The Call

I just got the call I had been hoping to get since Malcolm was career changed. Malcolm has been placed with another program. He is now training to be a diabetic alert dog at dogs for diabetics!! I am hoping he will graduate from that program. I will get periodic updates on him while he trains so im excited.

3 months

Last week Pinnacle turned 3 weeks old so in honor of that I will say 3 things I love about him.

1. His cute face. He has the sweetest puppy face ever, and is really good at the puppy eyes.

2. The white spots on him. He has some white marking on him. One on his head, a white stripe on his chest, and his right bac paw has white on it.

3. He really wants to please. He may not always get things quickly and can goof off sometimes while i'm working with him but he almost always tries to make me happy. When he was learning how to do stairs he was nervous at first, but with a lot of encouragement from me he quickly figured them out and now enjoys doing them.

Happy 3 month Birthday Pinnacle!!

5 days with Pinnacle

So last week I had time off from school to study for finals so I decided to go home to Bakersfield and spend time with my new puppy Pinnacle. He was so excited to see me that he climbed over the baby gate to get to me. I spent all last Wednesday working with him. He has now mastered going up and down the stairs in our house, and I introduced him to the gentle leader as well. Thursday our family was going to a concert so he went to his first puppy sitter. I was a bit nervous as he hates being in the car since he gets car sick (he mainly drools a lot), but he did actually pretty good. I'm told he did pretty good for his first puppy sit so I was happy. Friday we had company so he spent most of the day in the kitchen. He also got his 12 week shots and weighs 24 ib. I'm quite sure my arms were ready to fall off from holding him. Unfortunately his tummy didn't handle the shot well so he kept me up all night with diarrhea. Luckily by Sunday he was back to normal.

One fun thing I got to do is take him to his baby puppy meeting. Since he wasn't feeling good my mom went with me too. The meeting was the day after his shot so he was still not feeling well at all. Add that to he gets car sick I ended up covered in drool. I took him potty as soon as we got to the meeting poor boy had loose stools. He was happy to see the other 2 pups there and kept wanting to play with them. At the end of the meeting we discussed with the coleader who is also a vet what to do with Pinnacle about his car sickness. We are told for next couple days to keep him out of the car, and then when we introduce the car again put him in a crate since he seems to do better in that and only go a short distance. Hoping that works and over time we can increase the distance. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of him last week.

the dreaded call

Today I got the call that as a raiser you never want to get. Malcolm was Career Changed for cataracts in his right eye. I am beyond devastated I had really high hopes for him. I have decided to let Guide Dogs see if another program would like him first. If not I will place him with a family. I likely won't know anything for at least a month.

Last week/Good-bye Malcolm

So it has been almost a week since I turned Malcolm in for Formal Training. To start off we did some lasts with him during the week. He said his goodbyes to my teachers and they all said they were going to miss their "favorite student". I also took Malcolm to see his last movie G.I. Joe and of course he did perfect. On the Thursday before I turned him in for training I took him to dinner with my sister and her boyfriend. We went to Cheesecake Factory since it was his first outing with me so it was only right that I took him there one last time.On Friday night my mom drove up to Fresno to watch Malcolm while I went to the Clovis Rodeo/Dustin Lynch concert (I hd bought the tickets for me and my friend before I knew Malcolm was on the recall for that weekend). My mom said he did great. I had dropped Agent off to be boarded so that I could focus Friday and Saturday on Malcolm. When I got home I let him get in my bed since it was his last night with me. He didn't last long as he jumped right off as if to say no I know the rules mommy no getting on furniture.


Saturday morning my mom and I woke up got dressed and got things loaded into the car to make the drive up to San Rafael. Before we left we went through the Mcdonald's drive-thru to get breakfast. Then we hit the road. That was one of the hardest drives to make. I wanted to cry my eyes out but tried to keep myself together so that I wouldn't stress Malcolm out. After 3 hours in the car we made it to San Rafael. It was about lunch time so we went to the mall across the street from Guide Dogs and ate lunch there. After eating we got back in the car and drove across the street. Once at Guide Dogs we took some pictures of Malcolm and I.

