puppies inside: FLD Nell

Showing posts with label FLD Nell. Show all posts

Thursday, July 10, 2014

The rest of the journey...

April 11-12, 2014

NOT in the UP

Thus began the long ride back to Leader Dogs for the Blind for Nell, Zella and Tara. Here is the "rest of the story," as reported by Tammy, Leader Dog Puppy Counselor:

All the girls were great on their ride downstate. When I dropped Patti off...she helped park all the dogs. They willingly jumped back into the van ready for an adventure!

The girls were to stay at my house for the night and return to Leader Dog the following afternoon. As many of you know I have four dogs living in my house, so with the girls this would make seven! I do not have a large house, but do have a large yard for them all to run off some energy. I brought the girls in one-by-one to meet my crew and released them into the backyard for a free-for-all! Fun was had by all. By the way, Zella was in season (her second one since being placed in the prison setting.)

A slightly blurry shot of a fenced in back yard with seven dogs running around. The dog in the foreground facing left is a yellow lab, wearing panties because she is in heat. Close beyond her are two black labs running toward her. There seems to be a couple of posts in the background on the right where there are two more black labs and two golden way beyond them, running away from the camera.

Seven dogs romp in Tammy's yard.

There are five dogs sitting and one dog standing facing the camera. From left to right, a black lab sitting, a yellow lab standing, a black lab sitting, a golden retriever sitting, a black lab sitting, and a golden retriever sitting. There is a black lab's right paw just inside the frame on the far right side. The dogs are sitting on a wooden deck against a vinyl sided wall.

Seven dogs in a row: Ivan, Zella, Ruckus, Midas, Tara, Harper, and Nell. (Nell was sitting there so nicely but I only got her foot in the picture.) So then, everybody was put on a down stay but Miss Zella decided she had enough and decided to go explore.

Here is the final installment of our adventure. We arrived at Leader Dog around 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 12. Tara was the first to be returned. I took pictures of her by the German Shepherd statue outside the kennel entrance and then by the front desk.

On the left, a black lab, wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana sits next to a stature of a german shepherd, facing the camera. The dog statue is all black and the dog is in a sitting position. The lab's leash is looped around the statue's front leg. There is a brick wall below a window behind them.

FLD Tara posing in front of the Leader Dog kennel.

In the in-take room she weighed in and checked out the toy box.

This shot is taken from above, looking down into a wooden box with about 14 large Nylabone dog toys in the bottom of it. A black lab's head is over the right edge of the box, the dog is standing on white tile.

"Is that all there is? Then I don't want one."

Next came Miss Nell. She had to say "hello" to the nice German Shepherd statue before posing for her picture.

In this shot of the german shepherd stature, the statue is on the left side and a black lab is sitting on the right with its leash wrapped around one of the statue's legs. The lab is leaning toward the statue and sniffing its muzzle. The lab is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana.

Nell gives the statue a sniff.

Nell explored the intake room, weighed in, and looked in the toy box. She decided she didn't want to bring one back to the kennel with her, either.

A black lab is walking toward the camera with its tongue hanging out, its tail must be wagging becuase it is blurry! The dog is right of a couch that has a beige background and blue, maroon, orange, red and other colors of designs in the fabric. There is a yellow and blue plastric chair in the background beyond the couch. There is an off-white desk in the background mostly out of view on the right side. There seems to be someone standing by the desk, only the lower leg and foot is visible. The floor is a cream coloredtile.

Nell checks out the intake room.

Finally, it was Miss Zella's turn.

A yellow lab is now sitting on the left side, next to the german sheperd statue. Her leash is also looped around the leg of the statue and she is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana and looking at the camera.

Miss Zella poses by the statue.

The yellow lab is sitting on the left side in the picture, looking up to the camera on the tile floor. To the right is the wooden box, the lid of which is closed now and there are pictures of toys and a bandana on the top with the word "Toys" in red.

"Can I look?"

Zella made her selection and in true Golden fashion (she is a golden retriever/lab mix) had to parade around the room showing it to everybody. She even carried it almost all the way to the kennel.

A yellow lab is standing in a large commercial dog kennel, looking forward and to the right. She is standing on a blue karunda dog bed and there are a couple of toys on the floor to the left. There is a blue sign on the right top that says "Dog care only."

Miss Zella hangs out in her new kennel.

We wish Tara, Nell and Zella all the best in their new adventure!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

There comes a time...

April 11, 2014

Chippewa

The games are over.

This day's training is complete. We retreat into a small classroom in Pike Unit to process the three puppies that are returning to Leader Dogs for the Blind. It is time for them to start formal guide dog training.

