Christmas tag - from the paws of Kirby

Ok, 3 things I want for Christmas...I can only list 3?!? That's not fair I need 5 presents at least.

1. a new Kong(who doesn't)
2. a big puffy dog bed or quilt
3. Food...Treats

3 things I would hate:
1. Stuff that's for labeled for me but not really
2. Clothes
3. a new leash...Not that I wouldn't like one, but what's wrong with the one I have?

Since it is Christmas, I'm not tagging anyone :) merry Christmas, friends

Ok, now that I got my blog back from Kirby, I have something to add. He will be 2 on Wednesday. He didn't want to tell you, he's being shy. I think he had a lot of fun posting though, I may have to let him post again soon.

From the paws of...Kirby

This is Kirby here...I'm takin' over this blog! I am so sick of boring"Kirby did this, Molly did that and Hope..." I am also sick of that constant whining"waa waa I wanna puppy raise!!" She did puppyraise, and she got lovely me from the whole adventure. I'm cute, I listen to her most of the time, give her kisses, and the only thing I steal from the table is butter. And although I do miss going everywhere with her, we still have a lot of fun together. Heck, I even sleep on the bed now. Ha! Take that puppy's-in-training!

The return of the neverposter

I'm back! Just got back from vacation - Disney world! Being the nerd that I am, I kept my eyes peeled for PITs and working dogs. I saw a couple pets dogs near the kennel on my first day, But I didn't see my fist service dogs until my second to last day - A service dog from CCI. The next day, I saw another CCI dog and what looked like a self trained service dog.(it was a keeshond)I really hope I spelled that right. Anyway everyone training is progressing well. Nothing much new to report. I really miss puppyraising, but I'm holding up well under the circumstances.

Cute as a button!

This is Noel, my friend new puppy from GEB. Isn't she cute?

umm...posting, posting

Wow, I don't really have much to talk about, but excuse me while I whine I hate you all,puppyraisers! Not really, but I am super jealous of you. Almost all of you expecting puppies soon, and I'm jealous. Even my friends are expecting puppies, one might be getting her new GEB puppy, Noel today. I may have to steal her when I go to see her.
Oh, and Kirby and I are starting something new tonight at 4h...Tracking. I've been wanting to try for a while, so this should be fun!

So much,so fast,so short a time to post

I have only a few minutes to post, so I'll try to keep it quick,and at the same time give you all the news.

Starting a 4h new year on Friday. New obedience classes to start the following week. Kirby starting level 2 obedience (everything off leash but heeling), which will be a cinch for him.
I'm gonna try to get Molly in level 3 class, but she'll have to pass a level 2 test first. So that's what Molly's working on.

Kirby took his therapy test with me on Monday. He passed! Hooray! However, we won't start visiting till the new year so I don't have to renew as soon as he gets his tag & ID (all TDI therapy dogs have to renew in December.)

There's more news but it will have to wait, because I have no more time!

Fun with your dog week-end

Actually, mine. Sorry if you are jealous of my 4-h clubs,but we are so cool!(sorta) This week-end was our state annual fun with your dog week-end. It's a chance for 4-hers to meet other outside of their county, and take a break after all that competition. The first night, photos were taken of everyone and their dog, I think they are gonna mail them to us. The next day, the 80-something group was split off into teams, so we could rotate for station to station.

There was a bonding station, where the command 'touch' was introduced to those who had never used it before. At the same station we played a game where different commuticating challenges were given. The first set of 2 people to do it got to answer the question first read off. We could encourage and bait our dogs but for simple things,like sit and down, we could not say the command. In this game I learned that teaching your dog to bait is more important than I thought bcuz the kid I got paired with's dog didn't know how to bait and was getting confused.

The next station was just plain fun. In a small area, there were 20 numbered cones with bandanas sticking out of them. One at a time we had to go in, find our number, and get out so the next person could go. After we got all 20, we went through again, trying to beat our first time. We did. After the cones we played red light green light with our dogs. When red light was shouted out, we had to quickly get our dogs to sit or go back to the beginning.

At the next station we played dog bowl. It was fun(mostly bcuz I knew all the correct answers.)

