Dog Training

Well we had dog training again an Tuesday night. I finally got pics of me with my friend Sheri to post. The one of us sitting is kinda blurry & the other one looked better in the camera. Mom is gonna try to get better photos next week & even some of me with Rocco if he shows up. We picked Megan up at Cold Stone early, so Sheri & I sat in the truck while they went to get ice cream. Once they got back to the truck we were moved to the back end. We headed over to the 4-H building, but no one was there yet so mom took me out to run in the snow before class. Then the Saint Bernard came lunging towards us, but decided to go for Sheri instead. Fortunately he wasn't aggressive, but it was still very intimidating for her. I got to see & kinda play with my friend Mia before class as well. Mom handed me off a couple of times to either Sheri's mom or Mia's mom while helping Mia's mom with some things. This week they actually split up the advanced & beginner classes, so we would get more working time. It didn't really happen that way though since the teacher still decided to take us into beginner steps. We worked on lots of heeling, I'm getting very good at perfect heeling! Then on figure eights, but that didn't last long before we decided to work on long downs with distractions. Mom & Megan were walking over us, around us & we were even laying next to each other, almost touching. We both did very well without breaking. After we completed this we were with the group again on stand stays. This was the worst part of class, the teacher made us stay for a whole three minutes! After we got most of the normal show things practiced our teacher decided to play Simon Says. This was crazy since everyone was running into each other or all the stuff set in the back. We also lost right of the bat since Simon didn't tell us to stop, but mom did since we were about to run into a wall. On the next game we did better, but still crazy running into things.

















After class we drove to Penrose to drop of Megan & Sheri. I was happy to finally be able to ride in the front with mom again, since it wasn't so crowded now.

Tail Wags,
Provo

New Toy

Mom bought me a new toy the other night, a frog, since she likes to call me one. He had a squeaker in him, but it stopped working that night. I still like to play with him though. Here are some pictures of me with it.

Dog Training

Well dog training went good. mom thinks I was a little to crazy, whatever that means. I didn't get to see my buddy Rocco or his little brother Trey, since they didn't come. Sarah did come though so mom brought my sister Toven to the meeting for Sarah to work with. It was crowded in the truck on the way down there & I hogged most of the seat. Mom kept trying to get me to scoot over, but I wouldn't budge. Once we got there mom put leashes on both of us & let us out. We did our business & by this time Sherri's family arrived. I got real excited to see my friend again so I raced to see her, but the leashe wasn't quite long enough. Mom kept me back till I could sit like a gentlemen. I lunged to visit a few times, but to no avail. Once we headed in the building it was crazy since there was all these dogs piled up just in side the door. Once we got in & made it to the dog free side of the room mom made me sit & stay. Mom let me greet Sherri once she made it to my side of the room. Once we got started we worked on heeling most of the time. I was a little rusty on my sits, but otherwise I behaved. Once we started working on the "watch me" exercise (that mom decided to skip) I was passed of to Megan & Michelle took Sherri. We worked some more on heeling & I behaved pretty well for Megan. She even gave me a few treats! Once the class was over four of the handlers (mom included) decided to stick around to work long sits/downs & re-calls. I did perfectly on my long sits/downs. I didn't even break when Megan walked off with Sherri, who was laying right next to me. Mom was so proud of me & gave me a treat. I also got to meet Michal's new pup Mia, a Golden Retriever.

Acero Has Left

Well, mom has finally given me back my blog now that Acero is gone. I really enjoyed having a pup to play with, but he was more than I wanted to handle. I did get left out of my crate about 99% of the time, instead of using the crate though. We didn't have space in our room to add a second crate, so 1 crate + 2 dogs = Me getting lots of freedom! I did miss just getting to sleep in it though, he would always climb in with me, so I have spent lots of time in there since he left.

We have had lots of snow all year. Every weekend since the 5th, we have gotten hit hard with the snow. They say we are supposed to be getting more snow this weekend. I love the snow, but it is getting a bit annoying since the wind makes the temp drop below zero.

Another exciting thing is that I get to start dog training tonight! That means I get to see my buddies again, Sherri & Rocco. Mom says that Rocco's little brother Trey will be there too, so I get to meet him.

More Acero Updates

Sorry I haven't posted lately things are kinda crazy. Well Acero left on Sunday, but I have to tell you about Thursday-Sunday.

