Learning to Navigate Stairs

We started teaching her how to do stairs when she was 9 weeks old. We started by carrying her almost all the way up the stairs, then set her down to do the last one or two on her own. That was the easy part. Going down is a lot scarier, but it's done the same way. We placed her one or two steps up from the bottom and lured her with treats. It only took about three days for her to be confidently zooming up and down any set of stairs, including those leading from the screen porch down to the patio. A full flight of stairs with no risers, so they are open in back.

May 17- one day shy of 10 weeks old

There she goes! I think we are going to have to put the gate up!

Wanda comes when called

She has reached the bottom (without jumping off the side.)

Playing with her "Magic Hat"

Visits to the Vet

Wanda had her first visit to Colchester Veterninary Hospital on Friday, May 11th. While we were in the waiting room, I had her on my lap. There were two mature labs and two 5 month old German Shepherd Dogs that were very loud and obnoxious. They were across the room from us, and Wanda remained calm during the noisy wait.  We were attended to by Dr. Rob McLaughlin, who has been our regular vet for 18 years. She weighed in at 12.6 lbs, at 9 weeks old. She tolerated the exam and vaccinations.. she had her first Bordetella (kennel cough) and Lyme vaccine. (She had gotten her first Distemper combo shot while she was still at Freedom.) She glanced back to see what the poke was all about, but was more focused on the crumbled dog cookie. She had loose stool, so I brought in a specimen and it tested positive for Giardia (very common in young pups) and we were given Metronidazole to treat it.

We returned to the vet on Friday, May 25 and this time, there was nobody else in the waiting room. I spent some of the time with some training exercises. We are working on sit, down, touch, take it or leave it and are just starting to work on stay. She did great laying on the floor, waiting patiently.  We brought her into the exam room and put her on the exam table, and the scale showed she weighed 16.6 lbs, a gain of over 30 percent in just two weeks! This time, she got her second Bordetella and Lyme vaccinations, along with the 2nd DAPP combo. Again, she was very relaxed throughout the entire ordeal.
The next visit is scheduled in a month and she will get her 3rd DAPP and Rabies vaccinations.

A Few Words About Housebreaking

Not my favorite thing in the world. For the first couple of days she was home, I watched her like a hawk, and took her out every 20 minutes or so while she was active. When she relieved outside, we celebrated. I wanted to get some things done around the house, so on day three I was less attentive while I focused on my other tasks. Of course, there were accidents. And it was my fault. So, I went back to observing her closely for signs that she may have to go and got her outside quickly.  I was able to catch her in the act in the house a couple of times, so that I could express a little disappointment, to show her that wasn't acceptable house behavior.  I hung a bell on the kitchen door and rang it every time we went out. She has started to ring the bell, but not consistently. In the past two weeks, she has done very well (or, I have, anyway..) I still have to watch her pretty closely, but we have had very few accidents.

Puppernity Leave - May 6 through May 13

We got home Sunday around 10:30 a.m. and Paul's sister Barb was at our house with her son Nick, who was mowing the lawn. Wanda got to meet her new housemates Inga and Hannah, along with Barb's dog Lacey, who comes to play a few times a week. Wanda seemed a bit hesitant on the first day, but by day 2, she was totally at ease, playing with the big girls.

Wanda wasn't too sure about Lacey, who is a very boisterous, playful girl. Wanda learned about safety zones when playing with Simon the day before.

Hannah is a lot more calm than Lacey, but Wanda still approaches from the safety zone.

 Barb & Wanda

Grandma & Wanda

Wanda enjoying the long grass

On her first night, she found a great sleeping place, on the bottom shelf of the coffee table.

Look out World -- Here I Come!!

And so it begins... fribbee lessons with Inga. Wanda is a very determined little pup and tugs on it with all her might. It wasn't until Inga lifted her off the ground that she decided to let go.

In the Lilies.. 8 weeks old

She's still small enough to fit under the furniture!

She challenges Hannah for her toys, too.... Hannah is very tolerant, but she stands her ground.

Hannah, Inga and Wanda

I bet Booda would love to have this for an ad for their Soft Bite Floppy Disk!

Staying close to Inga while keeping an eye on the kitty

She loves snuggling with Inga

PUPPY DAY! May 5, 2012

I made plans to take a week off for "Pup-pernity Leave" and started counting down the days..
Finally, the day had arrived! I didn't even have to set my alarm to get up at 5:00 so we could leave by 5:30 a.m. for the long four hour ride ahead of us. We stopped for breakfast sandwiches in Glastonbury and made good time to Cassville. The school is way out in the "boonies" surrounded by farmland in New York State, between the Catskills and Adirondacks. Absolutely beautiful country.

Here she is -- Wanda the Polish Warrior Queen!!

All the other pups had gone to their new homes and Wanda had been by herself for several days. Freedom staff entertained her on a regular basis and the Loori family's Bloodhound Buford made a wonderful playmate. We chatted with the Loori's and with John Byfield while enticing Wanda with a plastic water bottle in the driveway. John had guide dog trainee "Windy" with him and Wanda kept trying to engage her in play.

Windy is in training and will be placed with her new partner in the next month or two.

 Once we were assured that puppy had a good amount of exercise, we hit the road, back to the Albany area. On our last trip here in March, we found a Comfort Inn in East Greenbush, less than 5 miles from my cousin's house. It makes a very convenient stop-over mid-way in the route.

Wanda meets Simon, my cousin's 2 year old terrier mix.

Once Wanda fell asleep, we took her back to the hotel. She was very good and I took her out

once in the middle of the night, and Paul got up very early with her in the morning

and let me sleep in til around 7:00 a.m., then it was time for the ride back home.

Here We Go Again!

We are raising our 11th Guide Dog puppy, and our second from Freedom Guide Dogs for the Blind. She is a black labrador retriever that we named Wanda. She was born on March 9, 2012 into a litter of 8, her Mom is Ice-T and her Dad is Al. Our first lab was released from the guide program at 8 months old due to elbow dysplasia. You can read all about my Journey to Freedom in her blog "Sweet Victory." I'll try to post a link to this page.  We returned Victory to Freedom on March 17th and got our first glimpse of Wanda and her brothers and sisters when they were only 8 days old. It was so neat being able to go into Ice-T's pen and hold the tiny pups. Momma is a real love bug, and just wanted us to pet her, which we gladly obliged. I wasn't sure that I wanted to start over again so soon-- we were just barely out of the vaccination and house-breaking phase. But once I held these little guys, my resolve melted away... so here we go- again!

I wished Freedom was closer to us, I would have gone up several times a week to watch these babies grow. Nicole at Freedom was nice enough to indulge me by posting photos on their Facebook page.