Tuesday, May 27, 2014

What changes they bring

March 7, 2014
Baraga

Interest in the Leader Dogs for the Blind prison puppy-raising program is spreading. Two COs from the Ojibwa Correctional Facility came to observe our training session at Baraga. ARUS Tammy told them, "We knew it would make a difference, but we didn't realize it would be that quick." She added that there had been no grievances, complaints or tickets in two months. "When Copo came into the building, everything changed," she said.

FLD Copo must be one special pup.

Two weeks after our March visit, one of FLD Copo's raisers was faced with a decision. Ryan got news that he was finally accepted into a program that he had been hoping to get into, but that meant he would be transferred to a facility downstate. He had to choose between that program and the puppy-raising program.

A comment on this blog's "Baraga Correctional Facility" page stated that Ryan used "a cognitive decision making skill to weigh the pros and cons of taking the transfer." Ryan loved FLD Copo and enjoyed being part of the puppy-raising team. But Ryan has a son, a son he will likely be able to see when he is moved downstate.

ARUS Tammy said Ryan has changed. She said when he first came into the puppy-raising program some of the other raisers weren't excited to work with him. Now all the teams say they will miss him. "It has been amazing," she said. "I know he will leave prison and not come back because of the skills he learned in the Leader Dogs prison puppy raiser program."

A man dressed in the prison blue with orange striped uniform is sitting down and bending over a small black lab puppy that is in his lap. The man has his face almost touching the puppies head, the man is cradling the puppy's head with his right hand. The puppy's front paws rest across the man's right leg. The man has a tatoo on his right wrist.
Ryan and FLD Copo share a snuggle.


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Monday, May 26, 2014

Losing status

March 7, 2014
Baraga

My husband sometimes complains that he is a "non-person" when we are out and about with a Future Leader Dog puppy. Seems everyone in our county knew FLD Dutch. I was the "dog lady" on the other end of the leash and Andy was just "that guy" with me.

Even now, puppy-less, people look under our table on Sunday mornings when we are having breakfast in our local family restaurant. "No puppy?" they'll ask. So I understand when Ricky tells me that ever since having a black lab puppy around he has lost "status" in the prison.

"When I walk down the aisle," he says, "guys say ''s'up Bear?' They don't say 's'up Rick?' anymore."

A black lab puppy is lying half on a brown carpet square and half on a painted cement floor. He is facing away from the camer and lookng up at a man who is sitting on the right side of the photo. The man is bending over and looking at the puppy, his left forearm is resting on his left thigh. Two other men are sitting at a lunch table on the left and behind the puppy. All three are wearing the prison blue uniforms and looking at the puppy. The man on the left has his arms folded acrss his legs. The man behind has his right foot on the puppy's leash.
Ricky, Black and P share duties with FLD Bear.

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Sunday, May 25, 2014

A full agenda

March 7, 2014
Baraga

What Tammy plans for an afternoon training session feels like a 400-level college class syllabus. Surely there is no way for us to get everything done in the allotted time! Yet, somehow she manages to lead the group through the relaxtation protocol, recall games, shaping calm greetings, rear leg work with a ladder, loose leash walking and blindfolded handler's exams followed by blindfolded recalls.

RECALL GAMES

Baraga raisers formed a circle and took turns calling each puppy. "They were having fun," Tammy said.

A black lab puppy is running away from the camera toward a man dressed in prison blue uniform. The man is kneeling on the cement floor with his hands on his knees, calling the puppy. There are men and one woman standing in a circle on either side of the kneeling man, the men all have the prison uniforms on and the woman is to the kneeling man's left, she is wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue jeans. There is a golden retriever facing the woman, and a smaller black lab puppy is sitting facing the kneeling man from the right.
FLD Bear heads toward Steve during the recall game.
A man dressed in the prison blue uniform is kneeling down on a tile floor with a small black lab puppy between his knees. He is holding something in his hand in front of the pup's nose and looking down at the puppy. An african american man dressed in the prison blue uniform is bending over a yellow lab puppy. He has a treat in his right hand which is right in front of the yellow lab's face.
Sometimes a puppy gets distracted. Here FLD Axel is more interested in checking out FLD Copo than in coming to his handler. Tammy coached Mondo on when and how to use a "lure" to redirect Axel's attention.
The man on the left is kneeling with a small black lab puppy, he is holding the puppy by the collar and looking down at him. The puppy is sitting between his knees and is wearing a Future Leader Dog blue bandana. The yellow lab puppy is following the african american man's right hand, which is holding a treat. The yellow lab, also wearing a Future Leader Dog blue bandana, is reaching toward the man's hand. The man is backing up away from the black lab puppy. There are several men forming a circle around the two men and pups.
FLD Axel decides to follow Mondo.

