Tai is a Guide.

We just recieved word yesterday that Tai has been matched and will be part of the Advanced Class that is now up at GDA. He will be living with his new partner in Northern California.

Needless to say we are very proud of him and can't wait to see him and meet his new partner. The Class Dinner is the evening of the 20th at GDA and is private and not open to the public.

The Advanced Class is for returning guide dog users and they will spend only two week at the school instead of the usuall four.

Thank you to everyone for the comments and support and thank you to all of our GDA puppy raisers for all of your help with our boy.

Gda on TV

Watch a local news story about the wild fire, how it affected GDA and how they delt with it.

Watch the video

I don't know how long this video will be on the website, so I apologize in advance if you go looking for it and it is not there.

p.s. See if you can find Tai!

Postcard!

Just a couple of quick updates...

1) We got the first postcard from Tai up at GDA. We can now pretty much recite them by heart since they are always the same (not that we are complaining, we do the happy dance when we get a postcard), but it said that Tai is in harness and learning to pull, and will be learning turns next.

2) Last Friday I had emailed GDA, asking for an update. My source said that he is doing very well, the trainers like him very much, and he has adjusted very well. Yep, three 'very's in three sentences.

I can sleep more peacefully now...between Zoe's feedings, anyway.

Where it all stands

Tai is in formal training as of 8-9-08
Paige is still a loving pet and the sweetest dog ever!

Liam has been Re-matched with his new partner.

Voight has been re-matched with his new partner.

Blog upkeep

we want to thank Jenny for helping us keep up our blog.

for more on Tai and his adventures please see Jenny's & Truman's blog.

here, here, and here.

thanks Jenny!

Tai's Evaluation

Around nine months or so, a GDA dog goes to spend some time up at the kennels for their evaluation. The trainers (or puppy department) takes the puppy out into public, goes through their commands, and makes a general report of where the puppy needs to improve, what they do well, etc. We dropped Tai off, and then picked him up on the way to the mountains this past weekend.

We got the wiggly black dog back, and then noticed the envelope stuck to the wall - "Tai". We took a deep breath, opened our eyes, and read his eval.

First off - "energy level - high!". Complete with exclamation point. "General behavior - excited". Gee, you think? Tai has a TON of energy, however his brother Truman usually has more. And 'Rooman only got a MODERATE energy rating. Evidently, Tai didn't get all of his "play" out with his roomie at the kennel or had been pounding Red Bull, so he was rarin' to go when they came to get him for his eval. His obedience commands were rated good. He did fine in public, was excited but able to contain himself around other dogs, did NOT stalk the kennel cat this time, and over all did a good job.

In the comments section, they did comment that Tai can be a tougher dog to handle just because of his sheer size, but he knows exactly what is expected of him with commands and takes correction well. He's just 74 pounds of hurry-up-let's-go. No further evaluation planned. And since we've had him back, we see that he's turned a corner. His recall is really very good, and he is much faster at executing his commands.

All said and done... I think we'll keep him. At least until next August, anyway!

The Return of the RamPaige and Tai-rade

This is what happened when Tai got his big sister back. Can you even tell who is who?

Calendar Time

I love October. My wife and I started dating in October, got married in October, our favorite holiday is in October, plus hockey starts in October, what more do you want??

Sorry, back to the dog thing. So, it brought me great joy to flip over the calendar to October and see Liam, Voight in harness, and our friends' (and area leaders' puppy), Mika as the picture for the month (my wife keeps telling me to write about Mika and her special place in my heart, but that will have to wait until a later time). Enjoy this picture from the 2007 GDA South Bay calendar, featuring three of the prettiest black dogs we know.

For the rest of the story, well, we will let Jenny take care of that.

He Even Does The Laundry

So, over the weekend we were being domestic, doing pretty mundane stuff.

This is how he came out of our bedroom. No posing involved.















I've no idea how he got under a pair of my jeans. At least he helped sort the darks from the whites.

