Armed Forces History Museum July 14

Our Saturday meeting in July was at a place new to me, the Armed Forces History Museum in Largo. We started off in the Officers' Club, where we met new pups Zoe (with new raisers Tonia and Alexis) and Koko (with new raiser Diane and family) along with new raisers Ellen and Dennis, who would be getting their pup Nigel later in the day.

We talked about approved toys, making some important points:

- rope toys are no longer approved as they can cause your pup to ingest a string, which can wreak havoc in your pup's intestines; use braided felt or fleece toys instead

- sterile bones are no longer approved, nor are antlers, hooves, pig's ears, or rawhides; use Nylabones instead

- do not use balls that roll in a straight line; use Kongs or objects that stop when they land

- introduce puzzle toys to your pup; these cause pieces of kibble to come out at certain times, which increases the pups fascination with the toy; choices include those from Starmark, Premier (Busy Buddy), Petstages, Bionic, Nina Ottosson, Kylen, and the Kong Wobbler.

We also practiced some obedience, including teaching the new "turn" command. "Turn" is an unusual command for our pups because they have to learn to be facing the opposite direction from us, which is not at all normal for them. Hopefully once we all have it down, it will make it easier us to have our pups at our side when sitting at a table in a restaurant, with the pup's tail safely under the table and the head close by where we can see and correct as needed.

We were fortunate to have Michael Jernigan and his guide dog Brittani join us and give us a tour of the museum. Mike was a corporal with the United States Marine Corps in Iraq and has also been very involved with the Armed Forces History Museum, so he shared many insights as we made our way around the building. With areas replicating a World War I trench, a French village in World War II, and a good bit of the Pacific, along with all the articles on display (including a Sherman tank!), there was plenty to catch the interest of both people and pups.

This meeting was also our farewell to Eckerd (raised by Kerry, Rick, and family) and JR (raised by Victoria), who are off on the next stage of their guide-dog adventure.