Brandon's life... as a guide dog in training

Adult Day Care

2012-01-30T20:21:00.005-05:00

I had my first visit at an Adult Day Care this past Friday; my raiser was really looking forward to this visit, because she wanted to see how I would handle myself around a bunch of people that just wanted to pet and love on me.
I was a wee bit excited at first, but when my raiser told me to do a "down-stay" beside some of the people (to show she had control over me), I soon realized I had to behave, in order to get loved on.
Fur being an (almost) 5 month old Lab, my raiser was very impressed at how calm I stayed (after I first got started), she even had some issues getting me to GET UP and move on to the next person who wanted to pet me :)
It was a great experience fur me, and we will be scheduling another visit with them, furry soon!
Before leaving, we also "ran into" a Goldendoodle therapy dog, who was furry friendly (we we're allowed to meet) and was doing great fur his first trip out!
My raiser's sister kindly came along too, and took lots of pictures, so I have included a few below :)

-Brandon

Everybody just LOVED me, I guess I'm furry cute!

Picture of Brandon in a down-stay at the Adult Day Care, he is resting his head on someones leg - and also being petted by the lady who is in the wheelchair right beside him

I even got to sit in the lap of a man who was blind; he would keep repeating over & over "he knows, he knows" (as in: me (the doggy) knows that he is blind) - I gave him lots of kisses & made him feel good! (this was with his permission, of course!)

Picture of Brandon sitting in a man's lap (with my permission!) and giving him kisses on his face (this person also happens to be blind)

My raiser even gave me a command sometimes, to "ignore" the person petting me... I did a furry good job at that!

Picture of Brandon in a sit-stay while someone (who is kneeling on the ground beside him) pets him

Sometimes I had to "work" in order to get the people to pet me, but in the end... they ALWAYS fell fur me :)

Picture of Brandon getting loved on by people in chairs

Being a therapy dog is HARD WORK!

Picture of Brandon SLEEPING beside someones feet, while she pets him (no idea how "getting petted" can tire him out; but this happened quite a few times!)

Meet Tucker

2012-01-25T10:53:00.010-05:00

I had my first ever "work date" this past Saturday with a local guide dog in training, and it was the most fun work I've ever done!
But let me rewind a little, so you guys can get caught up on how us doggies first met...
WAY back in December 2011 (okay, last month...) a story ran in 2 newspapers about my raiser & I (to help raise support fur my in-home care...), a local guide dog raiser who is currently raising her first guide dog puppy for "Leader Dogs for the Blind" (different guide dog school) happened to read the article and decided to contact my raiser (this past week) to see if we could meet. Since my raiser LOVES to give me lots of exposures, they soon set a date for us doggies to meet (so both of us dogs could work on "doggy distractions" WHILE working in a public environment).

Okay, so now you know how we found each other :) Back to me explaining how much fun I had...
The work date went really well; we meet at the mall to work; since it would be a great public place, and was big enough that us doggies would have the ability to ignore each other.
"Tucker" is a male yellow lab, who is 8 months old - since his raiser is something that their school likes to call "a independent puppy raiser" (doesn't have a puppy group/meeting to attend each month) he really lacks the training of working with other dogs in public.
So it was a win-win situation, I got to help Tucker learn to work around another doggy in public, while he got to be a furry great distraction fur me... so I would learn to ignore him! (Tucker handles doggy distraction by whining/barking - so that was a GREAT exposure fur me to learn to ignore!).
After we worked in the mall for a few hours, our raisers decided they were hungry, so we headed over to Chick-fil-a so THEY could grab a bit to eat.
They were soo proud of us doggies for maintaining a down-under (laying under the chairs) and ignoring each other, for the entire lunch! (which took another few hours!).
Once they FINALLY finished eating, we headed outside to go our separate ways, but before they left... they took our jackets off and let us meet each other! (and my raiser was very surprised to see how calm we were while meeting each other!).

So all in all it was a great day, and we hope to be able to meet again soon (and if it's not raining... I'll bring Tucker back to my place, so he can see lots of furry cool farm animals!).
My raiser did happen to get a few pictures on her camera (okay, the first one is all thanks to the Chick-fil-a lady, though!), so you can "somewhat" see what Tucker looks like!

-Brandon

Us doggies maintaining a furry wonderful down-under! (oh yeah, and our raisers...)

Picture of Brandon & I with Tucker & his raiser at Chick-fil-a (both dogs are in a down-under)

Me doing what I'm best at... SLEEPING! (I mean... working)

Picture of Brandon sleeping at Chick-fil-a

Me doing a furry wonderful job at totally ignoring Tucker (who is off in the background behind me)

Picture of Brandon in a down-stay inside the mall, you can see Tucker in the background (also doing a down-stay)

Where was I?

2012-01-21T21:07:00.003-05:00

ROLLER SKATING!

Okay, no I wasn't... but my raiser and her human friends were :)

(answering the question from my previous post)

Picture of Brandon & I at the roller skating rink; Brandon is in a down-stay on the colorful carpet, and I'm standing beside him on skates

I still don't get why my raiser wouldn't let me skate WITH her, but I did enjoy having kids skate over to pet me!

(Movie of Brandon at the skating rink, lots of kids are skating by him (on the carpet), and a few pet Brandon as they "skate" by)

My raiser was happy to have me with her, since she's yet to expose me to a skating rink, I wasn't to fond of the idea of my raiser skating away - and me having to be in a down-stay, but she did come back fur lots of visits! (and photos).
Over all, I had an AWESOME time and it was a furry great exposure for a guide dog in training! It's kinda hard maintaining a sit-stay (or just staying calm) when lots of kids are skating by :)

Make sure to keep your eye (or nose) out fur my next post... it will be so furry cool, being all about another guide dog in training I met today (instead of a "play date" us guide dog pups call it a "work date"!), my & the other doggy's raiser met at the mall, and let us 2 doggies work together.

Have a furry great weekend!!

-Brandon

Picture of Brandon in a stand-stay while kids skate by him to go on the rink

Picture of Brandon in a sit-stay beside the skating rink, you can see some skaters in the back ground

I still don't get you guys thought I was at the V-E-T office??? I mean, that is sooo obviously the skating carpet...

Picture of Brandon in a sit-stay on the cool colorful carpet

One more movie fur good measure :)

(Movie of Brandon watching people skate on the rink)

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T17:32:00.001-05:00

Guess where I went??

-Brandon

Picture of Brandon in a sit-stay inside "somewhere", you can see the very colorful carpet Brandon is sitting on (looks like confetti!)

My Mango Minster Entry...

2012-01-14T17:55:00.009-05:00

Mango Minster is here, and I've been on my paws begging my raiser to let me enter...
the deciding factor is FINALLY in, and she said YES!
So here is my official entry for Mango Minster 2012, in the "Working Stiffs" category.

I (Brandon) will take you through a brief "blast through the recent past" to show you how well I fit into the category "Working Stiffs".
Starting off with the well known obvious:

#1. Being a guide dog in training pretty much says it all... I work hard EVERYDAY, whether I'm learning what I'm suppose to do for the command "forward", being calm at a retirement home or how I'm suppose to behave during puppy meetings... I'm always working and learning things new :)

Picture of Brandon in coat in a sit-stay at the mall, waiting for his next command

#2. I have to work hard to ignore myself in all the cool mirrors my raiser takes me by, while shopping. I don't get why she enjoys pointing out every mirror to me, when I'm suppose to "ignore" things?? I guess everything makes for a good photo op:

#3. No matter how big or fun an animal may be, I have to work hard on maintaining a calm temperament, and making sure to always listen to my raiser FIRST, before playing with the animal.

Picture of Brandon "somewhat" looking back at me, trying to figure out if he's allowed to go sniff Patches (the horse hitched up the the buggy; in the background)

#4. I do an amazing job working with my raiser on my commands, whether it's learning new ones - or just practicing "old" ones, I do them all!

Picture of Brandon in a down-stay during puppy class (about 6-8 puppies to the left/right of him too, that you can't see... just adds in for "distraction training"!)

#5. No matter how good the food may smell up top... I have to work on ignoring ALL of it. My raiser does a good job at taking me anywhere and everywhere with her, including food courts, fast food stops, fancy restaurants, pizza pick up, and any other random food places, that she thinks can be used as "distraction training" fur me!

Picture of Brandon maintaining a perfect sit-stay underneath our booth at a fast food restaurant

#6. I have to be ready to make big decisions at any random time, since humans are prone to getting a "brain freeze" and totally forget what they were wanting to do next, which means I have to not only do my work but also make choices fur her!

Picture of Brandon trying to decide whether to go "up" or "down" the stairs at the movie theater

#7. I should be the most advanced 4 month old doggy, since I've already been attending college with my raiser... you all know what kind of hard work that can be!

Picture of Brandon laying down on his blanket during one of my college classes (the one time he wasn't asleep!)

#8. I worked furry hard on learning to enjoy the V-E-T. After many different trips their and lots of treats... I've decided that the V-E-T is almost as fun as puppy class!!

Picture of Brandon sitting on the exam table, while the vet does a brief examination of him

#9. And we all know how furry hard I have to work to look so darn cute!!

Picture of Brandon as a "wee little thing" in the grass, same picture as his blogger header photo

So, as you can see... I may still be a furry young puppy, but I have a lot of duties at this age, and do an amazing job following through with them, if I say so myself!

Do you think I qualify for the "Workings Stiffs" category??

I look forward to learning more in the following months about my journey to becoming a guide dog for the blind, and can't wait to see where I end up!

A huge furry thanks to Mango & his Momma for planning & running the Mango Minster 2012, we are looking forward to participating in the event/dog show... and know it will be a lot of furry fun!!

-Brandon

Wordless Wednesday - Back to School

2012-01-11T14:27:00.001-05:00

Christmas break is now over, which means my raiser is back to "school" (college classes) and of course, I am too...
Sweet dreams!

- Brandon

Picture of Brandon cuddled up sleeping on his blanket during one of my college classes

Wagon Ride!

2012-01-08T11:59:00.001-05:00

My raiser took my on my very first wagon ride recently, complete with an "up close sniffing" with her horse - that's right, I got to MEET the horse!!
"Patches" was very friendly and I really enjoyed meeting her; I'm thinking I may ask fur my very own horse when my birthday roles around!
The wagon ride was soo fun, and my raiser did an amazing job at both driving AND controlling me... with no help from others!
It was a great experience, and now I can brag about it to the other guide dog puppies :)

I want to apologize for not visiting any of you guys recently, I've been super busy lately and I hope that my raiser & I's schedule settles down some, but knowing her busy life... that will never happen!
So even if I'm not commenting on or visiting your blog, I do love you guys and hope to be reading about some of your adventures soon!

Enjoy the pictures below,

-Brandon

Mommy, can I sniff it???

Picture of Brandon staring at the horse (Patches) & wagon, my sister is holding the horse and a farm visitor is also beside her

Let me touch it...

Picture of Brandon trying to decide whether to sniff Patches or not

She smells like a horse...

Movie of Brandon sniffing Patches

*Please note that Patches has been introduced to "new" dogs many a times, and doesn't mind them at all (she's a petting zoo horse) - so this is/was old news to her and we were not worried or unsure (at anytime) that Brandon may "spook" or "scare" her.

OMD, she's the size of King Kong!

Picture of Brandon staring up at Patches

FINALLY, my wagon ride :)

Picture of Brandon & I sitting on the wagon (aka: the buckboard)

Happy New Years!

2012-01-03T20:53:00.000-05:00

Hello 2012!
I have been so furry busy, that I've yet to do a post about the New Year, I can't believe that!
Wanna know what I've been "so busy" with??
I got to spend the last week with my raiser's AWESOME friends who are in a different state, and we all enjoyed celebrating the New Year together!
I had such a good time with them, and though my raiser made me spend some of the time in the crate, I did enjoy my week. The family has an older male yellow lab, who would "sometimes" play with me, but I think that at times, he got annoyed with my "cute puppy look"...
My raiser's friends were soo fun to hang out with, and spent (almost) every second with me!
We all went out together to watch the movie War Horse while we were visiting with the friends, my raiser said it was a great movie, but I wouldn't know... since I slept through the entire movie! (which my raiser was quite proud about!).

