Temporary Location

For the next three months we will be at the following location:  

http://customcanines.org/blog

Monte's Class

Training for all Madison area service dogs is on Wednesday.  Usually we set up shop in a local business like HyVee or East Towne Mall.  This week's class was at Whiz Kids Daycare building.  It provides a different setting with varied sights and smells.  We use this to focus on basic commands and fine tuning without a lot of distraction.

Since we were not going to be in public.  I decided to bring our pet dog, Monte, to class.  We took a very long walk before class to burn off some energy; he runs for the whole hour.  Having been quite some time since he had any formal training (even with the exercise), it took him awhile to settle in.  And then it was time to leave :-)

Licorice, Sugar, Buck, and Bentley attended training.  The class could not be any more diverse.  Licorice, a black poodle, is mature and in the midst of being placed.  Sugar, a smallish yellow lab, is well behaved and working on additional mobility skills.  Her raiser has done an excellent job with her.  As a puppy, she was a bundle of energy.  Buck is relatively young and behaves like the adolescent that he is.  Bentley is nearing a year is being trained for autism service work.  But he gets anxious when out and about; he needs more positive experience.  Bentley is, my buddy, Lucy's sister and they could not be more different.




Actually is only took Monte a few minutes to settle in and stop whining.  He did fine until his Achilles Heel was revealed.  Good DOWN STAY until a rubber ball was rolled, tossed, or bounced.  He just cannot control his prey drive, however our walks through the park chasing mice, squirrels and rabbits have only contributed to his issue.  Overall, he was successful with heeling, Sits, and Downs considering that his training takes a back seat to the puppies that we normally have in the house.

He liked getting to go for a ride and seeing more of the world, beyond the dining room window, especially the other dogs.

Lucy, Home?

Tuesday nights are autism service dog class in Janesville.  This was another t-shirt drop-off, but we also got a chance to spend time with some new and old trainees. 

 Lucy is eleven months old and has just been returned for some fine tuning.  She needs more work on her STAY.  I took her on as my project for the evening; we worked together all night and she progressed rapidly.  We began with having her STAY for short periods of time with me a few steps away and progressed to having her on a DOWN STAY in the middle of the mall as traffic passed her by. 

As we worked I noticed an additional issue.  When I would do a step over, she always looked fearful and stood up.  We transitioned to me standing over her, rubbing her belly, and just making her comfortable.  Eventually she accepted having me stand and walk over her.  We were working so well that I wanted to bring her home, but Lisa said "No! We are too busy."

Puppy-less

Even though we are not actively raising a puppy, we are still keeping busy with Custom Canine activities.  In addition to our fundraising, we are finding time to spend with our dogs and puppy raisers.

Our first stop on Sunday was to visit Cooper and his partner Mac.  Cooper was placed when he was only ten-months old, so he has grown up and filled out.  He looks like a real dog now. It's always good to see our puppy trainees behaving like adults, although Cooper, like most Labradors, seems to have retained his youthful puppy exuberance and love of life.  He spent most of our visit playing with his toys in the snow.  Inside, "Yooper" has become Mac's favorite subject in his home movies.

Next, we dropped off a jersey and some t-shirts for Dusty and Avery.  We were welcomed at the door by their autism service dog, Porter.  He settled down after the requisite 5 minute puppy cool down period.  Calm greeting are one of the most difficult things to practice, at least at our house, because we don't get a lot of guests.  It was also nice for us to visit with Avery and Dusty; hopefully we will be seeing more of them at training classes :-)

Stop number three was downtown Madison to work with Buck and his new puppy raiser, Avery, who starts high school next year.  Buck is about eight months old and a Golden Retriever.  He has been in their home for little more than 24 hours, but seems to have bonded very quickly with Avery, which is quite common for the breed.  After going over some basic commands we took a walk down to Trader Joe's.  Buck and Avery did very well. 

I hope we didn't offer too many corrections to Avery.

We Are Back

After a long hiatus from blogging, not puppy raising we are back. 

Volunteering as a puppy raiser is a significant commitment and brings with it many rewards. The greatest reward is a successful placement and hearing that your trainee is working as expected.

Chumley was  placed in his forever home just before Christmas.

After placement, we normally take a little break.  This allows time to regroup and spend some quality time with our pet dog, Monte.  

 



During our break we did have an unexpected  visitor, Enzo.  He stayed for a week while his puppy raisers were traveling and provided the necessary puppy fix, as we were suffering puppy withdrawal.  Monte enjoyed his company too.

Working with a non-profit, Custom Canines Service Dog Academy, one needs to wear many hats. My least favorite role is as fundraiser.  But that is what we have been working on for the last month.  I would much rather be housebreaking a puppy or fine tuning a STAY command.

We have taken an extended break from puppy raising to focus on fundraising.  We are five weeks away from beginning a cross country bicycle journey.  The focus of which is increasing awareness for Autism Service Dogs and securing donations to fund future placements.

