Carillon Park October 15th

For our Saturday meeting in October, we met at the Hilton parking lot located in the Carillon office park on a beautiful fall morning. We began with some sit-stays and down-stays as I weaved (wove?) through the pups, testing their ability to maintain their position with a new person passing nearby. I then did it again, this time lightly stepping on the pups' paws and tails. No, I do not enjoy tormenting puppies, but the reality is that they will get stepped up (lightly and not), so it is good to help prepare them for that. It wasn't always easy for the pups to stay, but they did pretty well.

Next, we practiced two people greeting each other with their pups calm at their sides. We divided into pairs standing facing each other with our pups sitting at our sides, maybe 10 feet apart. Then one person-dog team moved in one step, and the pup sat again. As long as the pups behaved, we got closer and closer, until finally the two people could shake hands and chat, with nicely sitting pups at their sides. Everyone did great!

Then I talked a bit about the proper way to busy your pup. Since there's a lot to say about this (really!), I will follow up with a separate post on the subject.

After our obedience session, we headed over to the sculpture garden in front of the Raymond James building. The sculpture garden is full of all kinds of statues of people and animals in various poses. These familiar but unmoving forms can be unnerving to dogs. Below you can see Julianne and Georgie checking out a sitting cowboy.

Like the other dogs at our meeting, Georgie didn't really have a problem with it. I complained that our group was kind of boring – everybody does everything so well! Really, great job, guys, for raising these confident puppies that can handle just about anything!

After our uneventful visit to the sculpture garden, we headed back to the Hilton for a walk around the entrance fountain. Here Heather is helping raiser applicant Räandi handle JR, who, of course, is happily unconcerned about the splashing water. Good work for such a little guy!

It was time to head over to the boardwalk that goes around Lake Carillon. Betty Jo and Dawson, along with several other raisers and pups, stopped to watch several turtles swimming next to the boardwalk.

We also crossed the bridge across the lake, with its noisy metal ramps at each end that we made sure to stomp on to see if we could get a rise out of the pups. No such luck. Here JR is leading Heather, no doubt eager to get to the next metal ramp. "Can we do it again?"

On the other side of the lake is a small park around the carillon tower that gives the area its name – a carillon which never seems to make a sound, alas. Pups Georgie (with Lincoln, Julianne, and Jennie) and Tammy (with sitter Lauren) are walking nicely and not lunging for a green, leafy snack – though Georgie does look tempted!

We finally ended up back in a shady spot of the Hilton parking lot, where the pups enjoyed a drink of water while I made some announcements, which I'll detail in a followup entry.

Sunrise Lanes September 27th

Marcy brought her bag of distraction tricks to our meeting at Sunrise Lanes, which she started off with some obedience in the parking lot. Step 1: Everybody swap dogs when the photographer isn't looking, so he won't know who's who! Actually, swapping dogs for obedience sessions is a great thing to do. It helps you appreciate where your pup is doing well while also giving you an idea of areas to work on. For the pups, it helps to teach them to obey whoever is holding the leash.

We began with a forward walk in a circle. Raiser applicant Amber assisted by walking around with a big red stuffed... something. Because you never know when you will run into one of those!

Then Amber was put to work sweeping the parking lot while Marcy raked. Not only do we raise guide dog puppies, we do beautification on the side. Ah, multitasking.

Next, Marcy went all Evel Knievel on us and put on a motorcycle helmet. You would think that would freak out some of the pups, but no, they were ready to go jump Snake River Canyon with her, as evidenced by the enthusiasm of Black Dogs #3 and #4.

Finally, Marcy lassoed some kids rolling by on bikes to take a few spins in front of the puppies.

Then it was time for all of the pups to head into the bowling alley to feel the ecstasy of strikes and spares and the agony of gutter balls – or at least to deal with the sounds those events make. There was some hesitancy at first, but ultimately everyone came out a winner (except the photographer, who couldn't figure out how to get his borrowed camera to take pictures in the dark).

We finished up on the sidewalk walking along the street at dusk and called it a night.

John's Pass September 10th

For our Saturday meeting in September, we revisited one of my favorite meeting places as a puppy raiser, John's Pass. Maybe it's the name... Actually, what I like about John's Pass is that there is so much to do there.

The meeting got off to an exciting start before most of us were even there when Marcy's new BLF finish dog Lizzy BROKE HER CHAIN COLLAR! Incredibly, Dave had a spare. (Really, who carries a spare chain collar, you know, in case one breaks? Guess we all should now.) Joining Lizzy as new pups in our group were littermates Eckerd (YLF, being raised by the Krisemans) and JR (BLM, being raised by Victoria Martin).

