Hailey goes to school

Hailey went to Cesar Chavez School in Madison today. Jackson brought Hailey to his second grade class to tell his classmates and teacher, Mrs. Kinsey, about her mission in life to be a guide dog.

After demonstrating her skills to the students, Jackson showed off a few "tricks" that Hailey knew, such as saying her prayers and crawling on the floor. Then the students had plenty of questions about guide dogs! Quite a few of the students had seen guide dogs out in public before. They thought Hailey was going to do a great job as a Guide dog!




Hailey is also a great ambassador for OccuPaws ~ she's been busy recruiting new puppy raisers at all the events she attends. People she greets are impressed by her calm demeanor and of course, everyone wants to pet her! Even the horn blast at the UW hockey game didn't faze her one bit ~ tho she did want to sit up and watch all the action on the ice.

and because we're getting weary of all the snow (Hailey sez...where's my potty spot again???),

Hailey tried out a kayak for size at the Lake Home and Cabin Show. She's wishing for an early spring! Me too!

Marlette & Hailey

Sleep over.

Hey! It's Hailey again, and I thought I'd tell you about the fun times I had last weekend. We had guests at my house. Most notably Kirby and Dayton, though Meghan was here too. I really like them...we have had fun playing together in the past, but this visit was all business. My mom let me run for a moment while they were here, but mostly I had to "leave it" and ignore them. So hard!
I would get up in the morning and my friends were visiting and I couldn't even say hi. That didn't keep me from acting super happy and wiggly, but I was good. Very good. My mom was very proud of me.
I did get to have some calm kisses and lie on the floor with my friends, which I appreciated.
Sir Dayton is getting big, and I'm still a little peanut. Still like him though...he's a big softie.
Well...its Christmas and I ought to get some naps in.
Hailey

Winter.

Hey, it's Hailey here. I just wanted to report that I think I should have gone to California with Doug because I am not a fan of winter. I spend a lot of time in my crate, because it is cozy. But I still trek along with my mom to work. The white stuff makes me lose my head. It also hurts my feet so I have to dance funny sometimes. And the shiny stuff makes me slip all over. And at the bus stop, I don't want to sit because then my rear gets cold. I know I'm supposed to be hearty...but really...winter is not my thing. My mom got me shoes, but when I wear them, people laugh at me. As in, everybody laughs at me.
So...maybe I could go to California? Like, as a belated birthday present? Or at least a get little relief from this weather?
Thanks,
Hailey

Running!

Hey, it's Hailey again. Remember how I was telling you how my mom had a friend who took me running and I loved it? Well, today I went running with my mom, and it was super fun. We've actually been running a few times, but sometimes she leaves me home because I "run too fast". This morning, we took a little bus ride to the far side of town. It wasn't our usual route, but I still remembered where to get off: "University at Park". That's where we always get off. So I got up to go, and my mom told me I had to stay. Which I thought was a little funny, but, hey, I'm always up for an adventure. We ended up somewhere I'd never been before. There were lots of squirrels and dogs, and then lots of people there...apparently it was the GSA for Safe Schools annual run...I've never been on an official run before. My mom made me carry all of the stuff from her pockets in my vest, which was cool, because she carried some dog kibble for me.
Anyway, I was off with a bang, but my mom told me we had to run slow to conserve energy. After about two miles we finally got into agreement about what a reasonable pace was. We just ran the 5K. I could have gone further, but my silly mom doesn't like to run very far. Anyways, lots of people thought I was cute, and I had tons of fun. People keep telling me how little I am, and think I'm way younger than I really am...I haven't told them yet that there are perks to staying little... like I have lots of room in my crate, which Promise grew out of. And sometimes when my mom watches movies, she picks me up and puts me on her lap and we snuggle. Big dogs don't get to do that.
I'm hoping my mom lets me keep running with her because it's lots of fun. I mean, I like walking too, a lot, but running is special because I don't get to do it much. Well, I'm totally zonked from my morning. Time for a long afternoon nap.

