puppies inside: puppy training

Showing posts with label puppy training. Show all posts

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Relaxation with a twist

Chippewa

March 30, 2015

This is only our second time back to the prisons together since September. Tammy and I still have our routine down. On the drive up we brainstormed how we'll execute Tammy's lesson plan:

puppy presentation
paperwork (Tammy) / meet & greets, handler's exams, questions (me)
group discussion
relaxation protocol
exercises with treat delivery and impulse control using a ground tether
obedience practice for all and In-For-Training (IFT) assessments for FLDs Bandit, Andie, Adell and Teysen
rally course, ladder and distractions exercise (teams) / finish IFTs (Tammy and I)
"blind" touch
musical chairs
Bandit's good-bye

It always amazes me that we manage to get through the entire list.

After the puppy presentation Tammy takes care of the paperwork with Rial. I circle the room to practice meet and greets and handler's exams. I ask each team, "Tell me something good about your puppy and then tell me something you are struggling with." Their answers should drive the group discussion, but there are no big issues.

Everyone in the room is interested in hearing an update on FLD Ashley. The black lab returned to Leader Dogs for the Blind in December for formal training and now she's ready to move into an "advanced" level. At the next step she'll be matched with her new partner. (No one knows it yet, but Ashley is destined to be matched at the end of April.)

Tammy starts off with a twist on the standard relaxtaion protocol. Normally the puppies sit, down or stand in heel position with the handler standing during the exercise. Tammy instructs the handlers to stay seated. "Tell your puppy under," she says, "or have your puppy lie down at your side."

A light colored golden retriever and a yellow lab are lying on a tile floor in between the legs of two men. The first man with the golden is weraing green pants and the second man is wearing maroon pants. Both puppies are looking up at their handlers (who are mostly out of view).

FLDs Andie and Diesel look at their handlers like they are thinking, "What are you doing? We usually do this with you standing up!" The idea of trying this while sitting is to simulate situations where their handlers are sitting, like at restaurants or meetings.

Four men are seated on lunchroom stools. The man on the far left is sitting up and looking at the other three, who are bent over at the waist and touching their toes. There are three puppies lying on a tile floor beneath the men. The puppy on the far left is a yellow lab and is looking back at his handler, the next puppy is a german shepherd and his facing out, the third puppy is a light colored golden retriever and he is facing out too. Three of the men are wearing with t-shirts, the third man is wearing a maroon sweatshirt.

The seated relaxation protocol has the handlers do things like touch their toes, turn to the right or left, stamp their feet, or cross their legs. The puppies stay in position throughout the entire exercise.

With the relaxation protocol finished, Tammy puts me to work demonstrating the treat delivery and ground tether exercises, and helping her with the IFT assessments. I'm too busy to get any photos, but once the music starts for musical chairs I am free to shoot away.

In this game, there are chairs for everyone. When the music stops, the men must sit with their puppies "under" the chairs...last puppy down is out!

A group of men and their puppies cirlce around two lines of light blue plastic chairs. A woman wearing a grey t-shirt and blue jeans is on the far left.

Tammy's CD has dog-themed songs, like "Who Let the Dogs Out?" and "How Much is that Puppy in the Window?"

A low shot of a golden retriever/lab mix puppy walking toward the camera with a loose leash and looking up toward his handler. The man handling the puppy is only visible from the waist down and he is wearing the blue prison uniform. There are a few men sitting down on the right side.

FLD Henry keeps a nice loose leash and a keen focus on his temporary handler.

Now the men are sitting on the chairs with their puppies "under" the chairs facing out. The woman is in the background on the left side.

The music stops...who is out?

A low, close up shot of a small stuffed weiner dog in the foreground and a larger black lab puppy walking by trying to sniff the stuffed dog. In the background on the right side is a german shepherd puppy also looking at the stuffed dog, being held back by a man wearing a white t-shirt and blue prison pants. The black lab is being held back by a man wearing a white t-shirt and blue prison pants. The lab is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana.

I set a distraction down for the puppies. FLD GeeGee is very interested in "Travel Deacon," as is FLD Chance in the background.


We have a winner! FLD GeeGee is under her handler Ro before FLD Chance hits the tile under his handler Eric.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Raising thinkers

Chippewa

October 23, 2014

Before getting the teams up to work, Deb has lots to share. She reports on the kennel project that is under construction at Leader Dogs for the Blind; she talks about the breeding program and what happens to the puppies when they return to Rochester Hills; she describes guide work and what it means when the blind or visually impaired handler cannot support the decisions the dog has to make.

"We need forward-thinking, independent-thinking dogs," she said.

