Reyna, I miss you!

I miss Reyna. Judi has her this week and for some reason I really miss that little dog. I shouldn't be missing her so much since I am puppy sitting a five month old black lab named Celeste. She has really been keeping me busy, so I shouldn't have time to miss Reyna, but I do. Sometimes puppysitting other dogs just makes you miss what you love and appreicate in your own pup. I think that is what is happening. Today I took a trip down memory lane and looked at pictures from when Reyna was a puppy. It made me smile. I thought I would share some of those photos with you since I wasn't blogging about Reyna when she was a little puppy. So I hope you enjoy the pictures of little Reyna!

PS - I'll add photo descriptions tomorrow. I am too tired right now. So check back tomorrrow. Thanks!

Reyna's life Changes. . . . .

Last November, the person who was co-raising with me decided it was in Reyna's best interest if she no longer co-raised. This was a difficult decision on her part, to say the least, but in the end I supported her decision. At this point, I was not sure what I was going to do. From my perspective, I had two choices. I could raise Reyna full time, or I could find another puppy raiser who wanted to co-raise Reyna. I decided that it would be best for Reyna if I found someone to co-raise with me. I was at the point where I could not take her to work with me everyday, and I would feel bad about her being left alone during the day.

(Close up of Reyna laying on her bed with her head tilted)

During the time when her first co-raiser was thinking about not raising her anymore, Reyna was on a five night puppy sit with a new puppy raising family. This family happened to be my husband Tony's employer. Well, after some discussion, they decided that they would like to step up and help out with Reyna. It would be beneficial to both of us. It would benefit them by starting off with an older dog, rather than a puppy, and they could learn more about raising before they got their own puppy. It benefited me by having help with Reyna when I was working, etc.

As it turned out, this new arrangement has been a wonderful partnership. Reyna's new co-raisers are Judi and James Rowe. They are doing a very nice job with Reyna. Reyna has responded very well to this transition and we now have consistency between both households, which is really important when co-raising. Thank you to James and Judi for joining us in raising Reyna! I am hoping they will be posting their experiences with Reyna here as well.

Halloween and our "Queen"

Our puppy club has a Halloween party every year. We are asked to dress our dogs up in a costume that represents their name. We are told this actually has a purpose in training the pups. It teaches them to be tolerant of things on their body, which helps reduce body sensitivity! So knowing that Reyna means "Queen" in Spanish, we couldn't resist this one. Take a look!

(Reyna in a royal dress complete with a crown on her head!)

It's Official!

(Reyna in a sit with her guide dog puppy coat on for the first time)

Reyna's receives her official Guide Dog puppy coat. This means that she is ready for the socialization part of her training. I believe she is around 12-14 weeks old in this photo. She loved that puppy coat from the first day we put it on her. To her, it means that we are going out and doing something FUN! To this day, when she see me grab the puppy coat, she comes running!

Reyna learns to swim

(Reyna in the water on the step of the swimming pool, cooling off)

When Reyna was about three months old, it was in the middle of summer and it was HOT! On this particular day, it was about 108 degrees. So I decided to introduce Reyna to the pool....and she loved it!

(Reyna swimming off of the step into Tyler's arms)

Things I love about Reyna

This was something I wrote a couple months after we got Reyna.

(Reyna laying on her bed doing her head tilt!)

The sound she makes every time she yawns
The way she looks up at me and smiles when we are on a walk
Her speckled nose
They way she always wants to have her head on my foot
The way she breaths when she is sleeping
Her sleepy face
Her droopy brown eyes
Her kisses
The crease between her eyes
The sound of her pattering feet
The way she tilts her little head
Her dinner dance

Little Reyna

Reyna progressed with her training, and we worked with her to realize that she was NOT the queen of the house. After a few weeks, she accepted that fact and she became a real joy. Reyna did very well on tie down and in her crate.

(Reyna sleeping on a tie down)

The one thing we had problems with during the first month we had her was digestive issues. Eventually, it was suggested that we take off of Science Diet and put her on Pro Plan. Well, that solved the issue!

(A close up of Reyna's face. She is laying on the grass and her nose is pink and black speckled. Too cute!)

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!