I'm leaving...

No, not for good!!

But it's "puppy swap" time at our puppy group... and I'll be gone for 2 whole weeks.

For those of you who don't know what a "puppy swap" is, I'll explain...

During the 1+ year our raisers have us, we have to participate in a "puppy swap". This swap could be at any time... and for as many weeks as the Area Coordinator wants.

The AC will assign us dogs a different raiser for those weeks (she tries to place us in different environments... for a dog who doesn't go to work with it's raiser; they place it with a raiser who would take the dog to work) and for those weeks we follow the new raiser's schedule.

This is to get us dogs used to working in different environments - being handled by different raiser's - learning to obey with someone other than our normal handler - and much more.

My puppy swap date has been set for THIS Saturday, I will go to stay with another raiser for 2 weeks... and then return back to my current raiser.

While I'm away, my raiser will have my brother "Al" (also known as, and called "Big Al"...).

Sadly, I won't be able to update this blog while I'm gone - BUT I've given permission to my Raiser that (if Al wants) he may update my blog while I'm away.

I really hope he won't scare all my followers away... and you will continue to read my posts when I return. He's a great dog (like me!) and I just know you'll love him.

My raiser will most likely update once or twice about Al, before letting him on - but he's related to me, so he'll get the hang of it quite quickly!

On a different note - furry thanks to all who voted fur me at Mango Minster, and though I didn't win the "readers choice" award... the judge just so happened to pick me as the winner!

I'm furry excited to have won, and I'm looking forward to the Best In Show competition, that's coming up.

AND... I also want to thank The Teacher's Pets for picking me as one of their friends to highlight on their "Thankful For 3 Friends" blog hop, furry thanks!

Have a happy Thursday, and I do plan on posting before I leave,

Rudy - The Good Old Dog

Photo Day - (almost) Wordless Wednesday

Hey furry friends!
My raiser decided to snap some pictures of me outside in the guide dog harness yesterday - and I think those pictures would be a perfect (almost) Wordless Wednesday post!
I hope you enjoy the pictures; and furry Wednesday kisses to all,

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Sometimes, I wish she'd look before taking the picture...

VOTE FUR ME!

Hey furry friends - Mango Minster has FINALLY started voting... and today is the day that my class... is open for voting.

So head over to Mango Minster and furry please, VOTE FUR ME! It's on the right side and Say's "VOTING - Good Old Dogs".

I need to show those other dogs what a Good Old Dog really is... so please vote for me; EVERY vote counts :)
*My furry cool entry

Furry kisses - and furry thanks for voting!

Rudy - The Good Old Dog

Behaving during a Meeting = FUN Afterwards!

I attended a Naval Academy Event with my furry cool raiser/family; where they would be packing boxes to send up to all of our "groups" mids. (I just slept...)
Doing what my raiser asked of me; I did a down-stay during the meeting, somehow managing to fall asleep, with all those people talking (see movies below).
But the one thing I didn't know my raiser was planning... was IF I behaved well during the meeting, then before we left - she'd let me have a short "playdate" with Biscuit (a yellow lab who lived at the house we were doing the meeting at).
Funny thing was - since Biscuit was outside in their fenced in yard; I didn't even realize a dog was there! (I did smell a furry cool creature... but I didn't know fur sure if it was a doggy).
since I behaved SO WELL during the meeting, my raiser & the owner of Biscuit had both of us doggies on the leash - and let us (slowly) meet.
My raiser was told that Biscuit doesn't always like strange dogs - but fur some GOOD reason, she fell in love with me... and we played for over an hour!
(Biscuit is a 6yr old, SPAYED female)
My raiser took many pictures and videos (see below), I hope you enjoy them :)
Furry Monday kisses!

Rudy
The dog with a blog


Behaving during the meeting...


(Movie of Rudy in a down-stay; you can hear the people in the background talking... quite loudly. Near the end of the movie; the chair beside him, gets pushed into his head... all he does is move his head to a different place! Good distraction training)


(Movie of Rudy in a down stay - in coat/harness, people are talking in the background; and many people are walking by/stepping over Rudy. He isn't fazed at all by the distractions/shoes/people.)


Equals; FUN afterwards...

