Inara and Bryce photos

Mom says that the blog is boring with no pics...and since I've been sleeping on the couch a lot, that I need to share my blog with my siblings. So I'm gonna post a few pics of Inara and Bryce. They're a few weeks old (Bryce has moved on to his new puppy raiser), but I didn't think you all would mind! (remember, Inara is c-r-a-z-y)
~SDS

Inara loves to be the one to teach the puppies how to tug and play. She likes to get all herding bitch on their butts...like so:


"Ho-hum, teaching puppies to tug is so boring"


"Be careful puppy, or I will smite you with my Crazy Eye!"


"I can roll a puppy from across the room...with one glance"


"Then I crush him"


"Yes, it's all going according to plan"

Bryce will be moving on...

Mom finally has a puppy raiser for Bryce, so he'll be moving on this week. We'll miss him, but he'll finally get someone with more time for him. Right now, Mom's been busy with Xander (and his hurt leg) and other stuff...and she hasn't had the time for Bryce. He's gotten tons of experience with animals and other dogs, and plenty of quality socialization, but his training has been lacking. He has great attention and sits (no matter the distraction...he can sit and watch Mom on the sidelines of a flyball tournament!). He also can nose-target to a hand...and his tug and retrieve skills have been moving along nicely. But that's about it...and Mom knows he could be doing more.

We'll still see him each week with his new puppy raiser...so that'll be great.

Such a cute pup...


Part of being a puppy is learning good doggy social skills!







~SDS (teaching the Puppies in Training...one pup at a time!)

Why am I so good with other animals?

Maybe because I live with soooo many. We know many Assistance Dogs with prey drive problems...but not me. I am immune to small critters. We were at a rodent show last year, and a ferret was running lose, and ran over my front legs as I laid by John's scooter. Mom saw me...I didn't even flinch. (the ferret then took up occupancy under the scooter and had a fine time playing there)

Mom tries to take all of the "zoo" to puppy class every so often, so the puppies that don't live with us can get some exposure too. Not every puppy raiser keeps a small community of critters in the house like Mom does. And all of our critters are dog-savvy and dog-friendly. Like Fry, the new kitten pictured above. He's either really brave, or kinda dumb. Below is a picture of him with a visiting whippet friend, Cruz. Crazy kitten!




Bryce (the Fidos collie pup in training) and Fry are now friends, btw...Mom keeps trying to get pics of them playing, but they're so fast...the pics are always blurry! She'll keep trying!

So busy!

It's hard to find time to blog when you're a busy guy like me! What with all of the relatives and friends over for Thanksgiving, flyball tournaments and other fun stuff, it's been crazy around here!

Mom says it's a slow day today, so we'll get back and blog about our puppy class field trip from last night...but later! Be patient! For now, some updates on the household:

Bryce is doing well, and growing lots of nose and legs. No one asks "What breed is he?" anymore...most people can guess "Collie" now. Hard to miss that needle nose. He's making friends with the kitten, Fry, and charms everyone he meets. Except for Mom when he poops on the floor behind her.

Xander is still on crate rest, and will need surgery soon. His ACL is still bothering him, he barely puts weight on it. Mom is guessing that it's more than a partial tear. Now we have to raise the money for his surgery somehow. Ugh. He's a good boy though, Mom says, and is quiet in his crate (not like me!)

I'm doing well...been getting out a lot. (John hates to go out when it's cold...but Mom tells him that I need to get out some, so he goes out-just for little ol' me!) I love to get out and go places...that's one reason I love being a Service Dog. I've been behaving myself everywhere we go...Mom and John have been very proud of me. It's been 2 years since I decided that this was the life for me...and I think we're all very pleased at my decision. (the humans think THEY made the choice...right!)

The big news? I got an invite to be part of the DogTime Blog Network...so I'm going to be a DogTime Blog Star soon! We'll have more of an audience soon! Thanks for the invite, DogTime!