Many of the men express interest in continuing to raise puppies once they get out. Deb leads a discussion about what raising a puppy on the outside entails, how they will have to deal with veterinarian and food expenses, and transportation when picking up and returning a puppy.

The men nod their heads when she suggests they take time to get their lives in order first. These inmate raisers are thinking, too.

Three men sit on stools and are leaning forward and looking at the two black lab puppies and one chocolate lab puppy lying on the floor between their legs. The man on the left is wearing a long sleeve white shirt and peach sweat pants, his hands are massaging the black lab's shoulders. The puppy is looking at the camera. The man in the middle is wearing the blue prison uniform and is reaching down to the black lab puppy at his feet with his left hand, which is holding an antler. His right arm is resting on his right knee. The african american man on the right is wearing the blue prison uniform and is bent over with his left forearm on his left knee. He is reaching down with his right hand and holding the left front paw of a small black lab at his feet. The labe is lying on her right side facing the camear.

Three puppies and their raisers share a moment. Ro, on the right, is handling FLD GeeGee's front paw. GeeGee is Ro's second puppy; he raised FLD Sammy, who, at the time of this post. is in training at Leader Dog. Ro says that even though he thinks Sammy was the best, GeeGee has stolen his heart.

Time to work. Deb has a fun exercise planned. She recreates an outside puppy outing she and FLD Jedi attended at Detroit Metro Airport. The puppies will practice sit or down/stays, recalls, handling, and settling.

We set two chairs at one end of the room to simulate a metal detector. One at a time, each inmate raiser puts his puppy in a sit or down stay in the middle of the room. Here he removes his shoes and the puppy's collar and leash.

A man dressed in maroon sweats is standing in the middel of a room, he is taking his shoes off. In front of him is sitting a golden retriever puppy. The puppy is facing him and wearing the blue Future Leader Dog puppy. On the floor by the man's shoes is the puppy's leash. In the background three other men are sitting on stools and facing the man that is standing.

Abe removes his shoes while FLD Andie holds a sit/stay.

The raiser leaves the puppy to walk through the chair-metal-detector, then turns and calls his puppy to come.

A yellow lab/golden retriever puppy wearing the blue Future Leader Dog jacket is walking away from the camera toward two light blue plastic chairs. Just beyond the chairs is a man wearing a white t-shirt and maroon pants. The man is facing the puppy and looking down at him. In the background are three men and three women sitting or standing and watching the puppy.

FLD Henry comes readily to Matt, who is waiting on the other side of the "metal detector."

Another inmate, posing as a NSA agent, pats them both down. Once cleared, the inmate puts his shoes and the puppy's collar and leash back on and is shuffled into the corner to wait.

Two men in the foregrond are running their hands on a black lab puppy. The man on the left of the puppy is kneeling on the tile floor, he is wearing a white t-shirt and blue prison pants and a blue ball cap. the man on the right of the puppy is wearing a green sweatshirt and the blue prison pants, he is bent over at the waits over the puppy. There are two men and one woman along the wall on the far left side, standing with puppies, and three men and two women in the far background.

"NSA agent" Eric checks out FLD Dylan while Dave, the pup's handler, rehooks his leash.

A low shot of two men patting down a black lab puppy. The man on the left is standing and leaning over the puppy, he is wearing a white t-shirt and blue prison pants; you cannot see his head but his arm is covered with tatooes. The man on the right is kneeling on his right knee and his left hand is feeling the puppy's throat. He is wearing a white t-shirt and blue prison pants and a blue ball cap. There is a man in the background standing against the wall with a german shepherd on his left side.

FLD Ashley gets checked over.

A man is standing on the left with his arms stretched out, facing a group of men (and one woman) and their puppies. Several of the men are bending over to settle their puppies, they are in a tight corner of a room, with a glass wall and door on the left and a white brick wall on the right.

"NSA agent' Eric keeps the group sequestered in the corner.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Sit, down, around, exam

October 22, 2014

Baraga

It was time to work. Deb led the teams through SIT and DOWN exercises that become progressively more difficult. I handed FLD Henry off to Corey so I could concentrate on taking photos.

A man wearing the blue prison uniform and a blue jacekt and navy blue knit cap is sitting with his forearms on his knees. He is smiling and leaning slightly forward toward a yellow lab/golden retriever mix puppy that is sitting in front of him, facing him. The puppy is wearing the baby blue Future Leader Dog "working" jacket. There are other men just out of view on either side of the photo.

FLD Henry is focused on Corey, who seems pretty happy to work with the pup.

An african american man wearing the blue prison uniform with a long sleeved white shirt under the short sleeve blue shirt is standing in front of a metal wall. He is looking off to the right and holding the leash to a small chocolate lab in his left hand. The lab is sitting at the man's left side and is looking at the camera.

