Photo Pupdate: A Skill She Was Born To Learn

Service dogs in training learn to pick up their bowls to make the feeding routine easier for their partners with mobility issues. If I know my ravenous chowhound puppy, I'll bet she got the hang of this skill in about three seconds!


Adorable photo courtesy S.

Pupdate: Report From Advanced Training

The other night, I had a dream about Ruby. She stood on a dock over a brilliant lake, eager for the water but timid to dive in. I encouraged her and she jumped, but then disappeared below the surface.

In the next image, I was watching her as if I were underwater too, but she couldn't see me. Her paws were still and she drifted straight down, her yellow coat fading against the darkening grey as she sunk. But she was more stunned than afraid, I thought. I wasn't able to call to her, yet I wasn't worried. I waited, then suddenly she found herself and paddled with all her little might, straight to the surface. Once she got there, she just kept on swimming.

The thin symbolism of the dream was no mystery, of course. But the timing of my subconscious was ironic – I received the first "official" email about Ruby from her organization, Canine Partners of the Rockies, the very next day.

So...how are you doing, little bathing beauty?


Making good progress! The notes said that Ruby loves to learn and she picks up new cues quickly. Her eye contact is great, she's very comfortable in public, always checks in with her handler, and her training on city buses went very well.

Our plucky Roo is holding longer down stays in meetings, great news! But she does need a little work on improving her chill skills.

She still has some issues with dog distraction (no surprise there); only time and maturity will tell. She also shares a litter trait with her crew – they all have some alarm/alert barking issues. I can't say that she was much of a barker when she was with us; she usually deferred to her big sister, Kiva, who always makes sure to have the first and last woof on strangers and bunnies.

What else... Oh, Ruby likes to get her toes done. Such a girl.

Most importantly, Ruby is ready to begin working on all cues while her trainer is using a wheelchair. Thanks to thoughtful Sue who often sends me Roo photos, I was able to get a glimpse of this training.


Whether Ruby ultimately becomes a service dog or she takes another path, this beautiful shot of her learning makes me so happy and proud of her. Will share more as I hear it!

Guest Post...From Roo (and Sue)!

Hi Mom,
Happy Belated Birthday! I had an extra treat to celebrate your special day. I know you're not "over the hill" but that's the only birthday hat I could find. :)


I'm learning lots at Fido Beta Kappa college. You will be so proud of me! Sending oodles and oodles of doggie kisses.

Love you...Woof,
Roo


As you can imagine, finding this in my inbox was the best birthday present ever. Many thanks to wonderful Sue. And the hat speaks the truth – I had to put on my brand new reading glasses to read Roo's letter! —Christine

P.S. On the last post, Miss Roo is on the right.

Birthday Quiz: Who's Roo?

Today is my birthday and I've been celebrating all week long with a bunch of wonderful Roo photos arriving from the lovely and talented S. This happy shot of Roo and her sister Racine fooled yours truly -- I guessed Roo as Race and Race as Roo! But Mr. Raiser got it right, of course! Can you?

Photo Pupdate: The Roo-kettes Take The Stage

Photo courtesy of the wonderful S!

Pupdate: We Want To Pump...Roo Up!

My, Ruby is looking pretty buff, dontcha think? Actually, the "weight" she's holding is really just a light plastic tool used to train her to hold things in her mouth and carry them around.


It's important for a service dog to be accustomed to the mouthfeel of different objects and materials. I'd introduced this concept to Roo as a puppy by letting her experience the sensation of things like keys, remote controls, utensils, a plastic cup, phones, etc. Now in advanced training, she's learning to take lots of items and hold on to them. It's a valuable skill many service dogs need when partnered with individuals with mobility-related disabilities.

And you never know what they might need to retrieve! I remember one night while Roo was living with us, I accidentally dropped half a lemon in the kitchen. Both dogs responded to "Leave It," but they were intrigued, so the whole thing turned into a practice session. First, I let Kiva pick it up. She spit it right out, then picked it up again very gingerly with just the tippy tips of her teeth, then spit it out again and made a PTOOEY! face. (Yep, dogs can, and it is hilarious!) Then I let Roo have the lemon, and she just held it like a ball — no problem with the taste — in fact, she seemed to like it!

