Old Friends

Being one of OccuPaws' signature fund-raising events, Puppies on Parmenter is vital to raising money to pay bills and develop community awareness. Puppy Raisers share stories, discuss training, and have a good time. It provides an opportunity to see old friends and make new ones.

The highlight of our day was reconnecting with our second puppy, Echo, and his family. Even though I haven't seen him in two years (he does send a Christmas card), he may have remembered me. As a puppy raiser it is important to know that the dog which you helped raise is happy, healthy and enjoying life. Many thanks to Echo and his family for sponsoring this event and wishing them all the best as they add a human pack member.



In addition to the puppies that we have raised, it is always nice to see our graduate teams. Allison and Gilbert, our first external team, were in attendance. Allison made a point of visiting us. She reads about Monte, but had not seen him until Saturday. It was amazing to me that this team has been together for almost three years now - time flies.

Another old friend that we see occasionally is Abbey. We spent time with her when she started her training last winter. She was always a smart little girl, but defiant, which doesn't appear to have changed. Don't let the photo fool you.

Bristol and Biscuit are two of most recent litter. Bristol, a tiny little thing, was very scrappy. Biscuit, although appearing clean in the photo, failed to avoid any of the puddles as she walked around the terrace. Remember, yellow labs are not dirtier than their black siblings, they just let you know.

On our walk we interacted with so many wonderful business owners, dog walkers, and volunteers. I want to thank them all, but one in particular stood out(not just because we won a raffle bag). The staff of Middleton Veterinary Hospital welcomed all the dogs and walkers with fresh water, coffee, treats, and a well-stocked gift bag. As difficult as it might be, I bet that they take even better care of their patients.

Echo's Spirit

Echo, the dog with the puppy spirit, was placed with his adoptive family last weekend. His new home is in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Remember that - it will be important.

Echo has caused us and the Puppy Coordinator great anguish. We cared for him during his sickness with a very nasty bug, then the one which we caused, and subsequent emergency surgery. Marlene and the two of us lost sleep trying to determine if he was guide dog material or not. He had us second guessing every decision.

Yesterday, Marlene returned home from lunch and checked phone messages. There was a message from a woman saying "This is the Humane Society and we have a dog here that belongs to you, Occupaws. A yellow male named Echo."

She called back right away and the Humane Society wanted to know if I was on my way to pick him up. She said she would pick him up in the morning since it's a couple hours away. Marlene asked where in Crystal Lake they were located and they had never heard of Crystal Lake!

They asked where she was calling from. They had never heard of Beloit, either. Marlene asked their location. Ocala, Florida !! Marlene told us "I almost fell over ... I said I was from Wisconsin and she almost fell over ..."

The Humane Society was about ready to close for the day and said they would have the manager call in the morning. Marlene called Echo's new owner, in Crystal Lake, to ask her how Echo was and she said she loved him and he was sitting at her side resting from a run they just took. She put the phone to his mouth so Marlene could hear him breathing. She said "Honestly Marlene he is right here beside me, well and happy. I am sitting on the deck taking acorns out of his mouth."

It speaks volumes about Echo that we thought it possible that he might actually be in Florida. Marlene had even called Chris and told her she might be going on a plane ride to bring Echo home.

Echo's spirit lives in everyone that he has spent time with. Echo's Spirit has put us through yet another scare, not even his fault this time. It turns out that the Human Society scanned the dog's microchip and misread the number.


"Will this dog "ever" stop haunting me?" - Marlene Morga

Picnic!!!

Installment II

Sunday was a picnic day...for the HUMANS. We just sat around while the HUMANS ATE!!!!

and Marley waited...

and Cinder waited...

and Divit and I waited...

BUT NO FOOD FOR US

Then we got excited. They finally got out a food bag for us but only let the new puppies near it. I think they were setting up a Circus act cuz every time this would happen...

Ready.....

Set....

Scatter!!!

Silly humans will never learn

Then one of the little guys tried on Reggie's harness...he/she has got a lot of growing up to do.

