Welcome to Raising Reyna!

First off, I realize that I am starting this blog nine months late. But you know what they say, better late then never. Reyna is a nine month old female yellow lab who is a guide dog in training for Guide Dogs for The Blind in San Rafael, Ca. I will do my best to summarize the past nine months of her life, but I think I will end up just hitting the highlights and moving forward from there.

(Reyna at six weeks old is pictured playing tug of war with on a chain from a fire hydrant.)

Reyna was born on 3/25/09 at Guide Dogs. Her parents are Buffy and Baker. Her litter had nine pups! They are Raffi, Razzle, Rene, Rocchelle, Rocio, Rolex, Rory, Rosetta and, of course, Reyna. Reyna's name means "queen" in Spanish. And, well, she pretty much lives up to her name. This photo above was taken when Reyna was six weeks old at Guide Dogs in the puppy play area. This photo pretty much sums up Reyna's personality. For the first few month of her life, she was co-raised with my family and another member of our puppy club. Here are some photos for Reyna when she was around 8 weeks old at her co-raisers house.

(Reyna at 8 weeks old pouncing in the grass)

(Reyna at 8 weeks old running with a leaf in her mouth)

(Reyna at 8 weeks old in the grass attempting to chew a leaf)

As you can tell from the pictures, little Reyna has personality. As a pup she was fun, but also a bit bossy and dominate. Many people think that is a negative thing, but it is not. There are two types of dogs dominate or submissive. Reyna happens to be dominate. This trait give Reyna a lot of confidence and initiative. It is a good trait to have in a Guide Dog!