After lunch we did 3 more stations. Rally relay, were real rally rules were non-existent. Just get through the course as fast as you can.

at another station we played this game similar to barrel racing for horses but there were 4 chairs and at there was a specific way the dogs had to go around each one(inside or outside)
At the same station we played that egg/spoon/race game. No more explanation needed, but Kirby did try to eat the eggs already in the carton.

The last station was about exercising with your dog. It was ok, but I may have to vent about the leader later.

we also did a cabin decorating contest. Our cabin did Halloween, complete with dressing up our dogs. I found out later, we were the only cabin 2 use our dogs we won an award for 'best use of canine companions' and 'best chocolate' cuz no Halloween is complete with out candy!

after winning some prizes in sunday morning, it was time to go home. I may have more details later, but all in all, it was a good week-end!

Good news!

I have Good news from Bonnie, Jake's raiser. He has been placed with a man in Philadelphia and is now a working guide. For those who didn't know, Bonnie came home with her new puppy the same time that she dropped Jake off.(in April) His name is Milton.

Congratulations to Bonnie, Jake, and Jake's new handler!

State fair

Our state fair is a great state fair - don't miss it, don't even be late!
Ok, so I've succumed to stealing lines from old movies, but I can't wait to tell you what we did at the fair. The morning of Wednesday the 30th I got up at 5 a.m. to make sure we had everything ready. My dad got home from delivering the papers at 6:30. It took us a half an hour to load everything in our tiny car! Then after a long car ride and being dropped of at the wrong place, we made it in time to hear my numbers being called - for grooming & handling and obedience! After realizing my show outfit and crates had been left in the wrong place, my mom and a friend ran to get my clothes and crates. I got dressed for G & H and told them of the conflict. They told me to do G & H first. That's when I realized my nice shoes were left in the car...A good 30 min. walk away. I decided not to try and get them and do my best in sneakers(A mistake I will not make again.) After G & H, I got Kirby for obedience. Our judge was nice, but Kirby lagged the whole time in heeling pattern and sniffed a lot, too. In stays(stand,sit&down) he did perfect. In the recall, it took me 2 tries to get him to come and to finish. Then we rested until it was time for Drill team - basically, obedience set to music. Our team was nervous when we learned another team had chosen the same theme - pirates. There music was also nearly the same. Molly did OK I guess - once when I was recalling her backing up she didn't move and one of the other team members walked into her!

Then it was time for placing announcements. First was obedience, in which Kirby got a blue ribbon.(145 points & up) his score was 151/160. I think could've done better. The was G&H. I was still upset about not having the right shoes. They called white & red ribbons and I wasn't among them. great I thought at least I'll have a blue ribbon. but as they continued calling & there were only 3 people left. I really thought they were gonna call me next, cuz I thought there was no way...But no now then there was only 1 person left with me. They called my number. My score was 94/100. I got second place. Reserved champion.

After a (fairly) relaxing evening at a hotel and an early and crazy morning, it was time for Rally-O. He didn't do as well as I wanted, But he did alright. 82/100. He got points off for sniffing,slow response,lagging,tight leash, just to name a few. He did do good overall,though.

So that's it for the state fair. We ate at a outdoor restrant on the way home, which was fun because the dogs got to eat with us.
It's dollars to donuts that our state fair is the best state fair in our state!

Hiking with puppies, among other things...

On Thursday, I went hiking with Kirby, Kricket, Sara,Link(Sara's kinda new puppy) and Sara friend Ashley. We let the dogs of leash since we were in Ashley's backyard.(sort of) The dogs had so much fun they all ran far ahead, But my laid back man,Kirby, was tired in 10.(minutes)
On a poopier note I went to drill team practice with a fever on Friday and broke out all over on Saturday. It's Chicken pox. Wait!No fair I've had It before.
}:( Although I'm no longer contagious I was on Friday, before I knew I had it. Whoops! Sorry 4-hers.
Tomorrow morning, I leave for state fair I'm excited and more nervous than I was at Kirby's guide dog assessments! Kirby had another therapy class yesterday, he's doing well. I think he'll pass the test with little to no problem?