A lure can be a useful tool in managing a situation such as getting your puppy from "A" to "B" when you know your puppy will not be able to ignore a big distraction. A lure can also help introduce a new behavior, like "down." However, the lure must be phased out quickly or the puppy won't have a chance to really learn - it will merely be following its nose!

MEET & GREETS

The progressively difficult exercise to shape calm greetings gives the pups opportunities to earn rewards for sitting calmly in heel position. The greeters approach the handlers and pups from a distance, only a few steps at first, then stop and go back to the start position. Puppies who remain in a sit earn a reward. The helpers approach again, this time a bit closer. Puppies who hold a sit are treated. If any puppy gets up, the greeter turns and walks away.

Gradually the greeters move closer. Then they reach out to the pups without touching them. Eventually the greeters are able to walk up, shake hands with the handlers and reach down to pet the puppies.

The pups learned that doing nothing except sitting earns them a treat! How hard is that? The teams were able to work up to an excited greeting from two different people. FLD Bear surprised his team by holding still when, at the end, I rushed up to squeeze his puppy face.

"They did it beautifully," Tammy said. Everyone followed her directions. "Everybody," she said. "The greeters, the puppy raisers, the puppies." She wished we had videotaped the exercise. "It was picture perfect!"

REAR LEG WORK FOR STAIRS

Unit 8 has no stairs. We are told that a wooden set is being built for the puppies to practice on in the yard. RUM Steve warns that it will not be stationed near the fence.

In the meantime, the raisers walk their puppies through the rungs of a ladder. This helps the pups realize they have back legs!

Two men are bent over at the waist looking at two puppies. The man on the left is reaching to a small black lab, he is holding the pup's collar and leash with his left hand and luring the puppy with a treat in his right hand. The puppy is negotiating his way through the rungs of a ladder that is lying on the floor. The puppy is looking on the ground between the rungs. The man on the right is looking at a golden retriever who is sitting on his left side. The golden is wearing a Future Leader Dog bandaa. Both men are wearing the blue prison uniforms with orange strips on the legs and shoulders.
Ryan helps FLD Copo walk through the ladder while Luke and FLD Harper wait their turn.

LOOSE LEASH WALKING

Tammy demonstrates loose leash walking, first with FLD Harper and then with FLD Axel.

A yellow lab puppy is walking on the left side of a woman wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue jeans. You cannot see the woman's head or upper body. She is holding the leash loosely with her left hand and her right hand is in her right pocket. Five men dressed in blue prison uniforms are to the right watching, two are standing and three are sitting down. A small black lab is sitting on a grey mat on the far right side. You can just see a golden retriever lying down behind the woman's legs on the left side of the photo.
FLD Axel keeps a nice loose leash. Later, when viewing this photo, Tammy wanted me to make sure everyone knows when she marked Axel's loose leash with a "YES," her right hand was at her side and NOT in her pocket. "I was reaching for a treat just as you snapped the photo," she said.

BEING BLIND

Beno put the cardboard blindfold on and said, "I'm going to be blind the rest of the day." In the group photo from my last post, you can just see him in the back row wearing the blindfold.

A man dressed in the blue prison uniform is blindfolded and is bending over a small german shepherd puppy. The man is reaching down with his hands toward the puppy. The puppy is lying on his left side and is fast asleep.
Little FLD Dax is soooo tired he sleeps right through a handler's exam.
A man dressed in the blue prison uniform is cradling a small black lab puppy on its back in his lap. The man is blindfolded, he is holding the puppy's right front paw with his right hand and supporting the puppy with his left hand. The puppy is looking at the camera.
Do you think raiser Harvey cares much for FLD Copo?
A low shot of a yellow lab puppy slightly out of focus moving away from the camera, and looking to the left. A man dressed in the blue prison unform is squatting down facing the puppy with his arms hanging to the floor. The man is bald and is wearting a blindfold.
FLD Axel considers his options during a blind recall.


