30 for 30-Day 16 (The History of my Pups)

I thought for today's post I would tell y'all about all my puppies. Sorry if this is horribly boring but too bad. :)

Prudy was my first puppy. She was born May 1, 2002 and I received her the end of June that year. I enjoyed raising Prudy and we went through a lot together. I raised Prudy during my senior year of high school and my first couple semesters of college together. We were also in a car accident together that I almost died in and Prudy wouldn't leave my side while we were in the hospital. She went through a split season my first summer with her so she was around a year old. Back then we boarded females in season at the vet so I dropped her off for her month long stay while being in heat. After the longest month EVER I got to go pick up my girl when she was finished with her heat. A week later while at a puppy meeting I noticed blood again. Not good. . . she went and spent another month at the vet for her second month of heat and after that she was spayed. So after 2 1/2 months of being at the vet I got back a fat, lazy puppy who forgot all her training. I kept her until she was almost 21 months old to get her back into shape before she left for training. When she was in training she made it to phase 8 out of 10 before being career changed for separation anxiety and relieving in harness. I got the call that she was cc'd and the next day was on my way to pick her up and make her my pet. She was an amazing pet and I loved every second with her. Unfortunately she passed away when she was six and I miss her every day.
Prudy and her brother Patriot the day they arrived at 8 weeks old.
5 year old Prudy in the snow.

My 2nd puppy was Tahoma. She was born May 5, 2004. She was always a sassy and stubborn little girl and I really loved her. She was a tough puppy and challenged me a lot, especially after mellow, easy Prudy. Tahoma was incredibly smart and I knew she had great potential. She left for formal training 4 days after her first birthday. After about four months Tahoma was pulled for breeding. She had a litter of seven puppies the end of November and after they were weaned she went back into training to be a guide. She cruised through training and then graduated as a working guide dog. She is now working in Ohio with a blind Rabbi and spends 2 months a year in Israel and also travels around the east coast so her partner can officiate at weddings. He teaches at a college so she goes there as well and all his students just love her.
Tahoma at 9 months.
Tahoma in harness.

Glennie was number 3. She was born September 27, 2005. She was my first transfer puppy so I got her when she was 5 months old. She was also the first puppy I raised while living in California. She had some issues to work through and I was up for the challenge. She was food and toy aggressive and didn't like going out in public. She made wonderful improvements during our short time together but being a guide was just never in the cards for this girl. She was career changed at 6 1/2 months and is now living as a pet in California.
Beautiful white Glennie 5 months old.
Glennie sleeping in the sun.

#4 was Adeline. She was born October 25, 2005 and I got her as a transfer puppy too, she was a little over 5 months when I got her. She was a great dog and we hit it off immediately. She was a sweet dog and loved to go out and about and meet new people. She was also about the happiest dog I've ever had, her enthusiasm was contagious and she always put a smile on my face. She left for formal training at 17 months old and was quickly career changed for a fear of men which shocked me. She is now living with her first raiser and is a therapy dog and runs agility as well. She loves her life and is in the perfect place for her.
Adeline at my work at 8 months old.
Adeline showing off her jumping skills in the Agility arena.

My 5th puppy was Sherman. He was my first male and I was really nervous about that. My fears were ill founded though as Sherman was just about the best puppy in the world! I absolutely fell in love with this cuddle bug. He was a mellow, go-with-the-flow dog and took everything in stride. When he left for formal training I had no doubt he wouldn't be a guide dog, but I was wrong as he was career changed for soft trachea. Bummer! I would have kept him in a heartbeat but he is the type of dog who needed a job so I asked if there was another school that would take him. A few days later he was taken into the Dogs4Diabetics program and after almost a year of training he graduated as a medical alert dog. WooHoo!! He is a happy working dog and his partner is just perfect for him.
Sherman at 8 weeks.
Sherman enjoying his new job.

Spanky was my 6th puppy. He was a transfer that I got at 11 months. I raised him while I worked at a summer camp for blind and VI kids. He was a great camp dog and all the kids loved him. We did have an ongoing battle with my socks. He ate 12 pairs of my socks while I had him and I still to this day can't figure out how he got them. He was career changed before he made it to formal training for some fear issues and is now a very loved pet in Oregon.
Spanky 4 months.
Spanky at 14 months.

Well, that's all I have patience for now, so the rest will be tomorrow. :) Enjoy!

The more I think about it. . . *EDITED*

The more I think about it the more okay I am with Spankys potential cc because:
A. a graduate is saved from getting his awful name for at least another two years. :)
and B. If he doesn't want to be a guide he doesn't have to be and GDB will make the best decision for him.
His future is up to him and I am so proud of the progress he HAS made. Thanks for all your comments and word of encouragement, it really helped to make me feel better. And I know that not every person is destined to be a doctor just like not every dog is meant to me a guide dog. (even if we wish they could) Spanky is a great dog and he would make an awesome, and fun pet. I kind of wish that I could keep him. Alyssa: No, I would not change his name. As much as I dislike it, it totally suites him. And it has grown on me since it does fit him so well. I can't think of a better name for him. :)

And some good news that I forgot to mention was that at my eval my CFR asked me what breed/color/sex puppy I wanted at the end of October. So, I am one step closer to that glorious puppy breath. I imagine my new puppy would be around 4-5 weeks old right now and as cute as a button. :) (I won't give out details until I get an assignment though . . . sorry ;)