Obedience 101

Tai has been a lot of things, a second puppy, a little brother, a really big boy, but he is also the very first one we have had to complete our obedience class. Let us explain. We attend an obedience class down the street from Matthew's work, as do several of the guide dog pups in our group. It is held on Monday nights - but so are our monthly group meetings. Ergo, we have missed classes - and it just so happened that with both Voight and Liam, our monthly meeting fell on the last obedience class - so truly, we have never "completed" class. Our instructor, Chris, is an exceptionally nice guy (he would like to raise a GDA pup, but given his line of work, he cannot, so he lets all of us GDA people come for free) and he completely understands why we miss class and doesn't mind.

Tai went this past Monday to class. We had actually lost track of the classes and didn't know that this was the last one, so when Chris told us to put our dogs on a down stay, and walk around the corner, we weren't sure how it was going to go. Everyone walked around the corner and we were followed only by a little Pit bull who didn't want to be separated from her mommy. No Tai. Hmmm. Chris had us come back to about 12 feet in front of the row of dogs, and then turn and walk away from them. I (Amy) walked away from the dogs, and did not hear the scratch of claws on asphalt. I reached the other side - and only three dogs are left: a gigantic Rottweiler, Tai, and a chocolate lab. We then had to walk back to the twelve foot mark, say the dog's name, and then turn and walk back. I tried to give Tai the I'm-saying-your-name-not-recalling-you look (if that even exists), said his name firmly, and walked back to my spot. While I was walking back, I'm mouthing to the people watching "IS HE STAYING?"

He did. The chocolate lab broke, and ran after her daddy. Still Tai stayed. Just him and the Rottie.

We then had to walk back, kneel down, say their name again. Rottie sat there. Tai couldn't take it and RAN into my arms. I caught him in full run, gave him a squeeze, and told him he was a good boy. Seven and a half months, and doing down stays - on a day, that truly, he had been a bit of a knucklehead. That's m'boy.

There is another story here - but it wasn't our pup. Very dear friends of ours raised a GDA pup named Willow a few years back. She was joy personified, the happiest dog that ever has lived. She did the same obedience class - except when everyone went around the corner, she looked left, looked right - and led a full-on mass break of all the dogs. One of our friends, who witnessed it said it looked like Willow had a "Sound of Music" moment - running in the hills, happy as can be - and just happened to take all of her friends with her. Willow has been a guide for a couple of years now - and from what we hear, is still as happy as ever.

Maybe Tai will follow her lead in about a year and a half...

GDA Golf Tournament

Every year, GDA has a golf tournament as a fundraiser in Southern California. This year it was at the Calabasas Country Club. Puppy raisers are sometimes asked to work at the tournament, not only for set up, but to be on the greens or at the tee, a puppy in hand, to talk to the golfers, encourage them, etc. We have been asked to work the past two years. Last year we took Epcot, a friend's puppy, as we had just turned in Liam. This year we took the newly-neutered Tai, who (of course) was his usual uber-confident self.

It was held a few weeks ago on a Monday - we got there very early in the morning; the men helped set up the easy-up canopies for those on the tee boxes who had no shade, distributed coolers, etc. The women were mostly helping sell the tee packages, raffle tickets, etc. Amy and Tai were assigned to the putting contest, which took place before the tournament started.

At first Tai wanted to help - "I'll get that little white ball for you, sir!" After awhile he ignored the ball, although he did not understand, sitting on the green as we were, why it was occasionally raining golf balls. One would plunk down, and he would look around like "Did you see THAT? Where did that come from?" Tai was also borrowed to be on the "photo hole" where golfers would take pictures with the puppies. Although his belly shaved from his surgery, who WOULDN'T want their picture taken with such a pretty boy, even if he is seven months old and ALL BOY? (I believe the word "pistol" was used, much to Amy's dismay, but he wasn't a bad pup...just his usual confident boy self).