My new job.

Hello, it's Hailey again. I had to stay home all day on Wednesday and got bored, so I thought I'd write about what I've been up to, but my mom has been really busy, so she's just now getting to the computer part.

Last Saturday, I had a LONG adventure with my mom. We went out for dinner with some friends, and then they all went walking with me in a neighborhood I'd never been to. I really like my mom's friend, and she took me jogging a bit, which was tons of fun. I don't know why my mom doesn't jog with me. Then I went to this friend's house, and it smelled like CAT! I tried to find the little creature, but it wasn't anywhere. I sniffed around the perimeter, but nothing! I saw the cat through the door last time I was there, but apparently it moved. Anyway, then I got to play with the people. I was getting hungry, and thought we were going home to eat, but then we went to this thing called a movie. It was really dark, and sometimes got really loud. I tried to sleep, but I was SO hungry, it was tough. By the time we got home, it was nearly midnight, and I hadn't eaten yet. Everyone said I did really well at the movie. My mom thought it was a little scary at times, but I didn't see what that was all about.

I also have a new job. It's real tough. I have to hold the floor down for my mom while she works. Sometimes when I get tired of holding the floor down, my mom calls me over to socialize with people, which I really like. Anyway, I'm getting really good at my job. Yesterday a police officer came to check out the building, and he didn't even know I was there until he saw my wiggling nose. And today I managed to keep the floor down while I whole lot of people tried to get the computers running. They failed, but I was a smashing success.

Anyway, that's my new gig. My mom has also taught me to "find restroom". I'm really good at that one. I can find it from our office, or from outside the office building. My mom says it makes her feel a little funny to be walking down the hall saying "find restroom" repeatedly and praising me, but I think it's fun. I've also almost got "find work" down. And "go lie down". That means I have to take my post holding down the floor. So, those are my big updates. I'm liking this work gig...I think being a working dog would be a pretty good deal. Much better than making sure the house doesn't run away while the people are out.

New experiences.

I had a dentist appointment today, and decided to bring Hailey along. She went with me when I took my mom there a few weeks ago, and did fine with all the noises, so I figured she’d probably not be too phased by it. My hygienist’s area was right off a main walkway, and Hailey was at the foot of my chair, so everyone walked about a foot from her nose. She did splendidly. I put her leash around a pole by my chair so she couldn’t walk off (or more likely, decide to check in with me), but she stayed in her spot the entire time.

When I first got Hailey, she was very restless on outings, so her being able to settle down in a new environment and snooze is great progress.

Then this evening, Hailey got to go to a campfire at Picnic Point. Lots of students wanted to say hi, and she did very well. But on the way home, Hailey discovered frogs. I couldn’t really tell what was a frog and what was a leaf, but she could tell quite well. The first frog she jumped for once, and wouldn’t go for again, but later in the walk, she saw more frogs that she tried to go after. With each one, after the initial correction she knew she couldn’t chase, but we clearly need to do more work on frog distraction…so I guess more walks on Picnic Point at sunset are in order. She’s gotten markedly better on other forms of prey drive, so it should just be a question of exposing her and making sure she knows she isn’t allowed to engage her retriever instincts.

Play time!

Hello, it's Hailey. I often go on business outings with my person, but yesterday I got to go out with Dayton and Kirby and we got to have fun together. We all drove to Token Creek Park together, which was really beautiful. Dayton sits in the back seat with me (well, we both get squished between the front seat and the back seat, since we're not allowed on the seat itself), and Kirby takes my spot up front to sit with Meghan. Dayton and I are getting it down, though he keeps growing, and is spilling onto my side of the floor. Oh well, at least I'm a peanut and can fit.
When we got to the park, we went to the doggy run area, and it was great fun. Kirby and Dayton and I got to run around like maniacs and play. We also got treats for coming and checking in with the people. We ran around until we were tired, and then the people decided to go for a walk. It was really nice out; we didn't even get wet. Kirby navigated for us, picking all our turns on the trails. Well, my person had to override a few choices because a few trails turned swampy, but my person and Meghan had no clue where they were, and figured that if they just kept walking, they'd hit a road, but good ol' Kirby kept making turns and voila! We ended up right back at the car having never hit a road. Hopefully I'm that cool when I'm a big dog.
Then we went to Animart. We all got washed, which we needed especially bad at that point. Kirby showed Dayton and I up on that one too. Dayton didn't the hose much, and I got stuck with a blower that wanted to knock me off my feet, but Kirby took it all in stride. Once we were all clean, we had to go to class. I would have preferred running a few laps first, and Dayton would have been eager company, I'm sure, but we behaved ourselves. When we finally got home, I crashed for the night.