As always, so many thanks to S for the photos.

Traveling With Your Pets

I'm so glad to have been able to contribute a guest post to one of my favorite sites, GoPetFriendly.com. If you travel with your pets (or plan to) you won't want to miss this article, "Pet-Friendly Should Always Be Human-Friendly, Too!"

Having your dogs with you on vacation is awesome, and when it comes to accommodations, pet-friendly rooms should always be extremely clean and up to the standard of non-pet rooms. Even with many years of experience traveling with the canines, you still never know what you might encounter. So check out my tips to ensure your hotel stay is as much fun for the humans as it is for your pets!

A great pet-friendly hotel makes everyone feel welcome!

Photo Pupdate: Courtside

I never did get the chance to take Ruby to an indoor sporting event. She behaved really well when I had her on the sidelines of outdoor sports like soccer, but the sights, sounds, echoes, and noise indoors can be a whole different ballgame for a service puppy in training.

Happily, I've heard that Roo attended her first indoor basketball game and behaved like a champ. Check out this concentration!


I understand that she loved all the action, and the hoopla (ha!) didn't faze her a bit. Attagirl Roo!

Thanks to S for this keen photo of our little yellow fangirl.

Pupdate! And A Small Rooquest

Had a sweet little virtual snoot nudge (eSnudge? Cybersnoodge?) in my inbox this weekend. As Ruby works on her retrieve, she is also learning to "Hold." She seems to be excelling with all of her subjects, including Squirrel 101,


and Advanced Bowl.


The retrieve is fun for our dogs (and useful for us) at any time; I taught Kiva a formal retrieve when she was 11 years old. For service dogs, a key part of the retrieve is to securely, but gently, "hold" the retrieved item for an indefinite period. The service dog will pick up a dropped item and return the item quickly to her partner, but a person with a disability may need some extra time before he is able to take the item from his dog.

Lifting her bowl from the floor and bringing it to an accessible level is a valuable skill for Ruby, helping to facilitate her feeding routine with her future partner.

**************************************

Thank you all so much for helping us gain two nominations in this year's Petties Awards. Please vote often!

Raising Ruby
2011 Petties Award Nominee "Best Blog Post" and "Best Cause Related Blog"
Click here and vote twice daily until July 29:  Enter the Petties

Winners of each category are honored with a $1,000 donation to the shelter/rescue of their choice. Our chosen organization is Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies. Many thanks to DogTime Media for this opportunity and their generosity.
 

Many thanks to S for capturing these wonderful photos and to Ruby's Advanced Trainer for her gentle and expert training.

Photo Pupdate: Two Roos!

Guess who's joined Ruby in Advanced Training? Her sister Racine! Can you tell which is which?


I smiled twice as wide when I opened my email and saw this pic! Thank you, S!

Don't forget, ballots for the Eleventh Annual Weblog Awards (2011 Bloggies) are being accepted through Sunday 1/16. Please nominate Raising Ruby for "Best-Kept Secret Weblog" to help us in our mission to raise awareness. Many service dog organizations rely on the assistance of volunteers to keep their programs going, so let's make sure that's not a secret!

Looking to volunteer with an organization in your area? For a list of accredited members of Assistance Dogs International, please click here.

Welcome!

Each day brings new friends who visit Raising Ruby for the first time; I'm glad you're here to share in the story of our journey. Ruby came to us at 10 weeks old when her tiny cape was barely the size of my hand...although the strap struggled to fit her big puppy belly!


As a service puppy in training, she has full public access and she definitely gets around – from the fitting room, to the firehouse, the car wash, and even the Kong factory!

So check out the sidebar, get to know baby Roo during those first few weeks, and have fun clicking around our blog. You'll find lots of puppy smiles as Ruby makes her way toward becoming a service dog for a person with a disability.

As I receive word on Ruby's progress in Advanced Training, I'll post updates, then archive them monthly in the "Pupdates!" area of the sidebar. If I'm also lucky enough to see photos of her peeking from my inbox, you'll find them here and on Twitter.

Many thanks to all of our friends, old and new. Enjoy your visit and be sure to add us to your blog readers – when I hear from news from Roo, you will too!