Genova!

Ah little Genova, she is such a cute little girl!

I went to a puppy meeting on Tuesday, which was fun. The club up here just got three brand new puppies! Two little yellow girls and a black girl. I think their names are....Nell-FBLB, Sakari-FYLB, and Teesha-FYLB. They are all adorable, and I am hoping I get to puppy sit some of them before they get too big. I need a baby puppy fix! Anyways at the meeting I got to handle Genova, while we worked on FIR, grooming, and talked about problems. She was very happy to be with me, and would look back at me and lick my chin if I leaned forward.

Today I went to pick up Genova from her raiser at work. She is a groomer and had just bathed and dried miss Genova. I had to go to the store right after, so I got to enjoy having a dog with me again. Genova is so cute when she walks! She almost prances! She was good at the store, and pretty ok in the car. She just didn't know where she was supposed to be, and I didn't have my tie-down in the car....it is lost in a box somewhere.

When we got home, I had all three dogs go out in the yard to get to know each other. I was out with them of course. They did the obligatory sniffing routine, and then ignored each other! After all three had pottied we went back inside and I shut all of us in the family room. Patriot laid down in his spot and Hobbs and Genova started a game of mouth wrestling. I brought the toy bucket in for them to use, and picked up all the non guide dog toys that were looking very tempting.

The three dogs. I am amazed how much more comfortable Hobbs was being in this picture compared to the one with Onterio.

Hobbs and squinty little Genova

The difference in their coats is AMAZING!!

Stand up mouth wrestling

I think that is Hobbs with his mouth open!

Yep thats him!

Hobbs having a "scared of dogs moment" He can be playing just fine and then will freeze and stand there looking scared like he thinks the other dog is going to swallow him whole or something!

A nice shot of miss Genova...and Patriot

Looking down on her

I have plans to go grocery shopping tomorrow, but I don't know if I will take her with me. Lately when I have to leave the house, I just want to get what I have to do done and get back home. I am very excited for the weekend though because Robert finally comes home from his business trip! He has been gone the whole week and it has been horrible! It will be nice to have him home soon. I will update with some more pictures before she goes home on Sunday!

Swimming Party!

Hobbs, Patriot, Robert and I went to our puppy meeting a couple weeks ago because it was a pool party. It was so much fun! I am really glad I decided to bring my suit so that I could swim with my boys. Hobbs was a little hesitant at first, but eventually was jumping in and out of the pool like a pro. Patriot on the other hand, wasn't too impressed with the pool. He likes water, but it freaks him out when he can't touch the bottom. So he just played on the dry land and looked longingly at me in the water.

All the dogs in the club (and the pets who joined the party) got in the water at one point or another. Even baby puppy Apex "jumped" into the pool....really he tried to walk out to the other dogs, and fell in the pool. I stupidly forgot my camera, but here are some pictures from another raiser's camera.


L-R: Neutron (a pet), Pecos (PIT), and Hobbs


Hobbs being lifted up by Robert, Neutron in the water


Onterio looking at the water (he really wanted the Goughnut that fell in but didn't want to get wet) Hobbs is in the background.


Patriot towering over the other PITs (L-R: Pecos and Texas)


Patriot on the side with Hobbs in the water on the right....I am pretty sure that is him anyways...
Outside the pool: Texas and Patriot. Inside the pool L-R: Pecos, Neutron, and Hobbs.

Airport Meeting

So wonderful me I forgot to take my camera with me to the puppy meeting at the airport!!

The meeting was great! We got super lost getting there, but once we did there were a bunch of puppies there! Most of them were black labs and I hear a couple people comment that this is why GDB is breeding for more yellows! Working guide Alcatraz was there, and he seemed super excited to be back at a puppy meeting. The first thing we did was board a plane by walking up these really steep kinda scary stairs. Hobbs did great on the stairs and with being tucked under the seat. I didn't have very much foot space, but he just relaxed and was perfectly content. Going down the scary stairs was pretty nerve racking, but Hobbs did pretty well with it.