(Movie of Rudy & Biscuit playing on the deck)

Twice the Fun

Interested in having twice the fun, at your house today?
Follow these rules to find out how -


To have twice the fun - you will need TWICE the toys...



Once you accomplish convincing your mom to buy you TWO of the same toys, you then begin having "twice the fun" with those toys...

Continue having "twice the fun" with the toys - but make sure to chew on BOTH toys...

You do have to realize, having "twice the fun" will make you tired quite quickly...

As long as you understand those rules, having twice the fun is a furry BLAST - and should be done everyday.

Hope you enjoyed those pictures, and have a furry FUN Friday!

Rudy - the dog with a blog

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

MY RAISER IS BACK!
And she's loaded with LOTS of new doggy treats & toys for me :)
She also stopped by a dog bakery during her shopping trip... and bought me a homemade DOG doughnut!
Enjoy the picture & movie below,
Furry Wednesday kisses!

Rudy
The dog with a blog

Yep... it's really a dog treat!


And it was GOOD


(Movie of Rudy eating the doughnut dog treat)

Finding My Better Half...

My new furry friend Norwood is doing a "Finding Your Better Half" contest... and even with my "odd" coloring, my raiser decided to let me enter!
Though I couldn't find a perfect match... a cute Lab named Twyla caught my eye;
"Hello! I am Twyla and I am a country gal looking to come to the big city in February! I am a black lab mix about one year old and weighing in at about 50 pounds. I am the complete package! Besides being BEAUTIFUL I am also reported to be a total sweetheart who is good with kids, other doggies and cats too."

I love how she just tells it all - and she is fur sure a BEAUTIFUL doggy!

I thinks we would be a perfect match :) *See pictures below*

What do you think?

BTW - my raiser is leaving for a couple days (something about a shopping trip...) and THANK GOODNESS she decided to leave me home with some of the family (I don't care for days worth of shopping) but I don't know if I'll have any posting/blogging time until she gets back... I know all my furry friends will miss me though.
Furry Monday Kisses, enjoy the pictures below... of my better half TWYLA!

Rudy

The dog with a blog


Twyla's Sit...

Rudy's sit...

Twyla's Down...

Rudy's Down...

Twyla's Stand...

Rudy's stand...

Fun While Working

I had a furry fun shopping trip yesterday... filled with lots of "Rudy... sit/stay" (snap of picture)... "Rudy... Forward", go another 2 feet... "Rudy... sit/stay" (snap of picture) - and on and on... My raiser thinks taking pictures with me in a "sit-stay" is a lot of furry fun for HER. If she could just realize WALING FORWARD is a LOT easier for both of us and will get places quicker.

Other than the picture taking part of the shopping trip... I did have lots of fun! I really enjoy working with the guide dog harness, and I love getting to go into shops. (please note: My raiser IS NOT allowed to/and doesn't use the handle of the harness).

My raiser said I'm doing much better with my pulling, and she was very impressed with her our worked during our shopping trip.

Have a furry good weekend... and enjoy the pictures below!

Rudy - the dog with a blog

Um.... Mom... could we GO anytime soon??



YUMMY - it's the candy section!



Mommy.... PLEASE, can I have just one???




Finally, not a "sit-stay" photo... See, we are MOVING in the picture...

Bed Training... with videos!!

I betcha you never knew that there was a command for "BED"!
You may think that every dog knows that command by heart... but maybe not the exact way I do :)
What is the command 'bed"?
When my raiser gives the command "bed" I'm to find the closet dog bed and lay/sit/stand on it... until I'm given the command "okay/take a break/come". This ISN'T a "stay" command - as I'm allowed to play on the dog bed... and get up and move around (as long as some part of my body is touching the bed... I'm good!).
This command is quite helpful for my raiser when we have company over - eating dinner - playing games - watching TV - cooking - etc :) I can stay on the bed for a short time of 1 second... or a time of 2+ hours... all depends on what my raiser tells me!
I've known this command for quite awhile (back before November 2010), and my raiser thinks it is one of the best commands I know!
I can do this command on different beds... in different rooms... and with different people.
(Please not that this command is not a "have to" in the guide dog book - it's something the raisers CAN teach the dogs if wanted).
Enjoy the 2 movies below of me doing the "bed" command - both are in 2 different rooms, with 2 different beds.