Tag me please!

My 5 things:

1. Molly growls when she's happy.
2. Hope looks a rat/cat/dog mix.
3. Kirby is obsessed with water(drinking it continually)
4. Kirby thinks he's the same size as Hope
5. I like the smell of dogs (when their not dirty, you know just that normal light doggy order)


The rules of tag are simple. When some one tags you, post 5 weird things about you or your dogs and the names of 5 other people(it's a goal anyway) who you chose to tag. Anyone can tag me again, I have a lot more where this came from! I'm tagging Newly & Caitlin , Spring & Jen
Carlisle & Lindsey , Storm , and for the fun of it Calvin & Sam (I know Cal is IFT, but you remember 5 wierd things about him, right Sam?)

Long time no blog!

Wow has it been awhile. Molly has received her ID and tag and her first visit was at the daycamp I was working at. I wonder if that counts? Kirby started his therapy classes last Monday so tonight will be class #2! We are going to the state fair, the line up is like this:
Kirby- Obedience and Rally
Molly- G&H and Drill team
I'm really excited!
Oh, some more good news at 20 months old my darling baby lab has finally gotten over his fear of my grandparents pool. My uncle Jim pulled him in and the rest of us showed him where the steps are (which we've done before without result) but something clicked because he's now climbing in without fear. But he only uses the steps...

Kirby went with me today to my grandparents house. He mostly ran around their pool. We let him run loose in the fenced in pool area. He really enjoyed all the playing, even though he fell in twice. Yesterday we had a 4-h class we discussed drill team & practiced agility. Kirby was a little nervous of the dog walk, but he did do it. He's still a little scared of the teeter, but he's getting over that to.

I know I haven't blogged in a while and I'm sorry. Let's see...Kirby has a hair follicle infection on his muzzle. He has pills and a scrub, so things should clear up soon. I got an update on Jake. He is now in his 3rd month of training. I have photos-I'll try to post them soon. He looks so handsome in a harness! Molly completed her advanced therapy class and I sent in her paperwork, so we should be able to start visiting in 6-8 weeks. Kirby will probably start therapy classes in august and after that I want to get hope in some classes. She really is a smart dog-it's not her fault she was never socialized!

Agility

Kirby did really well at agility last week. I was gonna bring Hope after turning in her shot records last week, but Kirby did so well, I'm defiantly going to continue with him. He really seemed to enjoy it - he loves learning new things.


Molly & I are half way through our advanced therapy class. On week #2, we practiced on our dog coming to a machine with my voice on it, and received our homework: a short trick routine(about a minute long) I'll let you know how that goes.

Just an update...

This week for 4-h, we should be starting agility. I got an e-mail saying we will be meeting ay Gayle's house.(Gayle is our main instructor) One problem - I don't know where her house is! I really hope we can contact someone before to night. I'd like to start Hope in agility. It would be good socialization, because no one would be forcing her to come in contact with something that would scare her. Plus she would be the best for it. Molly is too old, and despite she's as healthy as a dog half her age, I prefer would NOT to stress out her joints. Kirby is not very active and although he likes to play, he's tired after ten or fifteen minutes. Hope is five years old and in great physical shape. When we first got hope, she used to love running and jumping around and we always said we would get her into agility.(she still likes to run and jump, but she's just not so hyper)

Advanced therapy class

Yesterday, Molly started a 4-week advanced therapy class. It is mostly a handler skill class teaching the handlers important skills. We talked about the dangers of visits, and how our number one concern is our dog, among other things. We also did 2 practice visits. It's shaping up to be a really great class.

A busy week

This past week has been so busy! Holly's owners went away from the 13-18, so we were watching her. Holly, you remember, is the golden retriever Kirby has the biggest crush on.Kirby really enjoyed seeing and playing with her almost every day. He knows what " wanna go see Holly?" means, and he gets so excited when I say it.

My friend had a party at a park, so I brought Kirby along. We did lots of stuff, but to tell the truth I wouldn't have had such a good time if it wasn't for Kirby. From the party we went strait to our area's annual pet expo. Sara(Kricket's owner) met me there, but because she didn't feel like dealing with Kricket, who is a wild man, she brought her lizard,Tut. We were there till they closed, so we took home a whole box a samples!

