Weights:
Waldo~62
Chip~48
Star~43
Chesty~40
Waldo~Waldo's inmate handler, Paul, is out sick so he will be with his WPR until Paul returns. He appears to have an inter-digital cyst on his front left, fourth toe.
Chip~It does appear that after weeks of being "low man", or the omega dog, Chip has found his voice. He was playing with Chesty and growled when Chesty bit him. He also growled at Star this week for being disrespectful. Mike reports that Chip's appetite is still terrible, so we cut him down to 2 meals a day, will feed in his crate, and leave the food down for only 20 minutes. I spoke with the other handlers and let them know that "free feeding" is not recommended and actually can contribute to a poor appetite and raising a picky eater, but none of the other dog appear to have a problem with appetite. ;) Chip's obedience still needs a bit of work. He will still pull toward people to go say hi even in the facility, and it is a problem for the inmates to ask the staff not to address the dog if he's not sitting quietly.
I took Chip home with me this weekend, and here are my observations:
He was afraid of the vacuum, the floor scrubber machine, the pot rack in my kitchen, the automated car wash, the ceiling fan and the raised dog food feeder.
He barked repeatedly when in a crate while I was teaching other classes on both Friday and Saturday.
While at dinner at an outdoor restaurant, he tried to "Hoover" the entire area and pulled toward every person there, even when I told him to "leave it" and gave him the command to heel.
He plays well with all other dogs.
He is unafraid of people of all sizes, shapes and colors and likes kids and other dogs.
Star~Was acting strangely this week and seemed fearful of her handler at times. Mark said that she had been acting strangely on and off for several days, but no physical symptoms besides a rather listless affect. He did administer a leash correction on her flat collar and thought she may have had an adverse reaction to it. While with her WPR Melissa, she vomited undigested food on Saturday morning, was fine Saturday night, vomited again on Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon both undigested food (16 and 24 hrs old in her belly) before Melissa dropped her off. When I called to check on her, I spoke with Mark who told me that her belly was distended, she was panting heavily for the weather conditions, and that she was able to keep down water but appeared to have a belly sensitive to pressure. I told him to measure the pup's stomach and I called back in one hour to get the second measurement. Her belly had gone down by 1/2 inch, she had urinated and defecated bright green stools (mucus?) and she was in less obvious distress. After consulting with Paula, I told Mark to withhold food and water for 24 hours, give her nothing but ice cubes until tomorrow night. Then try a bland diet of a small amount of rice and boiled hamburger or chicken for 24 hours, then begin to wean her back onto her food over the next two days. I got an email from Melissa, who said that her dog is vomiting as well. I will check back with Paula in the AM.
Chesty~Is doing well with his obedience, he seems to be getting the hang of walking on a leash without pulling in a highly distracting environment. His sit and down stays are great. His biggest distraction seems to be the other puppies, so I have asked that the inmates train together for a time every day to work on passing exercises and holding exercises. AJ did have one very frustrating day with him this week, but he seemed to snap out of it after only the one day. His weight is a bit high so I have asked AJ to cut back on the "extras" this week. He plays very hard with the other dogs and has been restricted from play with Waldo, as he has injured him several times and Waldo seems unwilling to discipline him. Chesty likes people but seems to be more content to be with his handler.
WPR class~We worked on the dogs not pulling on the leash while passing each other, and I talked about how important it is that these dogs never pull on the leash and why. We also worked on sitting at the heel position without "kicking out", and a relaxed down while in class.
These are my notes from the WPR class on Sunday morning:
*After a vote of all the WPRs present (Sandy, Dawn and Melissa), it was decided that the classes will continue on Fridays at 5:30pm, starting this Friday, September 31, every other week.
*All dogs must attend at least two trainings a month. One of those trainings must be at Alpha Dog.
*Pickup of all dogs will be AFTER 3pm on Fridays, no exceptions. It is critical for me to see each dog with it's handler every week.
*Please check with me if you are not able to follow the Fri-Sun schedule with your dog. It is an accommodation that we extend to the inmates.
*No person other than the person that has been DOC/NEADS approved will be allowed to pick up or drop off the NEADS dogs. If you wish to have your wife/roommate/husband/significant other pick up your pup, please have them go through NEADS orientation and training and then get cleared through the DOC.
*I will be in charge of WPR worksheets from now on, so please email them back to me with a copy to Paula Ricard. I will list group and individual outings each month for you to take your pup on. Please remember that these outings are critical to your pup's development. You may take them to as many NEADS outings as you can get to, however these outings do not count as training days.
*EVERYONE needs to work on not letting thier dogs pull on the leash. Ever. This is the most difficult task you have, but also the most critical. I cannot stress this enough.
