plays with puppies: photos

Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Stairs!

To break the time up during a long drive to Baraga in the U.P., FLD Henry and I stop at the Cut River Bridge. It turned out to be a good opportunity to practice stairs.

A LONG staircase down to Lake Michigan. While the landings are wood, the stairs are open metal grates.

This shot is looking back up the wooden staircase. A small yellow lab/golden mix puppy is standing at the top of a flight looking at the camera. His leash is tied onto the railing.

FLD Henry hasn't seen stairs like these!

Taken from above looking straight down on the puppy walking down the grated stairs. The puppy has his front paws on one step and his back paws on the step behind him. He is looking up at the camera. His brown leash is loose.

"I got this!"

A scenic shot of a small rushing river with a leaf-covered trail on the right side. Colorful trees line the far side of the river and trees already bear lean over from the right. In the distance with a blue sky behind it, is the green trusses of the Cut River Bridge, high above the river.

The river-view of the Cut River Bridge.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Playmates for Henry

Two sets of dog guests took the puppy-heat off Gus recently.

A cute-as-a-button yellow lab/golden puppy is sitting on a fall-colored rug, looking at the camera. He is leaning slightly to the left. He has a silver round tag on his collar with "Leader Dog 10813" on it.

FLD Henry thinks, "What? Four-legged guests?"

First, retired Leader Dog "mom" Amber and cc'd Autumn came to visit. They stayed for more than a week.

Three dogs sit and one dog is lying on her back on a wood floor. On the far left is a black lab, looking at the camera, he is sittingon a blue and brown striped rug. Next is a chocolate lab, exposing her belly, then a small golden/yellow lab puppy sitting just in front of a yellow lab. All are looking at the camera.

All pups sat when asked, except "melted chocolate" Amber. From left to right is cc'd Gus, retired mom Amber, FLD Henry and his bestest playmate, cc'd Autumn.

One weekend, two German Shorthaired Pointers came to play. Oh, and to chase chipmunks around the woodshed.

Five large dogs mill about on a light wood floor. The two on the left are brown and white German Shorthaired Pointers, in the middle is a black lab, on the right is a chocolate lab and in the background in the middle is a yellow lab. In the background someone is standing with blue jeans on, only his legs are visible. Another man is sitting on a black desk chair at a wood desk, wearing blue jeans and a yellow shirt, but is visible only from the waist down.

Odo and Gauge mingle with Gus, Autumn and Amber. FLD Henry is not in the mix. Yet.

Now the group of dogs are starting to play. In the foreground is the yellow lab. Behind her is the black lab and one of the german shorthairs - they are engaging each other with their mouths. In the background on the left is the older german shorthair, he seems to be sniffing the butt of the black lab. Off to the right is the chocolate lab, she is looking at the group with her mouth open. Behind the group of dogs you can just barely see the small head of a short yellow golden/lab mix puppy.

The play begins. Can you spot FLD Henry in the background peering at the action?

It is interesting how the dogs sorted themselves out. Gus and Odo paired up. Momma Amber sometimes acted as the fun police and barreled her body between pairs to break things up. Old-man Gauge, who doesn't play as much as he used to, found Autumn to be a sweet young thing.

A close shot of the heads of two dogs playing. The dog on the left is an older german shorthair pointer, his muzzle is gray, the dog on the right is a yellow lab. Both of them have their mouths wide open and they are facing each other. The lab is showing her large white teeth.

Gauge and Autumn hit it off. Dog-play can seem scary.

The group of dogs are now sitting or standing at "attention," looking to the right up at someone standing just out of view (you can see blue jeans and socked feet. The person is dispensing treats. In front is the yellow lab, sitting, next is a german shorthair, standing but about to sit, next is the black lab standing, the other german shorthair is sitting, the little yellow golden/lab puppy is the only one looking at the floor. Of course, there is a very small bit of kibble on the floor by the person's feet, which no one is paying attention to, except the puppy. On the right is the chocolate lab, standing with her muzzle up about to receive a treat.

But all is well as the pups are called out of play. FLD Henry is the only one who notices the dropped piece of kibble.

FLD Henry was not too shy, and eventually got into the fray. Autumn seemed to be his favorite playmate, she adjusted her play with the little guy. Gus will miss her when she goes home!

A small yellow golden/lab mix puppy sits with his hind legs splayed out in front of a pine door on beige carpet. He is looking at the camera. There is a lamp shade partly in view on the far left side, and the back of a chair with a blue blanket on it on the far right side.

