Delve into the day to day experience of being a Puppy Raiser under Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc. by following my journey raising puppies to make someone's life just a little better. Complete with triumphs, disappointments, laugh out loud moments, and training.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Puppy Name Guessing Game!
I got my e-mail from Guide Dogs letting me know a little bit about the puppy that I'm picking up on the 16th of December! I'm going to have another male Black Lab and his name starts with a 'J'. I would LOVE to hear some of your guesses on the name of my future pup in training!!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Puppy Fever!
Well, I think that's it time for an update! I found out that I'm going to be getting my mew puppy on the 16th of December! The puppy truck will arrive at Oregon campus between 3 and 3:30 and I'll finally get to have a puppy again! Yes, I'm excited. There are two pups reserved for our club and I get to go get them both. I just can't wait!!!! Knowing that there's a puppy who's already born and has my name on it has amplified my puppy fever. I just want to get my hands on the little bundle of fur already!
Once I get my pup, I'll have it for a week before he gets to go on his first trip. We're driving for 6 or 7 hours to spend Christmas with my mom's family in Missoula. It will be a real treat to have a puppy around for the holidays!
Our puppy raising club has a new meeting place now too. We were generously offered a space that I think will be perfect for our needs. It will be nice to have a place that we can actually go and know that we'll be able to get into regularly!
I hope that everyone is having a good time as we build up to Thanksgiving. I know that this is a busy, busy time of year and I know that we're all looking forward to the break! I'd love to hear some stories of how everyone's doing with their own pups to keep me happy until I get to go pick mine up!
Once I get my pup, I'll have it for a week before he gets to go on his first trip. We're driving for 6 or 7 hours to spend Christmas with my mom's family in Missoula. It will be a real treat to have a puppy around for the holidays!
Our puppy raising club has a new meeting place now too. We were generously offered a space that I think will be perfect for our needs. It will be nice to have a place that we can actually go and know that we'll be able to get into regularly!
I hope that everyone is having a good time as we build up to Thanksgiving. I know that this is a busy, busy time of year and I know that we're all looking forward to the break! I'd love to hear some stories of how everyone's doing with their own pups to keep me happy until I get to go pick mine up!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Puppy Withdrawl
Since Faulkner has left, I have not spent very much time "puppyless."
The day that he left I took on Niven (a 13 month old black lab) for a few days. He was pretty fun and a good distraction to have right after Faulkner got on the puppy truck. Once Niven went back home, I only had a couple days before I took on a pup being raised through a local service dog organization called Genesis Service Dogs. The puppy is a 6 month old labradoodle (lab/standard poodle mix) named Chester. He's been a bit of an adventure and has reminded me of the huge differences between labs and poodles. The past week was a true learning experience for us both! Chester has gone to spend some time with another of our currently "puppyless" raisers so that we can continue to try to help him succeed. But, that leaves without a dog again.
I don't know what to do with myself when I don't have a puppy in training with me. Really, I'm lost.
I always forget what a huge part of my life puppy raising really is. If I had to pick one title to describe myself, it would be "Puppy Raiser." Plain and simple, I have an addiction. And I'm going into withdrawls. No matter how many pups I have go through my home, if I'm not raising one of my own, I don't feel like a complete person. I've noticed for the past three years that I always have a dog with me in my dreams. The dreams are VERY rarely about the dog, though. Most of the time, I'm just holding a leash with a dog attatched because that's what I do. And the dog just goes with me.
I've been told that my club has puppies reserved that will be leaving California around December 15th and I can't wait to get my hands on one!!!!
The day that he left I took on Niven (a 13 month old black lab) for a few days. He was pretty fun and a good distraction to have right after Faulkner got on the puppy truck. Once Niven went back home, I only had a couple days before I took on a pup being raised through a local service dog organization called Genesis Service Dogs. The puppy is a 6 month old labradoodle (lab/standard poodle mix) named Chester. He's been a bit of an adventure and has reminded me of the huge differences between labs and poodles. The past week was a true learning experience for us both! Chester has gone to spend some time with another of our currently "puppyless" raisers so that we can continue to try to help him succeed. But, that leaves without a dog again.
I don't know what to do with myself when I don't have a puppy in training with me. Really, I'm lost.
I always forget what a huge part of my life puppy raising really is. If I had to pick one title to describe myself, it would be "Puppy Raiser." Plain and simple, I have an addiction. And I'm going into withdrawls. No matter how many pups I have go through my home, if I'm not raising one of my own, I don't feel like a complete person. I've noticed for the past three years that I always have a dog with me in my dreams. The dreams are VERY rarely about the dog, though. Most of the time, I'm just holding a leash with a dog attatched because that's what I do. And the dog just goes with me.
I've been told that my club has puppies reserved that will be leaving California around December 15th and I can't wait to get my hands on one!!!!
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