Food avoidance training

On Thursday, I decided to go help Glenda work with “Wendy” on some food avoidance training. Wendy has had a few people sneak and give her food from the table, etc. and Glenda wanted to reinforce the fact that Wendy should be avoiding food from strangers. I thought this would be a great opportunity for Vienna as well. So I brought Vienna with me and we ended up working with both dogs. To prepare for the training exercise, we seeded the floor with several food items. A piece of bread, pita chips, peanuts, a crumbled granola bar. Wendy was first up and we place a long line on her. We let her explore the area and when she went for the food she got a verbal and/or leash correction. It didn’t take her long at all to remember this “game”. It was as if a light bulb went on and she was like “I remember this.” When she made the decision to walk past the food on the floor, we would praise her like crazy and give her a piece of kibble. She did really well with that, so we made it harder by added some yummy lunch meat on the floor, and then told her to go into a down stay, with the meat very close to her. She never went for anything on the floor. So we praised her and gave her kibble. Next, we made it more difficult by going out of sight. We did this for a very short time, then went back and rewarded her. We slowly built up the time in which we were out of sight. We were able to do it for three to four minutes and Wendy didn’t even try to eat the meat. What a good girl. Glenda was so proud of her!

Next up was Vienna and we started with just the basics on the floor (no meat). She went for it once and I gave her a correction. Then she realized what I wanted from her and she avoided the food completely. She didn’t even want to walk in the kitchen. With a little enticing, she would come in, but she wouldn’t even look at the food. Next, I put Vienna in a down stay with the food all around her.

When she made the decision not to go for the food (or even look at it) she was praised like crazy. She was such a fast learner and she wanted to do it right. She was doing so well that I pushed a piece of bread between her front paws. She did not react at all. So more praise for Vienna!

Next, I decided to put the meat on the floor. She went to sniff it when I put it down but I gave her a little correction then she completely ignored it.

At this point, I knew we could start going out of sight. We stepped out of sight for about 30 seconds, and when we came back this is what we saw. Vienna would not even look at the temptation! PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!!!

We were able to work Vienna up to three to four minutes with us out of sight and it was not even a challenge. Because both of the dogs did so well with this, we took them one at a time and offered them the food from our hands. Now that was a little more tempting, but with a few little corrections, both dogs were turning their heads and backing away from the food. At the end of the training session, we took a picture of both dogs together. Didn’t they both do a great job?

Finally an update!

Wow. I can’t believe how long it has been since I have posted about Vienna. She is still the sweet, awesome, easy pup she has always been. She is growing, finally, and she is now 43 pounds. We took her to the vet on Thursday to have her evaluated for Pano. Every now and then, we noticed a “catch” in one of her back hips, so GDB wanted to rule out Pano. Our vet did the evaluation and ruled out Pano, now we need to figure out if this is just normal grow a growing pup or if it is some more serious, like hip dysplasia. We will wait to see what GDB wants to do now, and hopefully they will order some x-rays so we will know for sure.

Over Christmas, we went to my Mom’s house. Vienna did wonderful being in different environment. In fact, it didn’t even phase her. There were a lot of people there, different routines, etc. and she took it all in stride. She even let me take a few Christmas photos of her. Take a look:

We hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and you are having a happy New Year!

Can you believe it? 29.8 pounds!

Vienna had a vet appointment today for her final shots. When we got there, they were pretty backed up, and they were also dealing with an emergency. So we had a bit of a wait before we were seen. Vienna enjoyed sitting in our laps as we waited. We held her because she was not fully vaccinated and the vet office id full of sick dogs! The employees laugh as Vienna had rolled on her back in my lap and sprawled out. They said she was the most relaxed dog they have ever seen at the office. I was excited to be there because I wanted to see how much weight she had gained since her last visit. She has had some issues eating when we first got her, so she seemed to be a little behind weight wise. Last time we were there she weighed 18 pounds at 12 weeks. Well, after what seemed like a long wait, we finally got her on the scale. And what do you know, she had gained 11 pounds! Good girl Miss V. When we finally got in a room, I put Vienna on the exam table. She was sitting up for a while, but as the wait got longer, you can see the progression in the photos below.

Patiently Waiting….

Still waiting…... .

More Waiting….

Fell asleep waiting…….

Finally the vet made it in and gave Vienna her Rabies and last Distemper shots. The Vet said she was really impressed with how well behaved Vienna is. She gave Vienna some love and then she was done!

Vienna says, where’s my treat? Don’t I get a treat for all of that people? Ugh.

I am excited that she is now legal and I don’t have to worry about where I take her. Adventures, here we come!

Art and Wine Festival and Dogs!

Yesterday we took Vienna to the Art and Wine festival. I know she is young, but I knew she could handle it and if it was too much we were fine with just leaving. This was a great experience for her because it was one of her first real exposures to crowds. I thought the crowds would be more of a distraction for her, but they really weren't. She was distracted a little bit if someone made a huge fuss over her, but other than that, she was a champ. They had a live band there, so she was exposed to loud music for the first time. It didn't phase her in the least. And, of course, there were also a ton of dogs at the festival! I was careful to keep Vienna away and not let her greet the dogs. I got a little video of Tony walking with Vienna at the fesitival. In the video, a Bassett Hound shows a lot of interest in Vienna, and Viennna does a great job of not getting overly distracted as she keeps walking by without a problem. Pretty good for a little pup! Take a look.