We had the banquet after, and there was a live auction for a tour of the Ronald Reagan Ranch, as well as a silent auction. Tai didn't care. It was cool inside the dining room, and before we knew it, out he went! Poor little dude had had a long hot day, being petted, photographed, and complimented. We were honored to work the golf tournament, and have had a fabulous time working each time. Although Tai won't be here this time next year, if we work it again, it will be

hard to top moments like this:

The Verdict Is In...

They are going to fix Tai.

Tai came home from his "pre-evaluation" on Wednesday. He had a GLOWING report: he is ahead of the curve, learning-wise, for his age, and is learning self control appropriately.

That being said, he's a lot of dog.

The instructor who gave him his evaluation was the same that looked at Amy during obedience last weekend and asked "How's Paige doing?"...except.... Amy had Tai. We told her, we don't lie in those monthly evaluations where we say that he's an ox.

(BTW, we weighed him at school: 58 lbs at 6 1/2 months of age. Lord, are we in trouble.)

We appreciate that Tai will be fixed early, and will skip the raging hormones phase, and in that, may not learn some of those habits that could interefere with guide work later on. It was also nice to have an early evaluation to know that he is not lagging, being the "second child" if you will. We asked what we should be working him on, or what concerns they had.

"Nothing. Keep doing what you're doing".

Yes, ma'am.

A Moose By Any Other Name...

I know occasionally other fellow puppy bloggers have posted lists of favorite nicknames for their respective pooches. GDA's company line is not to nickname the dogs, so for example, they might not want you to name your pup Victor, because they would be afraid it would turn into Vic (sorry, that one's taken anyway). That being said, EVERYONE we know nicknames their pups, which is a normal sign of affection. The only real difference is that when giving commands, we use their correct and full name (most of the time, anyway) So, without further ado, the not-official-nickname list for:

Paige


Paige-a-roo, RamPaige, Paiges, Yellow Paiges (yes, she's black, but you need to see her rolling in dead grass), Paiger, Moose, Delicate Little Flower, Ow-Get-Off-My-Foot, Gremlin, Big Love, Habibi (thanks to my wonderful Egyptian friend), You've-Been-Paiged, Paige-Ra (not like She-Ra, like Moth-ra), Baby Girl





Tai

Tainormous, Tai'erd (tired), My Tai, TaiZilla, Tai Chi (yes, we forgot to consider pun potential when selecting his name), Ox, Close-Your-Mouth-When-Kissing-Me, Barky-Pants, Bottomless Pit, Sir, Little Love, Bicious Veastie, The Dark Lord, Captain Ridiculous, Major Lee Ridiculous, Little Boy

The Dark Lord and Voldemoof

With all the Harry Potter hysteria going on - yes, I (Amy) finished the book, Matthew's speed-reading it right now - I take you back to a few weeks ago when we hosted Jenny and Truman over at our place for a little puppy shuffle time. Figuring that everyone was tired, we took Tai, Truman, and Paige to see The Order of The Phoenix.

We must refer you back to the LAST time that we took Tai to the movies, one of us has STILL not seen all of Pirates 3. We figured that that was a while ago, he's so much older, it will be fine.
He did not have an accident in the theatre. Yay. However...during the movie, Hagrid's dog Fang (a very cool looking Neopolitan Mastiff, BTW) barked on-screen.

So did Tai. So did Truman. Off-screen. (Paige lay there like a bump on a pickle.)

The poor people in front of us jumped (they must have thought they had surround sound), but at least they had a good sense of humor. And then it happened again. And again. Finally, Jenny and I got wise and decided that everytime Hagrid came on the screen, or any type of creature, dog-like or not, we would bend down, ready to give the quick correction.

We spent the last hour of the movie in the hunched-over position. So because Jenny had decided that Truman belongs in Slytherin (and we know that usually Houses run in families, Sirius Black aside) where else to put Tai than the House that spawned Snape, the Lestranges, and of course, Tom Riddle?

Sure, he LOOKS all sweet and cute, but....Tai is none other than.... The Dark Lord!