Slick

Big Girl

When we arrived at the Puppy Coordinator's house for our weekly OccuPaws get together, Cinder was overly excited. Marlene informed us that Cinder is a "Big Girl" now and she need to start behaving.

Our session focused on handling the seven puppies and discussing the plan for puppy rotation. While we checked on the puppies' progress, the Big Girl played with Marley, Echo, Mollie, Skeeter, Envy, and the pink collared female puppy. Marley and Cinder wrestled non-stop with the exception of a time-out for Cinder's last puppy shot.

Our "Big Girl" is starting to act like a "normal" Labrador. She is finishing her two cups of food in one sitting and still wants more. Cinder reached another milestone this evening. After playing for a bit I called her over to test her recall, her mouth was full of blood and she was missing a canine tooth. She lost her first puppy tooth, getting ready for her Big Girl teeth.

Echo's harness training continues. He has learned to walk straight which is very important and he started to work on curbs yesterday. Chris and Echo both appear to be quick studies. Keep up the good work.

Smarter?

We were walking through the park with some other "dog walkers". One of the topics of conversation was how smart Cinder seems. People see her and think she is so smart and well behaved. They often ask how she compares to our first two puppies, Buddy and Echo. It's so hard to compare how each puppy was at her age.

I am noncommittal in assessing which dog is more intelligent because most people are responding to the level of training, not intelligence. I do know that Cinder's puppy raisers are more intelligent than Buddy or Echo's. So Cinder is probably better trained than Buddy or Echo were at this age.


At our Beloit training class, we interacted with the seven newborns, who have started living outdoors now. We were checking their temperament. And we saw our favorite yellow lab, Echo. His formal training started a few days ago, so he was able to put on a very simple demonstration. He pranced up and down the street with his trainer. He looks like a proud high school graduate in his new harness.


Training disappears if not reinforced, intelligence is forever. Training is always on display, intelligence may be hidden behind a poor trainer.

The Journey Continues

For those of you that have been reading the blog during Echo's OccuPaws journey and are curious about his whereabouts. We just received an update on his status from the Puppy Coordinator this afternoon.


About two months ago Echo left our home and was being released from his assignment to be adopted out. However, if you have been watching the blog he occasionally shows up in photos and he has been involved in OccuPaws activities.

He was given a second chance which included some reconditioning and probation with the Puppy Coordinator. Basically, he needed some time to mature and we needed to see if his brain would kick in and he would become reliable and dependable. From my standpoint, he is still a work in progress, but then aren't we all.

Having satisfactorily completed his probation, with only a couple issues, he will start harness training next week in Janesville. Echo's journey continues ...

Jog for Dogs Pictures

Woof!!

A great day yesterday. We had a family reunion!!!

and we got to meet some firemen and listen to sirens and horns and stuff.

and then some human blah blah blah and for some reason humans like to make each other cry... a lot.

and lots of people just walked around and watched and ate.

and then a strange fruit started dancing and singing...I didn't know Chiquita's could talk?

there were lots of things for sale and raffles...

and the strangest black lab I have ever seen...definitely a bad hair day!

and a talking cow!

but the bestest part of all was Deegan came home with Lilly n me and we played and ran!

Slick

Skool Daze

Hello Fellow Pups!

I have had a very interesting few days.

First of all Nikki, Dale, Echo, Marlene, Marley, mom and dad and I went to visit lots of kids in a grade school in Beloit.

The kids sat on the floor while Nikki talked about what it is like to have a wonderful guide dog like Dale. She talked about how blind people use guide dogs to give them confidence and to walk quickly from place to place.

I thought it was interesting because someday I might grow up to be a Guide Dog too. But I have a LONG way to go, I'm just a little pup!

With dad or Marlene leading Dale or Echo, they demonstrated what it is like to walk with a guide dog to a couple of teachers.

After awhile, Marley and I were more interested in playing with each other than listening to all that human blah, blah blah. But at the very end of two assemblies, the kids pet us…and pet us… WOW! We were in doggie heaven.