On to the New Year stuff though...
I had a WONDERFUL 2011, the main highlight was the fact that...
* I was BORN in 2011
A few other things about 2011
* I had my first Christmas
* My raiser took me on lots of outings
* Meeting new people

A few goals for this year:
* Keep up with blogging regularly
* Reach over 350 followers (current: 322)
* Have more comments per post
* Keep an open mind when my raiser tries to teach me new things

Furry thanks to my raiser's wonderful friends, for letting us spend the New Year with you guys, we had a blast - and it wouldn't have been near as fun without you!
Our guide dog group's "New Years Party" will be this Saturday, I'm looking forward to more partying...

-Brandon

Last 2011 picture...

Last picture of Brandon for 2011! (picture of Brandon in a sit-stay with glowing eyes)!

Picture moment before heading in to watch War Horse...

Picture of Brandon with my friends, sister & I (blue sweater) beside the full size Alvin & the chipmunks at the movie theater (before heading in to watch War Horse)

I just wish my raiser would tell me WHERE we are suppose to be sitting in the movie theater...

Picture of Brandon trying to decide which way to go in the movie theater (climbing up the stairs)

I got to spend lots of time like this...

Picture of Brandon in a sit-stay inside the dog crate at my friend's house

And the other dog (Woody) NEVER got locked up...

Picture of Brandon in the dog crate beside Woody (friend's dog) who is right outside of Brandon's crate

But my raiser's friends did make sure to spend LOTS of furry fun time with me!

Picture of one of my friends holding Brandon

And (at times) I was able to spend time with the other dog Woody...

Picture of Brandon & Woody beside each other in a down-stay

My raiser said I wasn't able to have any french fries from McDonald's!

Picture of Brandon in a sit-stay beside 2 of my friends, who are sitting down at McDonald's

My Christmas Goodies...

2011-12-28T22:29:00.000-05:00

I’m finally taking the time to tell you guys all about my furry cool Christmas goodies! It won’t take to long, since my raiser didn’t go “all out” on me (oh well…) but she still did get me some furry cool things!
Here’s a picture of my wonderful goodies...

Picture of Brandon's Christmas goodies, including dog treats, his full stocking and some stuffies beside the stocking

My stocking was full of lots of fun stuffies, all for MYSELF! And then I also got a huge selection of doggy treats! (Including greenies, duck breast treats, carob cookies, and lots of other various yummy treats).

I got a furry cool pink pig stuffie...

Picture of Brandon with the pink pig stuffie he got for Christmas, you can see some of his other gifts in the background

Of course I got a fun bottle crunchy toy...

Picture of Brandon playing with his bottle crunchy toy, his other Christmas goodies are surrounding him

I got a fun (furry soft) Christmas lamb stuffie...

Picture of Brandon playing with his Christmas lamb stuffie

My raiser even got me a furry cute calipiter (?) stuffie...

Picture of Brandon playing with his cute "calipiter" stuffie

As you can see, I got lots of furry fun things for Christmas! My raiser wasn't able to spend much money on me, and I would have only gotten a few things for Christmas... but my raiser was given the opportunity to do a review for a store (coming up in a later post) and ended up getting me FREE doggy treats :) I just love all those treats she picked out fur me!
I huge furry thanks to my raiser fur getting me all those wonderful things!
I hope you enjoyed learning all about the goodies I got for Christmas!

- Brandon

My First Christmas!

2011-12-25T14:01:00.002-05:00

I hope you guys are having a furry good Christmas, spending the time with your loved ones and eating lots of sweets (or yummy dog treats)!

My raiser gave me LOTS of furry cool goodies, but I will share about them in a later post (complete with lots of pictures...)

Fur now I just want to wish all my blogging friends a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

- Brandon

Picture of Brandon with some of his Christmas goodies (Brandon also has his tongue sticking out!)

Pictureless Wednesday

2011-12-21T09:13:00.002-05:00

I was planning this furry nice post, complete with LOTS of pictures from our Monday shopping trip... all for me to find out that my raiser FURGOT the camera :( We went all over the place Monday doing Christmas shopping (my longest shopping trip yet) and we even passed lots of furry cool mirrors, yet we couldn't get a single picture, cause she furgot the camera.
Humans, you just can't count on them.
So instead of showing you how the shopping trip went, I'm just gonna have to tell you all about it.
I of course did wonderful, throughout the entire shopping trip (don't I always!), but I did have to remind my raiser a few times to "ignore it" when she found some things she really liked. (Were not Christmas shopping fur yourself, you know).
My raiser said I walked perfectly beside her while shopping, and whenever she stopped to look at something, I just laid down beside her feet, until I was told "forward" again.
I met lots of people while out shopping, everybody wanted to pet me (duh...) but my raiser had to make sure I held a sit-stay while I was being petted (which I did quite well at), remember the saying "four on the floor" (no jumping on people).
I even met some furry nice people while in Target, and one of the humans I met, said his first dog was named Brandon, what can I say... it's a furry good name!
My raiser has been furry busy with Christmas shopping, but she did tell me that she didn't furget about me, and that I'll be getting LOTS of gifts on Christmas.
I'm furry sorry there are no pictures in this post, maybe next time...

- Brandon

Christmas Shopping 101

2011-12-17T10:03:00.015-05:00

Since all of you guys are most likely trying to finish up your Christmas shopping, I think I should give you a few tips to make shopping WAY more fun.
To start of with, make sure to ALWAYS stop for mirrors when out shopping, you never know how cute you may look:

Picture of Brandon and I in the mirror

Moving on; when you (or your shopping friend) comes across something that you (they) REALLY want, look at the price tag first - can't afford it? Just look away... (this is when the "ignore it" command would be useful - more fur the humans than us pups!)

Picture of Brandon laying down beside the purse section at Belk - he's completely ignoring the purses

After shopping for a while, make sure to stop at the food court and get a little "fuel" in you - of course, that doesn't ever help me AT ALL, since I'm not allowed to eat any of that human food...

Picture of Brandon in a sit-stay under the table at the food court

And when your raiser (or friend) has her (or his) hand full of shopping bags and wants to go into yet ANOTHER store, just give them this furry cute look...

Picture of Brandon in a sit-stay giving his "puppy face" look to the camera!

Trust me, it ALWAYS works!!
I do hope you will be able to take some of my "advice" and put it to good use on your next shopping trip!
Just remember to use that "ignore it" command on something you really don't NEED :)

- Brandon

Wordless Wednesday - Double Me!

2011-12-14T13:53:00.000-05:00

I just love shopping when mirrors are involved!

Brandon

Picture of Brandon sitting beside a mirror

Rudy's Sixth Report Card!

2011-12-12T17:59:00.002-05:00

*(Written by Brandon's Raiser)*
I've just received Rudy's sixth report card and also included in the email, was a short message from my Area Coordinator:
"Rudy's just waiting for the right partner now!!"
I know Rudy was in the "last phase" when I received his previous report card, but that little message made me start thinking, Rudy could really graduate ANYTIME now! He's just waiting for the perfect match, so for all I know... he could graduate next month!
Keeping my fingers crossed that his training continues to go well, and that he'll be able to find the perfect match, sooner than later!

Comment from Rudy's trainer:
"Rudy is a sweet boy. I have only had him for a short period but he is a fun dog. I look forward to working Rudy and getting to know his personality. J We are working on some of his distractions and tendency to rush."
Just a few things that Rudy needs to "touch up", but it sounds like he's doing wonderful! I really miss my sweet boy :)

Brandon's Raiser

Copy of Rudy's Sixth Report card

The Girl Did it...

2011-12-05T09:17:00.007-05:00

Yes the title of this post is furry important, but before I go into detail on what happened... let me start out with what I was going to do on Saturday:
This WAS my furry cool agenda for Saturday:
10:25am: Arrive at puppy meeting
10:30am: Obedience training during puppy meeting
10:45am: Play with other cute puppies
11:00am: Head into the assisted living with the puppy group and meet elderly people

But a little female puppy decided to ruin my wonderful plans. My raiser was allowing me to play (on leash) with another little guide dog puppy, it was a female Lab that was 10 days younger than me (and about half the size). I was being a very calm boy and making my raiser proud and then all of a sudden my raiser noticed blood all over both of us puppies. She soon found out that the other little puppy bit my ear, and gave me a 1/4 inch tear on the tip of my right ear.
So instead of heading in to meet elderly people, my raiser had to take me to a local vet, and I ended up having to get 4 stitches in my ear.

**Raiser's note: Please know that it wasn't a "serious" injury and there wasn't blood gushing everywhere, but the bleeding wouldn't stop completely, and our Area Coordinator said it would be best if we head to a vet and go ahead and get it stitched up. And please do know that the puppies were not playing rough, but the little female lab accidentally grabbed his ear, which then didn't turn out well!**

But I'm totally fine now, and though I didn't enjoy the "rest" I had to have on Saturday, I'm back and "bouncing" around now.
Just make sure you guys realize that it wasn't MY fault, the girl did it...

Brandon

Brandon doing a "loose leash" walk beside me, during our obedience training outside the assisted living place

Brandon doing a wonderful sit-stay with me in front of him

Close up picture of Brandon walking on a "loose leash"

Picture of Brandon sleeping in my sister's lap in the car, while we are on the way to the vet

Picture of Brandon sitting on the medical table at the vet office

Close up picture of the 4 stitches that were put in the tip of Brandon's ear

Sleepy Tuesday

2011-11-29T20:36:00.001-05:00

I've been furry busy doing a lot of sleeping lately...
- In the crate
- During my raiser's college classes
- During Church
- While my raiser is studying
- In the car
BUT, my raiser is making sure to spend time playing with me and work on obedience training (which is coming along nicely).
I'll be attending a puppy meeting this weekend with my raiser, and we'll be visiting with elderly people!

Brandon

Picture of Brandon laying down cuddled up with his eyes closed

Picture of Brandon cuddled up sleeping

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T15:53:00.001-05:00

Just doing a a "quick" post to wish all of you guys a furry HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This is my first Thanksgiving, so I'm kinda new at this "thankful" thing... but I'm gonna give it a try.

I'm thankful fur many, many things - but there are some main ones I need to highlight:

I'm thankful fur...

All my awesome friends out there!!
My AMAZING furry cool raiser
Fun toys
Tasty treats
A wonderful home

Since I said this will be a "quick" post... I better stop writing, but I can't end a post without any furry cute PICTURES!!

So have a furry Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the cute pictures below :)

Brandon

Liberty spent her Thanksgiving like this...

Close up picture of Liberty's face - she's laying down all comfy like on her memory foam doggy bed

I WANTED to spend my Thanksgiving like this...

Picture of Brandon chewing on a doggy toy

BUT my raiser had different ideas...

Picture of Brandon in my lap while I file down his nails

AND my raiser thinks if she "sweet talks" me, it will all be okay...

Picture of Brandon in my lap while I file down his nails - I'm also talking to Brandon at the same time

Of course the humans get all the good food...

Picture of yummy doughnuts!!

almost Wordless Wednesday - Furry New Friends

2011-11-23T15:25:00.003-05:00

Picture of Brandon with my sister, our friends from GA, and I; we (including Brandon) went to stay with them for a few days.
Brandon's Raiser

I've got such cool friends in GA (see above), and fur some reason while the photo was being taken, my raiser WASN'T holding me!?!? (she's the tallest one... in the back).

AND a furry EARLY Happy Thanksgiving to all you guys :) I'm thankful fur all my awesome friends and my amazing raiser!

Brandon

My First Puppy Meeting

2011-11-18T10:01:00.008-05:00

I attended my very first puppy meeting last week, and though I didn't know many of the commands... I still enjoyed my first meeting!
My raiser was impressed with how well I did at the meeting, and she liked how I maintained myself when I was near other doggies (meaning - I didn't go crazy like some of the other doggies did).
I'm looking forward to my next meeting, and my raiser hopes that I will have a understanding of a few more doggy commands, I told her I that I'll learn them in my own time!
Furry kisses to you all and thanks fur stopping by!!

Oh, BTW - enjoy the furry awesome photos below!!

Brandon

One of the first pictures of my sweet (and awesome) Raiser with me!!

The End...

Vet Visit (First post by Brandon)

2011-11-14T19:01:00.008-05:00

Hey guys!
I know you have been looking forward to this post fur a very long time(at least... you better have!!)... and you guys are probably tired of my raiser writing on the blog fur me.
So I'm FINALLY doing my very first post; and you know what my first post is going to be about?
My first vet visit!
(first post - first vet visit, get it?)