If He's Not Broken, Do You Fix Him?

Well, we asked. We asked again. I won't say that we downright begged, but I've considered it. Since Tai turned about four months old, we began asking the school -

"Are you going to fix this one?"

You see, with all of our dogs being left intact until at LEAST fourteen months, and two of those being male, it would be different to have a dog neutered early. Before the hormones. You see where this is going. We finally did get an email from the school, finally. "Sorry, guys, we're going to leave him intact for awhile". The school did schedule a "pre-evaluation" for him (and possibly the two remaining brothers) to go to the school this weekend, and come home next Wednesday. We're really not certain what they can to in such a short amount of time (being only six months and not fully developed yet, most medical tests wouldn't be appropriate), but hey! It's the will of the school, and heck, maybe we just aren't destined to have pup fixed early.

Lest you think I'm being hard on him, Tai's not a bad pup (he really is a good boy) - he's just BIG, and truly, hasn't developed any of the behaviors yet that would come from being intact. But as our obedience instructor said last night:

"He's six months now? In six more months, that's going to be a whole lot of dog to be intact!"

Our point exactly. So right now, Tai has two career paths, "options", as it were: be a guide, or be a potential breeder. But it might be easier from a behavioral standpoint if they were to remove his "options" sooner rather than later!

Mammoth

We did something 4th of July weekend that we had never done before with any of our previous dogs - we took both of them on vacation with us. Matthew's dad has a place up on Mammoth Mountain and so we met Amy's parents, brother, sister-in-law, and five month old niece Eleanor (Ellie) there for a long weekend.

The dogs did great - and boy, did they get dirty! We hiked to Devil's Postpile, a natural hexagonal rock formation, one of only two in the world (the other's in Scotland, for anyone who's interested) and from there, to Rainbow Falls. The pups had never been on trail before (and really, we had never taken a dog on trail before). They were out of jacket, and were allowed to free-range a bit on leash. They were so curious about EVERYTHING! "Oooh, look! A bush! Oh, look, a pinecone! Can I eat pinecones?" The way back was a bit much for Amy, who already had not been feeling well,... and a lot of the trail home was uphill. Well, let's just say that Amy can't say that Paige never did anything for her. During the more extended uptrail parts, Amy held onto Paige - and was pulled up the hill. Can you say uphill assist?

We hiked to Inyo Crater (which to Amy sounds like a joke, but seriously, that's the name), sat around the house and played games, cooked, and basically enjoyed being "away" for a little while.

Matthew, Tai, Paige, Amy, with Ellie and her parents above, at Inyo Crater.

The other really neat thing was seeing both the pups with Ellie. When the pups had seen Ellie the first time, it was Paige who was very solicitous of the baby. This time, it was Tai, barely more than a baby himself, who was facinated by her. He wanted to be near her, smell her, lick her hands and feet (and face, as we found out when he woke her up from a nap on her play-pad). The sweetest time was when we found Ellie asleep on her play-pad, with Tai asleep with his head facing the baby.


And of all of us, guess who were the two who didn't want to go home?




It made us realize that we could go to new places with both dogs, and have a good time too. Having two on vacation was an adventure to say the least, but with Paige going IFT soon, we can't say how glad we are to have gone.

We're baa-aack!

Sorry, all, we seem to post only in spurts. Everything has been pretty crazy with taking two dogs on vacation/ Amy getting a new job/ life in general.

So, just a quick update and we will get back to our regularly scheduled posting.

Paige goes in for training August 11. She has also gone through a transition, as Amy cannot take a pup to work - so Paige (and sometimes Tai) has been going to a puppy raiser friend of ours who is retired (and has a pup) during the day. A co worker recently asked "Do you have to pay for the child, er, dog-care?" No, it is through the generosity of friends that we are still able to maintain our two dogs until Paige goes IFT. So Paige has been making friends and being a friend to other puppies in training.