FLD Hershel holds a nice sit for Brown.

SIT

With no distractions, holding for more than 30 seconds.
With people walking around.
With people greeting the teams.

A man wearing an orange kint cap, salmon colored sweatshirt and blue prison pants is on the left of the photo stretching with his right hand to reach something out of the shot to the left. His left hand is holding the leash to a yellow lab puppy sitting on the tile floor on his left side. The puppy is watching the man. Another man is standing in front of a metal wall on the right. He is wearing the blud prison uniform with his arms at his side. He is holding the leash of a small yellow lab in his left hand. The lab is sitting at the man's left side.

Beano (left) reaches for some extra kibble for FLD Axel when Deb asks the men without puppies to start walking around. FLD Farley (right) sits nicely next to Paul.

At least six men are either walking from left to right or are standing with their puppy sitting on their left side. Two men on the left closest to the camera walking by are wearing green sweatshirts and blue prison pants. An african american man is standing with his small chocolate lab, a man wearing a white shirt and blue prison pants is walking by him. A woman is standing behind him wearing an orange sweatshirt and black pants with a large german shepherd puppy sitting on her left side. Another man wearing the blue prison uniform is walking on the far right side, with an african american man dressed in a white shirt and blue pants standing behind him with a small golden retriever sitting at his left side.

Here come the distractions!

DOWN

With no distractions, holding for more than 30 seconds.
With people walking around.
With people jogging by.

AROUND - without a door. Really? Yep, we can practice "around" even if we don't have a door. (For a description of how we work around, visit this post "Training take 1."

A young black lab is standing on the left, curved slightly behind the legs of an inmate wearing blue prison pants and black shoes. The puppy is looking up at his handler, and is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana.

FLD Eco moves into the "around" position while keeping an eye on his handler.

HANDLER'S EXAM - Each puppy's handler checked eyes, ears, teeth, felt each leg and paw, and ran a brush down its back. Then other team members did the same exam so the puppies get used to other people handling them.

An african american man who is standing is leaning over to a small chocolate lab puppy and his hands are on the puppy's head, checking his teeth. The man is wearing a prison blue uniform with a long sleeve white shirt under the blue shirt, and white shoes.

Brown checks FLD Hershel's teeth during the handler's exam.

A man is standing on the left with his arms at his side looking down. The man is wearing blue prison pants and a blue jacekt with orange stripes, with a white shirt underneath. Another man is standing on the right, leaning over to check the teeth of a yellow lab puppy who is standing between the two men. The man on the right is wearing the blue prison uniform with a long sleeve white shirt under the blue shirt. The man has his hands on the puppy's head and mouth.

FLD Farley leans into his raiser, Steve, while another inmate checks him over.

And just because...

A man wearing blue prison pants and a blue t-shirt is standing on the left with his hands clasped at his waist. He is holding the leash to a young black lab that is sitting on his left side. The man is looking down at the puppy. The puppy is looking toward the camera and is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana. Another man is standing next to a metal wall facing right with his legs crossed. He is wearing blue prison pants and a blue jacket with orange stripes. At his feet in front of him is a yellow lab puppy lying on a green mat facing him.

FLD Copo holds a nice sit next to his handler, Black. In the background, FLD Farley lies on his mat in front of his handler, Steve.

A closer shot of the black lab puppy sitting next to the man. The puppy is now looking straight up at the man.

FLD Copo looks up at Black.

Now the man is leaning down with his face close to the nose of the black lab. The lab is reaching to the man's face.

Black leans in for a puppy kiss.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Ten years to tell a story

October 22, 2014

Baraga

When Deb Donnelly and I arrive, the teams in Unit 8 are ready and waiting for us. Puppies are settled on mats with Kongs and Nylabones at the ready.

A low shot of a young black lab puppy lying on a green thick mat. To the left are the lower legs of the puppy's raiser, he is wearing blue prison pants and black shoes, his right hand is just visible between his knees. The puppy is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana and there is a red Kong on the mat by his right shoulder. The puppy's head is resting on the mat.

A relaxed FLD Eco seems to be listening intently.

Another low shot, this time of a small chocolate lab lying on the tile floor with his chin on the floor between his front paws. He is just behind the lower legs of his raiser, who is also wearing blue prison pants and black shoes. To the left in the background is a blue mat, but the puppy chose to lie on the floor instead. There is also a yellow, green and blue Nylabone puppy chew toy on the tile in front of the mat.

FLD Hershel, on the other hand, doesn't seem interested. What is it about the floor that is more comfortable than his mat?