Next we walked accross the airplane hanger to a room that was completely floored with grates. I was kind of worried that one of the puppies would get a toe stuck, but they all made it safely in and out. Hobbs didn't think it was very fun lol. The last thing we did was go to an open sided staircase, there was also space in between the stairs. Hobbs had to climb stairs like this every day in california so it was not a problem for him. Then we rode the elevator back down and sat around for a while discussing puppy club business. Very fun meeting, and it was great to be in a large club for a change!

Patriot is doing great today. Hobbs went to a puppy sitter's house yesterday because we were suposed to be moving.....if you want that story read my other blog. Patriot has NEVER been an only dog, and doesn't really know what to do with himself. Today is better, but he still seems a little sad. At least I know he really is happy being an inside dog, he just doesn't like being an only inside dog! Hopefully we will be getting Hobbs back tomorrow, and all will be well again.

And so I don't leave you without some pictures here are some recent ones.


My beautiful boys! Hobbs I am convinced is posessed lol!

They were actually sleeping like this but woke up when I got up to get the camera

Puppy Meeting

Tonight was our puppy meeting, and we got to see the two new puppies in our club. Our club got two new additions on the April puppy truck. "Maury" (Mor ee), and Agueree (sp? Ah gee ree) both are male yellow labs, being started for the High School Raising Program, and are very very cute. Poor Maury is sick with a virus so he left after about 5 minutes of the meeting. Agueree seemed like a pretty well behaved puppy, but then again he has only been here 3 days. The new raisers in the club thankfuly didn't get a puppy yet. I don't feel like they are ready for one....especially the wife. She is pretty nervous around the dogs, and is actually afraid to put her fingers in their mouths. Hopefully puppysitting Hobbs this next few days will go well and that they will feel more prepared for their June puppy.

Tomorrow Hobbs, Robert and I are goin to a wonderful puppy meeting at the SLC airport! It is a combined meeting with at least one other puppy club. We are going to be able to take the puppies into an airplane, through a staged security check....I think, and into a room that has only grates as the floor. I will definatly be taking pictures that I will post later.

Hobbs is doing well, and was pretty confident around the new puppies at the meeting tonight. I keep my fingers crossed every day that he continues to improve with the dog issues. Patriot is loving life as a full time inside dog. He had an amazing time at the dog park sunday because there were 30 or 40 dogs there! It was really fun for me because there was a beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy there that I got to play with a little. It made me want to reconsider my two dog limit! I just have to keep remembering that an apartment is no place for that breed of dog.

F.I.R.

Tonight's puppy meeting was really fun! Lindsey substituted as our leader, and we worked on the Food Induced Recall (FIR) and dog distractions and greetings.

We met at the Sugerhouse park in SLC, it was a beautiful place. I have never been there before, only driven past. It was pretty cold because we woke up to about 4" of snow on the ground this morning. Everyone bundled up though and didn't freeze too badly.

The news for our club is that Bowie is in Phase 10 and has been for a while. His raiser is going on vacation so we are hoping that he isn't put in class while she is gone. Our club is getting one new puppy on the April 11th puppy truck a "M" puppy (parents are Simon and ?) The raisers are overlapping for two months, and I am sure will want plenty of puppysitters willing to take one of the PIT's off their hands. The new raisers who were getting an April puppy are waiting until June. Apparently they ran out of spaces or puppies for that truck.

Hobbs did pretty good with the FIR. I never noticed that I use the same tone every time I say come. We traded dogs and Hobbs was having a horrible time coming to people, because they weren't saying it the same way I do. That is going to be the next thing we work on; using different tones of voice. Hobbs got to be handled by everyone in the club, which is always good for him.

Once again I forgot my camera, so sorry no pictures.