Thursday things were pretty much just hanging out around the house, working on his barking issues. He improved a lot, but still needs so much more work. In the evening we went to Wal-Mart & he behaved perfectly. This time we actually didn't get stopped by very many people.

Friday was another day just to hang around the house. I did go run some errands, but Acero had to stay home since a couple of the places weren't guide dog friendly.

Saturday he didn't get to go on any more outings, since the only place I went was to the movies & didn't want to have to worry about him barking or being a garbage mouth.

Sunday we didn't socialize him any either. Our church was cancelled due to all the snow. Then the class we went to doesn't allow pups in training in the church, so he had to stay home. He did get a nice little bump on his nose though. One of my goats had a bad experience with our old dog Oliver & is now aggressive to dogs. So Acero just stuck his nose through the fence to investigate the goats & Fenwick bit his nose! Poor guy won't go near the fence now.

The Past Two Days

Well I figure I should tell you all what Acero has been up to since he arrived Monday night.

Tuesday:
We started of the morning going to breakfast with some of my family at Mr. Ed's. Acero was an excellent boy laying under the table the whole time. It was funny to hear the comments when a pup suddenly appeared from under the table. No one ever knew he was there, except the few that had arrived before him. Since he was being so good I also let my cousin pet him outside afterwards & he was calm for a change. After breakfast we stopped by the post office real quick before heading on home.

The rest of the day we just hung around the house for awhile. He kept stealing my shoe from the front door so he ended up on a tie-down for a lot of the after noon. In the evening we went to a 4-H meeting. He did pretty good laying quietly during the meeting & didn't even get up when the little kid came running over to him! I was so proud of him. After the meeting during refreshments he wasn't as good. I did allow one kid to pet him, since he was behaving, but once he started jumping around the petting came to a screeching halt. He also tried stealing the poor little kids cookie, but I was watching him so he didn't get his mouth on it. After the meeting we headed home & he spent most of the night on a tie-down or in the crate.

He also got to meet some of the goats today, like Kip.

Wednesday:
This morning didn't start out as anything exciting, just hanging out around the house. Today he was obsessed with stealing the not approved toys, since my family insisted on leaving them around for the other dogs. His favorite was the rope, I finally decided to throw it behind the couch to get him to stop obsessing, even though it didn't work.

This afternoon we went to Coyote's Coffee Den for me to apply for a job & meet up with Megan. He started out real well behaved, once we found a table he laid quietly till all of a sudden he jumped up & let out a couple of barks. It was a little embarrassing to say the least. I'm not sure why he did it, but fortunately it was the only incident. After we met up with Megan we all had to cram into the truck again. First stop was Wal-Mart, he behaved like a wonderful gentlemen, except for a little pulling of course. He was quite interested in the singing valentines day stuffed animals, it took quite a bit of correcting to get his focus of of them. We also worked on the dog food isle, which was quite an adventure with all the people, buggies & smells to inhale (for Acero that is). Once we finished looking around we checked out & headed to Michelle's house.

After a brief break at the house we headed back out, first stop was at the post office, but Acero stayed in the car with Megan. Then we headed over to Hastings for some shopping. Acero behaved very well, with only a few reminders for not pulling. Once we finished at Hastings our next stoop was City Market, but on our way we decided to stop at Rent-A-Center. They didn't have anything that would work out for either one of them so we headed to City Market. He was very well behaved in City Market, but of course needed reminders about not pulling.

After we sat in the truck while Megan & I ate our food we headed to pick Trevor up. He wasn't answering the door or the phone & his neighbor finally came out to help us. She told us he wasn't home yet, but he would be home soon. So we waited around for him, but Acero was in the crate since no dogs are allowed in the apartment complex. Acero had to ride in the crate since it was so crowded with three people up front. Once we finally made it to the church we all piled out of the truck & I went around to get Acero. Acero was good for the meal part, till Micheal started calling him. Then during game time he got really bad. He is very ball obsessed & we were playing basketball on one side and air hockey on the other side. He was getting all worked up & corrections weren't stopping him so I decided to take him back in the other room to refocus him. We did puppy push ups for a little bit & since he seemed to have refocused I took him back in the game room. He sat there for a few minutes real good, but then he just started vocalizing & even lunging, so we decided it was time for the crate. We left not to long after I crated him, this time there was only two people in the front since Megan's mom came to pick her up. We headed down to my grandpa's office since someone was coming to buy the bed. After sitting in the truck for quite some time the people finally showed up. After the people looked at the bed & purchased it we headed to Trevor's house. Once I had dropped Trevor off we headed home for the night.

