Baron

Sorry this post is a bit late I have been really busy with school. Baron was my 5th puppy I raised for Guide Dogs. Baron was a male yellow lab, and who happened to be the first puppy I raised with another dog in the house. I received Baron in September on my Junior year of High School. It had been a few months since Lobo had been CC'd and we adopted him. We had also just adopted my sister's little Yorkie Princess. However, after begging my parents to let me raise another puppy they agreed. So in September the day after I got back from a school trip to Hume Lake we met the puppy truck to meet our new boy. He was really cute as a baby. He had the droopy face that made him look sleepy. After picking up we headed home so I could get ready for my school's football game. Since my High School was really small and no pet dogs were allowed on campus we decided to take Baron with us and let him sleep on a blanket. Well part way through the game we got a call that my Grandma was in the hospital and we should come quickly because they weren't sure how long she would have (note: she recovered and lived for couple more years). As you can imagine we were all panicking about what to do with Baron, since he was to young to go into a hospital. Luckily another raiser said they would watch him for us, so we speeded over to her house dropped him off and headed to the hospital.

Baron and I the day I got him

Baron as a baby pup

Baron loved to sleep this way

For the first few months Baron was a very easy calm puppy. By 4 months old he was ready to go to school with me almost full time. Well at around 6 months old Baron started to get loose stools, and we couldn't figure out why. He actually started to loose a lot of weight. It was decided that we would send him up to Guide Dogs for a medical evaluation. Within a week of getting there he was all healthy. They kept him about 2 weeks longer to be sure. By time he got back he had grown some and had hit teenage stage. He was a bit of a handful for a while and had trouble settling, so he only went to school 2-3 days a week for a while (on top of that two other students decided to try puppy raising and our school would only allow one dog on campus each day). Luckily a few months before he was recalled he got fixed and that helped a lot. The one funny part about Baron was the fact that he was a lab who wasn't food motivated. My CFR didn't believe me at first then he tried it. Both times he tried Baron would take the food look at him and spit it out at him. We even tried hot dogs didn't matter.

Baron in the snow for the first time

Baron in his jacket not long after I got him back from his medical eval

One of the funnest things I did with Baron was during the summer that I had him I was interning at GDB for 2 weeks so for one week he got to stay with my Mom and I in the hotel. It was fun having him there to take to lunch everyday and see him once I got off. He got a lot of exposure to San Rafael that week. Fun Day happend to fall during the time I was interning so I got to introduce him to everyone I was working with and they loved him. Another fun thing I did with him was take my senior pictures. Since everyone was use to seeing me with a dog it was only fitting he was in my senior picture. The picture was a big hit and he even smiled for the camera. He also attended my sister's Jr.High graduation.

Baron all grown up

Baron at a park when he was nearing the age of recall

Baron at school 11 days before he was recalled

On November 21 of my senior year of High School Baron returned for formal training. We were sad to see him go and told our leader if he didn't make it we wanted him back. Well he went through the phases quickly, and we soon got the call that he had been matched. On his graduation day I was excited to see him but I also came down with the Flu really bad. I had a fever and it was really warm out that day. My parents tried to convince me not to go, but I was determined to. I felt really bad cause I was so sick it was hard to enjoy graduation. When I saw Baron I hardly recognized him. The normally excited boy was really really calm. He said hi to me then went over to his person layed by their feet and went to sleep. We met his trainer who told us that he was the dream guide dog which made me happy to hear. Unfortunately for me graduation was pretty short lived. I had presented Baron to his handler and was standing behind her chair and a few more dogs had been presented when I began to feel dizzy (I had been drinking lots of water during the graduation and still had a fever). Apparently I collapsed on the stage and the nurses had to come help me. Since the stage was cement they had to call paramedics to check me. Once given the all clear we had to say goodbye to Baron and his partner and drive home (i was sick the whole way home). Graduation day was the last time I saw or heard about Baron so despite the chaos that happened I am glad I got to say one last goodbye.

Fun Fact: Baron and his partner shared a room with another person who received a male black lab named Pascal. If you remember Pascal was the name of my 2nd guide dog puppy. Turns out during the 1 year Pascal was retired they decided to reuse the name. So there are now 2 working guides named Pascal.

Big News!!