FLDs Nell, Zella and Tara - the "parolees" as the guys dub them.

Three portraits of inmate raisers and their puppies that are leaving to go to Leader Dogs for the Blind. The man on the left is kneeling on one knee with his black lab standing on his left side. The man is bald and is wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants. He is smiling and has his left arm around the dog's back. The dog is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana. The middle picture is a closer shot of a darker skinned man with his right arm wrapped around a yellow lab's neck in an embrace. The man is wearing the prison blue uniform and looking seriously right at the camera. The dog's head is facing up and to the left and appears to be trying to get out of the embrace. The man has the dog's leash in his right hand. The man on the right is squatting with a black lab sitting on his left side. The man is smiling at the camera, he right forearm is resting on his right knee and his right hand is holding the leash. His left arm is draped over the back of the lab. the dog is looking at the camera.

From left to right, raiser Justin with FLD Nell, raiser Abe with FLD Zella, and raiser Jeremy with FLD Tara.

There are not many questions from the somber group.

Four men are sitting on light blue plastic chairs in a row facing the camera. The first man, left to right, is wearing green pants and a white shirt and glasses, the second man is wearig blue pants and a white shirt, the third man is wearing maroon pants and a white t-shirt, and the fourt man is wearing the blue prison uniform. All the men have puppies lying down beneath them on the floor and under their chairs. The dogs are, left to right, a golden retriever, a yellow lab, a golden retriever and a yellow lab. The dogs are all lying on their left sides with their heads facing left and are asleep. The men all have sad faces.

Everyone seems tired out.

Tammy asks me to share my story about meeting Gail, Leader Dog Dutch's new partner. I meant to tell them how proud and sad and anxious I felt when I left that silly Golden at Leader Dog last November, how I tried not to think about him living there in the kennels, how waiting so long for news of his progress was excruciating. I wanted to tell them how my heart burned, especially when I chose not to take another puppy right away, yet how this prison program gave me "puppy fixes" to help with the waiting.

I only remember to tell them it was a long wait, but it was great to see Gail pick up the harness and say, "Dutch, find the door." Off he went, his tail wagging in time to my heartbeats. In the end the long wait was worth it, seeing the happy team.

A group of about 11 men circle a small carpeted room, some kneeling on the floor, others standing and the rest sitting in light blue plastic chairs. The man staning in the middle is taking a photo of the man sitting on the right with a black lab sitting between his knees. There are yellow labs, golden retrievers and a german shepherd puppy with the men.

Doug snaps a photo of Jeremy and FLD Tara. The men share a long good-bye to the three that are leaving.

Tammy asks for stories in return. Abe laughs at Zella's "snorting." Harlin remembers the first day Abe got Zella. "She dragged him all over the place!" Everyone agrees that now, Zella is Abe's "champion."

Justin is animated with his falling-on-the-ice-taking-Nell-out-to-park story. Nell stole her bandana and then Justin's full cup of coffee. The poor guy slipped and fell three times trying to round her up. "I was so mad!" he exclaims, but laughs at himself with all of us. Justin describes how the guys stored small cartons of milk in the snow banks to keep them cold. "She grabbed one of those and bit it and drank it all," he says.

Churchard tells an elaborate tale about Tara and Nell. Tara, leash dragging behind her, snuck into Nell's cell, grabbed her Kong and took it back to her own cell. Nell would have nothing of it; she trotted down to Tara's cell and took the thief by her leash to bring the toy back.

The mood lightens with the stories.

Tammy announces each puppy's grown up "dog" number as she drapes an official Leader Dog chain collar and new tag over each neck. "That's the first time a parolee gets a number going out!" Harlin says.

A close shot of a woman (on the left) wearing a purple sweatshirt putting a chain collar over the nost of a yellow lab, which is being held by the man on the right. He is wearing the blue prison uniform. Both the woman and the man are bending toward the middle over the lab. A second yellow lab is sneaking into the middle of things from the left, its leash being held by a man behind wearing a green sweatshirt and blue pants, sitting down on a blue plastic chair. This man's head is out of view.

Tammy slides the new collar over Zella's head. FLD August is curious. His turn is coming.

A man wearing a white t-shirt and the prison blue pants with orange stripe is sitting on a light blue plastic chair, leaning over onto a desk and facing away from the camera. A black lab is lying on the carpeted floor under the chair. A woman wearing blue jeans and a purple sweatshirt is standing on the right side, leaning over the desk.

Nell relaxes while Justin and Tammy fill out the turn-in paperwork.

A bald man wearing a white t-shirt and blue prison pants is on the floor with his hands on the body of a black lab. The lab is lying on its left side with its head toward the camera. The man is resting his head on his right knee.