The next thing we worked on in the meeting was some dog related manners. Everyone stood in a circle and one by one wove in and out all the way around the circle. We walked the dogs past each other, one by one, and then had them meet in the middle. Hobbs did great walking past and only hackled a little with each dog he met. He got a little overzealous with the girl dog in the group, not a PIT, and she growled at him but that was the only incident of the night.

I really like having the puppy meetings where we work with the dogs and trade dogs with other raisers. It is better for the pups that way, and the raisers improve with every new dog they handle. Tonights was a great meeting. Thanks Lindsey!

Puppy Meeting

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I have been posting a lot lately! I think it is because I have been trying really hard to take more pictures.
Tonight we had our puppy meeting at the Utah Trax station. We rode the light rail up one stop and back down. Really short, but it was good for the dogs. We also had them get on and off a bus that was stopped at the station. That was good for Hobbs because he hasn't ever been on a bus, and was kind of wary of them for a while. Then we talked about the relieving protocol (that I was completely in the dark about!!) where the dog doesn't circle the handler and only circles in front. Hobbs will have a hard time adjusting to the new potty routine. We will also be working on him relieving on different surfaces. Here are some pictures from the evening.

Hobbs listening intently to club business. He was being handled by the new raisers in our club who are not getting a puppy in April, as planned, but in June.

Herbie (yellow) and Pecos

Hobbs on the Trax train

Herbie on Trax. He is on the April 11th recall puppy truck :(

Pecos on Trax

A great shot of Hobbs exiting the Trax train

Herbie and Hobbs awaiting the "Relieving" lecture

Life With The Boys

Yesterday was a great day. It was kind of interesting getting used to having two very large dogs, but we had fun. Hobbs and Patriot are getting more used to each other, and no longer feel the need to wrestle all the time. They are still having some trouble sharing toys, but we are working on it.

The Boys

We went for an hour long walk in the morning with both dogs. I say we because Robert had the day off work and came with me. It was great to be out as a family! Patriot did great even though he was really tired by the end of it. Needless to say he is a bit out of shape. We even shortened the walk a bit.

and as you can see Patriot is tired Hobbs is still raring to go afterwards.

There was a reason for the short walk, we had puppy meeting that night, so I didn't mind much. After about three hours back at the house, I decided that it would be better to take Patriot to the dog park for the first time when he was tired than if he had way too much energy. So we went to the park for about 45 minutes and Patriot did fabulously. I didn't take any pictures (sorry) but there will eventually be some. My only complaint was that he is a little rough with the smaller dogs. He was overjoyed when another lab showed up though. It was cute.

Hobbs got to stay home with dad and have some one on one time. I want to give them each some of that to stave off the jealousy. Also I wanted him to have some energy for puppy meeting that evening....I know I am weird to WANT extra energy for the meeting.

Sorry about the crazy eyes

Both dogs got their nails clipped, ears cleaned, and teeth brushed, and they loved the attention. Patriot has the tiniest hint of an ear infection, so we will be medicating that ASAP. Hobbs was not satisfied with his tooth brushing and wanted to help Patriot with his....so he went on tie-down.

While they were both relaxed and kind of tired, I decided to introduce the kittens (three of which we have to keep for another month!!!) to Patriot. I played it safe and left Momma Kitty (who is taking suggestions for a real name) in her room.

Here is a picture of her coloring to help the name suggestions

Because they have been almost tormenting Hobbs I figured they would be more than happy to have another victim in the household. How wrong I was! They were soooo afraid of him! I have scratches all over one hand from the kitten I was holding.

It makes me look like I tried to kill myself!!

After a while two of them got used to him, but the other two want nothing to do with him. I am pretty sure it is his size because even momma kitty, kinda hissed at him at one point (after the kittens were put away)telling him to back off.