Deb has lots to talk about. She's come from a circular road trip to prisons in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin before getting to Baraga and continuing on to Chippewa. She reports that Minnesota's Lino Lakes Correctional Facility, which started raising puppies in July of 2013, had their first puppy issued to a client the day before. Leader Dog "Lino" is now a working guide dog.

With the return of the first Baraga puppies looming in December, the men are interested about the process. Deb explains that Leader Dogs for the Blind takes in 44 puppies each month. Leader Dog veterinarians can only accommodate 11 dogs a week. (This places a demand on the breeding department on the other end.) When the puppies return they are subject to a series of medical exams and x-rays to assure excellent health. Some are pulled for breeding; those that aren't are spayed or neutered. About 14 percent are career-changed for medical issues. The rest go into formal guide work training.

"We always train more dogs than we need," Deb says. Up to 24 blind or visually impaired clients in a given "class" live in the Polk Residence at Leader Dogs for about three and a half weeks. Here they learn to care for and work with their new partner. Extra dogs are necessary so the trainers can make the perfect match with each team.

There are questions about what will happen in December when she comes to bring FLDs Axel, Bear and Copo back to Leader Dog. Deb suggests that the men develop a "good-bye" ceremony for themselves, something that can be consistently recreated for each puppy that leaves.

Saying good-bye to your puppy is hard, no matter whom the puppy raiser happens to be. After returning five of my own puppies I can attest that it never gets easier.

"The dogs do way better than the people do in this," Deb says. "They adapt very well, most of them, very quickly. It's like going to camp for them." A collective sigh and the looks on the men's faces make me believe they are not quite convinced.

A black lab is lying on a thick green mat between the legs of his raiser, who is sitting on a lunchroom table stool. The man is on the left side of the table and is wearing blue prison pants and a long sleeved white shirt. His elbows are resting on his knees and he is looking up toward the right. A second man is sitting on the stool opposite on the right. He is also wearing the blue prison pants and a long-sleeved white shirt. This man also has his elbows on his knees leaning forward with his hands clasped. He is looking at the camera. In the background are two other men sitting at another table. The puppy is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana and has a white Nylabone chew toy between his front paws, and a second one on the tile floor next to his mat. The puppy's chin is resting on his right leg and he is looking at the camera.

Ricky (left) and Doug (right) sit with their puppy. FLD Bear is one of the puppies slated to return to Leader Dogs for the Blind in December.

An african american man is sitting on a lunch table stool, bending over to pet a golden retriever puppy that is lying on the lile floor between the man's feet. The man is wearing the blue prison pants and a long sleeve white t-shirt and white shoes. The man's left forearm is resting on his left knee and he is petting the puppy's side with his right hand. The puppy is lying on its left side with its head toward the camera. He is wearing the blue bandana. A nylabone chew toy is on the floor by his head.

P reaches over to give a sleepy FLD Gage a pet. This little guy will be staying for a while, but P will be sad to see FLD Bear leave. P was promoted from FLD Bear's team to raise Gage.

A man wearing blue prison pants and a green jacket is sitting on a lunch table stool with his left forearm across his left knee and his right elbow on his right kneww with his chin in his right hand. The man is looking forward to the left. At his feet is a black lab that is lying facing right. There is a lunch table in front of the team, and another one in the back ground.

Black and FLD Copo, who is also slated to return in December.

Inmate raiser Black will have it especially hard in December. He was promoted from FLD Bear's team to take over as Copo's raiser, so he'll be saying good-bye to two puppies.

Black feels so changed by this program that he recently made a generous donation to Leader Dogs for the Blind. (His job in the Baraga Correctional Facility pays him 74 cents per day.)

Deb feels their pain. FLD Jedi, the 20th puppy she's raised, is due to go back to Leader Dog within a couple of weeks.

A woman dressed in black pants and an orange fleece jacket is standing with her hands on her hips on the right of the picture. At her feet is sprawled a large german shepheard dog, he is practically lying on her feet with his chin resting on the tile floor. He is facing to the right. On the left of the picture is an african american man sitting on a lunch table stool facing the woman. He is wearing the blue prison uniform and white shoes. At his feet in front of him is a small chocolate lab that is sitting on a blue mat with a yellow, green, and lbue nylabone puppy chew toy in front of him. The puppy is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandan and is facing the right.

Deb Donnelly speaks to the inmate raisers with FLD Jedi sprawled at her feet. Brown (left) sits with his charge, FLD Hershel.

"There's somebody out there who needs this dog more than I do," she says. She tells a story about one of the puppies she raised long ago. The puppy "graduated" and was matched with a young man, it was his first Leader dog. Deb got the chance to meet the painfully shy and reserved man. He had a difficult time speaking to her.