FLD Henry waits at the bedroom door. Gotta love a puppy that asks to go to bed in the evening!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Puppy Update: "Pennsylvania" Dutch!

This time, I had a spy on the inside. Unintentionally, of course. Far be it from me to work around the rules. (April Fools!)

Sometime after I received the email from Leader Dogs for the Blind letting me know that the puppy I raised was issued to a blind or visually impaired client, a Facebook message popped up in my browser. It was from someone I know who was attending a two-week "brush-up" with her Leader Dog at the same time that Dutch was in class with his new person.

This person was very discreet. I learned nothing about Dutch's person, except perhaps that the person was English-speaking. My insider said that when Dutch was being his usual friendly self with the Leader Dogs bus driver, his person had said, "Dutch, you're not driving! Sit. Good boy."

A woman wearing sunglasses, pink pants and a light blue top is standing and looking down at a golden retriever who is sitting to the right looking up at her. The woman is holding a leash in her left hand that is attached to the dog's collar. There is a bright blue line painted along the white brick wall behind them that helps the visually impaired navigate. There is also a framed picture on the wall above the dog.

LD Dutch

Sometime later, an email arrived with a jpeg attachment. Now I knew more. In the photo Dutch was sitting and looking intently up at his person.

Still, even knowing this much, waiting in the lobby of the Polk Residence at Leader Dogs on visitation night with a crowd of other puppy-raisers was still nerve wracking. What would Dutch do when he saw me? I had to not react and just ignore him. How would his person treat him? What would this stranger think of me?

The first team was announced. I can't even remember the name of the dog that was brought down the hall with its person. The trainer who walked with the team repeated the dog's name, looking for the puppy raiser to identify him or herself. Someone from across the lobby by the elevator said, "Here!" The team found the raiser. I strained to see; the dog was wearing a harness! (At past visitations the dogs were on leash and not in harness.)

"Here's Dutch!"

I quickly forgot about the group that was now working their way through the crowd and into the conference room to chat. "Where are you?" the second trainer beckoned. I raced over to where I could see down the hallway.

Two women are walking arm in arm toward the camera. The woman on the left is a Leader Dog trainer, she is wearing blue jeans and a grey zippered hoody and a blue t-shirt under it. Her ID tag is pinned to the hem of the sweatshirt. She has longish blond hair and she is smiling. The woman on the right has her right hand in the crook of the other woman's elbow. She is wearing black slacks and a grey longsleeved top. She is wearing sunglasses and has longish brown hair. She is holding a leash in her left hand that is attached to a golden retriever on her left side. The golden has a Leader Dog harness on with a yellow sign that says please don't pet me I'm working. The women and dog are just on a carpeted floor, behind them is a long hallway with tile floor.

A Leader Dog trainer escorts LD Dutch and his person.

It was Dutch, walking on a leash on the left side of a woman wearing sunglasses. Her right hand was holding the left arm of the trainer. Dutch wore a harness like the first dog.

"Here," I called.

The trainer introduced me to Gail, who couldn't wait to ask, "How did Dutch get his name?" I blubbered that my husband named him. "Do you like it?" I asked. I searched the crowd for Andy. He and my niece Elaina were still back by the door. I motioned him to come so he could explain how he came up with Dutch's name.

"I'm from Pennsylvania," Gail said. "It's perfect!"

Poor Gail struggled with Dutch as he strained to sniff my legs. "When he heard your voice he really pulled," she said.

The woman with black pants and a grey top with the golden retriever is facing away from the camera on the left side. She is slightly bent over holding the leash. The dog is pulling to the right toward a couple that are looking down at the dog. The man in the middle is wearing glasse and a green zipped sweatshirt and blue jeans. The woman on the right has short brown hair and is wearing a purple hoody and blue jeans. She is holding a camera cradled in her left arm.

LD Dutch checks me out.

When Gail encouraged me to say hello, I knelt down to greet him. I am a little embarrassed to say that the golden boy went berserk. "I just don't want him to hurt you," Gail said as she admonished Dutch for his enthusiasm. "It's okay, I've got his collar," I said, grappling to keep the fur ball's four feet on the floor.

Eventually Gail and Dutch, Andy and I and Elaina made it into the conference room. Mr. Dutch was just as I remembered him. From the way he was so exuberant, I'd guess that I was just as he remembered me, too.

The man in the green sweatshirt is sitting on a chair on the left side, reaching to pet the golden retriever. The golden is lying on his side on the carpet, rolling over. Next to the man is a teenage girl with glasses and a varsity jacket and blue jeans. She is sitting in a chair looking down at the dog at her feet. On the right side is the woman with sunglasses wearing a grey shirt and black slacks. She is holding the dog's leash in her hands.