That night Robert Hobbs and I left Patriot at home, and went to our puppy meeting. The whole meeting was tailored to Hobbs' issues with dogs, so we went on a neighborhood walk. A few people brought their pet dogs and a couple of them were non GDB breeds, so Hobbs could be around them. He was wonderful! Even on the walk when a couple dogs barked he was interested but didn't show any of the extreme fear that he has. That being said we really didn't get into a situation where that fear really becomes apparent. I am happy though with the way it went. We decided not to bring Patriot because he does have some dog issues (fear as well as super distractability) and this was supposed to be a mentor walk.

The new people in our club (Robert's ex-girlfriend and his husband) are getting a puppy on the April 11th puppy truck! I am super excited to see who they get, and how they react to it. I always think the first puppy is kind of a baptism-by-fire kind of experience and it is interesting to see how different people take it. After they get their puppy we will be meeting at people's houses until it is old enough to go out. I can't wait to have one at our house! Well I can....and have to wait until the kittens are gone for my and Momma Kitty's sanity.

No that is NOT an exaggeration of how big Patriot's paws are!

Well that is about all for today! Quite the update for just one day though.

Evaluations.....Venting

As I posted before, I was pretty nervous about Hobbs' CFR evaluations yesterday. The meeting was fun, with three clubs in Utah there with all their pups. We did some great activities with toys, obedience, and dog distractions. Hobbs did very well with all the dog there at the meeting.....as long as he didn't try to greet any of them. He decided to make me work for his obedience, but that is just him being a boy.

Our CFR went around to every puppy to check body condition, and Hobbs was labeled as a little too heavy. I have been working VERY hard to get his weight down because he is eating the minimum amount allowed 3 cups a day. I have been walking him every day for a good hour, and we are walking very fast! I thought he was loosing weight and looking great, until he ate a ton of cat litter/poop about half a day before the evaluations. If anyone wants to know, Kitty litter/poop bloats a dogs belly so they no longer have a tuck in behind their ribs. Anyways all my efforts were for nothing, but I think switching him to adult food will help him loose the extra weight and keep it off.

Now for the bad part of the evaluations....the whole dog issue situation. Our CFR is going to inform GDB's breeding department of Hobbs' issues, and they will probably send out a neuter letter pretty soon. Not that it will fix anything, she is just sure they would want to know in advance about the issues. That was probably the worst news. I really would have loved for him to be a breeder because he has such an amazing temperament. She also wants him to go on walks with a confident "mentor dog" to learn how to be ok around other dogs on walks. *** Hobbs is doing very well though walking past other dogs, on their walks, when we are on the Jordan River Parkway*** Our next puppy meeting is going to be geared towards helping Hobbs on a walk. One thing that really got to me (probably because it is true) was when the CFR started saying that much of it was probably be getting nervous about the dogs. I know that I do get nervous when there are loose dogs, but most of the time I am fine if it is just a dog behind a fence.

Patriot had a small issue with dogs, but I attributed it to a dog trying to attack him when he was 5 months old. Now I am starting to wonder if both times I was the reason for the problem and it makes me feel like a horrible puppy raiser. My transfer dog Calliope, never had an issue with dogs, but I got her when she was 10 months old so she already knew how to act around other dogs.

A couple weeks ago, I was thinking about applying for a puppy off of the April puppy truck, but now I feel like maybe the puppies would have a better chance with someone else. I also keep wondering if I was living in denial about the problem and if I should have transfered Hobbs long ago to give him a better chance at getting over his fear. I am so frustraited that nothing I do makes a difference in Hobbs behavior, and that I failed him by not teaching him to be confident.

Anyways there is my venting about the evaluations. Here are some pictures of the evening...well in a little while, I am on the wrong computer.

Puppy Meeting

Last night was our puppy meeting at RC Willey. We talked for quite a while about the monthly reports for the sake of the new puppy raisers in the club. They are hopefully getting a puppy from the April 11th puppy truck. So Megan maybe they will be getting your new puppy's sibling! It is going to be a baptizm by fire kind of situation though because they are both VERY soft handlers....like soft enough that Hobbs can get away with things....anyways. Hobbs really did behave better than last time, but he was still stuborn. We walked around and up and down some stairs (which I realised Hobbs hasn't done a lot of since we moved here) and worked on having the puppies pay more attention to staying next to us.

