Christmas shopping/ Christmas Day

One would think that after a week of finals plus a Christmas party I would want to just relax for a few days. Unfortunately since finals were so close to Christmas I had yet to buy my family or the dogs Christmas gifts. So on December 22 I invited one of my friends to tag along with Pinnacle and I to do last minute Christmas shopping at the mall. It took us forever to find parking and when we did it was pretty far back so we had to walk a bit to get into the mall. Pinnacle was a good boy and handled the crazy Christmas traffic perfectly. Once inside we made our way through some stores but soon realized it was just to crowded for us. We settled on one store and I quickly got my dad and my sister's boyfriend their gifts. After that one store we agreed we were better off just shopping at the Target in the mall. Pinnacle once again proved what an excellent worker he is. He ignored all the people who were trying to distract him and just focussed on me and looking ahead. Even in Target I put him on his flat collar and walked him while pushing the cart. I did put his gentle leader on at the end since there were lots of people so it was easier to control him with it on. After surviving the mall my friend, Pinnacle, and I all went to Baja Fresh for lunch. Pinnacle was so worn out from shopping he crashed and slept through the whole lunch. Then it was time to get the dogs their Christmas gifts, so I ran to Petco. While there I got Agent a new collar, Wilbur and Lobo each a new bone, and my sister's yorkie a stuffed toy. I ended up going the next day to petsmart and getting Pinnacle a dog bed for his gift. After all that running around we went back to my house wrapped gifts and just chilled.

Few days later it was Christmas eve. We didn't do much that day I just let Agent and Pinnacle play in the back yard, and then we went to dinner with my aunt and her fiancé. Next morning was Christmas Day. We got up about 8am took care of the dogs and started to open gifts. I pretty much got what I had asked for. Then the dogs got to "open" their gifts from Santa. They got a couple new bones and Agent got some new stuffed animals. After Santa's gifts then I gave them my gifts. They all loved their new toys. The rest of the day was pretty chilled my sister's boyfriend, my aunt, and her fiancé came over and we enjoyed a nice lunch/dinner. I then took Agent and Pinnacle out to play and burn energy. About 6pm me, Pinnacle, my mom, my aunt, and her fiancé went to see a movie (my sister had gone to spend some time with her boyfriend's family and my dad had a Christmas party to go to). We decided to see The Wolf of Wall Street. I do not recommend the movie it's way to long and has no point to it. The movie was 3 hours long and the entire theater was packed so we had to sit in the very back with little room and tons of popcorn spilled in front of us. I was worried how Pinnacle would do since he likes to spread out some, but he did great he curled up in a small ball and went to sleep the entire time (except for when I had to wake him up because he was barking in his sleep). In all we had a good Christmas and Pinnacle is loving me being done with school.

collar I got Agent

the dogs' gifts from Santa

Blanket from my mom and dad of all the pups I have raised

Pinnacle and Agent playing on Christmas

Pinnacle was one worn out puppy

last week of school/ Christmas party

This is a little late since I was busy with finals and getting ready for Christmas. On December 19 I finished my last final and my last day as a Fresno State student. I had left Agent home with my parents in Bakersfield since I had no time to worry about two dogs and studying for finals. Pinnacle was a good boy he enjoyed being the only dog and we worked on his house behavior a lot since we didn't have time for any outings really. The one outing we did was we went with our Guide Dog group to walk around and look at Christmas lights. My phone died during the walk so I have no pictures. Once finals were done I got to enjoy Pinnacle. That Friday we started out sleeping in some which was nice. Then we got up and met one of my friend's for lunch. Pinnacle has become a pro about his behavior when we go out to eat. After lunch we headed over to Fresno State for the last time to return my books and get a picture of him on campus for the last time. Once we were done with that we had to run to target to pick up a few things. Pinnacle is great about shopping and knows how to walk perfectly next to me while I push the cart. After a busy day we went home and crashed.