Justin and Nell.

It is time.

There are two men on the left in the background sitting on chairs facing the camera. The man on the far left is wearing a white t-shirt and maroon pants and there is a golden retriever sitting on the carpet between the man's knees. The man next to him is wearing the prison blue uniform and is resting his forearms on his knees with his hands clasped between them. There is a man to the left coming in a door, leaning over a black lab wearing a light blue jacket. This man is wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants. On the right side are two men stting on light blue chairs facing the left. The man closest to the camera on the far right is wearing a light orange shirt and prison blue pants and is leaning over to pet a german shepherd with his right hand. The german shepherd is lying on the carpet under his chair. The next man is wearing the prison blue uniform and has his elbos on his knees. A black lab is lying on its left side under the man's chair.

Cody and FLD Baker can be seen in the background coming in from the yard.

In the bustle to leave the room, I remember FLD Baker. Cody has been handling her since we left her on our way to Baraga, but I don't see them. I finally find him in the doorway to the yard. "I took her outside because I was crying a little," he whispers.

There comes a time in every puppy raiser's life to let go. To wish one's puppy "dogspeed." This time came early for Nell, Zella and Tara's raisers. The three pups came to Chippewa as "finishers," a little older than the rest. Their leaving is bound to leave a big hole in Unit 8. The raisers still with puppies feel the pain, too.

Justin, Abe and Jeremy walk their puppies out to the Leader Dog van and put them into crates. Morrison says that when it is time for his puppy to go, "I'm going to put Bravo on a down/stay and just go to my room."

The bald man in a white t-shirt is holding the chin of a black lab and pressing his face toward the lab. The lab is inside of an airline dog crate, facing out, with the wire door open wide.

Justin says his final good-bye to Nell.

The man in the prison blue uniform is leaning in toward a yellow lab that is inside a dog airline crate. The man is gripping the wire door with his left hand and holding the jaw of the lab with his right hand, his face pressed against the face of the dog.

Abe already said good-bye, but returns to Zella one last time.


Jeremy turns away from the Leader Dogs for the Blind van after putting Tara into a crate.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

A full agenda, inside

April 11, 2014

Chippewa

RELAXATION PROTOCOL

Starting our training session with the relaxation protocol is a great way to set a calm and attentive atmosphere. Tammy reads instructions to the group and has them vary positions. First the dogs sit, then stand, then relax into a down.

Two men stand with black labs sitting at their left sides. Both men are looking down at the puppies. The first man, on the left, is wearing blue pants and a white t-shirt. The puppy is wearing a baby-blue working jacket and is facing him slightly. The other man on the right is african american and is wearing the blue pants and shirt prison uniform. His puppy is looking up at him. There are lunch tables in the background.

FLDs Baker and Sammy sit next to Cody and Ro.

A man dressed in the prison blue uniform is leaning over a yellow lab, placing a treat in her mouth. The lab is lying on the tile floor, her leash is draped across her front legs. She is wearing panties because she is in heat. A second man is leaning against a lunch table with his hands crossed at his waist. He is bald with tatoos on his foreamrs, he is wearing green prison pants and a white t-shirt.

Abe gives FLD Zella a treat while Doug looks on. (Zella is wearing panties because she is in heat. Every puppy is a potential breeder for Leader Dogs for the Blind, so they are not spayed or neutered until after they return for training.)

NAME RECOGNITION

With settled puppies, Tammy has the handlers practice "name recognition." She and I step to each team and lightly distract the puppies with a quiet "Well, hello puppy!" or a soft clap. The goal is that the puppy will look back at the handler when its name is called. One time. All the teams do well. Then Tammy and I approach with a bit more enthusiasm. This is more of a challenge!

A floor-level photo of a young black lab trying to approach the camera. Her right front paw is mid-air. A man, sitting down on a stool attached to a lunch table, is holding the pup's collar in his right hand and her leash in his left. He is wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants with an orange strip. His head and shoulders are out of view. There is another table to the right of the puppy.

FLD Ashley has a difficult time resisting me. Good catch Robert!

SIT / DOWN / STAND AROUND THE WORLD

One way to "proof" a puppy (checking to see if it knows its commands) is to ask for a behavior from a not-so-typical, not-in-heel position. Think your puppy knows "sit?" Try asking it to sit with your back turned, or from five feet away, or while sitting in a chair or kneeling on the floor. Tammy says this exercise demonstrates where work is needed.

