Slumber Party

Banjo celebrated his first birthday on Thursday. We attended OccuPaws training class where he was on his best behavior, performing an excellent SIT STAY. We also got a first look at our potential next puppy, as we prepare for Banjo's departure in a couple weeks.

After class, the two birthday boys, Banjo and Geyser, were loaded into the car. As a birthday present they got to have a slumber party. It was planned at the last minute, otherwise we could have had Toby over too.

The real purpose of the slumber party was a visit to Spring Harbor Animal Clinic for the final test before harness training begins. They had to have their hips and elbows checked for possible dysplasia. Having our first puppy expelled for elbow dysplasia, we were a bit concerned. No problem though as Geyser's hips were Very Good and Banjo's were Excellent with no elbow problems either. Both are ready to begin the final stage of their guide dog journey.

Cooped up for most of the day because of the wet weather, a long playtime was recommended before returning Geyser. The two boys chased and tumbled through the wet grass until they were exhausted; it took thirty minutes to tire them and thirty minutes to dry out. The party ended with dinner for the humans while both dogs napped.

Holiday

The first day the pool comes out is an unofficial "national holiday" among Labradors! Yippeee!!!

Get Your Custard Fix

Woof Fellow Custard Lovers,

A whole bunch of my pals came to help be be cute and adorable at an OccuPaws fund-raiser at Culver's in Middleton. If a whole lotta humans stuffed themselves silly and ate lots and lots, OccuPaws will get some green stuff that humans really seem to love. There were lots of people there and the food smelled great so I'm sure they had a lot. We, on the other hand just got to sit under signs and stuff.

Some of us became movie stars. You can watch us by clicking here on Channel 27!!

All for now,

Harley

Bark For Life

On Saturday we went to Oregon to help support the American Cancer Society and their Bark for Life dog walk. Here are a couple of admirers keeping the pups busy while we set up the booth.



All the pups held their downs, but just had to creep over to the kids to say hi.


















Now the pups had to pose nicely in front of the signs. First in a sit stay...................













then in a down stay. They all did very well at both.











Harley will use anyone for a pillow that will let him.

It was a very nice windy day. Talked with a lot of nice people and met all kinds of other dogs.

Missing

Banjo's pal Toby went home on Sunday. Monday morning after his outside potty, he went straight to the spare bedroom looking for his canine companion. It took him a day to realize that Toby wasn't at our house anymore.

After a morning of mourning, Banjo has busied himself with shopping. Monday, he went to Kohl's and JCP; spent two hours shopping for a suit. Tuesday, he took a quick jaunt to get a blender and motor oil. Today it was ice cream and he stopped in to see his former puppy raisers. Except for seeing his puppy raisers, he was bored, but well-behaved.

Good News: Banjo has received confirmation that he will be visiting the White House. It doesn't make any sense that my dog gets to go and I have to spend the day in training. Ironic?

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

12 Dog Night!

Hey All - Geyser here.

I'm not sure what my doggy Mom was thinking but we ended up with 12 dogs in the house last weekend! Do you think that might make it into the Guiness Book of Records? Anyway, besides the three little white girls I live with my mom decided to doggysit three dogs for her friend.







Then over the weekend two visitors brought their guide dogs to the house plus three "pet" dogs. I have to admit I did enjoy playing with the other lab! We got to have the garage for our "playground". It reminded me a bit of being at the Dog Den.














We also went on a nice walk on the Glacial Drumlin Trail - six of us anyway.

Now that the house is back down to only four dogs it seems kind of empty! Not really.

Smile if you are a lab and lovin' it!










Geyser,
(the almost one year old.)

Silly Humans

OK fellow Occupaw Dogs - Geyser here. I experienced the most unusual thing yesterday. You are never going to believe this! There is a thing known as moving stairs! Yes, I did say "moving". Now why do you think the humans think they need the stairs to move when the not moving ones work just fine? I am rather confused. Seriously! Anyway, let me tell you that it is no piece of cake getting on and off those things. Nicole had to drag me on the first time. I wasn't going voluntarily! It was awful at first - very scary. But I trust Nicole so I tried to relax a bit. The second time up and down I tried to act calmer but inside I was still churning. Once you master the "moving stairs" the worst of your new experiences isn't over. When I was done complaining, my "doggy mom" informed me that there is also something called a moving walkway. Does it ever end?!! At least those things are only at airports so I am told. If that can be believed!

I also had a couple other "firsts" this week. I got to stand about 10 feet away from a very slow moving train. The squeaking and banging bothered me at first but I got used to it pretty fast. I'm also am going outside a lot with students who are learning how to cross streets. All that traffic is quite annoying. But I did get to see (and hear) a motorcycle do a wheelie! I spent all afternoon Friday learning how to cross at a new kind of street intersection called a "roundabout". The genius who invented or engineered that concept must have been crazy! I think these humans think they are so smart to have come up with these inventions. I just think they are plain silly!

My doggy Mom says she is very proud of me so I guess it was all worth it!

