He's baaaacck!!

First glimpses of Sophia working on her learner's permit with Timber.

Timber has spent the last few weeks with Doug and Caroline in basic guide dog harness training. Yes, our CVCD Timber is expanding his horizons along with Sophia.

Sophia is learning the basics of guide dog usage with Timber and will be able to use Timber semi independently on certain occassions.

More later on OccuPaws program, but for now, just enjoy the view.

Making A Difference

Q: Why do we raise guide dog puppies?

A: view Sophia's Story

Dog Den Blast

Woof fellow black dogs...we rule!!!!

Shepherds and Goldens quake in our dust!!!

Oh, wait, water-break...ahhh.




We all had a great time playing at the Dog Den Saturday morning. Pictures were a little difficult as most turned out to be blurry streaks. We were all pretty well behaved with only a few "unnecessary roughness" penalties and time outs. Poor Harley and Louie were on injured reserve...Harley was just neutered and Louie had a bit of a limp so he didn't get to play either. The humans just stood around and blah blah blah until a pack of labs broke up the talking.





I'll admit, I'm no Lab either and enjoyed some quiet time with Kotah.



There are some more pictures posted here.

All for now,
Wilbur

Movie Star

Lights, Camera, Action...

Sunday Wilbur and I got to watch a movie being made. Some UW film students are making a short movie about OccuPaws and the Children's Visual Companion Dog program. Sophia and my pal Timber are regular movie stars now. They took movies of them in the house and outside, walking and playing and stuff.

Then the best part. We came inside to see Timber. Because we are so well mannered and quiet, they let us go and we just sniffed each other and laid down to relax...NOT!!! We wiggled and licked and did puppy stuff and were so happy to see each other. Did you know cats don't like to play like puppies?? Imagine that!

Anyhow, we finally had to rest. There are more pictures of the movie production here.

Harley and Wilbur

Boston Store - Madison again

Woof Everyone,

Wilbur here. Was yesterday ever fun. I got to play in two puppy playtime classes and then I came with Harley to Boston Store in Madison. I got to see some old pals and some news pups I never met before. They had a nice big blanket for us dogs and the kids to sit on. But later on I got kinda hot so I stretched out on the cool tile floor. Here are the big dogs chewing each other's ears.



Harley told me all about OccuPaws newest grduate team - Sophia and Timber...wow is he a big dog! Boy oh boy, did the humans have fun talking while we got pet and played. and that big jar got filled up to the top with green paper :-)

There are some more pictures of all of us here.

Bark at you soon,

Wilbur

Hi Sophia

Hi,

I had fun the last couple days, between having Promise come to play with me and getting to meet you again for a longer time. I think you and I are going to be great pals - you rub tummys good!!!

My humans tell me we're coming over again today for some more work. Work, work, Work - is that all humans ever think about? I wanna chase a cat :-)

See you soon,

Your Pal Timber

PS: Promise had fun with us last night too!

PSPS: I went to the vet with Harley yesterday too and he got nose stuff and I got nose surff and weighed (73 lbs) and a SHOT - I didn't even wimper. Here's Harley begging for no shot with Dr. Dave.

Harley grows up

Hi Sophia,

It was a little lonely going to breakfast without my pal Slick. Everyone was asking about him so I told them he's doing well and having fun.

I did get to bring my new bud Harley along. Usually he sits in someones lap for a couple minutes and then goes to sit in the car. This time, he got to stay inside the WHOLE time and sleep on the floor. He wanted to play a little bit, but finally gave up and took a nap with all the activity going on. Soon he'll be a big dog like me. I wonder if he'll remember me when I move out?

I guess I'm going to go to East Towne this afternoon for some training with some other people. It should be fun!!

See you soon Sophia,

Timber

Hi Sophia

I saw Slick today at Brookfield Mall. He stayed overnight with Kaitlyn and he told me he has a real cool house in her room. I practiced walking and guiding today with Kaitlyn's sister - she's a good trainer!!!

Here is a picture of Slick and Kaitlyn and Hanna in his crate - it's so big all three can fit.


Roxy and I miss him, cuz he played so good. He said his new friend Jasper is almost as good a player as me. You can see some more pictures of them here.

See you soon,

Timber

Who's New

Woof woof

This is Slick filing my last report from Cross Plains. My old pal Mr.s Snow is back - but TOOOO much! My footsies are froze! and the snow is tooo deep.