Some years later, when he received a second dog, Deb witnessed an amazing transformation. The man stood up in front of everyone. (Back then the graduating teams were introduced as a group to the raisers during "visitation" night at Leader dog. Now the puppy raiser has an individual visit with the new team.) Deb says he would never have done that the first time she met him. He announced that his goal was to meet one million people. He asked that each and every person should come up and shake his hand.

With a catch in her voice, Deb says, "It took me 10 years before I could even tell this story."

A close head shot of the large german shepherd puppy lying across the woman's purple running shoes. The dog is facing the camera with his chin on the tile floor. His leash is lying on the floor by him and his left front leg and paw are across the woman's shoes. He is looking directly into the camera. He is also wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana.

FLD Jedi makes sure he stays close to Deb.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Sit, down, stay, play

September 25, 2014

Chippewa

RELAXATION PROTOCOL

In three positions...

A woman wearing blue jeans and a teal t-shirt is standing on the right side with an orange piece of paper in her hands. She is reading from the paper. Three men are standing on the left, each are wearing white t-shirts, the one on the far left and the one in the middle are wearing orange shorts, the third man is wearing blue prison pants and is standing with his arms folded at his chest. The middle man is looking down at a small yellow lab/golden retriever puppy that is lying on the tile floor looking up at him.

Tammy gets started on the relaxation protocol. She asks the teams to have their puppies in the "down" position to start.

A black lab (left) and a yellow lab (right) are lying on a tile floor, both are wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandanas. The puppies are looking up to the left at their handlers, who are only visilbe from the waist down. The man on hte left is wearing maroon sweat pants and a white t-shirt, the other man is wearing orange shorts and a white t-shirt. Both puppies' leashes are lying on the floor.

FLDs Ashley and Adell keep an eye on their handlers.

A young chocolate lab is lying on a tile floor looking up at his handler that is standing on the left. The puppy is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana and his leash is lying on the floor in front of him. Only the handler's lower legs and feet are in the frame. He is wearing maroon sweatpants and white shoes. The legs of another man are on the right, he is wearing orange shorts and white shoes.

FLD Bandit. Focused.

Three men are handling three puppies. The man on the left is wearing orange shorts and a white sleeveless t-shirt and he is holding the leash of a yellow lab puppy that is sitting on his left side looking up at him. The man is looking down at the puppy and reaching toward him with his left hand. The man in the middle is wearing orange shorts and the blue prison shirt; he is looking down at a yellow lab/golden retriever mix puppy that is lying on the tile floor facing the man, his leash draped on the floor. The man on the right is wearing the blue prison pants and a white t-shirt with his hand folded at his waist and looking down at a small black lab. The lab is sitting on the floor facing the man with its back to the camera. There is a fourth man in the background sitting on a lunchroom stool.

Now Tammy asks the handlers to have their puppies "sit." FLDs Adell (left) and GeeGee (right) jump right up, but FLD Henry (middle) has to think about it.

The picture is taken from a weird angle so everyone could get into the shot. There are four men standing in the lunchroom (tables line the walls behind them) and each has a puppy sitting at his left side.

FLDs Teysen and Bandit show how "sit" is done.

A man dressed in the prison blue pants and a maroon sweatshirt is standing facing the camera. He is looking down to his left at the young golden retriever puppy that is standing on his left side. The puppy is wearing the blue bandana and the man is holding his leash with his right hand, held up at his chest.

Abe with FLD Andie in the last position: "stand." Now that is a loose leash!

TESTING

With everyone relaxed, Tammy announced that she would do AKC S.T.A.R Puppy and CGC testing on those puppies that were eligible. The other puppies could practice. FLD Coda was ready to take her In-For-Training (IFT) assessment and Tammy asked me to do it away from the others. I was happy to oblidge. FLD Coda happened to be in heat and was a bit distracted. Her raiser, Jeremy, was patient with her and she did just fine away from all the boys.

YARD WORK

We went into the yard to practice a modified version of the distraction training that we did at the last furlough. Instead of tape on the ground, Tammy had the handlers stand on their puppies' leashes on the grass, just long enough so the puppies could move onto the sidewalk. No pictures here because Tammy put me (and others) to work offering distractions. Someone bounced a ball, one guy crawled up and down the sidewalk, I dragged the stuffed squirrel on a rope, wiggling it to simulate a real squirrel. Not one puppy budged. Either the pupies were great at ignoring distractions, or they were super-well trained to stay off the sidewalk. (The men did say they had trained the puppies not to go past the sidewlak into the gardens on the other side.)