Malcolm and I on the Guide Dog campus. I was giving him kisses

Malcolm got a little distracted by the construction going on (new dorms are being built)

I hate this part 

Malcolm and I on recall day

After pictures it was time to walk over to the kennels and check Malcolm in. That was a difficult walk to make. After handing in his paperwork we had the option to take him to his kennel which we chose to do. We closed the door and sat there with him giving him kisses and hugs. I told him I was proud of him and to do good in training. He even managed to take the bone in his kennel and drop it on my leg one last time for good memories. After that we got up and went to the outside part of his kennel to see him one last time. Unfortunately he saw us and started to bark and throw a fit which broke my heart so we walked away quickly. I'm told he has since settled in nicely which makes me happy. We then went back to the kennel office to pick up my new puppy (see previous post for details on my new puppy Pinnacle).

giving Malcolm a hug goodbye in his kennel

saying goodbye

I didn't want to leave

I love this boy

Every Thursday is phase report day where we get to see which phase of training our dog is in. Malcolm is in phase 0 this week. In this phase he will have his medical exams and is enjoying some fun time right now. After he passes his physicals he will be assigned a trainer. I can't wait to watch him go through the phases.

INTRODUCING.....

So I picked up my new puppy today after putting Malcolm in his kennel (thats a post for another day I can't bring myself to talk about it yet). My new puppy is a MALE and his name is PINNACLE. His name will take getting used to. He is a pretty dark red color but has a white spot on his head, a white stripe on his tummy, and his back right paw is white too. He is a sweet boy who loves to be held. He was not at all thrilled about the car ride home at first and did manage to throw up on me and my moms car luckily there was a target so we stopped there to get wipes and paper towels to clean the mess up. After he threw up he settled in and slept the rest of the way home. The drive was 4 hrs long because of traffic. We stopped a couple times to let him out to potty but he didnt go until we got all the way to my apartment. He got to stretch his legs some and eat his diner before he continued on with my mom to Bakersfield. I'll see him again in a week and a half. Hope he doesn't grow to much cause hes already a bit to heavy to carry and he still has 6 weeks to go till he has all his shots.

Me meeting Pinnacle for the first time

Pinnacle asleep in my arms on our way to Fresno

Trying to get Pinnacle to go potty

Pinnacle in his baby jacket

you can kind of see the white on his back paw

He has quiet the big yawn

Puppy Assignment part 2/ Guess the name!

So I got a little more information on my new puppy today!! The pups name will start with the letter P! I do not know the gender so for fun and more of a challenge i'll be playing the name guessing game a little different. You can guess the gender and then the top 3 names you think the pup will be named. Unfortunately, I dont have a prize but hope you still have fun guessing.

Puppy assignment part 1

Well I got an email from my leader in bakersfield about my new puppy that ill be getting saturday( my mom is starting the pup for me while i finish this semester so the pup is going to start in the bakersfield guide dog group and then once it gets its shots get transferred to me in fresno). She received a little bit of info on the pup. The pup is a cross and the parents are amici who is a male golden and march who is a female cross. The best part of this is March is Medford's(puppy # 7) sister. So Agent and this new puppy are cousins! It will be fun having cousins under one roof. The pup will be 10 weeks old when i get it on saturday. Look for part 2 when i know the gender and litter letter.

Malcolms goodbye video

 I made this video and it takes a look at all the fun things I did with Malcolm in the short time I have had him. I will miss him a lot. Enjoy. (Warning may need tissues).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8D4p7mCTjE

Recall leter

Today the letter that no raiser looks forward to came today via email. The letter said that malcolm is being recalled the weekend of April 27. I know he will do great. This letter makes it real that in a week and a half ill be handing him over and saying goodbye. All his paper work is in and all i have left is to fill out his fun facts sheet that will go to whomever his forever person is.

catching up

So this post is kinda late. Unfortunately I had some medical things up so I wasn't allowed on my computer to post. March 23- April 1 was my Spring Break. I managed to do a couple fun things with Malcolm even though I had tons of homework.