That's it for now...I'll hopefully have some puppy class pics up later!
~SDS

Meeting the mail carrier

A blast from the past for the picture today...a Score-pup pic!
Bryce went out and met the mail carrier today...so he can cross two things off his socialization checklist...a mail carrier, and gloves, since she was wearing latex gloves (to sort the mail). He was all wiggly and happy to see her...a very good meeting!

It's important for all dogs, to be introduced to people in uniform and people that work around the house. Most of us know a dog that barks at the mail carrier...my own sister, Inara, is crazy when she comes to deliver the mail. (Mom's nipping that little habit with the help of the Control Unleashed, Look At That game) It's much better to give the puppies good experiences, rather than having to fix problems down the road.

It's important for all dogs, but especially important for Assistance Dogs...we see people in uniform all of the time when we're out in public, and often times, they're not real happy to see us. I can't tell you how many irate security guards, and managers have come over to try and deny us access. So often times, those people in uniform that we see have really threatening body language. Dogs have a great ability to read people...so it's important for us to have many, many good experiences so we have a solid history of meeting nice uniformed people. That way, we don't get upset and bark or get nervous around them when they're heading towards us.

Score for instance, as a puppy, met firefighters (in boots and suits), police officers, security guards, mail carriers, and anyone else that would hold still long enough for Mom to rush up and shove Score in their face for petting and treats. I think she's planning on doing the same for Bryce. She's crazy like that. (BTW, Score ADORES people in uniform, to this day)

I am fine with people in general...I don't care what you look like or what you say or do, I just stick with John and ignore most everyone else. Mom didn't work with me with this really, it's just how I am. She says it's mostly because of my breed. Aussies are not bred to be everyone's friend...we're reserved by nature. She says it makes for a good Assistance Dog, as I'm friendly but concentrate on the job at hand.

~SDS

Hearing dog prospect?

He's got places to go...
Mom says she has never seen a puppy so attuned to noises in its environment like Bryce is. Fidos trains two types of Assistance Dogs...Service and Hearing. The Hearing Dogs help people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing...by alerting them to sounds. The trainers know usually around a year old if the dog is really interested in sounds or not. You can tell when they're puppies too...but it sometimes will change as they grow older.

But Bryce is the first one to pay attention to every little noise in the house. Mom swears he's a Hearing Dog in the making. He listens to the TV when funny noises happen, he listens to all the bells and whistles in the kitchen, and even went to investigate the dripping water noise from the downspout while he was playing in the backyard. Just now, she was bringing him into the office so she could keep an eye on him...she started closing the door as he was coming through, and he stopped to investigate the sound of the hinges (they're new and they squeak a tiny bit).

He's a bold puppy, so he usually investigates or tries to...rather than noticing a sound and running away scared. Mom's having fun by letting him go see all these noises, and making happy talk when he goes the source of a sound.

Bryce has a long road ahead of him, but he's already making great strides towards being a wonderful Assistance Dog...maybe a Hearing Dog like my friend Chloe!

~SDS

Meet Bryce!

Meet Bryce everyone! He's the newest puppy at Fidos. He'll be staying with us for a while. We're all less than impressed. He's not big enough to wrestle with yet. Mom says that will change soon. We'll see...

Bryce is a blue merle, smooth collie pup, 8 weeks old...donated by Terry and John Peters, Misti Morn Kennels. John's first SD, Charlie was the same...blue merle, smooth collie. I thought John would like Bryce better than me...but he says he's not stupid...he knows me too well.

Bryce is a noisy puppy...but that's getting better. He's really good about retrieving stuff already...he's playing with all sorts of things, even a set of keys! He also loves to tug...which gets him in trouble when he tugs clothing when he's not asked! Bratty pups make good service dogs though!

You'll probably see more of him in the coming weeks...but this was just an intro. Pardon his silly ears, they're being taped so they "tip" at the top...rather than point straight up.

I'm back off to bed...this puppy tires me out.
~SDS