Small update

I still haven't made my decision concerning Kirby. Guiding eyes taped recorded him to send to there base, which they did. They said it looks good. All that has to happen is for the health check to go through. I have mixed feelings and I'm not sure if that's what I want but as you can tell, I have to make my decision soon. A more detailed update soon.

Happy Birthdays!!

Dec. 6 Kirby turned one! Yea! We had a small scale party, with lots of treats, toys, and chews. ( I hope I will be able to put up some photos of that soon) On Dec. 11, Hope turned 5. We really didn't do any celebrating yet, But I'm sure we will soon.

Today I played a lot with Kirby. We played hide-and-seek with a friend, Jay. Kirby got tired really fast- a lot faster than I thought he would. Kirby loves the snow! He likes to eat the snow and uncover lost toys. Yesterday on a morning walk, we met a lady and her son. They were throwing snowballs. kirby got to eat a few. (I made Molly and Hope scrambled eggs for breakfast.)

Puppy Pictures

This is my baby girl , Molly. She is doing a balancing act. Her head starts off high, then her head slowly drops . When I give her the release command- flip and catch! Cutest cocker!
This is crazy Hopey-loo! She looks cute, but don't be fooled-she can be evil! I love her anyway! My favorite chihuahua!
Here is a photo of Kirby. He's the most photogenic of the group. He doesn't get pet eye as much as the other 2, and he's just the cutest puppy!

Uh-oh!

I have a cofession to make : when we bought Kirby we didn't buy him to keep. My mom thought he still had a purpose and could still be a service dog. We talked to Guiding eyes, another puppy raising group, who said they didn't take donations but would be happy to see what they could do. They didn't get to us for a long time, so I figured they forgot about me and Kirby and that he was mine.

think again.

It turns out they would be quite happy to take Kirby so I could continue raising him through them. The only problem is I don't want to say good-by. You see, when he was a guide dog in training, I knew I would have to give him up, so no matter how much I loved him, I left some of me reserved. When we bought him, I let that wall fall and know I'm more attached than before.

Not a I-love-the-puppy-I'm-training-to-bad-he-leaving, But a I-love-the-puppy-that's- mine forever, that I don't ever have to say good-by to. Not that I don't want him to be a guide, and it would be great for me to be able to bring him places again but... I'm also already used to calling the shots in his training. What to do,what to do,what to do?

Yesterday I went with work with my mom. She works as a Home heath aide, and Debbie,the person my mom helps with her 2 disabled boys is a long-time friend. (before my time)
I really went to avoid hurricane Faith(my often crazy older sister) and Debbie said I could bring the dogs. I brought 2 out of 3, Molly and Kirby. I worked with Kirby not lungeing at Debbie's dog, Holly. It's a problem I have been working on since his guide dog day's. He's recovering quickly. He really doesn't lunge anymore, but he stills pulls a little. OK, enough trying to make Kirby look good. The fact is we worked on being calm & gentlemanly around other dogs. Molly had so much fun. I mostly just let her run free in there back yard. Its not big, but has lots of new smells. Kirby kept grabbing sticks and running around with them-he doesn't even do that at our house! I decided to walk home early, so mom gave me the keys to get in the house. However she forgot to take off the car keys, so I had to walk back and give them to her when she was ready to come home. I was going to just bring Kirby, but then I felt bad because Hope had been in her crate all afternoon, so I decided to take Hope to. Then Molly got all excited & jumped at the door as if to say "oh boy,another walk!" so then,of course, I had to take her too. They all behaved very well, and all came back tired. 4-h is tonight, but its a no-dog meeting which means we'll discuss some dog related topic.

Howl-o-ween

This Halloween was weird. I don't know how best to explain it, it just was. We had a lot of kids,the 54 little candy bags me & my Mom made didn't last once things picked up. Hope spent most the evening in her crate, I would've turned into a positive training experience if I hadn't been the one elected to answer the door. Molly stayed loose, though I could've done the same for her. (like most pet dogs, she feels it her duty to announce it when the doorbell rings) I couldn't find Molly's costume from last year,so she wore one of my old shirts that said "Trouble maker 01" on it. I put a gray T-shirt on Kirby, but took it off him when I realized it was to small. I opted for him to wear his old uptate guide dog jacket instead. I don't think any of the kids that came even read it. (although one did-thought it said guard dog). Kirby had fun,and got a lot of practice for sitting politely at the door. One boy recognized him from me taking Kirby for walks and to the community center that's close by. This one kid, his whole face lit up when he saw Kirby and Molly. Kirby gave Kisses to him and his brother. They loved it.

What I've been doing...

I went to 4-h with Kirby Friday night . Other than heeling and figure 8's(something that upstate guide dogs don't do) he's knows every thing and is bored.Plus I hate being treated like I know nothing about dog training . I know I don't know everything,but I do pretty much know what I'm doing. After all,don't they remember I trained Molly with them last year?



On Saturday, Me & Kirby went to his brother,Kricket,and my friend's house. The boys got to play a lot. At first,Kricket was being very dominate,so Kirby wasn't all that into plying after a few breaks in the crate each,they both started playing very nicely. Me and my friend played video games and kept on eye on the pups. Talk about double tasking!



On Sunday,Kirby & I took a trip to Petco. He got a new toy,a rope with a bone chew on it. He saw his favorite cashier, Rachel. He got a few treats while I told her about UGDA(upstate guide dog assn.) closing. Will I ever run out of people to tell?

Hi!

Hi! I'm Ruth i have 3 dog's.Molly is a 9-year old black cocker spaniel her favorite toy is a big bouncy ball.(the kind they sell for 50 cents in the machines) she started a level 1 obedience course through 4-h,but dropped out when i got my puppy.I hope to get her back in soon.She was also doing grooming & handling (junior showing for 4-h'ers) which she & I both enjoyed be starting again in January.Hope is a 4-year old chihuahua.we got her when she was 11 mounths old,very under socialized . Shy and agressive,she spends most of her days at home,although she is very smart and quick to learn. Kirby is a 10 month old black lab.We trained him for upstate guide dogs.when they closed we bought him.He's currently coming to4-h with me.