The big, bad bag adventure

On the 13th, Molly had a graduation/birthday party. Sara and Kricket were there, as well as many other human friends. Archie and his raisers came by, and Archie went crazy, launching himself at Molly & hope. Other than at puppy classes he really hasn't seen any other dogs, which means the only breeds he's seen are lab, goldens, and shepherds. He did settle after a while, and I was working him, while someone else walked Kirby.(proud to say, he behaved himself) We had such a good time, it was almost a read letter day.

When we got home, I noticed dog slobber covered me from just above my waist to around my knees. Since I had to go to the bathroom & change my cloths I called "can someone keep an eye on Kirby?" and ran off. When I came back, he was licking his lips and looking very pleased with himself. I had a bad feeling so I checked my jacket pockets (which had dog treats in them) no hot dog. No bag. Uh-oh. I called Marki, an upstate guide dog person who owns Kirby's mom, to ask what I should do. Wait! My mom called because I was to worried. She said although she thought it would pass, we should make him throw it up for safety. We had to go to the store, buy some hydrogen peroxide, make Kirby drink a quarter of a cup of it, and watch him like a ticking time bomb. It came up, thank god. I called Marki and told her it came up and thanked her for her help. Some if it did come out in his poop the today, so I guess were all done with that sandwich bag.

TDI test

She passed! Yahoo! With both my mom & I, she passed her TDI/CGC. My mom is going to allow me to send away for a CGC tag and certificate. I believe I will be taking an advanced therapy class, a 4-week course on special skills for TDI dogs and handlers.

We had our guiding eyes home visit. We just need to fill out a puppy sitters sheet, and we will be all set. The GEB class when next to Molly's test location, so even though I really didn't talk to them, it was still pretty cool to think they were right next door.

TDI class #7

Molly is progressing well in her class. With any luck, we should pass next Monday. But, our instructor told us, we can never know. She knew of an utility dog who failed because he peed in the ring - turns out, he had a bladder infection. When Kirby took the CGC at 7 months old through upstate guide dogs he passed.(and UGD made their test a LOT harder) so I think she'll be okay.

Molly finished her grooming and handling class up this week. We are now turning our attention to the state fair. I hope to go with Molly in G&H, And Kirby in either obedience or drill team. I think I might start bringing hope to 4-H as well.

Molly's TDI class #6 (and happy birthday)

Only 2 weeks 'till Molly's test. Because my mom wants to help out too, Molly will be taking the test twice. At class we practiced something called a round robin. This is a separation for 3 minutes with me in sight holding another dog. She did perfectly fine. She did good at leave it's as well. She started going for a dancing,singing lobster; but stopped when I said "leave it!"

Molly turned 10 yesterday. We are going to have a birthday/graduation party for her, probably around may 13th. Plus she got a hair cut. But the groomer said there was something gooey in the pads of her front paws a bath didn't get out and Molly was to stressed to let her cut the stuff out, so I will have to work it out of her fur. At a closer inspection, I'm pretty sure it's tar. How she got it in there I don't know. Does anyone know how to get tar out of dog fur?

Jake's raisers sent us a post card and an e-mail telling us he'd passed his initial test and went in for rigorous health testing. If he graduates, will I be invited?

TDI classes #4 and #5 + Goodbye and Good luck

We have now reached( and passed) the halfway point of Molly's classes. She's getting better all the time,although she needs more work. I finished pre-puppy classes, and although I need a home visit before I can watch puppies, I hope to be able to puppy sit soon. I'm a little disappointed, I wanted to watch Elmer.

Jake has left for doggie collage on April 15. His raisers, good friends of ours, threw a party for him. Pictures were taken, I'll try to post soon. Jakes raisers are driving him up then volunteering at the breeding center for a few days. Then they're Bring some pup's back with them. Lucky. Let us pray for both Jake and his raisers at this time.

