All PCC pups but Roger were sick with a virus this week, General had the worst of it and was seen by our vet. He was put on flagyl and will finish on Sunday, but appeared normal on Friday when I went to see him.
Star~68
Star is still whining, although it appears to be much less after her WPR was told to ignore it completely~now she gets no response from anyone when she protests and it appears to be working...slowly. :)
Her obedience is good, she is still attention seeking from strangers but not as much as previously. Her handler noted this week that she doesn't appear afraid of anything anymore~she will stand on the floor buffer, nudge the vaccuum while it is running, etc. She is rough with the new puppies, ran them over, etc, while playing, and was diciplined for it. Mark is on crutches for treatment of a sports related injury and is learning first hand how our clients deal with door situations, entering and exiting buildings, and how the dog can either be a help of a hinderance, depending on the level of training they receive!
General~61
Mike did very little training this week with General, he was pretty sick. In class we worked outdoors on recalls and heeling in the grass...General needs work there. He ran past his handler the first time and smashed into him the second time. He is easily distracted outdoors and loves to sniff the grass. He had a much easier time on pavement but still pulled a bit to get to the grass.
Jewel~31
Jewel is doing well with Paul, seems calm and confident. She is very attached to Paul already and I was sad that she didn't get out of the facility on Friday~she still had loose bowels and I didn't want to expose WPR Dawn's dog to the virus that got to all of our pups, so she stayed with Paul. She is eating well now, so I am hoping she will be better by Monday. I spoke with Paul about letting Jewel go with the alternates and am going to make up a schedule and checklist for the alternates. He is working on simple tasks with her, sit, watch me, come.
Roger~23
Roger is my "class clown" for now. He is aggressive and mouthy, has a high energy level for a pup and still holds his tail wayyyy up over his back...he met Draco, my 100 lb. GSD, and a female doberman without a second glance~tail wagging low and wide, but no submissive gestures at all. He never even got up to say hello! We are working on his mouthing/jumping/pulling. Sits and holds, down and hold, comes when called, stairs, needs a scruff shake for eating dirt, grass, etc. will not be distracted! Roger is going to be a really fun puppy to work with, I look forward to the summer with him.
WPR Training class~Rose, Roger, Star, General, and WPR Dawn with her dog Jake. Tuffy was at a daycare interview and Jewel has lingering bowel issus that will be vetted if she's still sick on Monday. Prospective WPR Helen was with us to learn about the program.
We worked in the (almost) dark, for the first 20 minutes, none of the dogs had any issues. Heeling, sit on command, downs, long downs during Q&A time. I spoke with the WPRs about issues that the dogs are having in the facility and with the inmate handlers and asked for thier support. Star, Tuffy and General have directed field trips~grocery store and post office. All puppies will attend puppy K at Alpha Dog until they're 16 weeks. Roger will begin next week, he needs one more set of shots before he's protected enough for attendance and those will be given on Thursday.
WPRs were given business cards that I had made up. They say "I am a NEADS service dog in training~In accordance with the Americans with disabilities act of 1990." For more info please call 978.422.9064 or www.neads.org . I've been asked for them for a long time, these will be easy to stick into the dog's cape and have on hand all the time.
Next field trip will be to the Milford Senior Center, in April. Next WPR training is March 28 at 6pm at AD.
I am trying to arrange a story on our pups in Boston Magazine~editor is a former student!