Then, did you know that there are little crawly creatures in the grass? Mom and dad call them "bugs". I just think that they are fun to watch. Mom and dad don't think so because I forget to go potty when I am watching the bugs crawl around.

Our house also makes a funny gurgling noise when it rains. There is a long tube at the side of the house that makes noise. At the end of the tube, water comes out…as if my magic! Mom says that it is called a "gutter" and when it rains really hard, the gutter will make even more noise…. interesting….But I still like the bugs better-yum!

Well, I hope to see all my fellow pups at Culver's at the Beltline and Todd Drive on Monday!

Sincerely,

Promise

Last Day of this rotation

Greetings fellow pups!


It's with sadness and also joy that I tell you I'm leaving here for another evaluation week with Nikki. They tell me after a couple days of "settling in" that I am a great pup, well behaved, and an asset to OccuPaws...whatever the heck that is.

This morning I had a chance to play with my pal Promise. She like to "pester" me when I'm resting by grabbing my collar or ear and pulling. I don't mind, in fact I hardly notice.





Then later today lots and lots of people came to the house. I watched them from my crate for a while, but then they let me loose to see if I learned to behave myself. Well folks, everyone said what a nice dog. I went around to each person and greeted them politely and then just camped out under the table waiting for food to fall, but none did...sigh.





Then they said I had to pass another test so they put a small human called Evan on the floor next to me. This time I learned not to run past him cuz tiny humans are not as stable on two feet as we are on four. Anyhow we became pals as Evan loved to hug and kiss me. I only kissed him back once.





Then he decided to scoot up on his back and wrap his legs around my neck and hug me. I just let him hug away and just laid my head on his tummy. It was very relaxing.





Tonight will be my third night of sleeping "in the open" and tomorrow off I go. I'll try and send reports next week.


Echo

Bones

Hello again! It's me, Echo.

Barb and Mark, my temporary mom and dad helped me meet some very nice visually impaired kids and adults on Friday at East Towne in Madison. There was a girl who was about 7 or so that was so nice, she liked to pet me. I was very good. A boy about 14 was there too… mom and dad helped Dale take the boy for a "test drive" to see how he might like working with a guide dog. Mom and dad led Dale around, and the young man held onto the harness. The young girl also walked with Dale. Promise was there too! Promise of course was the hit because she is cute. I used to be cute too!

Then yesterday, Dale, Nikki, Promise and I went to Michelle's house where we practiced down, sit, down, sit, stand, stay, stay, stay, stay. Moby, and Bodie, their mom and dad, and Marlene were there too. (Promise did not stay, sit, down,,,she was just being her usual puppy self..) Michelle showed us her rat terrier too! He ran around the building a lot.

Of course, there was a lot of human "blah, blah, blah".

And I guess I past another milestone, I think. Last night I got to sleep in the bedroom with Stitch and Reggie (I shared a blanket with Stitch). It was pretty weird cuz they were not very neat - shoes and socks and clothes were on the floor and I guess they were happy since I left everything alone - go figure. And I didn't move or make a sound until the puppy woke us all up about 4:30 to go potty. I didn't have to go, I just went back to sleep. It's amazing how happy humans get when I just sleep quiet.

I understand that I am going to have pictures of my bones taken on Monday. I wonder if I need to put on make-up for that? Maybe I don't need that, because, I am naturally HANDSOME!

Hope you have a good Easter!

Echo

Where's Slick??

Folks have been asking about Slick, so I (Echo) thought I would write down what I heard.

He went to Theresa first. From what I heard he did pretty well. But, he did have an accident at the Dawg Zone when he went to class. Oh, well.

He then went to Chris' house where he did pretty good, except that he pulled on other dogs - - which she worked on correcting. From what I understand he grew on her.

He is now at Ernie's. Ernie just got him Tuesday night, so we will have to wait and see what kind of report he gets.

Slick (along with some other pups) will have his hip and elbow X-rays done on Monday. Let's cross our fingers for ALL of the dogs in training….I want them to have PERFECT pictures.

Hopefully mom and dad will be able to take some pictures when the X-Rays are taken, so you all can see him again.

Echo

Milestone

Hello everybody!