Pinnacle in front of the fountain at Fresno State for the last time

Pinnacle at our last bowling class 

December 21 marked my last guide dog meeting as an official member of Fresno Far-Sighted guide dog puppy raising group. It started with me running around trying to get things ready for the meeting and getting stuff loaded to take back to Bakersfield. Once I thought I had everything I headed out to the meeting. The meeting started at the bowling alley in Clovis. My parents drove up that day so they could support me while I said my goodbyes that day. Once I was at the meeting I realized I forgot the cake I made for the potluck we were having after bowling so my mom ran to my apartment and got it for me. We all enjoyed bowling and I enjoyed showing off the skills I learned in bowling class this semester. Pinnacle could careless about the bowling going on he was more into saying hi to his friends or laying there being cute. After bowling all of us raisers headed over to a business that was kind enough to let us use for our Christmas party. There was tons of food for us raisers to eat and all the dogs were well behaved. After all of us were done stuffing ourselves it was time for the white elephant exchange. That was the best part of the party. At one point I had a dog bed and Pinnacle was sleeping on it when someone decided they wanted to steal it. Poor Pinnacle as they went to reach for the bed he wrapped his paws around the bed and wouldn't let go. He was very determined not to let anyone take that bed. Everyone had to laugh at him as he sulked when I finally got him off the bed. In the end we got a new jolly ball and my parents ended up with a nice blanket. After all the fun it was time to load up and say my goodbyes to everyone. I made sure to promise to stay in touch and to visit when I can.

Pinnacle and Agent with the Jolly Ball we got in the gift exchange 

Pinnacle and I meeting Santa at our Guide Dog Christmas party

10 months

Pinnacle turned 10 months old today!! To honor him now being in the double digits I'll list 10 things I love about him.

1. I love his confidence. He is very confident which makes taking him places easier.

2. I love his head tilt. If you talk to him or make funny noises he will tilt his head to the side.

3. I love the the way he walks when he gets excited it is almost like he is prancing

4. I love that he does so great when we go to the movies. He is the perfect movie date since he will go in front of my seat and fall asleep.

5.I love how excited he gets when he knows its time to work. He prefers to be out working over being at home.

6. I love that he is able to sleep on a tie-down now. He still sleeps in his crate some nights but he is great when I put him to bed on a tie-down

7. I love how excited he gets when he knows I'm taking him outside to play with his jollyball.

8. I love his eagerness to please. He gets upset if he knows I am mad at him. He does his best to make me happy.

9. I love that he likes attention but is also ok playing alone

10. I love how far he has come. He is not perfect but he has come a long way and shows promise to continue doing better.

Changes

With a new year coming up soon there also comes some changes. This week ( if all goes well and I pass all my classes) will mark my last week at Fresno State. After lots of hard work I am scheduled to graduate. I will still continue to raise Pinnacle only we won't be attending classes anymore. I will have Pinnacle until end of May at which time he will either be recalled or transferred to my one friend who is a raiser. The reason I can only keep him till end of May is because I will be attending Bergin University of Canine Studies starting in June!!! Since it has their own service dogs they train there Pinnacle is unable to go with me. However, Agent will be going to live with me so I won't be dog less. Plus in August Bergin University will be assigning me a dog that I will be responsible for teaching advanced service dog commands. I will continue this blog even while I am attending Bergin University. I am excited and nervous about all these changes.

Please Leash Your Dog

So this post is a little late but I wanted to wait to see the outcome before posting about it. The week before Thanksgiving I was outside my apartment getting Pinnacle ready to go to school. He had just gone potty and I was headed to the dumpster to throw it away when I heard some barking. I didnt think much of it at first since my apartment is pet friendly so you hear dogs bark all the time. All of a sudden two pugs came charging out from behind a car at Pinnacle and me. They attempted to try to bit Pinnacle but I managed to get between them before any injury could happen. Pinnacle was excellent and just moved behind me and looked at them. I had to keep kicking them away so they couldnt get near Pinnacle. Finally one of the apartment employees saw what was going on and came to help me. The whole time the owner just stood there calling her dogs. In the end Pinnacle was physically and mentally fine. The apartment manager contacted the owner and told them that dogs must always be on leash and explained that the pugs went after a guide dog in training (pinnacle was in his vest when this happened) hopefully people learn to keep their dogs on leash and not to allow them to go up to service animals or service animals in training.