Tai is still Tai - ginormous and silly. His new thing is barking. It's not usually random, but in response to being startled or hearing a noise for which he cannot see a cause. However, it's "BARK!" and we tell him no, and then, under his breath "woof". Fellow raisers, you know what this sounds like - a quiet bark without a dog opening his mouth. The exchange usually goes something like this:

(random, generic noise)

"BARK!" "NO, quiet!"

"woof" "No!"

"woof" "no, quiet!"

"woof..."

He always has to have the last word. Tell us this isn't like having a kid.

The Black Snapper Strikes Again...

Sometimes there's no where to hide from the sharp teeth of... the Black Snapper!!

Look Closely

So the question is:



Whose paws are whose?
















We did this as an experiment, mostly because one of us thought that Tai and Paige's feet are the same size. They're not, but they're darn close! Maybe it's also because everywhere we go, a lot of that we hear is "Wow look at those feet!" "What big paws he has". Sometimes it is accompanied with a pitying look for Amy, who is on the petite side - a sort of "that-puppy-is-going-to-be-walking-her-in-a-few-months" look. But we beg to differ.

This pic makes it a little more obvious...

Then There Were Three...

The past two weeks have been chaotic to say the least. We've always been a "one dog" family, so having Tai and Paige together took some getting used to. Then along came Voight.

There only being two of us, there were plenty of hectic moments. That being said, we are so honored and grateful for our relationship with Voight's partner that she trusts us enough to watch Voight while she was overseas. There is also something very special about having three of the four dogs we have raised together. Here they are, posing in their respective attire: Tai in his puppy in training "bib", Paige in her puppy in training jacket, and Voight looking mature in his harness (We had his harness, but obviously we did not use it when he was here. We only put in harness for the picture. When we took him out in public, it was in jacket like Paige, although his did not say "puppy in training".)

It was also interesting to have three dogs in that it put Voight back in our vocabulary. I was channeling my dad's mom for most of the time, going through roll-call before I got the right dog I wanted to call/ correct/ feed/ whatever. My sentences began "Voi-Pai-Tai - STOP IT", or whatever. Liam's and Mika's (whom I don't think has made an entrance into this blog yet) names were thrown in there too. I found myself echoing my Nana again - "If I'm looking at you, I'm talking to you".

So anyway, my inabilities aside, having the three posed a few problems, mostly that Voight does not like young males. Period. He was fine playing with Suki, a female only three weeks older than Tai. Voight is in no way a mean dog, but I think he gets a bit... jealous, competitive maybe? - with other males, particularly those who are young and intact. Add that to our Tai being a little instigator - subsequently, Tai ended up being farmed out to be puppy sat. We are supposed to puppy swap, and we do feel that this was a very good experience for him. He came home with glowing reports from both families who watched him (sorry, proud parent moment). It was also good that he was gone, because Paige was still recovering from her altering and Tai seemed to want to remove her stitches (consequently the little girl has staples in her tummy, but they will be removed tomorrow).

Voight was a pleasure to watch - and because he is someone else's dog, he comes with, shall we say, a certain disregard for uber-strict puppy raising rules? Voight sleeps with his owner ON the bed... it's a challege the first few nights to get used to an 80 pound Labrador who insists on being a cover hog. Voight also plays tug with his partner's husband - which we obviously never have, until now. There is a reason that we don't teach our dogs that - Voight nearly pulled Amy over on the first tug. Not a good thing.

Paige also benefitted from having an older dog around - she seems to be more confident and assertive with Tai, who came home yesterday. Paige would play and steal Voight's toys, and "teeth-rattle" or "sword fight" with him, and the benefits seem to be her being less of a softie when it comes to Tai. We caught her laying down last night with Tai, which we thought was adorable until we realized her noggin was holding his head down, along with her paw. He had this look on his face that said " 'Ello? Shishter? Can 'ou move your facsh? Pleash?"

So Voight went home to his mommy, and Tai is home with us. It was a hectic two weeks, but very much worth it... although we have a new appreciation for those of you who handle two or more pups on a regular basis!