LD Dutch dips his shoulder to the floor, butt raised. When Andy leans in to pet him he rolls over to expose his belly. My niece Elaina looks on while Gail listens to Andy. He explains how Dutch got his name. "I always pick names that remind me of a good friend," he said. "We've had a Rosie, Mike, Gus, Scout, and Dutch."

In this photo, only the teenager (on the left) and the woman with sunglasses are in view. The teen has her legs crossed, sitting in the chair. The woman is reaching into her shirt pocket with her right hand while holding the dog's leash with her left. The golden is sitting in front of her facing her, almost at attention. The dog has a guide harness on.

LD Dutch knows who has the treats.

The woman with sunglasses is sitting in the chair facing the camera. She has the dog's leash in her left hand, she is petting the dog's head with her right hand.The dog is now lying on the floor on the woman's right side facing the camera. The dog looks like he is smiling, his tongue is hanging out.

While we talked, Gail's hand seldom strayed away from Dutch.


The Nylabone I brought for Dutch helped him settle while we visited with Gail.

This is a group shot of the teenager (far left, standing), the man (middle, standing), the short woman (far right, standing), the woman with the sunglasses (sitting in a chair in front of the other three) and the golden retriever lying on the floor to the right of the sitting woman. Everyone, even the dog is smiling.

We are thrilled to meet Gail and see Dutch again. My niece Elaina was excited to join us this time. Her sisters Natalie and Sofia each got to meet the handlers of my other puppies that became working Leader Dogs - LD Scout and LD Mike. Gail promises to drop me a line now and then.

Our short hour ticked away and it was time to say good-bye. Again. Gail took hold of the harness and told Dutch, "Find the door." Dutch was all business as he led her straight away.

Other handlers took the arms of trainers to be escorted back to their rooms. Not Gail. She gave Dutch a command which I could not hear and off they went with no hesitation. As we watched them go, Dutch suddenly looked back. Gail said, "Leave it." He turned back around and did his job, tail wagging.

Looking down the same hallway (carpeted floor then tile floor). Two women in the distance are walking away with a black lab on a loose leash on the left side of the woman on the left. In the foreground is the woman with sunglasses walking away in the same direction. She is holding the harness that is on the golden retriever and the two walk as one.

LD Dutch and his handler Gail walk away as one.

Dutch will live in the country with Gail and her husband along with 24 chickens, a 10-year-old dog, and two cats. Dutch sent postcards from Leader Dogs to Gail's six grandchildren, who are very anxious to meet him.

Gail told us of a park she enjoys walking to, but said she has never made it there safely using her cane. She either runs into things or falls. Gail said she is excited to have LD Dutch guide her the 2.5 miles to the park when she gets home.

LD Dutch is Gail's first guide dog!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Puppy Update! Dutch heads for Phase II

Dutch's 5th week update arrived at last, if a bit over-due...

The dog you raised, D#14157 Dutch, has been in training for over 5 weeks and has completed the first phase of training. The instructor working with Dutch has made the following comments about the puppy you raised:
Some of the things that Dutch is doing well at are:
1. stairs
2. proper behavior on the training truck
3. name recognition
Some of the things that the trainer is working on with Dutch are:
1. obedience
2. elevator work
3. getting accustomed to the harness
This update lets you know how Dutch is doing at this point in training. Thank you for raising Dutch for our program! Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Puppy Development. You will also receive another update during the 13th week after Dutch has completed their 12th week of training.
Puppy Development
Leader Dogs for the Blind

Hooray!

No photos with this report. But here are two of Dutch taken one year apart...

A ground-level photo of a small and fuzzy golden retriver puppy. He has his nose in the snow facing the camera. In the background, out of focus, is our wood shed filled with wood.

FLD Dutch snuffs his nose into an early snowfall, November, 2012.

The same golden retriever, taken one year later so he is now grown. He is facing the camera with his nose to the ground. There is just a dusting of snow. Behind to the right, out of focus, is a leave-less tree.

FLD Dutch, one year later, still trying to snuff up a dusting of snow!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Puppy-less puppy-fixes

I am Future Leader Dog puppy-less.

A woman with short brown hair wearing a red fleece jacket and blue jeans kneels on one knee next to a full-grown golden retriever who is standing and wearing a blue, white and red bandana that says, "Future Leader Dog." The two are next to a black statue of a german shepherd dog. Behind them are glass doors with white letters that tell the hours of the kennel.

