Nicknames (and Rafter's Debut onto the Blog)

When Greg and I are talking about the dogs, we use nicknames for them and use their given names when we are showing them affection, praise or giving them a cue. This way, when they hear their given name, they almost always pay attention.

Do you have nicknames for your pets? The most recent one I've found myself saying to them (including the bird) is "Hello Moto" from the Motorola commercial, and what's worse is that I use that same robotic voice when I say it. Maybe I should be embarrassed to let this information out into the world so openly but, here are some of the nicknames we use for our pets:


BRETON a.k.a.: Miss, Missus, Munchkin, Pushkin (okay, most of these are reserved for conversation between Breton and I and a select couple for conversation between Greg and I), Stinker, Stinky Girl, Peanut, Precious


RAFFI a.k.a.: Rafter, Crafter, Raf, Walter Cronkite (after the CBS anchorman), Cronk, Cronker, Walter, Word, Birdie (Rafter, Raffi, Raf and Birdie he repeats back when he is talking)


BENTLEY a.k.a.: Handsome, Dansome, Gentley, Rentler, Bud, Bentley Boy, Benty

Does it take a few minutes to think back to the nicknames you have called your pet? It's funny for me to see how the nicknames for our "Lovelies" have evolved.

Thinking About Puppy Raiser's

Dogs with Wings has been busy with puppies and adult dogs over the last couple of months:

• The two new litters (G & H) have started their journey in the puppy program and are bonding with their puppy raiser's.
• The first phase of Breton's litter, the Nova Scotia litter, have left their puppy raiser's and moved into the adult program, with the remaining pups to enter in the coming weeks. The F-litter will be entering the adult program shortly too.
• There are adult dogs who have completed their training journey and moved into their destined role as guide, assistance or autism service dog. Soon, the office will be full of dogs at the beginning of a new cycle of adult training as the remaining older dogs are coming to the end of their adult training journey.

With all of the changes happening, it has got me thinking of the puppy raiser's. Those who have recently began a new puppy raising journey, those who have (or soon will be) letting their dogs go on to the next phase of their training journey and for those who are seeing the dogs they raised from puppies to adults entering their destined partnership that they worked so hard to help them get to.

Here is a link to a poem called, Puppy Raiser's Prayer by Melanie S. Meenen. If you are a puppy raiser, maybe this can help you right now. If you have read it before, it's a nice poem to read again from time to time.

Puppy Raiser's Prayer by Melanie S. Meenen:
http://home.earthlink.net/~quint407/rsrpryr.html

Cheers,
Shannon & Breton

Today, Breton was Relaxing...

...whilst the muddy puddle water from the park baked warmly into her fur...


... and whilst eating her dinner this evening (notice she was sitting - a first)!

Happy Easter!

Sunning on a Sunny Spring Afternoon

Spring Walking (Running, Wrestling, Tugging) at the Dog Park with Schooner

Look at that fit looking boy!

A Schooner & Breton Play Date

Breton (left), Schooner (right)

Transitioning

Breton is doing well. She has been hanging out in her new crate off and on for the past week and even stayed home in her crate with the door closed almost by herself on Sunday. Greg was working in the basement and I left to do groceries while Breton stayed in her crate. Greg kept his ears open, and didn't hear a peep out of her. When I came home, she was laying down in her crate and looked very relaxed. We leave the door open to it when we are home, and she has even gone inside it on her own and fallen asleep a couple of times since introducing it to her.

We are looking at getting her involved with The Chimo Animal Assisted Therapy Project and will update the blog when I know more about how we are going to be involved.

I've found it sad on the past couple of Nova Scotia dog training days, as we are no longer able to attend. I miss being a part of that now. We still hang with her brother Schooner and his puppy raiser Leah, at the park on Tuesday's and Thursday's and will be joining them tomorrow for a play date. I will try and get some pictures of them to post.

Thank-you for all of your support and comments about Breton's news and I will keep the blog posted as to where this change takes our special girl. Sincerely - Shannon & Breton

PS -
Yesterday I had a procedure done at the hospital and had a mild sedation for it. When I came home, both dogs were concerned and interested in all of the hospital smells I brought with me. I was tired and slept the rest of the day on the couch. For the first hour I was home, Breton "raised" onto the couch (feet on the floor) and rested her head on my chest while I slept. Therapy dog?