Since I was picked up 1 week early from the guide dog school, I was still in need of a few certain shots, so once I settled into my raiser's home, we were off to the vet.
I welcomed my vet with slobbery kisses and behaved well when he weighed me (17.5 pounds!) and all the stuff they do at the vet place.
I did wonderful (as my raiser said!) during my first vet visit; and even tried to jump off the table by myself (for some odd reason, my raiser wouldn't let me).
I hope all of you guys enjoyed my very first post!

Brandon

Rudy's Fifth Report Card - LAST PHASE!! (also - Meet Hunter)

2011-11-11T13:52:00.023-05:00

I have just received Rudy's fifth report card this afternoon... and found out some exciting news...
Rudy has now moved into PHASE THREE (polishing & blindfold walks). Which is the last phase of training down at the school.

He still has lots more to learn; but I'm so glad to hear he's in his last phase of training!
Seems like Rudy is still working on a few things; see the comment from his trainer: "Ok we are still working on some things. Still wayyy to excited coming out of the gate. We are also working on slowing him down a little. Longer routes don’t faze Rudy one little bit. We went to the marina in Sarasota. “No Rudy you can’t swim with the fish.” Tampa this month, not too crazy about the big city. Rudy – “Revolving doors, are you serious?” He didn’t like those, not too happy with the narrow escalators either."
Wow, doesn't that sounds just like a lab?

The best of luck to Rudy; and to make this post even better... the raiser that picked Brandon up for me; also stopped by the training kennel and snapped a quick photo of my "energetic" boy...

And of course... the wonderful report card!

Before I end this post (yep, I'm gonna make it even longer!); I would like you to meet Hunter

During the week of November 7-11 (yes - I waited till the last day to participate!), Mayzie is going to be honoring her Grampa J that passed away earlier this year by having "Rescue Me Week". For everyone that participates in this event will have the opportunity to win $100 which will be donated to your favorite rescue (shelter). Mayzie will be having a drawing the following week and 5 different blogs will win. That's $500 going to help homeless pets!!

When I happened upon Hunter, I decided he was the perfect dog to feature in this post... Not only because he was a black Lab mix (same as Rudy) BUT he's also got a little issue with being "energetic" (sound like someone we know?).

Hunter is about a year & a half old Labrador mix. He needs a family that will be able to handle all of his wonderful energy. He likes to run around and when it's time to come inside, he runs straight to his crate and gets in without running off. Hunter is neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and on heartworm preventative.

I do hope Hunter is able to find that perfect home, he sounds like a wonderful boy & reminds me so much of Rudy.

Thank you for taking the time to read my lengthy post!!

Brandon's Raiser

Wordless Wednesday - Brandon at College

2011-11-09T18:38:00.001-05:00

As you can tell, Brandon truly enjoys my college classes...

Brandon's Raiser

Shopping

2011-11-07T10:51:00.001-05:00

Brandon has been quite busy lately; and has a WHOLE lot of updating to do - but fur now I'll update you on Brandon's shopping experience...
For just having Brandon for a little over 1 week, he has really been busy going places. Not only did he attend college classes with me; and some random stores around us - he took a trip with (some) of my family & I, to go surprise some awesome friends of ours, that were a few states away.
Brandon & I stayed at their house for a few days (he did GREAT!) and we did a LOT of shopping while we were there. He went to a HUGE mall with us, and went in about every store imaginable! Of course Brandon is a little young to be doing lots of walking, so he was carried from store to store - but once we went into a store, he was put on the ground to do a "little" bit of exploring. Leaving all the distractions alone, Brandon did amazingly well!
We also went down-town shopping were our friends lived, and Brandon got to visit cute jewelry shops, clothing stores, museums and much more!
All in all, Brandon is doing wonderful with his training, and has met more people than I can count!

Brandon's Raiser

Name Game WINNER (a very Wordy Wednesday!)

2011-11-02T19:21:00.004-05:00

If you remember when I announced the (five) winners of the Name Game contest; I noted that I would be posting the WINNER (that will be receiving the prizes) sometime this week.

Our "Name Game" winners were:
Raiser Erin (#1)
Lisa, Ellie and Hosta (#2)
Cantrix (#3)
Sugar the Golden Retriever (#4)
Elijah and Hobart II (#5)

Each blogger was given a number (seen above by their name) based on which blogger commented first (1-5).
I decided to use random.org (since Brandon didn't want to pull a "number out of a hat"!) and the winner is...

...#4 (Sugar the Golden Retriever) Furry congratulations to Sugar; and I will be contacting you shortly!
Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest; and I do hope to host another giveaway/contest come Christmas time :)
Brandon will be "running" the blog shortly; but fur now, he's learning all the "behind the scenes" stuff.

Brandon's Raiser

Irresistibly Cute!

2011-11-01T16:18:00.001-05:00

Brandon is doing great, his house training is coming along wonderfully and he attended his first college class (slept right through it!) with me this morning.

But on to the furry cute PHOTOS...

I did take Brandon outside (with a camera!) yesterday and took a few nice pictures; he really didn't care to "sit still" for long, but I managed.

I will be doing the drawing with the "name game" contest winners (hopefully!) tomorrow; don't think I forgot about it!
Enjoy the furry cute pictures below, and don't worry, I've got lots more to come :)

Brandon's Raiser

A Furry Welcome To:

2011-10-30T19:01:00.000-05:00

BRANDON!
Our "Name Game" winners are:

Raiser Erin
Lisa, Ellie and Hosta
Cantrix
Sugar the Golden Retriever
Elijah and Hobart II
A "drawing" will be done THIS week with the above bloggers and the winner of the prize will be announced on the blog.

Now on to the good stuff...
We picked up Brandon at 6pm this evening; though he's a tiny puppy he sure weighs a TON!
Brandon is a very "mellow" puppy, but that doesn't stop him from whining :) He doesn't like to sit still for long and always wants to be on the move.
I don't have many pictures yet, but I am including 2 of him in this post, just so you can see how cute he is!! I will have much better lighting tomorrow and will able to get LOTS of photos/videos, which I will then post on the blog.
I have also been told that Brandon has "runny" stool... seems like every pup I've gotten ends up coming with diarrhea. Hopefully that will be over in a few days.
More updates/pictures later, but fur now - enjoy the furry cute face below :)

Brandon's Raiser

Puppy's Name... Is a Guessing Game (Contest)

2011-10-25T08:06:00.007-05:00

The cute little bundle of joy I'll be getting THIS Sunday, finally has a name... A name that I won't be telling you guys until AFTER I receive the puppy.
But it leaves you with lots of time to guess his name.
This guessing game is a contest... and the winner (IF there is one) will receive a small prize.
**Leave comments on THIS post**

Hints:
* More than FIVE letters long
* Person's Name
* The first letter of my FIRST guide dog puppy's name is the first letter of THIS puppy's name

Rules:
* No more than TWO comments per person
* No more than FIVE names per comment (Total of TEN names if you post TWO comments)
* Contest starts NOW (October 25th 2011)
* Contest ends Sunday evening (October 30th 2011)
* Duplicate names are fine (more than one blogger using the same name)

Since I've not had a dog to be posting things about, we've lost a good amount of readers over the months - so please pass this contest along on your own blog and help us build back up our readers!

Prize:
* Homemade Goat Milk Soap - Doggy style (for humans - but can be used on dogs)
* Hand forged Leash Hook
(More information/pictures of the prizes in a later post this week)

Rules for the prize:
*Prize will only be given away IF someone guesses the right puppy name
* If more than one blogger guesses right, those certain bloggers' names will be put in a bowl (or something of the sort) and one will be picked at random

Information on the puppy:
* Yellow Male Lab
* Will be 8 weeks old on Sunday

Sounds easy?
Well... START YOUR GUESSING and remember to pass this post along!
Any questions? Feel free to leave them in a comment.

Rudy's Raiser

PUPPY!!

2011-10-20T20:19:00.006-05:00

Just imagine... this blog will soon be filled with lots of updates about a furry yellow puppy... in just 1 week (almost).
What, a new puppy is coming?
Yep! That's the "exciting news" I couldn't tell you guys in my last post; since I thought it deserved to have it's very own post.
When I filled out the application to receive another puppy, I was told that it would most likely be mid November. I attended a puppy meeting the end of September, and a trainer from Southeastern Guide Dogs was there, so I decided to go ahead and ask, since my sponsors were wanting to know when I'd be getting the puppy. She said that didn't have many puppies at the moment, and any they will have, are going to people that have been waiting since LAST November for one. She said they would be having quite a few litters in January/February - and our group will most likely be getting some of those.
So I've been thinking I wouldn't have a puppy till 2012; but then I received an email last week, asking if I'd like to raise a male yellow lab, which I could get the end of THIS month (October).
Evidently the placement fell through and the puppy didn't have a raiser, since it was such last minute; all the raisers on the waiting list weren't prepared to get a puppy in just a few weeks.
I jumped at the chance, and I'm now looking forward to receiving my 5th guide dog puppy on Sunday October 30th (in the evening).
I'm still looking for a co-sponsor to help with the in home care of the puppy; so please pray that I'll be able to find one soon!
I will be heading to the State Fair tomorrow with all my dairy goats; and when I get back (with lots of ribbons!) I'm going to be getting ready for a PUPPY.
Hopefully I'll be finding out his name soon; but I'm still trying to decide if I should tell you guys the name right away - or make it a "guessing game" - your thoughts?

Once the new puppy gets here, this blog will start being updated more often (really, it will!) AND I will start visiting you guys/leaving comments... don't think that I've abandoned you :)

Rudy's Raiser

Rudy's Fourth Report Card (September)

2011-10-13T16:31:00.003-05:00

Just received Rudy's fourth report card today; and I'm very happy to announce... Rudy has moved to phase 2!!!
Since there are only 3 phases over all - this is a huge step for Rudy, and wonderful news for me to hear!
As you can see from the comment left by Rudy's trainer... he still likes moving at top speed, and is a very "happy" dog (sounds like my boy!).
I've also got some more exciting news, regarding a new guide dog PUPPY... but I will save that for a different post.
Hope all of you are doing well, and enjoy reading Rudy's newest report card!

Rudy's Raiser

Do you see what I see?

2011-10-01T08:59:00.008-05:00

The guide dog school's blog has done a few posts recently with pictures of some of their dogs in the training kennel.

I'm never sure if Rudy is one of those dogs in the pictures they post - but the few photos below sure look like him!

Hopefully I'll be receiving his 4th report card in a few weeks.

I did get a "slight" update on Rudy, Tuesday evening. I got to talk briefly with one of SEGDI's trainers (that traveled up here to attend one of our puppy meetings) and, though she's not worked with Rudy on training - she did tell me Rudy was on her "feeding schedule" and he's doing good.

I'll be posting a PUPPY update shortly...

Rudy's Raiser

Rudy's 3rd Report Card

2011-09-09T13:16:00.009-05:00

I just received Rudy's 3rd report card this morning :)
Seems like he's doing wonderful, and finally has all his boxes crossed off! Which hopefully means he'll be moving into "Phase 2" soon (he's currently in phase 1. SEGDI only has 3 phases, and once the dog is in training phase 3 he/she is ready and waiting to be matched with a visually impaired person. So phase 2 would be the "in between" stage. At least, that's what I've been told!).

I really enjoy reading the comments from the trainer, and how it seems Rudy is always moving at "top speed" during his training. I remember thinking that Rudy had the energy to run a marathon!
Some of you may think that with Rudy's "high speed" he won't make it as a guide dog, but as long as he minds what he's told... he'll be fine. Every dog has a different speed, and that is very helpful when it comes time to place them with people. You wouldn't want to give a fast paced person a "slow/easy going" dog - or the other way around.

P.S. Some of you have been asking me "When is Rudy going to graduate with a blind person?".

Throughout the entire training process, I'm still never going to know if Rudy will be a working guide dog... until he actually graduates as one (some dogs will be placed and start training/bonding with the blind person - and then end up getting adopted out as a pet due to a "sudden" training issue that occurs).

And for the answer "When is he going to graduate", that really varies on how fast they are advancing with their training. Normally it's about 6-8 months til they finish with their training. Once Rudy is in "phase 3" (if he gets there...) it could be anytime (following week/or month - depends on how long it takes to find his perfect match).