A man is standing on the left side with his back to a black lab. The man is bald and is wearing blue prison pants and a white t-shirt. He has his hands clasped in front of him and is looking over his left shoulder. The puppy is sitting on the tile floor a foot or so behind the man and is looking up at him. The pup's leash is lying on the floor. The puppy is wearing a blue Future Leader Dog bandana. There are several men with their puppies in the background to the right.

Justin peaks over his shoulder at FLD Nell, who sits on cue.

MEET & GREETS / HANDLER'S EXAMS

We practice meet and greets and everyone without a puppy gets in on the action. The room is filled with mayhem, but the puppies (for the most part) take everything in stride.

Next up - handler's exams. Tammy and I get the honors of putting our hands on each puppy. We check eyes, ears, teeth, lift each paw and run a slicker brush down their backs. FLD Ashely is very wiggly. "You can support her by her collar," I tell her raiser, Robert. "And try holding some treats in your hand right in front of her nose."

A man is kneeling on his right knee with a german shepherd puppy sitting between his knees. The man is holding something in his right hand above the puppy's snout. The man is looking at the camera, he has a goatee and is bald. He has tatoos on his forearm. He is wearing green pants and a white t-shirt. The puppy's leash is handing down in front of him. There are a few men in the background.

FLD Chewy looks like he is eager for more food!

We also check the puppies' weight using the Purina ® Body Condition Tool. We have the men rate their puppies on a scale from one (severely underweight) to nine (clinically obese). Numbers four and five (ribs can be felt, a waist is visible from above, and there is a "tummy tuck" visible from the side) are "ideal."

Tammy suggests that FLD Chewy's team raise his daily food allotment, as she thinks he feels a bit underweight.

GAMES

With the idea that training should be fun, Tammy comes up with all sorts of games which challenge the puppies' self-control. Stay tuned...

Monday, June 30, 2014

The worst thing

April 11, 2014

Chippewa

No matter how early we wake up to park the puppies, feed the puppies, feed ourselves, haul crates and puppies and luggage back into the van, we always fall behind schedule. Today we end up 15 minutes late.

Upon arrival at the Chippewa Correctional Facility, we apologize to the staff members who meet us at the visitor entrance. They tell us they joke about it now. They never expect us when we say we're going to be there.

We must be infected with "yooper-time."

Our session starts with a bit of social time. The lunchroom tables are pushed to the perimeter of the room where the guys sit with puppies "under" their seats.

Four men sit on stools attached to a table on the left side of the picture. On man sits just out of view on the right side. The first man is an african american wearing the prison blue uniform. He has this hands clasped on his lap and below him a black lab is lying on the tile floor. The next man is leaning back with his arms folded, he is wearing blue pants and a white t-shirt. The next man is wearing a white t-shirt and light maroon pants. He is leaning over looking down at a golden retriever that is lying under him on the floor. He is petting the puppy with his left hand and his right elbow is on the table. The fourth man is just visible behind the third man, he is wearing a white t-shirt and looking away to the right. The man out of view is wearing the prison blue uniform and hs holding the leash of a black lab that is lying on the floor between his legs.

Teammates Ro and Aaron sit with FLD Sammy; Morrison tends to FLD Bravo with Cory at his back.

Tammy and I circle the room, an informal "meet and greet" with each team.

After a quick rundown of the skills we want to work on, Tammy takes John aside to sign the puppy-raising contract and review the paperwork for the newest arrival, FLD Ekco. I visit each team to ask the same two questions Tammy asked the inmates at Baraga.

1. Tell me something good about your puppy.

Many of the puppies are smart, intelligent, and attentive. Others are confident, loveable, and have a great recall. FLD Bravo's team says that the pup's "clingy-ness" is both good and bad. "We call him the old man."

2. What are you struggling with and need to work harder on?

Some puppies are overly friendly, or "ambitious socially" as Abe describes FLD Zella. A few rush stairs. Cori says that FLD Baker has a great stay, but is jumpy with loud noises. "She spooked at the cleaning cart," he reports. Baker got away from him and bolted. She ran through Unit 8, up the stairs and almost to his room before someone caught her. "She is fast!" he says. The worst thing, according to Scott, is the thought of giving FLD Drummond away.

Saying good-bye is on everyone's mind today. When Tammy and I leave this afternoon, we will be taking FLDs Nell, Zella and Tara back to Leader Dogs for the Blind to begin their formal training.

But first, we have work to do...

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The party is over...

Chippewa
March 6, 2014

When the party dust settled, puppies and people relaxed.

A golden retriever is sitting on the right side between the legs of a man wearing the prison blue pants and white t-shirt, sitting on a stool. The man's head is out of the picture. The dog is wearing a blue bandana. A man sitting on the left, only his knee and left arm is visible, is reaching over to pet the dog under his chin. The man has a tatoo on his forearm that says "forever love."