During the meeting I was thinking about what I want to do after Hobbs is recalled for training. I would love to get a new puppy, but if Hobbs is CC"d I am going to take him back. The problem with this is that I am also going to have Patriot here in the next month or so. Robert and I have decided that 2 is our limit for number of dogs at one time. So if I got a puppy, and Hobbs got CC'd I would have to transfer the puppy. Quite the dilema.

So Serious!

Last night we had our puppy meeting and Hobbs did ok. He did amazingly well with all the dogs there, but he was handled by both our leader and the new prospective raisers, and thats when he had problems. He is usually wonderful with his commands and hardly needs corrections. With both the new handlers he was very stubborn and almost acted like he didn't know the commands. I was....am really sick, so I didn't have the energy to handle him myself. It was very frustraiting to watch my puppy misbehave and not be able to correct him for it. Oh, and he whined the whole meeting long! Even when he was laying right by me, but mostly when he was across the room from me. I think part of that was he was worried about his "dying" raiser lol! I also found out at the meeting that the PITs are not allowed to wear booties under any circumstances, so I guess it is a good thing they wont stay on! I can not wait until spring!

So our next goal in training is to really get him responding to his commands (especially stay and not sliding into down when given the sit command) and having him handled by someone else at every meeting. Oh and having him spend more time on tie-down away from me to stop the separation anxiety. Another thing I am really working on with him is getting him to have more fun when we are out socializing. Hobbs gets so serious that sometimes he looks like he is sad and depressed. He gets this way when we work hard on obedience too. I am always really positive with him, but maybe I need to exadurate my praise some more.

Other than that Hobbs is doing very well and is improving every day in his tolerance for the kittnes. They are big enough now that they are out of their box and try almost constantly to use him as a jungle gym. I am hoping for the perfect situation where I can take a picture of him with the babies around him sleeping.

Hobbs and one of the little boys

Puppy meeting

Last night we went to our puppy meeting at the local mall. This meeting was going to be outside at another location but there wasn't much to do there and it was super cold outside. Hobbs did wonderfully! We walked around the dogs a couple times and then we even were the last ones on an elevator full of dogs! He is improving so much lately and I am hoping he grows out of this fear. The new people in the club handled a dog for a little while, I get the feeling though that they don't have much dog experience. And I am usually very happy to help new raisers.....but in this case it is hard because the girl is an ex-girlfriend of Robert's.

One thing I realised I have been lax on is Hobbs' stay command. My other two dogs were amazing at stay, and for some reason I just haven't worked as hard with Hobbs on his. So that is my goal for this month is to develop a very good stay.

There is hope!!

Hobbs had a wonderful (if not stressfull) weekend at the puppysitters' houses. He came home very tired and has slept most of the time he has been home so far. I got him back at the puppy meeting last night and he was happy to see me but not estatic; my first clue that he was stressed. The puppy sitters both said he was a joy to have and they were amazed how good he was around their cats. They said he sniffed them once and then basically ignored them. Now he is very happy to be home and the picture is of him laying under the computer table.

At the meeting we worked on dogs walking past eachother and greeting and hobbs did amazingly well! He was carefull to watch the other dogs as they walked past, but he didn't stop and refuse to go towards them! I was so happy with him and relieved to see some improvement. He was even wagging his tail while he greeted a couple dogs!! He only got nervous and stiff when one of the baby puppies got too wiggly around him.

The baby kittens are doing great and they are getting so big! I can't wait til their eyes start to open and they get more active....they kinda just sleep and eat right now. Hobbs is going to be overrun with cats pretty soon.

My Monster of a Puppy

Sorry about the lack of posts lately! I have been busy trying to find a miniature horse to buy and have decided to keep looking but probably not get one until spring. For more about that read my other blog.