PLAYTIME

Before we leave, we let the puppies play. Brothers Henry and Harley are well-matched. They were moving too fast for me to get a clear focused shot. A little help from Photoshop and you can see the fun they had.

Two small yellow lab/golden retriever puppies run toward the camera, the one on the left, slightly behind the one on the right, has his mouth open and is going for the right ear of the other puppy.

FLD Harley (left) has FLD Henry on the run. Big ears are easy to grab.

Now the two puppies are facing each other. The pup on the left is wearing a red collar and is standing up with his left front paw in the air. The puppy on the right is lying on the cement. His tongue is sticking part way out of his closed mouth like he is taunting the other puppy.

Nah, nah, na nah, nah! FLD Henry might be down, but he's not out!

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Chippewa redux

September 25, 2014

Chippewa

Tammy promised the guys in Pike Unit we'd be back before the end of September. She wanted to do the training we didn't have time to do earlier in the month. So, up and back we went in a one day trip.

We stopped in Mackinaw for a photo op before heading across the bridge.

A large handsome German Shepherd puppy wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana is sitting and facing the camera. In the background the Mackinaw Bridge sretches off to the right. There is blue sky.

FLD Chewy poses with the Mackinaw Bridge. He was returning to Chippewa after a complete veterinarian check at Leader Dogs for the Blind. His gait and joints are fine.

A smaller yellow lab/golden retriever mix puppy is sitting in front of some large boulders. He is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana and is facing the camera with his eyes pinched shut. In the background above him stretches the Mackninaw Bridge over the Straits of Mackinaw.

FLD Henry makes a goofy face for the camera.

We got inside Pike Unit after 2:00 p.m. Before starting the relaxation protocol, which has become our opening exercise, Tammy asked if anyone had questions or concerns. FLD Bandit's team reported that the young chocolate lab wasn't eager to get into vehicles when he went out on furloughs. Ro worried about FLD GeeGee eating rocks in the yard. Harlin asked for tips on what to do when FLD Bentley decides to abruptly stop walking.

Tammy asked me to demonstrate "silky leash" with FLD Henry, as a skill for the men to work on with FLD Bentley. This technique teaches the puppy to give in and move with light pressure on the leash instead of pulling against the leash (opposition reflex). Unfortunately for the demo, Henry is pretty savvy with this method. Every time I gave light pressure on his leash he moved with it, so our audience did not get to see how to handle it when the pup resists. Fortunately, the guys are adept at understanding concepts.

As for keeping FLD GeeGee from eating rocks, well, the teams needs to be observant and proactive. Tammy suggested that if GeeGee stopped playing with the other dogs while in the yard and started scrounging around, she should be brought back inside right away. "Don't give her an opportunity," she said.

The teams don't have access to a vehicle to work on getting the puppies comfortable getting in and out of a car, so Tammy set up some chairs to simulate the tight quarters of the passenger side floorboard. This is where Leader Dog likes our puppies to ride because that's where they will be with their handler when they are working guide dogs. Tammy sat sideways on the chair and then swung her feet and body around to face forward. "Get situated first, then ask the puppy to join you," she said.

Tammy suggested that the men set crates up on something higher so the puppies could get used to jumping into small spaces. And she advised them to explain to furlough volunteers that they should not force the puppies into the car. "Have them use treats to coax them in," she said.

Three men, dressed in blue prison pants and white t-shirts are sitting and facing the camera. They all have their hands resting on their knees, and each one has a puppy lying on the tile floor between their feet. The puppy on the left is a yellow lab, the middle puppy is a black lab, and the puppy on the right is a german shepherd.

All in a nice settle during Tammy's discussion.

Now it was time to do some work...

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

We work

September 12, 2014

Baraga

Tammy got the group working on our September skills right away.

A man wearing the blue prison uniform and a blue knit cap is standing on the left facing the camera. His hands are at his side and he is holding a leash in his right hand. A small yellow lab/golden retriever mix puppy is sitting on his left side. Another man, wearing blue prison pants and a long-sleeve white t-shirt is standng in front of a door with a window in it. His right hand is in his right pant pocket, and his left hand is holding a leash attached to a young yellow lab puppy that is lying on the tile floor on his left side. The puppy is facing the man and is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana. A woman wearing blue jeans and a grey sweatshirt with a treat pouch around her waist is standing on the right with her back to the camera.

Tammy leads the group in the relaxation protocol. Corey is handling FLD Henry; Bart is handling FLD Farley.