Tundra

On the plane to Phoenix - Tundra's first flight with volunteer Puppies in Flight employee from US Airways.

Frog Boy

Last Wednesday, we had the joy of having Tundra in our home for three nights. She is a member of the H-litter, who all went to their puppy raising homes on the same day we brought Tundra home. Tundra's mama is Brooklyn, who is a DWW dog and her father is Fire, from a guide/assistance dog school in Pennsylvania. DWW agreed to give them a puppy in exchange for Fire's role in the creation of the six beautiful puppies that he sired.

Tundra had a chaperon from US Airways Puppies in Flight service fly to Edmonton to pick her up and take her back to Pennsylvania so that she didn't have to fly in a crate in the belly of the plane. They had a gruelling flight itinerary that was initially supposed to have them to their destination on Sunday, providing they made all of the flights (I think he was on stand-by as an employee). Anyway, when he met Elisa and I in the airport, he only had twenty minutes before his flight left. I found out on Monday that they didn't make their flight out because customs had closed before they got there! They ended up spending the night at the Nisku Inn and flew out on Sunday morning (pre or post snow fall, I'm not sure). From what I understood, they were staying at his home in Phoenix until today when they could make the final legs of their journey.

It was a real joy having Tundra and even after only three days with her, my stomach got knotted up and my eyes were teary when I said good-bye. It was the cutest thing when I turned back to watch them walk away, puppy under arm, with legs, tail and bum hanging freely as they headed toward the elevator to the departures level.

When Elisa forwarded me the picture of Tundra on the airplane seat, it made both Greg and I miss the little girl. Good luck Tundra!

Breton's Journey as a Future Guide/Assistance Dog Ends

On Monday we learned that the results from Breton's PennHip exam on Feb. 11 weren't good. I admire Dogs with Wings for their commitment to raising the very best of dogs who some day enter service and are healthy, even tempered, happy and well trained for their job. The standards they set are high as it is very important that the person who receives one of their dogs doesn't have to worry about things like possible health issues in the future. It wouldn't be fair to the client or the dog. Breton's test results show that she is at greater risk than they can accept for future hip degeneration or arthritis and therefore has been removed from the program.

We have lovingly welcomed Breton into our family as a permanent member. We will put her on a special diet, make sure she stays trim and gets lots of exercise in order to prevent possible problems from ever beginning with her hips.

I am looking around at other programs within the city where she can still be of service as she loves to work and has such valuable skills to offer.

As for me, I hadn't expected this to end so quickly, and now with two dogs in our small house, we have some serious decisions to make about raising another puppy in the future. For now, I have other projects on the go with Dogs with Wings, and so will still get a regular dose of puppies and dog training.

Puppy Blossoms

By Shannon Northcott

You were given a seedling for one year to foster and help grow. Most seed packets come with instructions, but instead they told you they would help cultivate the young life in your care and one year later, when it blossomed you would give it back. They were looking for an extraordinary flower and only that type could do. You knew the standards were high, but felt the odds were favourable.

Roses, Baby’s Breath and Forget-Me-Not's mean love, but wouldn’t do.

Marigolds are comforts of the heart, and Junipers symbolize protection.

Ivy represents friendship; Lilies and Orchids, beauty; and the Daisy innocence.

Although these flowers would bring joy and love to the lives they touched, they couldn't do the job.

You doted over the life in your care, nurtured and helped it to grow.

Just before it blossomed, they tested the flower that was going to open. They said you did your job well and that it wasn’t your fault.

Your flower belongs to the bouquet of love, comfort, friendship, beauty and innocence.

There is an entire bouquet of extraordinary flowers, and as much as you wanted your flower to belong there too, it just can’t.

Breton's Second Weekend in Banff

Bentley enjoying the view

The view!

Chasing snowballs on Lake Louise

Playing on Lake Louise

Breton is 13-Months Old Today!

Rigger (front), Clipper (middle), Breton

Clipper and Breton, sisters, chillin' out while I work with

the adult dogs. Can you tell who is who?

Clipper (front), Breton

Breton has had a busy month!