FLD Dutch and I pose at the entrance to the Leader Dogs for the Blind kennel on return day.

Side photo of a full-grown golden retriever. He is facing to the right and is wearing a red, white, and blue collar.

Dutch in the intake room.

Evenings around here are calmer now that FLD Dutch is on his way. He went back to Leader Dogs for the Blind on November 11 to begin his formal training.

A close-up shot of a round metal tag that says "Leader Dogs" with the number 14157 beneath it. The tag is attached to a chain collar and it is resting on the golden fur of a golden retriever dog.

Dutch's new tag sporting his "dog" number.

When there is a puppy underfoot, I forget how easy it is to care for my older dogs. CC'd Gus is a professional couch potato. Except when he gets the rips.

Last night, when I went out to stoke the fire before bed, was the first time since Dutch left that Gus zoomed around the yard. Even old Gypsy got into the game a bit, barking and snarling as he kicked up leaves on tight turns around her.

On his return, Dutch bounced away just like all my other puppies. Now the wait begins.


Leader Dog in-training Dutch relaxes while I finish up some paperwork.

Luckily, I have other opportunities to get my puppy-fix.

PUPPIES!

My friends, Phyllis and Dick, home Leader Dog mom Amber. On November 2, Amber delivered her fourth litter - nine black puppies. I got to serve as "mid-wife" to the Lab/Golden mix pups.

Three boys and six girls. They are two weeks old now, eyes opening and they are pushing up on all fours.

A small black puppy is being held in a person's hand. The eyes are just opening and the tongue is just sticking out.

One Amber-puppy, just opening his eyes at two-weeks of age.

PRISON PUPPY-RAISING PROGRAM

Last August, Leader Dogs for the Blind coordinated a puppy-raising program at the Chippewa Correctional Facility in Kincheloe, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula (UP). My puppy counselor, Tammy, will also be puppy counselor for the prison raisers. And I get to help!

The Chippewa puppy-raisers in August 2013 with their four puppies and FLD Dutch and FLD Harper.

We take monthly trips to the UP to help the prison-raisers and to take the puppies out on "furlough." There are now six puppies at Chippewa, so this can be a challenge. Fortunately, there are past and present puppy-raisers in the UP who have offered to help. While the prison puppies are exposed to many different distractions at Chippewa, there are a few things which they need to experience that they can't get in prison. For instance, traffic and a variety of people, like kids and women.

This week, Tammy and I are traveling to the prison with Deb, the Puppy Development supervisor at Leader Dogs. After our work at Chippewa, we head to the west side of the UP to the town of Baraga. A prison there wants to start a puppy-raising program too. I will be taking a Chippewa puppy with me to check them out.

Keep posted as I continue with updates on the Michigan prison-puppy raising program....and updates on Dutch's progress at Leader Dogs!

(An inside source told me that Dutch has passed his physicals!)

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Gentleman Dutch

A very calm and well-behaved FLD Dutch joined a contingent of Red Hat ladies at a luncheon and musical performance in Saginaw yesterday.

Good boy, Dutch!

Eight ladies dressed in purple wearing fancy red hats pose with a golden retriever in front of them. The dog is 11 months old and is wearing a blue jacket stating that he is in training to be a Future Leader Dog.

FLD Dutch with the ladies.

Friday, May 10, 2013

FLD Dutch goes 'shroomin'

I was honored.

The "mushroom queens" invited FLD Dutch and me on a morel mushroom hunt.

Unless you live in Northern Michigan, you might not understand the significance of the honor. Morel hunters guard their sacred grounds with their lives.

Stephanie, her mom Fran, her sister Yevette and her daughter Lilly, (and Yevette's friend Jay) didn't even ask me to wear a burlap bag over my head as we drove to their secret spot deep in the Huron National Forest.

That, my friends, is an honor.

Lilly gave us all handmade name tags as we grabbed our onion bags to head out into the woods. My tag read, "Morel Adams." Another honor--I guess she thinks I take a lot of photographs!

A 7-months-old golden retriever puppy is in the foreground sniffing a log in the early spring woods--the forest floor is covered with dried out leaves and the trees are barely greening with leaves. There are three people in the background.

FLD Dutch sniffs out some fungi on an old log. Those aren't morels!

The evening was warm, the woods dry, the morels small and elusive. Stephanie said, "We just need a bit of rain for them to really pop."