Time for a little lovin' on FLD Bravo.

Jess talked to the group about working with her guide dog Nala.

Four men are sitting on stools in a row, with two golden retrivers and one yellow lab. Three of the men have the prison blue pants and white t-shirts, the man on the far right has a blue shirt. The first golden is sitting facing the right in front of the first two men. The second golden is lying down between the legs of the thrid man, who is reaching down to the dog. The yellow lab is standing past the last man. The second and fourth men are holding guide dog harnesses. The second man's harness is brown leather with a yellow "do not pet me I'm working" sign on the handle. The fourth man's harness is white with a yellow harness.

Jess passes her guide dog harness around for the guys to compare with a Leader Dogs for the Blind harness that her husband uses with his Leader Dog. Jess and her husband are both visually impaired.

EVENING FURLOUGH

The Future Leader Dog puppies still had more work to do with volunteers who helped take the pups out on furlough. We met for dinner at the Sundown Lounge in Pickford. If it weren't for the tails sticking out from under our chairs, no one would have known there were a dozen dogs under the table!

After dinner, we regrouped at the Pickford Fire Hall. Tammy led everyone in the relaxation protocol to start the evening training session. We played a few recall games and practiced meet & greets, loose leash walking with dog distractions, and stairs.

Three women are standing and holding the leashes of three yellow labs. The woman on the left is dressed in a black with white markings on her shirt and blue jeans - a small yellow lab is sitting on her left side wearing a blue Future Leader Dog bandana, the pup is looking up at her and she is looking down at the pup. The woman in the middle is close to the far wall and is wearing a red and white plaid shirt and blue jeans, she has short curly hair. The yellow lab is sitting in front of her facing her and is wearing a blue Future Leader Dog vest. The woman on the right is wearing a green sweatshirt and blue jeans, she has short brown hair. The yellow lab she has is sitting a few feet in front of her facing her and is wearing a Future Leader Dog bandana. There is a black lab in the corner of the picture on the right side, looking up at someone out of view. The floor is wood, as are the walls. There is a blue and sliver ladder lying on its side behind the woman dressed in black on the left. There is a wood bench seat on the right side against the far wall with a blue jacket drapped on it.

Puppy raiser Kim (on the left) works the relaxation protocoal with her puppy, FLD Kayla, while furlough volunteers work with FLD Bravo (center), FLD Zella and FLD Nell (black lab on the right).

Jess and Nala made a short presentation and spoke about how important it was for her to have a dog that knew how to settle. During a job interview with a potential employer who was already "suspicious" of her ability to do the job, Jess said that a "non-settled dog would have made things worse."

A small german shepherd puppy is lying on a wood floor facing the camera. He is wearing a blue bandana with a white patch with red letters that say Future Leader Dog and a black paw print. The puppy's left ear is down and his right ear is up and leaning to the right over his head. He is looking right at the camera while licking his nose. A brown leash is attached to his collar.

A finally-settled FLD Dax mugs for the camera.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

The dogs, they had a party...

Chippewa

March 6, 2014

...and thought it was training!

RELAXATION PROTOCOL

To begin our session, puppy counselor Tammy led the group in three versions of the relaxation protocol. The relaxation protocol helps our puppies learn self-control. Basically they are asked to stay in position while the handler does all sorts of distracting behaviors - and they get a treat for not moving! It doesn't take them long to figure out what to do not do.

(You can read about this protocol and download MP3 files at this link: http://championofmyheart.com/relaxation-protocol-mp3-files/.)

First up, relaxation while in a sit position.

Three men are standing in a row, a fourth is just out of the frame on the right side. Two other men are sitting behind and between the standing me. They are wearing prison blue pants and white t-shirts. The third and forth man (from left to right) are wearing the prison blue shirts over their t-shirts. The first two men have golden retriever puppies (almost adult) sitting on their left sides, they pups are wearing blue Future Leader Dog bandanas. The third man, and african american, has a black lab that is lying on the floor at his left side. The man just out of the frame has a yellow lab next to him, but you can only see her head. The men sitting down do not have puppies, they are just observing.

FLDs Harper, Bravo and Zella are sitting nicely, but FLD Sammy would rather lie down.

Second, relaxation in a down position.

Photo is taken from behind. Three dogs, from left to right a black lab and two golden retrievers, are lying down on a tile floor in a semi-circle; the legs of two men in prison blue pants with orange stripes are standing between them. All are facing away from the camera.

FLD Sammy can do this, just like FLDs Bravo and Harper. Good boys!

And lastly, relaxation in a stand position.