Also, we are getting a change of leadership in our puppy club. Our leader drives down from Salt Lake (usually 45 min to an hour drive depending on traffic) every week for puppy class so she has joined a group up there and we are getting a new leader. It will definitely be an interesting transition but I am sure our new leader will do a great job. She has been raising in our group for about 2 1/2ish years now and is raising her fourth puppy. So that will be fun. Although, I am sure we haven't seen the last of our old leader. We know she likes us too much to stay away for too long. . . I mean we are the greatest group in Utah just so's you know. Just kidding. :)

And also, Saturday (September 27th) was my pretty yellow girl, Glennies 3rd birthday. I really wish I knew how she was doing. I have send a few letters to puppy placement for them to forward to her adoptive family but have never gotten a response. I miss that sweet little girl and her two toned belly it was pink with dark brown spots and I loved it, it made her so unique. Happy Birthday Glennie, I am sure you are doing wonderful wherever you are!

And finally (I think, I meant for this to be short but I just keep thinking of things to say, lol) Today I took my little sister to the doctor and while we were in the waiting room this lady came up to us and asked if she could pet Spanky. I said yes and the Q&A commenced. :) After talking for a good twenty minutes or so with the lady petting Spanky pretty much the whole time she finally said "You are so cute I just want to take you home!" Spanky looked up at the lady and then looked at me and then he got up came and sat between my legs and rested his head on my leg. It made me laugh so hard. My boy knows who loves him the most.

Evals and B-days

Shermans eval went really well today. Sherman was such a gentleman and behaved himself perfectly. While we were waiting for our CFR a little boy (maybe 5-6) came up to Sherman and offered him a green gummy bear. I was so proud when Sherman turned his head away. Then the kid dropped it and Sherm didn't even look at it. I eventually threw it away because I didn't want too much temptation. :) We had our eval with two other labby boys from our group and all of them did really well. We started with trying to relieve the dogs on the street, Sherm didn't need to go so I didn't try. Then we went up some stairs and into a build-a-bear store. Our CFR grabbed one of the noise maker things that sounded like a cat and none of the dogs reacted to it. YAY!! They handled all the surfaces, heights, noises and stairs wonderfully. I am so proud of my boy, all of the boys in fact, they did marvelous. Also, Sherman has upgraded to the large jacket. YAY! (He is my first pup to fit in one) The medium was looking a little snug and now the large looks huge. :) Oh well, at least he doesn't have to suck in to fit in it. lol My boy is growing up, it is so sad.

Also, today is my 3rd pups 2nd b-day. My little Glennie is two, I can't believe it. Happy Birthday Glenns!!

Such a cutie. I miss this beautiful little girl. :)

Puppy Parents

I decided to follow in Brittany and Emily's footsteps and make a parent post. I have been trying to get a hold of all this pictures for ages and the only one I am missing now is Klondike who is Prudy's dad. He is quite hard to locate, but oh, well.

Flower + Klondike = Prudy
(Prudy in her fat days before getting those pesky 20 lbs off) She looked much better after the diet I promise. :)


Davida + Jessel =
Tahoma

Paula + Astro=
Glennie

Vonnie + Kinsey=
Adeline

Yolette + Norbert=

Sherman

(Norberts pic is not very good. I took a picture of the picture in the breeder book at Fun Day)

It is fun to look at all the similarities. I like seeing where my pups get thier looks from. :)

Glennie

Here are highlights from raising Glennie. I only had her for a month before she was cc'd for stress on outings. Hers was the hardest cc to get because I had worked so hard with her and she had made SO much progress but just wan't good enough. I know the cc was for the better because guide work would be way too stressfull for her. So here is her short time with me.

The day I picked her up. She was a little over five months old and was such a sweetheart. We went and got her jacket but didn't do any outing for a while.
In my apartment in California. I did a lot of work there with the commands and stuff but since she was having outing problems with her first raiser I wanted her to learn to trust me first before we went out. We went on a lot of walks around my neighborhood (even going on walks was hard for her at first) She was also food aggressive and would growl when people go too close to her food.
Another shot of Glennie in my apartment. Glennie was almost pure white except for the darker tan on her ears. I LOVED her color it was so cute. I nicknamed her Snow White
She would always sleep with her head half off of her dog bed or hanging out of the kennel. It was so funny.

Working on her food possesiveness. I would feed her away from my roomates so she would be in a quiet place. I sarted by making her wait and then just standing there and eventually getting closer and closer until I could reach the bowl and then I would put my hand close but not touching the bowl. Eventually I was able to take some kibble out and put it in her bowl while she was eating so she associated my hand with getting more kibble. It took a long time but she completely stopped growling after a while. (I love her multi-color belly. It was so cute)
Here she is after the "okay" to eat.
Glennie goes with me for Tahoma's recall February 23rd. You can really tell how white she is next to Tahoma.
Here is another one with puppy #2 Tahoma and puppy #3 Glennie.
Glennie was CC'd March 15th. Almost a year ago. Here is when I turned her into GDB. She is now living in Navato, CA with a nice family. I just found out that all of her siblings (except Glennie) are now in formal training. I hope they do well. I wish I had met them and knew if they were anything like my Glennie.

Megan