What's been going on in my life

Molly's 4th TDI class is tonight. I really want her to do well at this class and pass the test when she takes it, because she really is a sweet, loving dog. On Saturday, we went to a guiding eyes pre-placement class. If all goes well, I'll be approved by spring break. In which case I'll be puppy-sitting Elmer, I think he's about 5 months old. We got to see lots of puppy's including Archie,Jake,Cole, Potter(who has now "earned" his puppy jacket) I'm really exited about this cuz my life has been so depressing lately.

Molly's TDI # 3

Wow! We practiced a whole lot! We practiced Tests 1-3(accepting a friendly stranger,sitting politely for petting, and appearance & grooming) 'leave it' and supervised separation, which is now 1 1/2 minutes long. she's getting really good at it.

Molly's TDI class # 2

caution: the next post is really long, so be sure you have enough time to read it. :)

Okay, I know Molly's 3rd TDI class is tonight, but here is a quick post about last weeks class. We practiced a heeling pattern, ( therapy dog don't have to heel, just walk nice) walking around a wheelchair, being socialized to a moving broom (one of those really big ones, practicing for the crowd test) supervised separation for 1 minute,(Molly only showed slight stress) and 'leave it'. They were harder this week, they had to leave toys. Molly did very good at this, she barely even went over and she left them when I told her.

At 4-h this week, Molly's class was canceled because they served b-day cake instead. I'm sorry but I think that's stupid. The people that really want to train their dogs are left behind because the advanced people must train elsewhere, there's no way a dog could be come advanced in 4-h. Well, there is, but 4-h holds you back. There are 3 levels are obedience taught at 4-h, and each is a 8-week class. They run each class once a year, all at the same time! I'm now done fuming. In rally, I ran each dog though the course once & learned some judges tricks. It was an OK class, but GEB had wanted me to come to a presentation with Kirby at a bookstore. I would've went if I hadn't just checked my e-mail for the first time in a week.

On Saturday Kirby & I went over to Sara and Krickets house. We got there around 12:30, and the dogs played for an hour or so. After a rest, we left to go to Jakes house for a hike in the park. They were puppysitting GEB puppy Cole. So we went 3 humans, 2 black labs, and 2 yellow labs for a looong walk. When we got back, the pups played in the back yard. They got so Muddy! but that's ok, cuz I got to take one tired pup back home.


On Sunday, my mom & I, plus the 3 dogs went for an outing at the park. We walked for an hour and a half. On the way home, mom had to stop at the store so me & Molly sat outside and watches people come in and out.
the dogs conked out as soon as we got back.

The past 2 weeks of 4-h

The Past 2 weeks of 4-h have gone ok, I guess. Molly was much better the week after the last post(about 4h), we were able to take her to Petco before hand so I think she was tired. But this past week she was naughty again, even though I exercised her, so I'll give her more exercise next week if we don't go any where. Kirby did exra good at rally 2 weeks past. This past week the instructors didn't have the cones, so we played Simon says instead. In the first round, I was in it till the end, but in the second round, I was out almost first. I just wasn't paying any attention. We were both getting tired, anyway :)

Molly's TDI class

Over time, we have gotten several phone numbers of people who do training for therapy dog work. We called them all, and only one got back to us. So we decided to go through her. She does training for TDI/CGC test, and her name's Kathy. Due to the fact that my family is not rich, we decided to do 1 dog at a time. After some thought, I picked Molly. She's older and more mature, but enjoys training.(sometimes I think more than Kirby) I must be lazy, because I also know it will be easier training her in the long run. Supervised separation would be tough on Kirby. He was fine with me leaving him alone till he hit puberty then - whamo! Clingy Kirby. He getting better though. When we practiced it with Molly at her first class on Monday. She didn't care that I left - but Molly jumped on the person holding her when she touched her. I'd rather that to stress. We practiced 'leave it' & sound distractions as well. Also Molly isn't as dog distracted as Kirby. Plus once Molly's certified she'll have less time to visit before she'd have to retire. Kirby can be trained at home and at 4-h while I work on his dog detracting.(?) Anyway, with any luck, Molly will be a certified TDI dog within 2 months.