Tennis Court Fun!

Today Vienna and I went down to visit Glenda and Wendy. We thought it would be fun if we took Vienna for her first run in the tennis courts! The tennis courts are a great, safe place to let your dog off leash for some real running. Wendy gets to do this quite a bit, but this was Vienna’s first time and I wasn’t sure if she was going to be as enthusiastic about it as Wendy. It is about a 25 minute walk from Glenda’s house to the tennis courts. So Vienna was tired when we got there. Glenda took the harness off of Wendy and I took off Vienna’s puppy coat. And then…….they were off! Wendy took of running and Vienna was right behind her. They ran around the courts and Vienna was having soooo much fun!

Vienna followed Wendy around for the most part. Where ever Wendy was, Vienna was not too far behind. It was funny to watch Vienna run because her legs are so long right now and her coordination is off. She would be running right along side Wendy and then all of a sudden she would just fall down. Sort of like she was tripping over herself. Poor little girl. But then she would pop right back up as if nothing even happened.

Vienna had no idea that she couldn’t run right through the tennis net. It was the funniest thing because she was running all out with Wendy and she was headed straight for the net. At the last minute, Wendy turned quickly and went around the net, and Vienna ran straight into the net! She went flying into the net and then sprung off of it like a rocket! I don’t think she had any idea what hit her. I rolled on the ground laughing so hard, and Glenda wondered what was so funny. I tried to explain it through my laughter, but it was one of those things you really had to see. She actually did it one other time, and then she finally realized she had to stop when she got to the net. It is so much fun watching her explore her world for the first time!

After that, Glenda did some obedience work with Wendy and Vienna. They were really excited, but the both managed to focus. Here is Glenda working with Vienna and Wendy on “sit”.

Here Glenda is working on recall with the dogs. What good girls!

Glenda gave both the dogs some water since they had been running around a lot. Here is a picture of Vienna drinking water out of Glenda’s hand.

Once both pups where refreshed with water, they both just walked around the court together. They were pooped out, so they just wouldn't run anymore. But they still had a great time wondering around together!

I think it is safe to say that Vienna LOVES the tennis courts. I think we will back here another day for some more fun :)

Puppy Teeth, Puppy Teeth!

Vienna is teething and she has lost four teeth so far! I must be crazy, but I think puppy teeth are so adorable! I just had to get a picture of her cute little teeth. You can tell from the picture that she is about to lose a few other teeth on the top. And do you know what amazes me? How quickly her permanent teeth come in once her puppy teeth are lost. I really love this part of puppy raising!

GDB Homecoming!

This past weekend I went to GDB’s Homecoming with Glenda who has my third puppy Wendy. We also decided to take Vienna along at the last minute. I had to work on Friday, so we didn’t get to the Hotel in San Rafael until around 5:30pm or so. We checked in and before we even had our bags in our room the phone rings and it is Vickie Kennedy and all I hear on the other end of the line is “Aloha”! Yes, Vicki is from Hawaii and she has been a GDB board member for many years. She invites us to come have cocktails and cheese in her room. You just got to love her! Glenda, Wendy, Vienna and I finally made it down to Vickie’s room where we enjoyed a glass of red wine and a cheese plate and just visited together. Vickie’s puppy raiser Gayle (who is my good friend) was also there with us. It wasn’t long before Morgan Watkins and his puppy raiser Nona joined us as well as Susie Cherry who was later crown “Homecoming Queen” at the dinner. Fun! We all visited and chatted and Morgan wanted to hold Vienna. So here are few photos of Morgan and Vienna together!

We all hung out together until about 7:45pm, then we went to dinner together. At dinner, a few others joined us. Barry Stone who produced the move “Sniff” and his wife Kim, as well as the star of the Sniff, guide dog “Mikey” and his handler. Paul Walker, GDB’s alumni board chair and his guide dog “Avanti” also joined us. Here is a photo of some of us at dinner.

Vienna did not come to dinner with us. I left her in the hotel room in her crate so she wouldn’t be too overwhelmed! When we arrived back in our room after dinner, Vienna was sleeping. Vienna did such a great job in the hotel room during our entire stay. Here are a few photos of Vienna our hotel room:

See, Vienna REALLY is an angel! Look at her halo. No Photoshop involved :)

And here is my all time favorite photo of Wendy from the entire weekend. I love, love, love how spoiled she is. She deserved it!

This is a picture of Vienna's first ride in the elevator. She was so good!

