Out of the norm outings always seems to come in spurts around here.  In the last two weeks Moray has gotten to experience and go to several different places outside of our usual schedule of classes, church, more classes, or the occasional grocery or Target trip.  

 Moray has been to just about every government class all year long, so it was only right that he got to accompany us on a field trip to our county's courthouse last week.  This was only his second time downtown in the city, and he did fairly well.  He was rather distracted by the different sights and smells compared to what he gets in our town, and I think that I will have to make it a point to take him downtown once or twice more to get him completely comfortable.

One thing that Moray is always amazing at is "hurrying" wherever I tell him to.  He didn't miss the lack of grass, and willing did his business right on the pavement.  All those hours of standing at the bottom of the driveway with a whiny puppy are sweetly paid off at times like these!

Many times a successful and pleasant outing is a direct result of how the public relates to us and treats us.  Sometimes we are unwelcome places, or they hassle me about having a puppy.  No matter, whenever I take a puppy to a new place, I cannot help but think about that, if only in the back of my mind.  This was a great trip from this point.  Security was great; they did not make either Moray or I go through the metal detector -- just wanded me down, and did not mess wth Moray at all.

On the elevator

Moray was not exactly on his best behavior during our time there.  He was far from horrid, but defitinely reminded me that we have a ways to go in his training.

Of course, he couldn't stay that way for long.  I will admit to being slightly annoyed with him.  Not that I sould have been, because Moray is still just a puppy and cannot be expected to be 100% solid in everything.  We needed to make a stop at Whole Foods before we went home, and Moray decided to be a perfect gentleman the entire time.  Zero pulling on his leash, zero soliciting for attention, and 100% focus.  The perfect positive ending to a very busy day!

11.14.13

About 9:40am Thursday morning, Moray and I were just getting out of the car to head to Chemistry class when I received a text from my sister.  It was the simple words that our Puppy Program Manager called and our mom was on the phone with her right then.  There is one thing every puppy raiser dreads when they have a puppy in Advanced Training, and that is a phone call.  

All I knew as Moray and I walked into the building was that it was indeed the dreaded call, and that it had been decided that Dante will be released from Professional Training.  I was still waiting with a promise that my mom would call me as soon as she was off the phone.  I thought I was holding it together fairly well.  My best friend was waiting for the previous class to let out, and as soon as she saw me knew something was not right.  She hugged me and the tears that started then came and went for the rest of the day. 

Dante is Dante and there is no one that can change that.  Our PPM told us that although Dante's behavior and commands are impeccable on-leash, as soon as he thinks he can get away with something, he gets a mind of his own.  Dante is off the charts smart, very independent-minded, and needs a strong hand to manage him and give him the discipline he needs.  She told us that when she told his trainers Dante was our first puppy, they could not believe we were able to teach my hard-headed boy all that we had.  Not that I want that to come across as bragging or anything like that, but she assured us it was just his personality, and there was not much we could have done differently to curb this behavior.  

She told us that Dante's release was a hard decision for them as well.  They had been doing a lot of sound work evaluating him for the Hearing Dog program, and he was doing fantastic and excelling in it.  The decision boiled down to the fact that Dante is just not trustworthy enough for placement.

Even though I have seen this coming for some time, it is hard news to accept.  For almost two years, we have worked and striven toward the dream that Dante would become a Service Dog.  There have been many ups and a few downs along this journey of puppy raising, and it is extremely hard to let go of that dream.  Being honest, it is hard to realize that Dante's future is no longer in "limbo" with the hope he could still make a placement.  It is final, and even though he will have a great life, and still will share his love and laughter in different ways, the passing of this dream for him is hard to come to terms with.

While we are still figuring out a travel plan and agenda for Dante, we know he will be coming back to spend life as a spoiled rotten "Change of Career" pet; me as his forever family, and he as the very first dog I will ever call my own.

2nd Advanced Training Report

Last week I was surprised to receive Dante's second Advanced Training report.  Canine Companions' training schedule goes by semesters.  Each semester lasts three months; between each matriculation/graduation.  Normally, dogs are in training for two semesters, but sometimes three if they do not make a match during Team Training.  This past weekend was Graduation, so that means that Dante has officially made it through his first semester!