After Dave and Samuel stepped in a hurricane machine to see how the dogs would react (no chains broken, fortunately, or even strained), we got under way by walking under the bridge that goes over the pass, with its nice echoey sound and sea birds on nearby rocks tempting the dogs like sirens. Come to me, and crash your ships on these rocky shoals. (Gotta stop reading mythology before I post.) Regrettably, I was too mesmerized to take a photo. The dogs did well, though.

We then proceeded to go up the steps to cross the bridge, stopping halfway across to enjoy the view of the gulf from the observation platform. As if on cue, the drawbridge went up. BONUS! (Only cost me a hundred bucks.) As you can see, the dogs were unimpressed – which, of course, is a good thing.

Then we went back down to cross the boardwalk to the beach so the pups could have a chance to experience the tingle of sand between their toes and the thrill of sea foam rushing up to greet them. They took it in stride.

We came back across the boardwalk, with Rick and Eckerd leading the way, Eckerd looking like she was on a mission. Could it have something to do with those menacing black clouds looming overhead?

Before the storm rolled in, we did one more sea exposure along the rocky shore, just so everyone would have the opportunity to get drenched by a wave. I do believe Diane and Berniece were the soggy "winners," though nature gave me a bit of a comeuppance as well.

Nancy and Dawson go out as far as you can go. I swear I did not make anyone walk the plank at this meeting, it just looks that way.

Finally, we passed back under the bridge from nature to civilization and a boardwalk village full of interesting and fun things to spend money on. That's headless Heather (sorry about that) with Hunter and sister Danielle with Mitch bravely confronting the guard dog at the village pet store. Drawbridges and waves may be no big deal, but stuffed yellow Labs are another story!

The boardwalk provided plenty of open-slat stairs to practice on and all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore, but it didn't take long for the rain to come and wash us all away. As we huddled in our sheltered space, we said goodbye to Berniece, Bruce & Mitch, who would soon be going in for training to begin the next step in their path to become guide dogs.

St. Pete-Clearwater Airport August 23rd

Despite a torrential and gusty downpour that occurred just as yours truly was trying to get from the parking lot to the terminal with supplies and two dogs in tow, we had a memorable meeting at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport. We were joined by the Central Pinellas group, which made the otherwise quiet terminal building seem busier.

We started off in baggage claim, where the dogs were unfazed by the baggage belt warning buzzer and motion of the belt and bags. You can see several of the pups here wondering why we're waiting for bags when we haven't gone anywhere yet. Don't you guys know you're supposed to get on the plane first?

Next, we headed over to security to get some practice in the proper way to travel with our pups. The important lesson to remember here is that if you fly with your pup, you do not ever need to remove your dog's collar and leash or let go of the leash. The best way to go through the metal detector with your dog is to approach the detector, stop just before it, and have your dog sit and stay. You then walk through the detector by yourself and, when told to do so, turn and tell your dog to come. This way you each go through the detector separately while still maintaining complete control of your dog.

You may have heard or been told in the past that you had to let go of your leash to proceed through security. You may even be asked by a TSA agent to remove your dog's collar and leash. Whether or not this was a requirement before, it is definitely not the case now, so be sure to follow the procedure above for the safety of you, your puppy, and your fellow travelers.

(If you're like me and you want proof, here are a couple of links on this topic from the TSA site, about traveling with service animals and pets. Note that even for pets it says, "You may walk your animal through the metal detector with you," so insisting on maintaining leash control with your guide dog in training is simply following standard procedure.)

I believe this is Hunter showing us how it's done. (With several black Labs at this meeting being handled by people who are not their puppy raisers, I could be wrong. Corrections always welcome.)

Hunter does not seem to mind a patdown on the other side one bit.

Once everyone made it through security, we gathered in the waiting area to board our chartered jet to Cancún. Oh wait, that was just a dream. Nonetheless, Allegiant Air was kind enough to allow us to board one of their planes. Here is Victoria with (hm, I wonder if she remembers) Georgie, who prefers a window not too close to the wing.

Tammy relaxes by the bulkhead, which is where traveling guide dog puppies and working guides often find themselves. No barf bag for her!

Here are Melisa and Bruce deplaning down the jetway after our landing in Mexico. Er... Bruce is stylin' in his harness just a few weeks before he goes in for guide dog training.