An african american man wearing blue prison pants and a white long sleeve and glasses is standing facing the camera with a small golden retriever puppy sitting on his left side. The man is looking down at the puppy and the puppy is looking up at him. The man's hands are hanging down at his sides. The puppy's leash is lying on the tile floor attached to his collar. The puppy is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana.

P and FLD Gage have great focus during the relaxation protocol.

Two men are sitting on opposite sides of a steel lunchroom table. The man on the left is wearing blue prison pants and a white long-sleeve t-shirt, his left elbow is on the table and his right elbow is resting on his right knee, his hands are clasped. The man on the other side of the table is wearing the blue prison unform and his resting his folded arms on the table. A third man is standing to the right, but his head is out of the picture. He is wearing blue prison pants and a white t-shirt. He also has a blue surgical glove on his left hand. His right hand is holding a leash attached to the collar of a young yellow lab, which is moving toward him from left to right.

FLD Farley is interested in the blue glove that his raiser, Steve, is wearing. Teammates Bart and Paul look on as Steve asks Farley to get into heel position.

A closer shot of the man standing, with the man sitting at the table with his arms folded. Now the yellow lab pup is just about to sit at the man's left side, his nose is reaching up toward the man's left gloved hand.

Steve demonstrates how FLD Farley can't keep his eyes off the glove. I show the team how to work on impulse control with Farley so he can ignore the glove.

Six puppies are lying down along a wall on the right, all but one are facing left. Opposte the puppies are a line of men dressed in blue prison pants and white t-shirts. The men are sitting or standing and looking at the pups.

Here the puppies demonstrate a nice down/stay.

We head out to the yard to do the CGC and IFT assessments. I am so busy helping Tammy that I don't get many photos...but FLDs Axel, Bear, Copo, Dax, Eco, Farley, and Gage (the puppies eligible for the CGC) are all successful.

A man dressed in the blue prison uniform is standing on the left, but he is only visible from the waist down. He holding a leash to a small yellow lab/golden retriever mix puppy that is standing on his left side. Both are facing the camera, but the puppy is looking at an older black lab that is being walked by from the right.

FLD Henry stands calmly as FLD Bear and his handler walk by during the loose leash walking portion of the IFT.

Tammy decided to add a tic-tac-toe game after the group CGC and IFT assessments. Lots of fun and good training!

An outside shot on cement with a white brick building in the background. A group of men are standing in the background with their backs facing the building. There are nine cream colored plastic chairs set up in three rows of three like a tic-tac-toe board. There are two men sitting in two chairs in the first row (furthest from the camera), one man in the middle seat in the middle row, and one man in the far right seat in the last row. The men sitting have puppies with them.

Tammy designates two teams - "sit" and "down." The game is played like tic-tac-toe, but the puppies on the sit team have to sit for the duration, or they are out. The puppies on the down team have to hold a down or they are out. This is a fun game that challenges the raisers and their pups to hold position in spite of the distraction of other puppies and handlers walking by.

Three men and their puppies are sitting in a row. The man on the right has a german shepherd, the man in themiddle has a yellow lab, and the man on the left has a golden retriever. The puppies should all be lying down, but the only one that is is the golden retriever! There is a man in the background on the left standing with a black lab sitting at his left side. The men are all smiling.

Unfortunately, two of the "down" team puppies don't want to hold position. A row or diagonal of puppies on the same team must hold position for at least three seconds after the last pup is in position. As you can see, only FLD Gage with P stays down. Steve and FLD Farley (middle) and Chad and FLD Dax (right) are disqualified and the game goes on.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Three D's and Henry

September 11, 2014

The Soo

FLD HENRY

We took FLD Chewy with us when we left Pike Unit. Doc Bennett, the veterinarian who volunteers his service for the puppies, saw something he didn't like in the Shepherd's running gait. Tammy was charged with bringing Chewy back to Leader Dogs for the Blind for a complete checkup. But first he'd have to hang with us.

Tammy and I were late getting to the Antler's, a unique restaurant that has always been gracious to visiting Future Leader Dog puppies. This day was no different, although our group was seated in the main dining area instead of the quieter banquet room. Here the pups were treated to bells and whistles every time a ship passed through the Soo Locks.

We left little Hershel asleep in his crate in the van, as it was a cool evening. Tammy brought FLD Chewy in for Frank to handle, Rachel had her golden puppy, FLD Harkin, Kim was with FLD Kayla, and Paula had brought FLD Andie out on furlough from Chippewa. Of course, I had FLD Henry, who recently learned he has a voice. He barked a bit so I took him out to park. Afterwards he was better, but didn't really settle until it was nearly time to go. The other puppies were all well behaved.