Furry Thursday kisses,

Rudy
The dog with a blog

(Movie of Rudy doing the "Bed" command in the dinning room - when I say "bed" he finds his bed and stays on it 'til I say "okay or come")

(Movie of Rudy doing the "bed" command in the living room; with a different bed)

Wordless Wednesday

Rudy
The dog with a blog

Tuesday with Trixie

I've finally got to meet my playdate pal's new "sister"! (our neighbors' new 12 week old pup).

My furry cool raiser took me over for a short playdate, and I got to sniff Trixie (the new puppy) through the fence!
She's a world of cutest and oh so small; she's also a rescue puppy which is why she is a little bit skinny, but her new owners are working on fattening her up!

Since she is still quite small and "fragile" I wasn't allowed to play with her... but someday soon I shall be able too!

I was quite happy to be able to sniff her through the chain link fence that Tracker & I were playing in, but poor little Trixie was dying to come play with us!

Enjoy the furry cute pictures below,

Furry Tuesday Kisses,

Rudy

The dog with a blog

You smell funny... almost like a puppy??

I thinks I can FLY!

CPR for DOGS?

That's furry right... at our guide dog meeting yesterday; we not only practiced our commands/obedience... we also learned about Health/First Aid, CPR & the Heimlich Maneuver for DOGS.
We started off with some obedience (normal sit/down/stand stay, forward, right/left, and such). Then we did a short puppy swap (5-10 min) and kept working with obedience. Seems as though I was a little more interested in paying attention to my raiser; then to the person that had me :) But that is the reason why we do these puppy swaps.
My raiser was very impressed when she was working me, and did notice that I did extremely well with the dog distraction issues I have. (she puts me in a sit-stay X feet away from the dog(s) and slowly moves closer - continuing the sit-stay, if I break it... then we move back. The goal is for the raiser's to be able to great each other... while the dogs ignore each other).
After they worked the wiggles out of us; we all sat down and our AC did a 45+ minute talk on Health/First Aid for dogs (which my raiser really did enjoy and learned a whole lot from!).
They learned things from caring for ear infections, taking a dog's pulse, doing CPR and much more!
My raiser did get to use the Heimlich Maneuver on ME (which I didn't care for...), but CPR & Mouth to "Snout" is something they weren't allowed to test on us (thank goodness!). But the AC did say they are getting a "CPR" dog for the next meeting.
My raiser said it was a great meeting - and to make things better... we were also given the guide dog harness to bring home! (pictures coming soon).
Enjoy the pictures below - I'm off to hope I NEVER start choking and need my raiser to give me the Heimlich Maneuver!

Rudy
The dog with a blog






Um... Mom... WHAT ARE YOU DOING??

Mes have a NEW FRIEND!

Remember my neighbor/playdate pal Tracker?

Well... Tracker's owner just brought home a new little fella named Trixie! (A female Black Mouth Cur/Boxer mix 12 week old rescue puppy). My raiser said she is soo cute, and hopefully in the next couple weeks; I'll get to meet her! (picture coming soon).

So instead of 1 playdate pal... I'll have TWO!

On a side note... I've got a furry cool puppy meeting tomorrow (my raiser will learn how to give ME CPR, mouth to mouth, & basic medical care for dogs), I knows I'll have lots of furry fun!

Enjoy my sweet photo below; as you know, I'm quite fond of my over sized stuffies :)

Furry Friday Kisses,

Rudy

The dog with a blog

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

In my mind... today could be called "Helpful" Wednesday... my raiser is calling it "UN helpful" Wednesday.
She was photographing her Goat Milk Soap (for the website) and I decided she should to the same with my furry cool toy...


But she somehow thinks that JUST soap should be on the black fabric...


Whatever, that's what I get for TRYING to help.
Don't you think she should have at least gotten a nice close up of my furry cool toy??

Rudy
The dog with a blog

Upcoming Review... Just for YOU!

As many of my furry cool readers know, we've done many reviews AND giveaways through CSN stores.

My raiser is always buying some cool doggy item for me, or ordering some cool doggy item for me to use as a giveaway on our blog.