A big thank-you to Michele at PIE (that's air traffic controller-speak for St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport, though really, why PIE?) for allowing us to have our meeting there and for arranging all the cool exposures. Everyone seemed to have a great time, with some commenting that we should do this every year. I still think for next year's meeting, we should actually go somewhere – though when you walk outside in the warm, humid air with palm trees everywhere, who's to say you're not in Mexico?

¿Tu AC es loco, no?

Puppy Graduates, Nature's Select & Versatile Tiedowns

After our journey through BayWalk, we ended the meeting with a few announcements.

First, two puppies raised in our area were matched in the current class: Isabella, raised by Darlene, and Isabella's sister Maggie, raised by Kim. Congratulations to both raisers and pups!

Second, everyone using Nature's Select food needs to know which one of their many types of food has been approved for feeding to our puppies. It's called "Chicken & Rice High Protein" and comes in a green-and-yellow bag. If you are feeding your puppy Nature's Select food, please make sure you are ordering this type, as only this Nature's Select food is approved for SEGD puppies.

Finally, a word about versatile tiedowns. If you use a small nylon buckle collar (perhaps an old one or one your puppy has outgrown) to help anchor your tiedown, you can create a tiedown virtually anywhere. You'll also need a chain training collar (20 or 22 inches, medium weight), your pup's own nylon buckle collar (which she will wear when tied down), and fasteners to connect each nylon collar to the chain collar. The fasteners pictured below are double-end bolt-snap hooks from Home Depot, but you can also use carabiners or something similar.

Just wrap the small buckle collar around anything sturdy – a heavy furniture leg, a fence post, or (as in my Camry) the metal bar under the passenger seat – and you've got a tiedown for wherever you might need it.

If you need to shorten up the tiedown, you can remove the chain and just hook the fasteners together (or use only one fastener, or three). This is handy in restaurants, especially with young pups, where you can wrap the "anchor" collar around your ankle and keep your pup close by without constant monitoring.

Be aware that a bored puppy could chew through the nylon collar that's tying him down, but with proper supervision and an awareness of your pup's behavior, you'll find you've got a handy solution for a lot of situations.

In a pinch, you can also use a standard leash to wrap around something to create a temporary tiedown, but since this is much more likely to be chewed through by a bored puppy, use with care. In an emergency, such as if your dog breaks its collar, you can also use a leash this way to make a temporary collar-leash combo out of the handle end of the leash.

And if, for whatever reason, you do find yourself with a leash that your puppy has gotten hold of and chewed through, take that lemon and make lemonade! You can use the fastener end of the broken leash to create a "house leash" that you attach to your puppy in the house so that if he engages in undesirable behaviors such as counter-surfing or food-stealing, you are able to grab the leash and give him a proper leash correction.

Up and Down at BayWalk August 13th

Saturday's meeting at BayWalk in downtown St. Petersburg was an up-and-down affair providing plenty of practice for various commands.

We started at the garage with everyone parading in a "forward" line through the tunnel on the first floor, with different dogs getting turns to be the leader in the line and stopping (literally) to practice the "right" command when we got to the end of the tunnel and needed to take a couple of turns to come back. Just to review, when you stop with your puppy, you want to take three paces to slow down to a stop (1-2-3-stop). There's no command given to stop; your puppy is learning that when you slow down, he slows down. Do not have your puppy sit when you stop. Once you are stopped, use "left" or "right" to change direction. ("Left" and "right" are used when you are not moving; "left left" and "right right" are used when you are in motion and want to take the next available turn, as when you are approaching the end of a grocery aisle.)

After burning off a little of the pups' excited energy, it was time to "find the elevator" for a ride. As with all the "find" commands, you want to start using the command when you're about 10 feet away from the object being found. You can repeat the command until you arrive. For an elevator, your target is the buttons. Once you get to the buttons, tap that area with your hand to focus your pup on what she has found, and praise her! Then have the puppy sit. Enter the elevator with "forward in," walk to the back, do a "right about," and have your puppy sit again. When you're ready to exit, say "forward out" and go on your way. Do not have your pup stop and sit after you exit the elevator.

We rode up to the top floor in the garage's glass elevators, where a beautiful view of the bay awaited. (Sorry, no picture.) We then walked to a stairwell to practice "find the steps." Again, this command is used when the target is about 10 feet away and repeated until you get to the handrail. Tap the handrail when you arrive, and praise your pup! Then have your puppy sit at the top of the stairs, with the handrail on your right. When you go down the stairs, say "forward down" (or "forward up" for up). You should also shorten up on the leash, so the puppy is beside you, and slow down your pace. The puppy should walk down (or up) one step at a time and not hop to the bottom at the end. Once you reach the bottom (or top), have your puppy sit. Then use "forward" to go on your way. Here are Karenna and Dawson navigating the BayWalk garage stairs.