He Is Here

Well Acero is here till Sunday. It will be an interesting week since we will need to remind him that he isn't the boss. He has been with a totally green handler the past week plus & was allowed to push them around. He is getting better in the few hours since we picked him up, but still needs reminders. We took him to Pet-Smart after the meeting & he did pretty good once I started using the flat collar to correct on. After Pet-Smart we walked over to Cold Stone for some ice cream. He did good, slept most of the time since they were very very slow.

We got home & he has spent most of the time on a tie-down, but is being pretty good. He did bark at my sis once though, but I got that stopped pretty fast. Sorry the pic is so bad, but it is hard to get a good one of him.

Guide Dog Meeting

Well tonight I went to my last guide dog meeting (or atleast for a very long time). My friend Sherrianna (Sherri, as I like to call her) & of course her mom went to. We both rode in the backend of the truck the whole time, since it is crowded up front. The two of us just laid down 7 snuggled to keep warm. We went to DQ first & both of us got some french fries, being a CC means so many happy things. Once we got to the school where the meeting was at our moms let us run around & relieve till it was time to go inside. Once Alice showed up I went bonkers trying to go see her, even though she had left little Louise in the car for the moment. Once we went inside we waited a long time for the meeting to start & mom made me refocus by doing push up. I HATE when mom makes me do push ups, they are really annoying. To start our meeting we worked up & down the halls doing heeling, very boring if you ask me. After doing this for a while mom traded pups with Megan, so I kept staring at her. We probley did this for about 30 minutes before the meeting started getting exciting. Since we were starting to work on different stuff mom traded back pups. We worked on "seeding" which is where the people put down approved toys & non approved toys or food! I was a good boy & didn't go for anything, but the bone. I looked at the food, but didn't want my next jerked for being naughty. After this & some more standing around mom passed me of to Ken this time so she could work with Louise. I was very happy since Ken is a really cool guy & I was all excited. He told me I should go visit him again sometime soon. Then Carol (the lady who has had Acero for the past week) asked mom to take him to I went to Carol. Carol was very impressed by how calm & wonderful of a boy I am. I did everything she asked me to & just lais around during the down time. Finally Alice decided it was time for me & mom to do our grooming demo. Mom did all the grooming on me, until she got to the nail clipping & teeth part. Then she handed me of to Alice & used Louise. Alice was ignoring me so I ate the chips she left on the floor as a distraction till mom said something. After the demo it was time to get Acero's stuff to head out.

We went to Pet-Smart after the meeting. Mom bought me a real fun squeaky toy that I love showing off now. I tried to get Sherri to play with me, but she isn't into that kind of stuff. Then Megan & my mom went to Cold Stone for ice cream shakes, but the two of us dogs had to stay in the truck while mom took Acero! I sure miss the days I could go anywhere with her.

Bad Boy

Well mom wasn't to happy with me today. Somehow the gate didn't get latched & so I went fo ra joy run! After she came out to find me & found the gate open she knew I was gone. She started walking around the neighborhood, but no sign. She went back to the house & got a call from the neighbor that I was found lying in there semi warm garage. So mom walked all the way over in the fridged blizzard to retrieve me. I was so happy to see her I drug the poor lady who was on the other end of the leash. The whole way back home I was so happy about the snow & that I was going home I kept trying to do the Lab run, but was quickly stopped by the end of the leash.

On another note, Acero's arrival was pushed off till Monday. The leader decided the new raisers who are puppy sitting him now should keep him long enough to attend a meeting with him. So I will be going to my first puppy meeting since my career change (or since my re-call for that matter last October). I'm kinda bummed since I was looking forward to having a snow buddy, but alas I have to play alone.

Mom has told me that dog training will be starting back up again on the 16th, so I will get to go somewhere every week now. I'm also excited to see my friends Rocco & Sherianna! Maybe mom can get a pic of the three of us so I can post it!

Happy Bouncing Tail Wags,
Provo The Snow Plow

This Blog Is Changing

I just wanted to let you know that this blog will now be about my career changed boy from Guide Dogs For The Blind Inc, Provo. I will not be raising or puppy sitting (after Acero comes next week) until I move out on my own. So from now on Provo will be writting in this blog.