So, here's some pictures of us before the camera died:

Dayton trotting toward my mom, Dayton from the side (he has silly ears), and all of us romping.

On vacation.

Hello, it's Hailey! I just got back from vacation. I wasn't sure what my people were up to when the put lots of stuff in the car and we went for a really long ride, but when we got out, I didn't recognize where we were. There were lots of cars and busses and bikes, and nothing smelled the same. I had to sleep in a squishy crate, and eat out of a funny bowl, and I even had to wear my vest to go outside to go potty. But my people did take of my vest when we were walking in some of the parks, so I got to romp around.

We went to see what my people call baseball. I guess it was fun. On the way in, my people were in a rush and could only find the escalators. But I can't ride escalators because I don't want to get my toesies caught, so my mom carried me on the escalators. I wasn't to big on that. There were fireworks at the game because our team won. I'd never seen them before, but the sparkling in the sky was pretty neat.

I also went to an art museum. I enjoyed most of it. There was art outside (that was pretty cool). And then my mom and I ran around on the grass and had lots of fun, and when we went inside, I got to lay down on the cool floor. But there was one exhibit that I didn't like. There was a piece of shiny, crinkly foil on the ground, and it was big, and it MOVED! I barked at it once, to warn my mom, but she wasn't too happy about that and corrected me. Oops. After going up close to see it, I ignored it.

Anyway, now I'm home, and sleeping. Vacation is a lot of work.

Recent adventures

Hi, it's Hailey again. My person and I have had lots of adventures in the last few days, so I thought I'd share a few. First, we went hiking, on a really nice trail. Unfortunately, my people forgot water, so we couldn't go to far, since it was hot out. And then after that, we went to Costco, where I got my own cup of ice, which I appreciated. My mom says that now that it's cooler, we'll go hiking more, instead of just walking in the city. I like the city, but it was fun to walk on a path instead of concrete.

Then I went to my grandad's office on Friday afternoon. I've only been there a few times, but I know how to find his office. I even know which way to go from the bus stop to get there. The people there like me a lot and talk a lot about how small I am and how puppy-like I am compared to Promise. Well, I'll tell you, I am a puppy, and Promise is a big dog, so don't be surprised. But I settled nicely and slept. After flopping down on the floor for some belly rubs. Then tonight, I was walking with my mom (and doing SO well at not pulling the leash) and I saw a FROG. I don't think I've seen a frog before, but it was all hoppy and small. But I was very good, and I just noted it and kept on walking. Didn't even pull on the leash or act too distracted.

So those are my adventures as of late. My mom says she really appreciates that I'm getting the whole not pulling on the leash thing. Sometimes it's hard for me because the world is SO exciting, but I have to admit, it's kinda nice not having to get corrected. And I've learned that if I don't pull, we get places faster. I've gotta get my mom to carry the camera more, because we've seen lots of fun things.

Cover my ears.