Tip: If you have a puppy who always wants to go up or down stairs as fast as possible, that puppy is nervous about being on the stairs, and a leash correction (which will feel like it's pulling the pup away from solid ground) will only add to his anxiety. You can help your pup get comfortable on stairs by standing in the middle of the stairway and letting him freely move up and down as he likes, so he gets a better idea of what stairs are and learns to feel comfortable walking up and down stairs with you at the appropriate pace. Keep in mind that, as with most puppy anxieties, you may need to practice this several times to resolve the issue. And don't forget your happy voice!

We continued our journey across the garage to practice "find the elevator" on the other side, rode down to the ground floor, and made our way over to BayWalk. Once there, we found another tunnel where all of us without puppies gave those with puppies a big round of applause. Not only did the raisers deserve it, but it gave them a chance to see how their puppies would react! Then we had one more elevator to practice with, this time without a glass wall. Here I managed to catch Jillian and Bob going up.

The second floor of BayWalk has open railings everywhere overlooking the street and courtyard, so we took the opportunity to have our pups walk along them. David's got his eye on Bruce (not pictured), while Diane walks Berniece, Heather has Mitch, Jennie handles Georgie, and Karenna follows with Dawson.

We had a different type of staircase to practice on in the main courtyard of BayWalk, with quite a few pups and some prospective new raisers coming down together. (That's Betty Jo leading the way with Gabby.)

Then it was off to the movies as we headed into the welcome air conditioning of the Muvico theater. I know everyone was thrilled when I pointed out another flight of stairs to practice on, this one carpeted! There were also arcade games and popcorn smells as we wandered around the concession area, but it was admittedly pretty quiet and clean at 11 in the morning. A couple of puppy accidents also helped remind everyone of the importance of always having busy supplies on hand. We headed into one of the theaters to let our puppies have the movie experience by watching a few previews. (Thanks, Muvico BayWalk!) Here's glow-in-the-dark Bob in eager anticipation for the show to start.

All of the pups did well; none showed an urge to bark at Alvin and the Chipmunks, chew a Muppet, or chase Puss in Boots. We met outside for a few closing announcements, which I'll put in a followup post.

Lassing Park July 26th

We were in the Old Southeast neighborhood for our Tuesday meeting at Lassing Park, which featured several different experiences, including a walk along the mucky beach (here modeled by Gabby and guest handler Elizabeth, Georgie's tail and guest handler Stephanie, and Mitch with Heather and Danielle)

and back (with Trudy and John handling Legion, and David handling Bruce),

a trip to the torture cham– uh, I mean pedicurist Marcy (here doing her best to make Berniece look her best while handler Diane looks on),

and quirky distractions like musical chickens, balls, and bubbles (which Tammy and handler Darlene find hard to ignore).

Then it was time to "find the chair" (aka a park bench) and have Bruce practice his best down-under while David relaxes with Trudy and prospective raiser Bill.

I also discussed the importance of giving a good "pop" when doing a leash correction and offered my wrist to each raiser to practice on and to prove it didn't hurt. (Honest, it didn't. Just because it took me 12 days before I could type this meeting recap...)

A couple of other points made during the meeting and worth repeating:

- In the past, we have let our dogs loose at this very same park to romp in the bay, but SEGD policy is to NEVER allow our dogs off leash in an unfenced area, and that includes the beach. So if you take your dog to the beach, it should either be in coat and act like a working dog (as we did today) or out of coat but on leash to play in the water (though not with other dogs).

- The plastic Good Dog Collars that some of us have used are no longer permitted. SEGD experimented with these collars but found that they were prone to break and ineffective in the long run, so these collars are no longer approved for use on SEGD puppies.

- For our own safety, it is important for us to try to be on guard at all times with our puppies, as we never know when something might catch their eye and they will lunge. One way to do this is by keeping our eyes on our puppies when someone is speaking rather than looking at the speaker. Yes, this may seem counterintuitive to good manners, but it's better than getting hurt. Stepping on the leash near the collar can also help maintain control of a dog in a down-stay.

After the meeting, some of us headed over to Diane's house nearby for the pups (and people) to swim and have fun together. A wet time was had by all.