GEB puppy class

My Dad, My Mom, and Me went to the GEB puppy class on Monday. Our friends from upstate that were waiting for a pup, got their GEB pup in January. I saw him for the first time. He's a yellow lab named Archie. He's about 4 months old and reminds me of Kirby when he was that age, very laid back and mellow. I got to work him briefly, and people laughed when I got him from another person ( their thinking of raising a pup) because he went from jumping around to walking nicely by my side. I WANT TO RAISE A PUP SO BAD!

GEB puppies

At Friday's homeschool meeting, there were 3 GEB puppies: Potter, whose about 5 1/2 months old, Roberta, who I think is between 6 & 8 months old, and Kirby's buddy Jake, an ex - upstate guide dog. His raisers were the only other ones to get GEB's offer. Obviously, they excepted. He is going in for training(IFT) in April. It went well and we got some cute photos. So Kirby woundn't feel left out among all those pups with their jackets and bandanas, I got him a bow-tie. Oh my goodness he looks so cute! The packaging for the tie was really funny, I will try to post up.(maybe)

Handling and Rally

Molly was naughty at G&H classes this week. Not just wiggly, but really being bad. Oh well, she had been in her crate a lot that day. Maybe she didn't have enough exercise? Yea, that's it. Kirby was pretty good at rally class. We learned some new maneuvers together. He did, however, walk into a cone! He's getting better, though.

G&H

G&H started last week. Amanda is our teachers name. She said last year, even though I did 3 classes and then dropped out, I did very well. Same goes for this year, but Molly is more wiggly.
remember : arm like an "L" while I'm gaiting and keep my arms strait while I'm stacking (posing by hand) Molly. We did G&H the whole Time, but we're not skipping rally every time!
Tomorrow, ay my homeschool group meeting, we asked guiding eyes to give a presentation on eyes, seeing and PUPPIES! I'm hoping to steal, I mean borrow, a puppy soon. More to come soon.

Kirby gets a job

Well, not yet. I keep putting it off, but I'm going to start preparing him for therapy work. Molly, too. I have wanted to get Molly certified ( or registered, depending on what organization you go through) since she was 5, and she's 9 now. The top organizations I'm considering are TDI and the Delta Society. Each has It's pro and cons which I'll discuss later.

Rally class

Kirby started rally class tonight. Molly not officially starting G&H till next week, but she came with us anyway. As I ran through the course, Kirby does the thing that annoys me the most : He shut down. He lagged behind, was slow to respond to commands, and simply refused to sit when I stopped. When we got out of the ring he just lay down. I was a little upset at him, but my friend Jay handed me Molly's leash and said "take Molly through." I was just like "yea whatever." But Molly surprised me. She did so well she was really tuned into me watching my every move and quickly responding to commands. She is always well-behaved, but not always obedient. I think she saw me take Kirby through and got the green-eyed monster. It's amazing what a little jealousy can do. Such a good girl!

update

I was sick on Friday so I didn't go to 4-h( It was a no dog meeting so its no big deal) Kirby training is progressing nicely, we try to keep him active and go places with him a lot. Today he went to Holly's. He defiantly has a crush on her. Molly starts G&H on Friday & Kirby starts Rally - wish me luck! If your reading my blog - thanks & post a comment :D

Kirby, Kricket, and park time

On Saturday, (when we went to Petsmart) it was a beautiful day out. On Sunday(when Sara & Kricket came over) we were planning on going to the dog park but nooooo, it had to rain. Not that that's worse than snow, in New York we have some of the worst winters in the US. But since it was all muddy, we had two 70 pound labs running around the house. They were really happy to see each other - we had to make them rest at regular intervals so everyone could get a break!(especially Molly, Kricket has a bit of a crush on her)
on Monday, of course, it was nice outside, so my mom, the dogs, and I all packed up and went to a park(not the dog park) we had a good time, and it was really nice day. I brought exra leashes to make long ones for Molly and Kirby(I need to buy a long line...someday) I would've given some to Hope, but she prefers watching the other 2 chase toys around. We met a really cute pit-bull type dog( I say pit bull type because I know he wasn't an am staff, but I'm not sure what he is) his name was Julio. He and Kirby got to say hello to each other - Kirby loves making friends!

p.s. I know I've seen photos of Julio's breed before - so when I find out I'll tell you.