Dante has started learning to work alongside a wheelchair now.  He is working on "get" -- to retrieve something off the floor, "hold" -- to hold something in his mouth, and "push" -- to push drawers closed/buttons, etc.  They are also doing sound work with him, so that means Hearing Dog training could still be in the picture.  

Dante was a tough puppy to raise.  He is very independent, energetic, and off the charts smart.  He knows how to challenge, and will take advantage of you if the slightest chance presents itself.  I have hoped and prayed he would mature and these issues would fade in a new place, with many new things to learn, and under the guidance and experience of professional trainers.  Unfortunately, these issues are coming up again.  The only thing that surprised me was that they said he is showing some slight signs of stress while training as well.  The comments in his report also said that they are keeping close attention on him, but are concerned about these issues.  
 

Odina & Dante right before their first flight to Orlando for Turn In.

In all honesty, it was disheartening but not surprising to read his report.  I know that CCI and his trainers are giving him every chance they can.  I know that they want him to succeed as much as I do, and are doing their very best to steer him in the right direction.  I also know that each Canine Companions dog chooses their own path, and whatever Dante chooses to do will be the very best place for him.

Busy Weekend

 Dante and I have had an especially busy weekend these last two days.  


Yesterday, we went to a park where a "field day" was taking place for the elementary-aged kids, and my jump rope team was going to help and show the kids some stuff.  Dante came too, and did extremely well.  It lasted longer then intended, so Dante's lunch was about an-hour-and-a-half late, but he was a trooper.  He was tired, but he never got cranky.  I guess it's a good thing that he gets used to his schedule getting changed up. 


Dante is such an easy puppy to take out.  He loves to explore with you, but he also settles really well.  He spent a lot of time hanging out under a picnic table, and didn't even pay attention to spilled food.  He is also getting really good with his people-greeting, although he still tries to lick, he is great about checking in with me when he's getting pet.

Dante under a table ignoring some dropped cheese a foot from his head.

 
This morning Dante had puppy class.  I don't know why this is the first post about class, but I guess I forgot.  Dante has been doing really well, but when I got him up this morning I knew there was something off.  I think after such an exhausting day yesterday, he was just having an "off" day. 

Puppy class has been really good, and our trainer is great about understanding what we do differently.  But not being in a CCI specific class has been a little challenging.  Just trying to filter the information we're getting, and substituting the commands we use through what is different in how we are teaching Dante has been pretty mentally draining. 



My mom worked him for the first time during class today, and I was planning on getting some good pictures, but ended up getting some not-so-good pictures between the bad lighting, and helping "deal" with Dante. 

We start with play time.  Dante is always intrigued with this little puppy, and she stands her ground:

Dante, Scout and Max

Dante and Scout

After this, Dante spent some "quality time" trying to rub off his gentle leader:

Then it was on to working through the tunnel.  My mom lured him in.  He was not afraid, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do, so he turned around.  Then I got on the other end and called him through, and he was fine with that.

This was his fourth time through, and he did it like a pro!

After this, he did some good "sits" and "downs" even with temper tantrums thrown in throughout.

When we got home, Dante (and I) took a much-needed nap, then spent most of the afternoon outside with the family, playing fetch, practicing "here," running, and getting out his wiggles.  

Dante looking rather grown up and regal.  Taken by Rebecca.

Spring Time

 Dante and I took advantage of a beautiful spring day today, and got some pictures in-cape.  Enjoy!

The tongue...

Smelling the flowers...

...Eating the flowers

Goofball :-)

Look at how small his cape is getting.  He weighed in at 29.6 lb. at the vet yesterday!

How can this NOT make you smile?

Because It's Good for Him

I find myself saying this a lot.  "We should go ______ because it's good socialization  for Dante."  My sister says it drives her crazy, but I think she secretly likes traipsing around with a puppy.  ;-)  (Now she's probably reading this and rolling her eyes, haha!)