As Henry and I got up to leave, a woman and some friends coming in for dinner blocked our passage. "Can I pet him?" she asked. Her entourage spread out and surrounded us. I had no choice. "Can you help me with his training?" I asked her in return. She stepped forward, "What can I do?"

"Let me get him sitting and then you can approach," I explained. I asked Henry to "sit" and used "touch" to get him to focus on me. "He needs to have four on the floor and he cannot mouth you. If he gets up or licks too much, just take your hand away and step back."

The woman took another step toward us and Henry leapt forward. The woman stepped back. Henry sat down. "Yes!" I said and gave him a treat. He held a squirmy sit as the woman tried again. She stopped. Henry whipped his head around and looked at me as if to say, "This is it, right? You want me to sit, right?"

"Yes!" I said and slipped him another bit of kibble. While I was giving it to him, I asked the woman to come and pet him. Henry didn't know what to do then with his attention; his head swiveled from her back to me. Eventually he controlled himself long enough to accept a nice pet.

The crowd around us had grown. Another group was trying to leave. "Can you see how he improved?" I asked. They all agreed.

Good boy, Henry!

THREE D'S

We regrouped at a local school where Rachel works so Tammy could conduct a training session with us. Immediately we had to practice stairs to get up to the conference room. As usual, Tammy loaded her agenda, starting with the relaxation protocol in "sit," followed by meet & greets (from quiet to excited), and weight checks.

Before we moved on to "stay" we practiced ignoring distractions. Tammy stuck a three foot long piece of painter's tape on the floor, behind which we stood with our foot on our puppy's leash. The leash was long enough for the puppy to move past the tape. From a distance, Tammy wiggled a stuffed squirrel that dangled from a pole and instructed us to treat our puppy at our left side whenever our puppy moved away from the toy and came to our side of the tape.

The tape itself was enough distraction for FLD Henry - the first thing he did was to rip the tape right up off the floor!

Oh, Henry!

Again, the other puppies did much better...

A man wearing khakis and a black top is standing on the right looking down at a large German Shepherd that is standing in front of him. The man is stepping on the dog's leash. The dog is looking to the right, where a woman wearing blue jeans and a marron top is kneeling on the carpeted floor facing the dog and man. The woman is bouncing a pink ball in front of her. She is several feet away from the man and dog. In the background are long tables with chairs behind them, another woman is sitting on the floor in front of the table and has a young yellow lab standing in front of her.

Tammy increases the distraction and now bounces a ball. Frank is firmly planted on FLD Chewy's leash, waiting for Chewy to move toward him. FLDs Andie and Kayla wait their turn.

A closer shot of just the man and the German Shepherd. Now the shepherd is turning toward the man. The man is leaning forward just a bit and reaching toward the dog with his left hand, which holds a treat. The other woman is still sitting on the floor with her yellow lab, facing the camera. Another woman is stting on the far side of the table.

FLD Chewy looks away from the ball distraction toward Frank, and loosens the tension on his leash. Frank rewards him.

The man is still standing on the shepherd's leash, but now the dog has moved to the man's left side, well behind the tape on the floor. The woman wearing blue jeans and a maroon t-shirt is on her hands and knees very close to the tape and has rolled the pink ball toward the dog. The dog is looking down at the ball, but is leaving it alone!

FLD Chewy resists the ball temptation, even when Tammy rolls it right up to him! Notice how Chewy has repositioned himself at Frank's left side.

On to stays. "People always want to rush stays," Tammy said. "That's why they have rotten stays." She told us to remember the "three d's." Duration. Distance. Distractions. "First is duration. Your puppy should hold position for one minute before adding distance," Tammy said. "Never mind about distractions! They come later."

I have lots more work to do with Henry and duration. He dropped into a down at about 10 seconds. "Take notice of that and treat him at eight seconds," Tammy advised.

Thank you, Tammy!

A floor-level close shot of a small chocolate lab puppy. The puppy is lying on the carpet facing the camera. He is busy chomping on a dog bisquit. His leash is attached to the leg of a table behind him.

FLD Hershel is happy attacking a Milk Bone from the sidelines.

Another close shot of the same chocolate lab puppy. Now he is sleeping, with his head resting across his leash.

All this work tires a puppy out!

Later, FLDs Hershel and Henry have some play time in the hotel...

The small chocolate lab is running toward the camera on green carpet. Behind him is a little bit larger yellow lab/golden mix puppy, who is following him. Behind and to the left is a cloth crate.

FLD Hershel takes off with FLD Henry close behind.

The yellow lab/golden puppy is standing over the smaller chocolate labe and they are play-fighitng. The chcolate lab is trying to bit the other puppy'es right ear.

Whoo-hoo! Lab wrestling!

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Monday, December 29, 2014

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