I have been helping at the office twice a week by working with and looking after the adult dogs and when I'm there, so is Miss Breton. She has done well fitting into the routine, and looks forward to her time there by heading to our door early in the morning on the days that we don't go to the office. Breton has been sleeping a bit more often and soundly this month and I am sure it has to do with her latest growth spurt. All of the girls in her litter are so similar that it is difficult to tell them apart. Up until now they have all been very close in size but when I see Breton with her sister, Clipper, Clipper seems so dainty to me beside Breton. Rigger, officially graduated into the adult program this month; the first from Breton's litter to move on.

I am feeling the motions of change within our Nova Scotia litter beginning to accelerate again. The last time it felt like there was a lot of change happening to them, it was when they were babies.

Afternoon After the Storm

The Famous Breton Stance

There has been conversation around the office as to how people are going to tell the Nova Scotia dogs apart from each other when they all move into the adult program, especially the girls. Does anyone else's dog stand with their feet pointed out like a duck?

"I'm not a duck."

I Spy with my Little Eye . . .

Thirteen dogs at NAIT's Animal Health Department early on a sunny Sunday morning. Seven Nova Scotia's and six F-Litter's awake and spry while the animal health technologist put drops into their eyes. Four at a time and one by herself, they were led into the examination room and onto the table, while puppy raiser's and Elisa stood by their side. The lights were turned off and the room was all dark, except for the white light used to peer into their eyes. When the doctor was finished and all had complied, each pup and their raiser's walked out of the office and towards the blue sky, marking this another step forward, eye exams all over and bye-bye!

Corona LRT Station

Today we joined Debbie's puppy class and met at Corona (indoor) LRT station downtown where we practiced a variety of obedience work, rode the LRT to a couple of other stations and went on an escalator. I am blogging today's class because today was the first day that Breton rode on an escalator! She has been an eager and happy puppy to hang out on the escalator platform for a couple of months now, but with a little nudge to her bum and encouragement, today she found herself leaving the platform behind. Breton earned lots of praise, yummy treats and bum scratches for a job well done and in typical Breton character, she returned the affection with tail wags and wiggles. I know we have more work to do to keep her comfortable and confident at going up them, but today was a big step! I have been waiting patiently for Breton to take the first step on her own as I know that without an experienced Dogs with Wings trainer to help guide us, that I would not have taken her up without Debbie being there to assist us with getting on and off. It is very important that Dogs with Wings show us when and how to introduce the escalator to our puppy and that we not take them on before we have been shown how. Thanks so much Debbie for your help and encouragement in getting Breton on and off of the escalator and for having us in your class today!

Morning Kisses

S-p-r-i-n-g

We seem to have a reoccurring pattern that has developed with Breton. As mentioned in previous blog postings, we have always encouraged the motto "four on the floor" with her. The only time it is okay for four to leave the floor is when we give her the queue "raise." There aren't a lot of rules that DWW asks us to abide by, but one of them is that dogs are not allowed on the furniture. Even when Breton was the tiniest baby we never even held her on our lap on the furniture, _ever_.

Now, in the morning while I am still sleeping, Breton springs up on to the bed and lands perfectly, right between Greg and I and starts licking and nibbling my ear while her tail wags at a joyous speed. I've sort of become used to this ritual in that my heart doesn't stop with fear when I feel her land beside me anymore, but my heart does ache when I concentrate on remaining boring and apathetic so she doesn't think it is fun to stay on the bed, all the while saying "off" so that she will get down.

I'm not sure when this behaviour will subside but I will remain steadfast in encouraging that she remain on the floor and will continue to ensure that she leaves the bed promptly. Allow me to say, this is not easy for me because it just feels so darn good having her sweet face so close to me first thing in the morning (Greg, you know I love you too).

I hope I am not the only one who will appreciate ear kisses from this poo eating dog?

Birthday Fun

Birthday treatsie


Morning run in the field with Bentley

Afternoon run at the off leash park

On Feb. 12, I spent the day with Breton doing most of her favorite things. I gave her a new tug rope for her and Bentley to play with in the backyard, but that was shredded before I had a chance to get a picture of them with it. We had a great day and she slept soundly that night. My biggest birthday wish for her is to have many happy, healthy years with lots of happy birthdays ahead.