Retired

I know its been a while since I have posted on my blog. I have been busy with my last semester of school so I havent had much time to do anything big with Pinnacle. To update you some Pinnacle is 9 months old and coming along pretty good still have some things to work on but he will get there.

I did receive news today that the second pup I raised a male golden named Pascal has been retired from being a guide due to old age. He will be living his retirement in Texas with friends of his partner .

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween! From Agent and Pinnacle 

Happy 2nd Birthday Agent

Hard to believe Agent (formally known as Andrew) is now 2 years old! While he decided pretty quickly that working life wasn't for him he has turned into a great pet. He enjoys going for walks, playing fetch, swimming, and going to daycare once a week. I still have to keep an eye one him because he loves to run after squirrels even when I'm walking him with his Halti. We have done a lot this past year. He helped me finish raising Malcolm and welcome my current puppy in training Pinnacle. He has enjoyed trips to the mountains to play in snow. I can say I really couldn't imagine my life without him. I look forward to many more crazy years with him.

Pumpkin Patch

8 months!

Happy 8 Month Birthday Pinnacle!

8 months!

Happy 8 Month Birthday Pinnacle!

Crazy weekend/ a dog and his fan

Well Friday night/saturday morning there was an issue where the water pipe for the appartment above me leaked into my ceiling and my carbon dioxide/smoke detector which set that alarm off. I ended up having to call the firedepartment to come help me since water was getting onto wires. The firefighters ended up having to punch a hole into my ceiling to drain the water( my ceiling will be getting replaced). The whole time Agent my career change was throwing a fit and Pinnacle was asleep or just couldnt care less. As a result Pinnacle is at a sitter for few days so its just Agent and I. Saturday afternoon they brought in a big fan to dry my carpet and it will stay on till sometime monday. Well Agent has decided he loves this fan and ive caught him laying in front of it a couple times.

Meeting Michael Hingson

So this post is a little out of order sorry about that. Last Thursday night I was invited to a private event along with a few other puppy raisers to hear Michael Hingson speak. In case you don't know who Michael Hingson is he is the author of the book Thunder Dog (I highly recomend this book). He is also a 9/11 survivor who is blind and uses a guide dog from Guide Dogs for the blind. On 9/11 he was on the 78th floor of the twin towers. He and his guide dog Roselle walked down all the stairs and managed to safely get away from the buildings before they collapsed. In 2011 Roselle crossed over the rainbow bridge and Michael got a new guide dog a female yellow lab named Africa who is now 6.5 years old.

The event started out with a dinner. I'm sure it was quite a sight to see 6 raisers with pups in a buffet line trying to keep the dogs under control while holding our plates and getting food. I'm not sure how we did it but we managed to get our food to the table without spilling. Pinnacle was a little wiggly in the beginning since we had also been at school all day, but after a while he decided to settle down and be good.

Once dinner was over Michael Hingson gave his talk on 9/11, blindness, and team work. It was a motivating speech and a great reminder as to why I raise these pups. I highly recommend you going to hear him talk if he is ever in your area. He was not only a great speaker but also just a great down-to-earth guy who I enjoyed meeting. After his speech he came over to talk and take pictures with us raisers. He even took Africa's harness off so we could say hi to her. She was a sweet girl and I enjoyed getting to pet her. By time we got home it was 10pm we had been there for 4 hours. It was a great event and i'm so happy I got to go.

Pinnacle and I with Michael Hingson and his guide Africa

Clovis Night Out

Over the years the city of Clovis has put on an event to help build awareness in community safety. This year I decided to go and check it out. Pinnacle and I met up with one of my friends and her little boy. Once we where there we went and checked out all the booths. The had a firetruck, ambulance, first responder vehicle, garbage truck, military equipment, and different police vehicles that you could check out. Pinnacle did great going up and down stairs and ramps to get into and out of the vehicles. There was a good amount of people there and of course everyone kept wanting to say hi to Pinnacle. He was excellent about remaining calm while people pet him. A few little kids tried to hug him but he wasn't to thrilled about that so I had to make sure they understood they could pet not hug (I know for a dog who is mainly golden he really isn't into the whole lovey dovey thing it's weird). I did have to laugh at the fact that the different booths wanted to make sure Pinnacle got a gift (yes in the end he got more gifts than me lol). About 7:20Pm we left since they were about to do fireworks and we aren't suppose to expose our pups to fireworks. I was very proud of Pinnacle he did a great job and this was all after we had a guide dog meeting in the morning where we rode a bus and walked around Fresno State. Needless to say we were worn out by bed time.