Yesterday I went with my pals Timber (Hi Sophia) and Dale to a Country Club (am I moving up the social ranks or what) for a luncheon. What Mom forgot to mention is I had to wear sleigh bells and shiny booties and poor Timber wore a Santa hat. I'm not sure who was more embarassed.

Then we all posed for a Christmas picture. We were all good, but Maddi kept wanting to move around and look at us handsome boys :-)

It was a fundraiser lunch for Maddi and Sonny put on by Who's New! There was even dog treats sold there, but they were gone before I got Mom back to buy them...bummer. At least we got lots and lots of petting and hugs.

Mom and Dad are packing up everything I have - my blankie, bones, harness, even my food (I made sure they didn't forget that!) for my trip to Kaitlyn's house in Waukesha today. I'll miss Mom and Dad but I KNOW I'll have fun with Kaitlyn!

Love to everyone,

Slick

Hi Sophia

Hi Sophia,


I don't have much time right now, but can you guess where I was today???

I was out bed shopping and found a perfect place to sleep!!! Do you know where?

I'll write more later.

Bye Sophia,

Timber

Malls & Queens

Hi Sophia!

Slick and I went to the shopping mall today. We walked all over the place watching the humans spend that green money stuff. While they shopped, I got loved and pet. I really, really like tummy rubs. We met some nice girls who just couldn't stop petting us. Everytime they tried to leave, they would come back for one more petting.

Then Slick warned me about the moving rooms and the moving stairs. We went into the moving room and the humans pushed buttons and the doors closed and the floor shook. I didn't mind and neither did Slick. I bet Harley would be scared though.

Then we went up and down the moving stairs. I guess I didn't mind those either - just keep walking.

Then the humans decided we needed to go back in time to medieval times and visit the Queen. We watched jousting and sword fights and they all shouted and clapped. Then they came to see us. I liked the one who smelled like a fox...yummy. It was wrapped around her neck.

All for now,

Timber

I'm not THAT noisy!!

Hi Sophia,

I did some more work on my "find heel" today. I really want to sit at an angle so I can see the teacher better, but they insist on me scooching right up next to them. I don't like it there so I'm not gonna do it - nanny nanny boo hoo...so there.

Then I did my puppy pushups and exercises so I got a reward - playtime with my pal Slick. This was our last playtime on this soft warm green stuff - I think it's called grass.



I heard the humans blah blahing about some white stuff coming. I barely remember what that was - I was just a pup the last time I saw it. Slick is older and says it's really cool and fun to play in.


Then we went to a classroom at Badger Kennel Club. Slick, Promise, Harley and I got to play for a while. The pictures didn't come out cuz we were moving too fast. It was fun!!!

Then I got some more "training". It's torture if you ask me!!! I had to sit QUIET in a crate while everyone else got to run and play...bummer boo hiss. That was no fun, and I let them there trainer humans know I was not happy. But I did learn that if I was very very quiet, the door would open.

All for Now,

Timber

Hi Sophia

Hi Sophia!!

Thank you for the very nice letter and picture. and to answer your question - NO TURKEY for me :-( but your letter made me happy even without human food.





I have been working hard on my lessons and I'm doing pretty good. I still like to run out the door too fast when I get excited and every once in a while I make little noises in my crate. I'm getting better at find heel and my teacher says I walk with someone on both sides of me very nicely.

Right now, I'm trying to teach Harley how to act like a big dog, but sometimes he just doesn't listen very well.

What's a guy to do???

Bye for now.

Your Buddy,

Timber

New Arrival

Arf Everyone,

I guess it's time for me to introduce myself, now that I have been a good boy and did NOT mess up my crate and only got up once in the middle of the night to go potty. I must be all grown up now!!!

I arrived at my new home on Friday after Momma Marlene got me and Hailey all spiffy. I smell soooo sweet. I got to meet Slick and Timber and Roxie and Reggie and Stitch. They all like me cuz I'm cute and don't bite hard (usually).

I'm part of the Labradorks crew now, I guess.

Aww, Timber loves me so much he's smiling while I bite his elbow.

You can see some more pictures of me and Timber and Slick here.

