Halfway There

It's February 3, 2010 and today Ruby is nine months old. It's hard to believe, but we're halfway through our time together and I sincerely want to thank all of you who are sharing this journey with Ruby and me.

Just as I've watched our tiny pup grow, so has our circle of online friends grown. The support we've received through your comments, emails, links, posts – and yes, even twitters! – means more to us than you'll ever know. By spreading the word about one little yellow service puppy, you help so much in our effort to raise awareness for the canine partners who make such a profound difference in the lives of people with disabilities.

Of course, half traveled means half still ahead, and my little yellow pup is just rarin' to go! We look forward to following the rest of the path with all of you.

Our Thoughts Are With Captain Phil Harris

We read today that Captain Phil Harris from The Discovery Channel's excellent Alaskan crab fishing reality show, Deadliest Catch, has suffered a stroke; our thoughts are with Captain Phil and his family. I had the very good fortune to meet Captain Phil at an event here this past summer, the Denver Summer BrewFest, where he was representing the Alaskan Brewing Company. We had just gotten Ruby and she was way too little to bring with us for an outing (couldn't have her all liquored up being underage and whatnot), but when I met Captain Phil, we talked a little bit about service dogs and I mentioned Ruby. He was autographing photos and I asked, if he wouldn't mind, if he could please sign one for Ruby which I would save as a special memento for the person with whom Ruby will be paired.

Captain Phil is a friendly man and a great sport. He happily autographed a photo for a dog (perhaps a first) and it's something I'll proudly present to Ruby's partner someday.



One other thing...with all due respect to my husband, let me tell you, the man knows how to give a hug. Swoon.



We don't know any more details on his condition at this time, other than that he has had surgery, but we are sending our hope and positive thoughts that Captain Phil is resting comfortably and will have a complete recovery.

Update: It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Captain Phil Harris. Our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

Ear-igami

This dog manages to flop her ears in such interesting shapes! She came wandering in like this and we were amazed at how it looked different from every angle. She really should teach a Saturday class.

Doin' The Weekend Hop!

Puppy Raising Q&A

As any Service Puppy Raiser can tell you, we get tons of questions. I meet so many people who are curious about service puppies and the puppy raising experience, I thought I'd share a few of their questions here.

(Please remember, these are just my opinions and may not reflect the opinions of any other Service Puppy Raiser; each person's and dog's experience is unique. Also, my answers on training questions are based solely on the curriculum of our organization and may well differ from the training programs and requirements of other service dog organizations.)

OK, I'll start with the big one.

Q. How do you do it? I mean...how can you give her up?

A. Raising a service puppy is an amazing experience. But, it is also not for everyone. Clearly, there are significant time and financial commitments, but above all, you are making an enormous emotional investment. You are going to nurture, fall in love with, and eventually have to let go of a dog that is yours in so many ways, and yet not your own.

Ruby is a doll and an imp; I completely adore her and love fills me to the brim each time I look at her. But there is a small part of my heart that doesn't belong to her. I'm saving that for someone I don't yet know – the person with whom she will someday be paired – and it justly tempers the love I feel for her. When she begins her life with the person she was truly meant for, that piece will fall into place; it will always be something the three of us share.

I know it will be painful when it is time to give her up, but there will be so much joy and hope mixed in with my sadness. I want to give her all the tools she needs and then I want her to soar. To witness the love and trust of a team, the beauty and fluidity of a person and service dog who share life's challenges, is to understand how honored I feel to be part of the journey toward my dog's partnership.

Q. Would you do it again, raise another service puppy?

A. Absolutely!

Q. How come I can't pet a service puppy?

A. I completely empathize with how difficult it can be for people not to pet service puppies in training, trust me!

I remember seeing a very little service puppy many years ago – a baby Ruby clone, complete with tiny cape – in a pizza place. It was all I could do to stop myself from scooping her up, covering her with kisses, and pretty much just plopping her on top of my slice along with the pepperoni and eating her right up. People have good intentions – petting a service puppy is just a way of showing affection, right? Why would that interfere with her training?

The reason we don't allow anyone to pet a service puppy in training is because it's so important to teach the puppy not to solicit attention. When you refrain from petting Ruby, you are contributing to a very valuable part of her education. You are teaching her that there is no benefit to approaching other people when she is with her partner, unless her partner gives her a specific command to do so. The focus a service dog has on her partner, and their bond, is an absolute lifeline between them.

Q. It's not fair that a puppy has to work all the time. She never gets to have any fun.

A. Not really a question, but I've heard this fairly frequently, mostly when we're out shopping. Maybe it's from people who really dislike shopping and are just projecting it onto the dog!

Just like any puppy, Ruby's life is all about having fun. Zooming around the house and yard, playing with squeaky toys, enjoying ear scratches and belly rubs. And lots of treats and cuddling and snooze time.