Anyways, I had Hobbs weighed at the vets office today (he wasn't sick I just wanted to weigh him) and he was 65 lbs!!! He is not even 9 months yet! I think he is going to be another huge dog like Patriot! I think Patriot was 75 lbs when he went back at 13 months and he is now 100 lbs! Hopefully Hobbs is just growing early and he doesn't continue at this pace until he is recalled. Other than that he is doing great! He was a little offended that we went to Petsmart the other day and bought the cat toys and not him. He doesn't realise I already bought his christmas presents.

We went to the Utah Guide Dog Christmas party on saturday and brought along a couple who is VERY interested in raising. I am not sure I like them but that may be because the wife is one of my husband's ex-girlfriends. They must ready want to do it though because they are both allergic to dogs! We had a group of blind/visually impaired children come learn about dogs and caring for them. There were different stations and the children rotated from one to another. It was great to see the children's confidence around the dogs grow in that short time. It was great to see all the puppy raisers and some people I haven't seen since I had Calliope.

Hobbs got a little evaluation from the CFR about his dog issues and now he is on a special toy protocal to help build his confidence. I am glad because I am quite worried that this problem may get him cc'd. Hobbs is super excited about his "baby" as we have started calling it....I know I am crazy. But he is supposed to absolutly be in love with this toy.

Hobbs and I had a great experience today walking accross one of those Ski-walk sidewalks. They are the sidewalks that go up and over a major road (this one was over Bangerter Hwy) and it is quite the experience for the puppies! It was a little un-nerving for me though. I have never had a problem with hights but this made my stomach a little nervous. So if you have one near you, take your puppy on it! I don't recommend it for any dog that has issues with traffic or is under like 6 months.

I don't have any pictures, kinda been busy with christmas stuff. Maybe next post I will have some.

My baby is visiting!

Well my 100 lb baby anyways lol. Patriot is here visiting for the next few days and it has been interesting to say the least. He has "forgotten" a lot of his manners and that commands are supposed to be followed, but we are working on it. He has also picked up the bad habit of eating so fast he chokes on his kibble. I saw a dog bowl once that I want to find for him, it had these round things sticking up from the bottom of the bowl so that the dog would have to eat around them. I just don't remember where I saw it.....Haha I found it!! Here is the link to the site: http://www.brake-fast.net/ I just wish it was metal instead of plastic. I am going to get one so I will let you know how well it works.

Hobbs is very jealous because "mommy" is paying attention to this other dog, and he is stunned that he can't take down this dog. Hobbs used to be able to take down Dodge all the time, but Patriot is another story. I have to control their play though because Hobbs plays dirty and bites Patriot's ears until he yelps! Once again I have pictures of them, but no way to get them on the computer.....moving is such a joy!

Other exciting news is that I think I am going to be offered a job at this Doggy DayCare! It looks like a really fun place and Patriot would be able to play there all day every day while I am working! I applied at another one that I like more but they are not hiring for a while so I am going to accept this if it is offered. Hobbs unfortunately would have to be in a kennel there, but I have a huge one so I don't think it will be a problem. It will do him some good to have some kennel time.....he defiantly doesn't get enough of that.

Hobbs and I had our first puppy meeting in the new club tonight and I am very excited about it. There are only three puppies (including Hobbs) so it will be different from my last clubs. The puppies are Herbie a nine month MYLB and Pecos a 5 month MBLB (his dad is Louie). After only one meeting I can already tell this club is going to be much better than the last one! All puppies are doing wonderfully and the raisers (even the first timers) are doing wonderfully and are very confident in how to handle the puppies. I am so relieved to be in a dedicated club again! I realised though at the meeting that Hobbs has never been handled by anyone else except at a puppy sitters house! He didn't know what to do with himself! He kept looking at me after a command to see if it was alright! So cute, but my comment that the club didn't do things like this before worried my new leader.

