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Felt a little nostalgic and figured I'd post some pictures of the other pups who've been in and out of the house the last two years.
I worked with Roux for 2 weeks at the beginning of the semester, though she only came home for 1 long weekend. She was just released from the program at the end of this last semester and will be going to live with her puppy parents after the new year. Her litter was donated to the organization by a private breeder and has had a lot of issues. All but two have struggled with reactivity, and unfortunately none are looking like they'll graduate.
My first pup, Skype, who came to me at 4 months. He's a Golden with a Poodle grandparent, so technically 1/8 Poodle. He was a bit of a weirdo when I had him, and went through a painful adolescence where he was super anxious and reactive. He definitely won't graduate, and he's still a bit of an over-reactive loon, but he settled into himself a lot over the summer. Something interesting in his litter is they all struggle with frustration in training- usually an issue when they try a behavior a few times and it doesn't work. One gets very mouthy, one completely shuts down, Skype is one of the ones who stress scratches and paces. He had one sister who was released at the end of last year that would air snap and then erupt into frantic barking. First two are him when I got him as a baby, last is from a few months ago- all grown up!
Another of the "R" pups- Richter. I fell head over heels for this dude, and it broke my heart to give him up. He's a lot of the reason I ended up choosing a black lab as my own service dog. He was released at the end of last year and now lives with a staff member who occasionally brings him to school, so I still get to see him sometimes.
My fourth dog was Thomas. I got to watch him grow up from the time he was three months old, and at the time I had him found him to be an honest working and pretty stable. He's deteriorated a bit over the summer and isn't looking quite so on track to graduate, unfortunately. I also learned pretty quickly with him that Goldens are not for me- too needy and I can't stand the anxious panting they do.
Last dog first semester was Richmond, who helped me raise Arlo the first few months. Lowest energy dog I've had by far, and cemented that I don't love working with low energy dogs. I like some zest to my pups. Taught me endless amounts about engagement and motivation, though.
First dog this year was Uibel, who I've known since he was born. Purebred lab. Bouncy boy, but not fearful. We're all very hopeful he'll graduate, and he just went through the mock client training that they do with the Associates learning about service dog training.
My most recent dog was Valor. He's a lab/golden cross- shares the same mother as Thomas, and his father is Uibel's uncle (brother of Uibel's dam). Everyone is wild about this litter- it was an amazing cross and has produced very solid pups with good drive to do the work but without excessive energy. I've really enjoyed watching this litter grow up, because it's allowed me to see how crossing different lines really brings out the best or worst in a dog. The mother of the "T" and "V" litters has some great qualities, but is very soft and can throw fearful pups. The "T" litter is largely reactive, where-as the "V" pups got all her good traits and seem to have been smoothed out by the father. I call Valor my Golden in a Lab coat, because he's all Golden in personality and build (he's got those straight back legs and very square frame) but most everyone assumes he's a Lab because of his coat length and color.
I worked with Roux for 2 weeks at the beginning of the semester, though she only came home for 1 long weekend. She was just released from the program at the end of this last semester and will be going to live with her puppy parents after the new year. Her litter was donated to the organization by a private breeder and has had a lot of issues. All but two have struggled with reactivity, and unfortunately none are looking like they'll graduate.
My first pup, Skype, who came to me at 4 months. He's a Golden with a Poodle grandparent, so technically 1/8 Poodle. He was a bit of a weirdo when I had him, and went through a painful adolescence where he was super anxious and reactive. He definitely won't graduate, and he's still a bit of an over-reactive loon, but he settled into himself a lot over the summer. Something interesting in his litter is they all struggle with frustration in training- usually an issue when they try a behavior a few times and it doesn't work. One gets very mouthy, one completely shuts down, Skype is one of the ones who stress scratches and paces. He had one sister who was released at the end of last year that would air snap and then erupt into frantic barking. First two are him when I got him as a baby, last is from a few months ago- all grown up!
Another of the "R" pups- Richter. I fell head over heels for this dude, and it broke my heart to give him up. He's a lot of the reason I ended up choosing a black lab as my own service dog. He was released at the end of last year and now lives with a staff member who occasionally brings him to school, so I still get to see him sometimes.
My fourth dog was Thomas. I got to watch him grow up from the time he was three months old, and at the time I had him found him to be an honest working and pretty stable. He's deteriorated a bit over the summer and isn't looking quite so on track to graduate, unfortunately. I also learned pretty quickly with him that Goldens are not for me- too needy and I can't stand the anxious panting they do.
Last dog first semester was Richmond, who helped me raise Arlo the first few months. Lowest energy dog I've had by far, and cemented that I don't love working with low energy dogs. I like some zest to my pups. Taught me endless amounts about engagement and motivation, though.
First dog this year was Uibel, who I've known since he was born. Purebred lab. Bouncy boy, but not fearful. We're all very hopeful he'll graduate, and he just went through the mock client training that they do with the Associates learning about service dog training.
My most recent dog was Valor. He's a lab/golden cross- shares the same mother as Thomas, and his father is Uibel's uncle (brother of Uibel's dam). Everyone is wild about this litter- it was an amazing cross and has produced very solid pups with good drive to do the work but without excessive energy. I've really enjoyed watching this litter grow up, because it's allowed me to see how crossing different lines really brings out the best or worst in a dog. The mother of the "T" and "V" litters has some great qualities, but is very soft and can throw fearful pups. The "T" litter is largely reactive, where-as the "V" pups got all her good traits and seem to have been smoothed out by the father. I call Valor my Golden in a Lab coat, because he's all Golden in personality and build (he's got those straight back legs and very square frame) but most everyone assumes he's a Lab because of his coat length and color.
Photobucket recently became a paid service, so they won't let your pictures show on forums.