It was a beautiful day outside today.

First of all, I went out with mom and dad for breakfast

Mom and dad were curious how I would do in the outdoor kennel, so they put me in "prison" for several hours. I LOVED it! I had a tasty bone to chew, I did not have to be a "good" dog, and could just do my own thing.

When I came inside, they told me that I was the best behaved EVER! Initially I did not have the urge to bring them toys, I just relaxed in the living room while Promise tried to get me to play but I just laid there watching her. What a milestone!

That's it for today.

Echo

Settling in too!

Hello again! It's me, Echo!

I had a fun day today. First of all, we played "find it". Mom hid my favorite toy, the Jolly Ball. Then she asked me to find it. At first I did not understand that I was supposed to find it AND bring it to her. But, we figured that out now. WOW was that fun! She hid it in every room in the house, but I always found it. Waiting for her to say OK, find it was easy.

Bringing it back, bringing it back....

Then, we went to thousands of stores, in the car, out of the car, in the car…


We were delivering pieces of paper that said "Culver's on the Beltline", and then something about a fund raiser on April 20 from 4 - 7. I guess she wanted everybody to know about that. We even ate at Culver's…



It looked yummy, but, alas, no food for me! Mom said I was very good and did exactly what she asked me to.

To make the day complete, my little buddy (Promise) and I play tug with rope and other tug toys too!


She pulls, and I just stand there and hold the toy in my mouth. If I pull too hard, she falls over!


Sometimes I watch her play with Stitch. Stitch, a Golden Retriever, rolls over on her back, and Promise jumps on her. More fun. Here she is pretending to be a rabbit - I recall being a little too interested in rabbits so she's helping me.



The one thing that I seem to have trouble figuring out though is that Mom and Dad don't like it when I bring them toys (after toy) after playtime is over. I don't understand, I bring them toys, get really close, pant at them, and say (with my eyes) "please take this, and throw it so we can play some more". When I continue to do that after mom or dad say "no" they will sometimes put me on a "down/stay", or worse, put me in my crate. I am very persistent, and REALLY want them to play with me… after all, I am a Labrador RETRIEVER… Get it RETRIEVER, Labrador…… I guess you just have to be here to understand.

That's all for now,

Echo

Speaking for myself

Hey everyone, it's me, Echo saying "Hello again"! I can't believe I'm getting to do the talking!!!

I am going to stay a week or two with Promise at the Schultze's house. I took advantage of the ride to their house, and took a nice long nap.

Yesterday was my first day at the Schultze's, and I am learning the ropes. I already knew about staying off of counters, or beds or couches, so that part was easy. I also already knew that I have to be quiet in the house - no barking, more easy stuff. I love all the bones and big dog chew toys they have. it is Paradise!

I really like their back yard because they have a large Jolly Ball! I can carry it all around the yard , toss it in the air and catch it! My foster mom, Barb, says it is a great toy because I can't swallow it and irritate my tender tummy.

I like to play with the other dogs that live here too! Their names are Stitch, Reggie, and a little tiny dog named Promise….She is just a puppy.

Yesterday during the day I just could not find a place to lay down and settle. This house is just not like Jeff and Lisa's house…. But I was able to sleep last night in a crate in the kitchen and be very quiet. This morning I went to breakfast at Shelton's with them and was VERY, VERY good. I'm a different dog with my vest on - I know when it's business. I went under the table and stayed. Mom and dad were very happy with me.

Mom and dad did have to remind me not to go thru any doors without permission. I have to sit and wait until permission is given to pass thru the door. That part is really hard! I KNOW that is what I am supposed to do, but I forget it sometimes. It's pretty tempting to just want to run and play. I also wanted to lick mom to show my appreciation when she leaned over to pick up some socks off of the floor. She reminded me that was NOT permitted no matter how sweet.

Overall, I have had a pretty good 24 hours here. I'm much quieter tonight so I just have a little more adjusting to do. It really helps when the border collie Reggie runs and runs with me and if I do enough puppy bows I bet that Golden will run with me more too!!