Now the three dogs are standing next to their handlers. The black lab is looking up his handler, as is the furthers golden. the middle golden is just looking ahead. In this shot you can see three men in the background on the left with smaller black labs, one is sitting and the other is down. There are two men sitting on the right side. A large black TV screen is hanging on the far wall in the background.

A standing FLD Sammy looks up at his handler as if to say, "This is it, right?"

OBEDIENCE: SITS, DOWNS and STANDS

Tammy likes to make training a fun experience for all. When she told the guys she needed nine chairs because they were going to play tic-tac-toe, they frowned. Who wants to play silly games? they seemed to be thinking.

It didn't take long before the competition turned fierce. Whose puppy could hold position? Whose puppy could not?

Lots going in in this picture. There are three rows of light blue chairs. Two men are sitting in the row to the far left, both with golden retrievers. The man closest to the camers has his down in a sit between his legs facing out, and the other man's do is sitting in front of him facing him. On man is about to sit in the middle chair of the middle row, the other chairs in this row are empty. His yellow lab is lying under the chair. The man is pointing with his left arm at someone in front of him. The last row to the right has threen men sitting int he chairs, the furthest one has a black lab sitting and facing him. A woman with a purple t-shirt and blue jeans is in the background with her hands raised about shoulder high. There are five other men inthe background.

Teams are SITS and DOWNS. Someone from the sidelines tosses a treat into the middle, trying to distract the puppies. Unfair? Well, that can happen in real life and our puppies must learn to ignore it! Who says games can't be training? (wink)

Still lots going on here. The photo is taken facing the fronts of the chairs, there are three rows of three chairs, and all chairs are empty. Several men and the woman are around the tic-tac-toe "board," and there are three puppies (a german shepherd and two yellow labs) lying down under three of the chairs, completing a diagonal. There is one golde retriever in the last row in the middle standing up. There is also a black lab lying down on the left side, but not inthe game. He is looking to the left.

Teams are DOWNS and STANDS, but this time Tammy makes the game more challenging. Only puppies stay on the board - the handlers place them and have to walk away.

Realizing how much fun tic-tac-toe turned out to be, the guys jumped at the chance to play musical chairs. Tammy brought a CD loaded with songs about dogs. Her rules were a bit different than regular musical chairs. When the music stopped, there were seats for everyone, but the last puppy to get into a down position was out. I dare say the game was just as amusing to watch!

There are four men in frount sitting on the blue chairs that are in one row, their puppies (black lab, yellow lab, black lab, and golden retriever) are lying down under the chairs facing out. There are three men standing behind them and one woman.

When the music stops...it's a mad rush. Who can get their puppy "under" first?

There are three chairs in a triangle, all facing away from each other. Three men are walking around them with their puppies, a black lab, a yellow lab, and a black lab. There are men and the woman inthe background, and an african american man sitting down at a table in the background, running the music.

Puppy by puppy, all but three are eliminated. It is no surprise (to me) that the oldest pups are the last ones standing. Eventually, FLD Tara wins the round! And no surprise there - Tara was class-ready before coming to Chippewa, so she has had much more training than FLDs Zella and Nell.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO FLDs ZELLA AND NELL!

Two young men dressed in prison blues sit on cafeteria stools. The man on the right is gesturing to the camera, his yellow lab is lying between his legs facing the camers. The man on the left has his arms folded and is looking at the other man.

FLD Zella's handler leads the group in singing Happy Birthday to Zella and Nell. The pups turned one year old and are almost ready to return to Leader Dogs for the Blind for formal training.

A bald young man wearing a white t-shirt and prison blue pants is sqatting next to a black lab that is lying down under a chair facing out. The man is clapping his hands and looking at the dog. The lab has her chin on her front legs as if she is embarrassed! She is wearing a blue Future Leader Dog bandana.

FLD Nell's handler giver her applause.

There is an anonymous poem about why dogs greet each other by sniffing their hinders. For the curious, here you go...

The dogs, they had a party
They came from near and far.
Some dogs came by taxi
And some dogs came by car.

Each dog signed his name
Upon a special book
And each dog hung his a**hole
Upon a special hook.

One dog was not invited,
And this aroused his ire.
He stormed into the party
And loudly shouted "FIRE!"

In the scene that followed,
The dogs forgot to look
And grabbed just any a**hole
From off of any hook.

And that is why when dogs roam
On land or sea or foam,
They sniff each others' a**holes,
In hopes they’ll find their own!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Yooper time

Chippewa

March 6, 2014

We meet, as usual, in the visitor's entrance of the Chippewa Correctional Facility to get signed in. We trade our driver's licenses for our Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOT) visitor IDs. Tammy is given a locker key to stash the Leader Dogs for the Blind van keys; we emptied our pockets before we arrived. What we are able to bring in is documented on a manifest. My camera and flash. Tammy's bag of training tricks. Both of our treat bags.