CSN stores has offered our blog another item to review/giveaway. At this point I think my raiser will order some things for ME but may order a doggy thing to do a giveaway later with :)

She's said something about ordering me some new doggy toys, but she's also been looking at modern furniture - I've just got to convince her that I REALLY NEED MORE TOYS and she DOESN'T need anymore furniture. We'll see how well that's going to go...

I've got some furry cool items already for a upcoming giveaway (maybe Valentine's Day?), but I'll let you guys know more on that later :)

Enjoy the picture below... taking a break at a food court; after a long shopping day.

Have a Furry Terrific Tuesday!

Rudy

The dog with a blog

My Distraction Training...

My raiser said "distraction training" helps me with my path to becoming a guide dog.

But I don't see how in the furry little world "ignoring" a yellow jacket (that smells like 7 cats...) is going to help with my training.

(Movie of Rudy in a down-stay with a yellow jacket sleeve hanging 1 inch above his nose... and the owner of the jacket does own 7 cats. Rudy did ignore the jacket - and doesn't even acknowledge it's there)

I think if she let me smell it... lay on it... lick it... chew it... and play with the jacket... I'd be much better off.

Whatever, at least she said "you passed that test".

Rudy - The dog with a blog

Christmas Pictures...

Wait, Christmas pictures??
Oh yeah - my furry forgetful raiser FORGOT to take pictures of me in front of the Christmas Tree until NEW YEAR'S EVE.
I don't get why she takes pictures with a Christmas tree... a WEEK after Christmas!?
Oh well, at least I look furry cute :)
Hope all of you have a great weekend - my raiser is off to some 4-H thing this afternoon, but due to the fact that she's never been to this certain event - I have to stay home (for certain reasons), but she did mention something about leaving frozen meat/PB filled bones for me!
Furry Friday Kisses,

Rudy
The dog with a blog

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

Pictures and video below are of our first January 2011 snow - which was AMAZING!!
My furry cool raiser took me sledding with her (video below).

Hope you enjoy them, have a great (almost) Wordless Wednesday & a Happy Snow Day! (if you have snow...)

Rudy

The dog with a blog

(Movie of me sledding down the hill in the snow - with Rudy following beside me!)

New Year's Party... for our Guide Dog Group

Last Saturday was our furry awesome New Year's Party with the guide dog group.
It was AMAZING - all but 1 pup showed up, and we also had some "older" dogs come (some that graduated from the guide dog school - and are in the breeder program, or got Career changed due to allergies). So it was a very "dog" crowded place!
I also got to meet the newest pups to our group: "Hedy", "Happy", "Waffles" & "Judy", which are all so furry cute!
My last puppy sitter (who currently is raising Waffles) was there - and my raiser was so surprised that I cared more about the lady - then I did about her puppy "Waffles"!
Which isn't normal... because I'm really dog distracted! Guess I just really like my sitters!
We did obedience before sitting down to eat - and I did PERFECT with my commands, getting them all correct right on the dot. When we did the puppy swap (all raisers trade puppies) my raiser ended up with "Happy" one of the new pups. And after I calmed down, I did pretty good with the raiser who was working me.
We did the awards/gifts before we ate - and I was given this HUGE baggy with cool things in it. One of which was a awesome water bottle toy (pictured somewhere below) that I love.
My raiser handed out SEGDI puppy raiser bumper magnetics that she designed to all the current puppy raisers. (Thanks to Build a Sign - as they donated all those to me for free!). The puppy raisers LOVED them, and our AC thinks the school may be interested in them too :)
Once the people finished eating - all the dogs were given doggy cake, which was amazing - we took a group picture (and some pictures of my brother "Al" & I together), then it was time to leave.
I really hope you guys enjoy the pictures & movies below!
I'm off to go eat some snow :)

*Btw - if you didn't see the post my raiser did yesterday, it gives out ALL the info we have on her last dog Toby. And tells you what career he chose to take. So make sure to check it out - as he's got a fun filled life ahead of him!*

Rudy
The dog with a blog

(Movie of Rudy doing the command "down" during puppy class)

(Movie of Rudy doing the commands "down" & "stand" during puppy class - he was the first pup to stand and our AC told him great job - which you can "kind of" hear in the video)