Candy at School

Took Candy to Grandkids school, they had a learning fair. All the kids had to do a project of their choice. Kaitlyn reported on Occupaws.
The report had to include visual aids.

Kaitlyn printed off information from the Occupaws website. She cut out pictures of all our Graduated dogs and put them in a photo album along with pictures we gave her from our many dogs and outings.
She was most excited about having Candy attend.

She said "I have the best visual aid"

Candy was put in a down stay. She stayed for over an hour even with kids petting and hugging her.

Everyone was so impressed. They couldn't believe she was only 6 months old and would stay for that long in one spot.

Ernie and Jan

Happy Birthday Juan

Wishing Juan a Very Happy Birthday.



Thanks for putting up with all of us.

All Mixed Up!

Hope I am doing this right! Never wrote a blog before! First dropped off Finley Friday. Suppose to get Casey but got Magic the Standard Poodle! He was a great guy to have around! What a gentleman! I can see why Occupaws has these poodles in training - they are just different than Labs-more elegant about everything they do!

Went to training last night and now that Casey switched foods she feels much better, so she gets to come to Camp Kachel! The kids were like "where did Magic go"? I said"we have Casey now". So Casey is adjusting well and having fun! Wait she just knocked over her bag of dog food oh no!!!


In Fact, you are doing so well with your first blog, your computer decided to help and upload a picture of Casey!!


Sincerely,


Your Computer

Sparta's New Adventures

Hi Pups ~

Sparta here ~ I'm now with a new mom for two weeks 'cause we did an OccuPaws rotation, so I'm hangin' out in Middleton.




Would you believe the very next day I got a Graduation Certificate from The Dog Den!! (Well, I was a stand in for Casey, but I did all the skills and would've graduated too....) Thanks, Dog Den, for providing classes for our OccuPaws pups!

I got to meet a new pal, McGruff, at the grand opening of Middleton's new Police Station.




I even got to meet the head guy, Chief Kiel. Everyone greeted me "Hello, Casey ~ my, how you've grown!" until I told them I was a BOY and was Casey's brother. They all remarked at how well behaved I was.

Then it was off to the Kohl Center for a reception and the UW Band concert. Mike Lekrone greeted me, but he thought I was too quiet to join his band. And, pups, was that band ever LOUD!! Don't know how I managed to sleep through all the noise and fireworks ~ tho I did wake up to watch the "Chicken Dance."




I slept good that night!

Sunday was a road trip and hike at Indian Lake Park. There were lots of steps on the path,




and at the top of the hill I saw a tiny little chapel,




just big enough for me to fit inside!



I'm having a good time and adjusting well to my new (temporary) home.

Your pal, Sparta

Forty-Eight Hours

Similar to the switch of OccuPaws puppies, Toby has been in our home for two days. The first forty-eight hours are frustrating and critical. The puppy will test to see what the rules are, determine the pack leader, and identify his standing in the pack.

Initially, our two brothers had been sparring quite a bit to establish their rank. Banjo has been much more dominant and rougher during play.

Having been through rotation a few times in the past, we experienced similar thoughts this weekend. Wondering what we have gotten ourselves into and counting the days until this "new" dog leaves.

Banjo and Toby have settled down for the most part with only the occasional outburst, which we try to limit to outdoor playtime. They have both learned the STOP command. Toby has quickly identify myself as the pack leader and follows me around, even more than Banjo does. As things continue to progress, we will all be sad to see our "new" puppies leave us.

It appears that someone, Toby, has gotten too comfortable and is still testing us or following old routines. This situation was quickly rectified, after the required photographic proof. Just a reminder that your puppy will continue to check the boundaries.

Hopefully the Puppy Raisers are now reaping the benefits of consistent training and a smooth transition (and can keep their puppy off the bed).

Brothers

Banjo is entertaining a house guest for the next ten days. His brother Toby is visiting while his family is on vacation. They have not seen each other since they were eight weeks old, nine momths ago.

At the OccuPaws training class on Friday night our canine tandem met up with a third brother, Geyser. Geyser (m) and Banjo (l) have been in guide dog training for the last nine months and Toby (r) wanted to see what he was missing. He didn't like having to sit quietly and he didn't understand why he shouldn't run to the person saying "Promise, COME". Banjo and Geyser performed respectably and Toby was impressed with their ability to understand humans.

All Toby wanted to do was play which is what we did Saturday morning. He accompanied us to The Dog Den for Banjo's weekly play time. Banjo was extremely dominant and vocal resulting in many timeouts. He did not experience the switch, but having a new dog in the house may be creating a bit of tension as they determine pack order. Toby got along well with everyone, human and canine. His only transgression was eating the pebbles in the play yard.

After playtime, we stopped at the bakery and Toby experienced one of the disadvantages of being a regular dog. He and I had to stay in the car while Banjo went into the bakery and received hugs from another customer, who was very interested in OccuPaws and may become a puppy raiser.

A new dog in the house creates new dynamics, so we should have daily updates as relationships develop.

View more photos of Toby and Banjo's Adventures as the week progresses.