Hobbs and Patriot are both curled up on a blanket on the floor sleeping right next to each other and it is soooo adorable! I took a picture and will post it when I can.

Puppy Meeting

Tonight was Hobbs' last meeting here in Bakersfield, and it was great because there were a ton of dogs there, cc'd dog included plus all the dogs in the club came to the same meeting at the same time! Hobbs did great greeting the other dogs, and was actually a little too excited to meet some of them! He is still having a very hard time on walks when dogs are around and especially when they bark at him. We are working on it though.

Some news from the club is that Hobbs' brother Hal is getting transfered! I guess his family is having some issues to where they can't have a dog, so he is in limbo waiting to be placed with a new raiser. I think this is a good thing for him as he needs quite an assertive raiser which it didn't seem like he was getting. The new baby puppy, Barron, is getting huge! He is quite the spitfire too! Although I will not miss this club at all I will miss seeing Hobbs' brother, Hopefully I will get to meet some more of his siblings before they go on to be guides and pets.

Hobbs is starting to fill out a little bit and is starting to look like an adult instead of a gangly puppy :-( I know they have to grow up and he is only almost 8 months old, but soon the countdown to recall will begin. The time seems to be going soo much faster than when I had Patriot....it seems like I just got him where as by the time Patriot was 8 months I felt like I had had him forever!!

I have pictures but can't get them to post so maybe tomorrow.

Pictures....

Here are some pictures I have taken recently



Don't worry I folded his lip under....he isn't really growling.


Just a really cute shot



Laying all twisted on the floor


Robert and i tried to get pictures of Hobbs and Hal together at the last puppy meeting....not the easiest job in the world. Hal wouldn't hold still being close to any dog let alone Hobbs, and Hobbs doesn't like being near dogs who are out of control so he wouldn't even stand close to him let alone sit.




We finally got them to sit nicely for litteraly only as long as it took to take the picture and Robert ended up cutting half of Hobbs' head off. So we gave up and these are the only two salvagable pictures of them.


New puppy in our club "Barron"


His nose reminds me of snoopy's in charlie brown




One of the Dog Parks in Bakersfield. This is where we take Dodge once a week to get all the crazyness out.....for that week anyways


Another shot of the dog park. Dodge is the little black dog saying hi to the greyhound.

Pups in my club - Update

So because I am bored here is a list of all the pups in my club here in Bakersfield CA:

Randall MYLB 9/29/06 Baker/Adelaide
Flanagan MYLB 11/29/06 Cubby/Hibiscus
Hobbs MBLB 4/21/07 David/Gabriela
Hal MBLB 4/21/07 David/Gabriela
Barron MYLB 7/5/07 Tiger/Mackie

I just know many puppy raisers out there are interested in where their pups' siblings are so maybe this list will help someone!

As for an update, Hobbs is doing wonderfuly! We went to our puppy meeting on monday night which is when we met the newest member of the club Barron. Such a cutie and is already so well behaved. His raisers deserve it as their last pup was CC'd due to the fact that he was in severe pain and GDB couldn't figure out why! They got him back but it is still hard to go through that! Hopefully this pup will go better. Hal (Hobbs' brother) is still quite a challenge for his raiser, and is majorly getting hormonal which is making all the problems worse. I handled him for a few minutes and it was like having my 100 lb Patriot back! The puppy is soooooooo oblivious to corrections and kept trying to tackle everything that moved especially Hobbs. Hobbs did NOT want to say hi to him at all! Lol he kept leaning away from him like he didn't want to even touch him. Hopefully things go better for her as he is her first puppy and I would hate for him to have to be transfered.

Hobbs' obedience is getting much better and he is finally doing "down" almost every time I ask. He also did about a 3 minute down stay during the meeting and was half way across the room from me! I was so proud and everyone was amazed that he stayed so well. I pride myself on all of my puppies' stays. His is getting a little stuborn but not anything near what I thought he would be by now. Time will tell I guess. As for now I am happy with my angel of a puppy! Sorry no pictures for today but maybe in the next few days.