FLDs Harper and Dax enter ike they are in charge of everything.

Paula and Dave are waiting for us. They have been visiting with Amy, an MDOT employee from a prsion in Jackson who wants to observe the program.

ARUS Rob brings FLD Nell with us on the long walk to check out the level 2 unit. Here we are subjected to another check in. Ironically, Amy is the only one who sets off the metal detector. A pat down clears her thick-soled metal-shank boots.

ARUS Don leads the tour through the unit. Tammy and I are impressed with a large conference room - we could really do some training with that much space. Pike Unit raisers will be able to come inside, but the guys here cannot get out to the Pike Unit. The big yard is a huge area with a pavilion, many sidewalks and a basefall field. If winter ever ends, this will be a wonderful training area.

The mens' living area is set up much like those we've seen at the Baraga Correctional Facility. Half walls separate spaces crowded with bunks, lockers and desks. As we walk down the dim, narrow aisle of one wing, men on lock down pay us no mind. At the far end Don tells us about the warden's plans to convert these eight-man "pods" to six-man in order to accommodate two dog kennels.

FLD Dax decides to put his two cents in and lets loose with a loud rendition of his nighttime singing. "Hey, there are dogs in here!" someone calls out.

Our group is subject to the scrutiny of men who are now sitting up on top of their bunks or hanging over the half walls of the pods. We navigate through reaching hands of those who squat at the entryways, eager to pet the puppies. Tammy lets them touch Harper, who calmly accepts the celebrity attention.

One young man sporting a full round beard asks about the dogs. I give a quick rundown of the puppy-raising program and ask him what he thinks. I am surprised with the thoughtfulness of his answer. "It will be really good for the guys," he says. "We have a lot of old timers."

We pause our tour in an area between wings. It feels like an intersection during rush hour when a buzzer blares and the men exit their quarters. Don points out where they plan to park puppies during the night, just beyond a set of double glass doors and in view of a correctional officer on duty. A grassy area alongside the building is edged with a chain link fence. Well, we assume that what is under the lingering snow drifts is a grassy area. It would make a nice run if the ends were closed off.

FLDs Harper, Nell and Dax are magnets. One man stops a few feet away and asks politely, "Can I pet your dogs?" Of course! Another man wants to know how he can get a dog. That would be up to ARUS Don, when the time comes.

We drop the pups off at Pike Unit so we can grab a quick lunch at the pizza and sub joint down the road. Our training session with the guys is scheduled for 12:30 and it's after noon already. At one o'clock we are still eating and chatting. I say to Rob, "We're late."

"Naw," he replies. "It's no big deal."

No worries. Rob is on "yooper" time. Things happen when they happen.

A close shot at floor level of a small german shepherd puppy lying on his right side on a blue mat with his head toward the camera. His leash is next to him and a man's leg in blue pants is behind him. There are lunchroom seats in the background.

By the time we start our training session with the Pike Unit raisers, FLD Dax is tired out from his vocal night and morning tour.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

There are reasons

Chippewa

January 30, 2014

Tammy sits in a corner with the lead raisers of the new pups; even inmate raisers have contracts to sign and paperwork to initial.

Meanwhile, everyone else visits and fawns over FLDs Ashely and Chewy and the other puppies.

Three men dressed in white t-shirts fawn over a small german shepherd puppy. The puppy is being held by the man on the right, who is just barely in the frame, you can only see his left shoulder and arm and his chin. The man in the middle is behind the puppy and looking down at it. The man on the left ihas his two hands near the puppy's snout like he is holding a treat in his fingers. He is bending toward the puppy.

Fawning over FLD Chewy.

An almost adult black lab wearing a baby blue leader dogs for the blind working jacket is standing and facing to the right, nosing a small black lab puppy that is being held by a young man who is squatting down. The man is wearing the pirson blue shirt and pants with the orange stripes on the shoulders and legs. The man is looking at the puppies. Another man is sitting on a table stool behind the larger puppy. He is wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants. He is bald with a short beard. His elbow are on his knees and he is looking at the littler pup. A lunch table is in the background with a bag on it.

FLD Nell meets FLD Ashely.

One of the men questions me about a scene in the Mutual of America video, "Inside to Outside Initiative - Prison Puppy Raising Program." ARUS Rob had shown them the video that premiered at a special luncheon in Rochester Hills earlier in January.