Pinnacle in front of the garbage truck

Pinnacle in front of a volunteer patrol car

Hamilton and Pinnacle in front of a Clovis Police truck

Pinnacle in front of a Clovis Police truck

Pinnacle in front of the Pink Firetruck 

Pinnacle showing off his police sticker and frame that he got

Pinnacle vs food

Last year with Agent i did the food challenge and spelled his name out with food. Agent had to remain in a down stay while i spelled his name out. This year I did the challenge with Pinnacle we just did Pin for short since his name was taking to long to spell. We also worked on him leaving the food even though it was on him. Took a few tries since hed move little but in the end he did it.

Happy 1 year!

1 year ago today I took Agent to the mall for his evaluation with our CFR. Agent acted up most of the eval and threw a fit when our CFR tried to take him for a walk without me. It was decided that Agent would no longer be in the Guide Dog program and was career changed. I told my CFR that I planned to keep him for my pet. We have done some tun things now that he is a pet dog and I'm so glad he's mine forever. I can't imagine my life without him and his craziness. I look forward to many more years of him as my loyal boy.

Snip Snip/labor day weekend

So a week ago Pinnacle, Agent, and I went down to Bakersfield to see my parents since I had a 4 day weekend. We had received a letter from Guide Dogs a week before that saying Pinnacle is not going to be considered for breeding so we needed to get him neutered. I decided it would be best to get him neutered at our vet over labor day weekend so he would have time to be calm and I could keep an eye on him. So last Friday Pinnacle went in and got fixed. They kept him over night to make sure he was ok and I was told he did great. It felt weird but also kind of nice without a young pup always with me. Agent loved having Pinnacle gone since that meant the nonapproved guide dog toys came out.

Saturday morning I picked Pinnacle up from the vet. Boy was he happy to get out of there he ran for the door soon as they brought him out. Pinnacle spent the rest of the weekend in his crate or in our kitchen. Agent on the other hand got to enjoy some fun. I took him out to our pool and let him swim boy was he a happy pup. We noticed Pinnacles area was red so Monday it was decided that he needed to wear the cone of shame. He hasn't been to school this week so that he can recover still. I'm sure he will be happy once he can get out and burn energy again.

Pinnacle in the cone of shame

Agent enjoying the pool

Wilbur, Lobo, and Agent my 3 forever boys 

First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for Pinnacle and I. It started out with me getting up at 5:30am to get ready and take care of Agent and Pinnacle. Once ready I left Agent home loose and took Pinnacle to school. My first class was at 8am and is on the 3rd floor so we decided to take the elevator up instead of the stairs. Once there we choose a seat in the front row to sit in. Pinnacle was a little wiggly as to be expected. It was his first time in a classroom and he is use to stretching out so the fact we had someone behind us which prevented him from stretching out was weird for him. We got done early with the class  and I had 2.5 hour break before my next class, so I went home to eat lunch and let Pinnacle and Agent play some. About 11:40 it was time to get back to school. Parking was really bad so I had to park far and walk really fast not to be late. At 12:30 class started. My teacher saw Pinnacle and commented on how cute and well behaved he was. He slept through that entire class like a good boy. Once done with that class I had 1.5 hours till my next class so I took Pinnacle out to potty. Once I knew he was empty we walked to the taco bell on campus for me to grab a bite to eat. Pinnacle did great staying in a down while I ate at one of the high tables. Once I ate it was time to go to my final class. This time I decided to sit at a seat on the side of the room so that Pinnacle could have more room. My teacher saw him and decided that he would be the new class mascot. He slept through that class too. After we were done with that class we headed to my car and went home. Agent, Pinnacle, and I all just crashed till dinner time. Pinnacle was a really good boy at school it will be fun to watch him grow while at school.