The break started with Malcolm, Agent, and I all loading up into my car to drive home to Bakersfield on March 22. Once we got there I let to boys out to potty and then unloaded my car so that I could change and get ready to go out to dinner. We went to the country club we belong to and sat outside with one of my mom's friends. We were there for 3 hours and he just laid there next to my chair. He received many compliments on how calm he was. On Saturday March 23 my family spent the day relaxing by the pool. We let Malcolm run some and then he went inside so that Agent could come out and swim in our pool. Agent loved it. I'd throw his tennis ball into the pool and he'd jump off the side to get it. He swam for a long time. Sunday I loaded Malcolm up and we headed back to Fresno. We were in Fresno from Sunday till Tuesday morning. While in Fresno Monday night my Guide Dog group had a meeting at one of our malls. I let someone else work him that meeting and he did good. He was a bit excited at first but then settled down and listened.


On Wednesday March 27 one of my friends, her guide dog puppy Warren, Malcolm, and I all got up early to drive to Monterey for the day. Malcolm was not use to riding in the front when there is someone in the seat so it took him a bit to settle in. Once we got there we got the boys out and gave them water and gave them a chance to go potty. Once the boys were empty we made the walk from where we parked to the Monterey Aquarium. Malcolm was a bit distracted by the new smells so he needed a few corrections to get focussed again. Once inside the Aquarium we were given a map and instructions on what we could and couldn't do since we had the dogs. The people working there were great and very nice to us. Unfortunately it was quite crowded and people kept running into us, pushing us, and petting the dogs without asking so after about an hour in there we left. During the time we were in there Malcolm got to see some interesting things. He was particularly fascinated by the sharks and would sit there watching them. He also loved seeing the Penguins and Sea Otters. The Aquarium has a deck area where you can go out to see the ocean and get fresh air. While Malcolm had been pretty good in the aquarium he was a bit distracted by the ocean. outside. After the Aquarium we went to Bubba Gumps for lunch/dinner. The boys went under the very small table and fell asleep. After eating we made the walk back to my car where the boys were given the chance to go potty again. We then walked down to the beach that I had parked at so the boys could check out the Ocean. However, since we were about to drive home they weren't allowed in the water just to look at it. It was a fun day.

Malcolm on the beach with a smile

Malcolm checking out the beach

Malcolm checking out penguins

Malcolm out on the deck

Malcolm watching the fish and sharks

watching the ocean he really wanted in

Malcolm in front of one of the aquarium tan

We didn't do much else the rest of the week except go to dinner and he got groomed. Easter he had a busy day. We woke up and he got to go outside for short bit to play. I then got ready for Easter brunch at the country club. We decided to take Malcolm with us. He went under the table like I asked him and he went to sleep even though there were kids running around and people getting up and sitting down all around us since it was a buffet. Since it was really crowded my dad held his leash at the table while I went to get my food (heels, plate of food, a dog, and a crowded small area didn't seem like a good combo so thats why he stayed at the table). My aunt, her boyfriend, and some family friends who had joined us for brunch complimented his great behavior. They actually forgot he was there. After brunch we headed home where I had to do some homework. After homework my mom, sister, Malcolm and I all went to the movies where we saw the movie Temptation (really good movie). Again he did great.

picture of all 4 of my boys during Spring Break (no Lobo the lab on the end is not sad he just doesn't smile for cameras most of the time.

my four boys ( back row: Agent, Malcolm, Wilbur  Front Row: Lobo)

The Monday after Easter I was able to go see my old Guide Dog group from Bakersfield and see how their pups are all doing. We did some obedience and then went to work on stairs and elevators. The area we were at has a bridge that people can walk across since there are train tracks under it so we also did that. We went up the stairs, across the bridge, and down some more stairs. As we were getting ready to turn back around to head back a train came so we decided to stand back and let the dogs watch incase the train blew its whistle. The train decided to stop halfway under the bridge, so the dogs got to walk on a bridge with a train under it. Malcolm did great and wasn't bothered at all.


Tuesday afternoon it was back to Fresno where we had to go to class. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Malcolm was at a puppy sitter since our CFR wanted to see how well Malcolm does at settling into a new place. Im told he did good. Only issue was a little alert barking but when hed do it it was only one bark and would stop when corrected. I am down to 13 more days with Malcolm I am going to miss him a ton.

It is official

So I have known since last month that Malcolm would be on the April recall for formal training since he is almost 18 months (in 3 days) and they take dogs back at 15-18 months old. However, today I got the official call to say Malcolm is on the recall list for April 27. My mom and I will be driving him up that day. I will miss him a lot. He has come a long way in the short time I have had him. I have very high hopes that he will make it as a guide dog.