy, Nick, Hope, Vi)

This weekend we are watching my friend's two dogs, Toddy and Violet (aka Vi). Both girls are retired breeders for CCI, meaning they produced puppies for CCI's program. Well, Ms. Toddy produced one very special pup...the second pup born from her first litter, a puppy named Hope. Yep, Toddy is Hope's mom!

I've only had the girls here for a few hours now, but I've already seen some personality traits and behaviors that I can tell Hope definitely got from her mom. It will be fun to have the girls here this weekend. More later...

Music Circus

I have been going to the Sacramento Music Circus every summer for the past 10 years or so. Every one of my CCI pups has attended at least one show with me. We usually buy the 3-Show Mini Series, this year we saw "Gypsy", "Swing" and last night it was "Evita". Here's a picture of Nick and his buddy Skipper a few weeks ago when we saw the show "Swing".


Season ticket holders have a special "lounge" where they get to hang out before the show in an area that is cooled by misters (great for a night like last night when it was 100+ degrees outside!) and they serve lemonade, water, etc. A little TLC treatment unlike us "common folk" who have to stand outside in the heat waiting for the doors to open. A couple of weeks ago, a local couple who are CCI supporters saw us leaving with the dogs after the show, so they invited us to the special subscriber's lounge last night before the show. As soon as we walked up, the host said, "Oh we were execting you..." and promptly pointed us to our hosts who had invited us and were already in the lounge area; you think the dogs gave us away? We were served water/lemonade and got to sit down and get this, one of the hostesses brought some glasses of cold water to the table and said, "This is for your dogs..." Talk about royal treatment, Nick says he can get used to that type of royal treatment; he's never gotten to drink water from a glass before! Is this what it's like to be a celebrity?

A Tribute to Molly

Last month I learned that Halor, one of the local CCI breeder girls in our area had a litter of Golden Retriever puppies and they were going to be an "M" litter. I asked Halor's breeder caretaker Patty if she would be willing to submit the name MOLLY for me in memory of my Molly. A good friend of mine had raised a pup named Molly a few years ago when I was raising Hope so I wasn't going to be surprised if the name was taken already as it had been a while since my friend's Molly was released and the name was available for use again. Patty let me know a few weeks ago that the name was chosen, yippie!

Introducing MOLLY VII....isn't she adorable? She the blue collar pup, meaning she was the 2nd one born in the litter. The cool thing is that this litter are goldens, just like my Molly.


Check out Halor's blog at: http://halorsccipups.blogspot.com/ where you can see more pictures...

Training and Playing in Pt. Reyes

On Saturday, Hope and I drove to Pt. Reyes with a couple of friends as we were having puppy class there in the morning and a picnic afterwards at the beach. It was also our day to get Nick back, yippie! It was cute to see Hope get excited when she first saw Nick, but she had to behave herself as we were in class. This was our last KPT class before we move on to Basic. Its always amazing to get Nick back because at this age he is still growing so much. He got even taller and when I checked out his mouth, I was amazed to see how many more "big boy" teeth had come in.

Afterwards, we walked around downtown Pt. Reyes for a bit. We practiced on the scary stairs with the pups, these stairs that are open, made of metal, kinda freaky for the pups. Nick and his puppy friends, Idelle and Gerrit, did really well! We then went to Millerton Point to eat our picnic lunch and let the dogs run and swim at the beach.

For some strange reason, whenever Hope goes to the beach, she loves to roll in the sand, not just on her back like most dogs, but her whole head! Silly goof!

Just call her "Sandy"

"Yuck, I forget, why do I like rolling around in the sand?"

The dogs were so tired afterwards, even today they are just snoozing...but today they get a bath as they are both stinky! Here's Nick, getting ready for his...

Distraction Training

Nick and I took a field trip to Lee's Feed in Shingle Springs this morning. Since he had his final set of shots last week, he's now fully vaccinated, so its time to start taking him out to more places now. This is a great place as this feed store has a room of noisy birds and cages of little animals.

Here's a picture of Nick checking out some "chicks" :-)



We also stopped by a busy shopping center on the way home and walked around a bit and he did well there. Poor little guy was exhausted when we got home, he slept for a couple of hours...