So I thought it would take longer to get a response, but my leader got back to me pretty quick. So heres the big news. At first I had asked to get another transfer pup once Malcolm was recalled but that was going to be about 4-6 month wait at least and that timing wasn't going to be good for me, so I asked if someone could start a pup for me but unfortunately there are so many people wanting transfers they said it wouldn't be fair. I was kinda bummed since my mom didn't want to start yet another puppy for me. Well some things came up and after much discussion my mom has finally agreed to start my next puppy for me. We have requested the puppy be 10-13 weeks old the older the better so come summer it can move up to Fresno with me. I said that any gender or breed will be fine (though i secretly kind of hope I get one of the female Medford x Trumpet pups) but either way ill be happy with whatever I get. So I will be picking up puppy #11 the same day as I turn in Malcolm which will likely be April 27. Wilbur will come stay with Agent and I while my mom starts the new puppy since he can be a little grouchy sometimes when it comes to pups bugging him, and it makes it easier on my mom. So stay tuned hopefully next month i'll have more details on mystery puppy #11.

Fun weekend

So Agent and Malcolm finally got to have a fun weekend. It started out with us getting up early. My mom and dad drove from Bakersfield to Fresno to visit my sister and I. Once they got here Agent, Malcolm, and I got into the car with my dad and we drove up to Shaver Lake to play in the snow.

Once up in the mountains we stopped at a little store to get lunch. The place had the best tri-tip sandwich ever. Once we ate we headed to where the lake was. Unfortunately there wasn't much snow in the area and Agent kept trying to get into the lake despite the fact it was freezing cold out so we decided to go up a little farther. We drove 10-15 min more and found a great area with tons of snow. The snow was pretty deep so the boys loved it. We put them on long leashes and let them do circles and just go crazy. Malcolm had so much fun that at one point my foot got caught in the snow and he pulled me over, so I have a nice bruise on my knee. After an hr of playing it was time to head back to Fresno. I managed to get some pictures however some have blurry spots on them since Malcolm got a little snow on my camera.

Agent rolling around in the snow

Agent posing for a picture in the snow

Agent walking in the snow

Agent watching Malcolm in the snow

Agent loves to eat snow

Malcolm

Malcolm trying to chase his tail in the snow

Malcolm really thought the snow was a blast

Malcolm trying to catch his tail

Malcolm after playing in the snow sorry for blurry spots he got snow on the lenses

 Once we were back at my apartment my dad, Agent, Malcolm, Princess (my sister's Yorkie who my parent's brought up to see us), and I all took a nap while my mom and sister ran some errands. Once we woke up we went out for a late lunch/early dinner since my dad had to take the train back to Bakersfield. Agent got to stay home and sleep, while Malcolm went with us to dinner. Malcolm went under the table and slept. After we ate we dropped my dad off at the train station and said good bye. After that my mom, sister, Malcolm, and I all went to the mall to do some shopping (ok more like my mom and sister did the shopping and I went so I could get some makeup I needed). It was really crowded since it was saturday night, and of course since I didn't know we were going there did not take Malcolm's bait bag with his treats. He did really good at first, but toward the end he was showing signs of wanting to go home since it was past his dinner time. While at the mall we saw some other puppy raisers unfortunately their pup is to young to be at the mall yet but we had fun talking for a bit. After the mall we all went home Agent and Malcolm had their dinner and it was time for bed.

Sunday we woke up at 8 am to go to breakfast. My mom, sister, and I were joined by my sister's boyfriend and his family for breakfast. Malcolm did great about going under the table and just sleeping there till it was time to leave. If you are in the Fresno area I highly recomend the place called BatterUp.They are opened for breakfast and have the best pancakes ever, and the added bonus they are great about puppies in training. After that it was time to head back to my apartment and help my mom load up so she could drive home. We had lots of fun but yes having Agent, Malcolm, Princess, my mom, my sister (she spent the night so she could have time with her dog), and I all in my small apartment was for sure a little challenging. I will hopefully have some exciting news to share in the next few days so stay tuned.

Lobo

So December 1 of my sophomore year in High School the same day I returned my third pup Fabrica for training I picked up Lobo. Lobo is a male yellow lab. His story as a puppy in training is pretty short since he was cc'd at a young age. When we picked up Lobo he was very wiggly and full of energy, and we thought we were in for a high energy dog. Well by day two we realized that wasn't true and he was actually very calm.