I have been wanting to take Dante to the park for a few weeks, specifically the playground, and today we finally got to it.  Dante had puppy class this morning, and was exhausted from that, so after a two-hour nap this afternoon, we all headed to the park. 

First, we walked around some.  There was a nice bridge:

Dante walking loose-leashed, AND checking in! :-)

And also a sidewalk that ran right through the pond:

 Dante loved checking out the pond.  There were little tadpoles and a lot of algae.  He was so cute trying to paw at it, but he also kept trying to lick the water. 

Dante also has come a long way with his walking on the grass, and walked for a good 6-7 minutes on it without once going crazy!

 Then it was on to the playground.  Being Saturday, it was swarming with kids.  Dante did so well greeting them and held a "sit" or "down" the whole time he was being pet and only licked a few fingers! ;-)

Dante got to check out different surfaces and levels.  He wasn't the least but afraid of being off the ground.

 We had fun going down the slide.  I have a video, but it is sideways and I'm not sure how to flip it.  Dante was nervous at first, but with some kibble lures, he went right down. 

I loved that we could go side-by-side down this one

At the top of the twisted slide.  Dante went down on my lap

We had to check out the tunnel:

Yes, I'm a bad puppy raiser, not paying attention to what he's licking...

 
Dante was so tired by the time we left!  And has been sleeping for the last hour, but we had so much fun!  One of my favorite things about raising is watching them explore their world.  You see so much through the eyes of a puppy.  So much that I would miss in my busy life.  It's so neat to watch Dante learn about what's out there and overcome his fears and hesitations!

Jump Rope

Every Friday morning I have jump rope practice.  I have been bringing Dante since he first came, but this week I finally remembered to bring my camera and my mom took some pictures.

While I'm practicing my mom handles Dante.  She will walk him outside some, and then bring him in to watch the second half.  Jump rope has been a really good place to bring Dante because it's pretty low key.  We meet in a church, and there aren't a lot of people there, so it is not overwhelming for him.  And he also gets to practice his greetings with people and kids who know the rules and are will to wait until he's behaving to greet him.  It also has been great for him to learn how to listen to younger kids, and this week he finally "sat" for one little girl!

Kind of dark, but Dante likes to watch whats going on.

This is what he's watching...

Being a good boy and playing with his kong.

Dante's favorite time: when everyone comes to pet and play with him.

I have been so amazed with how good Dante has been doing when I take him out.  I keep telling my mom I want to know who was Dante's breeder/caretaker, and what did they do to him?  He's not afraid of anything and he's sooo good!  I don't know what I'm going to do with puppy #2: I'm getting spoiled raising Dante.  ;-)

Thoughts from a First-Timer

It's amazing what you learn about people with a puppy by your side.  Most people are really nice and have good questions about the "seeing eye puppy," (surprisingly, I've only gotten that a few times) and I gladly tell them about service dogs and CCI!

But there are some people I will never understand.  I have met people, who, when I tell them Dante has to sit before being petted, start yelling "Sit, sit, sit!"  Thanks for your concern, but I am quite capable of getting my dog to sit.  I try to be a good ambassador of myself and CCI, but we have rules that pet dogs don't have to follow.  If he is having a hard time focusing, and is jumping up, he can't meet people.  Most understand, but some look at me like I just insulted them.  Don't get me wrong, I love to talk to people and let them meet Dante, but in the end, he is here to work for me.

We haven't been inside any public places, but even just walking, or in parking lots, etc., we get stares and surprised looks.  That doesn't bother me at all.  But I don't know if I'll ever get used to some of the comments.  Like the lady who drove by us: Yes, I know how cute my puppy is without you yelling it out your window as you drive by!  She didn't even sound sweet, like really yelling.  Or the grown man who was making kissing noises at him.  Really!?!?!?  What am I supposed to say to that?? 

Dante doing a great "sit" - and staying - in the Walmart parking lot.  (This 

is also his "goofy sit" with both legs off to one side)

My favorite comment I have heard thus far, wasn't even directed at me, it was just said by a passerby-er: "Look, ______, it's a super dog!"  Yes, Dante, you're going to be a super dog alright!