Enjoy the report card, and for anybody who didn't see my last post with news about a NEW PUPPY... please make sure to head over to read it!

Rudy's Raiser

New Puppy Update (Please Read)

2011-09-05T09:45:00.004-05:00

Many of you guys have asked me recently if I'll be getting a new puppy - and if not, why.
Well, if you remember back when Rudy headed IFT (May 2011), I noted that I would LOVE to raise another puppy, but I'm unable to do so, unless I can find a sponsor that can cover the basic expenses for me (dog food, gas to/from puppy meetings, flea/tick, etc), as I'm unable to afford them. (I did have a sponsor for my last 4 guide dog puppies - but they are unable to continue sponsoring my puppies, because of the economy).

I have been searching for a new sponsor, and I just found out last Friday that our local Eye Center would like to be a main sponsor for my next guide dog puppy.

I now just need a "co-sponsor", so if you know anybody who would like to help out... please let me know! (guidedogawarenessATyahooDOTcom).

I have just asked to be put on the list to receive another guide dog puppy (since I found a main sponsor), but I'm still in search of a co-sponsor; so, even if you can't help out - please pray that I'll find a co-sponsor soon!

The guide dog school said they wouldn't have any puppies till mid November, and since I got on the list so late, I don't even know if one of those could be mine - which is the main reason why I went ahead and filled out the application while I'm still searching for more sponsors... since I know it will be a "little" wait.

For anyone who's wondering; the basic cost involved in raising a guide dog puppy (only accounting: dog food, flea/tick, gas to/from puppy meetings, & a few other things), is (about) $1,500 per guide dog puppy (averaging 12-13 months with the dog).Our local Eye Center has agreed to sponsor $1,000 of the in home care for the new puppy, so only $500 to go!

I will keep you guys up to date on the new puppy (and... hopefully receiving another sponsor), I'm really looking forward to having another little bundle of joy around :)

Rudy's Raiser

Don't worry, I still miss my little fur ball Rudy...

Rudy?

2011-09-02T09:01:00.000-05:00

I've been keeping an eye on Southeastern Guide Dog's blog, just in case they posted pictures of the older dogs they have in the training kennel.

A few days ago they posted a "Ready For Fall " post, complete with pictures of some older dogs.

The picture below caught my eye, though I'm not sure if it's Rudy; I did notice that sweet face - complete with the "brown dimple" markings on "it's" face.

What do you think?

Rudy's Raiser

Rudy's Life...

2011-08-25T16:48:00.002-05:00

For your viewing pleasure, I've created a short "video" of Rudy's life... as a guide dog in training.

Complete with many video clips/photographs - and some "never before seen" pictures/videos of him (ones I never posted).

So, if you don't mind, please take the time to watch the video, Rudy would have loved for you to.

*Time length: 8 minutes*

Oh - and I'd love feedback on how it was :)

Rudy's Raiser

(You can pull it up larger- but for some reason, the "quality" of the photos aren't near as good - I think blogger might have saved it as a smaller size, sorry!)

Can't believe this little guy is already gone...

Rudy Update!

2011-08-13T14:03:00.008-05:00

Seems like I'm getting updates all over the place about Rudy! (Which is totally fine by me).
I just received a letter from SEGDI, with Rudy's harness picture in it.
Rudy has grown up so much, and looks very handsome - and I'm so proud to be his raiser!
I also received a short letter & certificate (seen below), but of course, all I care about is the picture :)
He looks very happy, which is a relief - as my other pups always had that "sad" face in the harness photo.

Rudy's Raiser

July Report Card

2011-08-08T17:20:00.005-05:00

I was surprised to receive a email this evening with Rudy's second report card, (since I just received first one last week).
But I then realized that the last one was sent "quite" late... and was June's report card. (No wonder she said in the email "sorry it's a little late"!).
So what a wonderful surprise for me to receive yet another report card from my boy!
Sounds like he's doing wonderful, and I just love the comment that the trainer left...

"Rudy is a happy boy with a big donut for a tail. He loves to work and does so at high speed. Just when I think he’s going to blast right past a curb, he slams on the brakes and nails it".

That's so true, and I love how they even noticed his very "curly" tail :)

Rudy's Raiser

Rudy's First Report Card!!

2011-08-02T18:46:00.004-05:00

I just received Rudy's FIRST report card this morning, and it seems as though Rudy has started off his training quite well.
Since he has just started with his training, he still has many more things to work on, but I'm just glad to hear he's doing this well!
I'm really looking forward to hearing more news on him, and I should be receiving a picture of him in harness shortly.

(Rudy has just started his real "guide dog work" and he is mainly going over the basic stuff - but also is starting to work in the harness and practice distractions/such - which he is doing very well with... that's my boy!).

Still no news on whether I'll be getting another pup or not - it all depends if I can find a sponsor...

Rudy's Raiser

The Photos...

2011-07-12T18:58:00.010-05:00

Now that the scanner is finally working, I'm able to upload the pictures/letter Rudy sent me.

I should be receiving Rudy's harness picture in the next week or so, and I'll be sure to post it:)

Enjoy the photos/letter below!

Rudy's Raiser

College Boy

2011-07-11T16:13:00.001-05:00

As most of you know, Rudy headed off to "college" at the guide dog school on May 29th - though we already received the good news that he passed his medicals (and has started training) a week ago, I was happy to find a letter from SEGDI in the mail today. I just assumed it would be Rudy's harness picture, but I was surprised to find out... that the letter was "from" Rudy! Also included with the letter, was 4 wonderful pictures of my sweet boy. (I'll be receiving his harness photo shortly).

Our scanner isn't wanting to work at the moment - so each individual photo (and the letter) will be posted later - but fur now, enjoy the few pictures below!

Rudy's Raiser

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T18:05:00.003-05:00

Wishing you all a very Happy 4th of July!
Though it's hard to celebrate the 4th without a guide dog puppy (first in over 4 years!), I'm so glad that I know Rudy has passed his medical/hip exams, and started his training. I'm looking forward to posting his first report card... guess I'll be getting one in a few weeks!
Hope you all have a wonderful 4th,

Rudy's Raiser

The long Awaited Email...

2011-06-28T15:57:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, Rudy headed IFT on May 30th, and I've been "excitedly" awaiting the email/call letting me know if Rudy has passed his medicals and moved on to training.

Below is the email I found in my inbox this morning:

Subject: Al and Rudy

Hi - Your boys both passed their hip and medical evaluations, and will continue into guide dog training. Congrats!

I'm so excited to finally know Rudy has passed his medicals, and I'll soon be receiving his report cards!

Fingers crossed for a good first report card! Best of luck Rudy & Al!

Rudy's Raiser

Quick Rewind - The Trip Down

2011-06-20T10:11:00.001-05:00

Wow, I can't believe that Rudy's been gone for (almost) a whole month. I'll be looking forward to the "phone call" or "email" soon... giving me news on whether Rudy passed his medicals or not.

I'm doing a "quick rewind" and posting the pictures of the trip down the FL (for dropping Rudy off).
He was such a good boy, and slept most of the way - waking up sometimes, to find out what was going on.
When we picked up miss Cupcake (the mini piglet), Rudy was very calm - and didn't mind sharing the back with her (though she stayed in the crate). I know he was wishing he could have spent more time with her, they sure would have been great buds!
All in All, Rudy did wonderful - though the trip back (without him) was quite lonely.

Rudy is definitely missed here, but I wish him the best of luck with his training.

Rudy's Raiser

Where's Rudy?

2011-06-11T11:29:00.005-05:00

Rudy has made a brief appearance on SEGDI'S Blog this week!
I was quite excited when viewing their latest post, as they had many pictures of recent IFT dogs... and luckily Rudy was in the group!
Thankfully Rudy has his "brindle markings" which allows me to "somewhat" tell him apart - but when the picture is slightly blurry, the markings aren't visible.
As you can tell in the pictures below... Rudy is having a blast, and happens to be the only dog jumping! (He never got the "exposure" of playing with many other dogs).

I sure hope Rudy is behaving himself, and I wish him the best of luck!

Rudy's Raiser

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T18:31:00.001-05:00

It's been a little over a week since Rudy went IFT... but it seems like forever to me.

As promised, below are some pictures of Rudy with our new pet.

"Cupcake" is our newest addition, she's a 5 week old Mini Pig (hopefully staying under 30 pounds), who is currently staying inside. (She's completely litter trained!).

Enjoy!

Rudy's Raiser

P.S. For anyone who's wondering... yes, Cupcake may be helping me with some blog posts later on (With Rudy's permission, of course!)

IFT Time

2011-06-02T15:46:00.001-05:00

As most of you know, Rudy returned to the guide dog school this past Monday (5-30-2011) for IFT (In For Training).
I've been putting off doing a post on his blog for days, as I can't handle to think about him.

Obviously I really hope he does well with his training, and can make it as a guide dog; but I keep having this feeling in the back of my mind - that he's going to get CC due to allergies/such.
Please keep him in your prayers, not only for him to do well with training - but for him to also pass his medical exams.

Since I don't have another puppy at the moment, but I'm really wanting to keep this blog updated - I will be "drawing out" the pictures and such. So this post will only have pictures of the acutely "drop off", but the pictures taken on the way down, will be posted later.

We arrived at the guide dog school a little before 10am on Monday morning. Showing up a little early, as I wanted a couple pictures in front of the guide dog sign.
Rudy was quite interested in the dog scent that was everywhere - but did obey his sit-stay for the photos.
We were turning in Rudy on Memorial Day (as we were unable to attend the IFT date), so they had very few staff there; which ended up being quite nice...

Normally, once you hand over the dog - it's just taken away (heading to the IFT kennel). And we don't see them again (for now).
But since they didn't have a trainer there to take Rudy, they allowed me to walk him to the IFT kennel (which I've never seen!) - while a kennel assistant escorted us.
I was quite happy to be able to have Rudy for those few extra minutes, but the second I handed over that leash - I was in tears.
Did Rudy care? Not one bit!
Maybe after a little while he started wondering where I was, but he's quite dog distracted... and thought he was in doggy heaven.

When people ask what's the hardest thing to do with puppy raising - the "IFT Time" is always my answer. Giving up a pup that you've had since a young age, while keeping in mind that you may never see him/her again - is what I call hard.

I will be posting some more pictures soon, and Rudy also wanted me to let you guys know the "surprise animal" we picked up down in FL (still not a new puppy - or kitty).

Rudy's Raiser

Last Post

2011-05-29T21:52:00.004-05:00

Hey everybody!
Furry thanks to all who've left goodbye comments fur me, I've really enjoyed reading them - and I know my raiser is really thankful to have all you wonderful followers out there, leaving her some nice words.
Just wanted to do a quick post, to let you know I've made it to FL - and we'll be heading to the guide dog school tomorrow morning.
My raiser did have a surprise, that we picked up on the way down here - which I knew nothing about... (nope, it's not another guide dog puppy). She'll be sure to tell you all about the new little animal, once she gets back from FL.
I do have to say that she is very cute - and I'm so glad I got to meet her!
Thanks again for all the comments you guys are leaving - I know this is going to be really hard on my raiser to give me up... and the comments mean a lot to her (and me!).
Hugs & Slobbery kisses to all!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

GoodBye to All

2011-05-28T21:31:00.003-05:00

If I don't get a chance to post tomorrow (once I'm in FL), this will be my LAST post.
I'm leaving it picture free, as you will then have more to see later on, once I'm gone.
I've yet to see my raiser cry, about me returning to the school - but I know she'll be in tears, once she hands that lead over.
I know I'll miss her terrible - but I don't know how she's going to live life without me.
I really hope a wonderful trainer down at the school, will happen to snap lots of pictures of me - so then my raiser will be able to see how well I'm doing.
I can't believe how soon these posts I'm doing will be coming to a end. I'm going to miss running a blog, and I know I'll try with all my might to get my new owner to let me run a blog.
A furry tearful goodbye to all, and I'm sooo sorry I've not been able to stop by your blogs lately - I've been trying to save my time for my wonderful raiser.
I do hope to blog tomorrow while in FL, but if not - Goodbye!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Last Shopping Trip

2011-05-27T22:29:00.003-05:00

My raiser took me "shopping" with her today... all day. We went in soo many different stores (including some with clothes...), but I didn't mind - as this will be my last real "shopping trip".
As, tomorrow I'll be heading to an all day event (pictures to come... after I leave), and we'll be leaving Sunday morning.
My raiser is proud at how well I've been doing with my outings. She noted that my most favorite commands are: "Find the door", "Switch", "Heel", "Left-Left/Right-Right". Of course, she knows I love all of my wonderful commands - but for some reason, the above ones have been my favorite.
My raiser did snap some pictures of me, while on our shopping trip - and she'll be sure to post them (once I'm gone...).
I can't believe I'll be heading back THIS Sunday, time sure has flown by. I'm really going to miss my raiser, and all of my wonderful blog readers!
If at all possible, I do plan on posting tomorrow... and maybe I'll be able to do a "last post" Sunday evening, once we're in FL.
My raiser just got done making a "paw print stepping stone" for me. It's gorgeous - and not only did she put my paw print in it... she also let Little Lucy (the baby goat) put a hoof print beside mine :) I'll make sure she promises to post pictures of it, I know you guys would love to see it!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Little Lucy

2011-05-26T19:20:00.007-05:00

Hey guys!
I would like you to meet my newest friend, Lucy.

She's a baby Angora goat (just 1 week old) who LOVES playing with me.

(Though she looks just like a little Lamb - she ISN'T!).

My raiser is kind enough to let her inside (mind you, she wears a diaper), and I've really enjoyed playing with her!
I'm sure going to miss her though, when I head back to the guide dog school (this Sunday).

Rudy - The dog with a blog

(Movie of Lucy playing ON Rudy)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-25T17:07:00.001-05:00

Riding shot gun...

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Miss Me?

2011-05-24T14:10:00.002-05:00

As you may have noticed... I've been a little bit "behind" with posting (and visiting!).
I'm so sorry about this, and since I'll be heading IFT this Sunday morning... my goal would be to do 1 post each day this week.
My raiser has been super busy, and is so sorry she hasn't given me the time to blog.
I can't believe my time here is almost up, I hate that we've got to be leaving in just a couple days!
My raiser will be sure to post many pictures of me while I'm gone (trust me, I'm way behind in posting them!) - so you guys will have some things to view on this blog :)
Please keep your fingers crossed, as my raiser may have some possible sponsors... for another guide dog puppy :)
Pictures coming soon, with many more updates!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

New Plan

2011-05-18T18:21:00.002-05:00

*(Written by Rudy's Raiser)*
It's almost like Rudy and I have been riding a 'IFT roller coaster'...

First off, we thought Rudy would be heading IFT ('In For Training' - back to the guide dog school for further training) June 13-18. We found out a week ago, that the IFT date was moved, and is know set for June 4th.
Not only is that 2 weeks sooner, but I also won't be able to make it - so I was just planning on another raiser taking Rudy down for us.
Plans have changed again though, and Rudy will now be leaving on May 29th/30th. But there is only one reason for that... so I can take him back.
So though Rudy is heading IFT even earlier, I will be taking him back myself - instead of another raiser dropping him off for me.

Rudy has a lot of "saying goodbyes" to do before he leaves, and 1 week from this coming Sunday... we will be on our way to the guide dog school in FL to drop him off.

I'm excited to have a dog at the guide dog school, so I can follow along with his training/report cards - but I'm not looking forward to giving Rudy up, and I know that day will be filled with many tears of sadness...

Rudy's Raiser

Traffic Walk

2011-05-14T09:11:00.001-05:00

Hey furry friends!
One of my latest puppy meetings was a "traffic walk" & "grocery store" exposure.

With us guide dogs, we all have to "enjoy" walking along side heavy traffic, without getting distracted.

Not only do I enjoy walks, but heavy traffic has never bothered me - so it was a furry fun meeting fur sure!
We did do a quick puppy swap during the meeting, so I was with another raiser during some of our traffic walk, and while inside the grocery store.

I have ONE last puppy meeting before I head back to school for IFT, and I'll be sure to post lots of pictures of it :)

Enjoy the photos/movie below!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Rudy with another raiser (all raiser's did a quick "swap")

(Movie of Rudy in a sit-stay beside the loud traffic - and then I tell him "Forward" and we start walking)

Da Lake

2011-05-09T19:54:00.003-05:00

OMD, I have just found my true love fur water!
Way back (last year) my raiser took me to a guide dog pool party, and found out that I was not very "keen" of swimming.

But fur some odd reason, I've changed my furry little mind!
Today, after our "mini farm camp" ended, my raiser (her brother, sister & friend) took me to something called a "lake"... which held lots of water.

She let me go near the water to "investigate" and when I showed interest of wanting to get in, she decided to let me try it. Not knowing that I soon would absolutely fall in love with swimming.

Once I touched the water, I found my true passion... swimming, and man was it fun!
I've been reading some of my followers' blog posts, and noticed that a lot of my friends have a pool - or visit a lake. I guess that looked like so much fun, that I wanted to try it fur myself!
Since I'm heading IFT on June 4th, my raiser plans on taking me MANY more times to this lake, before I head back :)

Enjoy the pictures/movie below.

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Note from Raiser: (Rudy was on leash at ALL times during his "swimming" fun - though next time, I will be taking a longer leash!).

(Movie of Rudy with my/my sister's friend - he was on leash swimming, and then when I called him, he came swimming over to me - at the beginning of the movie clip, Rudy accidentally "hit" my/my sister's friend with his paw... while trying to "doggy paddle" )

A Change in Plans

2011-05-06T08:56:00.006-05:00

(Written by Rudy's Raiser)
And when I was just getting used to the idea of Rudy returning to the school for IFT around June 13-16, I receive even worse news in a email I opened this morning.
Evidently the guide dog school is changing the "IFT" process... and decided to move UP the date to June 4th (of course, the exact day my brother is graduating... which means there is no way I'll be able to take Rudy back - and you have to take them back on that exact date).
Yes I did realize that sooner or later, Rudy would have to return back to the school... but since I'm not raising again (for now) this news is even harder to take in.
I really wish I could take Rudy back myself, he's going to be the first dog I did not return to the school.
Yes, I am keeping my fingers crossed, just in case something may change... but at this point, Rudy will be going back on June 4th WITHOUT me dropping him off.

Rudy's Raiser

Bark in the Park

2011-05-03T07:53:00.002-05:00

My raiser & I attended the "Bark in the Park" (a very fun dog festival) as our guide dog group had a booth - and wanted some puppy raisers to be there to hand out SEGDI information.

My raiser & I stayed at the table for a little while, then she took me to walk around the festival. Most booths were selling either dog treats/dog toys (to raise money for dog rescues/such) - but I also found out, that almost every booth was giving away FREE samples too :)

My raiser said this event was one of the best exposures I can ever get (any other human at this event - had a dog... and I'm "somewhat" dog distracted). But my raiser said I did very well there, and (once I calmed down) I was even able to meet some other doggies.

My raiser & I also got to watch "Kyra Sundance" & her dog "Jadie" perform a live acrobatic show, which was very exciting!

I sure had lots of fun, enjoy the pictures below!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

The Expected... but Unexpected News

2011-04-29T07:03:00.004-05:00

I know you guys have been waiting for the "exciting/sad" news I told you I would be posting soon, but I wanted to put it off as long as possible.

This post will be so hard to write - that I'm actually going to hand the keyboard over to my raiser...

(written by Rudy's Raiser)

Hey guys!
If any of you guys out there are puppy raisers, I know you are already guessing what this "news" may be.

As you know, Rudy is in training to be a guide dog for the blind - which means, someday... he'll end up having to leave. (We call it "IFT" - In For Training, where they head down the guide dog school for further training... and then hopefully get placed with a blind/disabled person).

We thought that IFT date would be in March/April, but we were quite glad to here Rudy wasn't going in around that time.

I was then told to expect him to return late May/early June. Which, back in March (when I was told) seemed like a while a way... but when I received this email last week, it seems like moments away:

" Good morning,

It's that happy/sad news time…. your puppies are almost ready to head off to college.

We were able to learn through somewhat "unofficial" channels that Al and
Rudy are due IFT June 13-16, so you probably won't get the letter from the
school for another few weeks.

Let me know if you'll need help with transport. Once the letter goes out we can contact
other groups and see if there's anyone else going to Florida.

Hugs to you, and to Al and Rudy!

***** and ******* "

So to sum this post up... Rudy will be going IFT around the week of June 13-16 2011.

In some later posts, I'll write up some more about the IFT process and such - but for now, I really can't stand to think about it.

What makes it even harder, is the fact that I really don't know if I'll be raising again. These dogs take a lot of green papers... and though the school pays the medical bills (and heart worm pills) - everything else is paid by us puppy raisers. (Unless I have a sponsor)

Yes, I'd love to raise again, and I really hope I'll be able to. This guide dog puppy raising is my life, and I don't know what I'll do without it.

After Rudy returns to the school, my goal would be (if I'm not raising) to be a puppy sitter for the group - but I'll be sure to update all of you on Rudy's training progress once he returns :)

I will be keeping this blog up, and even if I'm not raising puppies - I'll find something to post about! And we all know Liberty (our English Mastiff) will love to step in and do some posts.

Have a wonderful day, and Rudy sends kisses to you all!

Rudy's Raiser

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-27T07:44:00.000-05:00

I may be a HUGE doggy... but I can always fit in a small dog bed :)

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Happy Easter!!

2011-04-24T15:53:00.001-05:00

Hey furry friends!
I'm doing a quick post, to wish all of you a Happy Easter!
I just logged into my account... and found out that I've just reached 300 followers!! (My "goal" before heading down to the school... was to reach at least 300 followers) - so today is a very Happy day!
I do have some "sad/exciting" news about ME... which I'll be posting soon.
Fur now, have a wonderful Easter and enjoy visiting with all your family/friends!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-20T20:04:00.002-05:00

I miss you guys - I'm soo sorry I've not been posting/visiting lately! Spring time is quite busy here at the farm... :)
Happy (almost) Wordless Wednesday!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Um... Why am I NOT In The Picture?

2011-04-16T19:05:00.004-05:00

Hey furry friends!
My raiser was asked to do a review for Easy Canvas Prints, and from what she told me - she was quite excited about it!
She took FOREVER deciding on what picture she was going to pick... but in the end, she picked a picture of her & her sister. She still had many other pictures she wanted to use, so she asked Easy Canvas Prints if she could possibly review 2 canvas prints. When they told her yes, I was soo excited... because I just knew she was going to pick a wonderful picture of ME.

But when that package came, and those amazing canvas prints were pulled out... there was NOT a single thing that had to do with a black doggy. She ended up using the other one to give to a friend.

I told her I shouldn't be reviewing items on this blog, that don't have to do with ME, but she says that "us raisers" would like some cool things too.

Since this canvas has NOTHING to do with me... I'm going to hand the blog over to my raiser real quick:

Hey guys!
As you may already know, Rudy isn't to happy with me picking a picture without him in it - I'm so sorry about that! (Maybe next time Rudy!).

I would just like to say some quick words about the canvas/order process.

First off, not only do the canvases look amazing, but they are so easy to order! (hey, if I can do it... anyone can!).

It's very easy to place a order with Easy Canvas Prints, and it only takes a few minutes!

They have many different fun settings when designing your very own canvas style, and I really enjoyed doing it!
Shipping was very quick; and you will fall in love with it when you open the package!

These make GREAT gifts for family/friends, and really spice up a room!
A huge thank you to Easy Canvas Prints for letting us do a review!

Back to Rudy...

Thanks for that wonderful review... that still had NOTHING to do with me.

I did get to attend a wonderful puppy meeting Thursday, and will be sure to post pictures soon (we even took a "live distraction" with us to the puppy meeting... one of my raiser's baby goats!).

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-13T13:04:00.000-05:00

I'm so sorry I've not been posting much... but fur now, these pictures below (of me attending an April puppy meeting) will have to do :)

My raiser has been soo busy recently, but I'm still trying to fit in some blogging time!

P.S. I just returned from the vet yesterday... I'm officially a "neutered" dog now.

Rudy - The dog with a blog

A Few Updates...

2011-04-08T11:19:00.002-05:00

Hey guys!
As you may have noticed already, I've been quite busy lately... and haven't had time to blog... or visit any of you guys (sorry!).

I wanted to do a (somewhat) quick post today, and give a couple updates.

First off:
The guide dog school has just started neutering/spaying (some) of the guide dog candidates (the only reason why they weren't being spayed/neutered, was the fact that all the dogs from SEGDI were in the "breeder program" too - but the school has decided to go ahead and start spaying/neutering more pups).

Since I've had some recent medical issues (and my raiser thinks I'm developing an allergy to corn), the school has just told us that I'm to be...

NEUTERED. Yep, that "big" dreaded word... but more news on that later.

And another quick update... but WAY more exciting :)

My raiser has had some friends over for the last couple days... and they LOVE me! I'm really enjoying all the extra attention :)

Furry Friday Kisses!

Rudy - the dog with a blog

My New Friends :)

Newest Friends

2011-04-04T08:46:00.003-05:00

One of my raiser's "dairy goats" just delivered twin girls Friday evening (born on April 1st!).

And she promised me I'd get some playtime with the new little guys.... next thing I know, these 2 little babies are SLEEPING inside with us. (I think my raiser might love them more than me...) But I do have to say, that these little guys are soo cute in diapers!

My raiser does have to make sure I play calmly... evidently I can be a little "ruff" sometimes, but she says I'm treating my new roommates very nicely.

Enjoy the pictures below! (and yes, they are both still inside the house)

**Please note, that my raiser does bottle raise all of our baby goats, as it keeps the babies really friendly, and then she gets all the milk from the adult goats - and the main reason the babies are inside, is the fact that it's to cold outside for them right now**

Rudy - The dog with a blog

(Left to Right: "Persnickety Pineapple", Rudy, "Rambling Raspberry")

Ouch

2011-03-31T10:53:00.006-05:00

As you can tell from the pictures below, I'm wearing a very bright - neon pink bandage (not that I picked the color or anything), on my right front paw.

Though my raiser doesn't know how it happened, I somehow slightly cracked a toenail... and got blood everywhere. It was still attached pretty well, so my raiser was following our Area Coordinator's advice - and she was going to leave it attached. But I ended up tearing it completely off... (which made my raiser worry) so after talking with the Vet on the phone, my raiser ended up taking me in to the Vet's office, to get it looked at (just to make sure). The Vet told my raiser that I should spend the next few days resting... no running & jumping around.

But my raiser was surprised to here that (if I'm feeling up to it) I can attended the guide dog meeting this weekend.

(I hurt my "little" toenail on the far right).

The good news is... my "resting time" includes visiting all my blogging furiends!

Furry kisses!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

'Busy' - Is My Raiser's New Name

2011-03-29T13:15:00.005-05:00

Ever since Spring started this year, my raiser has been extra busy. And when she's busy... I get very little "blog" time. (Spring time for my raiser, means lots of dairy goats are kidding... so not only has she got all of her normal animal chores, she also has to hand milk the adult goats AND bottle feed the baby goats). So I'm so sorry I've not been visiting any of you lately, but thanks to all who have continued reading our posts (and leaving wonderful comments!). I would love to say things will "calm down" some in April... but my raiser has goats due to give birth all the way till the end of May. So, she'll be busy for quite sometime :) She's going to try to fit some more "blog time" into our days, as she knows I enjoy reading about all my follower's adventures; so I hopefully will be stopping by (some) of your blogs sometime soon!

Pictures of me playing with the every so cute baby goats... coming furry soon :)

Happy Tuesday!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TOBY!

2011-03-27T20:23:00.002-05:00

*(written by Rudy's Raiser)* I've been so busy taking care of all my new baby goats... that I almost forgot to do a HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY post for TOBY. (My last guide dog puppy). Toby turned TWO years old today (March 27th) - gosh, I remember when he was such a cute little puppy... And now, he's not only a nice handsome dog - he's also serving as a Search & Rescue dog! I'm so proud of my boy :) A (very) quick recap with the dates/months of when Toby came/left/graduated... We first picked up Toby on May 30th 2009, and he didn't return to the guide dog school till April 16th 2010. In October 2010 I heard that Toby was being Career changed due to allergies, but would hopefully be working as a service dog. In November 2010 I got the email telling me Toby's allergies were so severe, that he was going to be adopted out as a pet. BUT in December 2010 I was surprised with the news, that Toby would be heading into the "Search & Rescue" work! Toby decided after all, that working was way more important then his allergies! I would like to wish Toby the best of luck with his job, and... a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOBY! I love (and miss) you :) Rudy's (and Toby's) Raiser

Contact with Toby

2011-03-25T12:01:00.001-05:00

(Written by Rudy's Raiser)
I've been counting down the days that the "3 month no contact" (with Toby's new owner) will be up - and just last week, the 3 month wait ended!
I just received a email back, from Toby's new owner - which (of course) has made my day :)
For your reading pleasure, I'm including (some) of the email below:

"*******:
I am going to start out with a couple of pictures of Toby with his new family and a picture of Toby with me next to our Search and Rescue Truck. Toby is progressing VERY well with “specific scent tracking” and area searches. Once he has finished his “live victim” search training I will also train him for firearms search and explosive detection to assist me with my duties at the Sheriff’s Office. Toby has a fantastic disposition….I have been able to take him with me everywhere that I go. He is naturally curious but never unruly. I will keep in touch with more photos and updates. He definitely came from a loving and caring puppy home.

******"

I was so happy to read that email, and I'm very glad to have contact with Toby's owner!
Thank you so much to Toby's new owner, for sending me this email, I'm looking forward to keeping in contact with you!

Toby will be turning 2yrs old THIS coming Sunday (March 27th), so a early Happy Birthday to him!

Rudy's Raiser

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-23T18:01:00.002-05:00

Hey furry friends!
I'm doing a quick "Wordless Wednesday" post... to show you what my raiser has been up to this afternoon - which is the main reason why I've not had time to visit any of your blogs :(

(One of my raiser's dairy goats (Twix) just gave birth to 2 baby goats (twin boys) this afternoon - names to be decided; but both will be a fruit theme name).

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Shopping Fun

2011-03-21T08:27:00.000-05:00

Hey furry friends!
I've been soo busy helping my raiser clean up after my amazing blogville birthday party, but I'm finally taking the time to do a post related to... guide dog work :)
My raiser took me shopping with her last week... and we went in, like - (almost) EVERY store in the City.
But it was a whole lot of fun!
My raiser did bring her camera with her... so I've got some pictures of me working in Wal-Mart, and sleeping in a waiting room.
My raiser has been so busy lately, that she's not had time to take me out to get some exposures and such. So she was quite happy to be able to work me last week, and was very impressed with how well I did!
Commands we used during our latest shopping trip...
- Forward
- Left/Right
- Heel
- Find The Door/Stairs/Car
- Switch
- Sit/Down/Stand/Stay
- Leave it

I really enjoyed our shopping trip, and had a whole lot of furry fun!
I'm off to go play with my birthday toys... enjoy the shopping pictures below :)

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Da Pictures!

2011-03-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

OMD, my Blogville Birthday Party was AMAZING!!
I had a total of 61 guests, so my house was furry crowded (Thanks to all who stopped by and left comments).
BUT, it was the bestest birthday party - EVER... and I know my raiser enjoyed cleaning up afterwards!
Now, fur your detailed description on how my party went...
First comes the pressies (because I'm greedy... and can't wait till after cake/singing).

Thanks to all my furiends fur all those pressies/cards, they ARE WONDERFUL!! (Frankie, thanks fur the birthday card!!)

After I'm done admiring all those wonderful goodies, you guys sing me a birthday song...
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Rudy, Happy Birthday to you!".
And (as everyone should already know) cake comes next...

OMD, my raiser made that cake from scratch - doesn't it look delish?? (iced with peanut butter & decorated with shredded carrots/kibble)

Of course, before cutting the cake, I make a wonderful wish (which, I'm unable to tell... otherwise it won't come true!).
After my big "wish", my raiser cuts the wonderful cake - and we ALL get our very own piece.

(Movie of Rudy eating his piece of cake... in one bite)

Before you guys head home... we all went outside for some playtime

But all to soon, it was time fur all of you to head home :(

I sure hope you enjoyed my blogville party... I sure think it was FUN!
I'm off to go finish playing with my new toys (see movies below).
Furry Friday kisses - and thanks to all who stopped by to wish my a happy birthday!

Rudy -The ONE YEAR OLD dog with a blog

And my new toys are total funballs :)
(Movie of Rudy playing with the "Octopus" toy I gave him)

(Movie of Rudy playing with the new nylabone I gave him)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2011-03-17T06:51:00.000-05:00

OMD, today is the day... now I'm officially a WHOLE YEAR old!

I sure hope ALL of my followers stop by to celebrate with me... this is my official "blogville, birthday party post" - if you'd like to attend... just leave a comment (on this post) and then you will have attended my first ever birthday party!
"Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear RUDY, Happy Birthday to ME".

My raiser is planning on letting me open gifts AND eat doggy cake (made by her) later today... pictures will be posted tomorrow :)

I also received some furry cool birthday cards in the mail... which I'll be posting about tomorrow!

My furry cool raiser let me help make the cake yesterday morning... and I did a good job at making sure she used the right ingredients... of course, licking the bowl/etc is included :)

Soo - lets get this birthday party started, I'll be sure to give a full detailed description tomorrow, on how my party turned out - and how many furry cool guests came!

But fur now, PARTY ON!

Short note from my raiser:
I'd like to wish Rudy a very Happy FIRST Birthday, and I sure hope he enjoys all the goodies (and cake) I've got for him! If you guys would like to post about his party, on your blog - Rudy wouldn't mind at all!"

*Think this party sounds like total funballs? Leave a comment on THIS post and you'll "be at" my birthday party - hope to see you there!*

Furry kisses to all, and I hope you can stop by!
BTW - Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Don't I look like a 1yr old??

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-16T07:43:00.000-05:00

TOMORROW is the day... my very first BIRTHDAY!!
I hope all of my blogging pals can make it to my "birthday blog party" (by leaving a comment on tomorrow's post) - hope to see you all there!
I'm off to go stare at my amazing birthday pressies...

Rudy - The dog with a blog

I wonder if there really is a watermelon in that gift bag?

(Movie of Rudy staring at his pressies)

The Count Down

2011-03-14T09:09:00.000-05:00

OMD, my raiser just let me put a "birthday count down ticker" on my blog... and I just found out my FIRST birthday is in THREE DAYS!! (March 17th - on Saint Patrick's Day).
I will be throwing a birthday party... on this blog, and would love fur all of you to "come"! (Sadly, my raiser doesn't want to do a giveaway during my blog party... but I'd still love for all you to "come"!).
Have any cool ideas fur me to do during my "blog party post"? Feel free to let me know :)
Hope you all have a Magnificent Monday, furry kisses to all!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Friday Fun - The Indestructible Dog Toy

2011-03-11T11:45:00.004-05:00

WHAT??? There really is a INDESTRUCTIBLE dog toy???
Yep, and that's what this post is all about :)
Most of you know, that I'm a very STRONG chewer - if you didn't, well... now you know.
I do have many dog bones, stuffies, and some other cool toys - but my raiser hasn't had any luck finding a fun "play toy" that really is INDESTRUCTIBLE... fur me :)
I told her there is no such thing, us dogs can tear up ANYTHING we want... But she decided to prove me wrong.
My raiser's brother does "welding" - and while at class, he decided to weld a small cube WITH water inside. This "water cube" was total fun balls to play with, and my raiser soon found out that it IS indestructible.
Well, my raiser's brother decided to make me another play cube... and add some steel balls inside (also leaving a couple little holes... so the noise can be heard, very well!).
Introducing, the INDESTRUCTIBLE DOG TOY...

Enjoy the movie (and picture) below, of me playing with the cube.
Furry Friday kisses!

P.S. Please not that I'm not allowed to play with this toy all the time (but when I do, it's only with human supervision) - and my raiser doesn't let me sit down and "chew" on the cube (wouldn't be good on my teeth)... all I do is "push" it around, so it will make noise :)

Rudy - The dog with a blog

(Movie of Rudy playing with the "indestructible dog cube")

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-09T11:53:00.000-05:00

OMD, kidding time has just started at my raiser's farm... and I get to be play pals with all the new baby goats!!
(pictures of me WITH the baby goat... coming soon!)

The furry cute baby goat pictured below, was JUST born today - he is only 2 hours old... AND I've already met him!
My raiser has 2 more goats due next week... lots of new play pals!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

My Beautiful Boy

2011-03-08T12:20:00.001-05:00

*(Written by Rudy's Raiser)*
Hey guys, Rudy's Raiser here... I was planning on letting Rudy post today, but when I checked the SEGDI guide dog trainer's twitter page, I thought you'd rather have a "different" update.

Most of you know, that my last guide dog puppy "Toby" returned to the guide dog school in April 2010 - he was "career changed" in October 2010. (He had severe allergies, and couldn't be a working guide dog). And in November/December 2010 Toby decided to try out life as a Search & Rescue dog, and last I heard, he loves it!

I was very happy to see a picture of my beautiful boy "Toby" (in his new career uniform) on the twitter page this morning.
He looks just like I remembered him, I can't believe it's almost been a whole year since I turned him in!
For some more good news - the "3 month no contact" is almost up, and I will be (trying) to get in contact with Toby's handler next week.
(The school doesn't allow contact for 3 months, once the dog is placed in a new home - as they want the dog to "bond" with his/her new owner).
I'll be sure to update you all on him, once I hear more :)

BTW - Toby's 2nd birthday is coming up, he'll be turning TWO YEARS OLD on March 27th.
(and Rudy is turning ONE year old on March 17th!).

Enjoy the picture below (of TOBY),

Rudy's Raiser

I LOVE The Mail Truck

2011-03-07T10:08:00.001-05:00

OMD, I'm IN LOVE with the mail truck. Over the past week, it's brought ME some cool goodies!
Da first package was fur me... but my raiser is keeping it hidden, she keeps saying "it's your birthday pressie", and she won't let me see it... until my birthday; but I know it's something furry cool!

Da second package was from Addie, Lucy and Hailey (I won some prizes from them!), and the package was filled with LOTS and LOTS of goodies :) Many cool toys, some treats... and some things for my raiser! My raiser isn't giving me the toys just yet... she is saving them up for my FIRST birthday (March 17), so I will have lots of pressies to open.

AND... da THIRD package was from The Hound Dogs, they were sponsoring the Best In Show (readers choice) over at Mango Minster - and because all my furry cool friends voted fur ME, I won the "readers choice - Best In Show"!! (thanks for all your votes!). The Hound Dogs asked me many questions, like "what toys do you like?", "what treats can you have?" and many more... because they were filling up a goodie bag fur me! It was an amazing goodie bag - with treats, stuffies, no stuffing toys, NYLABONES, and much more!! My raiser will be giving me all those cool things... on my birthday.

BUT WAIT, there is MORE. I still have TWO more packages coming... just fur me!!
Da first one is coming from Jess and Glacial... I won a contest over at her blog... and she's sending me some yummies that she got from a local dog bakery! (Oh yeah... she's also sending something fur my raiser...).
Da second package will be coming from Rottrover... they were sponsoring the "Good Ole Dog" category, over at Mango Minster (first place)... and I won :)
I'll be sure to post many pictures of those packages, once they arrive.

I know you guys are all, like... bored of hearing me talk about all the cool goodies I'VE won... So enjoy all the furry cool pictures below, and a HUGE THANKS to the bloggers that have sent us the goodies!

For you information... My (first) birthday is on March 17th 2011 (Saint Patrick's Day!)... if you want to send me a pressie... feel free to contact my raiser via email! (guidedogawareness AT yahoo DOT com)...and birthday cards are also welcome... :)

Furry Monday kisses,

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Da wonderful package a got from Addie, Lucy & Hailey...

Da cool and wonderful things I got from The Hound Dogs...

Da card from The Hound Dogs...

(Movie of Rudy trying to see what's inside the bag that The Hound Dogs sent him - the gift bag is still inside the box!)

Da Good News About ME

2011-03-05T10:01:00.003-05:00

(Really, really, really good news!!)
As most of you know, I'm in training to be a guide dog for the blind, which means... I will be leaving my raiser one day, to head back to the school for future training.
I came into this cool home in May 2010, and (at first) my raiser thought she'd have me for (around) 1 1/2 years... but she found out, back in January 2011, that the school has started taking pups back early (no idea why) - which would make my IFT date be this coming April.
My raiser has been expecting a IFT email soon, and every time a new email from our AC comes in... her heart skips a beat, wondering if this is the email - then she'd start having to plan on returning me to the guide dog school.
But she was SOOO excited (and surprised) to find this email from her AC in her inbox:

Subject: We are NOT on the April IFT list

Email: Have no word on May yet – but it looks like this litter will be with us until at least late May/June timeframe.
My raiser was very glad to hear that I'm NOT going IFT in April, and I agree with her :)
So you guys are stuck with me for another couple months, enjoy it!!

BTW - for anyone who's thinking about asking this question:
"Will your raiser get another guide dog puppy, and if so -when?".
At this point, due to some "financial" issues, my raiser may not be able to raise again (seems as though, guide dog puppies cost a lot to raise/care for...). But since I'm staying with her, a couple months longer - she hopes that things will work out, and if so - she may plan on getting a puppy after I return (around) June 2011. It all depends on how much "green papers" she has :)
She will keep us update to date on that situation though... and if all else, Liberty (my Raiser's English Mastiff) can run the blog for a while!
Enough about that though... I'm not leaving for QUITE a while, so you shouldn't have to worry about it.

I'm still far behind on posting... I've got LOTS more interesting posts coming up, with even more good news about ME.
But fur now... enjoy the pictures below, of ME! (My raiser decided to take me out into a empty goat fence... and let PLAY and RUN in it! And she took many pictures, just for you).

Rudy - The dog with a blog

If your tongue hangs out while you run... it's double the fun!

The Winners Are...

2011-03-03T10:05:00.001-05:00

OMD, my Valentine's Giveaway ended March 1st 2011... and it's time to pick the winners!!
I was hoping to do some "cool thing" for picking the winners... but in the end, my raiser tells me we are just going to use that "random.org" thing. Which I think is totally crazy... but we did it anyways.
We had a totally of 97 comments... and the TWO winners of our giveaway are:

Comment #40
"mayziegal said...

I hope you're having fun at puppy camp, Rudy! Thank you for doing this giveaway. Those sure are some super great prizes!
Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie "

And comment #96
"Frankie Furter said...

Glad you reminded me about this. GOOD LUCK Everybuddy. "

A furry congratulations to Mayzie & Frankie Furter! (please send us your mailing address... at guidedogawareness AT yahoo DOT com).
Thanks to all who entered my giveaway, it sure was a lot of fun :)
Lots and LOTS of updates coming soon (including... many awards given to ME, goodie bags/packages/giveaways I've won/received in the mail... and some GREAT news from the guide dog school, about me!).

But fur now, one more HUGE congratulations to Mayzie & Frankie... you are 2 very lucky pups!

Furry Thursday kisses,

Rudy - The dog with a blog

(almost) Wordless Wednesday - Windy Walk

2011-03-02T10:16:00.003-05:00

Thanks to all who entered my giveaway (which ended yesterday)... winners will be announced tomorrow :)

My raiser has been taking me on (somewhat) short walks (which I LOVE!!), as she's wanting to make sure I can walk on "loose leash" and not be distracted by cars/leafs/animals/etc.
She's been very impressed with how well I've been walking (she's been doing this for months).

Enjoy the "forward walk" pictures/movie below
("forward walks" are in coat or harness... no "funny business" or sniffing around).

P.S. for all who are thinking "this forward walk sounds like NO FUN" - I really do enjoy it... and my raiser does take me on lots of "fun walks" too ("fun walks" are out of coat/harness and sniffing is allowed!)

Rudy - The dog with a blog

(Movie of Rudy in harness in a "forward walk" - it's quite windy out, but Rudy doesn't mind at all. He really enjoyed the walk!)

Giveaway ends TODAY - We Need YOUR Help Picking The Winners!

2011-03-01T12:41:00.001-05:00

Hey furry friends - Happy 1st day of March :) I think it feels like Spring already.
If you aren't like... totally ignoring our posts, then you should know by now, that MY Valentine's Giveaway ends today... yes, TODAY.
March 1st 2011 is the LAST day to enter... so make sure to do so, remember - treats ARE involved :)
**New followers are welcome to enter.
Enough about entering the giveaway... on to how the WINNERS will be picked.
We need your ideas, my raiser is just planning on doing the boring "random.org" thing... but I want to do something cool.
Have an idea?? Feel free to leave it in a comment!
Some things we've tried before... that didn't work:
-Popping balloons (Um... I picked to many to pop)
-Picking a numbered piece of paper (since I'm in training to be a guide dog... I know I'm not suppose to touch paper - so that doesn't work!)
-Putting comment numbers on exact toys and me picking just 1 (haha... seeing from my last giveaway/contest - I wanted EVERYONE to win... as I picked up all the toys)
-Putting comment numbers on treats (everyone knows that you have to eat ALL of the treats)

So, excluding the above ideas... let me know what you've got!
Remember, 2 winners will be picked - if we don't decide a "cool way" to do it... my raiser will just go with the "random.org" thing.

Lots of new pictures of ME, coming furry soon :)
Tickling Tuesday kisses,

Rudy - The dog with a blog

A (QUICK) Blast in the Past - and Welcome back RUDY!

2011-02-28T08:53:00.001-05:00

Hey furry friends! It's me... RUDY. (Didn't know if you guys would remember my name), I was gone SOO long at that thing called "puppy swap" and you guys got updates from my bro "Al".
But I REALLY hope you guys missed me, you did... right??

Please note the title on this post "A (QUICK) Blast in the Past" - that means the "blast in the past" will be QUICK. Wanna know why??
Because it's NOT about me :( I told my raiser, if this post isn't going to be about me... it better be quick. So she promised it would.

BUT, before I continue on with "A (QUICK) Blast in the Past" - I'm reminding all you guys out there, that my Valentine's Giveaway, ends TOMORROW! You just have to leave a comment (on that post) if you want to enter... so make sure to ENTER before it's to late!

On to the QUICK, (very quick... and nothing BUT quick) blast in the past...
If you remember correctly, my raiser did promise that she'd post some more pictures of "Al ", the dog she had during the 2 week puppy swap. (since she didn't have time to let Al post all the pictures).
The pictures in this post, are of a shopping trip... to Mary Joe's. My raiser & Al had to pick up a couple things, so off they went to Mary Joe's.
So the pictures below... are NOT of me, sorry!

I do hope you enjoy the pictures below, and I do plan on posting pictures of ME, furry soon!
Don't forget that my giveaway end tomorrow!

Rudy - The dog with a blog

I think Al was trying to convince my raiser to make him some stuffies... why else would you need fabric, thread and TASSELS! (Which BTW - tassels make THE BEST chewy things)

Da Banquet... (By Rudy)

2011-02-26T21:18:00.005-05:00

Rudy here... yes, I'M BACK!! Did ya miss me??

Lots of updates (and pictures) coming furry soon, but fur now - this post is going to be all about the banquet... to celebrate the Great Race for Bunny and Pip.

I heard that they had some furry cool coaches... (Puddles and Roo Roo)

But on to the GOOD PART...

FOOD!

My Raiser & I (of course) had to go shopping for some GOOD food

I decided on bringing some very tasty drinks...

And we even brought HUGE hamburgers... for everybody to share! (want some...)

For dessert - we brought DOGGY cupcakes :)

And for all those dogs that like cereal/munchies... I picked up some before heading to the banquet!

For my clothing...

I decided to wear my BEST fuzzy sweater, for this wonderful occasion...

I'm off to go visit some other doggies attending, it's good fur me to get out and talk to some furiends! (After, I head over and eat a hamburger or 2... and I think I heard tail, that another blogger will be bringing Cheetos!)

For a list of other bloggers that did a banquet post, you can view it here at Frankie Furter's blog.

And don't forget about the Auction for Richie & Ronni!!

(For all who like my raiser's Goat Milk Soap... she did donate some doggy themed soap, for the auction - so head over and bid now!)

Don't furget that my Valentine's Giveaway ends March 1st 2011... new followers are welcome to enter!
Updates AND new pictures of me, coming furry soon - and for my followers that have no idea what this "banquet" thing is... that's fine :) It took me a lot of other blog post reading; to even figure out what I was suppose to do! (Thanks Frankie!).