Pedal 4 Paws - Coast 2 Coast

Ball Game

Sunday was Chumley's day at the ballpark.  We spent eight hours preparing food, greeting fans, watching baseball, and more greeting fans.  It was superb socialization, especially for the newest addition to the Madison area puppy raisers, Maynard.  He stole the show. 

It was a long day for the puppies and humans alike.  By the end of the game the canines were exhausted, which made them perfect for pets and hugs as children, young and old, exited the stadium.

Cool Monte

Nothing much new with Monte.  Since the weather has cooled off a bit, especially in the mornings, we have been started running again.  He can usually run forever, but the warm weather affects him, so he is happy to run my speed.

After only a few days, he has an established routine.  After we climb the hill, he sprints down the other side to cool off.  On the other side of the hill is the ice arena and they have been leaving him a pile of snow each morning to eat and roll in.  The first couple days he was surprised and unsure; now it is expected.

Tigers?

Saturday, we went to the Monroe County fair.  Chumley handled the farm animals, but was a bit concerned by the tigers.  Yes, tigers at the county fair. Not sure what it was, he was very concerned/fearful.  This shouldn't be a problem, however it is something to note for future trips to the zoo.  The rest of his day was spent at a birthday party where he relaxed amongst the activity - very good dog.

Quick Study

We took Chumley to visit Cooper's friend, Chloe, this evening.  She is the young girl that is terrified of dogs.  There are only three dogs that she accepts: Cooper, Monte, and her new neighbor puppy.  So we were planning for the worst, but hoping for the best.

Upon our arrival, she was not happy to see Chumley, even though he sort of looks like Cooper, he is not Cooper.  Eventually she came outside to see Chumley and gave him a quick pat on the back and immediately turned around and scampered back into the house. 

Oh well, that first meeting went much better than Cooper's.  Chloe quickly returned with two bowls.  One filled with water and the other filled with bubble bites (cereal).  Chumley lapped up the water, but wasn't thrilled with the cereal.

We can add another dog to Chloe's list of canine friends.  She rubbed Chumley's back and walked him down the sidewalk.  Eventually, it was no big deal that he was there - perfect.

Camp Juno II

 It wasn't all fun and games at Camp Juno.                                      There was obedience training with plenty of distractions.




















We were reunited with Chumley this evening at training.  He appeared to recognize us, but both humans and canine performed proper greetings.  We waited for him to relax before approaching and he maintained a DOWN STAY until we said OK.

IT was distraction night at the mall.  We brought a walker, bubbles, masks, food bowl, and exercise ball to test their obedience and check for any unwarranted fear issues that need to be addressed. 

And then more DOWN STAYs with recalls through the group.

Camp Juno

We dropped Chumley off at Camp Juno this evening.  The plan is for him to stay until next Wednesday and spend some time with Juno's children.  It didn't take him long to find an antler to gnaw on.

Chumley is learning how to snuggle.  We have been working on this without much success, but apparently we were not the right teachers ...

Mall Workers

Wednesday was our training day at the mall.  This week we ventured to Janesville in a thunderstorm.  It was wonderful to see and feel moisture falling from the sky.

Each puppy was worked through a mock Canine Good Citizen test to identify opportunities for improvement.  Everyone left with a few items to "proof", but for the most part the teams are progressing well.

After the CGC practice exam, the  puppies fell into position to practice their most common behavior:  a DOWN STAY.  They need to be especially good at this because the probably spent 80% of their working life in this position.

With the exception of Chili, the difficult part is getting them to stay, even with distractions.  Even the train rambling by did not upset our mall workers.

His issue is responding to a DOWN command, but once there he is rock solid. 

Note Chili at the end of the line; just being goofy.

Official Photo

Chumley has been taking it easy the last week or so.  The oppressive heat and a flare-up of panosteitis have limited his activity.  On the good side, it has allowed him to put on a few pounds.  Monte has also gained some weight.

This didn't stop us from trimming his nails, which he is becoming more agreeable to.  Going a little stir crazy, one night we took him to the library, grocery store and drug store - all air conditioned with cool tile floors.

Training has been progressing well. He will SIT, DOWN, but will not maintain a SIT if he gets tired.  He loves to work and enjoys GETTING DRESSED and has a wonderful recall.  We are working to build his confidence.

Note:  It was time for an updated ID card and blog photo.


 

Lights and Sirens

Watertown is the location of our annual puppy immersion program.  The local police and fire departments  assemble fifty vehicles for the kids to investigate.  They are allowed to sound the sirens and flash the lights. 

Chumley was interested the first time he heard the siren as we walked up.  The roar of the  sirens was constant and it didn't take long for them to become background noise.  He wasn't even phased by the helicopter.






In addition to the the lights and sirens, the event offered a great opportunity to interact with children and adults.   As we stationed ourselves between the vehicles and children's activities, we were an easy target.  Chumley and his pal Taxi were constantly being "bothered". 

By the end of the evening he was exhausted and only wanted to rest.  He slept through our dinner, which was perfect stationary training.