It's Hailey again. My people are being a bit of a trial. After going out on some errands with my mom, we went with my grandparents to a restaurant. Now, this was no ordinary restaurant. First of all, there was a huge birthday party, and secondly, they were being serenaded by a mariachi band. The band spent most of the time with their back to my person, making lots of noise. So it was a little hard to nap. One child came up and asked to pet me, and we became friends. But then the birthday party people started singing with the band, and it was so loud, I wanted to cover my ears.
Since I was, as my mom puts it, "at the end of my tether" when we got home, I ran around, ate, and then we went for a long walk. We've been working on the loose leash thing, but it's been a little hard for me. But after I tried to take off for a rabbit, and got corrected, and having a little collar change, I kept the leash loose so well that my mom put me back on my favorite collar for the walk home. And I got to sleep in my favorite spot -- on my blanket. My mom keeps it in a pile with worn clothes and shoes, which are all my favorites for sleeping. So we'll end with two pictures: me sleeping upside down on my blanket, and me conked out with my head on one of mom's shoes.

My sense of direction

Hey, it's Hailey again. Today, even thought it was raining, I got to go on some fun adventures. This morning, we took my grandma to get her hair cut. Then we got to go to Mounds, where I got an antler. It's for gnawing on, and I love it. My mom says that's for all the work I had to do this week.

This afternoon, I got to show my mom how smart I am. We went to the hospital to pick up our farm share, and my mom had me "find outside" after we picked it up. I remembered all of the turns we took, and let me tell you, there were a lot. We first turned right, then left at the end of the hall, and I took her to the doors. Then we turned right, took a jog in the hall and I found her another set of doors. Then we had to go through the cafeteria to another set of doors. I took her accross the elevator module to another set of doors, and we turned left, went to the next corner, turned left, to the next corner, turned left and went through another set of doors. Then I found her the elevator, which we took up a floor (I did need help pressing the buttons). We got off the elevator, turned right through the doors, took the first left, went through the next set of doors to the left and then I could see outside. And I did it all myself! I've even got the revolving doors down. You stare at it, and when the glass goes away, you walk forward and stare at the far wall until it magically opens up and you can go out. Then my mom gave me lots of pets and told me I was smart.

And then I came home an gnawed on my antler. That's me and it in the picture. My mom says we'll keep going to the hospital. I like it there because my grandma works there, so I get to say hi, and sometimes we see people staying there and I get petted. And I can find my way around, which the people seem to think is hard.

Work.

Hey, it’s Hailey. I thought I’d give a report on this things humans call “work”. I’m told I’m going to be a “working dog”, and it’s got me a little worried. See, I went with my human to “work” today, and it sure is tiring. We had to get up bright and early, and go for a ride in the car, during which I slept. That was good forethought on my part. Then my human helped some friends lay the bed for a patio. They kept walking back and forth with wheelbarrows of sand and gravel. I didn’t get my morning nap. And then a little dog came out and she didn’t like me one bit. I tried to make friends, and be small and unintimidating, but it didn’t work. The other dog was nicer, but then he took my favorite bone and started chewing it. And whenever I looked at him (since it was MY bone, after all), he would growl at me and hog it even more. So that’s how I lost my favorite toy for the afternoon. The people came and pet me every once in a while, but I didn’t get any naps in because I had to watch and make sure they put the gravel in the right spot, and because they had a loud machine to compact it. Tomorrow they are going to lay flagstones. Hopefully that isn’t so bad, because after today, I’m wiped.

So that’s work in a nutshell. My person is trying to tell me my job won’t be like the work today, and I tell you, it had better not be. I need my sleep, and those little dogs are pesky.

Out & About

Hi all! Wilbur here.

Once again, my mom says that I have not been writing enough. Well, I tried to tell her that I have been too busy to write!

Did you know that we are having a Scavenger Hunt with motorcycles in August? What do we do try to find the motorcycles?? Wednesday last week we went to Quaker Steak and Lube in Middleton to tell everybody about it! Motorcycle people are SO nice.

On another day, mom, dad, Harley and I rode around in the car for miles - - stopping and writing down questions on pieces of paper - - something about “That’s a good question”. On the route, we went all the way to Finn’s and had a GREAT lunch on the deck. At Finn’s there were these cute little duckies with writing on them. Something about a rubber duckie race down the Rock River. All I know is I did not get ANYTHING to eat. (Grrrr) We did our usual meet and greet at Mounds on Saturday. Lots of nice people. Our table is set up right next to a display of bones. But, mom would not let Harley or I have any.