Leader Dogs for the Blind received Mutual of America's national 2013 Community Partnership Award. Part of the prize was a professionally produced video about the program. You can view the video HERE.

The scene in question shows an Iowa inmate tossing a ball for one of the puppies in the prison yard. We often tell our raisers that fetch is not the best game to play with our retriever breeds, as the game can get a puppy too "ball obsessed" and interfere with working.

"But in the puppy manual it states that fetch is okay if it is 'low key.' Just what is 'low key?'" the inmate asks.

We chat about how low key means no over-hand throwing, that if you play fetch it is important to use a variety of toys and not just a ball (in fact, we discourage balls altogether), how the puppy should not get so excited that it cannot be redirected to do something else.

"Teaching your puppy that bringing things to you is a game could be a good thing, especially if your puppy has something it shouldn't," I say. "But if your puppy gets too focused, I would stop playing fetch." A ball-obsessed dog who forgets it is working and lunges after a rolling ball dragging its handler will not be a safe guide dog.

I suggest other games, like putting the puppy on a sit/stay and hiding a favorite toy for it to find. "Use a word such as 'search' instead of 'find,'" I warn. "Find" is a cue the pup will learn later when it becomes a working guide dog. (Find the chair, find the door, find the counter...) Leader Dogs asks that puppy raisers avoid words that are used when the dog is actually working.

It seems like too many rules sometimes, but keeping in mind how things might later impact a blind or visually impaired handler makes it easier to comply.

And now, just because FLDs Ashely and Chewy are so darn cute, here they are again!

A young inmate wearing the prison uniform is sitting down with the small black lab on his lap. His right hand is petting the head of the puppy while his left hand is supporting her body. Her brown leash is drapped over the knee of another inmate who is sitting on the right side in the photo - this man is african american and is wearing a white t-shirt and blue pants. His head is just out of the frame, his right elbow is resting on his thigh.

FLD Ashly with her new raisers.

A man is standing, facing hte camera and holding a small german shepherd puppy. The upper part of his face is out of the frame, but he is smiling, he has a light beard. He is holding the puppy with his arms and they are filled with tattoos. The puppy is wearing a blue bandana with a white triangle patch with red words that say Future Leader Dog and a black paw print. Embroidered on one side of the bandana is the word "Chewy" in white letters. Opposite is a picture embroidered of Chewbaca, from the movie Star Wars. There is another man in the background on the left against the far wall looking toward the right. Also in the background on the right side at the bottom of the photo is a golden retriever lying on the floor looking at the camera like it is bored.

FLD Chewy and his happy raiser.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Star puppies!

Chippewa

January 30, 2014

Future Leader Dog puppies being raised in the Chippewa Correctional Facility were tested by puppy counselor Tammy Bartz for the American Kennel Club's "S.T.A.R. Puppy Program." Tammy is a "Canine Good Citizen" (CGC) evaluator for the American Kennel Club (AKC).

The AKC offers these programs for puppy/dog owners to recognize responsible ownership. The S.T.A.R. program is for puppies under one year of age. The CGC takes these skills to a higher level for older dogs.

From the AKC website, here are "20 steps to success: The AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Test."

S ocialization
T raining
A ctivity
R esponsibility

OWNER BEHAVIORS:

1. Maintains puppy’s health (vaccines, exams, appears healthy)
2. Owner receives Responsible Dog Owner’s Pledge
3. Owner describes adequate daily play and exercise plan
4. Owner and puppy attend at least 6 classes by an AKC Approved CGC Evaluator
5. Owner brings bags to classes for cleaning up after puppy
6. Owner has obtained some form of ID for puppy-collar tag, etc.

PUPPY BEHAVIORS:

7. Free of aggression toward people during at least 6 weeks of class
8. Free of aggression toward other puppies in class
9. Tolerates collar or body harness of owner’s choice
10. Owner can hug or hold puppy (depending on size)
11. Puppy allows owner to take away a treat or toy

PRE-CANINE GOOD CITIZEN® TEST BEHAVIORS:

12. Allows (in any position) petting by a person other than the owner
13. Grooming-Allows owner handling and brief exam (ears, feet)
14. Walks on a Leash-Follows owner on lead in a straight line (15 steps)
15. Walks by other people-Walks on leash past other people 5-ft away
16. Sits on command-Owner may use a food lure
17. Down on command-Owner may use a food lure
18. Comes to owner from 5-ft when name is called
19. Reaction to Distractions-distractions are presented 15-ft away
20. Stay on leash with another person (owner walks 10 steps and returns)

Having met all the criteria for the S.T.A.R. program, the inmate raisers (and their puppies) at Chippewa were awarded medals and certificates on January 30, 2014.

Here are the team photos: