Growing Up

*Wriiten by Pal*

It seems as though I've never done a thing with this blog... my raiser didn't bother to give me a "blogging 101" class, so this is totally new to me.

I hate that neither of us have updated recently, so I've decided to dive right in and take over.

For all who don't know, I'm Pal... my raiser's newest guide dog in training. I was born in March last year and met my sweet raiser in June. I'm currently 10 months old, and growing up quickly! 

I'm a quick learner and extremly treat motivated... so if there is food or attention involved, I'm in! 

Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Stay tune and I promise to update more often! 

-Love and kisses

Pal

Enjoy the pictures of me, and I know I'm super cute :)

My raiser and I with a few others during a puppy meeting.

My Raiser and I inside a mall for a puppy meeting

Me doing a down-stay during a meeting

Pal Who?

*(written by Brandon's raiser)*
I'm happy to announce the newest guide dog puppy that I'm raising...
Please welcome "Pal", he's a male yellow lab and super sweet!
He's birth date is March 10th 2013, which makes him about 16 1/2 weeks old.
Sorry to be so slow with updates, but I do hope to be posting a "little" more often!

-Pal's puppy raiser 

Wordless Wednesday

Rudy

The dog with a blog

Global Animal Blogging Event - plus a GIVEAWAY!

***For our new visitors - please make sure to read the "about" pages at the top of this blog (under my pawesome header photo!) - it will explain more about me & the other doggies my Raiser has trained.
Word you may not know - "My Raiser" is just like your "mom", but since I'm a guide dog in training - I don't know who my real "mom" will be yet.***

That is right, GABE is here!

AND I am "active", which means... I will be hosting A GIVEAWAY!

My Raiser has decided - the giveaway will be for... HER PAWESOME GOAT MILK SOAP! She even has little lab soap & dog bone soap! (see pictures below).

Want to know why we are participating in GABE? We hope to make many new friends, stay in contact with old ones, and win some cool giveaways!

Interested in entering our giveaway? If you have a blog, Leave 1 (ONE) comment and you will be entered, really that's all! The winner will be announced on April 18th - you have until April 17 at midnight to enter/leave a comment.

The prize is NOT store bought soap - this Goat Milk Soap is HOMEMADE by MY RAISER, yes MY RAISER makes the soap - the old fashion way with lye, not glycerin.

The giveaway will be for 2 bars of Goat Milk Soap - 1 "Lab puppy" bar & 1 "dog bone" bar (see pictures below).

This is 1 giveaway - if you win you will receive BOTH bars!

Have a blog? You CAN ENTER - just leave a comment on THIS post BEFORE April 18th!
Any questions? Don't expect to win the giveaway & want to order some soap? Email my Raiser at

letters-fromhomeAThotmailDOTcom,

Or visit the GABE page to learn more about this event.

I will be posting reminders to enter this event, but make sure to leave a comment! (only one please).

Winner will be hand picked (possibly "mouth" picked by one of my furry friends -as I won't be here by then)

Enjoy the photos of the goat milk soap!

Don't forgot to see the post below (my "Wordless Wednesday" post) that picture was taken at one of my "last place" visits - I only have 1 more visit to that place before I leave:(

(Note from Raiser - this soap is made from a mold, I don't hand carve it!

**For humans only - I may include something little for your dog)

Toby

The dog with a blog

Things I like...

I LIKE the vacuum.
I LIKE the YMCA classes.
I LIKE dogs.
I LIKE the baby goat.
I LIKE the bunnies.
I LIKE outings.
I LIKE vehicles.

And things I don't...
Llamas... and HORSES...
Those horses are like BIG MONSTERS. I just don't trust them. And the Llamas, well they just look WEIRD!

My handler did introduce me to some horses, a Llama, and some Alpacas - in person, which meant I didn't just see them through the fence :(

No I didn't "freak" when seeing the animals, I just didn't fall in love with them (see videos below). My handler did tell me I did better than she expected. She knows I'm not a "horse lover" like Toby is, but I do try to please her, and she is happy with that.

Enjoy the videos & pictures below, have a Terrific Tuesday!

Duchess

The dog with a blog

I LIKE Zumba. (Movie of Duchess in a down-stay on her paw print blanket, you can see 8+ people doing zumba behind her, she is not phased at all by it)

But I DON'T like Llamas. (Movie of a brown Llama coming up to Duchess, he is just wanting to sniff her, but Duchess thinks he wants to EAT her!)

The monster horses... (Movie of Duchess meeting 2 horses, she is really shy, and doesn't want to go near them, you can see some Alpacas in the background)

Toby's Moving to China... and I'm going with him!

So I wish.

I came back inside from riding horses yesterday, to find THIS EMAIL from my Area Coordinator...

Email's title: "Our big pups are ready for their next stage in their training - yes - it's IFT time".

Email:

"Good Morning everyone
It’s an exciting time as we prepare to send our puppies back to school. The letters are on the way to you to explain all the details. For now, please mark on your calendars that your pups will need to go back to school between the 12th and 15th April.

Please let me know if you have any questions. This is an exciting time for the puppies and a tough time for you as we make this transition. Please know that I understand the emotion of this time – and that telling me you have left the country with the dog won’t work :)
Thank you for every minute you have invested in your puppy – that investment is getting ready to pay huge dividends down the track".

Wow, this was WAY sooner than I was planning for. He will only be 12 1/2 months when he returns, normally it's not till AFTER 14 months. This means I will only have him for TEN MONTHS!

He won't be returning back to me from puppy camp for another 1 1/2 weeks, I can't wait to get him back.

Toby will definitely be missed, and I will definitely be getting a new puppy... as soon as possible!

We have asked to see when new puppies will be available, but we won't know for a little while.

I do hope you guys will continue to follow Toby's blog while he's gone, even though we may not have another pup for a month or so.

(Yes my first thought when reading this email was I'M MOVING TO CHINA, Until I saw the part about not leaving the country) :(

Oh well, Toby's ready, and he will have a blast.

P.S. To my newer followers who are not guide/service dog raisers, IFT (In For Training) is a date that is set for our dogs to return back to school for further training with paid SEGDI trainers. It is very possible that we will never see our dogs again, it all depends on the career they choose.

Duchess's handler, Toby's Raiser

The human that has a dog with a blog

Wordless Wednesday

FUNdraising FUN!

I'm SO excited, next week is the annual guide dog Walk-A-Thon in FL, and I'm going!

I have been very busy helping my Raiser with fundraising, we are currently at $553, my Raiser's goal is $1,000.
We've raised more than half!
Please feel free to stop by our fund raising page, and pass it on to everyone you know!

My Raiser just got a GREAT package in the mail today... HER NEW CAMERA!! (see picture below)
Boy am I glad that quest is over. We went in so many stores, even when we went to TN, searching for a camera that would do just as many cool things as the camera my raiser's sister has. Unfortunately, the newer versions of this camera only have about 1/2 the selections under their "best shot" mode. We all know she needs to be able to get lots of great shots of me; she can't be limited. She gave up looking in the stores after trying millions of cameras in hundreds of stores, and finally found the same model online.

She is quite happy, and is glad to have it for Walk-A-Thon:)

Have a FUN Friday!

Toby
The dog with a blog

It's snowy, with a chance of fun!

Hey everybody!
I did enjoy the snow, for a little while, but all to soon I was doggone BORED with it.

Thank goodness for the sun, because I now have "some" grassy spots in my yard! (see pictures below)

And where there's snow, it's soft, (not crunchy hard like it was earlier this morning!).

Though I do have to admit I had a BLAST when my trainer took me sledding with her, later on I found out I was the ONLY dog of hers she has sledded with; I must be a pawsome awesome doggy!

On to the "fun" part of this post though...

I heard that some contests have started the voting on their blogs. I would love your vote (unless you already gave it to another doggy) for the following 3 contests -

Niamh's contest just started today, voting will continue for 3 days, scurry over & cast your vote!

(Entry photos can be viewed here)

Tucker's "sit-stay" contest started off yesterday, voting will continue for 4 more days, stop bye & vote for your favorite photo!

(Entry photos can be viewed here)

Mango's contest is off to a great start, the first class "cat dogs" has already finished, and for today "hound dogs" are being judged. Stop bye his blog and vote for your favorite "hound dog".

(I am entered in his contest - but I'm in the class "hard workers", which isn't available for voting yet).

Please don't feel like you have to vote for me in those contests, just make sure to stop bye & vote for your favorite!

I'm gonna go take a nap, have a happy Monday & first day in February :)

Toby

The dog with a blog

(Picture of Toby's head, with patches of

snow/grass in the background, all you can

see is Toby's face & a little piece of his red

leather Disney collar)

(Picture of Toby's full face & neck, with patches of snow & grass in the background, you can see 1 Mickey mouse head on Toby's red leather Disney collar)

(Picture of just snow & grass, their are various patches of grass mixed into the snow, you can see many boot/paw marks through out the snow also)

(Picture of Toby snuggled up on his bed, his leather red Disney collar his very visible in the picture)

Harness pictures and cool contests!

(Black/white picture of Toby in stand-stay
while wearing guide dog harness, this photo
is also the new header picture for Toby's blog)




My raiser FINALLY took me outside to get some pawsomely cool pictures of me wearing the guide dog harness.
She had me in a stand-stay for some, and a sit-stay for others.
(notice she has changed the header for my blog - it is now a black/white picture of me in a stand-stay wearing a guide dog harness).

I am enjoying getting the experience of wearing a guide dog harness out in town.

I am also proud of it; as I'm my raiser's first puppy to get to wear a harness in town!
(her others dogs weren't different, the school is just having to many dogs returning to the school with harness issues, so we need to work more with the harness).

* Note from raiser: Toby is only allowed to wear the harness in public if it is worn over his puppy in training coat so that the public is aware he's not a full-fledged working guide dog.

I also wanted to tell you about the PAWSOME contests my raiser is entering me in!!(Remember - to enter any of the following contests you do need to have a blog)

Mango is having his annual "Mango Minster" this month, so make sure to stop by his blog if you have a doggy, or "cat dog" you would like to enter!