A short-haired woman in the center of the picture is holding up a thumb-sized morel mushroom. She is holding a red mesh onion bag with her mushrooms in it. She is wearing a grey tshirt and blue jeans. A woman on the left side of the photo is wearing a pink long sleeved tshirt and blue jeans, with a light blue sweatshirt tied around her waist and a blue bandana on her head. She also holds a red mesh bag with morels in it. An 11-year-old girl is to the right of the photo. She has blond hair and is wearing a pint short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. The background is a spring hardwood forest with light colored leaves on the ground.

Stephanie holds up a nice morel. Her mom, Fran is on the left with her onion bag, and Lilly is to the right. Lilly is an eagle-eyed morel hunter!

After three or four hours, the veteran crew had a fairly good take. This rookie found three.

A closeup shot of two small brown morel mushrooms peeking up beneath some green grass, leaves and twigs.

My first two were a pair!

A close up of a brown morel mushroom that had popped up among a bunch of dry, light brown leaves on the forest floor.

This one stuck out like a sore thumb! (sorry)

A brown morel mushroom held in my left hand to demonstrate its size. The mushroom is about as long as my longest finger.

Here's some perspective for you on its size.

I admit I became distracted.

A six-petaled yellow flower on a long stalk, with about six stamen coming out from the middle of it. It is bending forward just a bit. Everything else in the photo is out of focus. To the right at the bottom is a green spottled leaf and to the left a small branch with some leaves sprouting off the end.

A yellow trout lily.

Trillium!

Wildflowers bloomed. Natural springs bubbled. The setting sun cast long shadows through the hazy-budding trees.

Shot from above, a golden retriever puppy leans over a green moss-covered bank to drink water from a natural spring. The spring has leaves floating in it and his lapping is creating small rings across the water. Trees are reflected in the water.

FLD Dutch laps a drink in a natural spring.

I said, The rate of reinforcement isn't high enough.

My comment would have been funnier amongst a group of dog trainers.

If the morels were as copious as the deer droppings that Dutch sniffed out, I might not have lost focus.

Deer-doo hunter* FLD Dutch looks at the camera. "What?" he seems to be saying.

*Dont' worry, FLD Dutch got lots of practice with "leave it" during our hunt and his ingestion of said morsels was very limited.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Take time to...

A closeup shot of the face of a Golden Retriever puppy looking down and sniffing a yellow crocus. His snout is a little bit crinkled and there are dew drops on his black nose.

FLD Dutch smells the first blooming ~~crocus~~ daffodil in our front yard...

A second photo of the Golden Retriever puppy sniffing the same flower, but now the flower is missing a petal! There is some blue flowers in the background.

...and take a little taste! I don't think he likes it.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Inadvertencies

Four days ago, I left my back door on cross-country skis. A freak spring storm dropped four inches of sleet-sugar snow and I was not going to miss an opportunity. The trails through our 13 acres led me to the Rifle River Recreation Area and thousands more acres of wilderness.

I took cc'd (career-changed) Gus along.

Gus approaches like he wants to herd me back onto my skis. I had taken them off so I could shoot a photo.

As young, strong and exuberant as Gus is, after an hour and a half I decided to turn toward home--no way was I going to be able to carry his 70 pounds back if he crapped out on me. Never mind what would happen if I crapped out on him!

It was a good choice. The last half-mile was a put-your-head-down-and-slide-one-ski-ahead-of-the-other slog back to the house. But we lived to tell about our wonderful last ski of the 2012/2013 winter.

Today

Yesterday's rain (and today's sun) is making the snow sigh like the wicked witch of the west, "I'm melting, melting! Oh what a life!"

I headed out my back door again, this time clad in hiking boots, not skis, this time with all three dogs. What a joyous, muddy, snowmelt mess! Water ran downhill like miniature waterfalls and filled the hollows into pools.

Dutch's pawprint in the last of the snow along the trail.

"Come on, keep up!" Dutch seemed to say as he looks back at me at the beginning of our hike.

Grousehaven Lake was still frozen over, but open water kissed the shoreline around Grebe Lake. I thought to take some pictures from the iced-in fishing dock on Grebe, which was accessible by a long pier.

The fishing dock on Grebe Lake.

Gypsy and Gus raced ahead. Dutch followed, attached to my waist by a long green lead.

KER PLUNK!

Just a few yards onto the pier, Dutch stepped off into open water; it was deep enough that he went all the way under. His head broke the surface like Shamu-the-whale, his front paws slapped the water like the fins of a circus seal. I guided him toward shore with the lead. He didn't have to swim much before his back paws touched bottom--he bounded onto dry land and shook himself silly.

"What happened?"

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL!

Dutch's first swim!

Toward the end of our hike, Dutch looks back at me. What do you suppose he is thinking?