After Glenda and I chatted in bed for a while, we both fell asleep well after midnight. Room service called and woke us up at 6:45am asking us how we wanted our coffee! So we got up and went to relieve the dogs. No accidents! Yay Vienna. After we had our coffee we went down stairs to breakfast, and as we were looking for a place to sit I saw Lynda and Tamera. Tamera is the first puppy I raised and I have not seen Lynda or Tamera since their graduation three years ago. I walked over to Lynda and gave her a hug, but I did not greet Tamera because she was still working. At first I thought maybe Tamera forgot who I was because she was so serious and she didn’t not acknowledge me at all until……..Lynda took her harness off and handed me the leash! Wow…what a reunion we had. Tamera reacted the exact same way she did when I saw her at graduation. She was jumping in the air, slamming herself into me with excitement. She would not stop giving me kisses. Over and over and over again. She went so wild, that people around us commented on how crazy she was acting, and then someone (I don’t know who) told them I was her puppy raiser and we had not seen each other in years. The people stopped and one started crying saying it was the sweetest and most emotional thing they had ever seen. Pretty soon I had an audience watching of guide dog volunteers and guide dog users. One of the volunteers from GDB actually held Vienna for me while Tamera and I reunited. Eventually, I had to make Tamera calm down, because she was getting a little too nuts. She rolled over on her back and I laid on the floor and rubbed her tummy. After she settled, I was able to get a picture of her. Boy, did we really miss each other!

After all of that excitement, I barely had time to eat before the panel discussions began. Glenda and I did manage to scarf down some breakfast though. I saw Megan and Pasta and Sarah and her pup at breakfast. The discussions lasted about three hours. Vienna was an angel in a room full of 80 guide dogs. She stayed right at my feet and did not fuss or make a sound. Everyone around us was so impressed she was able to do that being only three months old. And so was I quite frankly. There were active guide dogs whining and having more trouble than Vienna. I couldn’t believe it! Take a look for yourself.

See what I mean? No whining to go outside……nothing. She just hung out with the big dogs like it was no big deal! After the panel discussions, we met Lynda and Tamera for lunch. My husband and my son joined us, as well as Glenda and Wendy. We had to drive two cars to the restaurant, so I ended up taking Lynda and Glenda. It was quite comical as we were walking from the parking lot to the restaurant as I attempted to give two blind ladies directions at the same time. It sounded something like this. Glenda turn left. A few more steps, ok, now Lynda take a left. Then one of the dogs would just think they knew where we were going and they would start off in a totally different direction. Then it was “Everybody Halt!” I would go get the one that was off track and resume our walking. Pretty darn funny to anyone watching. But it was pretty stressful for me. I am completely used to directing one blind person and a guide dog because I do it all of the time. But directing two at the same time really challenged my verbal navigation skills! Needless to say, we all made it safely into the restaurant. We had a wonderful time catching up with each other. Lynda and I talk on the phone every now and then, so we didn’t have three years worth of catching up to do, but there was plenty to talk about. Here is a photo of me, Glenda and Lynda with our dogs outside the restaurant.

I think they are both very beautiful people, don’t you? I am so lucky to have them in my life. I felt very honored to have THREE of my dogs at Homecoming! My first, my third and my fifth!

After lunch Glenda and I went back to Lynda’s hotel room and we visited. It was nice to have this special time with both of these wonderful ladies. While we were there, I took a picture of all three of the dogs together.

They took the harness of both Wendy and Tamera and the dogs played for a bit.

We made it over to GDB around 5:30pm, went to the gift shop and then got a glass of wine and visited with everyone. I saw Dianne and Hibiscus, Marybeth and Tennyson, as well Jen and Nixon. It was so nice meeting everyone from the GDB Lounge, and I hope everyone enjoyed Vienna! We took our seats for the dinner and sat for awhile and visited. Then a student in class came out and asked if she could sit with us. We welcomed her to our table and heard about her first week of class. She was matched with a dog named “Rhea”. I am not sure if I am spelling that correctly. She was a very nice lady who had tried to find out if her puppy raiser would be at Homecoming, but no one would tell her. She was a retrain student and we very much enjoyed talking with her. I went over to see a few other friends at other tables, and they asked me to bring Vienna over. So, of course, I did. Before long, I had requests from every table around me to see Vienna. I went around to everyone one by one and let them hold Vienna. It was so wonderful because just holding Vienna brought such great joy to each person who held her. I love how puppies do that. People were even holding Vienna on their laps getting and posing for pictures. It was a lot of fun to be a part of. Vienna handled it very well and did not get stressed in the least. She was happy to just be flopped from one person to the next!

After dinner and the awards were over, we went back to the hotel and went to the hospitality suite, which was so packed you couldn’t get in. So Glenda and I went to the bar for a drink. Not long after we were there, Lynda called and I went over to get her so she could join us. Glenda and Lynda have the same eye disease, and they have a lot in common so I just sat back and listened as they both talked about their lives and their experience with blindness. This is a photo of Tamera while we were at the bar. Yep, she’s tired!

Glenda left when her husband came to pick her up around 9:30pm or so. Then Lynda, Tamera, Vienna and I went back to the hospitality suite and chatted with some very nice people until around 11:30pm or so.

Lynda took the harness off of Tamera and she gave me the leash and Tamera and I just sat on the floor together snuggling. I had Vienna snuggling on one side, and Tamera on the other. Life doesn’t get much better than that!