Echo

House

We were busy last night gathering Echo and Buddy's medical records, paperwork, and supplies. Buddy's was officially transferred from us to his new owners. He will share his new home, just a few blocks away, with two dogs, a cat, and two humans.

Since the Puppy Coordinator was in town, she stopped by to get Echo. He will stay at her home, with seven other dogs, a cat, and two humans. Echo's future plans are not definite at this time, but she said that there are a few possibilities.

Bones chewed on the ends, a surplus of bags.
Leash hangs on the door, no jingle of tags.
Toys all picked up, the crate put away.
No barks to alert, very quiet today.

We don't see another dog in our immediate future, so I will be back in a month for Echo's bithday, unless we get an update sooner.


“For me a house or an apartment becomes a home when you add one set of four legs, a happy tail, and that indescribable measure of love that we call a dog.” -Roger Caras

Good Puppy, Trainer Needs Help

Our first failure was blamed on medical issues, however last year Buddy was having behavioral issues during his brief stint on rotation before x-rays revealed mild elbow dysplasia. As I compare our two students, they have many similarities not caused by nature, but rather the environment that we provided them. It would be foolish not to contemplate if puppy raising is a suitable vocation.

Our training methods and consistency are suspect and need to be evaluated. Similar to our charges, we may require a few major corrections to improve performance or we may be career transitioned. We may be unfit to raise guide dog puppies by ourselves, so the Puppy Coordinator is creating a plan to have others more involved in our puppy's training to correct our mistakes before it gets too late.

Misfits

Not sure if Echo knew why the Puppy Coordinator and Trainer stopped by the house on Saturday, but he made their decision very easy. Not sure why, but he cried and whined the entire time that we discussed his situation, about ninety minutes. Not sure if it was one thing or a combination, but Echo has been terminated (from the program).

Our puppy Echo will be now be career transitioned to a permanent home. We are 0 for 2, but the Puppy Coordinator says that his temperament is just not a good fit to be a guide dog, a "misfit" - my term not hers. As we prepare for Echo's departure, Buddy's journey to a new home and role as loved pet also begins.

From what I hear, Echo seems to take more after his father and would therefore be a superb field dog. If anyone is interested in either of our two "misfits", please contact us or Marlene at OccuPaws.

New Journey

Buddy will be embarking on a new journey, once Echo decides if he wants to be a guide dog or hunting dog.



This morning, we worked with Echo by playing musical bone. Facing each other, each dog was given time to chew and when the "music stopped" we switched players. No possessiveness, they were each very tolerant.

I think that Echo is going through a phase and will work through it. He is not an aggressive dog, just going through a stressful period.

Hierarchy

We experienced a glimmer of hope this evening on our walk. Echo picked up a stick and wanted to play. Arie, a big German Shepard, also wanted the stick. Arie bared his teeth and growled a bit. Echo dropped the stick and quickly moved away.

Also on our walk, Buddy and Echo were allowed some off leash time. Echo received a few additional lessons from Buddy when he was invading Buddy's space or attempting to steal toys. Echo cried out a few times, but we continued to encourage Buddy to exert his authority.

Once the hierarchy has been established, everyone gets along very well. Echo needs more experiences like this stored in his head. Our strong dominant dog showed that he is rational and can learn.

Dog's Life

Well Echo has been behaving well since Monday when he tangled with a Pit Bull for the rights to a ball. Yes, we have a very strong dominant dog on our hands, but he has been very good adjusting to his new environment and rules. He has quite the life: a biweekly manicure and a nightly massage. I can't believe he fussed getting his manicure/pedicure this evening.

Echo is learning his place in the house and working hard on HEELing when out and about. He is still accompanying us on our daily adventures to the drug store and grocery store. He even went to a work meeting with Lisa today. Like most of the people at staff meeting he was bored. Unlike humans, he wasn't shy about showing his lack of interest with a couple loud sighs toward the end of the session.

It's too early to tell if any progress is being made. It's only been three days, but he seems more attentive. Next weekend at Poker for Paws will be a good test and others will be there to assess our situation.