Vacation update

So Hobbs has Demodectic Mange! Sounds gross but apparently it isn't contagious (Megan I was super worried after Sherman and Hobbs played at puppy meeting). IT is just a mite that all dogs have on their skin that can flare up in puppies and is pretty easy to fix....easy but expensive. Hobbs' Diarrhea finally cleared up after a couple pills from the vet. He weighed in at only 34.8lbs that is only 4 lbs heavier than at his 16 week shots! I guess they don't gain very much living on rice lol!

We went to the puppy meeting in Orem and met Sherman (who is very handsome) and all the other puppies in that club. It was so nice to be in a club again where we actually get to work on things. Hobbs benefited a lot from that meeting.

I have notice that this vacation has made Hobbs mature a lot especially in the socialization area. Before we came out here if we went more than one place Hobbs was stressed and wouldn't just lay down and chill. My husbands best friend got married on Saturday (the whole reason for the trip) and Hobbs and I went with him to the rehearsal (which took most of the day!! j/k part of it was running errands for the bride) and rehearsal dinner which were on Friday. That included going to three different tux stores to figure out a problem, Walmart twice, into a bunch of different people's homes, and eating his dinner (of icky rice) on the run, and of course a restaurant. By the end of that Friday he was pooped. The next morning he went to the puppy meeting, the vet and had to be left there for an hour getting his medicated bath, then to a few other peoples houses, then to the wedding where he sad quietly the whole time with a ton of very noisy people, then we stayed for the entire reception with hundreds of people there wanting to pet the puppy and ask questions. My husband and I wanted to dance so I tied his leash to a chair and told him to wait there for me and we went and danced for a while and when I came back he was sitting patiently (if not just a little worried) for me! He finally got to go home and crash around 10pm. Such a good little puppy!

I just hope he is ready to handle Fun Day. Has anyone ever boarded their puppy at GDB the day before Fun Day? I don't think Hobbs is ready to walk around San Fran all day and am leaving him at GDB for the day. I am just wondering what the puppies get to do that are being boarded there. I really hope they get to play with other puppies so that it isn't so stressful.

Anyways there in my update....sorry it kind of turned into a novel.

Brag about my perfect puppy!

Tonight Hobbs and I went to his first puppy meeting, and he was such an angel! We went and sat inside Target, so Hobbs and I just sad on the floor. He was so good meeting all the older puppies and was almost on the shy side when his brother wanted to ecstatically say hi. It was so cute though when he met the only female dog, a black lab named Amity. He sniffed her and then did a kind of double take and then was so attached to her! He went right over and licked her nose and when she walked away to walk around Target he watched her until she went around the corner! I think he thought she looked like his mom. After he cooled down from being outside in the heat he just laid down on the floor and calmly watched the customers going in and out of the store! I was so incredibly proud of my baby boy! He has been really stressed about new situations so I thought puppy class would be too much but he did great.
That brings me to my little frustration about the club here in Bakersfield.

We don't really do much at meetings in this club. we mostly just get together, take roll, talk about any problems or questions people have, and then go home. I have been to one meeting where they worked on obedience and the extent of that was a "sit" and "Down" and a 30 second "stay" that's it!! I have never heard one word about the food induced recall! It makes me nervous for the new puppy raisers coming into the club. I want to at least do exercises like dog, or people, or food distractions! But I guess that is not what this club does. I just don't know a nice way to express my opinion to the leader.

Anyways I just wanted to brag about my boy being such an angel at puppy class! I just hope when his hormones kick in he doesn't turn into a hellion. His potty training is going much better as well and he has still not started chewing everything in sight or biting! And his barking when he is super excited is slowly but surly going away. I have a feeling he is going to be one of the puppies that you get SUPER attached to....the kind that kill you to give back.