Happy partying! And I'm soo glad to be home! (I know my raiser is happy to see me).

Rudy - The dog with a blog

My Pizza Cook (and a sad GOOD BYE to Big Al)

2011-02-25T20:17:00.004-05:00

(Written by Rudy's Raiser)
For all my current readers, you know that Rudy has been participating in a "puppy swap" in our guide dog group. (for 2 weeks - all the raiser's swap dogs, which helps with the dogs training and much more!) .

Rudy will be coming back tomorrow (after our guide dog meeting) and Al will be heading home.

**I've got many more pictures of Al, that I've not had time to let Al post... so we will be doing a couple more posts about him, next week, complete with pictures!

Onto my awesome Pizza Cook helper...

Tonight, is PIZZA NIGHT at our house (we make our VER OWN pizza) and Al has decided to "help" with some things...

He was a great helper... by NOT tasting AND ignoring the pizza/dough!

But he did seem to get a "little" bit of flour on his face (trust me, it was an accident... but makes for very cute pictures!).

Please make sure to leave a comment saying good bye to Al - he does leave tomorrow morning and I know will miss all of you!

I'll miss him for sure, but I will be doing a couple posts with pictures of him next week (Um... I never got the time to post all the pictures of Al!)

For all who have (or MAY) enter Rudy's Valentine's Giveaway (which was going to end tomorrow), please note that we are postponing the ending date... Till the FIRST of March 2011 (This coming Tuesday). Due to the fact that I'm REALLY, REALLY busy :)

And with the huge banquet and auction coming up this weekend... I know all of us will be quite busy!

So make sure to head over and enter Rudy's Giveaway... which now ends 3-1-2011.

Wishing Al a very happy but tearful Good-Bye - we will miss you dearly (and I know all of our furry awesome followers will too!), but we sure enjoyed the time you were here... and know you are dying to get back with your very own raisers!

Rudy's Raiser and... "Big" Al's Puppy Swap Handler

Liberty will sure miss you!

Fresh Air

2011-02-24T16:01:00.000-05:00

Fresh air is wonderful!
With this amazing weather outside, Rudy's Raiser has been taking me on lots of furry fun walks. (Not only to visit with animals - but down the road too!).

On our last trip down the road, I got a whole new FUN exposure... walking beside a stroller - with a baby in it! (A family member was baby sitting).
She was soo cute, but I did very well at ignoring her while we walked down the road... though I did want to give her lots of kisses :)
Rudy's Raiser thinks I'm doing much better with not pulling (as you can see in the video clips below), and she really enjoyed taking me on the walk.
She did decide to walk me in harness most of the time (I did get to do a "fun walk" - out of harness for a little while), as she wanted me to work "both styles" (in/out of harness) and I needed some more exposure with the harness.
All in all, she said I behaved very well - she did take some pictures (see below) that I hope you enjoy :)
Have a wonderful Thursday!

Al - Rudy's Brother

P.S. Rudy comes home THIS Saturday... which is when his Valentine's Giveaway ends - so make sure to stop by and enter!

Rudy's Raiser working me...

(Movie of Al & I walking down the road, Al is in harness walking beside me. We are walking away from the camera, but I then tell Al "Right about" and we then walk toward the camera - Al does very well at not pulling)

(Movie of Al (in harness) & I walking beside the baby stroller my sister is pushing - Al ignores both the stroller & baby)

(almost) Wordless Wednesday - What Happened To The Bunny?

2011-02-23T09:51:00.000-05:00

Liberty, Red & I decided to work together... at making the bunny toy, a PERFECT toy.
We ripped her arm off... we made stuffing come out of her neck... she has no tail...
She is now a perfect bunny... what do you think?

Al - Rudy's Brother

The tearing up process...

(Movie of Red, Liberty & Al tearing up the toy. It starts out with Al flying down the stairs - he then grabs the bunny and they are off. Please turn your speakers down... one of my family members was being a "little bit" loud - sorry!)

Update on Rudy

2011-02-22T11:12:00.001-05:00

*(written by Rudy's Raiser)*
For all that have missed our last few posts - Rudy is attending a puppy swap (through our guide dog group) and currently, he's away at another raiser's home.
He will return to us this Saturday (after the guide dog meeting), but for now - I have "Al" (Rudy's brother) who has been doing the last couple of posts on this blog.
So for all who wonder why "Al" is writing the blog posts... well, that's why!
Rudy will be back on the blog, this weekend.
On to the updates about Rudy...
The raiser who has Rudy for the puppy swap, has noticed that Rudy (looks to have) allergies, so we've been emailing over the last couple days. (Normally you "shouldn't" have contact with the other raiser - unless it's about medical issues). In her emails, she did give me a few updates about Rudy, and sent a couple pictures too. (Updates about Rudy's allergies, coming later - though we both assume his allergies are to corn).
I'm not going to copy her whole email in this post - but I've taken a couple parts out of the email, for you guys to see.
Enjoy!

"Rudy is having a blast being at our house. He has made friends with the two labs across the street and has outsmarted the younger one when it comes to playing with the toy. He spent most of the afternoon outside hanging in the backyard with his new friends. Rudy was a very good boy at church this morning and slept right through all the kids dancing and singing. I am guessing he knows that Ely can’t play with him (he tried though by taking him a toy last night) but today he has not messed with Ely at all."

"He loves running around our backyard and has been enjoying the warmer weather.

He is past out asleep right now, he went to Costco and to the vet to pick up some meds for Ely this afternoon. Then he played outside before we went for a walk. He was very good laying still while I got pictures printed. He loved the walk in refrigerator"

"I can certainly see the golden in him! (Mostly in his personality)"

"Rudy is a sweet guy and loves to be touched. He has really good house manners so far"

Those are just some parts taken out of our email conversation, I do hope you guys enjoyed the (short) update.

Pictures below are of Rudy (not Al) and were taken by the Raiser that Rudy is currently staying with, during the puppy swap.

The raiser who currently has Rudy, also keeps a blog. And she just happened to do a post this morning, all about Rudy - so make sure to check it out!

Rudy returns this Saturday (when his Valentine's Giveaway ends). Enjoy the pictures below, have a great Monday!

Rudy's Raiser

Shopping Day

2011-02-21T08:43:00.002-05:00

FINALLY the post with pictures of my shopping day :)
Rudy's Raiser didn't "have time" yesterday, to let me do the post - but she's finally letting me today.
I had a whole lot of fun shopping last week, since Rudy's Raiser was finally feeling better (she was sick ALL WEEK) she decided it was time to get me out and work me some. Which I was quite glad about.
She worked me in many different stores - but only took pictures in the first one (so she could then have more time for working me in the other stores).
She says I behave very well in town, I'm quite calm and don't pull near as much with the coat/harness on. BUT I still don't listen well, when she tells me commands (sit/down/stand/etc) - so she has to give me many reminders... but she says we're working on that :)
I did have a whole lot of fun though, I really enjoyed getting out & about. Rudy's Raiser talked to many people; who were asking about me.
It was a very enjoyable day, and Rudy's Raiser hopes to take me out again... furry soon!
I was also going to include some updates about Rudy (he's doing VERY well) - but Rudy's Raiser is going to save that for tomorrow's post (complete with NEW pictures of Rudy... thanks to the raiser that has him).
So make sure to stop by tomorrow to hear an update about Rudy.
AND for all that haven't yet, please make sure to enter Rudy's Valentine's Giveaway - that will be ending THIS weekend.
Enjoy the shopping pictures below, next time we go out in town - I'll make sure she takes pictures in more than one store :)

Al - Rudy's Brother

Blog Review and HAPPY 500th POST!

2011-02-19T10:35:00.002-05:00

Rudy has given me the permission to write this review... as I'm his brother, he thinks I should be able to rate things just as well as he can, um... we'll see!!
Either way, I'm new at the blogging thing - but I hope to give Rudy's Raiser a fair review :)
BTW - THIS IS OUR 500th POST!!

Quantity of Output: I give her 3 paws up for this one - though she doesn't always let us do a daily post, we do post quite regularly! But once her life gets busy again... I thinks we won't be doing near as many :(

Quality of Output: 4 pretty paws for this one... we LOVE the pictures she uses for the posts, and I'm thankful she takes the time to tag each & every one of them! (for our visually impaired readers). She always has great ideas for posts, but leaves the blogging up to us!

Client Pawticipation: Oh yes, all 4 paws for this one - she tries her furry best to answer your questions - and our email is posted on our blog. We really enjoy receiving emails from you guys, and don't mind at all answering questions!

Pawticipation Part II: YES, Rudy is always allowed to take part in whatever contest/event he would like to. He's also allowed to run his own giveaways/contests on this blog... and Rudy's Raiser provides all the prizes :)

Client Satisfaction: We sure hope so... this blog centers around the training/raising of a guide dog puppy - and by the comments we receive, it sure sounds like you guys enjoy reading our blog! (Right??)

Overall Rating: I'd say around 3 paws overall, though I know Rudy would give 4 paws for everything :)

We hope you guys are enjoying our blog, we try to please our readers - answer any questions - post lots of furry cool pictures - and visit all of you guys :)

Pictures of my furry cool shopping day AND a short update about Rudy coming Monday!

P.S. Rudy's Raiser was lazy enough to copy the review picture from another blog... notice she didn't even change the date!?

Al - Rudy's Brother

NO NOISE

2011-02-18T08:21:00.002-05:00

Seems as though Rudy's Raiser has been using "NO NOISE" a lot lately... but not in the way you think. (Yeah, I've got barking issues... but we're ignoring that right this second).

For some odd reason, Rudy's Raiser seems to think that I don't need to be making my own noise. She doesn't like the idea of me grabbing a sterile bone, and throwing it across the hard wood flooring... just for the fun of it.

To prove that I was really throwing the bone all over the floor - she decided to take a short video for you guys:

(Movie of Al playing with the bone on our hard flooring - he picks up the bone, and throws it across the room, even though it's soo annoying - it is kinda cute! Note: it's not near as loud in the movie... as it was in person!)

Now "No Noise" is not only for barking/whining issues... it's also for bone noises. I think it's fun, but whatever.

BTW - Rudy's Raiser did take me shopping yesterday, so I enjoyed a day out in town working. Pictures coming soon :) Have a Furry Fun Friday!

Al - Rudy's Brother

Brandon's life... as a guide dog in training

Adult Day Care

Meet Tucker

Where was I?

Wordless Wednesday

My Mango Minster Entry...

Wordless Wednesday - Back to School

Wagon Ride!

Happy New Years!

My Christmas Goodies...

My First Christmas!

Pictureless Wednesday

Christmas Shopping 101

Wordless Wednesday - Double Me!

Rudy's Sixth Report Card!

The Girl Did it...

Sleepy Tuesday

Happy Thanksgiving!

almost Wordless Wednesday - Furry New Friends

My First Puppy Meeting

Vet Visit (First post by Brandon)

Rudy's Fifth Report Card - LAST PHASE!! (also - Meet Hunter)

Wordless Wednesday - Brandon at College

Shopping

Name Game WINNER (a very Wordy Wednesday!)

Irresistibly Cute!

A Furry Welcome To:

Puppy's Name... Is a Guessing Game *(Contest)*

PUPPY!!

Rudy's Fourth Report Card (September)

Do you see what I see?

Rudy's 3rd Report Card

New Puppy Update **(Please Read)**

Rudy?

Rudy's Life...

Rudy Update!

July Report Card

Rudy's First Report Card!!

The Photos...

College Boy

Happy 4th of July!

The long Awaited Email...

Quick Rewind - The Trip Down

Where's Rudy?

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

IFT Time

Last Post

GoodBye to All

Last Shopping Trip

Little Lucy

Wordless Wednesday

Miss Me?

New Plan

Traffic Walk

Da Lake

A Change in Plans

Bark in the Park

The Expected... but Unexpected News

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Easter!!

Wordless Wednesday

Um... Why am I NOT In The Picture?

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

A Few Updates...

Newest Friends

Ouch

'Busy' - Is My Raiser's New Name

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TOBY!

Contact with Toby

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

Shopping Fun

Da Pictures!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

The Count Down

Friday Fun - The Indestructible Dog Toy

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

My Beautiful Boy

I LOVE The Mail Truck

Da Good News About ME

Puppy's Name... Is a Guessing Game (Contest)

New Puppy Update (Please Read)