When it comes to our "work," I can say without any hesitation that Ruby loves to train. I do too, it's always fun for both of us. Walks are also a very important part of training; we teach our pups not to pull on the leash (loose leash walking) as they grow accustomed to the world around them. I also like to train informally throughout the day, in ways that are out of the context of our sessions. While I'm cooking dinner, I might put her in a sit or down while I walk over to the stove for a bit, walk back, then release her. Or just out of the blue while we're watching TV, I'll ask her to "touch" (bop my hand with her nose – a building block for later skills she'll learn, such as pressing buttons or turning switches on and off); she thinks it's a fun game.

As far as outings, Ruby is naturally curious and she loves going into stores and other public places. She's never forced to do anything she's not capable of, she's rewarded frequently, and we always end on a special fun and upbeat note.

Q. What kinds of things do you teach her how to do?

A. During the approximate year and a half that Ruby is with me, we'll work on socialization and cues such as sit/stay and down/stay; stand; wait; here (come); lap; car; touch; under; fix (untangle herself from the leash); heel; etc.

Q. Can you train her to go get me a beer while I'm watching the game?

A. I get this one ALL THE TIME! Yes, service dogs can be trained to perform specialized tasks such as opening the refrigerator door, retrieving an item, closing the door, and bringing the item to their partner. But I've trained Ruby to reject light beer so the fridge will have to be stocked with a good double IPA.

Q. What happens to her after she leaves you?

A. At 18 months of age, Ruby will enter Advanced Training for approximately 4-6 months, where she'll learn the more specific skills she'll need when she is partnered with a person who has a mobility-related disability. If all goes well, at around two years of age, she'll be teamed up with a partner and I will proudly attend their graduation with a large supply of tissues!

Q. What happens if she doesn't make it?

A. That depends on why she doesn't make it. If it's a health-related issue, she will be released from the program, offered to me to keep, and I will adopt her. If she has a behavior or temperament issue that prevents her from attaining public access, her trainers will determine if there is another area in the realm of canine assistance for which she might be suited, and she'll be trained for that sort of job. If the behavior or temperament issue completely disqualifies her from service, she will be released and offered to me. If, for any reason, I am unable to adopt her, there is a waiting list to adopt released dogs so she would ultimately wind up as someone's well-loved pet.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Wishing a very Happy Birthday – and it's a big one! – across the miles to Ruby's Grandma. On a recent visit, Grandma taught Ruby a very important service dog skill: how to make the Sunday Sauce! Ruby's gotten pretty good at it, but she keeps leaving snootprints in the meatballs.

Roo-ster, Back In Our Nest

Pupdate From Camp Ruby

Looks like our intrepid camper is doing really well! Thanks to her puppy sitter, she's had some great new experiences. She's gotten up close and personal with cats and she's met her first horses. During her time as a furry little exchange student in high school, she's been behaving (mostly!) and she even got a chance to hang out out at the mall with the cool kids.

Enjoy some excerpts of the emails and pix I received from her puppy sitter:

"She's been wonderful – just kind of ambles around the house and sleeps. Hasn't gotten into anything or eaten anything she shouldn't! She's been extremely loyal, never lets us out of her sight."

"She's done pretty well in school too! I took her with me today and yesterday – she now speaks Spanish and knows her statistics and government."

"...she's a bit of a wiggle worm in class! She wasn't a problem by any means and my teachers love the dogs, but she was sure entertaining. She entertained herself by wrapping herself up around my chair, playing with a toy, and rolling around on her back beneath the desk. Once she got her sillies out she settled just fine."

"She was also quite surprised by the horses! They were watching her at the fence and surprised her, so she jumped clear up in the air and started barking. I had her sit and she stopped barking, but boy was she perplexed!"

"And she loves tv! She was sitting in the living room all by herself this morning staring at a commercial for Beneful dog food."

"The first picture is her with my dog Riko. (Boy did they play!)"



"Ruby settling in quite comfortably on my friend's lap..."



"...her first reaction to Trinity (our cat) checking her out haha."



"...then her talking with one of our cats."



"In front of the Sephora, she liked the make up store..." (Ha, that's my girl! -RR)



"...and then at my desk in Spanish. I tried to zoom out a little bit but the little wiggle worm blurred the other pictures haha."

I Love To Amuse My Dog

I wanted to thank you all for your cute and funny emails and comments on a shot I ran in the last post. For those who missed it, here's Ruby doing her best Snoopy as she howls with laughter over yet another unfortunate choice by Charlie Brown...er, me.