We are impressed with the Baraga inmates' teamwork. Tammy said, "When we did the ladder, each team made sure all three team members had a turn with the pup at the ladder." Later, when she asked for a volunteer to try the loose leash walking in front of the group, Ricky and P elected their teammate Black to work with FLD Bear. "Have him do it because he does a great job with loose leash walking," they said.

Excellent!

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Friday, May 23, 2014

FLD Dax meets the teams

March 7, 2014
Baraga

Before Tammy gets the group working their puppies, Chad brings FLD Dax around the room to meet everyone. Pups included!

There are three men in the foreground dressed in blue prison uniforms. The one on the left is kneeling on his right knee and is holding a black lab puppy back from reaching toward a smaller german shepherd puppy being held by a man on the right, he is squatting down and looking up toward someone out of range of the camera to the left. Both puppies have their feet on the painted cement floor. A third man is sitting on a stool between the other two men and he is looking down toward the puppies. There are two men sitting down in the background.
FLD Bear, meet FLD Dax! Raiser Ricky holds an eager Bear from engaging with Dax.

One thing leads to another...we need a photo of the newest addition with his team.

Three men dressed in prison blue uniforms sit side by side on lunchroom stools. The man on the left has his forearms on his knees and is wearing a blue baseball hat, he is smilling at the camera. The man in the middle is holding the leash of a small german shephard puppy who is sitting between his feet on the floor. The man is holding the blue Future Leader Dog blue bandana in is right hand hanging down next to the puppy. This man is grinning at the camera. The man on the right also has his forearms on his knees and he is looking at the puppy. There are a few men in the background.
FLD Dax and his team, from left to right Kyle, Chad and Patrick.

"Can you take our photo too?" the others ask. I am so far behind on posting the guys are anxious for me to get pictures up here for their families to see. At long last, here are a few.

Three men dressed in prison blue uniforms gather around a young black lab puppy. The man on the left is holding the puppy in his left arm, his hand cradles the pup's chest. The puppy is wearing the blue Future Leader Dog bandana and is looking at the camera, as is the man. The man in the middle is sitting on the other side of the metal table, leaning on his right elbow. He is looking at the camera. The man on the right has his right arm draped on the talbe and he is looking at the puppy with a big grin on his face. There is a mural painted on the wall behind them, it is a scene of mountains, grass and water.
FLD Copo and his team, from left to right Harvey, Ryan and Luke.
A yellow lab puppy is sitting on a grey "mat" between the feet of a man who is sitting on a lunchroom stool. The man is holding the puppy's leash in his left hand and his left forearm is resting on the metal table top. The man's right hand is reaching down to pet the pup's head. The puppy is wearing a blue bandana. The man is looking down at the pup. Behind the man is an african american man sitting at the table. He is wearing glasses and has his forearms resting on the table. On the right side of the picture is a third man who is sitting facing out from the end of the table, his forearms are resting on his thighs and he is looking over at thepuppy. He has a pair of glasses on the top of his head. There is a dog nylabone and a red folder on the talbe. The men are wearing the blue prison uniforms.
FLD Axel and his team, from left to right Beno, Mondo and Steve.
Three men are squatting in front of a steel wall on a tile floor. A young black lab puppy is sitting in front of the middle man, looking at the camera. The puppy is wearing a blue Future Leader dog bandana. The men have their arms resting on their knees and are smiling at the camera. The man on the right is an african american and is wearing glasses.
FLD Bear and his team, left to right Black, Ricky and P.
Three men are standing in front of a steel wall. They are wearing prison blue uniforms. The middle man is cradling a young black lab in his left arm with a leather leash hanging down. The men on either side have their hands folded in front of themselves. The men are all smiling at the camera.
FLD Copo again, with his team.


So, we decided that a group photo would do.

A group shot of 18 men dressed in prison blue uniforms. Six of the men are kneeling or squatting down in front of the others. There is a golden retriever and a yellow lab sitting in the front row. Three men in the back row are holding a black lab, a german shepherd and a black lab puppy. Everyone looks very happy!
The Baraga raisers and pups (plus FLD Harper, Tammy's puppy).



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