Petsmart

Today Kirby & I went to petsmart. my friend Sara (she owns Kirby's brother, Kricket) works there, so we went to visit & look around. (Sara and Kricket are also coming over tomorrow) We were there almost 2 hours! Everyone there commented on how well behaved he was. I didn't work him or anything - we just had a good time. On a poopier note, a lot of people peole at 4-h did really bad at pratice graduation, so the graduation was cancelled until futher notice. What about the other people who did good with their dogs!?!? No fair. During doggy games however, I won musical chairs. Molly is starting G&H (grooming and handling) next week. Kirby may start rally, I'm not sure. I'm really upset though, because I wanted to do level 2 outside of 4-h, then get into level 3 when they start new classes in the fall. I don't have that much time left in 4-h, and I want to get him as far as I can till then. OK, I'm done venting now.

Poll

Poll: Do think I(or anyone, really) can handle 3 dogs and raise a puppy for guiding eyes? I think that with help I could do it. My Mom and I want to raise a pup together, but I don't think my Dad will go for it. ( heck, he didn't even want Molly at first)

Today I worked Kirby in a parking lot. It gave him good practice on figure 8's (posts along the side walk) and people and a little traffic pratice. There is a Guiding eye's meeting tomorrow. I'll probably go, I mean, I still want to stay involved ;)

Obedience pre-test

To night at 4-h was kirby's pre-test. It shows us what we need to work on, goes just like the evaluation and how a obedience compitention would go. He did well although he did lag a bit - 8 points off for that. When he came in for the recall, he sat like he was supose to, but then he jumped on me and sat back down. The finish was a little crooked- 1/2 points off total for the recall. He did perfect on his stays - no points off ! With a possible perfect score of 160, so he got 151 1/2 points. Thats pretty good! I hope he does this well on the real thing!

Keeping Kirby

Yep, we are most likely going to keep Kirby. There is still small room for change, but I want to feel secure in my decision, I wont if I go through guiding eyes. This decision is hard for me, as it is for me to explain why I chose what I chose. I think it was the security thing, plus the fact I just want to close the issue. I'm still grieving for upstate guide dogs, it still fells like an open wound, and I still cry sometimes. If Kirby goes, I lose my last link to the best part of my life, the part of my life that's over. it's hard for me to admit I'm still upset over it, I'm near tears as I type. I'm done now,but I don't know how to end.

tiny post

My last post IS my pro's and con's list! From what I've been hearing, guiding eyes is try to figure out the legal work about receiving a previously guide-dog-organization-dog. Whew, what a mouthful!

I still haven't decided about guiding eyes. I feel really bad, their so trusting they keep e-mailing me notes and stuff. Even if I do decide to go though with it, I have this feeling I'll regret it. It's like this: if I keep Kirby, I'll be temporarily not able to raise anymore service dogs. But if I give Kirby away he'll be gone forever. Plus I don't want to choose guiding eyes just because it the "Nobel" or "right" thing to do. However, I'm really grateful to guiding eyes and what their willing to do for me, and it would be good to take him places again(he misses that) and to re-enter the world of puppy-raisers. Not to mention he still may not make it! The stress is KILLING
me!

Happy Holidays!

My dogs and I have been really lazy lately. Kirby has missed 2 classes due to my being in a Christmas musical and then there were no classes for 2 weeks because of the holidays. This Friday is a no dog meeting, then there is a review class. After that, is the pre-test and then - the finial test for level 1. I'm not to worried(considering he passed UGD level 1 and UGD equivalent for a CGC test) .But he's been a little out of practice lately he lags when he heels during right turns, fast pace, and figure 8's. I'm also not sure how well he'll do on the stand for exam- he did well on it when he was a guide dog in training, but that was before I started spoiling him. ;)
After graduation, Grooming and Handling(A.K.A. G&H or junior showmanship) classes start. I'll be going in with Molly. I'm having trouble finding the show leash I need for her, so hopefully I'll find it soon. On the same day that G&H starts I'll be starting rally classes with Kirby. Sounds like fun, eh?