Then yesterday (Sunday) we went back to Finns and saw more of those cute little Duckies. Casey, Marlette, Amy and Hailey drove down with us too.

Guess what? At Finns, we met MORE of our friends: cute little Lori, Timber, Banjo, Sonni, and Monte. We were all trying to ask people to buy the cute little duckies and to come for the race August 28.

Ta Ta for now!

Wilbur

Oops.

I gave Hailey a bath yesterday, and not thinking, took her outside to run around in our backyard today. It's not a frequent occurrence because the yard isn't fully fenced (so I create some temporary barriers) and is currently raw dirt. Hailey is no longer clean. Oh well. She enjoyed it.










Hailey has gotten over her dislike of elevators and busses, and is getting used to city life. She's gotten much better at not chasing little creatures, though traffic still makes her a bit anxious. So instead of taking scenic walks, we take walks that maximize traffic exposure.











She's also a creative sleeper. She likes to doze at the end of my bed, either a) with her head tucked inside my blankets, b) her head cocked backwards to form the letter L, or c) upside down.

Farmer's Market - Part I

Hello everybody!

Wilbur here!

It has been a little while since I wrote a note about my house mate Harley and my progress. We have been very busy learning how to be very good dogs. We have been EVERYWHERE. Shopping, training classes, American Family (our friend Dan took me there) and today we both went to the Dane County Farmer’s Market.





We met all sorts of people: little kids (with yummy hands), old kids, and adults. Being a wonderful Golden, I showed how well I am behaved to my friend Dan. But it became boring as he did a lot of “blah, blah, blah”.

He talked to others about becoming puppy raisers and about OccuPaws fund raisers. Harley was busy too with dad “working the crowd”. My other friends, Promise, Hailey, and Sonny also came with their people: Carolyn, Doug, Amy, Debbie, and, of course, mom and dad Schultze.

The humans had lunch at the Great Dane (Dutch treat, of course)… But alas! AGAIN! No food for us!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Your friend,

Wilbur, the wonderful modest and beautiful golden retriever.

Ducks for Dogs

On Sunday Maddi went to Fin's in Newville and sold rubber duckies for the Ducks for Dogs on August 28th. There were a lot of dogs there. We had a great time selling duckies and meeting all the people. We also got to meet the newest puppy, Lori. She is a sweetie.

Settling in at a new home.

Promise moved on to harness training two weeks ago, and now we've got a new puppy in the house, Hailey. She's about 7 months old, and very sweet.


She's getting used to the new household. She supervised the fixing of the doorbell. She didn't mind the construction at all, including the shop vac. She has also been supervising me painting outside.


She's getting used to city life...traffic and elevators and buses.


Her favorite place for a snooze is the half-worn clothes pile in the corner of my room. I've been letting my clothes spend a little extra time in that pile for her benefit.

Newbies

This morning Neva attended an impromptu puppy exchange. She met three new OccuPaws puppies: Harley and Haley who are eight weeks old and a puppy to be named(TBN). Neva who is fifteen weeks old is about the same size as her eleven week old wrestling partner, TBN. The petite Haley watched from a safer distance.

Introducing Haley, Harley, and TBN.










After romping in the grass, Harley left with his new puppy raisers to his new home. Neva, Haley, and TBN went to visit a person that wanted to rescue one our "misfit" dogs from the island of misfit toys. However, when she met Haley she thought that puppy raising might be the perfect fit.

Our black butterball, Neva, might belong on the island with us by her side. The canine teeth on her left side have not come in yet, or they were knocked out weeks ago. She also has very dry and itchy skin. Any touch on her back makes her legs scratch uncontrollably. After a healthy two months with Banjo, we are back to raising a puppy with health issues. When will they learn that we just aren't cut out for this puppy raising stuff.