Pinnacle with one of his toys before class

6 months

Today Pinnacle is 6 months old. It's been amazing to watch him over come some of the issues he came with. He can now ride in the back of my car on a tie down without drooling or getting sick. He does great on outings and is very confident. He still has issues to work on but I'm proud of where he is right now.  So now that he's 6 months old here is 6 things I like about him.

1. His confidence. Pinnacle is a very confident pup. Not much can phase him and even when he's unsure of something he is able to work through the fear. 

2. His goofy personality when he's playing. Whenever he plays with his toys he gets really goofy. My favorite thing is when I throw his rope toy and he runs the pounces on it.

3. His white paw. It can be hard to see sometimes in pictures but Pinnacle has white fur on his back left foot. I think it's cute and unique.

4. His cute face. There is something about his face that makes it hard to ever stay mad at him.

5. How smart he is. Sometimes it takes him a little while to learn something new but once he learns something he does great at it from that time on.

6. How great he is at being pet by other people. I try not let many people pet him while he's in jacket but when I do he's great at remaining calm and will sit while being pet.

Fun Day part 3

So this post is pretty late but you will have to forgive me as I was on a few trips so I didn't have my computer which meant no blog posting. Part 3 about Fun Day is actually not about Fun Day but rather the trip my Fresno group takes to pier 39 the day after Fun Day. Saturday July 13 we had a long day at Fun Day and were up late with some friends. At this point it was only my friend K, her pup Warren, Pinnacle, and I staying in the hotel room. Sunday we had to be up bright an early and eat quick in order to drive over to the ferry terminal. 

Once at the ferry terminal we bought our tickets to pier 39 and met up with raisers in my Fresno puppy raising group. I was a bit nervous about how Pinnacle would do. The reason I was nervous was because he hated walking on anything metal and we had to go up a metal ramp and metal stairs on the ferry. However, Pinnacle decided to shock me and went up the ramp and stairs with no issue. I was also nervous about him possibly drooling or throwing up since he had never been on a moving object without being in his crate. Again he shocked me by not drooling or getting sick but rather laying down and going to sleep. After what seemed like forever we reached the dock and got off the ferry. Again Pinnacle did great. Once off we took the pups to a parking lot and let them go potty before making the long walk to Pier 39. Pinnacle was a bit distracted and pulled quite a bit. It was a bit difficult to regain his focus since he decided not to want his food that day. However, after many corrections he finally got the hint and pulled a lot less and got himself focussed. We worked with him going over metal objects and he concurred his fear by the end he loved going over metal flooring.

Pinnacle and his friend Warren on the ferry

Pinnacle with the ferry in the background

Once at Pier 39 we all walked around for a bit before deciding to go eat some clam chowder. Pinnacle was worn out from the walk and fell asleep right away under my chair. After eating we walked around some more and even found some stairs that played music when you walked on them. Pinnacle could have cared less that the stairs were making noise which made me proud of him. The one thing about Pinnacle is he is a very confident puppy which can be a good thing. We checked to see if any sea lions were out but there were none. Then it was time to head back to the ferry. We managed to get a bus to take us all back to the ferry dock. We still had some time to kill once we were at the ferry dock so we all went across the street to where they had a fountain you can walk under. Now if you remember my post about the Jelly Belly factory you will know Pinnacle hates water so I wasn't sure if he would go near the fountain. At first I got him to walk up to the fountain water but he refused to walk under it. We decided to have another Guide Dog puppy go in front of him to see if he would follow. He did follow but his face said he wasn't thrilled about it. We got about half way and there was a sharp corner poor Pinnacle missed that stepping stone so his backend fell into the water. We all had to laugh at him cause he had the look of horror on his face that he was all wet. After letting the dogs dry off some we walked to a hotel that has a glass elevator and had the dogs ride up to the top and back down. Pinnacle enjoyed looking out at the view. After we rode the elevator it was time to head over to the ferry and head back to our cars. 