When he was four months old we were asked if he and another pup the same age would like to star in a commercial, so with permission we agreed. He was pretty cute. Once he was 4 months old I started to take him to school with me. In April he had his first eval with our CFR. Unfortunately, I had prior commitment so my mom took him to the eval. Apparently within a few minutes of getting there and walking around he had an accident. Our CFR wasn't pleased and said he'd look at him at the meeting. Well when my mom and I took him to the meeting our CFR had me walk him. That's when he noticed that Lobo was limping. The way he was limping had him concerned so he contacted Guide Dogs about having him sent up for a medical eval. A few days later we got the call we'd have to put him on the puppy truck to send him for medical tests. The following week we put him on the truck unsure of what the outcome would be. Every week we called Guide Dogs vet clinic to check in on him. Finally, end of June we got the call after many tests they couldn't say what was exactly wrong they just knew something was wrong with the LS region of his back. It was decided since it was painful for him to do lots of walking he'd be cc'd. It didn't take us a second to say we wanted him as our forever boy.

Lobo came back a few days later on the puppy truck. He was so excited to see us again. We still had his puppy in training jacket so we took him on one last outing out to eat before we said he was officially a pet. Soon as he got home he learned all the rules of being a pet. Being on the couch yes being on the bed yes doggy treats yes people food no. He has settled in to pet life and is my dad's best friend. He is on medicine to help with any pain. He goes to work with my dad too at least 2 times a week. Even as a pet he still gets to do fun things.

Some fun things he gets to do as a pet is go to the mountains and be off leash since hes to lazy to leave our side. The first Christmas we had him as a cc we were to go to Pittsburgh for Christmas, so we decided to take him with us. Big mistake since he was a pet he had to fly cargo. Needless to say he became stressed out and had an accident in the crate, so once we got there we had to rush him to petsmart and ask them to give him a bath. He also wasn't a fan of the snow he's a warm weather kind of guy. On the way back we bought him a comforter to put in the crate to help him feel safe for the flight back. Due to bad weather our flight was rerouted to Utah where we'd have to change planes. Well when we got onto the other plane we waited for them to bring us our ticket saying he made it on the plane. Well it was nearing take off and they still hadn't brought it so we asked a stuartist who made a call asking if he made it on. Their response there was no dog on the first flight they didn't know what we were talking about. Well we knew that wasn't true since we had the ticket saying he made it on to the first flight. We demanded that they held the plane and go find our dog (mind you its december in Utah). They got upset with us and said that they couldn't do that. Well at that point I broke into tears, and it was made worse by rude comments by passengers who didn't realize why we were holding up the plane. Well my dad said the magic words "you don't go find our dog now we will sue you". Amazingly few minutes after that they found him. They had set him aside with the luggage out in the snow and was to be put on a different plane with same destination just later flight. Soon as they found him they put him on, and luckily made it home all in one piece.

Sadly since his time as a puppy in training was so short I really don't have any pictures of him during that time.

Lobo as a cc and enjoying the warm weather of the mountains

Lobo with my current 3 other boys (Wilbur, Lobo, Malcolm, Agent)

Lobo withAgent and Wilbur. this is one of the only ones I have of him smiling in a picture

Lobo as a puppy in training with me at school

Lobo on his first day back with us as a cc.

Nikon

So as I mentioned last weekend our group did a puppy swap for a week. I ended up with Nikon a 16 month old golden. He is a sweet boy and is pretty different from Malcolm so it was interesting to work with him and see Agents reaction to him. I haven't really been able to do much in terms of outings this week with Nikon since I had a bunch of tests and on top of that I got a cold. That is not to say Nikon did not get any experiences with me. He did get to go to school with me everyday and he did great at sleeping through the classes. We also went to the mall for a short bit on thursday. Tonight he'll get to have the exposure of going out to eat with me and then miniature golfing.

I have kept tabs on Malcolm while hes with a different family. First day or so he was a bit naughty and tested the boundaries as was expected he would, especially since he's a golden. After that he has settled in with them. He has gone to high school with the daughter, so that is good for him. I am told he has been a bit stubborn about doing his commands but is starting to realize he still has to do them. I figured hed be stubborn about down since that has been something I've been working on (he has improved a lot) but i was a little shocked that he was being stubborn about sit since he always does that one perfectly. Guess I need to trade him out more before hes recalled in April.

Nikon having fun playing (since i do not have a fenced yard i have to have him on a long dragline and hold it while he plays. Since he's so strong for my sake and safety I attached it to his gentle leader.)

Nikon really loves the dog bed I have

Agent and Nikon on a walk together. Agent is making a funny face at Nikon.

This is how Nikon wanted to spend Wednesday while Agent was at Daycare

He decided I made a great pillow

Waiting to go into class

Worn out after a short walk around the mall