Tucker's contest is a "sit-stay" competition, as long as you dogs can sit for a photo, you can enter his contest, check out the rules, and enter away!

Niamh's contest sounds quite interesting, to enter you need a picture of you (dog) and your owner doing training together, read more about it here.


Biggie's contest sounds very fun, my raiser mentioned something about piling up dog toys/treats on me and getting a picture... Check out the details here.

Enjoy the pawsome pictures of me in harness, and I hope you enter the contests/ or even better vote for me! (only a couple contests are readers choice - others are picked by the blog author).


Have a great weekend, and don't forget to comment on how awesome I look in the guide dog harness! (no pride issues there...)


Toby
The dog with a blog







(Close up of Toby's chest/face, he is in a sit-stay, while in guide dog harness)






(Back view picture of Toby wearing harness, you can also see his full shadow to his left side)















(Picture of Toby in a sit-stay while wearing guide dog harness, you can see some trees in the back ground behind him)






(Toby in a sit-stay while in guide dog harness, the only background you see is grass)

Did you say PUPPY?!?

(Toby sitting in coat looking at camera)

We just had our annual guide dog Christmas party yesterday (Saturday), and I got to meet the 5 new members to our group!!

Our newest members are...

"Angel" A cute yellow female lab (the only yellow lab in the litter!!).

"Bingo" A adorable little female black lab

"Cindy Jae" A pretty little female black lab (being raised with a first time puppy raiser)

"Elsa" A wonderfully cute female black lab (being raised with a first time puppy raiser). And

"Sparkie" A handsome little male black lab.

With these 5 new puppies, we have 2 new raisers in our group!!

When we arrived at the party, the older dogs all got the meet the new "additions". After some greeting and talking, we started some basic obedience.

With 5 new little puppies our class was quite crowded, but the puppies were great distractions for us older dogs! I did great with all my commands, and pretty soon we sat down to eat.

We had door prizes to hand out, and my trainer gave our area coordinator a gift (see picture below), it is a bar of goat milk soap my trainer made, with a cute lab puppy laying down.

I was given some gifts, but my trainer tells me the toys will be put in my stocking for Christmas.

We "tried" to get a group picture, but I am in the far left corner- and you can barely see my head!

They even had a dog cake there- which my trainer took a chance and let me have piece! (becuase of my eye issues she doesn't let me have much new stuff!).

I had a lot of fun, and even got an award for having the most "adventurous outings"!

Enjoy all the photos, and I hope you like the post, (sorry the pictures aren't in order- and I bet the words will not be placed perfectly over them either!!).

Toby

The dog with a blog

A bar of goat milk soap my trainer made!

Group photo

Angel

Me sitting in coat

Me sitting in front of a big snowman (not real)

Me eating my cake!

Dog cake

Me kissing "Tillie"

Me & Tillie

My award & gift

Obedience





Enjoying myself!
(sprawled out on the floor)

Me & Sparkie

Bingo (I think!)

Vote 4 Toby!

Vote for Toby!!

My trainer entered me in a contest (which I know I won't win, 13,446 votes for the top dog, & I only have 16 votes...).

Voting ends December 15, please vote for me!

You are able to vote for more than 1 dog, so you can vote for me, enter the contest- and vote for my friends!!

Dogs that have entered:

Toby

Cabana

Ammo

Sierra Rose

Baloo

Victoria

If you have entered this contest please let me know, I will be happy to add your name!!

Toby

the dog with a blog

Toby update

(picture of Toby before this medical issue -

laying head through staircase)

Thank you everyone for your concerns in comments,

Here is the email we got back from Toby's school -

"Obviously, Toby has a significant problem around his lips and muzzle. I would suggest he be seen by a vet ASAP. Unfortunately there are many things that may cause this. Sometimes we see this as an allergic reaction to plastic food or water bowls. The first thing I would do is make sure he has no contact with anything plastic, even play toys. We also sometimes see this as an allergic reaction to certain foods or other things he might be coming in contact with. If getting rid of plastic things doesn’t help, we could always try a hypoallergenic diet.

In addition to getting rid of anything plastic, I would do skin scrapings to check for mange mites (demodex) and also do cytology to see if there might be bacteria or fungi causing an infection and treat accordingly. Rarely, we see dogs with bizarre diseases like lupus or pemphigus that can only be diagnosed with skin biopsies. Hope this helps, let me know if I can do anything else."

The vet put him on antibiotics and steroids again. The scraping found no mites. He said that he doesn’t think it’s contagious. He does think that it’s awfully coincidental how this is right on the heels of the eye issue he had just recovered from.

He wasn’t too keen on the idea of the dirty bowls b.c. dogs eat all sorts of things outside and don’t get sick. So though he disregarded that we will still start washing toby’s bowl often. I changed out the 2 huge Tupperware water containers (3 indoor dogs!) for one big stainless steel spaghetti pot of water. 

Toby's trainer

Wild Dogs=...

...Tired Dogs!!!


Toby's trainer

Liberty + Toby= ...

...WILD DOGS!

Toby's trainer