Pinnacle and I on pier 39

Pinnacle and I in front of some flowers on pier 39

Pinnacle and Wilton taking a break to get a drink

Pinnacle was disappointed there were no sea lions

Pinnacle in front of the fountain we walked under

Once back at my car K and I decided to go to dinner at BJ's. Both boys did great and slept while we ate our dinner. After that we went back to the hotel to watch movies and go to sleep. 

Fun Day part 2

This post is late due to me being very busy right now. So to catch up if you did not read my last post two other raisers, their puppies in training, Pinnacle, and I drove to San Rafael for Guide Dogs annual Fun Day. We arrived July 12 and the event was July 13.

So on Saturday July 13 all of us got up bright and early to get ready for Fun Day. Once we were all ready and the dogs were taken care of we headed down to eat breakfast at the hotel. It was so much fun seeing all these dogs walking around with their raisers and being very well behaved. Pinnacle and I grabbed a table for me and the other raisers I was with to sit at while they got food first then I got mine. After eating we loaded up into the car and drove the 2-3 minutes to the mall where we were to park the car. Once there we unloaded everything and gave the dogs a chance to go potty. Pinnacle was a good boy and went when I told him too. This year our theme was sports so I had a little steeler jersey for Pinnacle to wear. Needless to say he wasn't to thrilled but didn't throw a fit. Once we were ready we got into the Guide Dog van that took us to the campus where the event is held. After getting there I realized I had forgotten my phone in the car so I gave my stuff to my one friend K to watch while I made the long walk back to the car. By time I made it back the opening ceramonies was already done which was fine with me. Pinnacle and I met up again with K and we headed over to where the littermate meeting area was so we could see some of our pups littermates. We also both have raised breeder dogs so we enjoyed seeing some of their pups as well. After the littermate meeting we went and looked at some of the club booths that were selling things. We enjoyed catching up with all our puppy raising friends.

Pinnacle with brothers Presley(left) and Paul(right)

Some of Medford's L litter with the their mom Tessie

Medford was 1 of 6 dogs that were chosen to have a special sign up about them :)

Medford's B litter 

2 of Medford's S litter pups Shimmer and Siesta

After all the excitement K and I decided to sit down for a bit. Thats when I got a text from Medford's breeder family saying they were at Fun Day and wanted to meet up. So I took Pinnacle and went to go find them. K ended up spotting them and called me to come back. Soon as I walked up and called Medford's name he came running at me. Of corse I got all choked up seeing him again. He looked great and was still a very happy boy. I enjoyed getting to chat with his family for a while and show them around Fun Day. They enjoyed getting to love on Pinnacle while I loved on Medford. By this time Pinnacle was all worn out and falling asleep when we would stop walking. After a while it was time to say goodbye to Medford and his family. I hated saying goodbye but I know I will see him again.

Medford

Medford with his nephew Pinnacle

After goodbyes K and I met up with other raisers by the new dorms Guide Dog's has. We found a spot in the shade and waited for the guide dog graduation and puppy handout to begin. One of the dogs from Bakersfield was graduating that day so it was fun to see him be presented to his partner. Then came everyone's favorite part. The part where baby pups are presented to their raisers. It is so fun to see the excitement as raisers meet their new puppies. There were some good and some interesting names given to the pups.

Chase who was raised in Bakersfield being presented to his partner

all the baby pups being held as they wait to be presented to their raisers 

Poor Pinnacle all worn out

After all the puppies were handed out Fun Day was over and it was time to head back to the hotel. Once at the hotel we sat down and relaxed for a bit. Then we got up and got ready to meet my Fresno guide dog group for dinner. We ate at a place called Mary's. There were about 30 of us raisers (from my Fresno group and a few other groups too)and 15-20 pups all in a private room. The pups were worn out and behaved themselves. After dinner we all went out for Ice Cream. The other raiser who had been staying with K and I decided to go stay with another raiser since that raiser wasn't sharing a room with anyone else, so K and I went back to the room to relax. While relaxing in our room two other raisers we know from Facebook came over with there dogs and one of the new pups they were taking back to Utah for someone else. We enjoyed loving on the baby puppy Gabby and even took turns volunteering to take her down to go potty. About 1AM they went back to their room and K and I went to bed.