Once upon another lifetime, when I lived back east, I knew how to pull myself together pretty nicely – not that you'd believe it by this picture! But I've lived out west for a while now, and I just CANNOT get the hang of properly attiring myself for the unpredictable weather in Colorado. It can drop 30° in a couple of hours out here and I have, like, a ridiculous 3° window of comfort. So I keep a closet's worth of different-weight stuff in the car, because at any given moment, I might need to layer up like Ralphie's brother. All this car-wear is practical rather than pretty and of course none of it ever matches.

Should you run into me while I'm on an outing with Ruby this winter, please feel free to mock and giggle at my uniform: Michelin Man poofy down jacket (size eeny, which is still giant on me because I am a shrimp), my new kindergartener's stripey wool hat (yep, the source of puppy hilarity – I bought it!), three layers of various colored fleeces, the ubiquitous green or black fanny pack filled with a stash of poo-bags, anti-bac wipes, and treats, and my beloved brown Frankenstein Clodhoppers. Clearly, rather than buy appropriate footwear to walk through snowbanks, I am trying my best to just elevate myself above them.

In sum, if you want advice on raising a service puppy, come here. If you want fashion advice, by all means, do not come here. However, for excellent advice on all things fashionable, by someone whose taste level is second to none, the person to visit is Liberty London Girl (www.libertylondongirl.com). Some of you already know her, or have even arrived here via her blog, as she's been a very kind supporter of Raising Ruby. Her posts cover an intriguing range of topics, and her humor and style is as engaging as her photography of the English countryside. And you're likely to come across a few adorable doggies while you're there, too!

Shopping Surprise

Whenever we're on an outing, Ruby is very focused on me and has little interest in other people. She's a happy, good-natured dog who enjoys a wealth of affection from lots of friends, but when we're in a store, restaurant, museum, or the like, I am very diligent about not letting people pet her. The lack of excitement over strangers dissuades her from straying to solicit attention.

Learning not to solicit attention is a very important part of a service puppy's education. Someday, when Ruby is a service dog assisting a person with a disability, it will be critical that she focus intently on her partner. We've been practicing this in public since she was a wee pup and I'm very proud of her for understanding that when she's in a sea of strangers, I'm her one and only.

But while she finds the humans fairly boring, she is crazy about other dogs. She's a naturally confident puppy who just plain likes dogs. She was first-born in a litter of nine and from what I understand, she loved to get everyone going. My Ruby is a pot-stirrer!

So, we're working on learning how to appropriately react to other dogs who cross our path. In other words, To Not Do This:



That sweet little dog actually took Ruby and me both by surprise; I was unaware that this store allowed pet dogs until we turned the corner and Ruby, um, clued me in. I was all la-la-la what a pleasant outing, just strolling about looking at flannel shirts and thermal undies, and then there was lots of lunging and barking and explosions and fireworks and it was all at the other end of my leash. So when you're in the Ladies' Department and fate trades your quiet, well-behaved service puppy for a maniacal wolverine, just look at it as a great training opportunity!

And I have to say, she did very well, considering. It took a little while to get her to focus back on me, but once I had her attention, I put her in a sit and treated her as she sat calmly and let the other dog continue on in peace.



During the rest of the time we were in the store, she saw a few more dogs walking around. She still got very excited, but I was able to recapture her attention a lot more quickly than at first. We'll be working on getting her accustomed to seeing other dogs (especially in unexpected places) and responding in a calm manner.



Great training experience. And even better? This store was so much fun! It really was the coolest place, they had EVERYTHING.

Caps for proud participants in the Witness Protection Program!



Sauces! Lots of Sauces!



Big Huge Red Twisty Thingies!



Bears!



Time Machines!



Safariwear!



Jeeps!



Funny Hats!



Camera Equipment! Ruby's very comfy around lenses. In fact, lens cap = chew toy. After the thousands of photos we've taken of her, I figured it was a fair trade.



And even though she can't be petted, she makes friends wherever she goes.

Guest Post: Hiking With Raven

(Our regular readers know that Raven is Ruby's brother, but do you recognize him? He's gotten so big! And more handsome than ever.



His awesome mom, puppy raiser Barb, has been sending me photos and updates on Raven's progress and I'm really happy to be able to share them with you. All photos and copy courtesy of Barb & Tom. Enjoy!)



Here are some photos of the hike Tom and I took with Raven New Year's Day. We had a great chance to check some of the large farm animals off Raven's socialization checklist and I thought that we would share the photographic evidence of how well he did. Actually it was all good until the horses started eating his high value treats – the cheesy poufs – and then Raven walked away. Guess we need to work with him more about sharing better.

Introductions –"Raven meet the horses, horses this is Raven"



Raven thinks horses are pretty cool, until they get some of his treats!



And then there was a cow...



but two were starting to get scary; hard to keep an eye on both of them.



So we sat and just watched – but look momma, I am being brave!