Harley

Timber's First Report

Yo Yo peoples,

This is Tdawg (better know to you cats at Timber) bringing you the news from my newest assignment - Boot Camp. Been here about a week and I'm slowly trying to get these new human dudes whipped into shape. First of all, they have no regular schedule (gotta make a note to fix that) and they must have poor memories - they can't remember where I sleep. I've been in a different bunk with different bunkmates every night. I tried to tell them the first few nights - HEY, DUDE AND DUDETTE - I'M IN THE WRONG PLACE!!! But they must be hard of hearing cuz, man o man, they just ignored me. So a couple nights ago I just gave up teaching them proper routine and kept my mouth shut.

And another thing - what the heck is all this waiting business - what is your major malfunction people. Time is money, double time and all that stuff....noooo. These people think I should wait to eat, wait to come out of the kennel, wait at the door, wait at the stairs, wait, wait wait...Sheesh.

OK, I get it now. The humans always want to go first - I guess rank has its privilages :-(

Today I got the morning off from drill instruction. We went to a place with way cool racing chairs and walking struts. I got to meet everyone and get hugs!!


Then it was chow time. What they didn't tell me was it was only human chow time. No way, lemme out a here.

As nice as I was to the owner and their friends, just petting and good dog and what a handsome boy....blah blah blah FOOD people FOOD - that's what makes a happy recruit!!! The army moves on it's stomach. How come they didn't learn that in basic???

I'm writing this on the laptop because these crazy DI's have me bivouac'd outside.. and they can't make up their mind. 5 minutes outside, 30 minutes inside, then 15 minutes outside, then a nap inside, and so on. I'm trying my best to let them know I don't like being alone, but I'm about to give up telling them that too.

Over and Out,

Recruit TDawg

PS : Thankfully I had shore leave Sunday and saw some of my family :-)

Pet Fair

Sunday was the Dog Fair at the Alliant Energy Center. All the puppies in training were there. Of course when they first got together, they played hard and had a lot of fun.


Here is Maddi, Sonny, & Timber being puppies.

Then we did a demo with all the puppies to show what the babies have learned and how far the older puppies have come.
Nikki's daughter showed how the children's program works. Great job Brooklyn & Slick!

At the end of the day we finally had some pooped out puppies!

Bitter sweet

Tonight is Timber's last night with us for a while. He's taught us so much, and we hope we taught him a few things as well! Good luck at your exam and we'll see you again soon!

How much is that doggie in the window?

It was a dreary morning so there weren't many people out and about for our pumpkin patch field trip. But any day that gets me out with my other four legged friends is a good day. Then we were off to another appointment and later a trip to the mall. Staying busy keeps me out of trouble.

Very Long, Fun Day

Saturday was a very long day for Maddi and a lot of fun. First, we went to the pumpkin farm and met up with Cinder, Finley, and Timber. It was cold and cloudy though.











Then we went to PetCo for some puppy play time. There were only 2 other puppies there. A 1 1/2 pound Yorkshire terrier puppy and an Australian shepherd puppy. The Aussie was very nervous and didn't want to be away from her humans, the Yorkie held her own with Maddi and they had a great time!





















Then we went to my brother's house for a Halloween Party. There she got to meet a lot of people dressed in funny clothes and she got to play with an 8 week old German Short Hair pointer. Of course I didn't have the camera available when the puppies were playing.

Testing Testing

This afternoon Marley warmed up for her Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test by playing on the stairs. She would carry her toy up the stairs, drop it down the stairs, and then slide down after it. Repeat until tired or bored.

Our Tuesday night OccuPaws session was at the Janesville mall. We met outside and worked through the daily guide dog skills refresher - SIT, DOWN, STAY, COME, voice only. This should be done everyday to practice and warm up for the real work. As I mentioned last week we need to focus on these basics.

After warming up, we entered the mall. Seven dogs parading through the mall being led by a "blind" handler draws a lot of attention. After successfully navigating through the jewelry store maze, the dogs settled down and Marley began her CGC test. The test in the mall is more realistic for our dogs and with many more distractions. All the dogs behaved well and Marley successfully completed her test.

After we observed Reggie walking Chris into a few overhead signs, running her into a table, and trying to escape the building prematurely, we decided to call it a night. Of course he had to successfully lead us out of the building before he could quit and we could go home.

Congratulations to Marley and all who have assisted with Marley's training. She has passed her first milestone toward becoming an OccuPaws guide dog. It takes a pack to raise a guide dog.